Category: Super Recaps

Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 5 (The Cutie Map)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

Rejoice all you pony fans!  The long hiatus is FINALLY over!!  For too long we’ve been without everyone’s favorite show about talking horses with magic powers, but it’s finally back with the traditional two part premiere!  There are a lot of expectations going into this season, what with the defeat of Tirek leading to Twilight becoming the Princess of Friendship and the new responsibilities that entails!  From what we’ve seen so far, this season is going to be BIG with lots of adventures in faraway lands which gives the show endless possibilities as far as stories and characters to enrich this universe with.  So does the season premiere live up to the hype, or will it be crushed under the weight of unreasonable expectations?  Let’s find out!!  This is The Story of the Blank Flanks!  No wait, this is The Cutie Map!!

The episode begins an indeterminate amount of time after the finale of season four.  Twilight is still unsure what the heck her new battle fortress is meant to do other than be a gaudy landmark in Ponyville.  Everyone else is pretty chill about it and seems more interested in sitting in their customized thrones with their cutie marks emblazoned upon them, and soft cushions to maximize comfort.

“You guys!  There’s got to be some greater purpose for all of this!”     “What’s that Twilight?  I couldn’t hear you over the sound of my back getting proper lumbar support.  Ah…”
“You guys!  There’s got to be some greater purpose for all of this!”     “What’s that Twilight?  I couldn’t hear you over the sound of my back getting proper lumbar support.  Ah…”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal (Episode 19)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of everyone’s favorite remake of a much more beloved series form the nineties!  Last time around, the remaining Scouts were actually able to prevent another kidnapping and Chibi-Usa finally decided to tell everyone what the heck was going on.  The story arc overall has been pretty good, but last episode was definitely starting to wear thin, what with it basically repeating what made the episodes before it so good.  Will this episode take the series in a new direction to inject some life into it, or are we in for yet another downward spiral into mediocrity and broken dreams?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with everyone reeling over the drama bomb that Chibi-Usa just exploded in their faces.  For those who don’t recall, she reveals that she came here from the 30th century to try and get Sailor Moon to save the future from some terrible disaster that befalls it.

“There was this guy named Sombra, and he messed things up for EVERYONE.”
“There was this guy named Sombra, and he messed things up for EVERYONE.”

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 10)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of everyone’s favorite highbrow show about lesbian talking bears!  We left off the last episode on quite a strong note with the death of Principal Yuriika and the endless possibilities that this event can take the story.  With only three episodes left, are we about to watch this series become one of the all-time great anime series, or will this crash and burn like many others before it?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with a flashback to the night Reia died where Little Kureha is wandering the house looking for her mother who is nowhere to be found.  She ends up finding a note left by her mother that says she’s going to take Her back to her world.  Kureha doesn’t know who Her is which begs the question, how fast did Kureha lose her memory?  Reia died the night that Ginko left their house which means that the opening of episode seven (where Kureha is watching her mother craft the book and has no idea who Her is) had to have happened WHEN GINKO WAS STILL LIVING WITH THEM!!   After that, we cut to the present where things have changed significantly since the death of Principal Yuriika.

MUST... RESIST… GODWIN’S LAW!!!!!
MUST… RESIST… GODWIN’S LAW!!!!!

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 9)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

After the overly contrived cliffhanger ending of the last episode, this one has A LOT to prove to make up for that bit of nonsense.  We’re getting closer and closer to the end, so does this episode bring us that much closer to the show’s grand crescendo, or do we keep getting half-assed obfuscations like we did at the end of the last episode?  Let’s find out!!  By the way, I’m gonna tell you all up front that this episode was a NIGHTMARE to recap.  The whole episode is about small details being off that has great significance, flashbacks upon flashbacks, and more metaphorical imagery than in any other episode so far.  With that said, let’s get started!!

The episode begins with Ginko getting shot by Kureha and falling down the roof.  Huh.  I actually wasn’t expecting that.  It seems somewhat obvious that the secret Lulu told Kureha is that Ginko didn’t stop Sumika’s murder (something we found out in episode six), but even so, I was doubtful that Ginko would end up taking the bullet.  Hell, if nothing else Lulu would try to stop Kureha, right?  Well, at least SOMEONE is happy about all this.

“MWA HA HA HA HA!!!!!”
“MWA HA HA HA HA!!!!!”

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 8)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

We getting close to the end of this twisted little series, and it’s been on an upward swing for a while now!  Can the show maintain the momentum it’s built up for the past few episodes, or will all this build-up be for naught once everything is said and done?  Let’s find out!! The episode begins where the last one left off.  Kureha has just discovered that Ginko is her friend from long ago, but notices that she’s wearing her mother’s necklace and now wants answers.  Before Ginko can explain herself, we get a flashback to twenty years ago where a bear was left on the school steps.  GEE!  I WONDER WHO IT COULD POSSIBLY BE!!

BEAR SHOCK!!
BEAR SHOCK!!

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 7)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Three’s Company 2015!  Will Kureha and the two bears finally start to get along?  Will Ginko’s heroic gesture be enough to win over Kureha’s heart?  After the explosive finale of the last episode, this one has a lot of clean up to do to make sure that what happened last time actually has some impact further down the road.  Does the show continue to move forward, or will it lose itself again now that the big midseason event has passed?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with a flashback to when Kureha’s mother was still alive and she seems to be writing the ending to the book she didn’t finish.  Spoiler alert: The two broke the mirror, made their promise kiss, and lived happily ever after.  Kureha asks her mother what the new story is about and she tells the young child that it’s about her adventures with the friend that she made.

“You know!  That bear that you found on that battlefield!  What were you doing there anyway?”
“You know!  That bear that you found on that battlefield!  What were you doing there anyway?”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal (Episode 18)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of Dark of the Black Moon!  For the past few weeks, we’ve basically had the same story but they’ve used that time to give some development to the Scouts who AREN’T princesses which I guess makes them less important.  Still, the formula seems to have gotten stale already and we running out of Sailor Scouts to kidnap.  Will Minako get kidnapped like the other three Scouts, or will they finally be able to take the offensive against the Black Moon clan who’s been kicking their asses on a regular basis for the last three episodes?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with the remaining members of Team Sailor Moon mourning the loss of Sailor Jupiter to the evil machinations of the Black Moon.  How bad have things gotten for them?  They actually give Artemis some screen time!

“Holy crap!  I get to be in an episode for once!!”
“Holy crap!  I get to be in an episode for once!!”

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Super Recaps: Sailor Moon Crystal (Episode 17)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

We’re back with another episode of Sailor Moon Crystal and boy is getting harder to wait those two weeks for another episode!  With the stakes getting high and the writing getting sharper, are we in for another great episode of this born again series, or is this this the beginning of an inevitable spiral downwards into mediocrity and animation cutbacks?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins in the aftermath of Sailor Mercury’s kidnapping.  The scouts are now down two members and none of them have any idea what these new foes are after or how to strike back against them.  This causes Usagi to be mopey in her room once again (she’s been REALLY sad this story arc) and so Chibi-Usa’s freaky cat head thingy tries to cheer her up.

“KILL IT WITH FIRE!!  Oh great.  NOW I thought of Rei again and that makes me sad…”
“KILL IT WITH FIRE!!  Oh great.  NOW I thought of Rei again and that makes me sad…”

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 6)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re at the halfway point of everyone’s favorite gay horror romance with bears!  There were a lot of revelations in the last episode that set up some huge expectations for this one.  Will we get a satisfying conclusion to this story arc, or will it all just fizzle out in a hodgepodge of mixed metaphors and obtuse symbolism?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins where the last one left off.  Wait, how did that one end?

“OH SHIT!!  You alright?”     “NO LULU!!  I’M NOT ALRIGHT!!!”
“OH SHIT!!  You alright?”     “NO LULU!!  I’M NOT ALRIGHT!!!”

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Super Recaps: Yuri Kuma Arashi (Episode 5)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

We’re back with another episode of everyone’s favorite series about stalker bears!  When we last left off, Lulu’s backstory was explained and they were trying to get ever closer to our hero Kureha!  Now the last one ended on a pretty good note with the solid storytelling and the surprise twist at the end of the episode that Lulu has Kureha’s mother’s necklace.  All good stuff, but that puts a whole of pressure on this episode to not only live up to the quality of the last one but to expand on what was revealed before!  Was the last episode a sign that the rest of the series will be headed in a similar direction, or is it back to business as usual for this neigh impenetrable show about lesbian bears?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with a look back to when Kureha’s mother was still alive.  She’s taking a picture with her daughter as well as someone else!  Bear Shock!!

I totally called it last episode!  BOO YAH!!
I totally called it last episode!  BOO-YAH!!

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