Celebrate good times~ come on! ♪

Here There Be (Mild) Spoilers: Remember, these posts look at some of the common trends and threads in the currently streaming anime that I’m watching (full list is on the sidebar). I keep things vague but if you’re a plot purist, you may want to skim past.

The week’s highs and lows below the jump.

Winners

Ships Ahoy! (Baby Steps, Chaika the Coffin Princess, One Week Friends, Ping Pong, The World is Still Beautiful)

Love was in the air this week, whether it was brought on by an American coach with no filter, mortal peril, or simply a crepe date and a shrine visit. Heck, even Ping Pong ended with a love story, albeit it one with a game instead of a person.

And while none of these shows gave us any definitive couplings (barring table tennis, of course), it sure is nice to see some blushes, kisses, and hand-holdings for these kids we’ve spent the last 12 weeks growing to love. May their futures be bright and full of fluff bunnies!

Comically Short-Lived Confrontations (Baby Steps, Chaika the Coffin Princess, Mushi-shi, The World Is Still Beautiful)

Awww yeah, here we go! Show time! Beat those bad guys, win that tennis match, stand up to your rival, tell that mountain kami what’s what!

…Or not. Every time it looked like someone was about to throw down (or at the very least have a significant moment of tension), one side proved its vast superiority by quickly and nonchalantly ending things in ten seconds flat. Chaika handled this with by far the most hilarity (see above), but the reaction to Ei-chan’s match was also pretty priceless, and I admit I chuckled when Turtle Kami responded to Ginko’s seemingly logical request by pushing him into the pond. (Let that be another lesson to you, kids: Don’t start a debate with a mountain kami. They do not have time for your shit.)

And speaking of chucking people into ponds, that brings us to our final winner this week:

H₂O (Chaika the Coffin Princess, Mushi-shi, One Week Friends, Sailor Moon, The World is Still Beautiful)

I know I don’t usually include Sailor Moon in these recaps since it isn’t TECHNICALLY a Spring 2014 anime, but I’m seriously still laughing about Tuxedo Mask falling into that freaking ocean.

But bodies of water – especially lakes – had a good week on the spring schedule too, ending Team Layla’s reign of terror, saving Ginko’s life (as well as the lives of an entire forest of animals), bringing Kaori and Hase together again (yay bridge meetings!), and…

Well, okay, I know that lake sorta tried to drown Livi…and that sinking fortress sorta tried to drown Toru… but hey! They both got mouth-to-mouth from their lady-loves out of the deal, so it’s totally a win, right? Water makes the best wingman.

Losers

Sadness (Haikyuu!!, One Week Friends, Ping Pong, The World is Still Beautiful, Yowamushi Pedal)

Take THAT, crushing depression!

What can I say? It was a good week for good things. Always nice to see your shows wrapping up on hopeful notes.

(And don’t try to point out what happened with Team Zita on Chaika. Gillette is FINE, you guys. And so is Vivi. Everyone’s FINE. Shh. Don’t worry about it.)

Red Card

Kyoto Fushimi (Yowamushi Pedal)

I’m trying to remember the last time I shouted “Shut UP!” at a single character as often as I did at Midousuji this past week. His ruthless cycling style makes him a smart, interesting antagonist, but damn, son, do you have to gloat for fifteen fucking minutes every time you do something clever? Props to Fukutomi and Toudou for basically ignoring him. I’d have knocked him off the damn trail. Maybe a broken jaw would finally get him to shut up.

And it certainly didn’t help that his teammate decided to be a Chatty Cathy, too. You know, maybe if you guys didn’t spend so much time yammering at your opponents, you might have been able to actually PULL AWAY FROM THEM and… Rrrgh.

Here’s hoping Hakone and Souhoku can show up to cram some humble pie down Midousuji’s flapping mouth next week. Dude is clearly craving it.