AP Exams (2016 Ed.)

Over the course of the last 6 days I have been cramming information from my handy dandy Barron's AP Psychology study guide and wondering how I'll fare this coming Monday. I plan to spend the rest of tonight doing practice tests and patching up any holes in my knowledge and then spending tomorrow on AP Chemistry topics that I haven't formally been taught.

This is my third year doing AP exams and I have to say that (surprisingly) I feel rather comfortable heading into this. I do somewhat regret my decision to retake the AP Chemistry exam, seeing as I have neglected to spend much time on that, but in return I hope to at least score well on the AP Psychology one.

My ultimate goal for this year is to score 4 on both the AP Chemistry and AP Psychology exams, and to finish the school year off with a mid 90 in the class. Last year it would have been devastating to receive anything short of a 4 on the AP Biology exam (thankfully I did get just that), however as a result I definitely want to get 4s again. I'm really banking on my previous experience taking the exam and my improved performance in chemistry this year for the AP Chemistry exam, and hopefully my studying for the AP Psychology exam will work out to my favour.

That should be all I have to say about the matter, so I will leave you with that and head off to do some more practice tests. Thank you for reading, and goodbye my cherished reader.

Spring 2016 First Impressions

- WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS -

Like the recent winter season, I have decided to hold back on the amount of anime that I watch (especially with exams haunting me every night) and have taken a more conservative approach to watching. While there aren't a plethora of entries right now, there's a good chance this list will expand by the end of the season. But for now, I hope that you'll find a little bit of amusement from this meager offering: my first impressions on the Spring 2016 season.

MyAnimeList
Spring 2016 Final Thoughts

This Season:
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2
Mayoiga
Re:Zero
Sakamoto desu ga?

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2 (15/25)

I Rate: 8.0/10.0
One Sentence: We start off the final half of this season with Koro Sensei beginning the story of his life, and how he came to be the entity he is now.

I'll keep the entry for this one short, seeing as it was a mere week and a half ago that I wrote about Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2 up to episode 14. I'm glad to see that the background of Koro Sensei is finally being explained relatively early on, as that spells out an exciting and action packed final arc. With the ending of the first season I'm confident in Lerche's ability to close out this one. Looking forward to how this one will end, as it's been a great ride the whole time.

Best Girl: with Ritsu's nonexistent screen time and Kaede's little arc, I felt it would be fitting to crown a new best girl: the slightly more relevant Nakamura


Mayoiga (4/12)

I Rate: 7.0/10.0
One Sentence: An interesting and promising premise about a group of people looking to start a new life off the grid is spoiled by a lack of direction and poorly written characters

From the very beginning of Mayoiga the viewer is introduced to what seems to be an endless stream of characters. By the end of this introduction I was dazed and completely lost, but maybe that's because I wasn't paying enough attention, or I expected half of them to die off by the end of the first episode. I felt a lot of Danganropa vibes from the anime (not that I've watched Danganropa, but I have a gist of what goes on), but was sorely disappointed from the lack of... well, deaths.

The anime starts off with a huge variety of characters riding a bus on a dark and stormy night, and it's hinted that they're all from some sort of online forum, through the way that everybody is addressed by a handle. Eventually it's revealed that all of them are seeking to start a new life, discontent with their current ones, and are heading to the mysterious and undiscovered village of Nanakimura. The largest problem with Mayoiga is the pacing. We're a third of the way into the season, and very little has happened. So far the group has arrived at the village, lost a member, and split up (into those who stay and those who want to leave). To be fair, episode four ended off on a more exciting note with a few cliffhangers, but if this pacing is kept up, then we can be sure to expect a cruddy ending, a rushed ending, a second cour, or any combination of the three.

As I mentioned in the mini-introduction, there are a lot of characters who are present in Mayoiga. If we do a thorough count of them, we have 31 characters in total, who have the semblance of being important. We can make the assumption that they are important through the fact that they each have their little card in the opening theme (and ending, however it seems that all the characters are being spread out through the season). The excessively large amount of characters leads to a decrease in quality and the slowing down of the plot. More characters means that there is more fighting for screen time, and it also means that characters are much harder to relate to and have a harder time growing.

The best parts of the show are the opening and ending themes, both which are beautiful in their own right and send goosebumps up your spine. Additionally the animation/artwork that accompanies them are great and fit the tone. There are a lot of amazing theme songs coming out this season, but I do have to say that the Mayoiga opening is my favourite so far.

To end this first impressions off, Mayoiga is not showing any signs of getting any better, and unless something huge happens in the next episode (or really pushing it, the episode after that, the halfway point of its season) I can't see the anime being anything more than sub-par. It's a shame, since I genuinely enjoyed the setting of Mayoiga, so I'll just keep putting the opening on repeat until my ears bleed.

Best Girl: tsundere Maimai can be cute at times


Re:Zero (4/25)

I Rate: 8.2/10.0
One Sentence: At first seems like a good and much longer KonoSuba lookalike, but has a much more sinister and dark undertone to it.

Even though I haven't watched enough series from this season, Re:Zero seems like it's already clinched the spot of the best anime for this season, and for good reason. There's great usage of undertones in Re:Zero, as the lighthearted and comedic nature of the anime lures the viewer into a sense of false security, and then leaves you grabbing air as you fall off a cliff(hanger).

The anime is about Subaru, a shut-in who finds himself in a completely different world, akin to that of a fantasy MMORPG. He runs into trouble and is rescued by a cool beauty (who he later learns is named Emilia). Subaru decides to help Emilia look for an insignia that was stolen from her, and in the process the two of them are killed in a secluded loot house. After some confusion he discovers that when he dies he respawns at a checkpoint, but also goes back in time, erasing everything he has done. If you watched Re:Zero's first episode and stopped halfway, then you'll definitely think that it's another KonoSuba. But the show takes the stereotypical premise and adds a little twist to it, making it exciting and uncharted territory.

So far all the characters are easy to like, and our dynamic duo of Subaru and Emilia will see some amazing development over the 25 episode span of Re:Zero. None of the other characters have gotten any substantial amount of screen time, but there's some interesting stuff going on with Felt, as the last time we saw her she was knocked out and taken by Reinhard. I'm looking forward to where that goes and how it ties it with the main story we're seeing right now, but that'll come with time.

There are some more fantastic contributions from Re:Zero to the growing pool of excellent anime themes we have this season. Both the opening and ending are great (although I'm slightly more partial to the ending), and I thought that the little scene with the opening was pretty poignant to the anime. Some amazing stuff with the sound department coming from this show, and I'm thoroughly pleased with what it brings to the overall quality.

It would be an understatement to say that I'm excited for what Re:Zero has to bring to the spring and summer seasons this year. I'm glad that White Fox has 25 episodes to craft the anime into something brilliant, and needless to say I will watching every episode upon release. Re:Zero gets a big thumbs up from me.

Best Girl: definitely Emilia (Felt hasn't had enough screen time anyways)


Sakamoto desu ga? (2/13)

I Rate: 7.6/10.0
One Sentence: Loads of laughs and smiles from an anime that revolves around the stylish, cool, and perfect Sakamoto-kun as he goes through his day.

Sakamoto desu ga? is a wacky anime about Sakamoto-kun, a first year student in high school who has stolen the hearts and attention of everybody from day one. There isn't much else to say about the anime. Each episode has around two mini-stories (surrounding Sakamoto-kun of course) and there isn't much of a coherent story from what the mini-stories have provided so far.

For the characters, there's the god perfect Sakamoto-kun, who is absolutely ridiculous in every aspect but a likable character nonetheless. Two other characters, Sera and Aina, were each featured in their own mini-story, but have not made another substantial appearance. Sakamoto-kun will most likely be the only character of significance and the others will just be there to push the story along.

There's an upbeat and absolutely fitting opening for Sakamoto desu ga? with a surprisingly soft and gentle ending theme. There isn't anything else that I can really think of when it comes to the soundtrack.

If you're looking for a bit of a quirkier anime, then Sakamoto desu ga? might just be the fix that you need. Granted, it won't cater to the comedic styles of every individual, but it might do just the thing for you.

Best Girl: pretty much the only girl we've seen so far is Aina, so she gets it automatically

The Unintentional Hiatus

For the past month (give a few days) I was gradually building up the parts in what is now a published Winter 2016 Final Thoughts anime post and I have to say, it took a surprising amount out of me. There was never a solid half hour session of me sitting down and giving it my all, but instead sneaking in the paragraph or two between queue times for League of Legends or during lunch. It was an interesting feeling, to not exhaust myself by writing for two hours, but as we can all see from the unintentional hiatus, not the best method of writing a long post.

Updates updates updates. After reading the latest post before the anime post, I realize that I never made the announcement here. During the spring break I had braces done, or well, the top brackets done. Maybe the thought slipped my mind or I was unconsciously trying to stash it away, but it happened. It's fitting that I tell you this now because this Saturday I'll be going in to get the bottom brackets in. The braces aren't particularly flattering and they've made the previously simple task of eating a chore, but I hope that things will get better as time passes (i.e. I won't feel pain when I eat).

Stopped trying to climb after a huge losing streak in League of Legends. I've been sitting at Gold II since and haven't been spending nearly as much time on the game as I used to, so I have deteriorated in the mechanical aspect (bittersweet).

Our school ultimate team has played a few games now and we're getting into the grove of things, but far from being any good. I think I have a decent grasp and overhead of the game, but now I need to focus on my personal skills (especially my atrocious flick). I would like to become a handler sometime between now and next year, however there's a lot I need to learn before getting even close to that.

AP exams are creeping up on me (holy there's already less than a month) and I need to start studying for my exams. This year I've made the choice to take the chemistry and psychology exam, so we'll see how that turns out in a matter of a few weeks.

I think that about does it for most of what has been happening in my life. Somewhere along this year I need to go out and get my L, but for now the single thing that I'll be fueling my efforts into are the AP exams. Thanks for reading, and I'll try to post soon.

Winter 2016 Final Thoughts

- WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS -

I ended up picking a few more entries this season, so this post won't look as pathetic as the first impressions one. As you can tell I'm terrible at introductions. Get ready for the second installment of a wild and crazy ride.

MyAnimeList
Winter 2016 First Impressions

This Season:
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi
God Eater
Haikyuu!! 2
KonoSuba
Musaigen no Phantom World

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2 (12)

I Rate: 7.7/10.0
One Sentence: Good concluding season that ties everything together nicely and ensures a happy ending for our friends at the castle.

By no means was there anything great in Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2, but as with the first season, there was an above average showing from the second. The atmosphere, feelings, and environments carry on, leading to a second performance that seems a tad bit washed out, but still enjoyable.

The story consists of events that challenge our main characters, Zen and Shirayuki, as individuals and also as romantic partners. If there is anything bad to say about this anime, it is that the story isn't nearly as impactful or profound as it should have been. As a viewer and one with common knowledge, it is evident that a romantic relationship between a prince and a commoner is discouraged. I believe that this "challenge" that Zen and Shirayuki face was shown rather poorly. At times it felt like it was simply the meanderings of the group and less Zen and Shirayuki trying to find a way to make themselves suitable for the other.

We see a surprising amount of growth in our castle friends group, especially in Obi. There are hints of some sort of attraction towards Shirayuki, and I think that the anime really could have gone somewhere with that (instead that specific dynamic between Obi and Shirayuki was rather abruptly cut off). It would have been intriguing if Obi was introduced as some sort of dark horse to the relationship between Zen and Shirayuki, but the producers most likely did not want to stir trouble. Kiki and Mitsuhide sit back as kinda-kinda-not side characters but both of them do get a brief highlight. And finally we have our new couple, Zen and Shirayuki, who have overcome their obstacles and can now happily live out their lives together. Raji, the prince of the neighbouring region gets some good screentime as well. The characters do seem flat throughout the 12 episodes, as they all play certain archetypes, but are likable nonetheless.

As expected, the animation remains of the same quality, consistent and pretty, and the theme songs are both fitting for Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2. There are some really sparkly and nice scenes, but overall just solid animation.

I did enjoy Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2, but I'm just hounding on the aspects of the anime where it did fall since it is the second season. I expected something different but instead got the same (which isn't bad) stuff as the first season. If you enjoyed the first season immensely give the second a try, but there isn't anything huge that happens, just a nice way to end off the series.

Best Girl: Shirayuki (not saying much since the only other relevant girl was Kiki, but yeah)


Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2 (14/25, ongoing)

I Rate: 8.0/10.0
One Sentence: Class 3-E returns for a second season, where a lot of twists and turns happen and we're inching closer and closer to the full story of Koro Sensei.

I'm glad that I ended up watching this second season because it's actually pretty good and not nearly as repetitive as I anticipated. I remember reading somewhere that this season would adapt the manga's ending, so I'm looking forward to what the ending will bring.

The story is picking up more than ever, especially in the most recent episode, where Koro Sensei prepares to tell the class the whole picture of how he came to be and why he is the teacher of 3-E. While the previous episodes had avoided confronting this and instead focused on the adventures and tribulations the class of assassins would go through, it's good to see the story going somewhere decisive and relevant. That being said, the events that have happened are still exciting and great to watch, and the story can only get better with the latest developments.

When it comes to the characters there's no shortage of them, however Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2 finds a way to make room for all of them and keep them all in the picture, even if they are pushed out by the main cast. I'm particularly enjoying the usage of characters with niche skills for specific events, as that adds some importance and individualism to each of the students. An (rather poor) example of this is the recent plot twist where Kayano turns out to be a villain and is another tentacle wielder after Koro Sensei's life. The purpose of this development was to find a way to progress the plot, and what a better way than to turn one of the students against everybody

The art remains nice to look at, although nothing superb. The OP is catchy (much like the first season) and the ED is a more sombre and mellow track (much like the first season if I recall correctly), both of which are good to listen to.

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 2 is a really great thing to pick up if you have watched the first season and enjoyed it (although that was my case and I still neglected to), and I recommend you try out the first season if you're new to Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. Excited to see where this is going, and I hope that the conclusion will do service to the series.

Best Girl: Ritsu is still pretty cool, even though she has a lot less screentime


Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (12)

I Rate: 8.8/10.0
One Sentence: A sort of dark horse mystery anime that kept viewers on edge with its suspenseful story telling, twists and turns, and its grim and dark setting.

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (aka Erased) was this absolutely bonkers new anime that took the winter season by storm and has easily made itself a contender for best anime of the year. However the unfortunate problem with any anime that garners this much attention and popularity is that it receives abnormally high ratings, and draws in "haters" who attempt to deconstruct the hype. It is natural to have opposing sides in order to create balance, so for those who give Erased a 10.0/10.0, there are those who give Erased a 4.0/10.0 or a 5.0/10.0.

In my conceited mind, I like to think that I sit somewhere along the middle of the two sides. Erased was easily the best showing that the winter season had to offer, and the amount of discussion and popularity it had is a bit of evidence. Personally I loved Erased, and I think that it is one of the more prominent anime to have come out in the last while.

Let us start with the story that Erased provides us with. The main character is Satoru Fujinuma, a 29 year old manga artist/pizza delivery boy. He experiences a unique phenomenon that he calls "Revival" that zips him back in time before an accident of some sort. Lo and behold, his mother is killed one night and it turns out that to prevent this incident he must travel back 18 years, all the way to his childhood, right when a string of abductions are to occur. A large portion of the anime is spent with a highlight on saving his classmate, Kayo Hinazuki (one of the flaws in Erased), and after a short and hasty conclusion to the two other children who would be abducted, Satoru is faced with the abductor. When all is said and done, Satoru goes into a coma and wakes up whatever amount of years later, only to face the abductor and defeat him in a final showdown. Erased ends fuzzy and with happiness on the horizon. The praise that the series gets is from the way that the story is presented and the twists in development. Every episode left us with a cliffhanger and that alone was enough to make us want more. Without a doubt, there is an interesting plot present, and while the pacing could have been much better, it was not detrimental to the success of the series.

When we take a look at the characters, we can see there's a good amount of depth to each of them. Obviously the concept of having 29 year old Satoru acting as a child is something that isn't very typical, so it does give a bit of a unique view. For the rest of the characters, there aren't really any outstanding ones besides Satoru's mom, Kayo, Yashiro, and Kenya (which is obvious with the screentime that they get). In my eyes the character department is above average, but nothing spectacular.

The animation and soundtrack are two highlights of the show. Atmosphere and mood were wonderfully and masterfully done, and definitely worthy of applause. There are scenes that truly send a shiver down your spine. In my opinion the art style is great, and A-1 Pictures have done an amazing job with the pieces of music that they used.

Unfortunately due to a large amount of hype, Erased gets a lot of bad rap, however when you ignore that and watch the anime for yourself, you can see that it truly is something worthwhile and special.

Best Girl: AFTER THAT AMAZING SHOW OF DEDICATION AND PURE LOVE FOR HER SON, COULD WE PLEASE HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR MS. FUJINUMA


God Eater (13)

I Rate: 7.5/10.0
One Sentence: If the first nine episodes were as good as the last four God Eater would have been amazing, but I wouldn't be saying this if they were.

God Eater is a bag of mixed marbles (is that how you say it?) There was the rare episode that was done exceptionally well, but asides from that the anime doesn't reach the mark. Props to ufotable for the surge of quality in the episodes after the show's break, but that will never erase what happened in the first nine episodes.

I'll be straightforward with you; I don't remember what happened in the first nine episodes. All I can say is that the plot doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, nor is it mindblowingly great. You can expect the plot to follow something along the lines of a typical shounen anime. The main character starts out relatively weak and then for some reason or another (in God Eater's case, it was a conveniently overpowered weapon) gets massive and ripped to defeat some "unbeatable" raid boss, at his own expense. There's a few cool little things here and there, but overall nothing special.

The characters are all either badasses or the comm guy or the tech guy who's always sitting at HQ spewing lines like, "CAAAAAAAAP'N, HE'S GONE OFF THE RADAR." There really isn't anything noteworthy here. There's a tiny bit of development, but hey, what else are you going to expect from an action show?

At the very beginning I had a hard time even looking at God Eater, because of its unorthodox art style and animation, but by the time I finished episode thirteen I had come to love and appreciate it. In terms of my personal taste, the style felt very clean and appropriate for the show. The animation was also good, although that is to be said for many action anime.

Best Girl: IROHA UTSUGI FOR #2 ONEE-CHAN OF THE YEAR WHAT'S UP WITH ALL THESE CAPS


Haikyuu!! 2 (25)

I Rate: 8.5/10.0
One Sentence: HOLY MOLY WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A THIRD INSTALLMENT FOLKS, THE VOLLEYBALL TRAIN AIN'T STOPPING HERE CHOO CHOO.

Honestly there's isn't anything else to say except that Haikyuu!! might have somehow gotten even better since the first season. The quality has been consistent throughout both seasons and there is never a boring episode. As with the first season, I also thoroughly enjoyed this season and it was my absolute pleasure to have an opportunity to continue my ride on the Haikyuu!! hype train.

There really isn't too much speculation when it comes to something like Haikyuu!! 2 and how it will end. About halfway through the season it was evident that the Karasuno squad just had to win, (after their crushing defeat handed to them by Aoba Josai in the first season) and that the next challengers would be Shiratowizawa. Because of this I find it difficult to claim that the predictability of Haikyuu!! 2 is a factor that takes away from the quality of the anime. Asides from the actual events that transpire, there's a very good amount of backstory for a lot of the characters.

As said, loads of character development present, all while still keeping the practices and games and "actual volleyball" there and relevant. If my memory serves right, I said something about some side characters getting shafted to the side in the first season. The awesome part is that this season takes care to give each of the players a spotlight, even going as far as to introduce a new (well, not really new, but nobody knew him back in season one) Karasuno player and giving detailed stories on players on other teams.

The art, animation, and music remain spectacular, with fluid, masterful animation and songs that get you hyped up and ready to go. There's a lot of attention to the little things and you come to appreciate those details. Loads of breathtaking animation that is absolutely perfect for the fast paced nature of Haikyuu!! 2.

It's been a wild ride with Haikyuu!! 2 and a third installment is in the works, so the hype train will continue. I don't remember seeing if it was officially said to be a movie or another episodic season, but nonetheless, I know that sometime in the future I'll be able to once again enjoy the fantastic sports anime of Haikyuu!!

Best Girl: Hitoka stole the spotlight this time around, but really both managers are amazing


KonoSuba (10)

I Rate: 7.8/10.0
One Sentence: Unexpectedly hilarious and awesome for something that looked like a generic SAO or DanMachi.

It wasn't until KonoSuba was just about wrapping up its short season that I finally decided to sit myself down and watch at least an episode of what was I had naively labelled as another generic fantasy/adventure anime. But I am so glad that I did.

KonoSuba had me in fits of absolute laughter, episode by episode there was always something humorous around the corner. The story, while definitely not anything spectacular, is loose, but provides firm ground for other aspects of the anime. Essentially what happens is our MC, Kazuma, dies and is transported to a limbo of sorts. He is greeted by Aqua, the goddess in charge of this space, and she recruits him to be reborn in a fantasy world, your typical MMORPG, while also granting Kazuma the ability to take any single one thing with him to this world. After being mocked and teased, Kazuma seizes his chance and chooses Aqua herself as the one thing he wishes to take, and as you can guess, hilarity ensues. The events that transpire through those oh so short 10 episodes have the perfect balance of comedy and touching moments, and that was huge towards my personal enjoyment.

Now for the characters. All of them are hysterical in their own little ways, and their personal quirks make them stand out as original characters. I thought that Studio DEEN did a great job twisting the archetypes of a MMORPG party and in that way the characters are actually interesting to watch. As such, the run down of the KonoSuba party is

• Kazuma, the leader who tries to keep his party together and functional to no avail
• Aqua, the archpriest who can really do nothing except pull out all the stops when needed
• Megumin, the archwizard who deals only in explosive magic and only has enough energy for one huge explosive attack before passing out, and
• Darkness, the masochistic crusader who hits literally nothing but is willing to tank everything

The colours and art are bright and cheery, fitting for the lighthearted theme that KonoSuba encapsulates. I rather enjoyed the art style and the soundtrack is nothing impressive, but definitely gets the job done.

One of the best parts of the anime is the way that meta commentary and criticism on the world (symbolizing the fantasy/adventure genre) in cleverly incorporated. Studio DEEN utilizes the fact that Kazuma comes from another world to use him for this purpose, and this makes it all the more funny. I would recommend KonoSuba to any anime fan in a heartbeat.

Best Girl: all of them are great in their own way, but the award goes to Aqua-sama


Musaigen no Phantom World (13)

I Rate: 6.9/10.0
One Sentence: Dumbest thing to come out of KyoAni in a while, but somehow manages to claw its way to decency in the very last part of the season.

So pretty much the only reason why I planned to watch Musaigen no Phantom World was because it was a coveted KyoAni production, but I learned the hard way that coming from a renowned studio does little to the actual quality of the anime. I'll try to keep my thoughts short on this (but that should be easy seeing as I'd rather spend less time writing about it anyways).

The anime works with episodic plots, and the only time the story bridges through more than one episode is in the last two installments of the season. This is to be expected, and really does not hinder the show in any way. What does make Musaigen no Phantom World a forgettable watch is the content and the way that it is presented. There was a disgusting amount of fan service in the first episode alone (however it's worthwhile to mention that it was toned down quite a bit). The whole thing with Mai having to grope herself in an erotic manner to withdraw power from her body was also a turn off. Basically there is no profound story of any sort. However to give credit where it is due, the last two episodes were much higher in quality compared to the episodes before it. I enjoyed the Enigma arc.

Characters are straight from a cookie cutter and believe me when I say that nobody is interesting in the slightest. Everybody has experienced a tragedy of some sort and that is where they gain the motivation and power to fight (although if I am to be fair, that is every character in their simplest form). They were pretty looking though, which brings us to our next topic.

Art and animation (we'll ignore soundtrack since there wasn't anything prominent) are excellent, as expected of KyoAni. The colours seemed a tad bit off to me, but besides that everything else was top notch. All of the characters were drawn really well and looked great in general. That's... that's it.

Next time you're searching for an anime to watch and stumble across Musaigen no Phantom World, I would definitely choose to skip it. There is nothing that you haven't seen or experienced before, and it is easily forgotten.

Best Girl: Reina (only because she is voiced by the same VA who did Ayase)