Author: Lenlo

Tower of God – 3 [The Correct Door]

by Lenlo, posted in Tower of God

Another week, another episode of Tower of God. This week we learn a bit more about Khun, take 2 more tests, and Rachel makes her return! I don’t have any clever one liners or puns for this opening bit, so how about we just jump right into it.

First up, let’s talk adaptation and production, because Tower of God was a mixed bag this week. As far as adaptation goes, I think it’s doing a good job. Cutting small things, reinventing scenes to work better animated vs Webtoon, etc. You can see this most clearly in the pacing, as we burn through the 3rd test. In what was originally almost 2 and a half chapters of dialogue, we instead get a much quicker 12 minute character focus on Khun. The original intent of the test is still there, just streamlined. Meanwhile animation wise Tower of God is much more spotty. While Mr.Neonbag (yes that is his name) had some nice physical animation, Anaak’s fight felt pretty weightless and stunted in places. I still enjoyed it, little was lost. But it wasn’t the opening spectacle I hoped for. Regardless, it was a good time visually, I love the artstyle.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 3 [The Correct Door]” →

Tower of God – 2 [3/400 (Three Four-Hundredths)]

by Lenlo, posted in Tower of God

Welcome one and all to the beginning of the Spring 2020 season, and the first Tower of God post! This week we get into the story proper as Bam meets his crew, we get a small info dump, and the tests begin. Lets dive in!

Starting off, let’s talk about the art and animation. I mentioned it a little in the initial impressions post, but I actually really like Tower of God’s art style. The lines are inconsistent, fading in and out, though they are bit thinner than i’d like. However I still find it preferable to the almost to clean and perfect linework of most anime. Even though its produced digitally, it gives a very handmade feel to the whole production that pairs well with the effects work. In a way, Tower of God’s production is very similar to Mob Psycho 100’s, in that it tries to mimic the original author’s style. Similar to Mob Psycho this looser style should, in theory, give it more freedom when animating. So far though we haven’t really seen that, as Tower of God has been rather inconsistent. I can only hope it improves moving forward.

Continue reading “Tower of God – 2 [3/400 (Three Four-Hundredths)]” →

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.

Continue reading “Princess Tutu – 5/6 – Throwback Thursday” →

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.

Continue reading “Princess Tutu – 3/4 – Throwback Thursday” →

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.

Continue reading “Runway de Waratte – 12 [This Is My Story]” →

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.

Continue reading “Princess Tutu – 1/2 – Throwback Thursday” →

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.

Continue reading “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – 12 [Shibahama UFO Wars]” →

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.

Continue reading “Runway de Waratte – 11 [The Promise]” →