Eromanga-sensei 10

….that pause, though…(clip has sound)

Come sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful ship…Here on Yamada’s Isllllllllle! (Just assume the rest of the song is somewhere in those three dots)

Masamune Izumi and Younger Senpai or Harem Times

NOPE!

The show doesn’t forget it’s continuity with the last episode.Elf was pressing the advantage she had with Masamune from their late night walk in the moonlight. But on top of that we had Muramasa coming in to demonstrate that she is the latest catch in the harem round-up. I love the “Emily” gag, as it very much puts the control in Masamune’s corner just after these two had their tiff, that is for sure.  From the get-go Muramasa is just taking the scene from Elf left, right, and center. Yankee is a light insult, I guess, but it’s enough to put Elf into the reactionary zone, which gives the power right back to Muramasa. It’s fair play, and payment right back at Elf for the previous episodes, “leave her with nothing but a bikini” incident, plus other playful yet mild incidents. Heck, even Chris is cracking the whip and getting Elf back into literal game-form – she must hate work that much, I would enjoy working on a game version of anything that I wrote, that became popular. All in all…advantage Muramasa this time for the time being. Even if control was elusive at moments, that just made the end of the show pay off well…

There are a lot of reasons to revisit previous, dead, characters…

I mean, it’s still going to be home turf advantage to Elf, that’s why they saddled her with all the work that she hated to do, she took advantage last time, so it’s appropriate to balance the scales of the harem. But in swinging back to the sempai we basically just get more of the same from her. She’s enamoured of Masamune both on a professional and personal level, she’s a writer because she feels that it’s the only way to find interesting things to read, and that she finds Masamune’s work to be cutting edge enough – only it’s not – to make her consider what her own work really means. I’m a bit put off by that, but I think I’m supposed to be. We already knew these things about her, and they even hang a lampshade on that when Elf and Shidou point out that her entry into the LN contest was a thinly veiled love letter from her to Masamune, and who couldn’t figure that out. I wanted to complain about this, but I think they very much wanted to put the new girl in her own place, with her own sort of reveal, so that it could be a proper parallel to Elf’s.

Has the pecking order been established?

But it terms of harem, this establishes Muramasa credits. She different enough from Elf and Sagiri, and any other element they choose to spoil with in the future. Elf envisions the relationship one way, Muramasa, in another. Sagiri in another still. All three can progress along their own path, and as we’ve seen in many other harems, it’s the route and the characters that fans become enamoured of. It’s never about who is objectively the best girl, but where you find your version of that, and how much you want to argue? For Muramasa, she’s the quieter one, but those still waters run deep. In that, in contrast with Elf, she has her own sense of lively that doesn’t quite match up with her rival, but it would be a mistake to call her not as spirited, even if she prefers to be more reserved. So the end reveal is important, as she has a strong connection to the boy’s past. The fan letter was an interesting approach to an old trope, that being a competition with Sagiri as first girl – and they just nailed that point with Sagiri helping the gang find out that Masamune goes commando; her whole panties schtick become a bit of a character point. If your bring the embarrassment, you have the power. Something which was brought up time and time again this episode. So we might just be Sagiri>Elf>Muramasa as this point? Well I’m still on the Elf-Train….

More Extra Elf and Others….

So who will they feature next episode….

Show ▼

When I was younger, we didn’t have streaming anime, or even the internet itself; by younger, I’m mean, the age of the characters in the show, that would take us to approximately the mid-80s. So we really had to make our own entertainment when we gathered. Sure we could discuss stuff that we liked and that was new to us, but when it came to really getting the crowd going we had gaming; again, no internet connection, and computer games at the time were not as immersive or as crowd friendly – well, two player console – as the were today, generally speaking. By gaming, I mean old school D&D, the pens, the paper, the rule books, the two-liters of Mt. Dew and bags of snacks and the camaraderie. In many respects is was as competitive as it was cooperative. That is what I enjoyed about this episode. These four enjoying themselves with the thing that was still new to them, that they enjoyed. It’s the thing that made them compete, it’s the thing that made them cooperate. Even if it felt a little off balance compared to last episode, my take away is the fun they have with each other. Tropes will always be tropes, after all…

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All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
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18 Responses to “Eromanga-sensei 10”

  1. Di Gi Kazune says:

    I expect the Onii-chan x Imouto-chan end. If not then…

    • zztop says:

      Funnily though, Eromanga’s author wasn’t always about imouto love. His debut work, a battle series called The 13th Alice, failed to move shelves, so he ended up writing Oreimo after a discussion for ideas with his editor. The editor was so moved by the sibling relationship Tsukasa Fushimi wrote that he urged him to keep writing the imouto genre.
      Basically the author realized Fushimi’d found his writing edge.
      http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-05-10/how-oreimo-made-little-sisters-a-big-deal/.115913

      • Di Gi Kazune says:

        brrr…. Sister Princest. That title brings shivers to my body… brrr…

        PS. Aria is the bestest according to a few people.

      • skylion says:

        Yeah, I’ve worked with editors before and found just that exact same sort of push. Writing is a neat little art sometimes…

  2. zztop says:

    I heard that some imouto titles are finding ways to justify the incest going on, especially with the non-blood related angle. IYO, does that help clear up the suspicion around the imouto themes?

    Ex. Mahouka Koukou’s author attempted to justify the Tatsuya-Miyuki incest angle in one latest novel by saying Show ▼

    • skylion says:

      You can’t choose who you fall in love with sometimes, most of the time, any times. I’m in Highway’s camp when it comes to this, and when we were discussing it for the author’s previous work we did cross the particular bridge. It’s a societal norm, yes, but it’s not an axiom. It makes people awkward to think about, yes, but that burden shouldn’t be on the couple, and people need to accept responsibility for their own feelings. That cuts both ways. The author’s previous work covered all those messy bases, and covered them in very messy ways.

      As for here, neither are blood related, not that even matters in my argument. So whatever it they work out, is whatever is the work out. As for having suspicions about them? well, it’s fiction, so that means it’s exploring some ideas.

      So how well is the author approaching these ideas, and how well is he stating them. Same as any other story reall.

      • Highway says:

        Part of me doesn’t like the “Oh, but they’re not blood-related!” dodge because it doesn’t push it in people’s faces enough. Why give those knobs cover? But that’s really not the best plan when it comes to gaining acceptance, is it. 🙂

        • skylion says:

          Spoonful of sugar, and all that? I’ve got no easy answer to this other than that life is a series of progressions made with such compromises…but as you point out, such progress can lead to steps forward, only to follow with regression.

    • Highway says:

      As I have consistently advocated, there is no need for justification for being in love with your sibling. It’s rare, but if it happens, what’s wrong with it? The idea that “Oh, but you could have damaged children!” is a complete red herring. As has been said before, unless there are specific genetic problems, you are just as likely to have a genetically random bad match with someone who isn’t your sibling as someone who is. You don’t get inbreeding effects from one generation. It takes a multi-generational effort of an extremely limited gene pool to do it.

      But even if one stipulates that “Ok, it is off the table for siblings to conceive a child together”, that’s still not justification for a blanket ban or taboo on incestuous relationships. There are so many relationships without children. And so many other relationships where children are not the genetic offspring of both or even either of the parents. Those relationships are all ok, as far as I am concerned.

      What matters is consent. Can two people give consent, and do they do so? If that’s the case, then enjoy whatever relationship you want. Other people’s squick factor shouldn’t be a concern. Those people should keep it to themselves. There’s already not enough love in the world. We don’t need to lock off some more of it for “ewwwww” reasons.

      • sonicsenryaku says:

        Just curious (and this is a legitimate question) how would you feel about a father and a daughter forming a romantic relationship or a father and a grandfather doing the same thing? You see, i think at times it’s very easy to just say, “hey, why should we care about the familial nature of a relationship?” but then we have to look at the fact that humans are societal creatures and there will always be a cutoff point for what we tolerate as normal hence societal norms. Just as you’re arguing that consent is one of the only things that matters when considering the sanctity of a relationship, someone can easily say to you “well, fuck that; if love is so beautiful, we shouldnt care about consent either; a 10 year old should be able to date a 35 year-old without any issues whatsoever. Who are we to tell the 10 year old that he or she does not have the ability to judge for themselves whether they are ready to deal with a relationship? Someone would be crossing what you consider “inappropriate” and the cycle continues.

        Anyway, my point is that there is always going to be a barometer in which we make standards. While im mostly of the same thinking as you, I wouldnt just say “what’s wrong with it” so nonchalantly as i can understand why there is an argument for there being something wrong with it. This isnt meant to provoke negativity or anything but i would say that you’re underplaying the chances of genetic deformation as a result of incestuous child bearing. We have formed evolutionary behaviors that aim to prevent us from mating with offspring which most likely plays a factor in our predisposition to be repulsed by incestuous relationships. For me, I just feel like if two people are happy and not hurting anybody else, we shouldnt care too much, but i get why most cultures find this to be a taboo.

        • skylion says:

          What matters is consent.

          …thought he had that all covered…

        • Highway says:

          Scientifically, I’m not downplaying the chances. It’s a small increase in the small chance that something would happen. But even with that, like I said, you could tell them “Don’t conceive children together” and still have a fulfilling relationship.

          The argument that you can say that consent doesn’t matter is not a difference in scale. It’s a completely different argument that removes agency from people. You have taken someone making their own decision and changed it to *not* making that decision. That’s completely different. It’s like saying “Well, people are going to die anyway, so let’s murder them, it’ll be ok.” That’s not hyperbolic. It’s exactly the same argument.

          It’s *not* mutual love if one person is not able to give consent. It’s a non-starter argument. We can say that a 10-year old that they don’t have the ability to give consent because historically it’s been well-established that kids don’t have the perspective and analytical ability to understand the consequences of their decisions, which is required for having the ability to consent. Now, you can find an age where the fuzzy gray line covers people who are more able to do so, and some who are less able, and that’s individuality.

          • sonicsenryaku says:

            “We can say that a 10-year old that they don’t have the ability to give consent because historically it’s been well-established that kids don’t have the perspective and analytical ability to understand the consequences of their decisions, which is required for having the ability to consent”

            In that same vain, incestuous relationships are tabooed in most cultures because it has been historically observed that those who are related to the first degree have a higher chance of bearing children that may carry genetic defects. Again, this is no small increase. Some studies have shown that this increase as a large as going from 7% to 42%; That’s no small increase. And yea i see the angle that you can just tell those people in the relationship to not have children, but then they can just say “hey you, fuck off, who is to tell us that we cant take that chance; we want to be able to conceive children of our own.”

            And i have to disagree with the whole taking away consent and murder analogy; while not completely hyperbolic, i wouldnt say that’s they’re the same argument. Sure taking away someone’consent is taking away their lack of agency and murdering does the same too, but murder affects not just the person in question but others around them in an immediate that obfuscating consent doesnt. With murder, you are permanently erasing a person’s future while consent restricts that future. There’s much more going on philosophically to say that they are the exact same argument.

            Anywho i dont want to harp on it for too long, but even if you want to call a 10-year old’s ability to reason better than the norm as individuality, now that 10 year old has to be stuck unable to make their own decision to be with whoever they want to be because the law says so. In the end, you’re still restricting someone’s ability to love whoever they want because history dictates that those of that age are unable to properly make decisions. We have cultures where the age of consent is 13, an age in which some cultures dont agree but hey, at the point you are intelligent enough to think critically and make informed decisions so what’s the problem right?? Saying that’s individuality doesnt fix that issue.

        • Highway says:

          I’ll also say that there are MANY more cultures that think it’s acceptable to force young women into sexual relationships and marriages than think that incest is ok. That’s entirely vile.

          • sonicsenryaku says:

            Spammy has attacked again, but anyway i just want to add that love is a very dynamic thing that one cannot pin down and people are always going to be in an uproar about what is the most appropriate way to love. I think people should love who they love but as i said before i wont pretend like there arent reasons why some would feel uncomfortable with certain relationships. Again, incest goes against our evolutionary programming in a way something like same sex relationship doesnt. It is that dissonace that makes most cultures feel as strongly about incest as they do

    • Di Gi Kazune says:

      Highway has summed up things very well. I don’t know why but some animeportal which shall remain nameless brought this topic up -again- and reading the discussion was like: *gets popcorn out, sits back and watch the fireworks*

      IMHO, what goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults is no one else’s business.

  3. skylion says:


    Eromanga-sensei Ep.11 Preview by pKjd

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