I feel like this is the point in the show where it's really starting to click together for me. I've liked the previous episodes so far but some of the pacing and structure was just aaaaaaaall over the place. The character drama elements are really starting to come together better now and the aestheticization is still awesome. Poor Makoto, this dude just cannot catch a break

Great! Which episode was the Arabesque in? I must've not caught it.

i like how simple this series' goals are. everything could be so grand like "i'm gonna be the best super cub cyclist there is!" or keep building up towards some big conclusion but instead they just devote an entire episode to koguma buying a rainjacket, like thats just king shit right there

Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 was featured at the end of ep 3 also :D

glad to see someone beat me to the...punch (ba-dum crash) for creating an episode discussion this week

yet another solid episode in what is surely this seasons best show. its crazy how this season is tackling such hefty themes and the aesthetic is just a perfect match. chief's death is sad, but i think that he knew he was going to die and so he was able to die happily, and be reunited with his son. i also noticed that he was buried with white japanese anemones at his funeral, and the intertitles in the episode translate to "the white flower", so.....fun connection

"i'm afraid to fall asleep" :(((((

"The words of a friend may be one thing, but I can take every last word of a fellow Cub rider and internalize them with all sincerity."

nearly cried when they started playing liszt's liebestraum no. 3 at the end of the episode. the debussy needledrops in eps 1 & 2 were already extremely ethereal and gentle but taking the best piece from one of the best pianists ever and using it to curtain call this episode was the best creative decision they've made yet in this show.

everyone so far (including myself) has been talking about how good the show is with restraint and avoiding oversaturated emotion/melodrama but the thing that this episode really tuned in on (and the relevancy of my quote at the top) is how great this show is at depicting communal, societal aspects of biking (and really any hobby/interest/activity by extension). everything is better when you have friends and people to engage with--it's why i'm so absorbed in film and also recently anime, because my friends are also engrossed in those mediums and it allows for a really healthy avenue of discussion and engagement.

the relationship between these two biker girls (she was a biker girl, she said catch u later girl) is just so sincere and even though they're not connected at an intimate level of knowing much about each others lives or passions they're able to bond in an extremely transparent way. now gimme the third girl that appears in the OP :o

yeah for sure, I think the first show did a pretty good job of building up a meaningful conflict over time. there's still 10 episodes to go so I can't wait to see what'll be uncovered. also i could be misremembering but nanbu wasn't on death's door at the end of the first season, so we'll have to see how/why he died and why sachio thinks he's responsible.

i've seen a lot of other people bring this up but the minimalism present here is so refreshing. everything is so withdrawn, so quiet, so gentle. whoever selected the soundtrack for this also has a massive rock hard boner for debussy which i absolutely adore.

being able to make ranked lists would be great. Really not sure why that's not an option and the whole list functionality doesn't always work the way it should imo

CGI is bonkers good so far. Really excited to see how they're gonna do some of the kaiju like Titanosaurus. It's got a real comfy vibe outside of all the kaiju action stuff--amazing character designs, great humor, great conversation.

sad as fuck. super eager to see where they take this. digging the completely new style--the visual direction feels incredibly somber and morbid, and the spanish music and aesthetic like fuuuuuuuck so good love it can't wait for more