Raccoons really are the worst.
It's good it turned around since I want to see more aliens. With the Tanuki you didn't even get that, they're already commonplace in other media and for all intents and purposes they're just quirky humans. I'll wait warmly till Saturday to see it.

I'll have to wait to read and comment on this on Saturday...

I hate the coons, but Ponko's joke landed really well. The episode as a whole was an improvement, but even without the tanooks the random battle scene was still there to inject wacky alien stuff into any somber reflection of civilization's demise. There really is no taking back them skipping 400 years without the hotel changing at all. Humans don't build tech to last that long.

robot maintenance suspension of disbelief

>>6763
I could do it if they hadn't shown a huge room full of broken toasters in the first episode and set things up with a new one getting sent to the trash heap. The show is contradicting itself about how resilient they are and how much we should be concerned about them surviving.

>>6767
Here's the problem: Too many toasters!

Yeah, that was a great episode. Dirty immoral gacha money well spent. Ponko works great as a secondary character in the background, but the other tanuki could never be seen again and the show would benefit greatly from it.
Kind of feels like they studio has different people that wanted to tell different random stories and decided to use this as a backdrop for it. You've got aliens or magic if you want artistic freedom, and they went with aliens. Each episode being a random alien story as it slowly works towards a general resolution for Yachiyo is a nice format. It's like the Kino no Tabi adventure thing except the adventure comes to the character.

I liked this one too. The alien being this supervillain ferret creature was not anything I was expecting. I thought it was some genocidal death robot and was thinking about what they would do for both a destructive and mechanical guest, but he popped out as something more convenient to deal with. It was also a cute bit of character growth for the short time we've seen him, his interactions with Yachiyo and the stay in the hotel changed him a little, and even his motivations made a bit of sense. The spontaneous shounen battle bit was odd, but I didn't hate the space super sentai since it served a point to the plot, both to show his change of heart and a reason to make him leave at the end, unlike some rodents.

I think Ponko has really become a great character. She's the wacky character to the straight man, er robot. The episode was another bit of departure from the serious melancholy stuff, but it was still a unique treat that stands apart and makes it an enjoyable show.
It seems like Yachiyo is slowing gaining humanity through Ponko's efforts, which is another divergance from the cold, oblivious robots following routine in episode 1. I think this kind of dynamic might be necessary to keep the show interesting.
Either way the show is reliant on aliens to add the dynamics to the show, it's just that Ponko is a repeat character instead of a new one each episode.

>>7076
I think the growth of Ponko from a side character to the new head of the hotel has been a nice arc. It's allowed her to go from a more annoying side-kick to an actually dependable semi-owner. Yachiyo's more incapable body now somewhat represents a stepping down of her own that lends to a more natural handing over of the reigns while they still greatly respect her for her work and she keeps a smaller role.

For an original it's doing quite well to keep its strength throughout and not let itself wander into too wacky territory. Remaining a bit somber still throughout RIP Mujina ;_;7 though with that faint glimmer of hope for the revitalization of civilization, not through humanity, but the Tanuki. I've quite fallen in love with it over this season and that's not too common when the natural tendency of a show is to decline, guess that's what happens when you have a competent director/writer heading the project. Which is made all the better when you realize this is Shundou Kana's first true directorial debut after having done assistant direction for so long, another name to keep note of.

This and Uchouten Kazoku show that there's great promise in the Tanuki genre.

>>7348
>This and Uchouten Kazoku show that there's great promise in the Tanuki genre.
and super mario bros. 3

>>7348
>Yachiyo's more incapable body now somewhat represents a stepping down of her own that lends to a more natural handing over of the reigns
I guess the anime disagrees with me.

>>7350
Hahaha, fool. I knew it would happen because it's a dumb copout and that fits what the show has become too well.