Author: Lenlo

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 18 [And Then, Morning]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome to the big one, the start, the opening moments of Kaze Fui’s Hakone Ekiden! This week Fujioka drops some wisdom, the team learns their sections and Yuki gets some time with Kurahara. Lets jump in!

This week was Kaze Fui’s big setup, along with some drops on Haiji’s background. Before we get to either of those though, how did Kaze Fui do on the production department? Like always, the backgrounds were beautiful. The shot near the end of Mt.Fuji was simply stunning, similarly with Haiji and Fujioka’s walking rice fields. We didn’t get to see much animation this week sadly, but with the Ekiden starting next week, hopefully it will show up in full force. That isn’t to say it was non-existent though. During Fujioka’s flashback there was some great running/shoe animation near the end, and I quite enjoyed the character acting we got during the sections explanation. However, unlike Mob Psycho, animation isn’t one of Kaze Fui’s focal point’s. That dubious honor goes to the story and characters, and my goodness, is what good as always.

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Dororo – 7 [The story of the Jorogumo silk spider]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Hello and welcome to what is, I believe, an anime original week of Dororo! This time we have a sympathetic ghoul, Hyakki dealing with his emotions and a continually worse feudal landscape. Lets jump in!

Dororo was a rather disappointing one after last week, to be frank. Story wise there were some interesting ideas and it got its message across, as we will talk about. But visually Dororo fell very short. There were lots of dull stills, choppy or lazy animation and questionable transitions. Take the opening for instance, as Ohagi runs away after her first encounter with Hyakkimaru. The walk/run animation there is basically a loop as she slides across the screen. Or Hyakki and Dororo’s “search” as just the background fades and changes. Simply put, visually, I would not blame someone if they checked out while watching this episode. As much as the story does it’s job, it simply isn’t engaging compared to last weeks arc finale. It felt like filler, almost, which considering all the plot threads currently available and in the air isn’t really acceptable. Now, spoilers after the break!

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 7 [Cornered ~True Identity~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello and welcome to the halfway point of Mob Psycho Season 2! This week continues Reigen’s story as he rises high, falls low and comes to an epiphany. Lets jump in!

Starting off, Mob Psycho once again looks fantastic. Say what you want about the story or characters, the quality of the animation is undeniable. In an episode with no big fights or villains, just character moments, Mob Psycho was more expressively animated than most series finales. Everything from Reigen’s exorcism and incredible reactions to the continuous ending shot of the floating camera. Mob Psycho impressed me this week, in a very different way from episode 5. We also got to see more examples of unusual animation, with the paint on glass effect appearing again. I will admit, this effect is a personal favorite of mine. Seeing the individual brush strokes takes me back to the backgrounds of cell animated series of old. Yet it has a modern polish that makes also crisp and clean. Enough about animation though, as always, spoilers below the break.

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Paranoia Agent – 4 [A Man’s Path] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

This week, once again, Paranoia Agent takes another interesting turn. This time we follow the cop who caught Shounen Bat, see a bit into organized crime and watch a man fall apart at the seams. Lets go!

So in general, while this episode was interesting and explored some more aspects of society, I wasn’t big on it. The issue is, I can’t really tell you why either. It just didn’t… click with me? All of the pieces were there. Kon’s unique animation style, societal commentary, interesting direction. Maybe it was Hirukara as a character whom I did not enjoy? However I would find that to be odd, as all of his scenes succeeded at what they set out to do. I was incredibly nervous anytime he was onscreen in the latter half. Objectively, he succeeded at his role in the story. So why didn’t I enjoy it as much as the previous episodes? Well, let’s get into the details, and hopefully by the end I will have figured out an answer.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 17 [Searching for the Answer]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome to the feel good relaxation week of Kaze Fui! This time the Twins confront Haiji, they see the track and Sakaki continues to be a dick. Lets jump in!

Starting off, this episode was a very subdued one. Similar to Mob, Kaze Fui slowed down this week. Giving the characters room to breathe again and building up for its final arc. Once again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A good series knows when to slow down, to perform a falling action, and let the audience relax. If a series is 100% go from the beginning, not only do the narrative climaxes feel dull, but the audience gets apathetic. If everything is important, nothing is. So while I was not enraptured with this episode, it was necessary and I am glad it exists. For instance, Kaze Fui spent a lot of time with the twins this week. They have, before this point, gotten even less focus than Musa. So they really needed it. As for what their story is specifically? Well, lets chat about that.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 6 [Poor, Lonely, Whitey]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Welcome to a very poignant episode of Mob Psycho 100. This week Mob shows us his growth, Reigen his lack-there-of and things start to fall apart. Lets jump in!

Starting off, almost anything would look inferior when compared to last week. Almost as if knowing this, Mob Psycho decided to be very light on animation this week. Focusing on small character animation and details rather than any big action sequences. This isn’t a bad thing though, as this episode acts as a breather both visually and narratively for the series. Letting our characters spend some time with each other outside of harrowing situations, actually interact. Mob Psycho is very good at this, as the first episode of the season showed. So I think stepping back and flexing its narrative muscles a bit is a perfectly valid thing to do at this point. Plus, who doesn’t love spending time with the Body Improvement Club? Such wholesome boys they are. But now, onto the details.

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Dororo – 6 [The Story of the Moriko Song, Part 2]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Hello and welcome to Dororo, your weekly dose of suffering for the season. This time Hyakkimaru get’s revenge, Mio proves herself Best Girl and Tahomaru gets some development. Lets dive in!

Starting off, this episode looked fantastic. Dororo is often very subdued with its animation. Either reducing details or going slow. This week however proved, without a doubt, that when Dororo want’s to it can get really smooth. Both the return fight with the Demon and the battle at the house looked fantastic. Not only was the animation beautiful, but Dororo’s muted color palette it had used up until now is starting to pay dividends. Making the bright color of the fire and golden rice incredibly striking on screen. Dororo also seems to know what character moments are important. As the facial detail and subtle character animation really ramp up during certain, emotionally important scenes. Such as when Dororo confronts Mio about her “job”, the focus on Mio’s face and the care put into her lips, hair and shading really make it stand out.

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Paranoia Agent – 3 [Double Lips] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Welcome to week 3 of Paranoia Agent! Once again, we focus on a new set of characters, new problems, and a new part of society. So lets jump in!

Once again, Kon’s outlandish style shined through this episode. Everything about it was just so… weird and disjointed, but I loved it. First off, Kon introduced the central character last week as Icchi’s tutor, easing us into her place in the story. It makes for a much less abrupt shift in focus. Yet at the beginning Kon fakes us out, by basically hiding her character from view with the makeup and wig. At the very least, it successfully confused me at the beginning. But not in the “I can’t follow whats going on, this is stupid way”. It confused me in the sense that there was a mystery and I wanted to know the answer. Why was she leading a double life? How does this tie into Shounen bat? What societal issue is Kon commenting on this time? And over this episode, I found an answer to each.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 16 [Dreams and Reality]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome to another week of Kaze Fui, as we come right back to Haiji’s dangerous dilemma! This week our boys finish the qualifier, Kurahara earns a runners respect and the twins begin to question things.

The first I noticed about this week, simply because of how many there were, was the CGI. Normally I don’t mind it much. CGI can really help with crowds or larger setpieces. But this episode was an emotional high point for the series and while it worked, the CGI was nothing but a hindrance. There were so many characters on screen, that you couldn’t help but notice it. And with the 2D models of our lead cast at the forefront, it became even more obvious. I want to like it, I want to be able to look past, but I just can’t. Not when there are dozens of them on the screen at the same time. At least the 2D animation we got was nice, and the direction saved a number of scenes. But overall, the CGI just kills a lot of the hype.

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Dororo – 5 [The Story of the Moriko Song]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

This week Dororo is simultaneously at its brightest, yet possibly lowest, point so far. With Hyakkimaru adjusting to his new senses, a new character joining the cast and the Priest wandering back in, lets jump into the details!

Dororo was pretty good this week, all things considered. It went a direction I wasn’t expecting, and is starting to weave more anime original content in, but I enjoyed it. Before getting into spoilers though, there were some snafus I saw. Namely, animation and model issues. Take for instance the old mans re-entrance, cutting down the bird. In the moment, in motion, it looks great. But when you really look at the scene the old mans model after the cut is just… very blobby. There are no details and all the colors and lines sort of bleed together. Like the man isn’t entirely solid. There is a similar issue in regards to the characters feet. Where toes are all but non- existent. Considering the shots of feet, and how no one apparently wears shoes, this is a big issue for me. I just hope this is the worst we see.

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