Hello friends and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I feel the need to enjoy first-class hospitality and, therefore, I decided that it was time to head to the Gingarou Hotel. While humanity may reach for the stars or perish on this earth, attentive service and comfortable accommodations will never go out of style. Such is the credo of Yachiyo and his companions, the faithful inheritors of the will of their creators, who are now pleased to offer their own exclusive blend of expertly aged whiskey.
So it continues in the wake of last episode’s distilling adventures, which actually covered much more than the process of cultivating fine spirits. Whiskey turned out to be a flexible metaphor for any journey through life, in which we lose some things, gain others, and ultimately are refined into a subtle and complex blend of our infinite influences. As long as we maintain some long-term goal, we inherently express hope for the future, a motivation to prevent us from languishing in the dregs of the past. It was a touching and expertly crafted episode, and I can’t wait to see what’s next as we return to Hotel Apocalypse!
Episode 6
We open with… oh no, the tanukis are leaving!? But they’ve only been here a century!
“Holes in the ground are cool, but I loved it here too!” Excellent reviews from our guests.
Frankly, I have to assume this is false; the show just loses too much momentum if Ponko isn’t around. His bond with Yachiyo is the heart of this. Plus, they’re like half of the OP.
Interestingly extended OP, with an insert cut of Yachiyo extending to the front door closing in the dark. Always appreciate when an OP is used as a dramatic tool like this, although obviously the extra effort involved in altering stable pieces of bench footage makes it an uncommon practice.
Yes, largely a fake. In fact, they simply dismantled his boat for parts to build a house down the street, so Ponko will remain an employee of the hotel. Basically, all tanuki proximity without any piles of poop in the hallways.
“Apparently, something from Harmageddon will one day wipe out all of Earth’s civilization.” Definitely a cause for concern. And a real thematic threat to this show, in contrast to many other post-apocalyptic narratives. Shows like Girls’ Last Tour are about accepting inevitability, about “getting along with hopelessness” and making the most of the time you have; In contrast, Apocalypse Hotel is about maintaining optimism and faith in the future, as clearly expressed in the last episode’s focus on long-term goals. This apocalypse might have wiped out humanity, but Yachiyo and her team are still looking forward to it.
A shiny silver ship rises above our heads and from it falls what appears to be a mushroom-shaped robot.
And… he immediately pierces a skyscraper with a laser beam. Marvelous. It seems like we’re striking a good balance between “poignant metaphor and existential threat” in our episodes here.
Of course, anything that gives us more panicked tanuki faces is welcome in my book.
And now they’re freaking out in tanuki form, which is actually even cuter. Excellent work, team
If this episode is just the tanukis losing control and Shinichiro Miki saying “shit!” and “damn!”, it will be a very good episode.
In fact, Harmageddon is here to end all civilization, and he is disappointed to learn that civilization is already over. Phew, I dodged a bullet with that!
I love our quick transition from this robot’s determination to destroy everything to a sort of pity over the whole Gingarou thing, followed by a sad recognition that they don’t have the money to pay for a room. Sorta expected the continuation of last episode’s tearjerker to be a farce, and “the avatar of the apocalypse missed its stop” is actually a solid ridiculous premise.
“I take it Harmy will stay at the Gingarou?” Yes, now he has a nickname, they already tamed him.
“To provide a more comfortable and welcoming stay, we ask our guests in advance about their cultural customs and habits.” I appreciate these slight changes in their accommodation methods, as the hotel employees learn to embrace a more interplanetary style of multiculturalism.
“I would like to check if my storm and slaughter suit is safe.” Naturally
The real Harmy is strangely adorable, with a cat face, a frog hat, and noodle arms that end in boxing gloves.
Learning that there was once a Nudel on the planet, Harmy sets to work killing all the dormant Nudel hiding beneath the surface. He’s actually quite charitable when it comes to alien entities destroying civilization, even if it’s mainly to eat his own preferred civilization destroying entities
And of course Ponko, queen of subtext, assumes that Yachiyo is falling in love with this gallant cat-kangaroo-boxer creature.
Thus, Yachiyo and Harmy set out on a world tour of decaying, moss-covered human monuments.
“There is no intelligent life form that can control its own progress.” So this is his philosophy: civilization inevitably leads to environmental ruin, and therefore he is dedicated to destroying any intelligent life form that could ward off the threat of civilization itself.
Oh, I love this. Yachiyo does not appreciate Harmy’s nihilistic philosophy; in fact, instead of directly challenging his words with any “hope for the future” counterpoint, he simply complains that Harmy prevented him from completing all of his previously assigned tasks for the day. What’s the point of lamenting the tragedy of civilization when there is work to be done here and now? His words are practical, but they speak to an understanding of how we can effectively use the limited time we have, which puts Harmy’s self-important rhetoric to shame.
It is a generally productive spirit: “before you mourn the end of the world, make your bed and clean your room.” The things that give meaning to our lives rarely correlate with general revelations; It is by living in the here and now that we truly take productive steps forward, finding meaning along the way.
“Don’t you think these delays could eventually become a bigger problem!?” Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. It’s not always necessarily true, but quite often it’s psychologically necessary as a way to maintain a sense of forward momentum.
“Furthermore, I see no causal link between humanity’s progress and its departure!” And just adding a bonus “you’re also wrong on your own terms” at the end.
“I can assume that you also show a similar lack of thought when wiping out civilizations!” simply brutal
“Stop this nonsense if you’re not serious about her!” thank you ponko
Oh wonderful, now we have a quartet of interplanetary superheroes here to stop the infamous Harmy. Can you guys do this shit in someone else’s front yard?
“Begin your quest, Mighty Cuff!” I appreciate that they all have important and appropriate hero titles.
Ooh, some lovely blurs and clever CG effects flourish for your shock. As with KyoAni productions, I appreciate how this show can suddenly show off absurd action choreography whenever it feels like it.
Also the clever use of a CG bridge and the overall darkness of the scene to facilitate this in-depth aerial dogfighting sequence.
Seeing the trajectory of Mighty Cuff’s explosion, Harmy takes the hit to protect the Gingarou.
“Don’t you find me troublesome?” Ponko is pretty far off the mark regarding Yachiyo’s feelings, but it seems like Harmy is being genuinely tamed by all this tender attention.
“There is a difference between intentional destruction and accidental breakage.” Just because your body is naturally inclined toward destructive power doesn’t mean that has to define you.
“Can you show me this area? Say no if you can’t.” So we get a reversal of his previous world tour, now he’s asking her to show him what makes this place special, and he frames it as a request rather than a demand.
“Don’t you feel alone? Don’t you feel empty inside?” Yachiyo lives in the here and now and cannot understand these existential questions. Certainly a happier way to live than the clearly lonely Harmy.
“I don’t quite understand it.” “You’re fine that way.”
Having found this small sanctuary of acceptance, Harmy decides to protect it the only way he can: by leaving and thus ensuring that no more enemies threaten the Earth.
I love this maudlin ballad as she delivers her parting gift, an explosion that uncovers her long-awaited hot spring.
and ready
Ah, that was delicious. Apocalypse Hotel was really firing on all cylinders in terms of comedy and philosophy there, offering a wonderful new arrival to contrast with Yachiyo’s philosophy and gracing their journey with a generous variety of tanuki antics. After last episode’s focus on the need for long-term goals, this one offered a resounding celebration of the here and now, the importance of finding joy in everyday tasks and interactions and not falling into despair regarding the inevitable end of all things. Harmy was a delight, and I hope he returns to destroying our civilization as quickly as possible.
This article was crazy.It is possible thanks to the support of the reader. Thank you all for everything you do.