Author: Lenlo

Megalo Box: Nomad – 3 [Si deseas la dañina pudrición de las raíces, no bloquees la boca del ánfora]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Welcome back to another week of Nomad! A lot happens as Nomad kicks it into high gear, sprinting through the tournament. Meanwhile the hostility between the locals and the immigrant community has escalated to new heights! Without further ado, lets jump into it.

Like I said, Nomad is moving way faster than I expected. I figured this tournament would be the entire season and that the final match would, well, be the finale. Yet Nomad has sprinted through the first 2 rounds and we are already facing the final round next week. I love it! The pacing is great and this really opens the door for where Nomad has to go. Will Chief win and buy the land the community is on? Even if he does, how will that resolve the growing tensions between them and the locals? And what about Joe’s growth as a character, does this mean that he is going to return to the city and reconnect with Sachio? I have no idea but the options are limitless now that Nomad isn’t constrained to this one tournament in bum-fuck nowhere.

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86 – Eighty Six – 2 [Spearhead]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

I’m back and this time with another new Spring 2021 show, 86 – Eighty Six! God that’s a confusing name. Almost as confusing as the setting! That’s right I have a bit of a bone to pick with 86 so strap in. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

Before we get to the meat and potatoes of 86 though we first half to talk about the production. And surprisingly, I’m rather positive of it! The CGI model spider tanks are off of course, CGI integration with a 2D work is notoriously hard. But enough work went into the composite that you don’t really notice until they start to move. And even then this is still better than the 1st episode where the first person shot looked like a cheap Michael Bay movie. All the explosions and jumping around, it wasn’t good. I also like how the two sets of tanks are differentiated. The clean crystalline style works well for the opposing AI and sets them apart from the grungy 86ers. My hope is that 86 will take these clear styles and focus more on wide still shots, making full use of the backgrounds, rather than the janky action.

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Spice and Wolf S1 – 13 [Wolf and a New Journey] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone to the finale of the first season of Spice and Wolf! It’s been a surprising season of Throwback Thursday for me, I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I have. If you want the full explanation about that though you’ll have to wait for the final review in a week or so. Until then lets talk episode 13! And remember, there’s a poll for what we watch next at the end of the post so read on to find it!

Starting off, lets talk about that finale because its a rather weird one. Not in it’s content, though I have some small bugbears there. Rather that it doesn’t… feel like an ending, if you catch my drift. On one hand it does complete all the arcs of the season. Norah, Lawrence and Holo getting to know each other, etc. The only outstanding plot threads are well… the large over arching meta plot of getting to the north. On the other hand though, as is obvious by the 2nd season, the story doesn’t actually feel finished. It’s like the end of a book and the last page reads: “Volume 2, Spring 2022!”. Knowing that there’s a second season alleviates this somewhat but I do sort of wish the ending was most substantial. That it was less of a cliffhanger than the courtyard scene. Still, what we did get wasn’t bad.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 2 [La desesperación da coraje a los cobardes]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Welcome all to the Spring 2021 season! My name is Lenlo and like usual I get to have the first post of the season. This time brought to you by Megalo Box: Nomad! So without further ado, lets dive in!

And what better way to start off than to talk about the music? Manabu Yamaguchi, also known as Mabanua, has done it again with this OST. Whether it be the ED “El Canto del Colibrí” or the as of yet unnamed festival accordion track or the bar song of episode 1, its great. He has managed to nail that country Spanish twang. I can’t speak to the authenticity of it nor can I speak Spanish beyond a 3rd grade level. But it certainly evokes that imagery, that culture. It makes you feel the setting just as the visuals make you see it. And what’s so astounding, aside from where a Japanese composer found a Spanish singer in Japan, is how different it is from his other works. BNA, Space Dandy, even the first season of Megalo Box. Each have their own unique sounds. And now so to does Nomad.

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Spice and Wolf S1 – 12 [Wolf and a Pack of Pups] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

I’m back with the penultimate episode of Spice and Wolf! Season 1 at least. This is a big episode with lots of things happening. Some I expected, others I didn’t, all of them were pretty good. So without further ado lets dive in!

Before we get to the narrative, and some big things happened let me tell you what, let’s talk backgrounds. Toshihiro Kohama and his team did a great job with these backgrounds. I haven’t talked about them much until now because most episodes take place in a singular location. Even when traveling there’s not that much variety. This week however we not only got to see multiple locations but also those same locations in multiple ways. Whether it be the sunlit fields outside Lamtra, a dark and shadowed forest or wet and drooping pines in a storm, Spice and Wolf looked good. If only it had the animation chops to back these up. I wouldn’t have to use as many wide shots for pictures as I do if they looked good up close. You know one thing that does look good when examined up close though? The narrative.

Yes its a terrible transition but roll with me here damnit.

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2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi volley-bu Anime Review 30/100

by Lenlo, posted in 2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu, Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama, Reviews by Lenlo

I normally try to start these reviews with some kind of cutesy lead in. Maybe a play on the sports anime genre and how it needs more drama focused series. Or a riff volleyball anime now that the recent season of Haikyu is over and the manga complete. Something about how the fans are looking for their next fix of Cute Boys Play Sports. Sadly 2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-Bu, henceforth referred to as Volley-Bu, simply isn’t worth it. Looking for a decently animated sports series for your action fix? Denied. Perhaps a well crafted coming of age drama that tackles social pressures and suicide with grace? Denied with prejudice. The sad fact of the matter is that Volley-Bu, produced by David Productions and directed by Yasuhiro Kimura of JoJo’s Part 5 fame, is terrible. And I’m here to explain why. So without further ado, lets jump in.
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Spice and Wolf S1 – 11 [Wolf and the Grand Scheme] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

I’m back with another episode of Spice and Wolf! This week Lawrence and Holo reconcile, Holo comes up with a money making scheme and Norah decides sticking it to the church is a good idea. None of these can possibly end in disaster, right? So without further ado lets jump in!

Before we get to the good stuff though I have to get something off my chest: I wasn’t a big fan of the tavern scene. I know that might not seem like much but this might be the worst scene in the season for me. Everything about their reconciliation felt… forced. It’s supposed to be forced in a way sure, Holo and Lawrence say as much in their banter. But it felt that way in a “meta” sense to. As if the plot needed it to happen and so it did, without much care for how it happened. As if the scene and dialogue was created before the context for it was. This made it feel off and a bit rushed reconciliation wise for me. I still enjoyed the romance in it of course! It’s mostly the “try again” bit that bugs me. That aside, onwards to the good stuff!

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Jujutsu Kaisen Anime Review 80/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Action, Jujutsu Kaisen, Reviews by Lenlo

Recently it feels like there’s a Shonen Jump series in every season. From last years Kimetsu no Yaiba and Haikyu to Dr. STONE S2 this season and even My Hero Academia S5 coming up. Everywhere you go its Jump, Jump, Jump. Sometimes a man wants a break. Oh what’s that? A new cornerstone of Weekly Shonen Jump got an anime adaptation you say? Kohei Horikoshi of My Hero Academia called it the next pillar of the magazine? And Keiichiro Watanabe is animating for it?! Well count me in! Originally created by Gege Akutami, produced by MAPPA and directed by Seong-Hu Park who also recently The God of Highschool, ladies and gentleman I present to you: *Jujutsu Kaisen, the next big thing. So without further ado, lets jump into it.
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Jujutsu Kaisen – 24 [Accomplices]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

This is it, the grand finale, the last episode of Jujutsu Kaisen… And its actually pretty good. We get some sakuga, there’s no cliffhangers and most important of all Nobara finally gets a moment to shine. I can’t believe my wish got fulfilled that quickly. So without further ado lets jump right into it!

And as always the first thing we need to talk about is the production. Some how, some way, MAPPA managed to make it through the season without melting. There were some warning signs in there and even this episode suffers a bit from poorly composited CGI trees. Beyond that ever returning bugbear though? It was pretty damn good. Keiichiro Watanabe makes a return with his cloth and effects animation on Nobara’s final blow. Meanwhile Seong-Hu Park once again proves himself a more proficient animator than he is director in the close quarters Itadori sequence. And it’s not as if the animation was restricted to just the action either. Tomiya’s work on Mahito during the board game was stellar, not to mention a few other scenes as well. As far as ending a season strong I think Jujutsu Kaisen did just that here.

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Dr. STONE S2 Anime Review 65/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Dr.STONE, Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Reviews by Lenlo

Dr. STONE returns for a 2nd season! If you haven’t read it yet you can find my review for the first season over here. If you already have or just don’t care then welcome to Season 2, Stone Wars. Produced by TMS Entertainment and directed once more by Shinya Iino with the original story by Riichirou Inagaki and original art by Boichi. This is the premier non-battle-battle Shonen except this time with more… well, actual battling. Interested? Then lets jump right in and Warning: There will be spoilers.
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