This Week in Anime [Week 11, 2021]

Date Published: 18th March, 2021

Greetings everyone and welcome back to another edition of Adilson's weekly International Anime News updates. The third week of March has proven to be a rather slow one with few developments of note; the news that we do have, however, contains some very pressing developments which took the world by storm, perhaps the most notable of which is an incident which occurred during the airing of episode 73 of Attack on Titan early this week. Without further ado, here's your rapid rundown:

1. Rumbling Interrupts AOT!

2. Scarlet Nexus Anime Announced!

3. Ghosts From The Past: Shaddolls!

1. Rumbling Interrupts AOT!

March the 14th was a precarious day for every AOT fan: the broadcast of episode 73 of Attack on Titan on MHK was interrupted approximately 16 minutes into the episode by an earthquake which occurred in the Northern part of the Wakayama prefecture. It was later announced by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) that the earthquake, which occurred at 12.30AM local time, was of magniture 4.7; fortunately there were no casualties and property damage was minimal and life continues as normal in the land of the anime.

Nevertheless, the ramifications for international viewers were easily notable- only the first 17 minutes of the anime were made available for international release, even by sites like Funimation and Crunchyroll; perhaps we ought to be greatful that they at least cut off the episode after a pivotal point in the episode before yet another massive event took place- if you know, you know. 😏

Relief for the international community was quick to arrive. Japanese telecommunications authorities quickly announced that the next airing of AOT, which will take place on Sunday the 21st of March, will be a double showing that will have not only the entirety of episode 74, but also the remainder of episode 73. Sites like Funimation and Crunchyroll have also released notices confirming that they will update their episodes accordingly and that the release of dubbed versions of the anime (currently of episode 68) shall proceed unhindered.
Nevertheless, this week marked a very remarkable period for fans of AOT worldwide. The following discussion shall include spoilers for what was shown in episode 73, so kindly avoided the specified block of text if you aren't up to date.

[SPOILER]
Earthquake aside, the developments which took place in episode 73 were enough to shake Armin and Mikasa to their cores as well- something which has marked a turning point in the entire series, as will become apparent later. Manga readers will know what we mean. Eren accusing his childhood friends of being nothing more than oppressed products of the system provided everyone on both sides of the fourth wall with much to ponder upon, especially when the context of Eren's words was made immediately apparent with Mikasa's lunge at Armin. The ensuing brutality which followed for Armin at the hands of Eren was also a tough watch. How the repercussions of this incident will affect the (former?) trio in times to come remains to be seen.

What was a delight to watch, however, was Levi's ruthless brutalization of the ever slippery Zeke, even in the face of watching all his comrades turn into enemies. What is worth pointing out at this juncture is that *almost* everyone was revealed to have felt a tingle when Zeke shouted out in the forest. What does this mean about the fate of everyone we know? The truth is closer than you think!
[SPOILER]

2. Scarlet Nexus Anime Announced!

In case you haven't heard of Scarlet Nexus before, don't worry. Both the anime and the game haven't yet been released, but the hype has evidently preceeded the actual series. We dug around a bit and found this synopsis for the official website for the Scarlet Nexus game set to be released across Xbox, PS4&5 and PC:

"In a far distant future, a psionic hormone was discovered in the human brain, granting people extra-sensory powersand changing the world as we know it. Just as humanity was entering this new era, deranged mutants known as Others began to descend from the sky with a thirst for human brains. Highly resistant to conventional attack methods, extreme measures needed to be taken to battle the overwhelming threat and preserve humanity. Those with acute extra-sensory abilities, known as psionics, were our chance to fight the onslaught from above. To this day, psionics have been scouted for their talents and recruited to the Other Suppression Force (OSF), humanity’s last line of defense."

Intrigued? No doubt. We are too. Sounds like a zombie apocalypse with a bionic twist to it, after all. For those considering taking a closer look, know that the game is gonna be released on June the 25th and will feature 2 different character options for the gameplay, offering players with multiple POVs to the same story, a rather unique and rarely explored mechanic in games today.

As for the anime, it will follow the story of one of the main characters in the game and is being produced by Sunrise Inc. and will be broadcast by Funimation; as far as Adilson's current intel would suggest, there is no difference between the plot of the game and the anime.

You can catch the anime reveal here:
https://youtu.be/SDLMe29Skfs

Here's the game reveal:
https://youtu.be/IjwOOAn9jU0

3. Ghosts From The Past: Shaddolls!

As duelists worldwide wait with baited breaths for the approaching release of the long anticipated Ghosts from the Past set, exciting revelations precede the big day of release set on the 16th of April. As stated on Konami's website, this is how the set is currently being introduced to the world: "History comes to life in Ghosts From the Past! This 132-card all-foil collector’s set bolsters 9 popular themes from the past, introduces 2 brand-new themes, helps you build some of the Decks featured both in this booster and in recent Core Boosters, and to top it all off, debuts 5 new Ghost Rares that’ll be must-haves for your collection!"

Among the stated 9 popular themes is Shaddoll, an archetype recently reinvigorated with the release of the Shaddoll Showdown Structure Deck early last year. Evidently, Konami has more where that came from, because leaks were just released for two of these shaddoll cards:

•Hellshaddoll Void
Fire Attribute, Fiend, Lv. 9
ATK 2900, DEF 2900
FLIP: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; send 1 "Shaddoll" monster with the same Attribute from your Extra Deck to the GY, and if you do, banish the targeted monster.
If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can send cards from the top of your Deck to the GY equal to the number of different original Attributes on the field. You can only use 1 "Hellshaddoll Void" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

•Nephshaddoll Genius
Earth Attribute, Machine, Lv. 9
ATK 1800, DEF 1000
FLIP: You can target 1 "Shaddoll" monster you control; this turn, that face-up monster is unaffected by monster effects, except its own.
If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can target 1 Effect Monster on the field; players cannot activate that target's effects on the field this turn. You can only use 1 "Nephshaddoll Genius" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Shaddoll players will immediately recognize the long-awaited necessity of both of these additions, as not only do they complete the release of a Shaddoll monster for each attribute, but Hellshaddoll Void is an extremely versatile card with a powerful extender role in the shaddoll strategy. Nephshaddoll Genius must also not be overlooked as it allows the deck to play through without being bothered by disruptions from the opponent. While neither of these cards will likely be run as 3-offs, they remain pivotal additions to the Shaddoll family and are greatly anticipated in the TCG!

Adilsons will keep you updated on any further leaks about Ghosts from the Past! That's it for this week's anime news, everyone! For local news, be sure to check out our Anime Newsletter: Edition X, where we keep you updated on all local happenings and anime related affairs! Catch you guys next week Friday with more news!