English Dub Review : Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy “Black Spider of Disaster”

After watching this episode of Tsukimichi: Moonlight Fantasy, I’ve come to the conclusion that the over the top meta jokes that’s made about the Isekai genre makes the tropes of said genre all the more tolerable. I’ve been sitting here now, for two weeks, waiting for Tsukimichi to take itself seriously for a bit like most do, but the over the top humor and dragon tits do enough to keep the tropes from being that much more annoying.

However, there was a feeling like the charm wore off a bit. There’s definitely a formula brewing, and that will be touched on later. But a lot of the comedy and charm was lost this week, probably because the plot was copy and paste from “Failed…Hero,” and we’re venturing dangerously close into harem territory, which is the most unenjoyable anime genre’s so far.

We didn’t get a whole lot about Shin in “Failed…Hero,” but that’s fixed in “Black Spider of Disaster, because we get to see the depths of obsession that Shin has with Makoto’s power. This power even borders on thirst, because of how she’d let Makoto just take her if he wanted to. Even with all of the over the top meta and self-referential humor, this just throws everything over the top. I was rolling, because most Isekai have the man drooling and obsessing over the woman. I dig this role reversal.

However, as “Black Spider of Disaster” rolls on, we have to deal with what feels like the weirdest love triangle with Emma, Shin, and Makoto. Because of Makoto’s deeds, the orcs in town move into Shin’s demi-plane, which was made hospitable because of Makoto’s contract with her. What was hilarious, though, is that Shin has a new hobby in watching historical fiction through Makoto’s head.

And just like that, Makoto finally has a goal. He found his family through memory clouds Shin left around. There’s a lot of movement on this, where he decides to show some resolve, and walk the path his mother and father walked so that he can live up to their legacy. Before the break, we see the namesake of the episode, just to come back around to Makoto.

Makoto is out being, well, Makoto, when he realizes that he has a second type of power from called kai. He was able to heal one of the orcs, but ended up hurting himself. The blood, attracted the spider, just as Shin arrived back with a dwarf that was attacked by the spider. The fight isn’t going the way Makoto wants at first, complete with a spider leg going through his chest. He was able to do enough damage to satiate the hunger of the spider, coercing the spider to become more friendly towards him. And by friendly, I mean, she enters into a contract with Makoto as well, turning herself into a human as well.

Tsukimichi: Moonlight Fantasy stalled pretty hard this week. I found myself really enjoying some of the nuances and what I imagine is a reference to Nicol Bolas and his meditation realm from Magic: the Gathering with Shin’s demi-plane. But there was more of the same, coming from the magic training, exploring, and the “oh my god! You’re so powerful!” scene. Variation does wonders, and there was next to none. I pray that it changes, because Tsukimichi can go from a very enjoyable anime to a slog to watch in the span of two weeks.

Overall, “Black Spider of Disaster” was a miss. There were some enjoyable moments, but I feel like we’re one more big tittied waifu away from becoming a big disappointment. “Black Spider of Disaster” gets a