Interesting...
At a guess, the series is shifting the focus away from the group and their performances and such and toward their everyday lives, starting with Rei and ending with Urumin.
Though that's also wishful thinking.
Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be only wishful thinking...
Hm.
Unfortunately, the strongest impression I got from this episode - the thing that most stood out to me - is that Minato's actually kind of a dick, and I really don't like him. At all.
Other than that, it was okay, but pretty much every time he appeared onscreen, it ruined it for me.
Definitely The Apothecary Diaries for me. In addition to all of the terrific elements of the series, Maomao is a detective to rival Holmes or Poirot.
Others that I just can't pass up mentioning:
Yeah - this is a gem. I mostly expected it, since the manga is, but adaptations fail sometimes. Doesn't look like this one will though.
And the OP is adorable.
I likely switched the names - for some reason I had it in my head that the original had the single syllable and the copy had the extra added syllable.
And yes.
Nao has one very good opportunity - she can continue to exist full time rather than being subject to Sunao's petulant whims. If that were to happen (by whatever chance), Nao would be free.
But if that were to happen, Sunao would be pretty much screwed - she can't compete and her spirit would likely be terminally crushed. So I assume that's relatively unlikely.
A quick side note in all of this - in poking around yesterday to try to learn more about this, I discovered that the original is a light novel, and it won the Dengeki Novel Grand Prize for its year of publication.
Hmmm... yeah. This has promise. Thanks for sharing it.
I'm hoping, but it'll be difficult.
Nao is definitely not headed toward a happy ending, and that regardless of any other factors. She's just miserable and determined to make herself even more miserable.
Sunao could find a happy ending if she had the chance, but as things stand, she isn't going to get that chance.
But still, I'm hoping, at least for now.
I'm calling it right now - this is the diamond in the rough for this season. Unless it flounders badly, it's going to be interesting and compelling, and if it keeps up the quality and storytelling it's shown so far, it's going to be excellent.
Great episode. I'm really enjoying this.
I love Ore's stories and how ridiculously over-the-top they are, and the Goddess's running drily sarcastic commentary.
The fourth wall break when they reused the footage of the reincarnation door was especially amusing.
And I do believe there's even a bit of romance in the offing, bizarre though that might seem.
All that said, I really think that whoever was responsible for that localized title needs to be fired. And blacklisted.
Thanks for the response.
This was actually my pick for my favorite ongoing series last year, but it just hasn't generated the same kind of buzz as things like Houkago Kitakyu Biyori or Damedol.
Not that I don't like the others - I just like this one more. Waku and Oura are both very well conceived and executed, and relatively unique, characters, and the way things are unfolding between them is just about perfect.
That was excellent.
This series has really been very impressive. It's not breaking terribly new ground, but it's been solid all the way through - one of those that isn't a 10 in anything, but is at least an 8 in everything. Every bit of it - the characters, the story, the dialogue, the worldbuilding, the music, the art design, the animation - is at least above average. And at this point, it's probably the one I most look forward to each week.
And as has been the case for the last few episodes, Nightingale was a highlight of the episode, and not just in her pivotal role earlier in it. I really enjoyed the later scene, just because I so thoroughly enjoy her relationship with Roland. There might be romance in the offing, but I sort of doubt it - I think Anna's already stolen that spot. The thing that makes Roland and Nightingale's relationship so special is that they're so relaxed with each other. In fact, she's the only person I've seen Roland entirely relax around. And it's just a pleasure to see.
Shame there's only one more episode. I want to see much MUCH more of this.
Still enjoying this.
The setup is actually sort of simple - both Bertia and Heronia are too focused on playing their assigned roles the way they're "supposed" to be played, so they try awkwardly to force that, and the result is they sort of suck at it. And that gives Bertia the advantage, because sucking at being the villainess is cute, while sucking at being the heroine is just sort of tedious.
Sooner or later, something has to give, and it'll be interesting to see how that happens and how it plays out.
Joanna's a great addition to the cast. I like that Cecil recognizes (and says outright) that her personality is similar to his, so he trusts that she'll effectively protect Bertia. And he's right on both counts.