Author: Lenlo

Paranoia Agent – 11 [No Entry] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

And so Paranoia Agent gets back on its weird tracks! This week week see what’s happened with Maniwa and the chief, Shounen Bat gets one upped and Kon get’s a little weird again. Lets jump in!

I have to say, this was a unique episode. All of Paranoia Agent’s episodes are unique in some way, but that’s not going to stop me from pointing it out each week. This time, Kon give’s us a closer look into Shounen Bat himself, which is a very welcome surprise. I made a point last week of explaining my worries with the series. That it was moving away from the characters and towards Shounen Bat, when he had no character of his own. That there wasn’t a clear plot to actually end in the first place. Kon apparently realized this, knowing from the start if the setup is anything to go by. This week give’s me that characterization, that sort of plot hook, that I so desperately wanted last week. So credit where credit is do, Kon has assuaged one of my biggest worries. But what about the actual content?

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 13 [Boss Fight ~The Final Light~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello one and all, to the finale of Mob Psycho 100 Season 2! This week Suzuki explodes, Mob grows up and Serizawa gets a haircut. I hope your ready for a contrary opinion, now lets jump in!

I want to preface my mixed reception with this, Mob Psycho’s animation is insane. It looks fantastic in every way, knocking everything else out of the park. BONES clearly cared a lot about this series, because the animators really got to flex their own styles and do what they wanted. From the interesting camera angles and tracking shots as they flew through the sky, to the unique animation that often popped up. Simply put, I don’t believe Mob Psycho’s animation is something that be contested. From digital effects to uncommon mediums, it really made the most of what it means to be “animated”. I caught myself mid “whoa” multiple times this episode. It’s interesting to, because this is more tame (for Mob Psycho at least) than Episode 5’s insanity, yet still fantastic. Showing that BONES doesn’t need a dreamscape to go all out. Sadly, it wasn’t all perfection this week.

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Paranoia Agent – 10 [Mellow Maromi] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone to the most enjoyable episode of Paranoia Agent in a while. This week we get a peek into the anime industry, Shounen Bat appears once more and our death count skyrockets. Lets jump in!

Starting off, I not only have to but want to talk about the animation. Paranoia Agent got very inventive this week, wowing me multiple times. It really embraced the focus on the animation industry to have some fun with its eldritch premise. There are two instances of this I specifically want to mention. The first comes right at the start, by cutting to the various stages of the animation process. Complete, to Genga, to Storyboard it was an interesting look and really set the focus for the episode early. The second, and much more impressive, was about mid-way through, as Saruta is basically reverse animated. Losing his color, his line-work getting rougher and rougher. It was simultaneously beautiful and horrifying, fitting Paranoia Agent’s unique brand of horror. This is exactly what I have wanted these past few episodes, so its good to see the series return to form.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Anime Review – 93/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Sports, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, Reviews by Lenlo

Recently, sports anime have become a bit of a dying breed. Falling into the same hole as Mecha, aside from a passionate base audience, most are overlooked. There are the occasional hits like Haikyuu, Yuri on Ice, or Darling in the Franxx for Mecha, but those are few and far between, often taking years. Even then, rarely does a series come along that can reach the heights of the old classics such as Hajime no Ippo or One Outs. However, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, Kaze Fui or Run With the Wind, attempts to do just that. With a phenomenal cast, tight direction and a 5 episode finale that was executed neigh perfectly, Kaze Fui is one of my favorite sports anime in recent years.

So that said, lets jump in!

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 23 [In The Wind]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome, one and all, to the finale of Kaze Fui. It has been a wild ride to get to this point, as the series did the impossible. It made running ~140 miles more interesting and dramatic than a fight for the fate of the universe (Looking at you DBZ). So, for the final time, let’s talk running boys.

Starting off, visually, Kaze Fui was beautiful this week. The animation team really kicked it up a notch, with numerous high fidelity shots. Examples of this include Haiji’s panning shot as he runs under the bridge and basically any shot of the dog. I swear, the frame count must have doubled, there was so much motion going on. As if that wasn’t enough, Kaze Fui also knocked it out of the part with its direction and cutaways. Conveying so much emotion in individual images or scenes, with no spoken words, is a feat worth lauding. Simply put, as a finale, this was more than up to snuff visually. Really, the last 5 episodes straight have met that requirement, with only minor CGI popping in. But this episode didn’t even have that. Now though, lets get on to the actual story.

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Dororo – 12 [The Story of Banmon, Part 2]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Welcome to the first cour finale for Dororo! This week the Kagemitsu family reunites, Tahomaru turns a blind eye and Hyakki starts a war. Lets jump in!

More than usual, we need to talk about production, because Dororo really stepped it up this week. The direction, as always, was fantastic. There were a lot of shots I loved. From Daigo turning to face Hyakki, to Oku viewing him through the Buddha statue. Hyakki standing on the wall, forcing his way into the family and promptly being pushed away. There were a lot of great shots that stood out throughout this episode. Thats not even mentioning the step up in fluid animation we got this week in many of the fights. Sure, the archers are basically machine gun storm troopers, but hey. The actual sword and demon fights looked fantastic. The green flame flying through the air, taking shapes and lighting up the sky. Clearly MAPPA put a lot of care into the episode, and that’s not even mentioning the story content.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 12 [The Battle for Social Rehabilitation ~Friendship~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Welcome one and all to the penultimate episode of Mob Psycho! This week Mob steps up, a Hobo finds his courage and Reigen finds a gun. Lets jump in!

Right off the bat, as always, I have to say Mob Psycho looked fantastic. There has been some disagreement/quibbling on my part about some still shots in the past. But none of that changes how, in motion, Mob Psycho is the best looking series of the season and probably year. The style in all of the important shots is beautiful, and the motion put into even the tiniest scenes is astounding. Often in anime, you will have scenes where the only movement is the mouth as they talk. Occasionally though you get a series, like Mob Psycho, that goes the extra mile. That animates body or facial movement to go with the mouth. Its a small thing, and often when reading subs you don’t notice it. But when you do, like I did this week, it makes you appreciate it all the more.

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Paranoia Agent – 9 [Etc.] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Hello all, and welcome to a very… odd episode of Paranoia Agent. Which, knowing this show, is saying something. This week we tackle public gossip, the inconsistencies that come with it and if there is any truth to it. Lets go!

Starting off, let’s talk about the execution. Normally here, I talk about animation and production, but Paranoia Agent has been pretty consistent on that front to this point. Giving me little to talk about without repeating myself. So instead, how was this executed? In my opinion, it was very interesting to watch. You could never tell, at least at first, which pieces of gossip were real or not or how much so. With how crazy Paranoia Agent has been up to this point, this line of what is or is not believable was pushed very far back. So in that sense, this episode did a fantastic job expanding on the world while staying true to its weird/eldritch roots. That said, just like last week, this feels rather fillery. It doesn’t move the plot forward. At best, it tells us Shounen Bat is more prolific than we though.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 22 [Embrace Your Loneliness]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Hello all and welcome to the penultimate episode of Kaze Fui! This week we see King’s struggle, Kurahara takes off and Sakaki becomes a little less hate-able. Lets take off running, we have a lot to cover!

In terms of animation and production, Kaze Fui surprised me this week. I didn’t think that, after Yuki last week, that it would do anything new. I assumed we would get some more of Kurahara’s running through dimensions bit, which looks good, but isn’t new at this point. What was new though was King’s facial expressions and Kurahara’s stunning shedding of his earthly concerns. The first was just funny. It meshed well with King’s story and helped lighten the tone a bit, so the shift isn’t so sudden when we go to Kurahara. Meanwhile Kurahara’s bit was just beautiful to look at. Like an animated Buddhist enlightenment, it was like Kurahara was shedding his earthly concerns and just dedicating himself to the run. For someone who started such an angry boy, it really struck me then how far he had come. But we will get to him later, onto spoilers!

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Dororo – 11 [The Story of Banmon, Part 1]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Lets skip the preamble this week and just dive in to Dororo! On this episode our plucky pair explore Daigo’s city, fight some fox spirits and get in a bit of a pickle. Lets go!

Startin off, Dororo had some interesting visuals and colors this week. With the Fox Spirits and the Crazy Woman sticking out to me the most. Both had some great colors and unique styles to them. The Fox Spirits for instance had some fantastic greens and blues, really selling that other-worldliness in a series that is mostly natural greens and browns. They really brightened up their scene and drew the focus. The crazy woman on the other hand had some nice blending. With the green/black drooping from her eyes nicely accenting her sickness. It’s a simple effect, but one I loved. So overall while Dororo is not the most visually impressive series in this season, I can say it has established its style. Unlike Mob Psycho, which changes every scene almost, Dororo is really sticking to its older aesthetic and that sets it apart, similar to what Megalo Box did.

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