Author: Lenlo

Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 9 [Infiltrating the Entertainment District]

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

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba! Last week kicked off our new content but this week is what sold me on it. I have a lot of positive things to say so lets jump right in.

First the obvious: Kimetsu no Yaiba look good. I normally have a lot to say about Ufotable’s dependency on post-processing and after-effects, not all of it positive. They actually really over due it at times if I’m being frank. Just look at some of the recent Heaven’s Feel movies. But that very same love of after-effects and lighting lends itself really well to the nightlife of the entertainment district. The glow of the lanterns contrasting with the night sky, the colorful yukata, makeup and accessories everyone is wearing. I think it’s really nice, a veritable treat after the CGI tentacle fest of the last arc where the only light came from the train! That the entire arc is going to take place here is exciting and I’m looking forward to whatever bombastic fight they have planned.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 9/10 [Memories of a Feather/The Blue-Eyed Prince] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

I know, I know, I’m late for another post again. And yes, it’s still Endwalker. But… I just finished the MSQ and it was one of the best pieces of media I’ve experienced in a long time so I regret nothing! I’m sorry that the Escaflowne posts had to suffer while my game of the year came out but such is life. My questionable priorities aside, lets dive into this weeks The Vision of Escaflowne.

I have a lot of positive things to say about Escaflowne this week, I quite enjoyed it. So to save my reputation I thought it best to start off with something negative: The production. I’m afraid to say that we’re starting to see some cracks in Escaflowne. In these two episodes the colors seemed muted often, as if they had lost a lot of their vibrancy. This may be due primarily to the night scenes but it was noticeable. Additionally the layering seemed to have a lot of issues. There were multiple scenes where I could clearly make out what parts of the image were layered from different cels. And then there’s the falling animation! Escaflowne must really like it because they’ve reused the same sequence… 4 times now? I don’t even mean with edits, just the same raw scene! Are these deal breakers? Of course not. They’re simply noticeable.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 8 [Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui]

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

It’s here, it’s here, the next Kimetsu no Yaiba arc has arrived! Finally some new content. Sorry this took so long, I’ve had to tear myself away from Final Fantasy 14’s new expansion to get this out. Enough about fantastic RPGs though lets talk demons!

First up the obvious: This is a double feature! And it really didn’t have to be! Now to be fair, had this season started with this episode then I could see the argument. The movie released over a year ago and it’s been awhile, a small refresher to get us back into the mood is warranted. So I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to Ufotable that they originally planned for that to be the case. But sadly it isn’t. Instead we got the entire movie in TV format, yes I know MAL and Anilist have it as separate entries and its stupid because the first episode is original content, for the first half of the season. So we’re already caught up. We don’t need a lot of this and the episode probably could have been condensed. That said? I did like some of the original content.

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Eighty Six S2 – 8 [Stay This Way Forever]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six, Currently Watching:

Hello everyone and welcome back to Eighty Six! It’s been two weeks since our last episode and its going to be two more weeks until our next. Suffice to Eighty Six is starting to fall apart and its easy to see in the episode. Don’t believe me? Then lets dive in to this weeks episode and see if I can’t convince you!

And what better place to start doing that than with the visuals! Whooo boy this episode had some issues, where do I even begin. How about the falling scene right at the start, that’s a good place. This looked like someone shaking action figures in front of a camera, it was that bad. Maybe if they had stuck to wide shots, or internal shots of the characters, they could have sold it better. But by showing the mechs at the angle and closeness they did but with absolutely no movement they just looked so… wooden. Same for the Nachzehrer going down in the background to, I couldn’t even tell it was “going down”. And then we have the blurred still frames during the big explosion later as well. Aside from a view landscape shots Eighty Six just did not look good this week. And I fear it won’t get better.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 7/8 [Unexpected Partings/The Day the Angel Flew] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone to another week of Escaflowne! These episodes see our time in Asturia come to an abrupt but eventful end. Once again a king flees a burning city! Knights are thrown in prison, then broken out! And all the while a Princess just cannot seem to get some poon. Sad days indeed. So without further ado lets dive into it!

To start, I’ve come to a realization with these two episodes. A reason for why I like Dilandau way more than I should: He gets all the best faces and lighting. His particular brand of insanity is just so… expressive. From faces of anguish and rage to cruel delight, all of it cast in stark lighting. You know, the kind with heavy contrast between light and shadow? I love that shit and he gets a lot of it. Dilandaou may be comically extreme at times, just look at how he treats his soldiers. And we may not yet know the reason behind his insanity, making it feel like a bit much. But by god does he have great faces. Escaflowne please, I’ll take as much Dilandau as you can give me if this is how he is presented.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 7 [Set Your Heart Ablaze]

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

We’ve done it everyone! We’re finally done with Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train TV extended edition! Do you know what that means? That next week we finally get some new content! Before that though I need to do my due diligence and finish up this arc. So without further ado lets dive in!

Starting off: This episode should have been a double feature, merged with last weeks. Why? Well I’m going to use the P-word everyone probably hates, and I promise this is the last time but with Mugen Train ending I have to, pacing. This episode once again suffers from being cut into a weekly schedule. Its content, this long sustained fight, was not designed for a weeks break in-between. Like… I enjoyed this fight! Rengoku is great and once you get into the swing of things the hype is real! But because of the week long break, every episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba starts cold. We have to be re-introduced, re-heated, before we can really get into the fight and I think this episode is one of the clearest examples of that. Surely this isn’t just a me thing right? I’m not alone in how sudden the opening feels… right?

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Eighty Six S2 – 7 [The Truth Is]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six, Currently Watching:

Hello everyone and welcome to the third “I’m back” catchup post of the week! This time I lucked out because Eighty Six is skipping another episode, letting me take my time with this one. What that says about the production I don’t know! But it probably isn’t anything good. Enough about that though, lets dive into the episode!

Starting off, Eighty Six had some fun shots this week. Nothing as ground breaking as the week before sadly but still some good shot direction. I’m talking stuff like the President meeting with the General, showing us most of the conversation through their reflections rather than their faces. It sounds like a pretty straight forward trick right? Tell us, the audience, that something is off, make us feel like someone is lying, by not showing us their face. And it is! But so many series fail to something even as basic as this. Then there was also the long held final shot in place of an ED, really letting the battlefield comms sink in. It’s simple… but effective. And it does a good job of hammering home just how much is riding on this mission without repeating it over and over “Everyone will die if you fail”. I like that.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 5/6 [Seal of the Brothers/City of Intrigue] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone! Apologies for being late on this, Thanksgiving will kinda do that to a man. Food coma’s are dangerous don’t ya know? This week we finish up our conflict with the Zaibach Empire and make our way to Allen’s home of Asturia. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive in!

This week picks up where we left off, with Van leading Dilandau and co away from everyone else. And you know what? He gets caught! I should have expected this but I really didn’t. I was prepared for a half episode long chase sequence where we get to see what the dragon can do. Something that culminated in Van proving himself superior to Dilandau and flying off into the sunset! Instead he gets captured almost immediately and has to be rescued. And I’m into that for a lot of reasons. Not only does this curb Van’s power, giving him something to grow into, it also gives the rest of the cast room to flex. From Hitomi and Allen all the way to the individual soldiers, everyone get’s a small moment to shine. And the best part? The villains get to have personalities!

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 6 [Akaza]

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

I’m back from New York City everyone! That was a fun trip. Got to see the city, hang out with some friends, go to a weeb convention and spend way to much money on food. Even got to see Pompo the Cinephile! Alright movie. But that isn’t what you’re here for, oh no. You want some Kimetsu no Yaiba! So lets dive into last weeks episode that I’m many days late on.

This was always my favorite part of the Yaiba movie. It has issues, especially in the TV format which we will talk about. But at it’s core this section is just unadulterated hype. It’s one big fight that they poured their everything into. From big fire and wind effects to flashy lighting and large CGI environments, this is everything Yaiba is good at. And we are only half way done with the fight! There are some issues, sure. The camera gets a little wild and Ufotable completely ignore the 180 degree rule making it a bit of a mess to follow. On top of that the CGI fire lion was a bit to much if you ask me. These are both relatively small complains though and by and large I think this scene shows us what Yaiba does best: Set piece battles.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 3/4 [The Gallant Swordsman/The Diabolical Adonis] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Vision of Escaflowne! This week we meet our next party member, receive our mandatory exposition dump and get to know our villains. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive right in!

First up we need to talk production because Escaflowne took a bit of a dip this week. And then a rise. And then another dip. In just the 4 episodes I’ve seen it’s already clear to me how wildly inconsistent Escaflowne’s visuals are. Sometimes you get this really strong contrast! Saturated colors, heavy blacks and bright whites! The kind of stuff I love. But other times the linework becomes thin and weak, feeling almost rushed, and the colors lose a lot of their luster. You can see this most clearly with Allen and his blonde hair. The way it loses a lot of depth between scenes and the black lines become almost pointless, or how his chin suddenly becomes a lot weaker. And then there’s the fire at the end of Episode 3! Oh that fire. It does not look good…

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