Author: Lenlo

Princess Tutu – 5/6 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Princess Tutu, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to week 3 of Princess Tutu! A bit early this week, but that ain’t so bad. There’s a bit of a global emergency going on right this moment, but thats no reason to forget the little things. And this week Princess Tutu did a great job of distracting me from this crazy world with 2 more really good episodes. So without further ado, let’s dive in!

Starting off, I want to commend Princess Tutu for just how quickly it is moving. That might seem strange to some, considering how often I harp about pacing here, but let me explain. I was fully prepared for Princess Tutu to become an episodic monster of the week. Where every ep we recover a new heart shard and return to the status quo. Only really moving forward big plot points every 10 or so episodes. So when I mean Princess Tutu is moving unexpectedly fast, I mean that its moving at all. Because so far, every episode has not only had the episodic heart shard, but also noticeably advanced the plot. Whether it be Rue meeting Tutu, Fakir and Rue competing for Mytho, or just explaining Ahiru’s predicament a bit more. Every episode we have gotten more than I expected. And I really like that.

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Princess Tutu – 3/4 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Princess Tutu, Throwback Thursday

Welcome to week 2 of Princess Tutu! This week continues Ahiru’s quest to save the prince in distress. Meanwhile we learn more about our possible villains, the world, and Ahiru’s ultimate fate! Ooooo spooky. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Once again I want to take a moment to talk about Princess Tutu’s production. Because so far, two weeks in a row, it has managed to surprised me. Everything from the animation to the direction fits the show to a T. From the expressive faces of the characters to its very formatting as if its a ballet taking place on stage. It’s clear that Junichi Satou put a lot of thought into not only the themes/story, but how to present that story as well. The only complaint I really have is that the big finale’s of each episode feel… lacking. Compared to the rest of the episode, they are very slow and plodding. A lot of care is put into some of the dance positions and the shot composition. But the action animation is always a bit of a letdown for how important the scenes are. Minor, but still.

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Runway de Waratte Anime Review – 39/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama, Reviews by Lenlo, Runway de Waratte

It’s hard to deny, this was a pretty good season for anime. From my personal favorites of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Dorohedoro to returning series like Haikyuu and My Hero Academia. Standing out amidst this crowd of new and returning anime was going to be difficult. With an acclaimed Manga at your back and a decent amount of fanfair though, you would think a series might have a chance. Sadly, that is not the case for Runway de Waratte. Even going so far as to say the odds were stacked against it from the start doesn’t really explain the trainwreck that is series. So what happened? Was it that this was only Studio Ezo’la’s third production? It probably isn’t Director Nobuyoshi Nagayama’s inexperience, this isn’t his first rodeo. Or does it go deeper, all the way to the source material? Let’s dive in and find out, shall we?

And fair warning, this will contain minor spoilers for Runway de Waratte!

(Disclaimer: I am working to make 50 the new “average”. 70 is not an average score people. 70 is above average. Carry on.) Continue reading “Runway de Waratte Anime Review – 39/100” →

Runway de Waratte – 12 [This Is My Story]

by Lenlo, posted in Runway de Waratte

Welcome all to the finale of Runway de Waratte! This week we see Ayano Toh’s show, find out the winner of the event and once more get to watch pretty girls cry. So if that’s your idea of a good time, lets jump right in.

Right off the bat, I have to come out and say it, I found this finale to be pretty “meh”. Compared to last week, Toh’s show just lacked any sort of real impact. It was presented in an almost matter of fact nature, compared to Kokoro or Ikuto’s more emotional ones. Runway tried to shock us with Toh’s formatting, but I don’t think it really works. Sending out 2 models at a time, or starting with a t-shirt, might have worked had it been the opening of the show. But after Ikuto’s performance of closing with such a simple outfit, or Kokoro’s incredibly emotional show, Toh’s feels like a footnote. It’s like last week was our finale, and this was more of an epilogue tying up loose ends. I just found it dull, all the while one of the worst music choices of the show played over it.

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Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Anime Review – 90/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Reviews by Lenlo

It’s not often an adaptation suits a Director as perfectly as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken suits Masaki Yuasa. Of course you have works like Gen Urobuchi’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Satoshi Kon’s Paranoia Agent. Yet those works were originals, dreamed and created from the ground up by the directors for the anime. Yet here we have someone else’s manga, their work, fitting together perfectly with a renowned industry veteran. Everything from the narrative to the visual aesthetic of the series seem tailor made for him. The highly detailed backgrounds and setting to the rough character designs. The subject material and focus on animation itself to Yuasa’s own life experience in the industry. It’s an aligning of the stars that oh so rarely happens, yet when it does we get something amazing. And that’s what we got this season with Eizouken. Let’s dive in.

(Disclaimer: I am working to make 50 the new “average”. 70 is not an average score people. 70 is above average. Carry on.) Continue reading “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Anime Review – 90/100” →

Princess Tutu – 1/2 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Princess Tutu, Throwback Thursday

Welcome one and all to another season of Throwback Thursday, now featuring Princess Tutu! This week we open on a rather straightforward magical girl plot, with dark implications and enough orchestral/theater implications to shake a stick at. Let’s dive in!

Right off the bat, I have to admit, Princess Tutu isn’t what I expected it to be. Starting this series, I was prepared for your stereotypical children’s magical girl show. Something along the lines of Precure. And while you can see a lot of Tutu’s influence in Precure, from designs and and all that, it actually feels like a much darker series. Because so far Princess Tutu has far more incommon with the old classics, things like the Nutcracker and Swan Lake, than it does the happy-go-lucky nature of modern magical girl shows. There are these sinister or tragic undertones throughout just these two episodes. And it’s this dichotomy between the childlike front on the tin vs its actual content that actually makes it rather engaging. Its similar in a way, though far less overt, to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. And considering I love that show, it’s a good sign.

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Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – 12 [Shibahama UFO Wars]

by Lenlo, posted in Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

This is it ladies and gentleman, the finale to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, my anime of the season. I was curious how our leads would respond to such a setback and Eizouken did not disappoint. So sit back, relax and let’s talk about anime!

Now there was a lot worth talking about this week, but I want to start with the short itself. While it wasn’t perfect, I really loved both the short and how it was presented. I loved how unlike the previous animations, which were large events with an audience, this one was incredibly personal. With our leads watching it alone in Asakusa’s apartment, a private viewing just for them. Meanwhile across the city everyone who bought their DVDs are doing the same. It simultaneously felt small and personal, but community driven, like a private event for the entire city. And the way it was setup, starting with the discs going in, made it feel like I was watching it with them. Like 4 friends watching what they made together, since we went on this journey with them over 12 episodes and 3 months. It fantastic.

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Runway de Waratte – 11 [The Promise]

by Lenlo, posted in Runway de Waratte

This was a very surprising week of Runway de Waratte. I fully expected it to be a disappointment, to somehow screw up its grand finale, for Ikuto to ruin it… and none of that happened. It was surprisingly good. Not flawless, but probably the best episode of the show yet. Why? Well let’s jump in and find out.

Now, before I get all sappy and praise Runway, I want to talk about what it could do better. Specifically I want to talk about the animation of this week’s episode. Because while what we got is fine, I can’t help but think it could have been amazing. Runway had a huge opportunity this week with Chiyuki’s dress changes and walks to really show off its source material and subject. It could have shown us the dress changes in real time, animating the clothes being removed and add. We could have seen the difference in how Chiyuki walks by how its animated, rather than just getting upper-body shots. Instead though, we just the same presentation as we have for any other scene in the anime. Instead of being an event for the series… it was just another episode. And while its a good episode, ultimately, I am a little disappointed.

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Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – 11 [Each Other’s Existence!]

by Lenlo, posted in Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Continuing my streak of “better late than never” this week, we have Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! Though this time with backstory, some dancing and more great Kanamori scenes. Lets dive in! And I promise, no more late ones, I should have things sorted now.

Starting off, this was a pretty straightforward week for Eizouken. Focusing in on a specific theme and tackling it from a variety of angles. However while the theme itself might not be particularly complicated, I think Eizouken did a great job portraying it. The idea of “Coexistence” was tackled from a variety of angles, from more professional ones in their club to the person in Asakusa’s flashback. Each one managing to both explore the characters while still building to a final peak. I will admit, at the beginning of the episode I wasn’t to enthused. I thought it was going to be another sort of montage filler episode. Which while it would still contain Eizouken’s usual quality, wouldn’t be particularly memorable. As the episode went on though and it revealed more and more of the primary thread, I came to love it. So now, let’s get to the details, yeah?

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Runway de Waratte – 10 [Must Not Lose]

by Lenlo, posted in Runway de Waratte

Apologies for the wait on this one everyone, between Evangelion reviews and this virus, it’s been busy! As far as Runway de Waratte goes, this week was actually… surprisingly competent. Not perfect, the first half was a bit of a wash. But for once something Ikuto was involved in *didn’t suck*. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Like I said, the second half of Runway this week wasn’t half bad. Ikuto’s fashion show worked. The outfits, while clearly not my style, were interesting and his theme consistent. I could do without the various poorly thought out metaphors, or the constant “Mr.Perfect” praise. But compared to what I was expecting to come out of his fashion show, it all actually fit together. The way Runway spelled out the expected order of the countries and how clear his theme was worked. And the the finale on the minimalist outfit was an unexpected surprise. Had Runway built all of this up, the characters, the families, everything, it could have been phenomenal. As is it’s just this sorta bright spot in an otherwise lackluster series. Still, next week is Chiyuki so we may have something to look forward to there.

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