RJ Writing Ink

Amphibia, episode 14 Review/Recap

I never thought that I would see Wartwood covered in the dead of winter on this show. Then again, I never thought I would see a lot of things on TV before. This episode of Amphibia shows us a lot of fun things.

Recap

Snow Day

A cold snap comes to Wartwood, triggering Hiber Day, where all the townsfolks go into hibernation to survive the cold. The only problem is that someone goes missing every year, never to be seen again. This year, though, Wartwood has a secret weapon in Anne. Since she doesn’t have to hibernate, Anne vows to guard the townsfolk through Hiber Day.

She gets bored in five minutes and decides to thaw out Sprig for company. After the two finish goofing around, they find Polly’s gone missing and track her down. They discover that a giant weasel eats the frogs it abducts…by feeding them to its children. Sympathetic, Anne sacrifices an omelette she made so the weasel family won’t starve, saving Polly. When the townsfolk wake up, they call Anne a hero, even after she fesses to messing up.

Cracking Mrs. Croaker

Everyone in Wartwood loves Sprig for his goofy smile and button eyes, except for Mrs. Croaker. Unable to accept the notion that there’s someone in the world that doesn’t like him, Sprig resorts to drastic measures to get the old frog to like her. So he breaks into her house and finds photos of some guy named Jonah.

Thinking that Jonah’s an old lover, Sprig tracks him down and tells him where Mrs. Croaker in. Turns out, though, Jonah’s an assassin that tried to kill her, and now tries to finish the job. Mrs. Croaker channels her inner “badass senior citizen” and kicks his butt. Then she says that as thanks, she’ll try to like Sprig. That’s hard, though, since she doesn’t like his goofy smile an button eyes.

Review

For some reason, I assumed Amphibia took place in the Summer, given the warm weather. At the least, I assumed it had a semi-tropical environment year-round. Snow Day changed that, though. It was a nice change of pace, and it reinforces the fact that Anne fits right in with Wartwood now.

The big highlight of the episode, though, was Mrs. Croaker. I knew there was something awesome about her since she messed with Sprig a few episodes back. Now I’m vindicated: she’s the cool old lady with an awesome past. I hope future episodes dive into her past more. It’s going to be awesome seeing what she got up to.

I Give “Snow Day” and “Cracking Mrs. Croaker” a 3.5/5. Good way to show how far we’ve come.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Click here to see the first episode on YouTube

Edens Zero Chapter 51 Review/Recap

I would like to apologize for the delay on Edens Zero over the last three weeks. To make up for it, I’m doing the four newest chapters back to back to back. In the 51st chapter of Edens Zero, my fears of Space Vegas are validated.

Recap

The Scarlet Woman’s robotic enforcers arrive to restore order to the casino. However, they arrest Shiki and Homura for attacking the criminals, saying that any violence is unacceptable on Sun Jewel. The only way they can be set free is if they work off their debt by mining for the planet’s power source, Stones.

Unfortunately, Stones only come from giant bugs, and Shiki’s terrified of them. Worse, all the workers are at the mercy of the Scarlet Woman’s enforcers, like Whip Punisher Garret. They watch him beat up another worker, and since they hate bullies, they’re about to confront him, even though that will get them in deep trouble.

Review

I called it: Space Vegas is evil! Underneath all the gold and glamor lies a rotten cesspool of unfair rules and corrupt leadership. This Scarlet Woman’s the kind who does whatever she wants, and gets away with it; I’ve seen it countless times in fiction.

So let’s go over everything: the Edens Zero crew’s strongest members are held captive, and any attempt to rescue them could end with everyone in trouble. Worse, Shiki’s useless fighting those bugs. On the other hand, Shiki and Homura are in the place that Valkyrie is, so they can reunite. My guess is that this is going to end with Shiki leading a riot that overthrows the Scarlet Woman. Its what I’d do if I were him.

This chapter sets up quite the interesting arc, even if it’s unoriginal. It reminds me of One Piece Film: Gold. Should be fun though!

I Give “Stones” a 2.5/5. Nice setup, but unoriginal concept.

Click here to see more animanga stuff