Author: Lenlo

Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 9

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

SpyXFamily S2 – 8 [The Symphony Upon the Ship]

This was good. In fact I’d go so far as to say this was my favorite episode of SpyXFamily this season, maybe of the entire show. It had everything. A badass fight scene where Yor got to strut her stuff against a variety of enemies with their own unique gimmicks, all well choreographed and timed to music with a flashy fireworks backdrop, as well as an emotional and personal internal decision finally letting Yor take ownership of her job. We’ve known why Loid works as a spy for a long time, he wants to prevent a war, sacrificing his chance at a normal life to protect everyone else’s. But Yor has always felt a bit aimless, doing this job to look after a brother that’s already an adult getting by on his own. She herself mentions maybe quitting a few times, making it not feel very important. This episode fixes that. She finally has the chance to look at what she’s doing, steel herself as to the possible consequences, and commit for reasons all her own. And you know what? She’s right. Loid would completely understand, hell he’d probably encourage it and respect her for making the choice. Because it’s basically the same choice he made when becoming a spy. I’ve bitched for a long, long time about Yor feeling like a 3rd wheel in the show, about how she needed an arc of her own. And a couple of you haven’t been too happy about that, feel I’ve been unfair. Well to me, this episode is vindication. This is how good SpyXFamily can be when it has 3 main characters, not 2 and a tag-a-long wife. It was fantastic, and I’m really really looking forward to tomorrows (Or today depending on when this goes up) climax to the arc. Good shit.

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Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 19 [Right and Wrong, Part 2]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to another week of Jujutsu Kaisen! I’m not thrilled with this episode, not because of any production issues surprisingly enough, its just narratively a mess. Why do I say that? Well lets dive in and talk about it.

So like I said, visually this week was fine. Jujutsu Kaisen is handling its behind-the-scenes melt rather well all things considered. This episode didn’t look great by any means, lots of the same cost cutting measures we’ve been seeing for a while and some rather uninspired shots. But by and large for a production that’s ostensibly falling apart according to its own animators, this episode wasn’t a chore to work on. There’s even some public tweets from the episode director, Naoki Miyajima, thanking the team that are generally positive. And it’s not like there weren’t good shots either, I can think of two scenes in particular stood out during the fights. If this is the worst Jujutsu Kaisen’s production gets, good on them. And by “them” I mean the animators working their asses off to make this production work. Treat your employees better MAPPA.

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The Big O – 19/20 [Eyewitness/Stripes] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, The Big O, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to another week of The Big O! This week we have robot fights, some existential dread, and even romance for those that are into that sort of thing (Me, I am, Hi). We have a lot too talk about this week, so lets dive right into it!

First up we have episode 19, “Eyewitness”. This was kind of an odd episode, where the central plot didn’t really involve Roger at all. Instead it was mostly about Dastun as he works to solve the case of the Android crusher, a criminal targeting and destroying androids, while also dealing with a special investigator sent from above named Frederick O’Reilly, shortened to Freddy. This is a pretty classic detective story, the twist being the Freddy is an android himself and the focus is less on the criminal and more on Dastun coming to respect Freddy for his work. I call it odd because this sort of transhumanist plot, one all about Dastun accepting Freddy for his commitment to his work, feels a bit out of place with where Big O is right now. Still, it was solid and there were plenty of side-details to help it along.

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Guest Post: Unearthed Baubles with Firechick – Fire Emblem Engage (74/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews

Rating: 74/100

As of today, I’ve gotten through quite a few Fire Emblem games, with varying degrees of completion. I’ve played the NES Switch port of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and the subject of today’s review, Fire Emblem Engage, to completion. I’m halfway through both Three Houses and Sacred Stones, started Fates, but haven’t finished it yet. I originally wasn’t going to play Engage because the commercials for it made it seem like a console gacha game with monetary microtransactions, though that turned out to not be the case. What clinched the deal was finding out one of my favorite newer voice actors was going to play one of the characters, so…yeah. I know, I’m shallow like that. It turned out to be money well spent, as I found Fire Emblem Engage to be pretty fun, though not without its issues.
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Migi & Dali – 9 [Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Migi & Dali

Welcome all, to an eventful week of Migi & Dali! So… so very much happened, it’s kind of insane. If you ask me it’s easily the best episode of the show yet, keeping just enough weirdness to be charming to boot. So without further ado, lets dive into it!

Starting off, god that was a wild episode. Where do I even begin… How about Reiko, let’s pick up with her. While checking in with Eiji
as Sali to find out why he saved “Hitori”, Migi ends up revealing himself and setting Reiko on Dali and the Sonoyamas. Why? To protect her secrets of course. It’s unclear which she cares about more, protecting Eiji from having murdered Metry or her own inability to have children. Which, tangent, I called by the way. I guessed back during the weird baby stuff that Eiji and Karen weren’t actually her kids. She’s been stealing the children of others to raise as her own. All the clues were there and it makes this reveal feel rather good. Getting back on topic though, at the end of the day what matters is that she’s willing to kill for these secrets.

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Dr. STONE New World P2 – 6/7 [Joker/Flicker of Doom]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Dr.STONE

Welcome all, to another late week of Dr. STONE! I’ll admit, I’ve not had much motivation, or energy, to write about it lately. Every time I think to I find something better to do. Still, the show must go on, so here we are! Lets dive into it.

First up we have episode 6, “Joker”. This one continues the conflict as our Kingdom of Science friends charge the boat. And if I’m being honest? Not a whole lot happened. So instead of boring you with a play by play, lets just hit the big ones, starting with Hyoga’s return. I had actually forgotten about this. Both that Hyoga was on the ship and that he returned in this arc at all. Despite that, I do quite like it. His return feels well done and makes sense. He really is the only person they have left who could go toe-to-toe with Moz, plus even as a villain his motivations don’t allow him to turn on them. He’s a man who does things properly, the right way. And Hyoga? He can’t deny, for all their differences, that Senku and the Kingdom of Science do things properly.

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Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 18 [Right and Wrong]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to another week of Jujutsu Kaisen! The series has had a rough few weeks, riding that line between ambition and failure, all the while behind the scenes animators are one step away from revolting. And wouldn’t you know it? Eventually something had to give. Without further ado, lets dive into the episode!

To get started, despite that introduction this episode actually looked better than I expected it to. Hearing about the delay for streaming services, the displeasure behind the scenes, I thought this was going to be an absolute mess. Instead? It was only… sort of a mess. Despite clearly unfinished work, and a plethora of short cuts taken to get it out the door, I don’t think the average viewer would be able to notice what was wrong. That doesn’t excuse it, but it does go to show how even with a troubled production Jujutsu Kaisen is making it out the door. Whether or not that will last, there are still 5 more episodes to go, is another matter. But for now at least, it isn’t imploding as much as I thought it would.

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Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 8 + Scott Pilgrim

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Undead Unluck – 8 [Victhor]

Woooo Undead Unluck continues to be one of my favorites, even managing to take my top spot this week. There was some jank near the end, sure, but by and large it all looked pretty good with some smart direction. A bit to much red for my taste, but hey they like the colors. As for the content, Shen got to be a badass, kicking around Spoil with Wukong’s mythical staff, before being bodied by Victor. Meanwhile Victor gets to show off the true power of Andy’s Undead ability, abusing it in ways Andy has either never thought to or just can’t. And to top it all off we continue to get these little tidbits about Undead Unlucks world. Things like days of the week not existing, mentions of a “decent lineup this time” whatever that means, all this talk of “rules”. It’s peak Shounen fun, and I enjoy it a lot. David Productions is doing a great job with the adaptation and there are a few more moments I’m really looking forward to seeing animated. Also I really appreciate putting all of Shen’s phrases in Chinese, it’s a nice touch.

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The Big O – 17/18 [Leviathan/The Greatest Villain] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, The Big O, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to another week of The Big O! This is a fun week, a week of villains. Both of my favorites make a return, with Schwarzwald and Beck getting one episode each. One is a serious discussion on the search for truth while the other is fun Super Sentai parody. Both are pretty good. So without further ado, lets dive into the episodes!

First up is episode 17, “Leviathan”. This is all Schwartzwald, his swansong. In a last ditch attempt to spread his message to the people of Paradigm City, Schwartzwald has printed his manifesto on leaflets and dropped from the sky everywhere he can. He tells people to search for the truth, to not avert their eyes or else they become worthless puppets to those keeping everything hidden. Likening our fear of the dark to a wider fear of the unknown, to the question of happy ignorance or painful truths. It’s nice! As what feel like effectively his last words, this manifesto encompasses Schwarzwald well. Both his desire for truth and natural journalistic curiosity as well as how it’s not all societally minded. There are a few lines in there about his own personal role in it all, like he’s trying to vindicate himself at the end, showing us it isn’t all altruistic.

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Migi & Dali – 8 [Two ≠ One]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Migi & Dali

Welcome all, to another episode of Migi & Dali! This week the twins split, one becoming two, each walking their own path. How will they manage without each other? Can they figure out who they are independent of their twin? And what about the murder of their mother? There’s a lot to talk about this week, so lets dive in!

This episode is all about Migi splitting from Dali entirely, the opening scene ending with Migi literally and figuratively shoving him into the darkness, consumed by revenge, while he walks out towards his newfound freedom. As silly and weird as Migi & Dali can be, that doesn’t stop it from having some fantastic visual metaphors. The way Migi & Dali portrayed his desire for freedom, how he took control of his life riding off into the rain with Shunpei dressed as the birds he loves so much, was great. For the first time he doesn’t have to be “Hitori” around someone, he can simply be “Migi”. And he looks so happy doing it. The fact this ascension ends with Dali’s fall, with the two who are one becoming two once more, was icing on the cake.

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