Welcome to Show Joe, the podcast about show Joe anime, a genre typically targeting young
girls. And I'm Sarah, your host who's introducing my good friend Joe, who is a little less familiar
with the genre. So we're getting good, genuine, uh, dude reactions to this, all these fluffy
shows. And if you want to say hi Joe.
Hello, I am here to give reaction to fluffy shows.
Yeah.
I'm not really sure this first one's that fluffy.
No, well, as we, after the fact, determined that it was totally to, to ease you into the
genre. So it's not just full blown. I'm not sure if justifying that.
I'm not sure if any of the show Joe I have watched is really all that fluffy, to be honest.
Like, I don't know. Sailor Moon fluffy.
I wouldn't say so.
Utena definitely is not.
No, you'll see. It's what we do like slice of life stuff that's really going to get,
you know, like those sparkles in the background and, you know, extended shots of just staring
at each other.
So yeah, before, before we get into things, what have you been up to? Or what's, what
have you been consuming this week Joe?
I couldn't decide what to put for this as I was saying right before we did this recording.
I have been watching a lot of stuff, but I kind of want to wait until I finished it
to talk about it.
Yeah. You don't want to say you hate it and it turns out you loved it or vice versa by
the time.
Yeah. Or it could get worse. Like there are things where I'm like, ooh, because a lot
of the stuff I watch is very like speculative in terms of like, I'm enjoying it while I
watch it. I watch stuff kind of slow. I don't really just binge things.
And so by doing that, I'm like, oh, I can think of like a lot about like what's happening
in the episodes and I can be like, oh, it's really cool if they do this thing. And then
sometimes they don't do this thing. And I'm like, oh, actually, the show was not that
good.
Or like sometimes it's the other way where it's like, it turns out the thing is actually
really good because it was doing something the whole time and now like conceit and totality.
It's good.
And in the vein of that, I'm instead going to talk about mobile suit Gundam. So I watched,
I've been watching all of Gundam in order along with the Great Gundam Project. So I guess
we'll talk about the first the original Gundam series from the 70s.
Double 79.
Damn, is that old?
It's old.
Oh, I had no idea it was that old.
Gundam is old, but it's very good. I think they have like a really good setup because
it's so old it like predates some of the less good anime tropes that you've seen a lot of
other stuff. So it actually ends up being much more enjoyable than you would think.
Uninfluenced by other enemies.
Yeah.
Trailblazing.
Yes. But the setup is really good. It's really interesting like politically the situation
because it kind of takes place in a universe where there is like people have gone to space.
There's the Earth Federation, which is like this kind of ineffective liberal government
kind of like how the United States is that runs everything from Earth and there's all
these space colonies and one of the space colonies decides that it's going to, you
know, stop being neglected and they declare independence as the principality of Xeon and
they are trying to like fight for their own independence movement.
But then very early on in the Xeon movement, the like ruling power in that gets overthrown
by a bunch of fascists and then they become like a weird kind of fascist regime also.
And so like you have characters like Sharr who is caught in between that where he is
like pro space noid independence, but also doesn't like the like fascist rulers. So he's
kind of like playing both sides a little bit. The main character Amaro is just like a kid
who is on a colony that gets attacked by Xeon because there's a Federation base there. So
he's basically like forced into fighting. A lot of like interesting stuff is happening
that you probably wouldn't expect from a show where you just know, hey, cool robot. So yeah,
it ends up being really enjoyable. And like the first three series like double 79 Zeta
Gundam and double Zeta all like have a lineage and are in conversation with each other and
it's pretty cool.
I feel like almost all mechas have political elements, which maybe that's why I don't watch
them as much. But like Gurren Lagann, Darling and the Franks, which was a
Oh my God, I'm taking I'm taking damage from these. I'm taking enormous psychic damage
that your two go to our Gurren Lagann and Darling in the front darling in the front
is like, isn't that like supported by Scientology or something? There was always a weird funding
thing. Oh, I think they were funded by a cult. Hold on. I'm going to look this up. I just
I know. I mean, I guess I like that one because maybe it's younger pilots, I guess are younger.
And so there's elements of teen awkwardness and romance and stuff that I like. I don't
think you remember the show. The show is they have sex in the robot, basically like the
positioning is it's like the girl is on all fours and the guy is like right behind like
it's doggies. Yeah, I know. I know. I know. I don't know. This is a bad. This is a bad
Gundam is a thousand times better than this. I hate darling in the front. It's my enemy.
Do you know how it ends? I had to listen to how it ends. And it like space aliens. I'm
sorry. I'm not meaning to like dunk on a thing that you like. I don't know. I mean, I don't
like absolutely adore it or anything. I don't know. Even my sister watched it. So it's got
something about it. Maybe it's because there's more. I feel like a lot of the mecca shows
are very male protagonist oriented and at least anger and log on. There's Yoko and
then in darling in the Franks, there's zero two. So those are like iconic characters like
everyone recognizes them. Yeah, but they're both like the dream girl. Maddie, dream girl
kind of like it's bad like zero two sucks. Like, you know, it's like the waifu culture.
I hate this stuff. Yoko doesn't get to do anything. It's like really unfortunate. I
don't know. Like girl and log on. I like better because I think there is some interesting
stuff going on there, but it still is extremely frustrating the way a trigger does it. I mean,
these are both animated by trigger, right? Studio trigger. Dude, you pay attention to
that stuff. I do not. I believe so. They have really nice looking like studio trigger is
known for like action sequences. I feel like it's like their big thing and it looks really
good. They make stuff that's really good and they also make stuff that's really horny all
the time and I'm mad at them for it. Yeah, I guess. The girl log on opening is so good.
It is good. Like both of these things are like, I don't know if they really hold up,
but I did. I watched them at the time and I'm like, oh, this is pretty fun. I think
there are parts of it that are interesting. Ultimately, I think there are better versions
of these things. What is the one with the guy with the weird eyeball? The guy with the
weird eye code, geese is there something that's kind of mech. Yeah, one talks about politics.
I don't want. Okay, because there is one. It's not full blown mecha, I guess, but I don't
know if you've watched Rideback. No, I've never even heard of that. Okay, it's got killer
opening. It's so it's another like it's straight up a female protagonist for that one, but
she's in college and she is kind of these rightable. Yeah, like it transitions from
like riding to standing forms. It's got arms. It's like a motorcycle with an arm. But I
hate because it starts off just kind of college and competing with these things, but then
freaking politics, man, I hate it. Okay, but the politics part is good. See, here's the
thing. The politics part is the fun part. The part where it's just people hanging out
is fine, but like you can't you can't support a show just from hanging out. I mean, that's
a world in which it's fun to envision you partaking in not the like dreary political
stuff. I just it's so not. Unfortunately, the world we live in also has dreary politics.
Yeah, I just live under a rock happily. Okay, well, I think it's fun to think about politics
sometimes. I think we should get you watching better mech animation. Maybe that can be a
bonus because maybe the stuff you've been watching is not the greatest. The Zoids count.
I watch a little bit of Zoids on like cartoon networks. Oh my God, I haven't thought about
Zoids in a million years. I don't think that counts. No, it's big robot things. Do they
write in Zoids? I don't even remember. Yeah, they're like they're at least the one I saw
was like they're animal shaped. Yeah, I guess they do get inside of them. Man, I don't remember
any of this. These are wild. Do they look like this? I I so vaguely remember. These are like
a look at pictures. It's like what if a transformer was even more complicated than they already
are and also in the shape of a dog? Okay, but let me get into to bring it back home to more
show Joe as content. What have you been watching? Okay, well, number one, Avatar Last Airbender,
the live action just came out. So I've binged all of that. It's fine. There's like a few
cringy airbending moments. Oh no, Sarah, I have to watch this on Monday. My friends
want to watch this with me and we're watching it on Monday and I'm going to hate it. Well,
okay, here's the problem with it without spoiling anything. They seem to purposely avoid some
of the cooler, large scale bending moments. I am assuming for the sake of like trying
to execute that visually. Well, like, wait, what do you mean? Like, like which ones? We
watched the first episode and my brother's like that's, that's my favorite part of the
show. And they didn't even put it in. But you know, when they're, it's like in the first
couple episodes, Aang is on Zuko's ship and they're kind of leaving and he kind of escapes
his prison cell and then he goes into the Avatar state for like the first time he does
the cool like water funnel thing. Like he doesn't like collapse part of like a glacier
on the ship or something. Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Which was cool. And they didn't
do that. I mean, does this lazy budget? I don't know. But like you have to go all out.
That's what people are here for is the bending. Well, this is such a fundamentally hard thing
to adapt. Yes, as we've seen in the past. Okay. Yeah. I messaged me about this. She's
like, did they make another Avatar thing? Oh my God. Did they remake it? I don't have
you thought any of them have been good? Like any of the like, I'm going to include any
kind of like adapting animation into live action, including like all of the Disney stuff where
they're like live action. I don't like the Disney ones because they aren't bringing
like it's almost exactly. I only watched the Cinderella one, which is one of the first
ones they did. But it's exactly the same. So there was no reason to watch it because
I've already seen it in the preferred method of animation. Yeah. I mean, but that is one
thing about Avatar is that it does. I thought it was going to be slight differences, but
they kind of like fool. I mean, it like kind of falls the same path, but things go differently.
So it is different. Yeah. So there's, I mean, I don't know if you want to count it. Here
we go with the Canon again, but because the creators of Avatar were on the project to
begin with, but left because I think they didn't like that it was departing so much
from the source material. But honestly, just watching the live action made me want to rewatch
the animation because that's just so good. It doesn't matter if you're, I had my free
grandma watch the first episode of the animated one and she was into it. Yeah. And this is
the problem where it's like, why are, well, I know why they're, they're adapting the stuff
that's good into live actions because they want to like cash in on it. Yeah. But I feel
like what you should be doing is adapting the stuff that was bad. And then you can do it
will always be better because the original shot didn't go well. But you know, that's
good thinking. I was going to say the one piece was okay. I watch most of that. Good job casting
for that. They did for avatars. Well, like I liked the actors they picked. Uh huh. Does
it look flat? Because like when I watched the Netflix adaptation of one piece, like
I like the actors and the costumes, but like the sets all look so flat, like just like
a big room. No, not no. I wouldn't say so, although I also am maybe not as critically
viewing it as you would with that in mind. It's essentially just chapter one water. So
lots of different locations. Is it good? Is it okay? Does it just make you want to watch
the thing that's actually good? Yes, but that I did watch it. It's interesting because
they do change a lot. So it's interesting to see a different interpretation. This live,
you know, oh, maybe this live in cool if they had done this in the animated series. Um, you
know, I'm 30 you guys, but I'm freaking rewatching series that, you know, periodically saw episodes
of just tuning in as a kid that I am now sitting down and watching in its entirety. I don't
know if you've ever heard of a show called Code Lyoko. Uh, it was on Cartoon Network
is it's like a Canadian or yeah, French, French, because even that art style, they have all
giant foreheads, but other than that, I like it. The opening's good. And I've just been
watching that while I work. And do you want to say the premise? Yeah, yeah. I like it.
It's these kids who go to this boarding school and they discover a nearby factory that has
this technology to virtualize people and put them in this virtual world called Lyoko.
And they meet a girl who's like a resident of it. And then there's like a evil AI from
that that starts interfering with the real world. And so they have to go in and address
it when he starts interfering with the real world is essentially so there's it's like
a mixed animation. So there's like 2D for their day to day lives. And then when they're
virtualized 3D model style. But yeah, I've been watching that. And then to top it off,
there's a new shojo series that I've read a lot of the manga online for that just released
and it's kind of being hyped as like one of the best shows to come out for 2024. It's
called a sign of affection. And it's about this girl in college who's deaf and she meets
this guy and you know, it's kind of just like a romance, but it's got like those elements
of sign language and stuff. And so I watched the first two episodes. It's fine. Like, I
don't really like the guys maybe aren't as something about their lips are weird. But
other than that, it's fine. I don't know that it'll compel me enough since I've already
read it to watch it. Is this a case so we had talked or like in your in your like streaming
discord, I guess some people have talked about it and linked us stuff that was talking about
how shojo adaptations of anime from the mongas they are like usually lower budget or like
lower quality for unknown reasons or like, you know, people speculate. I guess they're
not depicting as maybe visually interesting things. Yeah. But like there's like stuff.
I mean, there's like series that don't depict like high action stuff that are still like
animated very yeah, I know what that's what I was saying when we were going through some
of those openings is that this one artist in particular has gorgeous, gorgeous manga,
but the all the anime versions were not doing it justice. Right. I don't think it's as much
the case now like I mean, I got this week on to the point where everything feels a lot
more polished angelic layer definitely has that older feel angelic layer looks great
though. I feel like the modern stuff is more characterized like you can tell where they
cut corners for things or like put in like 3D modeling. Yeah, that looks bad. God, we've
been doing this for almost 30 minutes of shows that pack a lot of stuff into episodes. These
summaries I have I have 18 I these long these are long. I have long summaries of what happens.
Let's kick it off. Angelic layer episode five is titled I don't want to lose I'm believing
in Hikaru we open on a flashback where an even younger Hito co is standing outside in
the cold in front of an angelic layer practice location holding her doll and employee comes
out and tells us that the practice building is closed today but Hito co sadly pleads that
if she doesn't practice for one day it'll take her three days to catch back up the employee
who refers to how to go by name so like she knows what she is feels bad and eventually
lets her in Hito co does some training and she is able to get Suzuka her doll to move
fast enough to counter a bunch of like simulation attacks and then the opening plays back in
the present Misaki and Tamayo are eating lunch in between matches Tamayo complements Misaki's
cooking and the fact that she won her first match so easily Misaki protests that she only
happened to win since she didn't really understand what was going on in the match all that well
Katara joins them and they all cheer to Misaki's future victories as they make their way back
to the stage Tamayo theatrically announces that she's going to the bathroom so Katara
can go alone with Misaki and then to drive the point home she puts Katara on a full
Nelson and tells him to keep his hands off Misaki while she's gone and then she turns
to the audience and tells them not to try that at home and then walks away laughing
I included that bit because that bit is really funny to me.
Is it the fourth fourth wall breaking the fourth wall is that what it's called?
Yes she's definitely breaking the fourth wall it's pretty good.
Um Katara recovers and wishes Misaki a luck on her next match Misaki is not all that
confident though because she still thinks she just won by luck Katara reassures her that
she won because she believed in Hikaru.
Hitoko joins them and tells Misaki that she also um that she has the most important thing
for angelic layer which is the desire to grow stronger.
Hitoko then gets swarmed by a bunch of fangirls and she wishes Misaki luck as she deals with
all of them and then she also mentions that if her and Misaki ever have a match together
it'll probably be a pretty good one.
We then return to the arena where two angels are having a match.
In the control room Ichan is watching the match when his phone starts ringing he answers
it and one of his employees complains that he's been missing the uh examini testing for
a new product they have.
Ichan tells her that he isn't going to be able to make it and that they can run the
tests uh for exactly 10 minutes but not to go longer than that.
We then return to the ongoing match where a buff looking angel wins her match by like
suplexing her opponent in like a wrestling move um and then back in the waiting room
Misaki comments that that angel who just did that is going to be her next opponent.
In the testing facility we see Ojiro I think?
Is that Ojiro?
I'm pretty sure it is.
Yeah he walks in on the ongoing test which is of like a new AR headset um unlike the
previous one that's like a wrap around you put it on your head it has little wings on
it this is just like a like sunglasses more or less.
Misaki's mom is using it and testing with with Athena and we get some comments that
the new sunglasses AR headset has like faster reaction speed and is like more accurate.
We then come back to the tournament where Misaki's match is the first round or the first
match of the second round.
Her opponent's name is Tomoko Tamada and her angel is Vasquez.
The girls observing the match from last episode are back and they provide some helpful exposition
about how Vasquez is like famous for her power so she's like a power hitter and Hikaru
probably doesn't stand a chance.
The match begins, Hikaru rushes forward and tries to get in some quick hits but narrowly
dodges a punch from Vasquez that's so powerful green sparks fly out when she actually impacts
the floor.
Misaki gauges that Hikaru won't be able to take that many hits.
A kick from Vasquez barely hits Hikaru's shoulder and sends her flying so we got a
heavy hitter.
Vasquez closes in on Hikaru and does a couple of you know hits her a couple times but Hikaru
is able to effectively block most of these.
Misaki starts getting into the swing of things and is able to start landing some counters.
Back in the cafeteria Hitoko eats some cake while watching the match and comments that
she isn't all that surprised that Misaki can hold her own.
While keeping Vasquez at bay Misaki tries to strategize how she can actually win the
match.
She watches how Vasquez moves and notices a weak point where she briefly turns her back
to do a spin kick and she tries to hit her in the back while it's turned but she messes
up the timing the first time she tries it and takes a hit instead.
She tries to do it a second time but can't get the timing right and then she's about
to try it for a third time but then doesn't because she doesn't want to commit to the
attack because she's afraid she'll mess it up and lose.
So instead she tries to wait it out and just win the match by scoring points and playing
conservatively.
However, when it becomes obvious that this is what she's doing, Ichan, Hadoko and
Kataro all comment that this is like a losing strategy and probably not a good way to get
better at the game.
During the match Ichan is interrupted by Ogata who hands him the phone.
The testing engineer tells him that Misaki's mom has passed out after using the new headset
for 20 minutes and Ichan yells at her for going past the 10 minute limit he said earlier.
We learned that these AR headsets or at least this new one causes stress on your optic nerve
and Misaki's mom insisted to keep going past the 10 minute mark so they can get better
measurements and Ichan just cancels the whole test.
Back in the match, Ikaro has taken the point lead and there's only a minute to go.
Misaki explains to try to wait it out.
Back in the cafeteria we see Hadoko disapproving of this strategy and saying that she feels
bad for Ikaro.
With 30 seconds left to go, Vasquez takes a knee which is like a maneuver she did in
the previous match we saw where basically she baits the opponent to attacking her and
then she does a counter.
So she baits Misaki into a trap by commenting about how cowardly she's being.
Misaki takes the bait and starts to attack Vasquez but then Vasquez does a counter at
the last second.
Fortunately, Misaki reacts very quickly at the last second and Ikaro dodges and then
does her own counter-counter and wins the match that way.
After the match, Tamayou congratulates Ikaro for winning while Katara says nothing.
Misaki sees Hadoko and asks if she thinks they'll have a match together after all.
Hadoko very coldly replies that she doubts they'll have a match and then she walks away
as we cut the credits.
Ice Queen.
Ice.
Ice cold.
Sometimes you disapprove of someone else's play style and you tell them actually I don't
want to be rivals with you.
I mean, okay so my first note is at the beginning when it's a flashback of Hadoko and I said
I'm concerned that she's not going to have a normal childhood.
Like, does she not hang out with friends?
Does she not spend time with her family?
All she does is angelic lair.
Above all else that's what she cares about.
Okay, but this is a show about angelic lair.
I know, but...
I feel like it's fine.
My first note is that Tiny Hadoko is so cute.
She's so small.
She's already tiny.
She's even tinier.
She's so sad.
Because, I mean, she's just so focused on it.
I feel like it'd be hard to talk to her about anything else.
Well, the employees know her.
So like, she's a known quantity all the way.
Yes, she's a regular.
Hey, girl, maybe these people are just doing training and then they're supposed to leave
work early and now because you're there, they're not going to have a day off because you're
selfish.
My God, she's so five.
Hey, you gotta respect facility hours.
Listen, she doesn't know about facility hours.
She's tiny.
She just wants to play angelic lair.
And she's so cute.
The employees are like, yeah, that's fine.
She can come in.
Look at her.
She's just a little, just a little tiny girl.
It's fine.
Yeah, I guess.
They have the same haircut as Suzuka.
Yeah, it's called the Hime cut.
Hime stands for princess, but I think in Fiddle, Japan, that's a popular style for women in
like nobility, where it has like the sharp cut of bangs.
But yeah, I mean, it makes sense that at least when I make a game a lot of the times, depending
on the character creator, you know, or at least as a kid, I tried to make them look
like me.
So it makes sense that the angel is kind of similar to Hitoko.
Well, it's her avatar.
It's her angel.
She's the dais and it's the angel.
My next note was about, yeah, I thought it was fine to my own saying that like, don't
try this at home.
Yeah, she just directly turned like, it's so funny how Tamayo is just turning into like
a Looney Tunes character in the way that she's like always just doing bits with Katara
where she like puts him in headlocks or something.
And she does like a goofy laugh.
It's good.
I like the cartooniness of Tamaya.
Yes.
I said each time the terrible boss.
I would.
We get another, we get another like what penalty game gag, but like he just makes him go, he
makes Ogata get a get like a manga or something.
Is this like this must be where they got like where this angelic layer which like got published.
Right.
Yeah.
He said I'm like an errand to a place that turns out to be closed.
Yeah.
To pick up a pick up a manga or like a.
Yeah, I was gonna say, I think it was like shown in jump or something.
It's like when Hitoko comes up the first time and is like talking to her and then she
gets sworn by fangirls.
At first she has a bunch of fangirls, which I think is very funny.
Freakin like Chad Hitoka.
It's like a.
It's gonna warp her personality.
She's gonna think she's hot shit for the rest of her life.
I know.
It turns out Hitoko rules and is the best.
Also, she talks to Misaki as like her equal like Katara was like, she's like older than
you need to like be a little respectful and it just doesn't care.
She's like, yeah, whatever.
I think that's good.
I like angelic layer as like an equalizer between people.
I was gonna say, yeah, Misaki said she's more experienced than angelic layer.
So she's fine with her being more casually.
Yeah.
I don't remember what they said in the Japanese version, but you know when what does the announcer
say when they first throw in their angels as they're landing?
There was like a specific thing.
Fall in.
Yeah.
Okay.
So in the English version, if I, I didn't watch any of the episodes in English this time
around by very distinctly remember them saying something along the lines of like, and the
angel descends, which I think sounded cooler than just fall in.
Yeah.
So now we're getting whole, you know, we talked about how this doesn't have magical
growth transformation sequences.
Instead, what we get is the entire sequence where they throw the dolls into the match and
like Hikaru gets her own sequence for like being thrown in and like becoming animated
and then landing and that gets repeated in these last two episodes.
So we have that now.
Okay.
So her opponent is this.
Askez.
Militant.
Yeah.
Like super humongous angel.
That's hardcore.
She looks like a character in like advanced wars or something.
Or like, or like, or Jane or something.
Yeah.
She's like got like the shoulder pad armor on and she's like buff.
Even like her, her dais is dressed like she's in the military.
She's wearing like a camo muscle shirt and like green cargo pants.
So like very military coated.
I don't really know.
Cause like she just kind of does grappling stuff the whole time.
But yeah, going against her, I was thinking like, oh, maybe glass can wasn't such a good
idea.
Asackie.
Well, I mean it is.
Cause she does like the thing about this, the thing that's interesting about this episode
is like it hinges on the idea that she doesn't go for the quick kill or like the quick win
in terms of like, she recognizes how she can win the match early by hitting Vasquez in the
back when like her back stern cause she was like a bear slower angel.
But she doesn't commit to it cause she's afraid she's going to mess it up.
Which you know, ties in earlier when, you know, everyone's like, oh, congratulating
her on winning.
And she's kind of like, ah, kind of just got lucky.
Like she doesn't really believe that she won those matches with like her own skill and
stuff like that.
And so I think that's a pretty good follow through.
But the thing is that she still wins by playing conservatively.
Yes, but freaking everyone is so critical.
Um, yeah, I was like, each time that Hotoko have incredibly high expectations for a total
newbie of angelic layer, like guys, she's brand new.
She can't be the same caliber as you already.
Yeah.
And they're, they're both invested in like her longterm growth and not like winning immediate
matches.
And so they're, they're right in terms of like, this is an opportunity for you to like
learn how to like win fights cause in higher competitive fights, you're going to have to
land that hit, right?
And Misaki is more just like playing to win, which isn't the same as like playing to get
better, which I think is the main difference here that is happening.
It's essentially when people and first person shooters are like, oh, you're just camping
like, you know, loser tactic, play the game for real.
I mean, the difference here is like, this is, this is, I mean, we're fully in sports
mode, right?
Like this is the sports thing of like, oh, you know, you're not taking shots on goal
when you could, you're like passing it, which, you know, does win you the game, but it's
not like you're not improving in a way that's going to like get you up to the next level.
You know, we're like, winning isn't necessarily the point.
It's about playing your best, which she was not doing because she was kind of like holding
herself back.
Uh, I also have a note that I'm now paying attention to the music and it sounds like
it's from the N64 game, GoldenEye.
It's good.
It just sounds like it just reminded me of that.
Or it's like, oh, that's fun.
I think the show's doing a good way, a good job of conveying the weight of attacks, even
though they're dolls, like they're small scale.
So like there's a part where Hikaru hits the ground and she makes like a really light
thumb, even though she like, she lands and it's, it's good because all of the shots
are close up.
So they look like they're full size, even though you have to remember that these are
probably like a foot tall or something.
But when they land, it like makes a little tiny thumb.
Yeah, I know.
Like just, yeah, yeah.
Good sound effects.
So, I think like so overall about this episode, I think it's interesting that like Ichan and
Hattok Haruko are both like critical of Misaki for not going for, like pushing herself to
be the best and like do the stuff.
But then at the same time, we get this subplot where Misaki's mom ends up like hurting her
optic nerves by trying this test thing too hard.
Oh, look at you drawing parallels.
Well it's like, this is about to be, I mean, they're gonna mention this a little bit more
in the next episode.
So I guess we'll talk about it a little bit more, but it's kind of unclear what the show
thinks about, like how much of your all you should be putting into an activity.
Because like obviously Ichan, whose job it is to make this and Hattoko, who makes like
this her whole life, you know, don't like holding back or like being conservative about
doing the things you like.
But also her mom like, like lands herself in the hospital by doing this.
So I'm interested to see where the show will land on this idea.
Yeah, I know.
We haven't really gotten predictions from you much other than you saying that she's
gonna fight her mom at some point.
Yeah.
Well, I like, if this show has like an interesting thing to say about that, that will be very
cool because like so far it's been like a pretty good show.
But I'm interested to see like what it has to say about competing in sports.
Yeah, it's been a little more surface level so far, but then again, we're only on episode
five here, which is so early in the show.
I mean, this series is only 26 episodes.
So it's, you know, each episode has more purpose, but in longer series, like episode
five would be nothing as far as what's happening in the main plot.
Right.
Can I get into episode six?
Yep.
Yeah, have at it.
Angelic Layer episode six is called Suzuka, the speed of light, Hattoko's declaration
of rivalry.
We open on Hikaru fighting another match while Tamayo Kataru and Hattoko watching the crowd.
Misaki and Hikaru appear to be playing much better and we get a montage of Hikaru winning
like three matches pretty easily.
A frustrated Hattoko walks out of the stadium looking kind of intense and the announcer
tells us that Misaki has won eight matches and no losses as the opening begins to play.
Back at school, Tamayo and Kataru are congratulating Misaki on her performing so well for a rookie.
Two classmates snidely comment that she's probably winning just out of luck and Tamayo
forces them to apologize, but Misaki tells them that it's fine.
Back in gym class, Tamayo asks why Misaki doesn't get upset when people badmouth her
and Misaki says that she doesn't really get frustrated and doesn't want to get into arguments
and that she's never really like wanted to be anyone special.
Tamayo isn't satisfied with this answer, but we get interrupted when Misaki looks
over at a glistening Kataru doing a great high jump and she is very impressed.
Misaki then tries to do her own vault jump, but like completely misses the target and
eats it.
Back at HQ, Ichon asks Ogata if he's recorded all of Misaki's matches.
Ogata says he missed a little bit, but he got the rest of them.
As a punishment, Ichon makes him eat Udon without making noise, which he comments isn't
as appetizing.
That seems like the easiest one so far.
Walking home, Misaki wonders if she has any athletic ability at all.
She meets up with Hadoko on her way home and they walk together.
Misaki thanks Hadoko for the advice that she gave her about believing in herself in Hikaru.
Hadoko asks if she actually does believe in Hikaru and tells her that if she isn't going
to be able to progress any further as she is now.
Back at home, Misaki wonders what Hadoko meant by that and she accidentally burns the fish
she was making for dinner.
We then cut to Misaki and Shoko eating dinner and Misaki tells her that she likes doing
angelic layer and that she's never liked anything as much as it before, causing Shoko
to accidentally drop a bowl in the sink breaking it.
Later that night, Shoko cracks open a beer and wonders if all of this is really for the
best.
Shoko is so good.
I love Shoko.
The next day, Misaki returns to the tournament and Tamaya shows her a new cheer she came
up with.
Kataru and Hadoko reveal that Hadoko is her next opponent.
Misaki is very unsure of herself as the match starts.
Back in the control room, Ichon and Kou discuss Suzuka and how she wins all her matches in
like, mere seconds as we saw earlier.
However, in the match, Suzuka waits for Hikaru to make the first move.
Hikaru rushes her but Suzuka easily counters.
Suzuka then releases a fury of quick kicks that Hikaru is able to dodge but she's being
pushed back near the edge of the layer.
Suzuka closes in to push her out and Hikaru dodges using the same high jump technique
that we saw Kataru do earlier.
Hikaru and Suzuka get into a more straightforward brawl and while Suzuka is putting up a better
fight, um, I'm sorry, and while he taught- wait, what?
Yeah, he- I'm gonna say this whole sentence over again.
Hikaru and Suzuka get into a more straightforward brawl and while Hikaru is putting up a better
fight, both Hadoko and Ichon agree that Misaki and Hikaru are looking much better than they
have been before and Hadoko thinks it'll be a good fight after all.
Suzuka is able to consistently land hits on Hikaru and Misaki wonders how Hadoko is able
to exactly guess where she's going to be.
Kataru tells Tamaeo it's because Hadoko has been watching not only Hikaru but also Misaki
during the fight and Misaki realizes that she is telegraphing her moves with her face
as she fights so she'll like look to the left when she wants Hikaru to dodge to the
left, that kind of thing.
She corrects this and is able to start actually dodging.
Ichon comments that Angelic Layer isn't a game where the angels fight but also the
dais themselves are also playing against each other.
Hadoko starts talking to Misaki to tell her that she's been having a great time but the
match is almost over and it's time to finish it.
She tells her not to lose to anybody but her and then she sends Suzuka to do like this
wild full body kick which we did a reveal called Rolling Thunder where she just like
knocks the crap out of Hikaru.
I very sad Misaki cradles Hikaru as Hadoko comes up and tells her that Hikaru will be
okay.
She then tells her that they'll need to meet up again at the Kanto Games and they swear
on a pinky promise.
After the match, Tamaya and Katara try to find Misaki but she's gone.
In an empty hallway, a sad Misaki bends over Hikaru as Ichon appears out of nowhere.
Misaki apologizes to Ichon for losing after he spent all that time teaching her but he
tells her not to worry about it.
He asks her how she's feeling and Misaki finally admits that she feels very frustrated
about losing and Ichon encourages her to keep learning about Angelic Layer.
Then Tamaya and Katara meet up with her and they cheer her up as we cut the credits.
A lot of talking.
I'll try to stay on in order of my notes.
Okay, so at first I was like, didn't her opponents, there's like a quick montage of
Angel she beats.
I was like, didn't these people lose?
Why are they still here?
Is this a loser's bracket or something?
Then I realized I guess it's more like whoever I guess has the best what, win to lose ratio
is the one who wins, not just elimination.
Yeah, this isn't a single elimination tournament.
It's like a round robin or a group play or something.
Yeah, I was like, do they think I'm not going to notice the same Angelus for the last episode?
And then it dawned on me.
I mean, I guess that's fair because it's qualifiers, right?
So if you get paired up against Atoko in your first round, are you just out because you
lost to the best person here?
That's true.
Okay, so freaking those girls in their class are stupid.
Like, have you not seen Tamoya?
Why would you try to pick a fight with her friends?
Oh yeah, she's like, you're serious.
Like, you probably just won because you got lucky.
And then Tamoya just grabs them by the lapels and was like, you need to apologize.
And they're like, okay, yeah, sorry.
It's very funny.
Yeah, foolish girls.
Let's see.
I was like, it's back at the house with Shoko.
I was like, it's child labor.
That's what's happening here.
Oh my God.
She's just making dinner.
Like, this is not an uncommon thing.
Okay, but I also relate to Shoko because basically what she is insisting, oh, I'll do the dishes
since you cook.
And then she sucks at it.
And then that way she never gets asked to do it again.
Okay, that's not what's happening.
This is not how this scene goes at all.
I definitely have done that before.
Like, oh, that way I never get asked to babysit already.
It's a strategy.
Yeah.
Okay, but that's not like, she doesn't break the plate as a strategy to get out having
to clean.
Like Shoko, like there's something weird going on with her sister, like Misaki's mom,
An Angelic Lair because like Shoko is very nice.
Like she's great.
And she's like very nice.
Like Misaki accidentally burns food because she's like worried about what Hadokas said
earlier.
But Shoko was like, I don't like it's still, it's still really good.
Like you did a good job on the rest of it.
Like, you know, this is great.
I'll do the dishes or whatever.
And she only like starts to get fazed when Misaki keeps talking about how much she loves
Angelic Lair.
And that's what like, Stardl's Shoko enough for her to break a thing.
She's been going to a tournament, dude.
Obviously she likes it.
She's being so dramatic.
Yeah, but like there's something weird going.
This is what I'm saying.
Like from the last episode stuff, like her mom clearly likes Angelic Lair so much that
she doesn't see her daughter and also gets herself in the hospital from like saying it
to Misaki.
And I feel like when she's older, she's going to ignore all other responsibilities in life
and her own health for Angelic Lair.
That's her future.
Yeah.
This is why I'm so interested to see where the show goes because like that's kind of
what it seems like it's hinting at.
Like, hey, being too into a thing is bad.
Yes.
Which is like not, okay.
But like I want to say this because if you haven't watched a sports anime before, they
know, I feel like they never do this.
I feel like this is not a subplot in sports anime normally.
It's normally about how like great playing sports is and how much it rules and how you
should dedicate all your time to it.
Like this is the, the complaint I have about a lot of sports anime is that like it kind
of like the whole world revolves around this and you don't have a life inside of it.
But I am interested to see if Angelic Lair says that that's a bad thing.
Because it kind of seemed like it's going to and that would be cool.
I haven't watched much sports anime, but you're right.
A very like no other elements of life are shown.
Yeah.
I mean, it's like the joys of sports, like how you can find camaraderie in it.
I mean, it's like positive.
It's not like negative.
It's not like abandon your life only play basketball.
But like, you know, it never shows this part where it's like, Hey, you like this opportunity
cost for becoming obsessed with the thing.
I also had a note.
Boo's Hound Choco strikes again.
Chugging a beer.
Dude, she's so good.
She's cracking open a beer.
It's good.
I do this.
I love Choco.
So her name is Choco and her sister, Masaki's mom is Shuko.
Okay.
I didn't write that.
To have so much similar names.
Shuko.
It was like when she called her in the first or second episode.
Shuko.
Shuko and Shuko.
Cruel parents.
We love that.
I have a couple more notes.
The part where Katara does that high jump and Misaki's all impressed, but like, I guess
it's unclear if she's impressed by Katara or the fact that he's athletic and she wants
to be athletic.
I think it's that.
I don't think she particularly cares about him doing it.
I think it's just an athleticism that she admires.
He's definitely losing in like, boyfriend run.
I like him though.
Too bad.
The cheer that come up with socks.
She was so bad.
Okay.
So it's like Misaki Chi Chi.
No, it's she does like the ramp up or it's like, she says like the first syllable.
So it's like for Misaki Chi, it's like me, me, me, me, me, Misaki Chi or like for Hikaru.
It's like he, he, he, he, he, he, Kari or something.
That's what she does.
That's the whole cheer.
She does this.
She does this for Misaki.
Misaki watches her do this and just doesn't react and then immediately changes the subject.
It's so funny.
Okay.
I made the note that she's so athletic whether she couldn't even throw a Hottaru.
Hottaru.
No.
Hikaru.
Yes.
Into the layer.
Like what if her chair was too far and like she was through and she was like, you want
to make it far enough?
Oh my God.
That should be an outtake.
That's so funny.
I made a note, she's, I mean, essentially this episode, you know, we discuss, oh, she
doesn't, basically she's never cared about something enough to get frustrated by any
kind of difficulties.
So that's what we learn.
Yeah.
Like she's never really had an identity around things.
Just cooks.
So that, I mean, like when Tommy was like, doesn't it make you mad and people like talk
shit about how you're not good at this thing that you put a lot of time into?
And she's like, I've never really cared because like I don't really want people to notice
me, but like clearly she does want to forge an identity around Angelic layer.
And like, I feel like that part's pretty good where it's like, actually I want to engage
with the world.
I want to like be involved in a thing and like have it be important to me.
Yeah.
I mean, that is like the through line of this episode, which I think is pretty good.
I bet Hotoko really was excited to just totally demolish Misaki because, you know, she's been
like so disappointed in her.
Like let me freaking teach you a lesson, messy.
Yeah, I mean, like Suzuki doesn't do the normal thing, which is just like rushing
win the fight.
Yeah, she does actually want to have a fight.
She's toying with her because she could definitely end it immediately if she wanted.
She's just trying to fill Misaki's confidence, I guess.
Yeah.
Well, she doesn't want to have a good match.
I mean, this is the thing is like, Hotoko does like Misaki.
It's just like she's kind of disappointed that she hasn't been playing like to her strengths
or like trying to get better.
Right.
Like it's more of a disappointment thing than like an actual mad about something.
So like this whole match is basically like getting her to try her hardest.
And so this way like, Hotoko is being really cool actually and like really nice and like
trying to get very mature.
You are to play your best.
Yeah, it's because Hitoko rules.
It is the best character.
Her doll is the coolest for sure.
Her doll is so cool.
She does all these like when she does like a million kicks.
Yeah.
It's like cool.
The last one she does.
Rolling Thunder is badass.
Yeah, dude.
Okay.
So like Rolling Thunder is like she, she does like that thing where you do like a handstand
and then kick.
Yeah, the momentum.
But it does a huge flash because she does it so quick.
It's cool.
It's awesome.
Dude, Hotoko at the end is where she's stone cold, where she's like, dang, you know, Misaki,
this has been really fun.
I think we should be rivals.
Anyway, the match is almost over.
I'm going to win now with the Rolling Thunder by.
Yes.
It's so funny.
And the bell rings.
You know that Suzu-Ka is going to win because you hear the bells.
Yes.
Oh, so freaking cool.
It's good.
For, okay.
So you know, those, all those chicks here kind of on the sidelines observing.
Oh, the spectators.
Yeah.
Who are from different region.
How far do you think they've traveled to get to this place to watch them?
Is this every weekend they're making this trip to watch?
I mean, it seems like the tournament takes place over like a couple of days, right?
And they're all wearing different uniforms.
So like they come from different places, it seems like, but we don't see them play.
So they're not in this tournament.
So I guess they're not from Tokyo, right?
Because they've already, I guess, competed in whatever one they need to be.
Yeah.
At the beginning they made it sound like, oh, we're going to make Hadoka lose, but like,
I guess not here.
I guess in the con.
Well, they just know she's the best in this area so that she's definitely going to make
it past qualifiers.
Yeah.
They're scouting her out.
Without a doubt.
So that's, that's just foreshadowing.
We're going to fight these.
She's going to fight, we're going to fight these people.
Mm-hmm.
The anime is, if you watch enough of it, it's all very predictable.
I mean, this is just a trope.
This is like, this happens in anything.
Yeah.
This is good writing is basically what it is.
Like, wouldn't it be good if you saw people you were going to see later earlier than when
you addressed them for the first time?
That's good.
Yeah, I said, when she's crying, like, oh, it's about time you understand human emotion.
She hasn't not been understood in human emotion.
You're so mean to these characters.
These characters are great.
Hadoka is the best.
Hadoka and Tamayo are the best characters.
Ichan's cool.
I like, Ichan's cool here.
He's like, again, he's like being her dad.
It's good.
Yes, I made a note once again, playing dad.
Yes, because he like actually cares.
Yeah, I know.
Like, for as much as this show wants you to think like Ichan's this like weird kind of
creepy guy, he's actually extremely cool most of the time and like being a good guy.
You're so good at just seeing right through.
I mean, because he is, because like, she, you know, she's like feeling bad.
Like he finds her first and she's like feeling sad and then she apologizes for losing and
he's like, hey, like this, you know, I'm not, I didn't help you out so you'd win every
match.
Like that's not why I was doing this.
And then he asks her how she's feeling and then she's like, yeah, I actually am really
frustrated.
Like she does actually want to make an identity out of this.
This is like a part of her life that she's going to acknowledge is important.
She doesn't just think that she wins by luck anymore.
This is good.
This is all good stuff.
Yes.
This is all the stuff I never did when I was in things that were competitive because
I just decided I actually didn't care about the thing.
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah.
I like freaking re-entross country for years.
And I was just like, I want just doing this so that I'm in running shape for track, the
thing I actually care about.
Then no one else gives a damn about.
Did you ever have this for like paintball or stuff?
Because you actually did sports stuff like somewhat seriously.
I've never really done anything competitive seriously.
Like, okay.
So in high school I did, well, seventh grade through 11th grade, I did cross country.
And honestly, looking back is like, what the hell's wrong with me?
Why would I do that?
It's awful.
Longest is running terrible.
Oh, because there's never a class for track, the thing I liked because I liked sprinting.
And that was like the one time of the year that I felt confident because there'd be new
people and I knew what I was doing.
So I could like kind of mentor and stuff.
Whereas I like didn't talk to anyone at my school outside of that essentially.
And college, like, because maybe it's because if you're on a team, I mean, I guess you could
either feel like, I guess in my mind is like, oh, I can't be successful because I had to
depend on these other people.
So it's more so just for fun.
Freakin.
Yeah.
It's mostly just for fun to have a group of people to hang out with like, because after
college, and I didn't have those same people to play with, I haven't really played much
since.
So it wasn't necessarily the sport, just more of the like community.
And I'm not competitive and like gaming or anything.
Yeah.
I'm like tipsy.
And then I try to arm wrestle everyone, but other than that.
Okay.
I don't think this is what you're saying.
But that is good to know.
I'll keep that in mind.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I've never really like been competitive in this way where like I wanted to be the best
at a thing.
Like I've had stuff where it's like, I want to do like, I'll just set a benchmark for
it.
Like I want to be able to do this.
And then I get there and I'm like, cool.
I guess I'm done because I don't want to keep going.
Yeah.
I mean, it's yeah, because you've, I feel like pursuits so many different interests,
which I think is cool, like master of all trades or something.
It's more like amateur at all trades.
But it's better than just, you know, not getting any of these things.
But like that's fine.
Like that's never bothered me.
But you know, it is interesting to see like, oh, maybe my life could have been different
if I like ever dedicated myself any of these things.
Yeah.
I mean, most people don't excel past school.
True.
Or maybe you would land me in the hospital because I burned my eyes out playing Angelic
later for too long.
Who knows what is good and what is bad at this point.
That's right.
Yeah.
Good episodes.
I think this is like, I think these were really good episodes.
I mean, I don't love when the protagonist is likeable.
Like, you don't think Misaki is likable?
Just, you know, in these episodes, well, she's learning about sports for the first time.
I guess that's true.
It's forging an identity.
I think this is all really good.
Like coming of age stuff.
I'm just judging, I guess you're critical of like the content of the show and I'm just
critical of the characters.
I guess my fear like where I will turn on the show is how they deal with what's her
shuko.
That's her mom.
Yep.
How they deal with her mom.
If they if it ends up being like, oh, she's great actually.
Isn't it cool how much she likes this?
Isn't Angelic later?
Like if it doesn't do the heel turn I'm expecting, which is like your mom like ruined her whole
life by being obsessed with this this game.
Yeah.
And like she shouldn't like that's what I want it to be.
If it turns out to be the other thing, I'm going to be mad.
That would be what would upset me.
So far for it's technically shonen, but more shojo-esque series compared to other shonen
is kind of exploring more things than typically found in like a sports.
I feel like it's always about it's always a team thing like team camaraderie, but this
is a sport where you're competing individually.
Yeah.
I mean, this is much more about like it's sports as a metaphor of like where you fit
in with the world around you.
And I think that's good.
I think it's like good to have an identity based on stuff that you like.
Yes.
And then we'll see where it goes.
Yeah.
So next time we got 20 more episodes.
Oh dear.
Okay.
10 more of these or 10 more episodes of this of this podcast dedicated to angelic layer.
Yeah.
That'll be forever from now.
It'll be 10 weeks from now.
Yeah.
Take a break at some point.
I mean, at least we're doing it weekly.
That's true.
So we're pretty reliable for scrappy beginning podcast.
Well, we like we like the angelic layer this week.
So why don't we give the people some other stuff that we think they should check out that
we also like.
Sarah, what do you have to recommend to the people?
All right.
For today, I'm going to recommend a web comic also typically known as Manhwa.
I think it's like Korean manga basically, but it's typically in color.
And yeah, it's like a wider range of different illustration styles because anyone can essentially
make one and upload it.
So I use this app called webtoon and last night I found a new one that was recently released
by that was really cute.
It's called a spell for a Smith and it's there's only it just came out.
So there's only a few chapters, but it's cool because they're two protagonists one.
I mean, typical like, oh, there she's an outcast and everyone's so mean to her.
But so it's like some dudes gonna, you know, see her differently and stand up for blah,
blah, blah, blah, but the dude's like a dwarf any shorter than her, which is like something
we don't see typically.
So it's cool to, you know, there's like fantasy elements, but also kind of making a typically
side character fantasy race as one of the main characters and depicting them as someone
desirable.
I guess it's a cool thing that I haven't really seen before because everybody's swimming
over a leg a lot and not Gimli, you know, so it's just cute.
It's just recently started, but other if you want to watch a more like long, like a complete
series, there's one called Unholy Blood, which is kind of about the empires and stuff.
And it's gorgeous and highly recommend also available on the app webtoon.
How about you Joe?
What have you got for us?
So we did not we did not coordinate this, but I am also recommending a webcomic.
Ah, well, it doesn't matter just whatever we want to recommend.
It's just incidental that we're both going to load up on the webcomic.
This is a webcomic called Harpy G. That is Harpy like the mythical thing and then G, which
is G E.
This is a comic that's been running for a long time, but it's about Nelth who comes
to this small town.
She's like just let out of her the place where she comes like her kingdom for the first time.
And she like makes some friends with some of the people there and she's like a bunch
of different adventures they have.
There's like magical elements.
It's really like pretty to look at like it looks really nice.
I'm looking at images.
Yeah, it's super cute and distinct art style.
Yeah, but this webcomic has been going on for a long time.
It's really beautiful like the way that it's drawn is really nice.
The plot lines are very good.
It's kind of like in that like adventure story fantasy, but like still kind of for kids like
this could be on like Nickelodeon.
So it's like very you know, it's heartwarming in places.
It's very cute.
It's very funny in places.
And yeah, it's just like a really nice way to spend some time.
If you've ever have some time and you don't know what to read, I would check out Harpy
G.
Do you just read it directly on the website?
Yeah, I think it's like it's I think it's also posted on web tunes, but like you can
just go to harpyg.com.
It's all out there.
Okay, so check those out as you're just dying of anticipation of the next show Joe episode
coming out next week.
If you like the show, please rate it five stars on whatever, you know, an Apple podcast or
on Spotify.
If you leave a comment on Apple podcasts, I will read it out.
If it's five stars, only if it's five stars.
Yeah, so make it clear you can rate it, but review is where you have to write something
else specifically and that super helps.
So write those if you can.
Here is here is a comment or here is a here is a review by I don't know how to say this
OZ JJTX.
Sarah and Joe made my intro and experience to anime so fun.
Their goofball conversations were very informative that I cannot wait for the next episode to
drop.
Thank you so much.
JJTX another parental in my life.
Leaving a comment.
It's my stepdad.
None of my parents are leaving reviews.
Let's go and have them talk with them.
Freaking guilt trip them.
Guilt trip them.
If I can get my grandma to do it, then surely your parents can.
I know my sister has been listening and she's like, well, I've never heard Joe talk so
much.
And I'm like, yeah, well, I'm like twice.
I've been talking to people in my family, maybe like my cousins were like saying that
they listen to this.
I'm like, dang, I've never heard Joe like be excited about anything.
I'm like, I feel like that's all I know is that you're always very.
Stoic.
Like genuine.
No.
Like genuinely, I guess because we just talk about these things that we're both into.
But and I guess I could imagine you a family function with nothing in common with the people
around you, maybe being a little more reserved.
But no, you're always very like excitedly talking about things.
But yeah, I mean, that's, you know, here I am doing a freaking podcast and doing streaming
and stuff when I am a, you know, hermit and I work in social media.
I do all these social things that are so different from how I envisioned my life.
Because when I was a kid, I envisioned me with like a bunch of books and cats and that
was my future.
So I do have a lot of books and a cat.
Right.
You're most of the way there.
And a few extra critters.
And alone.
So, boom, all the things are, I guess I did.
So you've made it.
You've lived up to your expectations.
Yeah.
Anything from here is just a bonus.
Oh boy.
All right.
So next time we'll be watching episodes seven and eight.
Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next week.
Believe in yourself, Andy Karo.
Yeah.
Believe it.
Darto.
That's a different show.
All right.
On behalf of all of you there.