Author: Lenlo

Megalo Box: Nomad – 9 [Una sola mano no basta para vivir, pero aun así la forma de vivir prevalece]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Welcome back to another episode of Megalo Box: Nomad! This week see’s the family come back together, Yukiko confront her business partner and Mac lay down a challenge. Exciting stuff! So without further ado, lets dive in.

Like the last few episodes Nomad continues to be split between the good, family oriented themes and… Rosco. For every scene of Mac with his family, of Mac realizing what’s happening and coming to terms with his memory loss, we get corporate espionage and military contracts. Every time Yuri or Joe get a heart to heart with their chosen friends it’s followed up with some bit between Sakuma and Yukiko, I just can’t stand it. Everything surrounding Mac is great! The way Joe once again inspired someone to get into the ring. Even Sachio was pushed towards boxing because of Joe, though in a different manner. How their struggles connect back to Joe and the overarching themes of the series. This stuff is all great and I love it when it’s on screen! But I don’t care about the corporate crap and I don’t know anyone who does.

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86: Eighty Six – 8 [Let’s Go]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

I’m late I’m late for a very important date, that’s right the Eighty Six post is here! Only… 2 days late but the show must go on. So without further ado lets dive into another episode of Eighty Six!

To start I want to pose to you a question: What the hell was that opening? Did I skip an episode? How much happened off screen between 7 and 8? I understand wanting to start in-media-res but this was to much. The opening felt out of place and I barely understood what they were talking about. It took me rewatching the scene a few time to understand that it was basically a quick time-skip of deaths off-screen, widdling us down to 5. While this was interesting in its brevity I can’t help but feel confused and annoyed as a viewer. It’s not like I don’t understand why they did it either! Without this we would be repeating similar storylines, similar deaths, for the rest of the cour. But Eighty Six took its discontinuous narrative approach that I mentioned last week to far this time.

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 5 [Wolf, Hope and Despair] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome to the penultimate episode of this first arc of Spice and Wolf Season 2! Or at least I think it’s the penultimate episode. I actually expected it to resolve this week but Spice and Wolf surprised me with another Lawrence focused episode. Was it any good? Well let’s dive in and find out!

This week I want to start with a character close to my heart and who has quickly become a favorite: Mark. I love Mark, I love everything about him. The way he acts as a connection to Lawrence’s life before Holo. Contrasting Lawrence with his old self and showing us how far Lawrence has come. How he pushes and supports Lawrence towards the answers he wants without trying to force him into anything. And especially how he draws boundaries while still maintaining the friendship. Mark is neither a doormat for Lawrence to walk over nor a “power of friendship” plot device. Instead he is what Lawrence is turning into. More than just a merchant, he is a family man. A member of the community and a romantic at heart. And I love everything that he has brought to this arc and what he has contributed to Lawrence as a character.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 8 [Al principio del fin, la trayectoria del arcoíris dibuja un soportal]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

That’s right, I’m late on this weeks Nomad. But you know what? I’m still weeks ahead of some other writers on this site so I think I get some leeway. Burning my fellow authors aside, how about we get started?

The best place to begin is with my feelings on Nomad as a whole right now, because they are conflicted. You see I’m concerned with where Nomad is going. On the surface everything is… fine? The fights are fun and I do like Mac. But it feels like Nomad has lost sight of the themes and messaging of the first half. That it in it’s efforts to raise the stakes it has gotten lost in this larger than life story. Do we really need to be involved with Megalonia again? Does Nomad need another rich tech giant sticking their nose into the story? What do these things contribute to Joe’s journey to become a better person and to reestablish his connections with those he loves? I can see a possible future where all of these fit together. But I can’t help but be disappointed after the stellar first half.

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86 Eighty Six – 7 [Will You Remember Me?]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

Welcome back to another episode of Eighty Six, now with 100% more tragic revelations! Is that statistic legitimate? Probably not but you’ll have to read on to find out. So without further ado lets dive into this weeks episode!

And what do you know, Eighty Six is once again one of the best edited/directed show of the season. Tomohiko Ito, the man behind some of the best episodes of their respective shows, did great work this week. The way the fireworks were intercut between the mortar shells, Lena’s balcony shots, Shuga’s speech, it all looked good! And you know that. So instead I want to take a moment to talk about the one thing that’s bothered me with them: Continuity. Eighty Six has this obsession with shifting around shots so that they are discontinuous. Showing scenes earlier in the episode that happen later in the timespan. Sometimes this works to great effect! But I’ve found it can also be very confusing as to the order of events. Especially without proper indication of the order between the two main areas, the 86ers and the Albas.

Still my production gripes aside, however minor they are, lets talk narrative below the break!

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 4 [Wolf and the Consequences of Shallow Cleverness]

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Alright everyone I have no excuse for how late this post was, I just forgot. Not to watch the show of course, Spice and Wolf is good shit! But it completely slipped my mind to do the writeup. Personally I blame the Government. Why? Because I can. Anyways without further ado, lets dive in to this weeks episode!

And what better place to start than with the pacing! Seriously its ridiculous. When I went to start the episode I saw “#4” and couldn’t believe we were only a 3rd of the way through. This season of Spice and Wolf feels so much denser than the last and this episode is a perfect example of that. The whole thing takes place in the span of just a few hours in the night as Lawrence mulls over the recent argument. Yet in it he confronts and accepts his feelings, strikes a deal, plots Fermi’s downfall, has a heart to heart with a friend and prepares to crash the economy of an entire town. Does that sounds like a lot? Good, because it was. Yet Spice and Wolf made it all feel natural and snappy. I was really impressed with how it handled the pacing this week.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 7 [El tonto que muestra su carta no es un payaso estúpido]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Rwaaaarg I’m back with another episode of Megalo Box: Nomad! I know it’s late, blame the State of the Season and work for being busy. Do you know how annoying interfacing with a dying protocol like XMPP is? Anyways without further ado lets dive in!

And like usual what better place to start than with production? Except this week we actually have something cool to talk about! That’s right Nomad actually gave us a well animated fight for once and I loved it. It shouldn’t be, it makes perfect sense why, but it’s incredible how much good animation can elevate a sports series. Seeing Liu and Joe go at with such clarity and speed really sells how far above the rest of the competition they are. Whether it be Chief’s fights or Joe’s underground matches, all of those look like child’s play compared to this. Just look at the way Joe’s hair moves in the clip below the break as he ducks and waves through punches. It’s a very different presentation of Boxing to Hajime no Ippo’s jet engines and explosive power. I hope Nomad can keep it up, I would love to see more.

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86: Eighty Six – 6 [Through to the End]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

I’m back with another week of Eighty Six! This is another good week for the show, I think it’s on a roll. From some great direction and lighting to more of the narrative goodness, Eighty Six brings it all. So without further ado lets dive in!

Now I’m sure some of you are getting tired of this, I talk about it every week after all. But I can’t not mention Eighty Six’s continuously stellar editing. Seriously these snap cuts are fantastic! Ripping off the post-it to the sound of a gunshot, cutting to a single falling petal? It’s so quick but so impactful. Or the scenes of Undertakers brother, at the start and end. Not to mention Eighty Six’s lighting or scenery. The green moon, while unrealistic, was haunting. And the way the cherry blossoms glowed in the moonlight, suffusing the scene with a pink glow. When focused anywhere other than the robots this show looks good. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say Eighty Six is one of the best edited and looking shows of the season. Not animation wise but hey, animation ain’t everything.

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 3 [Wolf and Irreconcilable Differences] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to another episode of Spice and Wolf! Apologies for the wait on this one, I’ve recently discovered Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire and it’s taken a fair chunk of my time.  Not because I don’t enjoy writing these or because Spice and Wolf isn’t good, it is. But it scratches just the right itch for me. Enough about RPGs though, lets dive into this weeks episode!

And what better place to start than with me gushing about production again! I know I’ve done this before in the far flung past of episode 1 but seriously, I’m impressed. We are 3 episodes in to this season of Spice and Wolf and I’m pretty sure its already had more animation than the entire first season. From the large festival crowds dancing and cavorting in the streets, throwing wine on each other, to the more intimate moments between Holo and Lawrence in the inn. Even the small stuff like background characters cheering and laughing it up during Fermi’s challenge were nice touches. This isn’t to say Spice and Wolf doesn’t have stills or panning shots, it does. But they are integrated much more cleanly and have these fun animated scenes between them to break them up. It’s a small but very important thing to recognize I feel.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 6 [Aunque estés consciente de tu impotencia, Dios te ofrecerá su imagen para que la pises]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Welcome back to Nomad! This is a bit of a late post, I apologize for that. Busy busy weekend. So how about we skip the preamble just jump right into it!

This is a weird week for Nomad all things considered. There were no huge revelations, no big game changers, it just sort of… happened. Effectively acting as a check-in for the rest of our old cast so to speak. This isn’t bad! It’s all useful and important information. Nomad uses it to remind us who each of these characters are with their new designs and to remind us of their relationships with each other. The only person we haven’t yet seen is Yukiko, and technically Yuri I guess since he hasn’t talked yet. We get to spend some time with Oicho, Sachio, Santa and Bonjiri as they hang out and discuss Joe. Mulling over how they feel about him, how they still care for each other, etc. This is all good stuff but I wouldn’t say any of it was amazing or standout.

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