Black Clover S2
Short Synopsis: Season 2 of Black Clover, though it’s really more like episodes 170-194. You know what this is.
Lenlo: Let’s be real here, you’re not watching this unless you’ve watched the previous 170 episodes of Black Clover. And if you have, then you know whether or not this series is for you. So instead of trying to sell you on a long running shounen series that I’ve already done a lengthy introductory post about, let’s instead talk about what existing Black Clover fans are getting out of this season. And you know what? They are eating good. Not only is this one of the best arcs of the series, with solid villains, solid fights, lots of story lines and character arcs coming together all at once, considering what Studio Pierrot has done to this series before, it’s also shockingly well produced. I don’t just mean the fights, which are great don’t get me wrong, but also the conversations, the camera work, the expressions. It’s all good! Just like how One Piece benefited immensely from becoming seasonal (just look at Elbaf for proof), so too has Black Clover. And after watching episode 2 as well before writing this, it feels like they may be able to keep this up for the whole season. So yeah, this is probably the best time to be/become a Black Clover fan. Jump in the water, have fun, watch the pretty lights go brr.
Potential: 70%
Kyoufu Collector
Short Synopsis: A boy in a red hood rescues people from cursed tales and legends.
Mario: I don’t think anime has a good track record with horror, and so far, Kyoufu Collector looks to be another forgettable entry in that genre. Here we have two unrelated stories of how old legends come true and end up cursing real people, but formula-wise they are almost identical. This episode is neither scary (as we know our main character will save the victims at the end of the day) nor does it have enough time to properly delve into either case. We have the usual eerie build-up, with a creepy old neighborhood gossip character (really?) and people acting strangely without context. In the first story, for example, a girl opens her window at midnight and follows her “mom” to the top of her building. Why? To top it off, the visuals aren’t up to par either. Many scenes go heavy on the saturation without good reason, which takes me out of the story every time. I wouldn’t recommend this show to anyone, even fans of trashy horror.
Potential: 0%
Dark Machine: The Animation
Short Synopsis: A young man joins an esports team in order to fulfill his grandfather’s dying wish.
Wooper: You read that synopsis correctly – the main character of this show is roped into its competitive esports scene because of an old man’s final wishes. I’m sure if he were still with us today, his grandpa would check in on him with a friendly, “Are ya winnin’, grandson?” The answer would be yes, because our leading man Kairi is a natural god gamer despite never having played Dark Machine, the biggest game in town. Its currency is more valuable than cash, its top player has AR helmet-wearing goons that do his bidding, etc. The tone isn’t as simpering as that of Overgeared, as the cast here have at least some personality outside their game of choice, but not enough to sustain this premiere once the 3-on-3 match begins around the halfway point. Video games are fun to play, and they can even be fun to watch real people play on occasion. But a line has to be drawn somewhere, and for me, it’s watching fictional people play a fictional esport in a fictional anime. Of course, Dark Machine has a real world presence in the form of some Web3 blockchain game, but that might as well be fictional too, since it was announced a couple years ago, has no release date, and is saddled with an “integrated NFT marketplace.” I hope studio Production +h broke even on this show, because they’ve got one that actually matters (Hirayasumi) coming out in 2027, and I’d hate for Crypto: The Animation to impinge on the creation of worthwhile art.
Potential: $0.005025
