Author: Lenlo

Steins;Gate 0 – 20 [ Rinascimento of the Unwavering Promise -Promised Rinascimento-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

Sometimes, even problem children will surprise you. This week, Steins;Gate 0 did just that. I was not expecting a leap to the future, and now that I have seen it, I want more. Sadly I don’t think I will get it. Not much anyways. Lets jump in!

So, outright, this episode wasn’t bad. I like that we got to see the dystopian future in more than just flash backs (flash forwards?). But after the initial enjoyment, all it really did was remind me of what a waste of potential this series is. Take this future episode as the perfect example. Why should we care about Ruka or Suzuha or Ferris here? Suzuha just “died” 2 episodes ago, and now Ruka is “dying”, but we are about to go back to 2011. Steins;Gate 0 hasn’t spent enough time with these characters to make me care about them. We didn’t see them suffer through this war, we didn’t see any of these experiences. Its like they are copy-pasted from the 2011 timeline into now, with military redesigns. Animosh, from our chatbox, said it very well. Everyone but Okabe feels like a character from a mediocre fan-fiction.

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Banana Fish – 9 [Save Me The Waltz]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Ladies and gentleman, for the first time writing these posts, I legitimately do not know where to being. This week Banana Fish proved itself, unequivocally, the best drama of the season. I am willing to admit, I started crying a bit this week. So let’s just jump in.

So, right off the bat, I was not expecting what happened this week. This felt like a finale for another anime, which since we are nearing the end of the cour sorta makes sense. But the fact that Banana Fish was willing to kill off one of its central characters in the 9th episode? And in such a brutal way. I am impressed. Banana Fish does a great job of making sure none of the characters feel safe. Sure, Ash and Eiji may survive, but at this point there’s no guarantee they will get through in one piece. That 4 characters have died in 9 episodes only enhances that feeling of unease. Its this kind of buildup that makes every confrontation with the villains tense. Because, unlike say a Shounen like Fairy Tail or Naruto, Banana Fish has proven that actions have consequences in its story. Consequences like say, Shorter.

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Steins;Gate 0 – 19 [Altair of the Cyclic Coordinate -Time-leap Machine-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

Hello and welcome to another week of, I don’t really care anymore. Apologies for the lateness of this, but I have simply been so… un-enthused with Steins;Gate 0 recently. So without further ado, lets jump in and see why.

So to start off, Steins;Gate 0 has become boring. And here is why. With easy access to limited time travel removed, it is afraid to commit to anything that shakes the status quo. It took us 19 episodes to get to the lock-down point. The moment that Okabe is supposed to dedicate the rest of the season to fixing, the big “wow” moment. And now that we are finally here, what do we get? A “are they aren’t they dead” scenario where Steins;Gate 0 is afraid to actually commit and kill off any of its titular characters. Hell, the only characters Steins;Gate 0 IS willing to kill off onscreen are Reyes, who is criminally underused, and Kagari, a character whom I hate even exists. There are no stakes. Steins;Gate 0 has backpedaled or reversed every major event with nary a scratch on our leads. It’s boring.

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Banana Fish – 8 [Banal Story]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Another week, another top-notch episode of Banana Fish. This week Shorter steps up, we find out what Banana Fish really is, and we head back to New York. Lots happened, so let’s dive in!

So, I have to say I love the pacing of Banana Fish. I recently learned that Banana Fish actually has one more volume than Naoki Urasawa’s epic that is Monster. Yet Monster got a 74 episode adaptation and, because of this, flagged in some parts. So with all of this content, odds are Banana Fish is going to keep this breakneck pace for its entire 24 episode run. And personally, so long as the quality of the writing is still there, I love it. My one worry is that, with 19 volumes getting compounded into a 24 episode run, the finer details will get lost or ruined. For instance, since we are going back to New York, it already feels like some sort of climax is approaching. I have no idea where Banana Fish will go after this. But I have faith. Now onto this episode’s highlight reel!

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Banana Fish – 7 [The Rich Boy]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

This is it, this is what I needed this week. Banana Fish has become my weekly dose of great drama. This week we meet up with Max’s family, Shorter learns just how terrible gangs are, and we meet a new villain. Lets jump in!

Starting off with the general stuff, what blew me away the most this week were the VA’s. Naturally, as some punk who can’t speak Japanese, I can’t appreciate the finer details. But there were so many scenes this week where, even if my basic appreciation for the language, I noticed it. Makoto Furukawa for instance as Shorter did a phenomenal job. His breakdown near the end was simply a treat. Then there were Ash and Eiji’s conversation, or Shorter meeting with his friend as he slowly fell apart. Even Yut’s sudden tone switch after being found out. Banana Fish did a great job selecting its VA’s, because I am hard pressed to find I don’t actually like. At least among the main cast. And their English ability? Max yelling his son’s name so well surprised me. Just, all around, Banana Fish deserves some recognition on this front.
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Steins;Gate 0 – 18 [Altair of Translational Symmetry -Translational Symmetry-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

This must be what a disappointed father feels like. You want to believe the best, but they just keep letting you down. This week, Steins;Gate 0 has let me down. Hard. Lets jump in.

So, where to begin. First off, once again, Steins;Gate 0 proves its not an action series. So many still shots and poor choreography. So much of what happened was ludicrous and out of place for a series focused on character drama. I think the most egregious example of ridiculous action however is, of course, Kagari’s fault. The shot of her just… cutting a mans head off, a trained soldier, with her bare hands like a karate chop. I hate this shot so much. Steins;Gate is not a gory, super violent action series. This has no place, it doesn’t fit in what the series is. Speaking of Kagari, she is involved in/a direct consequence of everything bad about Steins;Gate 0. So you know what? Strap in, cause I am about to go on a rant.

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Banana Fish – 6 [My Lost City]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Banana Fish, Banana Fish, does whatever a crime drama does. Drives a van, shoots a father-figure, lookout its Banana Fish. Simpson’s references aside, this week Banana Fish gives us a dark look into Ash’s past and both starts and completes our road trip. Lets jump in!

Starting off, this week was probably the weakest so far for me. That doesn’t mean it was bad, Banana Fish has been consistently great, so being simply ‘good’ is still praiseworthy. However I do have some issues. My big one has to be the father. He was introduced, his conflict with Ash brought out, and then resolved in a single episode. I get that was supposed to be the mini-story for the episode, but it just fell flat to me. We never really learned why he hated Ash so much, only at the end for him to come out and love him again? We had incomplete information going into that ‘finale’, and it hurt it. I think one of the reasons this feel short however comes to how this adaptation is being done. This sort of attitude, while still around today, fits much better in the original 1980’s setting.

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Steins;Gate 0 – 17 [Altair of the Hyperbolic Plane -Beltrami Pseudosphere-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

Finally, Steins;Gate 0 has fully committed. There’s no going back from here. This week we have the continued fallout of episode 16, Daru being a good father, and a Mayurii sized dose of suffering. Buckle in, because this is a long one. Lets jump in!

First, some obvious stuff. Steins;Gate 0 continues to not be an action series. I don’t want to dwell on this to long, because it really is a small if obvious gripe about the series. But the entire rooftop action scene was… awkward at best. The soldiers were Stormtrooper levels of accurate, while also being about as durable as paper. With that criticism out of the way, Kana Hanazawa, you are amazing. Mayuri’s VA did a great job this week. Last week was all about Okabe’s breakdown, and it was glorious. It makes sense that Mayuri would get a similar followup in this episode. It helps that I had completely forgotten that Mayuri didn’t know about the future. The only questionable part of the whole thing was the Hikoboshi and Orihime aspects, which forced me to read up on Tanabata. I recommend you do to, as its referenced a lot.

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Banana Fish – 5 [From Death to Morning]

by Lenlo, posted in Banana Fish, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

Banana Fish, oh Banana Fish, how you like to hit me in the feels. This week Ash finally gets out of prison, we learn just how depraved Dino is, and everyone preps for a road trip. Lets jump in!

So general stuff first, as per usual. Banana Fish’s pacing continues to be spot on. 5 episodes in and we have basically finished our first arc, so to speak, and we did so with a bang. It nails the minor climax to this NY arc before we go on a road trip, having completely established our major players on both sides. I am a bit confused how Max just so happened to get out of prison the same day as Ash, but am glad he is staying with the story. The animation also continues to be great. Im not sure if its just the style, really thin black lines instead of anime’s normal thicker ones. But it just works. Ash’s jacket and hair fluttering in the wind, and Shorters hair, always look fabulous to me. I love it all. Now onto the meat.

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Steins;Gate 0 – 16 [Altair of the Point at Infinity -Vega and Altair-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

Hello and welcome to the return of Steins;Gate 0, this time with 100% more quality! This week, plot finally happens, secrets are outed and Okabe gets into a fist fight. Lets jump in!

To start off, simple general stuff, this is in my opinion the best episode of Steins;Gate 0 in a while. Mostly because things are finally happening, but even then, the 3 confrontations this episode were well done. This episode, finally, forced Okabe to confront and start thinking about time travel again. He’s been avoiding it like the plague, but with Daru and Maho’s secret out, he can’t any longer. From an animation perspective, there wasn’t much. It was mostly still shots. But those still shots looked good, the camera angles really worked. Even if there was some inconsistencies between shots in terms of position. The VA was the best part however. Specifically, Daru’s anger was perfect. For a second, I could really hear Gilgamesh for a few lines there. It was especially nice to see/hear the effects of Okabe’s attitude so far. Lots to unpack in these conversations.

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