Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de – 02-03
Me watching episode three.
Welcome back to Real Chuuni: The Animation. This week I bring a double episode special.
Meh
Lovey-dovey mode activated!
Let me get this out of the way. InoBato is kind of all over the place for me right now. The premiere was rather enjoyable if nothing special. And the second episode was hilarious thanks to Mirei’s misunderstanding. Heck, even the heavier bits of the second episode with Jurai setting things straight with her were done quite well. I’m glad the show didn’t just shrug off the misunderstanding as a complete joke or drag it out super dramatically. But then comes along the third episode and I admit I legitimately dozed off a few times. I know it doesn’t help that I am perpetually sleep-deprived. But that shouldn’t stop an engaging show from holding my attention and keeping me awake.
What Now?
You’re saying you don’t like me?!!
The way I see it, InoBato is indeed setting up for a more serious overarching plot of some kind. Obviously, it will still have the jokes and gags mixed in. But everything isn’t nearly as fun and games as I figured the show would be. Now, I am of course receptive to real story telling as opposed to simple comedy. But the problem is that the story that InoBato is trying to steer us towards doesn’t particularly click with me. I can’t help but roll my eyes when the girls talk about how great a guy Jurai is for helping them accept their powers and for unconsciously doing good deeds here and there. I agree Jurai is a good person. But he sure as hell ain’t no saint. All of those anecdotes just put him on a pedestal that I don’t care for.
Rikka would be proud.
Besides Jurai, the third episode also features a new character, Hajime. Tomoyo’s half-brother, I’m going to go ahead and assume that he was the guy standing upside down on the tree in the premiere. Which changes things a bit, because I doubt he’s a real villain. Instead, maybe he’s sending other kids with abilities against the Literature club to test their control over their powers. And to perhaps help get all of them to befriend each other so that they don’t have to struggle with their new lives alone, as happened with Mirei. If that is the case, I guess that makes him a rather stand-up guy who is just looking out for others like himself from the shadows. Which makes him a much more interesting fellow to me than Jurai.
I don’t have too much to say because episode two was mainly one big joke that eventually deflated once the mood took a serious turn. And most of episode three consisted of SoL elements mixed with a bunch of Jurai praising and reminiscing that I didn’t much care for. Hopefully the show will become more consistently interesting soon, because it’s kind of a rough ride right now.
Next week: skylion’s episode.
About Sumairii
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Three posts in a row… This calls for a C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You get S-Rank style points!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 140 comments
Geez, they talk him up so much you would think he is a protagonist in a light novel…
I feel you on this one, in that I’m not sure how to feel. Inou is in a shaky spot for me; while I don’t dislike the content and the tropes, something feels off. Maybe I got caught in the hype and was expecting Trigger to buck the trends of the genre? I get annoyed by the super Chuni reactions, but that is his character. I’m going to keep watching this, but it feels a little strange every episode.
P.S. I like having a Chuni MC than one with an annoying as hell Martyr complex.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
After a chore it was watching the first episode thanks to an otherwise irritating, over the top lead, I was and still am hesitant to continue beyond it. After reading the happenings on the post, I’m now less motivated and thinking I should cut my losses and leave this series right here. A shame entering this line of thought since is the studio footing the bill. From some of the pictures, Andou appears to have gotten worse instead of better, which is a bad sign. Plus the story sounds shaky and falling apart as it progresses. InoBato is likely the first series I’ll drop this season.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I have to agree, the show is a bit acchi kocchi in terms of character and general plot. Third episode is not the place to leave the viewer doubting…
But, luckily a LOLi will save the day next time around!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I was really interested in what the show was doing after episode 2, because it wasn’t really giving any hints. And then in episode three it still didn’t give any hints. I really liked episode 2’s execution, and really liked that uncertainty that I had for a long time whether Mirei was sincere about going out with Jurai (or whether she had some ulterior motive). I thought that was handled really well, and that made it a lot of fun. And then when she was sincere about it, the way he handled trying to let her down as easy as he could was pretty good too, because it still was sincere about the pain that it caused.
I thought it was an interesting look at the idea of pairing up. Mirei wasn’t really ‘in love’ with Jurai. But what she came to like was the having a boyfriend, the being in a relationship part of being in a relationship. Yeah, she went pretty darn fast in it, but that’s her personality. Even if Jurai hadn’t broken it off, it’s likely that she’d have realized eventually that they weren’t in love, and that they shouldn’t go out. But she also could have been hurt a lot more if she had fallen in love. So I thought it was all done very nicely.
But episode three just didn’t keep up to that standard, and was back to episode one’s “what’s really the point here” feeling. I hope there are more of episode 2s in the future.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Just a reminder that EP2 is anime original content I believe. We are now back to the LN/manga materials (or at least part of the manga anyway).
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, at least Trigger got good writers. Episode 2 is the best one so far, although Episode 4 wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, episodes 1 and 3 were aimless and not very interesting. If they’re what the manga is like, that’s not going to get me to read it. I want to read something done by the guy who did Ep 2.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I have to agree, it’s concerning that the best episode so far is anime original…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about this show, but for now will keep watching, hoping Trigger has something great in store for us. In Ep. 2 & 3 I found Jurai’s character less annoying than in Ep. 1. If not for that, I would have dropped it. In Ep. 2 we learn that he is a good person when he corrects Mirei’s misunderstanding.
Speaking of Mirei, I hope we see more of her. She has the potential to be a good character and with her power would be a good ally to have in a battle should the series go in the action direction. It’d be pretty useful to have someone who could steal the enemy’s super power.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Spammy strikes again.