Makeup Exams

Exams are hard.

As promised in a previous post, I gave a few shows from the Spring 2014 season a second chance to impress me. How did they do? Click the jump and find out!

Note to prospective tennis players: Returning the ball with your face is both ineffective and illegal.

Baby Steps:

After several episodes of low stakes, Eiichirou ends up in his first competitive match in episode five. And while he is clearly progressing as far as his tennis skills are concerned, he hasn't moved at all as a character. He is still just going with the flow when it comes to learning tennis. It doesn't come across as something he needs to do to survive, not like the more interesting main characters in both this show and other recent sports titles. There is nothing driving him to get better at tennis, and without that drive, there is no reason for me to care about his journey.

There is also the fact that Baby Steps follows the most basic rhythm of a sports show. In episode five, Eiichirou gets panicked, gets reassured, then plays his first match. During the match, people in the crowd talk through the most basic parts of a match, giving the most basic of tennis information (rules, scoring) that would be better shown as a bit of text during the interstitials in the middle of an episode. This kind of time filling takes a show about a fast paced sport and slows its pace to a crawl. In the end nothing that happens, even with a competitive match, is an improvement over the first three episodes. And for that, I am failing Baby Steps for a second time.

Look upon your new rulers and despair!

No Game, No Life: 

My biggest issue with No Game No Life was that the outcome of any and all games involving the Blank duo of Sora and Shiro would always end with their victory. No matter what is at stake, whether it is the kingdom of Imanity or an article of clothing on their assistant's body, the outcome was certain. And nothing in the following two episodes really changed that. However, I must say that there are a couple things in the subsequent two episodes that make the show seem like it's better than I gave it credit for. First, there were a couple more moments where Sora and Shiro's crippling social awkwardness manifested itself. In just a couple of seconds these scenes made them seem more human than they would as just godlike gamers who can't lose. Also, it seems like the show has found its plot. It's not exactly the most original plot, save the human-like Imanity then beat God in a chess game, but it's at least a long term goal for the show to work towards.

Still, I can't say that this is really a good show. Thankfully, there is another clause in my "what shows do I pass" pledge, and that is if I'm entertained, I'll pick a show up. And after coming back to this show, I was surprised by how entertained I was. Sora and Shiro's dynamic is fairly accurate as far as hypercompetitive siblings are concerned, and it's missing the gross incest vibe that lesser shows would go for. Also, while the games themselves remain relatively tension free, the explanations are pretty fun. I especially enjoyed the quick how-to in card counting. Remember kids, it's not illegal if you do it at a casino, just don't get caught! So, it looks like I have my first ever pass of a Makeup Exam, because when it comes down to it, I just want to watch the next episode.

"This show would be so much better if it was about me."

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin:

Two things stood out to me with the next two episodes of Nanana no Maizoukin. First, it's that the main character Juugo is a horrible protagonist. He's a perverted spoiled brat, and while I commend the writers for giving me an accurate portrayal of a high school boy, I am actively rooting against him most of the time. And while watching him get his ass kicked in episode four was a bit satisfying (only a bit because the guy beating him up was almost as obnoxious as he was), the plot of episode five where he had to play errand boy in order to pay Nanana's absurd electric bill or get evicted had me bored to tears. I don't care if he gets evicted, because I don't care about him. His constant gaze at any visible skin on the female characters has long since gotten stale and his yelling at people about how he just wants to live a life different from his father reeks of a kid who needs to grow the fuck up. And in the first five episodes, he hasn't done so at all.

The second thing that stood out is that this show would be much better if it was built around Tensai, the genius detective. She is able to make Juugo palatable by engaging in banter that is fun to watch, mostly because she is really good at getting under his skin. She also seems to be the only person in the show who doesn't take herself overly seriously. She isn't trying to take over the world, or rebel against daddy; she just wants to become the best detective in the world. And since she is shown to possess many of those skills already, it seems like that goal is within reach. Despite her one kinda bad line when she introduced her crossdressing maid, I really like her and I'd watch this show if she was the main character. However, it's not, so I'm going to once again fail it.