citrus is slightly odd anime for me. It’s like… such good quality art–let’s be honest, it’s a lot better than other ecchi/smut anime we have had for a couple of seasons–balanced with random yuri makeout scenes. Though I cannot lie, I did have this pinned for a homerun somewhere around episode 3 and am kind of surprised that it has not hit it… yet.

Anywho, Yuzu is mad at her new grandfather and goes to confront him, but finds him on the floor in cardiac arrest. After saving his life, he has a change of heart (saw that coming) and lets her come back to school. Later, Mei is getting tired of Yuzu as the gaudy girl she is, and tells her that she only kissed her to get her to shut up. Mei eats those words later when Yuzu kisses her to shut her up over her complaining about Yuzu’s possession of a yuri sister manga.

Oddly, I find this series refreshing. I think it is because unlike with Skirt no Naka and Netsuzou TRap -NTR-, we are actually getting a plot. Though, it could just be me bitter over how Oshiete! Galko-chan was not a full anime nor have we gotten another season thus leading to me wanting every gyaru I see to be like her. But, who knows really? While I do love a trashy Yuri anime, this is giving me enough story to keep watching and enjoying the trashy aspect. It’s also amusing to see Japanese otaku screaming from the rooftops about how all-girls high schools just create lesbians. Because… that’s how sexuality works.

My hot moment of the week involves the 3rd episode of Sora yori mo Tooi Basho, which has surprised me by being quite interesting despite being one of a million slice of life this season. In episode 3, we are introduced to another new character to join the group, Shiraishi Yuki. Yuki is a young idol who has been chosen to go on the Antarctica expedition for a publicity stunt and she is expected to perform there. Yuki wants no part of this and asks our ragabond group of explorers to go. While they are eager to jump at the chance, Yuki’s manager and mother continues to urge Yuki to go on this trip.

However, it’s why Yuki doesn’t want to go that’s the most important part. She has devoted her entire life to the career that she didn’t really choose for herself. At first, it was OK that she couldn’t make friends, but as Yuki got older, it became harder. Essentially, Yuki has spent her whole life without friends and living alone in the spotlight. Now, friendship is all about who you know and Yuki is more of a status symbol or an accessory than a real friend, which has left her saddened.

I think this is so great as it really shows how much Sora yori mo Tooi Basho is about friendship and connecting with like minded individuals. It hadn’t actually occured to me until this episode that they were all bonding over the same desire, even when they had nothing in common before. And Yuki is the perfect finishing piece as she is the one who wants friendship most of all.

So this is a new futuristic anime with mecha pilots, blah blah, but we’re here to talk about one thing: “connection”. Nobody told me Darling in the FranXX was an ecchi anime, but you don’t have to be an innuendo expert to notice that. Girls are beautiful, suits are really tight… normal, right? There’s nothing wrong with girls changing clothes or showing some skin here and there, but codename Zero Two is an expert teaser. In terms of this anime, she’s a mysterious girl with eccentric behavior and an over the top talent, but almost every scene with her has some sexy implications. Again, we’ve seen this many times. So, let’s go back to “connection”, shall we? Every mecha needs 2 pilots, a girl and a boy, the girls being some sort of representation of the robot while the boys are the ones giving orders. But are they in a cabin or a control room? Nah, that was in the 80s! This is modern technology, everyone, so the girl just lays there, butt up, while the male pilot gets from behind grabbing some joysticks like someone grabs his partner’s hips during sex. The girls even moan a little when their partners engage! Oh, but don’t you dare to think there’s no plot: Hiro, the main character, is just a nobody that happens to have the skills of a legendary pilot; the thing is he doesn’t remember himself piloting with Zero Two or even being good at it, so the 2 female protagonists (being Zero Two and Ichigo) need to compete with each other and “make Hiro unlock his true powers”. If you go further with the dialogues, this is like 2 girls competing to make the best of a virgin guy, really… For the mecha to work, both pilots need a special connection… like a kiss, so at least this involves true feelings? Look, this was one of the best moments this week, and you need to check it out.

In the third episode of Grancrest Senki, Siluca continues her self-appointed job to make Theo powerful and help him rule the land and acquire as many crests as possible. Priscilla, a priestess from the Order of the Crest, shows up to declare her support for Theo, as she considers his battle a benevolent one against the evil Chaos.
Siluca has her doubts since it’s rumored that Priscilla is confiscating crests; but Theo convinces her to let Priscilla and her companions in.
Suddenly, there’s a fire in town and Theo, Siluca, and Priscilla all go out to see what happened. A large fire monster shows up and Siluca attacks it with a water spell while Priscilla helps the injured.

Unfortunately, Siluca’s attack backfires and there’s a huge explosion that knocks her out, but Theo is able to stand and protect the people.
Meanwhile, the King of Sevis declares war on Theo and friends as he considers himself the lord of all the territories. Having faith that the free Lords will side with them, Siluca orders to contact them. Confidently, they get ready to go to war, even though they know they don’t have the numbers Savis has. And the night before the battle, the people show up. All the villagers they’ve helped and supported so far come and, after a moving speech from Theo and being emblazoned with his patriot flag’s symbol, they pledge their allegiance and their gratitude to Lord Theo Cornaro.

And then, it happens. Theo and all his new allies go to war and even with their smaller numbers, their brilliant tactics, pure passion and amazing talent for battle manage to defeat most of their enemies. Once the King gets even more serious, the three free Lords show up and declare their alliance with Lord Theo, sending the King of Savis home with his tail between his legs and a decimated army. It was a satisfying victory for our heroes! Looking forward to how this all unfolds!