Author: Lenlo

Vinland Saga S2 – 15/16 [Storm/Great Purpose]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome all, to another (very late) week of Vinland Saga! Due to my busy schedule this week is a double header, meaning we have a lot to talk about. Shit’s going down on the farm and it’s up to Thorfinn and Einar to navigate it. So without further ado, lets dive in!

So getting into the episodes, last week marked a slow escalation of the conflict. Bit by bit something seems to keep going wrong. From Gardar showing up to Arnheid’s story to him escaping, bit by bit conflict is beginning to creep into their “idyllic” farm life. In a way it’s indicative of the lie that they’ve been living in. This idea that they had finally found a place (mostly) free of conflict. I quite like it to be honest. I think it does a great job of slowly building up the tension as Canute and his forces get closer and closer. We know that they are coming. It’s just a question of when will they get here, at what point in all of this will they interrupt and bring even more conflict to the farm.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S3 – 3 [A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome all to another week of Kimetsu no Yaiba! This episode see’s things kick off as demons finally arrive! Are we in for another 10 episode long fight scene? Probably! Will it be any good? Let’s dive in and find out!

Before we get to deep into the action I need to get something off of my chest: Yaiba’s comedy sucks. This isn’t unexpected, it’s a battle shounen not a dedicated comedy manga. And even if it was, base level Japanese slapstick comedy really isn’t my thing. But my god did this stuff suck. Not just the structure of it, though repeating the same joke over and over again with funny chibi visuals certainly wasn’t going to help it, but the very jokes themselves sucked. What, having Haganezuka show up and repeat “Give it to me” and then being upset that was misunderstood is supposed to be funny? Or his weakness being tickling because he’s big and strong? None of this is funny! Thank god that we jumped into the action this week because if we hadn’t this would have been the worst episode so far.

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Dr. STONE S3 – 3 [First Contact]

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

Welcome all, to a tremendously late episode of Dr. STONE! Apologies for that, the usual excuses hold, I’m just incredibly busy. Without further ado though, lets dive in!

Starting off, the sound design in this weeks episode was nothing short of fantastic. In particular the bit with the radio static and the Morse Code at the end, with the music fading out and the ominous sound taking over, absolutely sold the scene. As good as it is though, this really shouldn’t be surprising. While Dr. STONE has never been the best looking show, it’s always sounded pretty good. From Tatsuya Katou and Hiroaki Tsutumi’s OST to Jin Aketagawa’s sound design, Dr. STONE has always had a very strong audial identity. I’m really glad to see that continue to hold true as the series moves into this more mystery focused direction. It’ll certainly benefit from it if the series can keep it up.

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Wolf’s Rain – 21/22 [Battle’s Red Glare/Pieces of a Shooting Star] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Wolf's Rain

Welcome all, to another week of Wolf’s Rain! We’re in the final stretch, with only 4 more weeks to go, so it’s time for Wolf’s Rain to start wrapping things up. Is that what it does? Well lets dive in and find out.

Starting off, I want to praise Wolf’s Rain’s production this week. Music, animation, backgrounds, there was a lot to love in these two episodes. Between the soldiers combat sequence and the giant walrus, the action especially stood out to me. While the Darcia keep standoff had some nice stuff in the Kiba vs Darcia fight, this is the first time I’ve been legitimately impressed by Wolf’s Rain’s animation for a while. That isn’t meant as a knock against the series of course, you can’t keep that up forever and it hasn’t looked bad in any way. Just that this weeks production got me excited for whatever finale Wolf’s Rain is cooking up, hope that it will look gorgeous.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S3 – 2 [Yoriichi Type Zero]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome back everyone, not only to a new season but to another season of Kimetsu no Yaiba! I was a bit harsh on the previous season, rightfully so I feel. While generally well produced, it felt like the season missed the mark emotionally. So the question going into this season is: Can it avoid the same? Lets dive in and find out!

After that spectacle of a pilot, Yaiba has decided to drastically slow things down. And you know what? That’s probably a good thing. As was said in the discord, the previous arc suffered from severe blueballing. It constantly set us up for some kind of emotional payoff, only to continue the fight again and again and again. This season seems to be trying to avoid that, setting up not only multiple fights with multiple Hashira but also investing us in the characters early. For instance this week we meet Kotetsu, a young Swordsmith child desperate to protect his families legacy. We learn about his home, what he holds dear, all that jazz. Nothing has really happened with it yet, mostly just pushing Tanjiro to train more. But that’s fine! If Yaiba wants to take it’s time with this stuff, I’m happy to let it. Just give me that payoff later.

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Dr. STONE S3 – 2 [Desire Is Noble]

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

We’re back everyone! Welcome to the first (new show) post of the Spring season! I give to you Dr. STONE, what is in my mind the best series Weekly Shonen Jump has had in years. We have a lot to catch up on so lets dive right into it.

Right off the bat, Dr. STONE kicks off the season by asking what it is the drives science. Senku’s answer, as per the episodes title, is greed. Desire. The idea being that this greed, this desire to know more, do more, have more, is what drives us to discover and create new things. That it’s noble! Of course this is meant to endear us to Ryusui. To take what is arguably his worst character trait, his blinding greed for all things, and portray it as something positive. Personally? I’ve never thought it worked. Ryusui always came off as someone who only stuck with everyone else because Senku was the clear path to global domination. I mean, the dude is the smartest person alive and reinventing society every day. It doesn’t matter how greedy Ryusui is if he doesn’t have some way to accomplish it. Maybe this adaptation will help though.

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Wolf’s Rain – 15-20 [Recap x4/A Dream of an Oasis/Consciously] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Wolf's Rain

Welcome everyone to another (probably late) week of Wolf’s Rain! This week sees us through the aftermath of the castle explosion, a little vision quest to remind us of our goal, and a whoooooole lot of recap. Let’s dive into it!

First up, lets start with the recaps. I promise I won’t spend long here. These were, by and large, disappointing. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise, no one really likes recaps. But what bothers me is how easily these could have been much more interesting. Wolf’s Rain could have given us new perspectives on past events, recontextualized scenes by putting us in the heads of characters we normally don’t get into. We saw a bit of this in episode 18, where it let us watch from Hubb and Quent’s perspectives. We even got a few small new scenes to spice it up, such as getting confirmation Quent is the one who shot Kiba! Do this a bit with Tsume, Hige and Toboe’s episodes and maybe they could have been less of a waste of our time. As is though, I can’t recommend anyone ever bother with these.

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Vinland Saga S2 – 14 [Freedom]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Vinland Saga

Welcome everyone, to another episode of Vinland Saga! This episode is all about Arnheid, Gardar, and how they ended up here. Not much Thorfinn or Einar, but it’s still important for them to. So lets dive right into it!

The main thrust of this episode is Arnheid’s backstory and how Vinland Saga uses it to condemn violence. Not just “aggressive” violence, ala raiders and vikings, Vinland Saga has already made it very clear how it feels about those. Rather it’s condemning “defensive” violence, this idea of “proactive defense”, of going out and fighting unnecessary fighting fights. Of course this sounds a bit odd to us. Should we not defend ourselves against others? We also see in Sverkel’s story that simply waiting out the storm, the violence, isn’t necessarily the best option either. So what’s the proper response? What are you supposed to do when someone comes at you with the intent to kill, to steal? This is a question Vinland Saga is going to have to tackle, and one it probably will soon when Canute’s army shows up.

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Spring 2023 Impressions: Ao no Orchestra, Summoned to Another World for a Second Time, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear S2

by Lenlo, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Ao no Orchestra

Short Synopsis: A former violinist is conscripted by his gym teacher to teach a schoolmate how to play.

Mario: Adding to the long list of Blue-themed titles (on that note, which one is your favorite? Mine would be “Sweet Blue Flowers”), Blue Orchestra’s first episode, despite walking a familiar path, is a solid episode all around. What this episode did right was providing a main lead worth caring for. Anime is no stranger to portray listless bored male leads, but here he never comes off as boring. Hajime is occupied with his own thoughts throughout the episode, but it provides quite well his internal conflict between his love for violin, the hatred for it because it associates with his Dad. Even when he sees the practice room, he cannot shake his memories of his Dad. The show looks pretty decent, thankfully, but it’s appropriately the sound that makes an impact here. The violin sound from an unknown girl ticks him off and he lashes out at her, the only one time in this episode where he clearly shows his emotions. The ending is where it gets a bit too conventional but the premise where he can play again (this time in an orchestra) is compelling enough for me to follow more.
Potential: 60%

Wooper: I talked down this series’ prospects in the season preview post, but Ao no Orchestra’s premiere wasn’t too bad. It opened with an impressive musical sequence as Aono (first name Hajime) recalled a time when he still enjoyed playing the violin, and slowly provided hints as to what killed his motivation as it progressed. The trouble is, when I say “slowly” provided hints, I really mean it – the pace of this episode was ponderous, with around half the script being given over to Aono’s internal monologue. Director Seiji Kishi seems to have made a lot of good calls in shaping this series, as he punctures the gloomy atmosphere with humorous outbursts from time to time, and the leisurely speed of the story is necessary so as not to overwhelm the middling animation staff. But the tone is still highly dramatic, and I don’t know that Aono can carry such a heavy version of the show with just an Asuka clone and an adult sidekick for support. (I know more characters will be introduced soon, but the guy’s name is a pun on the series’ title, so it’s clear he’ll be the focal point.) Layouts like these also feel uncomfortably vacant, meaning the show has to fight an uphill battle on the visual front. I do want to stress that Ao no Orchestra is better than I expected, though – you may enjoy it more than I did.
Potential: 30%

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time

Short Synopsis: Isekai 2: Electric Boogaloo in Another World (Again).

Lenlo: I’m tired of impressions by this point, so let me just be upfront: This is taking the idea of someone being isekai’d, bringing their whole class with them, and turning them into the most popular and powerful person around. Except this time instead of just having one harem of anime women, now they have two to pull from! I’ll be honest, if this was trying to riff on the idea of Isekai akin to Isekai Ojisan, I might be able to have some fun with it. But I sort of just tuned out the moment the lead slapped a strong female character on the ass and turned her into a domesticated seat. Yeah, no thanks.
Potential: -100%

Amun: Ah you know, what’s a little masochism among old party-mates? Okay, in all fairness, that was a pretty strange (and a bit off-color) twist. However, I didn’t completely hate the rest of the premise – it feels like the isekai genre is trying to evolve, and these various mutations are the means to do it. Summoned a second time? That’s at least something slightly original, so props for that. Now, the implementation from the mediocre animation to the use of a hero as a chair leaves something to be desired, but I think there’s at least a glimmer of hope for an enjoyable show here (the use of magic for the promised haircut was a nice touch too). Now, mind you, it’s only a glimmer – more than likely this devolves into a power fantasy harem, but let me hope here. At least one isekai will exceed expectations this season, right?!
Potential: 15%

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 2

Short Synopsis: Wearing bear related attire gives an adventurer super powers, and there are lots of cute girls.

Amun: This show is a bit of a meme, but it’s a cute meme. Yes, it’s just cute girls doing cute things in a world seemingly devoid of men, but come on – who doesn’t love bear pancakes? There really isn’t too much to think about here, but it is interesting to see our loveable adventure bear getting pulled more into the world’s politics. Also, who knew that a bear’s weakness was fighting other bears? That’ll be interesting to see if Yuna ever has to face off against her own kind – fortunately, that wasn’t this episode. If you didn’t watch the first season, this probably isn’t for you, but if you don’t mind some nauseating cuteness and the bear motifs everywhere – Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 2 is your ticket. I’ll be watching it, but I will certainly forgive anyone who doesn’t want to come along for the ride.
Potential: 60%

Spring 2023 Impressions: Insomniacs After School, Magical Destroyers, Edens Zero S2

by Lenlo, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Insomniacs after school

Short Synopsis: Two sleepless kids meet at their school’s astronomy observatory.

Lenlo: Insomniacs… Wasn’t bad. Maybe it’s because insomnia is a bitch, and I myself find it difficult to sleep at night. I can connect with that. Two people bonding over it in their little clubhouse for day-time naps is kind of cute. And the show looks fine! The character designs remind me of I Am A Hero, a manga I’ve long enjoyed. Just enough realism to their proportions and structure to feel nice without being prohibitively hard to animate. For all intents and purposes, Insomniacs seems like a solid enough highschool romance. The real question is just if that’s enough. Will it be able to remain interesting during its run, will it hold my interest? Or will I check out by episode 3 because it’s just another highschool rom-dram? Only time will tell, but it’s enough to make me give it a shot. I have a bit of hope though, because the second half as they wandered around during the night was much better than the first half.
Potential: 40%

Mario: It’s interesting to see the differences in approach between this show and last year’s “Call of the Night”. While the vampire show provokes such a distinct feeling of roaming the street at night, “Insomniacs” doesn’t go to night time until the last 5 minutes. Its focus is entirely different, about two sharing the same secrets, that of they both can’t sleep at night, and that they find a place completely their own. At its best moments, “Insomniacs” successfully sells their unusual bond where they can sleep soundly together. But at worst, the show still has its romance / coming-to-age trappings that make it feels more familiar with other romance anime. In fact, “Insomniacs” reminds me more of “Let Me Eat Your Pancreas”, a film with a similar lead girl – hyperactive but sickly girl and a premise of them spending time together “as friends”. Overall, the episode is functional, the show provides good reasons for these two to know and spend more time with each other, but it doesn’t have the nuance that I found in better romance shows like say Skip and Loafer.
Potential: 50%

Magical Destroyers

Short Synopsis: Japan cracks down on Otaku-ism and carts them off to otaku camps. A resistance forms and is…surprisingly successful?

Amun: “Magical Destroyers” is one of the few original works this season, so not much was known about it coming into the premiere. What we’ve got is a “specialized dystopia” (a la Shimoneta or to a lesser extent Kill La Kill) where being a rabid fan of anything is punishable by incarceration. Seems pretty extreme to me, but Japan historically has not been known for public policy moderation. I just wasn’t enchanted so far – the main character designs felt more appropriate for supporting cast, and the enemies feel downright lazy. I do think some of the little jokes are pretty good, like the magical girl transformation where she has to change her shirt manually. This is pretty clearly going to be a love-letter to otaku culture, but I don’t think that’s really enough to carry a full season. We’ll see, but so far, I’m not just not feeling it (although that ED was quite a trip).
Potential: 5%

Mario: There’s just something missing in this premiere that doesn’t click with me. The episode provides a neat backstory of a “post-apocalyptic” world (not really!! But it feels like that to these otaku) where the world is against the otaku population. It also has a vibrant style and a clear love for the culture, which will obviously appeal to some fans out there. However, Magical Destroyers does a very poor job of establishing its characters and their abilities, so there’s a huge gap in-between “2008” and the present-day that I cannot cross. Take Otaku Hero, our… ahem… hero, for instance. He says that he’s tired of the ongoing wars and he wants to quit. Fair enough, except that we haven’t seen one goddamn thing he achieved beforehand. Every member in the resistance keeps saying that “we are totally dependent on him for everything” – but what is “everything”? I don’t see any of that here. The show then attempts to give us some brief slideshow-type flashbacks on how Otaku Hero enjoys fighting with everyone, but for me they function like implant memories because he did next to nothing up to that point from my perspective. Furthermore, we have Anarchy, a magical girl who… doesn’t transform for unknown reasons, and then she has these overpowering skills out of nowhere. I mean, if they stick with real life (2008’s flashback is the world we lived in), then adding anime-power just doesn’t gel at all.
Potential: 0%

EDENS ZERO 2nd Season

Short Synopsis: Guy who was raised by robots and a wannabe influencer with a robot cat are trying to find the celestial being at the center of the universe for fun or something.

Amun: One of my (few) complaints about Edens Zero is the weird non-linear temporal narration. We see it again here in the opening episode, and honestly, it’s just confusing. With Weis’ older/younger self situation, there are way more elements of time travel in this show than there’s any reason to be. Aside from that small complaint, Edens Zero is back to where we left off – the team is off to fight Draken Joe and looking space sexy doing it. It’s pretty straightforward what this season’s conflict will be, and that’s perfectly fine. As long as Edens Zero can avoid wandering into weird future/past paradoxes, I think we’ll be in for another fun ride!
Potential: 80%