Shin Samurai-den Yaiba \u2013 02<\/strong><\/p>\n Until coverage gets sorted out the whole Saturday-Monday (Japan time) period is looking absolutely crazy this season, so there are going to be some short check-ins. As to Yaiba<\/em>, the second episode was\u2026 interesting. It went a good deal darker than I was expecting frankly, bearing in mind that I knew almost nothing about the story going in. I won\u2019t say I loved it, but unpredictable is a positive at this point in a series.<\/p>\n My first thought, actually, is that Yaiba is kind of an A-hole. I mean he shoots an arrow at Onimaru\u2019s fac<\/a>e, tried to crush him under a pile of lockers, and eventually bites him on the head. That was a little off-putting,\u00a0 but then when Grandma scolded him over cheating at least you see that this behavior isn\u2019t totally being encouraged. Onimaru was pretty much the victim here, but events at the end of the episode obviously change his role in the story pretty significantly.<\/p>\n I was getting Ranma<\/em> vibes after the premiere, but \u2013 not that Ranma<\/em> can\u2019t go sort of dark \u2013 Yaiba<\/em> definitely took things in a different direction. You have to figure a guy named Onimaru in this sort of story will have some oni connections<\/a>, but that all happened a lot faster than I expected. I thought we might get more of a shounen fated rival frenemy thing, but I\u2019m not so sure on that now. Of course oni aren\u2019t evil in every story, and I\u2019m not convinced that\u2019s where things are headed with Onimaru. I\u2019m curious enough to stick for a while I think, especially with Wit\u2019s production underpinning everything.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Witch Watch \u2013 02<\/strong><\/p>\n Two eps in, and I\u2019m still liking Witch Watch<\/em>. More than the manga, anyway. You know Enzo\u2019s Hippocratic Oath of comedy \u2013 first, be funny. And so far this show is funny. It\u2019s nothing particularly deep or substantial, but the gags are mostly working and the characters are pretty likeable. Given where my expectations were going in, it\u2019s an overperformance so far.<\/p>\n Little stuff is making me giggle. Like Moi having an \u201cONIons\u201d mug. The big set pieces are making me LOL, like the whole sequence with the closeted otaku teacher<\/a> and Nico\u2019s disastrous homeroom spell run. That sensei got off a bunch of good one-liners, but the Gon-san bit<\/a> (where the two gags converged) was the pinnacle. Especially when she said \u201cNever mind, I like Kurapika the best anyway\u201d (she worked in a Kimetsu line when another spell went awry). And then we had poor Moi pretending to be a chuuni because that was (in his mind) less of a social disaster than revealing that Nico was a witch.<\/p>\n Notable in character terms is that no matter how much she embarrasses or inconveniences him, Moi is always putting Nico first. He\u2019s almost too perfect, this guy. It\u2019s understandable that he has a dim view of society given his childhood, but the joke is kind of on Moi. Turns out his classmates are pretty much cool with everything. And that\u2019s very much a Shinohara Kenta thing. There are jerks out there, but for the most part people in his series are basically good \u2013 as long as they\u2019re kids. It\u2019s the adults you need to watch out for.<\/p>\n So yeah, so far this is definitely fun. There are so many bubble babies out there this season that I can\u2019t commit to covering anything but the core four at this point, but Witch Watch<\/em> is certainly in the mix. It won\u2019t be hard coming up with choices for the Patron Pick ballot, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Shoushimin Series 2nd Season \u2013 02<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not the highest bar ever, but I think the first two eps of Shoushimin Series 2<\/em> would rank among the top quarter or so of the first season. Pretty decent in other words \u2013 a little more interesting anyway, and less sleep-inducing. Also, the new OP kind of slaps \u2013 I really like it. Is that enough to blog on? Again, with half the schedule seemingly headed for the bubble, who knows.<\/p>\n
![\"Facebook\"](\"https:\/\/lostinanime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Yaiba-02-02.jpg\" "\\"Share")
<\/a>