Anime Watch Part 2 takes on Parasyte Ep. 5, World Trigger Ep. 5, Seven Deadly Sins Ep. 5, and Fate/stay night UBW Ep. 5.

I’ve been endlessly praising Parasyte since the start, and along with Fate/stay night UBW, it’s the show I look forward to the most every week. It’s continues to surpass my expectations, and every week I’m wondering how it remains to stays so damned good. Of course, with all the good, bad things must happen, you know, balance and all that tired carp, and Parasyte decided to go for the jugular and test what really it means to be “human”.

A bulk of this episode focused on Shinichi’s time alone and defining what being human is. Shinichi is determined to cement the fact that, despite Migi being a part of him, and how the world has changed, humans are still the same. Sometimes selfless, sometimes selfish, but are still capable of free-will. Altruism is not a word thrown around much, but it means to be selfless. Shinichi shows his selfless side countless times in this episode, and even more-so in the closing moments. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves yet. Kana is a new, strange, and interesting face thrown into the mix this episode, and although it doesn’t seem to be that she has a parasite in her, she has some unnatural ability to sense when someone’s not themselves or is hiding something. No doubt it’s something we’ll learn more about soon enough, but the real heart and soul of this episode comes in the final 3 minutes, and explains the episode’s title: “Stranger”.

As Shinichi stands in the doorway, knife at the ready, tears in his eyes, wondering why his mother is there, after a phone call from his father has stated something horrific happened to her, is heartbreaking. The lead up to her reveal was palpitating, even more on a second, third, fourth, infinite watch; it never gets old, and the soundtrack only heightens the scene. Last week, I hoped Shinichi’s parents would be cast aside and not be pivotal plot points in the story of Parasyte. Sadly, I’ve been screwed over, and their fates have been sealed, at least, Shinchi’s mother. His father may have died from blood loss, but rule of anime: no body, no death! But back to the scene: Migi warning of a parasite being nearby, the tension building, the door unlocking; by now, I’d connected the dots, and was already racking my brain to figure out how this would end. It was absolutely heart-wrenching to witness that. The subtle lazy-eye twitching from Shinichi’s infected mother should have been enough to awaken him from his stupor, but Shinichi can’t accept it, and he’s frozen.

Could you? Could you, seeing the woman (or man) that raised you, cared for you, loved you more than anyone else in the world ever could: could you be quick to kill them? I doubt it, you would want to know that maybe they’re still there, still a remnant of themselves still capable of the humanity you’re so looking for in yourself, to be there within them. You can’t let the parasites win, you can’t allow Migi to be right, and you can’t forego the sacrifice of your mother’s loss go unpunished, but you can’t kill what is essentially your mother. It’s a breathtaking moment, and proves that if Parasyte can keep this kind of storytelling going, it will be an anime we talk about for years, if not decades, to come.

World Trigger Episode 5

Oh my GOD, what’s happened here with World Trigger, Toei Animation? You know what, I like that the focus is shifting form Kuga, and more to Osamu, even if he’s a strong-hearted, incidental hero, but this episode had some many problems, it’s laughable. HA HA HA!

We finally get a good look inside of the Border foundation, and learn more of Osamu’s higher ranked associates. His lies and story is starting to get unraveled, and it’s only a matter of time until the truth is unveiled, but more intrigue and plot development is happening alongside that. Oh, and by ‘development’, I mean long stretches of NOTHING happening to stretch the scenes and episodes. Seriously, there is a scene in this particulars episode that stretches on for nearly a minute, and delivers about 4 lines of dialogue the entire time.

Years ago, longtime Laser Time fans may recall when Talk Radar did a bit about poorly structured Final Fantasy Dissidia dialogue in the cutscenes? Well, the joke they were making was that in Japanese culture, it’s incredibly rude to interrupt another person’s talking, so they give gaps and pauses in beneath lines. It was quite comical, and real. Well, I guess Toei Animation recently played Dissidia and thought “let’s do that too” and did so with this scene. That was completely unedited and how it aired on TV! Jesus Christ, that cannot be acceptable, and I’ll be hard pressed to find a worse representation of fake drama building outside “reality” TV. World Trigger is slowly getting marginally better, and this was a great episode marred with just bizarre production and moments make me question what’s going on behind the scenes at Toei Animation.

Seven Deadly Sins Episode 6

We’re still in the early storytelling of Seven Deadly Sins, and this was my least favorite episode so far, but seeing as how I’ve endlessly praised this show this season, that’s hardly a misstep. Seven Deadly Sins treads the tired shonen tropes lightly, and at this episode, will crank into overdrive and start an arc that will please any fan of action, fighting-fantasy anime.

We continue the battle against the Wild Fangs from last week, with Elizabeth getting in on the action to prevent Diane and Meliodas from destroying each other and the world around them. In doing so, she reveals the mastermind behind it all and turns the tide of the battle. Once the ruse is lifted, the “battle is quickly squashed and the Sins return as the dominant group, and reunite with Ban. And their glorious reunion brings the house down…literally!

Moments like a simple arm-wrestling exhibition showcase how absolutely bonkers this show is, and highlights what I really do enjoy about this series. Despite the early fights ending rather briefly due to the Sins’ powers and strengths, knowing that they’re simply fighting fodder before the bigger battles is enough to keep me engaged and going as the series progresses. Having read every chapter the series has released to date, I still find myself glued to the monitor with every episode, because although I’m aware the outcome, the animation and action onscreen is too good to be missed. Seven Deadly Sins is a perfect romp for action heads, and someone looking for a modest, over-the-top action anime.

Fate/stay night Episode 5

Well, it looks like Archer’s question of “what will you do, Rin, should Shirō get in your way again” is answered, as she literally pulled no punches (or magic as it were) when confronting him in the school. In a flashy multi-leveled pursuit, Rin showed she’s more than able to handle s Master like Shirō without Archer’s assistance, but when another Servant arrives, their battle is waived in order to save civilians.

The newest Servant (still unnamed, so please be wary of spoiling anything in the comments, please!) is incapable of dealing a death blow to Rin or Shirō, and retreats when confronted by both, but still wields immense power and nearly defeats Shirō. Once again, Fate/stay night remains to be one of most gorgeously animated shows of the season, and entertaining. Never wasting a moment, the story flows from scene to scene to scene with nary a dull second.

My biggest grip towards Fate/stay night UBW is, as accessible as the series is, I do think some in-reading is required should you really want to get the entire picture for the Fate/stay night series as a whole. The various paths and spinoffs can be a bit distracting, and can easily walk you into spoilers, so be forewarned, but even if you’re a casual viewer, there’s enough here to keep you coming back week after week. Fate/stay night is an incredibly enjoyable ride, and hasn’t let up since the start, this is a show for any fan of fighting, action, fantasy or any other related genres, and it’s made with love, so get to watching it!