I think the artist and the writer weren’t quite on the same page for this one, given that the kid says his sister is a mess of broken bones, and then we see her and it looks like she skinned her knee. In the exact same place her brother skinned his knee in the previous scene.

Naturally, we have to return to the mustache-twirling rapey slaver stock character, this time with a specific interest in the supposedly-crippled pre-teen girl. What we don’t see is if any of the slavers survived to be interrogated, or if Our Heroic Duo were even interested in following up on this slaver gang; it really felt like they’ve been killing some time before starting the main plot, which we get a tease of at the end.

Verdict: hopefully they make it to the magic spring soon, so we can get Our Titty Elf out of her surprisingly supportive dress. You wouldn’t guess from looking at it, but that outfit seems to be completely Gainax-proof.

(unrelated but well-equipped)

Ten Years A Harem Lord, episodes 1-3

(aka “I Became a Legend After My 10-Year-Long Last Stand”)

This wasn’t on my radar until Frank commented, but I’m always up for a Best Beast Girl, and she’s not the only cutie. It’s a straight-up fantasy world with no status screens, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, both major plusses this year. I’d say it feels a bit like Hammer Of The Guild Gal without the constant tonal whiplash.

(there is really no fan-art for this one, not even pr0n)

Chicken knife follies

One of the many social changes of the Meiji era was the rise of food stands, especially serving meat such as grilled chicken skewers (yakitori). Since they used pretty much every part of the bird, they needed to cut up a whole lot of chickens, quickly and precisely. Enter the honesuki (骨スキ), a distinctively-shaped specialty knife with a single-bevel edge.

Brief digression: half of the English-language sites discussing this knife are, to be kind, confused about the terminology. There are actually two distinctive shapes, one a triangle with no curve to the blade (like a French-style chef knife), and one with a curved blade (like a commercial butcher knife); both usually have blades just under six inches long. They are referred to as “kaku” (angle) and “maru” (round) styles, respectively. A number of sites claim these terms refer to whether the edge is ground double-bevel or single-bevel; as far as I can tell, they’re just wrong.

Anyway, unless you know how to hand-sharpen a single-bevel blade, you want the double-bevel version that works with standard knife sharpening tools. However, 90% of web shops do not include this information in their product listings.

…and that’s why I bought a Chinese knockoff on Amazon. Unlike all the listings for actual Japan-made knives, the vendor clearly describes the edge geometry. Since I’m left-handed, I’m not going to spend serious money on a right-hand-only knife, and that’s almost certainly what I’d get.

It arrived this morning, and it looks and feels quite nice. Next time we’re in Japan I’ll get a proper one, but this should handle all chicken-parsing duties for the foreseeable future.

(amusing note: they’re advertising a knife specifically designed for cutting around delicate chicken bones with a picture of a huge honkin’ beef bone that would wreck the thin blade)

Oh, this is gonna suck

Teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. The #1 problem I see is that it’s overstuffed with characters from all the late-stage MCU films that I never bothered to see, in a shameless attempt to give each of their solo film series a transfusion.

Cue the Eight Deadly Words: I. Don’t. Care. What. Happens. To. These. People.

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