Three Episode Rule I Adhered To: Anime-Gataris

Like, legitimately because I had to listen to the characters talk about this very rule.

Okay, I am beaten. I admit defeat to the reference game—placing them perfectly in my writing—just for the third episode.
I got most all of them, it is just that, unlike the first two episodes, most of them are blatantly placed on-scene just for the sake of making the show look like…

To be continued!

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“The Finale” to Three Episode Rule is indeed what makes the third episode of Animegataris yet special in its own right.

He’s basically asking you to not drop Animegataris!

 

The ‘Anime-Story’ is a little beyond references and parodies, regardless to how little. Here are my arguments:

It is safe to say that Animegataris is attempting to become the heart of anime, or it may already be one in your opinion. Its existence is made possible by everything that makes other anime shows anything from recognizable to legendary. References work in a way that allows you, the viewer, to easily validate the potential of said things. The characters of the show are basically acting as people who unconsciously recommend those very things to you. Diehard fans of anime on the other hand are more than likely able to recognize any and all of the references. They are connections between the mentioned contents to the show itself—the amount of impact they have on the plot, be it within a sentence said by one of the characters or just a scene with very little to no dialogues.

Remember this back in the first episode? Those who have watched Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata would really know how much impact these few seconds have—the potential for ‘blossoming’ future.

 

You can also say that Animegataris closely resembles cooking in a way; it involves some of its own ingredients while at the same time, having parts of the ingredients from other shows instead of entire dishes. What you will get is still an original meal that tastes similar to many other dishes you love, which is absolutely, the intention!

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On the other side of the argument would be something along the lines of, “lazy.”

“The show is just downright mass plagiarism. The best it can do is to alter the names of stolen works to do around the copyright system in Japan.”

Little needs to be said regarding this fact, but there is never a rule dictating that little automatically means less impact. Anime has never made any intention of hiding its popular trope: one-liners that leave undeniably huge, (literally) Earth-shattering initial impact.

Animegataris has some of those, but let me grab a real example of a one liner with massive impact.

Megumi’s line alone has left more initial impact in the Anime fandom than any waifu wars to date.

 

You will find yourself either on one side of the argument or sitting on the fence. Do tell me if you manage to find yourself being anywhere else (within the context). ^_^

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(Not) looking into the third episode

 

This episode has added even more minor-tone drama to the series, attempting to have me wonder about whatever potentially dramatic is going on between the upperclassmen. Both Kai and Erika can be found acting gloomy here and there, especially Kai, who seems to be even more cautious about his chuuni self. He can be seen stopping mid-way into explaining anime antics to Minoa upon realizing that he has gotten way ‘into it’. There’s something hinting to me that the way Kai is constantly stopping himself has a lot to do with his past, like perhaps how he’s practically alone when he’s not in the club (room). He might have had a lot of friends in the past but they became grossed out by his chuunibyou persona, so seeing Minoa acting genuinely curious and wonderfully happy while listening to his rambles would sure be a huge, positive surprise to him.

As for Erika, the drama surrounding her has to do with the student council. I sense jealousy when the president says something along the lines of, “It’s happening again…”
And by ‘again’, she probably means this: Kai and Erika had attempted to revive the anime club in the previous year.

“And so we don’t get to have a club this year, either.”
“That’s why I suggested doing it as an out-of-school activity.”

 

Unfortunately, I cannot ‘look into’ this episode for my own good. But I still have…

 

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More Insights!

 

If there is any one odd thing I can learn from Animegataris, it would be how a show should at least try to vie some screen time for all of the main characters.

And that is 8 seconds well spent for the main character Yui!

 

The moment I hear ‘Akiba’ I just know that the reference game is really close to being over for me. It’s literally the same as having me fight holy beings up in the heaven when I’m the devil. Akihabara is considered a heaven for anime fans alike. Hell, they can even reference over thirty-six thousand anime shows in existence if they swing the hardcore route.
Well, the show did not reference a thousandth of that, but I’m still beat however.

Another important thing is it seems that Minoa has never been to Akihabara with a friend before, let alone by herself.
Yes, it is really possible even for a Japanese person to has never set their foot in Akihabara once in their entire life. I would never underestimate geography from the day I’d started travelling overseas. In case you don’t know, I was born in Thailand and I have yet to experience a quarter of the country.
Of my eleven years spent in New Zealand I have only been to five main cities, only two of which I have almost fully explored with my own eyes. Though, New Zealand is most known for its scenic attractions yet I have only been to ONE such place.
It is a normal thing for you to be sitting in the transit part of Tokyo’s airport and never come out to see the real Tokyo. If you know yourself to be that person then please do not say, “I’ve been to Tokyo,” because the guilt gets piled up the more you get asked about it.
That said, I have never been to Australia.

To add all of that up, Minoa’s reaction to Akihabara is far from ideal yet not too close to reality. I’d sure as hell admit that I’m going to end up similar to her when I travel there!

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If I am to be given a free trip to Akihabara, cosplay in anime would definitely sit among the top five in my bucket list. However, reality strikes and Animegataris enforces exactly… that.

…but there are plenty of other things to show an Akiba beginner.

 

In fact, there are many other things better to do in Akihabara than anime-related activities. I have mentioned in my Gamers! insight post that a quarter of the people that frequent the place don’t even watch anime. Several social experiment videos on YouTube have proven that, too.
Take it as a hint.

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Here is the part where my insights regarding references get to work. For us fans, any references made within Animegataris instantly bring impact to the dialogue. So when Kai rambles about how things work in supernatural action anime, his descriptions for the conventions of said genre come off as illogical to Minoa. Some times we are given her immediate reactions to the unfamiliar things said by rabid fans of anime.

 

Oh, she sure can. I wouldn’t want to fight against the Death Note.

 

In other cases, illustrations symbolizes her imagination when things are closer to being logical. They are usually misunderstandings of things specific to anime and its fandom. Even Japanese language can get lost in translation when used to address anything that are less than formal.

Woah!

 

Kai tells Minoa that a people ‘got bored after three episodes’ of watching a slice of life anime.
Right here Minoa freaks out upon hearing “Sanwa giri“, thinking that the people who watched that said show get cut into three slices (三輪 . 切り). This leave Erika to explain that he was talking about a convention of cutting (dropping) an anime show after three episodes (三話).
Both of them are pronounced the exact same, the fun in a lot of Japanese comedy found within anime lies in the usage of Kanji.

The group has given quite a plausible explanation to the rule, being a turning point at which anime shows need to ‘jump the shark’ or else they risk being abandoned viewership. It is a technique used to shock the audience and get them to watch the series until the end out of curiosity.

 

Kouki-senpai has also added a very strong point to his realistic debate regarding three episode rule.

He speaks for Karandi-senpai!

 

This trigger the hell out of Arisu and Miko, causing the latter to once again, dismiss his (and probably some of your) view on how dropping the show after the third episode is all fine and well. Elitists, I swear.

Though, Arisu joins in without knowing what kind of mess she’s getting into.

“Episode three is when the background and setting have been presented, and the story begins to really move forward.”
One of her possibly weakest arguments to date, is how, “It’s wasteful to drop an anime after the third episode, when it’s just getting started.”

And that’s a massive flaw in her argument, period. Three episode rule is a relatively fun and in some cases, resilient method of enduring past shows that would otherwise turn out to be horrible. Some shows are much easier to tell from others as being immediately worth batting our eyes on. Some on the other hand are just outright amazing from the get-go. I have not forgot that KyoAni works on this very formula: big bang on the first episode. Most of their shows from them are either outright absurd at the beginning or all of the set up would have been done before the third episode. I still remember Amagi Brilliant Park for being the former despite the show overall being an average comedy at best. Then their latest Violet Evergarden is already making a spark before the first episode even gets on television. Those who have seen the premier at a convention relayed the hype, saying that it is a real deal. Just believe whoever the hell you want.

Have you read all of that?
Good, because that is exactly the point of this show. It brings anime fans of all types into a discussion and even an argument. I still believe that Animegataris is showing us the anime community in a nutshell.

I will just leave some parts of my argument here however: It’s a waste to spend up to three episodes just to set up something just so that you can ‘move’ it. If it is going to take long then make the first episode a special (a rare move overall). And if you really have to set up the story with three episodes then be prepared to end it properly (an even rarer move, but look at Made In Abyss).

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Speaking of jumping the shark, I’m not too sure if I can say that Animegataris pretty much gets away with the three episode rule, talking about the very rule and doing what most shows would do on its third episode.

Kai advocates battle shounen in anime and how the tropes can be seen and applied in real life—it is sure inspiring! It even makes me think why hasn’t anybody talked about shounen the way he does! We are all talking about how cliche they are while listing out nearly every single common tropes among the shows of that genre. To my surprise of course, what Kai has said was barely mentioned by anyone, not even among anime bloggers I know and love.

I actually had to watch and listen to his speech a couple of times because I initially found it reeked of weaboo (though Kai can’t be labelled one), but later attempts had me gripped into it and later realized why I initially felt that way, and more importantly why he took his glasses off to carry out such a speech.
It turns out that even Kai is aware of future regrets when speaking like a chuuni in front of a big crowd, especially when at least half of them don’t have anything to do with anime. We have all seen a popular act of a character drawing 人  (hito which means a person) on their hand, proceeds to ‘eat’ it and repeat. It apparently works your mind into believing that once you’ve eaten enough of that, there would be nobody to witness your embarrassment. Kai takes off his glasses to go about the same way; because then he will not be able to see his witnesses—people reacting to his embarrassing speech.

Psychology for the win!

Add sparkles for extra YAOI effect!

 

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An attempt at references!

 

• Majority of the spaces and time were dedicated to referencing Love Live! Sunshine!!
  I can’t be assed listing every single instance of it showing up (lol).

Literally the place featured in first episodes for both currently existing Love Live! series. Better known as UTX High School in the original series. Oh and the girls up there are of course, from the series.

 

• More Autumn Wars (Summer Wars) posters!
• Same goes for A Certain… okay I give up on trying out its name (Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta).

 

Did you know that the seiyuu for Erika is the voice of the protagonist Chika from Love Live! Sunshine!!? Talking about wasted opportunity here.

 

• More cosplay uniforms from mainly Love Live! and other franchises. Erika has also mentioned getting Minoa into cosplaying Nakimushi Saddle (Yowamushi Pedal) I still don’t know what she meant by Toumabu.
• Anime Soul is practically (Japanese) Animate.
• Micross Gunma and Layla straps (Macross Δ and probably Freyja)
• I have posted this not very long ago, but here it is again: the song you can hear when the group entered Anime Soul—the opening theme to Akiba’s Trip. Very fitting when you’re having a ‘trip’ to Akiba, right?

 

• Them posters for Hidan no Aria! The names may reference it but the visuals definitely are not—they are too sexy for Aria. (Halp, it’s so sexy. I wanna know for educational purposes)
• From left to right on the second picture: Toaru Majutsu no Index, Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta and Musaigen no Phantom World.

 

• A poster for Re:Zero at top right. KonoSuba is in the middle, beside Musaigen.
• A whole lot of novel covers at the bottom I’m unfamiliar with.

During the Three Episode Rule discussion, a few shows were mentioned.

• The Club Room and the Fish Cat’s Elegant Life (pretty long description for an anime with one word: Nichijou).
• Lighthearted magic girl anime when suddenly someone gets killed (on the third episode): Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica.
• Idol debut without a single person in the audience: third episode of Love Live! School Idol Project.

Kai’s behavior of correcting others’ not calling his name to his liking is a habit of Katsura Kotarou from Gintama, while his maniacal laugh is probably of Okabe Rintarou from Steins;Gate.

The anime DVD Miko lent to Minoa so that she could practice an emotional speech is a spoof of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, to which when she struggled to start thanks to Arisu’s delusional written prologue, Kai carried on the embarrassing speech has some part of the same thing that happened in Episode 9 of the anime.

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Animegataris has reached third episode in its run. While it has not managed to jump the shark in a big way some other shows are notorious for, it certainly has climbed up the quality ladder and even upped its reference game.

Thank you for reading. This is me adhering to the Three Episode Rule for Anime-Gataris and I am now signing out! |^_^|

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