Apocalypse Hotel

Episode 4

This is my favorite anime episode of the year to date. Everything that Apocalypse Hotel does well is done even better here. It's a tour de force of adventure that breaks out of Gingarou's walls and leaps into a life-or-death struggle against an ornery sandworm. It's funny, poignant, thrilling, surprising, and only mildly infringing on the copyright of Tremors.

The star is obviously Ponko, Gingarou's newest employee, as well as the one least prone to rusting. She's plucky, talkative, and grows up satisfyingly throughout the episode. But that latter point about not rusting is arguably even more paramount, because that's what kicks everything off. Those biological tanuki bodies can't subsist on electricity. They need food, and they need a variety of food. Since the post-apocalypse culinary offerings are no longer in sync with the hotel's menu, some passive-aggressive comments prompt the eager-to-please Yachiyo and the eager-for-adventure Ponko to rustle up some novel grub. Unfortunately, they're not the only hungry guys out there.

Yachiyo and Ponko have great chemistry, and that proves to be the backbone of this episode (Environment Checker Robot earns an honorable mention). There are the obvious robot-human(oid) contrasts at play, but they're not as pronounced as they could be. It feels more like Yachiyo is an earnest but exhausted supervisor and Ponko is an eager but overzealous upstart—which is true! And I like that Ponko is genuinely stoked to be working for her. The rest of her family seems to have an amicable, if cooler, relationship with the hotel (and the dad, to be fair, is still rattled by Yachiyo's uppercut). Ponko is special; it sets her apart and gives the rest of the tanuki crew more definition. I also love the irony that Yachiyo ends up low on energy in a story about securing food for her guests. While she's programmed to prioritize the hotel, Ponko's attitude and intervention guide her to the conclusion that you need to take care of yourself to take care of others. Snacks can save your life.

This episode gives the art direction plenty of room to flex its sizable muscles. It's appropriate that the story is about eating, because the visuals on screen are a feast for the eyes. We chow down on a collage of luscious landscapes, including urban decay, verdant forestry, and a desertified city. Director Kana Shundo takes on storyboarding duty again this week, so she's definitely not afraid to be ambitious and more than rises to the occasion. The creature design is great, too. That might be the best-looking anime camel I've ever seen, and the Nudel wears its influences on its sleeve (don't miss Shai-Hulud on the top right of your screen) while still being a compelling foe. The tongue scene is a highlight, paying homage to both Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds, two of Spielberg's greatest. These flourishes enhance the sense of adventure, and I can't say I expected that from a series about a hotel.

On the comedy side, the show continues to be gut-busting. I'll begin by saying that Yachiyo looks great with eyebags. I love and respect tired women everywhere. But the running gag with her shutting down and going into power-saving mode is yet another example of the show powering through a stupid gag with enough confidence to make it land. Elsewhere, the setup and punchline with the disembodied camel hump is perfect. That is the correct amount of blood. Yachiyo's quip about sandworm-related workers' comp is hilariously flat. And Ponko steals the show with her chainsaw antics. I was pumping my fist one moment and cracking up the next. I'd wager I was smiling throughout the entire twenty minutes. It's that kind of episode.

Thematically, the narrative homes in on the circle of life and how we adapt to it. It begins with Ponko naming the chickens they're going to eat anyway, which Yachiyo questions, giving Ponko pause. Logically, it's a silly practice. However, it's not about logic. It's about the respect paid to all creatures. Humans may be gone, but humanity remains embedded into the hotel staff's circuits and the pop-culture-poisoned tanuki brains. We name things to acknowledge them. Thus, in the end, Ponko consciously names Nudeloon before taking a chainsaw to its tail. The worm was a worthy foe, and its legacy lives on their dinner plates and in their stomachs. Bon appétit. いただきます. Thank you for the food. We invoke these words as ritual, because eating is as sacred as it gets.

In other words, with its focus on food, adventure, and hijinks, Apocalypse Hotel has cooked up an honorary Delicious in Dungeon episode. That's a fine compliment to have.

Rating:

Apocalypse Hotel is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Tuesdays.

Steve is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. Apparently, he is ANN's subject matter expert when it comes to anime about hotels and/or girls in the post-apocalypse. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.