Author: Lenlo

Mononoke – 10 [Goblin Cat, Part 1] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

Hello all, apologies for the delay, and welcome to the final arc of Mononoke! This is perhaps the most unique one yet. As we skip forward to a modern era, set the entire thing in a single location, and have ourselves a murder mystery. So, lets dive in!

Right off the bat, as always, I loved Mononoke’s strong sense of direction. Yeah the episode was kind of slow, which considering its the start of a 3 episode arc makes sense. However in spite of the pacing, or perhaps because of, we got a lot of really interesting scenes and decisions out of it. For instance, I found the usage of mannequins for the crowds fantastic. As this is the greatest amount of people in any scene Mononoke has had to deal with. So the decision both makes it easy to put them on screen, justifies their lack of animation, and denotes how unimportant they are. It also lead to some, not quite funny but memorable, scenes involving the train. Such as when it grinds to a halt, all of the mannequins are thrown to the ground, etc etc. It was all really quite clever I think.

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Vinland Saga – 12/13 [The Land on the Far Bank/Child of a Hero]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

Hello again everyone and welcome to a double feature for Vinland Saga. Apologies for the missed week, but even I am not totally immune to sickness. So this week we cover episodes 12 and 13. Where we learn quite a bit about Askeladd, Canute finds his voice and winter starts to turn. In we go!

Starting off, since its a 2 for 1 this week, let’s talk production. Across both the episodes, I thought the music was fantastic. Still very unique for most anime I feel. And they really accentuated each scene they were used in. I do think that it was a tad loud at times, though. Sometimes drowning out the conversation and such of the scene. Part of me thinks this was a conscious choice though, as Vinland Saga was putting a lot of effort into showing how much noise an army makes. With stomping boots and chatter and all that. Seemingly to setup the Ear’s little listening to the ground trick. But as a whole, while I really like the music, the volume mixing just felt a bit off. Over all though, the presentation was solid. Great presentation of armies and the changing of seasons and backgrounds. Onto the meat though!

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Dr.STONE – 14 [Master of Flame]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

And so begins the 2nd cour of Dr.STONE, complete with a whole new OP and everything. However for us, we are just picking up right where we left off. With Kinro’s fight, Senku’s science and an old friend returned. Let’s dive in!

In general I think this week was better than the last. Yes, the focus was still on the fights and yes this is still a Shounen. However it’s the manner, the focus of the fights, that differs. As last week was primarily on brawn and how it can be accentuated by Science. While this week Dr.STONE goes back to its roots and focuses entirely on science and teamwork. Of course before we can get to that, we have to talk about Kinro getting duped. I have to say, it was hard to write around knowing that would happen, and I am curious. What did you all think of the dupe? Was it setup fine and worked, or did it feel like a lazy contrivance to build tension? As Kinro has long been established as a bit of a rules lawyer. So while you read, please keep that in mind.

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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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