Author: Lenlo

Mononoke – 9 [Japanese Chimera, Part 2] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

And so ends another arc of Mononoke, in a way I never would have expected. As this week we solve a murder mystery, once again question our perceptions of the world, and get another new “favorite arc”. Apologies for the wait, sickness waits for no man, but let’s dive in.

Starting off, as always, the production of the episode. Mononoke has always had a strong visual direction, but this week was a treat. Both in terms of, mostly limited, animation and in direction. What with the usage of the bell to cut between scenes, or cutting angles in a scene to change the characters in it. There was a lot of very gripping imagery used throughout the episode that I thought connected well both in tone in content. My favorite part of the aesthetic though was the emphasis on color, and what it represented. Seemingly with each of the characters only gaining color as they felt strong emotions. Whether that be because of the scenes, or the events taking place. Based on how the episode finished up, I would suppose we could surmise that the color was linked to how “alive” or “real” they felt. Regardless though, it looked good.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime Review – 70/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Action, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Reviews by Lenlo

It’s hard to find a more ubiquitous genre in anime than Shounen. Maybe romance/moe-blobs, but it’s a close race. With series like One Piece and until recently Naruto, being a constant presence each season/year. Often this makes it difficult for newer series to break into the anime market in a meaningful way. With the recent success stories of that being My Hero Academia and Black Clover. However, with this season, I think Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba can stand toe to toe with its contemporaries and stand proud. As the series, written by Koyoharu Gotouge and adapted by Ufotable, has broken into the scene en force. Even managing to break into the mainstream on social media like Twitter with some episodes, really showing how far anime can reach today. So the question then becomes, what does Kimetsu no Yaiba do right? What does it do wrong?

Without further ado, let’s dive right in and see if we can’t answer those questions.

(Disclaimer: I am working to make 50 the new “average”. 70 is not an average score people. 70 is above average. Also this review contains minor spoilers. Carry on.)

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Kimetsu no Yaiba 26 [New Mission]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome to the finale of Kimetsu no Yaiba, one with just as many ups and downs as the series itself. As this week we wrap up some plots, start some others and prepare for a newly announced movie sequel! No time to waste, let’s dive in.

As I said, this was an odd week in that it basically acted as setup for the newly announced movie. I can see some people being annoyed with that, but all things considered, it should be expected. It’s not like anything would be any different without the movie, Yaiba would just setup for the 2nd season. All things considered, I actually think Yaiba found a good spot to leave off on. With our leads literally leaving off for another adventure. The sad thing is just that Yaiba was sort of a mixed bag. With the opening bit with Muzan working very well, while some of the latter parts with Kanao not so much. Regardless of how well they worked though, I think Yaiba wrapped up a lot of plot points while giving us some much needed answers. More details after the break, for those avoiding spoilers.

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Dr.STONE – 13 [Masked Warrior]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

This is a difficult week for Dr.STONE, with what it has to follow up. Everything from production to the story just couldn’t seem to meet the same highs. As we start the Grand Bout, progress the cure-all and Kinro learns a thing or two about science. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, I hate to do it, but the production this week was… not great. Dr.STONE made it very clear this week that it wasn’t an action series. Oh the jokes and such were fine, there was plenty of well done comedy. I actually forgot about some of the memes like Salt Bae that were originally incorporated into the manga. However beyond that, the combat wasn’t great and sort of abandoned what made Dr.STONE fun. The detailed style just doesn’t fit the fast pacing required for this style of combat. Instead relying on a bunch of still frames, or simple repeated motions. It’s a shame, because we saw that Dr.STONE can get good fight animation. Gen’s assault looked pretty good for the short moment it was. But similar to Tsukasa’s scenes, these just don’t fit well with the shows style. Working better as still frames in a manga.

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Mononoke – 8 [Japanese Chimera Part 1] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

As one arc ends, another begins with Mononoke. As this week we pick up on what may be the best start to an arc yet.  A perfect mix of sudden horror, mystery and art. As our Medicine Seller this week takes part on an odd incense game, uncovers a murder and hunts down a spirit. Lets dive in!

Starting off as always, this week Mononoke did some interesting things with its visuals. From the opening shot, there is a strong emphasis on color, or a lack thereof. With everything being bleached, diluted until it’s almost grayscaled. The only exception to this seeming to be when someone is feeling a strong emotion. We saw this from the opening scene, as the backgrounds are dark, but the blood is a bright orange. Tangent for a moment, that opening transition with the blood was fantastic by the way. Setting up what the shapes mean by having the man slam against the walls. Then progressively swapping between them faster and faster, then fading out the background. Leaving just a man’s silhouette running in place. This is possibly the strongest Mononoke has been yet, visually. Running right out the gate with this style.

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Vinland Saga – 11 [A Gamble]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

I want to say this is a more philosophical week for Vinland Saga. As we spend half of it bantering about religion, the foolishness of war and what it does to a person. Yet Thorkell moving like a meat-blender across the screen sort of takes away from the statement. So instead, how about we just dive right in like we always do? With production.

This week had some nice scenes going for it, with even the CGI seeing a bit of an improvement. Of course the environments stayed top notch, but specifically I want to talk about how the characters interacted with it. The small things, like the soldiers stomping on the leaves, Thorkell blowing one or them falling around him during his talk. It’s small things sure, but they are things that help the great backgrounds feel like more than just window dressing. Going back to the CGI for a minute, while it wasn’t perfect, there was an improvement for the large battle. Some of it was hidden with clever smoke, fire and camera angles. But if that is what they need to do, then I don’t mind much. I think the opening shots of the big battle looked fine. Still, you can see all this with your own eyes. Onto the meat.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba – 25 [Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome one and all, to the penultimate week of Kimetsu no Yaiba. It’s an odd week I feel, though not a particularly negative one. Just the difference between “fine” and “good”, as this week covers more training, Kanao’s backstory and some actually good comedy. So without further ado, let’s dive in.

Starting off, let’s talk about this week’s structure, as the episode opens up on more training for Tanjiro. It’s funny, because this training arc almost feels longer than the initial one of the series. Most likely do to the subject matter at hand. The montage part just wasn’t as interesting as the whole mountain sequence. That isn’t to say it was bad, it had its moments. Tanjiro’s little fan club were always cute. As was seeming him slowly gain progress on Kanao and such. My major complaint though is that it all just feels very… subdued for what is the penultimate episode. Later one we get some new stuff, such as a flashback and an intro to next seasons first arc. And Yaiba is seemingly building up some mysteries in regards to Fire vs Flame breathing. I just didn’t find the first half of the episode particularly engaging.

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Dr.STONE – 12 [Buddies Back to Back]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Welcome to another good week of Dr.STONE, this time tackling a chapter I have been expectantly waiting for. As this week Senku and crew confront the dangerous side of science, Ginro finds his courage and we take another step towards our cure-all. Let’s get right to it!

First and foremost I want to talk about my personal favorite aspect this week, that being Sulfy-chan. It’s easy to see why she came in at #15 on the Dr.STONE character popularity poll. Despite the fact that she isn’t actually a real character. All that said though, Dr.STONE nailed her presentation this week. Really trying its best to harness the horror of the scene and the building dread of an enemy you can’t see. There are places of course that I think the manga did it better, but that is simply down to Boichi’s stellar art. I think that TMS translated it to motion well, foregoing some of the greater detail for slick animation. Such as her face melting, or her spinning into the bottle like a Proton Pack. So just as good, just in different ways. So credit to TMS there this week.

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Mononoke – 7 [Faceless Monster, Part 2] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

And so ends another arc of Mononoke. This was an interesting one as I was simultaneously proven right, yet also wrong, based on last weeks predictions. So without further ado, lets dive right into the finale of our latest horrifying arc.

Starting off, Mononoke this week sort of pulled a fast one on me. It took one of my usual pet peeves with anime, that being reused sets/episode long scenes, and turned it on their head. By incorporating the nature of that scene into the story itself. Suffice to say I thought it rather clever. Parts of it were constrained by Mononoke’s almost slideshow nature of course. The distinct lack of animation throughout the series could be off putting for some. I find the odd flash-fade/zoom in during some scenes this week to be rather dull myself. Most of the time though, the individual scenes have enough to at least keep you looking around until the scene is over. The bright colors and often complex designs sort of act as a bandaid for this I feel. Not perfect by any means, but it serves Mononoke’s story well I feel.

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Vinland Saga – 10 [Ragnarok]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:

This was a pretty insightful week for Vinland Saga. As we get a deeper look into Askeladd’s character, Thorkell goes on the move and Thorfinn continues to question his place in the band. Lets dive in!

Starting off, like always, the productions. This week was, to use a dirty word, pretty damn cinematic. Vinland continues to rely heavily on its backgrounds and framing from the manga. Which are great, I like those! It’s just not an animation powerhouse of a season just yet. A few scenes here and there that are nice, such as last episode with Thorfinn and Thorkell. It just doesn’t match up to Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 (Say that five times fast) or Mob Psycho Season 2. Not a big deal of course, but worth mentioning knowing what is coming in the series. On a smaller note before the meat though, Vinland did do a bit of a timeskip this week. Only a few months, but we are now entering a new winter. A little jarring since we just left winter earlier, but it’s important for what is to come.

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