This one, a straight fantasy, cuts to the chase very quickly. A loli demoness, Ceil, daughter to the demon lord, is dispatched to dispatch the hero most likely to get the Demon Lord. She primarily looks at it as a chance to get out of the castle and chase down sweets, but she is diligent as well. An Assassin, Anemone, for enough money, is also given an assignment to kill the same hero, and for a price high enough that she's willing to dress as a priestess to do it. And finally, and most strangely, a Dominatrix named Goa finds all the men she breaks too easily breakable, and one of her assistants suggests you know who.
Finally at the guild hall we see the hero, Toto, about to make his entry, approaching a threesome of noobs. And in spite of his dashing imaginary approach, he fumbles it because he is paralytically shy, and they split. All three of the girls though make their play at the same time to join with him so they can get him somewhere private to do him in. And when the seductress snuggles up to him, he goes into total brain lock. The Loli Demoness levitates him and takes off, with the others in hot pursuit. The assassin pulls an automatic grenade gun from nowhere and lets loose. The Loli deploys a shield and stealthily lets down a summoning spell, then the domme uncorks a paralytic perfume to take them both out. Without the Loli to control it, the summon goes out of control and brings out a massive dragon, and when the three killers think they're done for, the hero knocks the dragon's block off with a single punch.
They show their gratitude just long enough to brainlock the hero again, while they discuss a temporary truce.
This may be super dumb fun, or just super dumb. The art isn't especially impressive, but I daresay it's more animated than the first episode of Call of the Night.
Man, the budget clearly isn't there this round. I was struck by how NON-animated everything is. Characters who deliver several lines of dialogue with only their mouths moving, or they switch to offscreen, with a completely static shot of the person they're talking to.
I hope they're saving up for something big, because for a premiere episode of a fan-favorite series, they're really wiffing it.
Okay, to be fair, I'm only a third of the way through it, but they sure made it bland.
Dan da Dan, on the other hand, hit the ground running, picking up right where it cliffhangered last season, maintaining the action and energy! A perfect continuation.
Summer Season preview
So this guy made a chronological tier video of everything coming out this season. Jump to the three minute mark to skip the sponsor. Not a great fan of his delivery, but he makes good points, and you might find something you would have skipped.
To avoid vaguebooking, yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Airbags work. Car is a total loss. Shopping for a replacement today was a lot more stress inducing. I pick that up Monday after making a 31K hole in my savings. Tuesday I meet with the Agent to get a check for the remains, which I expect will be small.
Posted by: Mauser at May 20, 2025 04:18 PM (QE7eq)
4
A far more pleasant surprise than the last time I had to deal with an adjuster!
-j
Posted by: J Greely at May 21, 2025 04:44 PM (oJgNG)
5
I didn't mention that because I was considered At Fault, the cop also wrote me a ticket. A speeding ticket Washington has that is untied to speed limits, "Unsafe for conditions". A fellow at work gave me the number of a lawyer who can make that go away for about $30 more than the fine and keep the points off my license, which has been pristine since I moved here in '92.
Posted by: Mauser at May 24, 2025 11:55 AM (QE7eq)
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at June 02, 2025 01:19 PM (LZ7Bg)
7
Apparently the theory is "If you'd been going at a safe speed, you would have stopped in time."
In any case, a lawyer recommended by a co-worker, for little more than
the cost of the fine, will very likely get it thrown out and not on my
driving record.
I've already replaced it with a 2025 model, alas, not red, and not a stick, but I'm coming to appreciate the automation.
Given the naming history of my vehicles (This was LeRed 3, when my
first was Le Red LeBaron), the new grey replacement ended up with a
Heinlein-inspired name:
The Gray Deceiver
Posted by: Mauser at June 06, 2025 05:34 PM (QE7eq)
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at June 07, 2025 04:16 AM (3NtfN)
9
And people wonder (or don't) why I don't post as often as I used to....
Anyway, one helpful bit of advice to come out of this is "Review your coverage." I used to have two cars, and for that reason I didn't have rental car coverage. I didn't think to add it back when I sent off the derelict second car to charity. It would have saved me $175 in this case.
Posted by: Mauser at June 07, 2025 12:57 PM (QE7eq)
10
Yeah, when someone took a screwdriver to my car in December I realized that I had not taken rental car coverage and no longer had the other vehicle. That sucked, but at least my car was drivable.
I'm glad you at least got a decent payout.
Stay safe!
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at June 08, 2025 12:09 PM (3NtfN)
11
Yeah, Progressive was absolutely amazing in handling the whole deal.
Posted by: Mauser at June 13, 2025 01:56 PM (QE7eq)
12
And apparently the lady I hit has hired a lawyer to milk my insurance. They said this is unlikely to impact me financially, but will take her a couple of years, and basically enrich the lawyer.
Posted by: Mauser at June 18, 2025 12:16 AM (QE7eq)
I started watching the new My Hero Academia spin off, mainly because as an American comics reader, I prefer Vigilante heroes. Watching the original, in the back of my head I kept hearing Kneesocks screaming "Rulus!"
Also digging into Cross Ange. The beginning was not bad, although the handmaid making her re-entrance has been kind of cringe and story breaking. Once I can power past that it should get interesting again.
Why am I not watching the other shows I'm pulling down?
I read the Manga, and it had some interesting character bits. The anime so far, not so much. Bog standard "Comedy of Manners"stuff. Puny male lead, gigantic in all regards disruptive outsider female, shy girl from his class. We have seen this ad nauseum.
The lingerie shopping segment just killed it for me. When the human love interest looked at Bell's boobs and wondered if Hinata (the guy) preferred big ones - as if she was flat, which she is not. She's basically the same shape as Bell only scaled down to normal height.
They do throw one wrinkle at the end of the third episode where the two other party members from the other world come saying they're there to take Mariabell back. I don't think I care enough to find out what's next. It's probably just an excuse to get the entire party living in his apartment (No parents, what is it with Japanese high schoolers having their own apartments?)
The folder for last season is just too intimidating! But Fall 2024 is almost caught up, so I watched the last four episodes of Kabushikigaisha Magilumiere, AKA Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.
I know I've commented on the show before. It definitely held together through the end with a typical big finish. Although the background plot didn't conclude, there was an announcement for a second season at the end.
Honestly, when they introduced a new character, a loan-in Magical Girl from another company that was looking to adopt Magilumiere's system, I was skeptical how they were going to wrap things up in the last two episodes, but it worked to help illustrate Kana's growth into her role. Sometimes it takes an outsider to put that into relief.
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