You know, normally I hate dense characters who cannot read a situation at all. It’s not news that critical thinking skills are not taught in schools, but dang, Nishikata is dense. However, I don’t hate him for it.

A few weeks ago, I highlighted how refreshing this show is, and yet again, I have to. I LOVE this show. The reason why I cannot hate Nishikata, is that for once, the main character of a series is not some over-confident asshole or super OP MC. Rather, Nishikata is a bit slow on the upswing, misses every cue from Takagi-san, and the best part is that he is so earnest in everything. He tries so hard and it always, adorably, blows up in his face. The irony is though that it forces him to think about everything. However it leaves him in a loop of self-doubt, and swing, miss, repeat.

Takagi-san’s jokes are getting better and better each week and the tandem riding moment about her father had to be the best this far. Takagi likes Nishikata and has dropped numerous hints while Nishikata seemed crestfallen in episode 1 that his name was not on her eraser, but then, seems to show glints of feelings for her while being angry about her teasing him. Hey, at least he managed to pick up pushups. Hopefully he’ll get a nice chest and shoulders to show off to Takagi-san soon.

Last week, Mei’s father was introduced at the end of episode 5 of Citrus. This week’s episode picked up where the last one left off and we learn a little (or maybe it’s “a lot”) about Mei and why she’s got a stick up her butt. Mei’s father had apparently wanted Mei to find her true happiness by getting away from their family and all of the expectations that come with them. That’s what he did, and while he urged Mei to go with him, Mei rejected her father and wanted her father to go back to being a rigid individual who was strict with her. Mei wanted nothing more than to be put in that box that her family put her in. After finally reconciling with her father and coming to terms with how much he wanted her to find her happiness, Mei chose to stick with the same dream, but this time, it was her choice.

This entire episode really irks me. From the beginning, I can see why Mei wishes to be stuck in the box that she grew up in. It’s easier to work towards matching the expectations placed upon you rather than putting any thought towards what you want in your future. It stucks that Mei put that wall between her and her father because she failed to understand why he wanted to leave. However, it pissed me off to see that Mei ultimately “chose” to go back into that same box that she was forced into and her choosing is supposed to make it OK. Like, Mei didn’t even try to get out from under her family’s influence to see what exactly made her happy. While some may say that that is just what makes her happy, I would argue that of course it does; Mei has been miserable this whole time doing the exact same thing that she chose so it makes sense that her choosing the safe path that she was always on would make her happy. If you didn’t catch the sarcasm, try again. So yeah, I am pretty irked by the lessons that this episode of Citrus taught and I just cannot back it up in anyway.

Dragon Ball has always been about great fights, sometimes with short arcs and cool enemies, but mostly with a huge menace looming around and a huge number of episodes to develop this enemies. Remember Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa? It was great to finally meet some warriors from the same doomed planet Goku was. Cell came after, and then we discovered the androids, with a really cool arc that ended with Gohan’s time to shine. And Majin Buu? Well, the part where Hercule was the only one to really understand him was fun —yet Buu transformed people into chocolate and proceeded to eat them— but Vegeta’s sacrifice was epic. Kid Buu was just awesome, and we saw Gotenks, Goku SSJ3, Vegetto. And let’s not forget Frieza!! The best villain ever, still kicking ass in Dragon Ball Super.

When Black Goku was presented, a lot of fans hated the idea, saying it was a stupid character and just a gimmick for a “bad Goku”. However, Zamasu’s arc has a point when you binge it, even though the final scenes are really forgettable. So, why am I recapping this? Because now we know Jiren’s backstory… and it’s as lame as you can imagine. No, he’s not a god, he has no weird intentions and he’s not even a real villain; he’s just a troubled guy who lost it all and made his own rules through power. Basically, he’s just powerful because all his friends and family died, and thus he trained to become the most powerful warrior and defeating some random guy in revenge. Lame plot is lame! And the worst part is that this revelation lowers 17’s sacrifice moment: Vegeta is the “anti-Toppo” because he doesn’t want to forget his loved ones, and 17 is the anti-Jiren because… he has common sense.

Defending your universe and your own existence is a fair enough reason to stand up, but traveling the world on a cruise looks like a more interesting idea than what Jiren supposedly would do with the Dragon Balls...

Plantations 13 and 26 are “kissing” which is basically an exchange of magma fuel between the two and it’s a huge event in which the franxx pilots are treated like royal knights. Kyouryuu are expected to be attracted to this event and so the Franxx from both plantations must remain on guard. While getting to know the kids from 26, it’s pointed out how different the kids from 13 are from all the other children; their Franxx are all different and they even use nicknames instead of codes. Not only that, but Hiro is apparently famous among other children.

Seeing as how these visitors know everything and are so experienced, Zorome decides to take their offer to answer any questions they might have; “Have any children from your squad become adults?”. With a confused look on his face, the leader of 26 wonders aloud what Zorome could mean by that, and then one of his teammates whispers to him “He probably doesn’t know”. WHAT!!??? What do you mean? What don’t they know!? What don’t WE know??
He then goes on to say that no, none have become adults in their squad, nor has he heard rumours… What the heck is going on?! We knew something was fishy from the beginning when Hiro’s partner leaves and it seems like she’s going to her death, but now it seems as though the children never get to grow up. And why are they children from 13 the only ones not to know!?

This moment made me love Darling in the Franxx even more, can’t wait to find out what horrors are truly taking place...