Author: Lenlo

Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 12

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Dungeon Meshi – 13 [Red Dragon III/Good Medicine]

What is this, 3 weeks in a row? Dungeon Meshi has been killing it lately, and this episode is no exception. The first half was unexpectedly terrifying, “introducing” our new big bad and final goal, the Mad Magician who created the dungeon. This was a really cool twist, and something I think Dungeon Meshi setup well. Everything from the ghosts to the painting to the structure of the dungeon/castle itself feels obvious looking back, but it’s only with the Mad Mage’s arrival that I finally put together that this is the same castle. That some tragedy occurred and, in attempting to divert or undo it, the Mad Mage created this dungeon. Every ghost is a citizen of the kingdom, every monster or trap something created to keep out looters and ne’er-do-well’s. And should one of his bigger pets, like the dragon, get slain? Well he shows up to deal with the problem himself and set things back until he figures out how to save his king. Great stuff, really horrifying imagery, absolutely love all of that. As for the second half, it’s all about our team recovering and realizing they are in way over their head. Chilchuck’s inner conflict of not wanting to see his friends die, but expressing it as his own cowardice, and subsequent conversation with the white orc was really good. Also the white orcs design is great for a one-off, really hope we see more of her in the future. Anyways, it’s a nice way to reset, get them out of the dungeon, gather more allies, and dive back in for another run. All good shit. My only complaint is that Falin’s “kidnapping” feels like a “Your princess is in another castle” situation. Yeah, her getting resurrected alongside the dragon in the same body or whatever is cool, good use of resources/magic. But we literally just got/saved her, can we not spend some time with her before she disappears as a character again? Aside from that disappointment, I thought it was a fantastic episode. Really excited for the second cour.

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Black Lagoon – 23/24 [Snow White’s Payback/The Gunslingers] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Black Lagoon, Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to the grand finale of Black Lagoon! While there is an OVA after this, I’ll be watching/writing about that separately on my own time if it warrants it. That means this is our last week for this season of Throwback Thursday. And you know what that means! At the bottom of this post you’ll find a poll for our next show. Go vote in it and pick what we watch together next! And if a show you like isn’t there, make sure to suggest it. Now, onto the episodes!

First up is the penultimate episode, “Snow White’s Payback”. I would say the main thrust of this episode was “escalation”. Balalaika escalated by killing as many Wasamine as she can, bombing buildings and shooting up offices in broad daylight. Yukio escalated by diving further into the criminal underworld, robbing a bank dressed up as a Russian to put the police on their scent. Even Rock, in some misplaced sense of justice, escalated by finally “committing” and putting himself on the line. He does it in the stupidest manner I can think of, directly insulting/asking Balalaika to spare Yukio and the rest of the Wasamine without any good reason for her to do so, but he still did. Sadly however, this scene is where the first issues with the finale start to come in.

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Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 11

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Weekly Summary

Hey all! Apologies for the delay on this. Can’t lie, I’ve been caught up playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 plus some grad school work. Hopefully things will relax around May, cause dear god am I busy haha. Anyways, here’s this weeks episodes!

Dungeon Meshi – 12 [Red Dragon II]

First up this week is, once again, Dungeon Meshi. While not as bombastic and action packed as last week, this was still a very emotional and well paced episode. The early tension around resurrecting Falin and Marcille’s “dark” magic, all the preparation putting together bones to make a skeleton, and then the climax of the ritual itself. It was all really good, a nice and satisfying way to wrap up the arc. Dungeon Meshi was even considerate enough to use the second half too cool us down. It spent a lot of time on their reunion and individual relationships with Falin. We got to see once again how protective Laios is of her, how similar the two are in their adventurous spirit and test for food and, most important, the one true OTP of Dungeon Meshi: Farcille! Their scenes were really cute, especially them cuddling in the bed and just talking. The bath stuff could have been a bit much, but Dungeon Meshi didn’t go overboard or do anything to fetishize it, they took a bath together nothing more, so I think it worked. As for what’s next? Well we’ve gotten some setup for Falin being empowered because she was resurrected using dragon flesh, as well as the crazy dark skinned elf from the paintings apparently following, and finally finding, them. Don’t know where those will go, but Dungeon Meshi has earned my trust by this point, I’m excited and looking forward to it. Just give me more Farcille and I’ll be happy, seriously.

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Black Lagoon – 21/22 [Two Father’s Little Soldier Girls/The Dark Tower] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Black Lagoon, Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to what may be the best pair of Black Lagoon episodes… Ever, really. I love so much about these episodes, and they are so intertwined with each other that I’m going to forgo the usual format and tackle them together, as a single unit, because that’s what I think they are. So strap in, cause we have a lot to talk about this week! And remember, if you have a suggestion for our next season of Throwback Thursday, post it below! I’ll add it to the ballot after next weeks post.

Starting off, what a way to bookend a pair of episodes. Seriously, beautiful stuff. I’ve long said Balalaika is my favorite Black Lagoon character, and this bookend parallel with Yukio only cemented that. The flashback to her childhood, dreaming of becoming an Olympian to restore her families honor in the eyes of the Soviet Union? Winding up shipped off to war, scarred, watching her men die and killing others in return. Disgraced as the home they fought for falls apart, soldiers without a country, abandoned and forgotten. Burying her second in command then taking up the mantle once more, giving her men purpose where they had none, diving face first into this life for the sake of another. Even the episode title, “Two Father’s Little Soldier Girls”, is beautiful in context. And the best part of it all? The rest of the episode(s) live up to what this opening promised.

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Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 10

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Thanks for the well wishes after last weeks post everyone. Can’t say things are great, in fact I’d say they are falling apart, but this is a nice bit of consistency in the storm.

Dungeon Meshi – 11 [Red Dragon I]

If you’ve seen the episode then it should come as no surprise that Dungeon Meshi is #1 this week. It took everything I love about the show, the detailed world building and ecology, the animation and expressiveness of the characters, even the uncommon bouts of serious drama, and dialed them up to 11. The detail? We got to watch the party skin and butcher a dragon piece of piece, walking us through its digestive cycle and how it breathes fire. The animation and expressiveness? This is the best Dungeon Meshi has looked since Episode 3, everything just moves beautifully. From their expressions even to how it was shot. Just look at any of Senshi or Laios’s scenes across the entire episode and you’ll know what I mean, an absolute powerhouse of dynamic movement and camera work. And the drama? God the second half it… It got me. The building desperation to find even a shred of Falin’s corpse, the flashback to when they were children, and especially the reveal with the skull. Something about it just… It worked, and was simultaneously incredibly dark and yet hopeful, because now they can maybe pay to resurrect her. So as far as climaxes go? This is going to be hard to top, because that was an absolutely stunning episode. Continue reading “Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 10” →

Black Lagoon – 19/20 [Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise/The Succession] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Black Lagoon, Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to another 2 episodes of Black Lagoon! This week kicks of the final arc of the series, taking us to a land we haven’t visited since episode 1: Japan! This is pretty interesting, a lot goes down, so lets dive right into it.

First up is episode 19, “Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise”. This episode starts us off in Japan right away and I have to admit, it was a little confusing. We went from escaping into the ocean with Jane to Rock landing in Japan with Revy almost immediately. Were it not for some of the connective moments, like Benny and Jane E-dating or Rock first waking up in Roanapur with Sawyer outside his window, I’d have felt like I had skipped an episode. As is, it just feels like a really awkward transition. Still, it’s not like I dislike Japan. It should be a really interesting setting for the series. One where Rock can show just how much he’s changed in the year he’s been away, as well as giving Revy a more… lets say “civilized” city to interact with. There’s a lot of potential here! Black Lagoon just needs to use it.

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Guest Post: Unearthed Treasure with Firechick – The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons (80/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews

Alright, let’s get the elephant out of the room, the only reason anyone even heard of The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons is because of the fact that for some reason, when the first episode went up on Crunchyroll, it was saddled with the most absolutely abysmal English subtitles. No, I’m not kidding. The subtitles were not only extremely literal, with zero syntaxes, punctuations, and sentence structure, there are times when sentences are repeated for no reason, and they even went as far as to straight up translate some characters’ names. It was especially bad because other streaming sites in other regions had their own English subtitles for it, but they were nowhere near as bad as the ones Crunchyroll got. Luckily, the ensuing backlash convinced Crunchyroll to reach out to the original licensor to give it a newer, better translation, and the subtitles have since been updated. It is a shame this is how people had to get introduced to the series, because The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons is honestly a very sweet, heartwarming, low-key drama that deserves more appreciation than it gets.

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Winter 2024 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 9

by Lenlo, posted in Weekly Summary

Hey all, wanted to let you know real quick here at the top that posts this next week may be late or skipped entirely. Had a death in the family on Friday and it’s been a busy weekend. I need to fly home for a funeral and such. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, just wanted to give you all a heads up. Now on with the post!

Frieren – 26 [The Height of Magic]

Funnily enough, the most enjoyable part of Frieren this week had absolutely nothing to do with Frieren. Don’t get me wrong, the fight with the clone was cool enough, but it felt very… Flashy for flashiness sake, if that makes sense? What I mean is, compare it to the demon fight back in the mid-season climax. While both are very well animated, the demon fight felt smooth and purposeful, Fern was showing off, you could still make out and understand what was happening. Meanwhile this battle, aside from the very end with Frieren’s mention of “I haven’t had to use that in 80 years”, felt like it relied way more on effects work and bright lights and so just wasn’t as interesting. Still fun and flashy, but not the highlight of the episode for me. So what does that honor belong? Ubel. Something about her flashback, the conflict with Sense’s clone, this addendum to the “Magic is about imagination and visualization” rule showing us just how powerful a sociopath can be. Cause when you think about it, it makes sense. Cloth? Hair? People? Those can be cut, duh. Magic barriers? Well that’s magic, can’t cut that. But a dude in a cape? Sure why not. It definitely runs on some “Rule of cool” logic, Frieren is without a doubt a soft magic system on the Sanderson scale. But it’s presented in a cool manner, and Ubel is this great mix of “Don’t cut me” scary and “Step on me” hot. Still, even with that critique I want to make this very clear: Frieren was fun and definitely the highlight of the week. Just because it wasn’t as good as one of its best episodes doesn’t mean it was bad. Overall, I’d call this 2nd test a success.

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Black Lagoon – 17/18 [The Roanapur Freakshow Circus/Mr. Benny’s Good Fortune] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Black Lagoon, Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday

Welcome back, to another week of Black Lagoon! I have another pair of episodes for you, these two wrapping up the Jane arc with just as much fun as it started. There’s a decent amount to talk about, and I want to actually get this up on time for once, so lets dive right into it!

Starting off we have episode 17, “The Roanapur Freakshow Circus”. This picks up right where we left off, with bounty hunters storming the hotel and Eda explaining her brilliant plan. Turns out? I was right! She did plan all of this. In fact, she’s run this so many times that she not only has a specific room picked out, she has signs setup directing Jane right to her alley. Hell, she has a track record of doing this. And you know what makes it all even funnier? The moment Eda and Revy get involved, all of the other bounty hunters immediately back off and demand more pay. Not because they are afraid of them, we see later they gladly fight. More that fighting them simply isn’t worth the paltry 1k they were being paid before. The hilarity! And that’s exactly how I would describe both of these episodes: Hilarious.

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Spring 2024 Season Preview

by Lenlo, posted in Seasonal Previews

Lenlo: Welcome all, to the early days of the Spring season! Boy time sure does fly. And I still haven’t caught up on a lot of my projects. Jesus christ adulting is hard… Let this be proof I haven’t forgotten about them though! Anyways, we have a lot of shows to talk about, most of them looking terrible… So I’m going to skip them and only talk about things that caught my eye! That of course means some things won’t be on this list, from sequels I either haven’t seen the previous season for, like Yuru Camp S3 and Reincarnated as a Slime S3, to ones I actively don’t care about and think are bad, like Mushoku Tensei S2 Part 2 and The Irregular at Magic Highschool S3. There’s also some premiers that don’t get mentioned simply because they don’t look interesting, like The Fable. If something you’re curious about isn’t discussed, post about it in the comments! Tell me why you’re looking forward to it! I’ll keep it in mind when the season starts and I’m watching all the pilots. Until then though? You’ll have to settle for my taste and the shows I think have promise. Now without further ado, lets dive into them!

What will you be watching this spring?
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