The North remembers.

In the universe of Game of Thrones, scenes’ before the opening theme are constant for the first episode of every season. For example, two great scenes that come to mind are the three Night’s Watchmen hunted down by White Walkers in season one or Tywin Lannister melting down house Stark’s sword Ice for Jamie and Geoffrey, season four. On the other hand, the opening scene of season is just plain horrific but awesome at the same time. Nothing is more satisfying then watching all the men of House Frey choke on their own blood after being reminded of the Red Wedding. It was an absolute grand-slam and took off perfectly from where we last saw Aryain season 6.

The North remembers.

Right after the credits we get a quick reminder of the army of the dead, and with more bad news; Giant white walkers. But thankfully we are intercepted by Bran warding into one of them which seems like a very useful ability (what’s next dragon’s or an ice dragon?). He is now with
the Watchers on the Wall and back in the mix, hopefully heading for Winterfell where he can inform Jon he is a Targaryan (This will be hype! I wonder if he can be burnt by fire!). Bran’s story has taken a back seat to other prevalent Starks but it’s nice to see him in the mix, demonstrating his power.

Most importantly, this episode, we get a steady dosage of Jon Snow. He is right where he left off in the great dining hall of Winterfell pardoning the remaining kin of the Carstarks and the Umbers making the North a larger, more united force. But taking two steps back is Sansa, questioning Jon in front of all of his followers, telling him to reward loyalty and punish traitors. Jon obviously is right, not punishing children for their father’s crimes (referring to himself as the mistake of Ned, which he’s not). After the meeting in the dining hall, we see a quick glimpse of Sansa’s transformation into a Cersei, talking as if she admired her cunning, murderous tactics (Jon’s words, not mine). But I do think that Sansa will stray away from this dark path of ruthlessness with so many great, and admiral characters surrounding her  (Sir Davos, Brienne, Jon and Lady Mormot). Hopefully she can avoid Little Finger and still keep the Knights of the Vale in tact at the same time (might be impossible). What I could see happening is Little Finger forcing Sansa’s hand in marriage to keep the Vale in the fold, but the other Starks (Jon and Arya) won’t take easy to that.

Next, we have psycho Cersei and her sane, lover brother Jaime. I still can’t forgive him for pushing Bran from the tower but I am starting to come around. The disapproving way he has been looking at Cersei dating back to last season says it all. From confronting her about
Tommen’s suicide, to questioning her about the enemies created (Targaryans, Tyrells, Starks, Dornish, and Half the Iron Borne) and the lifeless dynasty they will continue. He keeps his position with Cersei discussing what allies they have left but Jaime is clearly becoming distant and realizing the extent of his lover/sister’s delusion. I forecast a remake of the tale of “The King Slayer” retitled “The Queen Slayer”. In the mean time, the diabolical Yuron Greyjoy, the new king of the Iron Islands rekindles the bond between the Lannisters to move him into a prime position to become King of The Seven (three at this point) Kingdoms. He is presented as a lot more cunning and rounded character kissing up to the Queen and promising her a gift, whether that be Tyrion, and/or a thousand ship armada. What will be interested is how Jaime responds to a marriage between them, because Cersei and Yuron have a demonistic chemistry. She even abides by him making hand jokes and death threats (killing his brother, telling her to do the same). This was a fantastic scene all the while, and it really shows if Cersei get’s close to Yuron and isolates Jamie she will create yet another enemy.

We then get to a short snippet of Samwell Tally’s horrific, grotesque life as a server at the Citadel preparing to become the maester of Castle Black. There is a massive scene which shows him preparing food, cleaning and handling old people plumbing. What’s intriguing is the un-thrones like comedic cut between him doing his daily work; It’s funny and it’s not a bad idea to lighten the tone up because Tyrion used to be the comedy for us in the earlier seasons. Samwell helps the archmaester with the dissection of a corpse where he confirms his thoughts of the White Walkers. What was kind of cheap for me was his simple way of finding dragon glass through a book in the restricted section. It seemed too easy for Game of Thrones, like something you would see Hermione Granger find in the “restricted section”. Hopefully there is more too this but it was kind of stale and forced

Oh wait, Ed Sheeran? I didn’t see it coming, and I thought it was weird but acceptable. It was obviously him having an in with the producers and wanting a cameo role, but he has pure, angelic voice and creates a sympathetic feeling for the Lannister troops that brings out the non-assassin in Arya. She tells them she’s on her way to kings landing to “kill the queen” and it’s not taking seriously which shows how dangerous she has become. But what I see from this is season two when Mellisandre said there is a darkness in her. This darkness has come to fruition and it will be interesting to see how this is received by the remaining Starks. Besides the randomness of Ed Sheeran, I thought this really grounded Arya.

Sandor Clegane and the brotherhood without banners are now at a place he would rather not be; an old victim’s house where Clegane took their silver and resources. They find the father and daughter dead, holding each other. This almost creates an epiphany for the character, asking why the child dies, and fellow brother Beric Dondarion should be brought back. Then the flames get him, showing him the army of the dead and the reality of the larger issue at hand. I think we will see a more compliant hound the rest of this season. I’ve loved this character from the beginning and his arch is getting much broader for the better. I predict a positive change in attitude for the hound.

Finally, the Queen of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, Denarys Stormborn is finally home. From season one this is the only thing she has wanted. But now, she has an army of unsullied, the Dothraki and there gigantic Dragons. The final scene of her tearing down the Baratheon banner and taking her spot among her ancestors war table was breathtaking. It was a long, drawn out scene but the character deserves this and it has been a long time waiting. Fire and blood seem to be the strongest motto of any house right now, and it will for sure be enforced upon the Lannisters. My prediction although is that she won’t penetrate King’s Landing because of Cersei’s ruthlessness and George R.R Martin curveball tendency. Whit I think everyone is looking forward to is the meeting with Jon Snow that will eventually happen. It will be interesting if she commands him to bend the knee (he better not, he’s the rightful heir of the Taragaryan house and not a usurper like Daenarys)! This episode was a great starting block for the season while still providing notable and exciting action.

Rest in peace, watermelon.

The latest episodes in ‘Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid’ were very interesting to watch.

One was definitely a fanservice episode, and heck, even the producers know that! Episode 7’s title contains the phrase ‘The Fanservice Episode, Obviously’, so that cracked me up.

Episode 7 focuses on the elements of anime that will appeal to any nerd out there. By that, of course I mean bathing suits and comic conventions! Cue the beach episode!

Tohru and company decide to go swimming for the day. Kanna’s adorable as always, while Lucoa doesn’t realize just how sexual she is toward a small boy.

Like, really? You think wearing a very sexy swimsuit in front of a lot of kids on a beach is okay? And why do you insist on torturing Shouta with your breasts? It’s obvious that he’s tempted, but stop trying to seduce small children.

Of course, they’re dragons, so hilarious antics ensue. Tohru and Kanna get carried away in a swimming race, making water splash up everywhere. Also, a crab and watermelon are murdered. RIP.

However, one aspect that I thought was a nice touch was the backstory we got for Tohru. It wasn’t much, but Tohru and Kobayashi have a deep and meaningful conversation about their family’s lives, as well as how humans and dragons are different from one another. Fanservice episodes usually focus on that alone, but fortunately that’s not the case here.

The second half of Episode 7 focuses on Comiket. Tohru and Kobayashi help Takiya run a booth, and we learn that Fafnir is also participating by attempting to sell powerful curses. Wow, didn’t see thaaaaat coming at all.

Tohru notices otherworldly creatures in their true forms at Comiket, as they reveal that this is a great way to show their true forms. With Kobayashi’s permission, Tohru exposes her wings and tail, appearing to others as if she’s cosplaying as, well, a dragon maid.

Episode 7 was very nice because there were many heartfelt and adorable moments.

Meanwhile, Episode 8 FINALLY introduced the dragon that I keep on mentioning in my reviews. Her name’s Elma, a dragon who is a rival of Tohru’s. Elma accuses Tohru of disrupting the human’s ways and tries to force her to return to the dragon world. This doesn’t succeed, however, as Tohru sends her to an open field and leaves her there.

Unable to get back home, Elma stays in the human world and begins working at Kobayashi’s company. Kobayashi teaches Elma how to use computers and technology so that she can keep her job. Of course, this prompts Tohru to become jealous, smelling the scent of another dragon off Kobayashi like a dog does with a human. I won’t reveal how the episode ends, but it ends in a positive manner for Tohru.

Overall, I really loved these two episodes because they made me feel warm and fuzzy. They appealed to the emotional senses through a heartfelt conversation between Kobayashi and Tohru. Elma is also an innocent sweetheart who only wants to bring harmony to the human and dragon worlds. And I can’t wait to see more of her in the upcoming episodes.

I feel like in these two episodes alone, we learned so much about Tohru and her feelings for Kobayashi. She really wants to understand the human world and will do anything to stay with Kobayashi.

I’ll up my rating to a 4.7. These episodes were both fun, and we finally got the new dragon! Bless.

 

A beach/horror episode? I’m in.

Spoilers ahead.

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I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when the latest episode of ‘Masamune-kun’s Revenge’ started. Great. It’s the stereotypical beach episode that most anime have. Hooray.

But I’ll give Episode 7 the credit that it’s due. It takes several interesting twists that I didn’t see coming.

Masamune convinces Aki to take him and all of their friends to a private villa on an island. Talk about an awesome summer vacation.

However, Yoshino informs Masamune that if he doesn’t make any better progress to win over Aki, she’ll rat him out. This of course freaks Masamune out, and he takes action by declaring in front of all their friends that he and Aki are dating.

He manages to get away with this, as there’s a secretary for the Aki family present at the villa. Midori is an interesting character since she’s so gorgeous, but is constantly being dumped by men.

Anyway, much to her disappointment, Aki decides to fake her relationship in order to please Midori. Meanwhile, Masamune comes up with the elaborate plan of taking his friends to a supposedly haunted building. He asks Yoshino to help him scare Aki so that he can come in and save the day like the good “boyfriend” that he is.

But of course, someone else decides to get involved in the scaring as well. I won’t reveal that here. Needless to say, the plan doesn’t work, well, as planned. Yet thankfully, Masamune’s goal of dating then dumping Aki for realsies is still a secret.

So I think I’ll go ahead and up my rating a bit to a 4.5 out of 5. ‘Masamune-kun’s Revenge’ took an interesting twist on the stereotypical beach episode by adding elements of horror. I also find Midori interesting, and I hope that this episode isn’t the last we see of her. Meanwhile, I’m slowly losing faith in Neko. Because as sweet as she is, she’s still trying to interfere in Masamune’s plan, and I’m going to fight her on that.