YES!!! I DO!! i can't even pretend to be subtle about it

-i really like how they portrayed shimizu. she's shown working side by side with higuruma in the manga as well, but i think the anime added a lot more quiet moments that really show what it's like to work in a small business...like waiting for the bus after a day of investigating. i think higuruma makes so little money he doesn't own a car?? shimizu doesn't seem to own one either...shimizu commiserates with akagi about how it's hard to work for someone who doesn't care about money, but she clearly must be a caring person herself to be working under higuruma and not under a lawyer she could make more money with. (also i'm going to stop myself from rambling because i think shimizu would love yuji so all the extra bits with her made me so happy, she is so cute <3)

-HIGURUMA LOOKS SOOOOO GOOD!!!! HE'S ANIMATED!!! HE HAS A LEGENDARY SEIYUU (TOMOKAZU SUGITA GINTOKI GINTAMA?? FOR REAL???) he looks so good. maybe i'm delusional but i think they put a bit more meat on him? he seems blockier/thicker, he kind of looked a little scrawny when he first appeared in the manga...this is not a complaint btw. also i did go back to look at the manga panels and yeah early on he definitely looks a lot more emaciated so i feel less delusional pointing this out.

-JUDGEMAN APPEARING WAS SO COOL!!! i love that they animated them manifesting like a billow of smoke....their face is so much creepier than i could have dreamed!! it really felt like the weight of higuruma's emotions and mental state billowing into a storm that became his shikigami. even though judgeman as a name is very obvious i hope judgeman has a more feminine/androgynous voice, i think it would just be fitting with how so many symbolisms with justice and the law differ in gender in so many structures.

-HIGURUMA AND YUJI MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME!! i was trying not to sink my claws into my bf's arm while we watched the ep bc i was so excited LOL. knowing mappa assigned green as higuruma's color there's something so striking about the color tone immediately shifting between green and red, as though higuruma and yuji are fighting each other before they've even said a word...also i have a soft spot for ikebukuro, it's one of my fav places to visit in japan. very funny that such a cute family friendly town is where yuji and higuruma are going to duke it out. they should go to sunshine city and see the flying penguins after all is said and done.

-i didn't expect for higuruma's theme to be heavy metal? i don't dislike it, i was just surprised. it really gets across that he's a mid thirties man having an identity crisis LMAO i'm not a nice lawyer now IM A MEAN LAWYER I BATHE IN MY CLOTHES I LISTEN TO HEAVY METAL I DON'T GIVE YOU MY POINTS!!! it's very funny/charming. though if i may throw in my two cents if he wasn't given metal as a theme i'd picture his theme being orchestral, something very close to sayaka/oktavia von seckendorff's theme in pmmm...who is also a fellow human tortured and disillusioned by the unfairness in the world after trying to fight to protect others so fitting, lol: https://youtu.be/XomuojHdF5I?si=emiTgAgZtqOF4Ehu

-i think the only thing, if i had to nitpick, is that i'm not really a fan of the very obvious rotoscoping in some scenes, but i don't think this episode had this issue anymore prominently than some of the other episodes (like when hakari and yuji are talking.) i think because smiling friends parodied very obvious rotoscoping it's hard for it to not immediately come across as comedic for me lol. rotoscoping can definitely be done in a way where it's not as obvious, but it also makes me wonder if uh, the animators are being overworked and simply have to rotoscope to meet deadlines. it would be ignorant of me to pretend like the animation industry doesn't overwork artists, so my thoughts are "the best scenario would be it's a stylistic choice from the director that doesn't vibe with me, i hope that's what it's the result of and not burnt out artists scrambling to shortcut less important scenes."

-DOMAIN EXPANSION!!!! okay the heavy metal music worked really well with higuruma's domain expansion. insanely cool, higuruma has one of my fav DE's and this did not disappoint.

thank you for indulging me anon!! i'm really excited for the next episode :3

happy new year!! a few of my favorites are here, so i'll link this one below to avoid any repeats:
https://revospring.net/@peachglumpear/a/114796905251054767

otherwise!!

sonatine (1993): the director, takeshi kitano, made one of my other fav movies, hana-bi! so no surprised i loved this. movie about a yakuza gang member who is tired of his lifestyle but caught between disputes. fun fact, joe hisaishi, yes that joe hisaishi, did the soundtrack for this movie. he also did the soundtrack for hana-bi.

bound (1996): lesbian crime thriller by the wachowski sisters. a former convict turned apartment renovator ends up doing work for a mobster and his girlfriend who is played by theee iconic jennifer tilly. i think this is everything i wished love lies bleeding would have been LOL

escape from la (1996): some may be a hater but personally i loved it!! some of it was a little too real LMAO but john carpenter was always ahead of his time...also as someone who was borned+raised in california most of my life it really tickled me to see all the little references and jabs he added in. this movie is basically john carpenter going "my oc is so cool and badass, look at my oc being cool and badass" and yeah considering snake plisskin inspired mgs snake i think he's earned that right.

angel dust (1994): psychiatrist starts investigating a series of murders that may involve her ex who is part of a controversial group regarding brainwashing/psychological tactics used to de-program former cult members. you will only find a grainy version of it to watch on youtube which is the best way to view it imo.

under the sun of satan (1987): a priest trying to save a young girl from satan after she kills one of her lovers, genuinely one of my favorite depictions of satan in any media. it's hard to describe but the scene where satan is viscerally a character is just UGH!!! he makes just as haunting and unsettling an exit as his arrival. it's worth watching just for that scene.

i watched 368 movies in 2025 so i cant name them all but!! these are some i think are worth checking out. :)

rubs my hands i’m really excited because in this lineup is one of my new fav movies of all time (which i'll start with)…

the swimmer (1968): i’ve watched this movie maybe four times now. a suburban man realizes he can get home by walking through all of his neighbor’s yards and swimming through their pools. if you ever watched mad men it’s like watching a character from mad men having a complete break from reality. in an interview burt lancaster said he thought this was the best movie he ever acted in, and i can see why. a fun fact is burt lancaster was also terrified of swimming and hired an olympic swimmer to teach him. when thrifting with my partner and friends i found a vinyl record of the soundtrack for cheap. the store owner asked me if the movie was any good and i said "i love it i've watched it three times already" (this was before the 4th rewatch) and he found it for free on youtube and started watching it LOL…my high praise to the swimmer.

last summer (2023): a french lawyer who primarily defends abused children deals with her husband’s son from a previous marriage moving in which leads to an affair between the two. catherine breillat is really good at making movies about complex and vile women and i think this is my fav movie of hers. i know a movie hit me hard when the credits roll and i just feel this lump of dread in my stomach. the ending song is haunting!!

demon pond (1979): a traveler stumbles into a town going through a drought and learns about the mythology surrounding an alleged demon pond. LOOOOVEEEED THIS!!! a haunting japanese fairy tale…the soundtrack is beautiful, the set design is beautiful…when (not a spoiler) the yokai collapse and leave from the weight of the bell…wonderful. i’m already in the process of rewatching it. it’s movies like that that remind you how film is an art form.

with beauty and sorrow (1965): ^ same director from demon pond! an author writes a book about a teen girl he had an affair with years ago. he meets this girl years later. she has a female pupil who is also her lover and decides to get revenge on the man and his entire family. masahiro shinoda is a genius!!! an entire movie about an insane lesbian wanting to curse an entire man’s bloodline because of how he used her teacher. intense watch especially up to the end.

mother (2009): my partner and i have gradually been going through bong joon ho’s entire filmography leading up to parasite (they have not seen it yet) and i was really surprised i NEEEEVEEEERRR heard anything about this movie because i think it’s my new fav bjh film (yes even above parasite.) a single mother’s son is convicted of murdering a schoolgirl and she sets out to try and prove his innocence. apparently before this movie the lead actress just starred in fluffy korean tv shows. REALLY good. not going to say much more, it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible.

black dynamite (2009): a comedy that is a love letter to the blacksploitation movie of the 70’s, right down to boom mics and awkward shots/transitions and sequences that make no sense. it’s very rare for a movie to make me laugh almost constantly but this was soooo good. i love the kind of humor that comes from loving a genre and poking fun at it with your love. best use of an abraham lincoln cameo ever.

killer of sheep (1978): following a man working at a slaughterhouse in los angeles and his listless life. someone’s review of this said “nothing happens. it’s perfect.” a really unforgettable movie that just kind of shows the despairs of sleepwalking through life.

it’s kind of hard to narrow down T>T i’ve watched 183 movies so far (catching up to today which is day 185, not far behind!!) but these are the ones that stood out to me…honorable mention to akira kurosawa’s dreams, the innocents (1961), the abominable dr phibes, four flies on a grey velvet and deep end.