Author: Lenlo

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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Kimetsu no Yaiba – 24 [Rehabilitation Training]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome all to another subdued week of Kimetsu no Yaiba everyone. This week is rather quiet comparatively, as we focus in on a few specific characters. Exploring Shinobu’s motivations, Tanjiro’s effect on others and Yaiba’s breathing techniques. So without further ado, let’s dive in.

Starting off, Zenitsu is really losing a lot of the good-will he earned recently. It’s not that the voice is bad, I think Hiro Shimono does a great job selling it. The range is impressive and his ability to be this god damn annoying is… impressive. But the character himself seems to have turned the dial back up to 11. Screaming about women, whining about medicine, and just seeming to take umbrage with every little thing. It’s not that I don’t believe such an individual can exist, more that I just detest the archetype in the first place. The sad thing is that we don’t even really have Inosuke to balance him out. Previously in the Wisteria House, Inosuke sort of reined him in with his own antics.Yet right now Best Boy is, rightfully, morose and subdued. A shame that one characters arc sort of takes away from another’s.

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Dr.STONE – 11 [Clear World]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Ladies and Gentleman who actually read these posts, this is an important week for Dr.STONE. As this week we meet Kaseki, perhaps the greatest old man of the season. Dr.STONE doesn’t stop there though. Introducing us to the wonders of glassmaking and giving us another heartfelt moment of technological progress. Enough of that though, in we go!

Starting off, Dr.STONE once again makes us appreciate the modern world through technological advances. The whole thing with Suika’s glasses was, in my opinion, beautiful. From discovering her issue, to making it clear this isn’t a defect or flaw. Dr.STONE really sells how much of an issue this would be in ancient times. Then, when it comes time for the grand reveal, the series knows when to hold back. No one says a word when Suika puts the helmet on. Letting her facial expressions and the scene itself sell the moment. Rather than telling the audience how to feel, it shows us. As someone who needs glasses in their day to day life, I loved it. It’s Dr.STONE once again slow-rolling the audience, without ever really screaming in our face, “APPRECIATE TECHNOLOGY”. If anything, the series sort of throws that at us back with characters like Kinro.

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Mononoke – 6 [Faceless Monster Part 1] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

And so begins another arc of Mononoke, though this one is shaping up to be my favorite so far. This week we get the introduction of a new spirit and a commentary of personal perception, wrapped in a fast paced episode. There is plenty to talk about, so let’s just dive in.

Starting off, the production. Visual wise, this week wasn’t particularly different from any other. There aren’t really any big set pieces in a series like Mononoke. We won’t be having someone like Nakamura coming in for a cut or two. What Mononoke did have this week though, was some fantastic pacing and direction. Really setting this arc apart from the others, simply in how fast it is. Zashikiwarashi was short, and slowly paced until the 2nd episode. Sea Bishop was long and slowly paced throughout the whole thing. Faceless Monster however is quickly paced, right out the gate. Throwing us right into the middle of the mystery, making the setup just as important as the final reveal. After the slow pace of the last arc, it’s very refreshing, and really drags you into the series immediately. As for the content itself, I enjoyed that to.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba – 23 [Hashira Meeting]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

This week Kimetsu no Yaiba picks up right where we left off last time. As Nezuko confronts her demonic side, Tanjiro doesn’t know when to quit while he is ahead and our two favorite boys return. Enough of that though, onto the episode itself.

This week was much better than last week, and I think I have identified why. Last week, Yaiba spent the entire 23 minutes in a single scene, the same location. However much happens in that scene, is established in that scene, it still left me feeling like we hadn’t really gone anywhere. Overall it gave me a feeling that things had slowed down, regardless of what actually occurred. Something to break it up would have really helped I think. As far as this week though, Yaiba does just that. Transitioning us out of the Hashira meeting as we follow Tanjiro. Then bringing us back at the end to close out the episode without really losing the thread of what was happening. Even if the same amount of things happened in both episodes, this one felt more progressive. Which I feel is important. Enough of that though, onto the meat.

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Dr.STONE – 10 [A Flimsy Alliance]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

This is a tough week for Dr.STONE, as it has to follow up the brilliant “lightbulb” of last week. However, for as much as it serves as cool-down episode, I think this week succeeds. As Dr.STONE temporarily closes the book on Tsukasa, introduces a new antagonist for the Village, and a great alliance is formed. Let’s dive in!

Now as I said, this week was for the most part slower than last week. As it spends its time establishing new threats and having Gen make a decision. Yet, enough happened outside/around that, to make it feel like a lot happened in a short amount of time. The big one though that really broke up the episode was Magma’s reappearance. Oof, how was that for a surprise? It effectively broke the episode in two. Ending the jovial nature carried over from last week, for a more focused one with the upcoming Grand Bout. It also had some of Dr.STONE’s most brutal animation. Really selling Gen’s assault and setting Magma up as a villain. Even as a manga reader, I had forgotten what had happened between the Lightbulb and the Grand Bout. A pleasant surprise for me. Now though, onto the details.

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Mononoke – 5 [Sea Bishop Finale] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

Fair readers, if the first arc of Mononoke was a Horror, this one is without a doubt a tragedy. As the Sea Bishop closes with unexpected twists, deep seated guilt and somber tune. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

This week, Mononoke closed out its second arc, the Sea Bishop. Compared to the first, it could hardly be called horror, though elements of that were there. A kind of internal horror, one of character and internal strife. Similar in ways to Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde. Though much more subdued I feel, since that secondary nature really only came out near the very end of the arc. For me it felt more like a character study, or perhaps a tragedy of some kind. Without a doubt at least the Bishop’s character is a tragic one I feel, though we will get into that later. Suffice to say though, before getting into spoiler territory, that I quite enjoyed this finale. I think Mononoke did a great job with presentation, with plenty of tiny details to pick up on throughout. But enough of that, onto the meat.

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Vinland Saga – 9 [The Battle of London Bridge]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

Welcome all to another week of Vinland Saga. Sadly while it was filled with spectacle, this week shows that Vinland’s pacing doesn’t always translate well into anime form. But let’s take it slow as we walk through Thorkell’s fight, Canute’s army and Askeladd’s new plan. Let’s dive in!

In general, I think the episode looked fine. The CGI was of course the usual. Very noticable, and while not offensively bad, it still stuck out like a sore thumb. That said, we did get some beautiful cuts from Arifumi Imai, the man behind some of Attack on Titan’s best cuts. I wasn’t expecting him to show up honestly, I assumed most of Wits A-Team would be working on Kabaneri. But I am happy we did, because that log jump was beautiful. From Thorfinn running across the ships mast, to his almost floaty jump. Really, almost the entire Thorkell fight was a treat to look at. It makes me optimistic for some of the more emotional or action oriented scenes in the future. If nothing else, Vinland gave us some sick animation this week, and that makes me happy. Now though, onto the story.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba – 22 [Master of the Mansion]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

This was a rather slow week for Yaiba. As we meet the rest of the Hashira, the Master of the Slayers and the whole thing takes place in one scene. Still, there are things worth talking about, so let’s dive in!

Right off the bat, this was a very slow episode. Little actually happened this week, and the whole thing took place in effectively a single scene. Yes, a number of important things are/did happen during the scene, but a large chunk of it felt… dull. This isn’t surprising though as a majority of the scene was just introducing new characters. This is of course a historical problem for Yaiba. The series tends to ramp their eccentric personalities up to 11 on first introduction. We need only look back at Inosuke and Zenitsu’s introductions for evidence of this. The exact same issue occurred this week. With each of the Hashira coming off very strongly, pushing a singular character trait forward over anything else. This is decent for establishing the basics of a new character quickly. It’s just not particularly interesting or fun though.

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