All good things must come to an end and so I wrapped up Carnival Phantasm season 3. Last week I wrote about Fate/Prototype but it was just an extra added in with the last disc of Carnival Phantasm. Otherwise the last 4 episode stick to the comedic tone of the rest of the series. We start with the best new episode right out of the gate. The Holy Grail Grand Prix is just amazing. The Lion-Go will win your heart with its cuteness, Gilgamesh pops in during the middle to ruin everyone’s day (like he always does), and it is nice to actually see Assassin get to participate in a sketch. A good deal of joke time bombs in this episode. The Akiha story is straight out of Take Moon with Kohaku up to her normal tricks but the Brainwasher Detective skits that end the episode were the star of the show. The third episode is a Final Destination homage all around Lancer and his Kenny like tendencies. The final episode wraps everything up with the conclusion to the dating plan from the first disc and a round-up of all the pieces of the Type-Moon universe. While they were not voice acted they included characters from Fate/Zero, The Garden of Sinners, the Mobile Site, and even Notes. I am sad to finish Carnival Phantasm but maybe one day down the road we will get another season after a few more games come out. Surely Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, Fate/Apocrypha, and maybe even Girls’ Work will warrant revival of the carnival.
Thermae Romae came to an end just after three episodes. But a delightful three episodes they were. In each subsequent adventure Lucias spent more and more time in Japan soaking up the culture. Because he celebrates each new experience in Japan with such enthusiasm, it spills over to the audience (maybe because so many of us non-Japanese fans long to go as well). And each time he returns to Rome things get weirder from smelly bandits to being courted by the emperor to a village of baths. Perhaps a few more episodes wouldn’t get stale but I definitely think they let the series go out while it was still a quirky surprise and that’s a good thing.
And so I finally put another Pretty Cure show under my belt with the conclusion of Suite Precure. Suite Precure distinctly had its ups and downs. It was an enjoyable little series but it has some distinct flaws. It is hardly the low point in the series but it is never be the pinnacle of the series as well. I did not have any problem with Cure Muse like some people did. I would go as far as to say she was one of the most clever parts of the series. The ending was fairly standard but enjoyable. There was a good bit of back and forth between the Cures and Noise. He did not just pummel them until their last second victory. Both sides got some good shots in during the last few episodes. The sooner they got Noise to be in his true form the better it was because as dorky little bird it was hard to take him seriously as the main villain of the series. Some of these scenes with him manically laughing were very silly when he was still P-chan. No matter what anyone tells you Hibiki’s ultimate attack is not Suite Session Ensemble Crescendo Finale but in fact psychoanalysis. Sh goes all Jungian on Noise in the end to finally defeat him. It also looks like she defeats him with the Brofist of Ultimate Friendship™ when the pull back during the climax. I was surprised the last episode was all falling action. While the Pretty Cure shows always have a little finale they don’t usually spend the whole episode on it. Still with all that time the Kanade, Ellen, and Ouji love triangle goes completely unmentioned let alone resolved. Overall I enjoyed the series despite some missteps. If you want to see Pretty Cure at its best watch Heartcatch but if you just want a solid little magical girl show then watch Suite Precure.
I took a look at the Johnnie Walker Keep Walking Studio 4C promotional video. A surreal dreamlike setting unfolds before us where things change and morph before you. It is a beautiful, vibrant piece of work though I can’t really say what is has to do with Whiskey.
After two separate recommendations I decided to check out some iOS games. Patz recommended Tiny Tower while Chaos Theater named dropped Where’s My Water. Both of them do a great job of being little time killers in their own way. I first heard about Tiny Tower due to the Zynga controversy but I only started playing after Patz suggested I try it out. It is much like SimTower but simplified for the hand-held experience. You construct a little building that has housing and shops using their profits to expand your tower. It is perfect for a hand-held device because you can play it for less than a minute if that is all the time you have but you can also sit down just kill some time if you want as well. You can update your shops and then put it down and not look at it again for hours or you can micromanage things if you just want to kill time. I really enjoy naming the little business even if you don’t have to. It is free to play bu there is also in-game money that can be purchased. I am not sure why you would ever spend money on the game unless you were impatient but I suppose that is what this whole free to play game model is based around. The other game is the Where’s My Water demo from Disney. It is a clever little puzzle game. You try to dig tunnels so that the water can flow to a cartoon alligator so he can take his shower. The same starts of very simple but slowly adds new obstacles and tools as the game goes on in classic puzzle game tradition. Soon there is acid, poison water, locks, and other various complications. The learning curve is gently sloped so you always feel challenged but never overwhelmed. A great little distraction and like Tiny Tower it has the perfect quick burst of entertainment for its given platform.
The 4-6 Magic Kaito Specials aren’t really all that memorable. Episode 5 has a some good Kaito thievery as well as that sweet magic he is able to surprise you with. But 4 and 6 feature a new witch character prominently and it throws me off a little. Kaito’s magic is the world of illusion and sleight of hand, and both he and Conan employ plenty of super science, but actual mystic abilities just seems weird. These were mostly done as a 15th anniversary project so I’m not sure if there will be more of not. If not they didn’t go out on a particularly high note either.
Filed under: Anime, Favored Topics, Ongoing Investigations, Type-Moon, Video Games Tagged: Carnival Phantasm, Keep Walking, Magic Kaito, Suite PreCure, Thermae Romae, Tiny Tower, Where's My Water
