Author: Lenlo

Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 5 [Discord ~Choices~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Screw the intro, forget being clever, Mob Psycho just dropped an episode so well animated, you could piece together the entire thing with nothing but Sakugabooru clips. Lets go!

I will get to the actual narrative pacing and adaptation discussion later. For now, I just need to gush for a bit. Mob Psycho look good. Like, real *good*. As in, 23 minutes of Sakuga good. Everything from the character and facial animations to the psychedelic, bombastic ending 12 minute fight scene. I loved it so much I had to find a good way to shove more screenshots into this post, so enjoy like… 4 slideshows below the break. Sadly static pictures don’t do it justice. Hakuyu GO did a fantastic job directing this episode and I can’t imagine how many animators they had working on this. We aren’t even halfway through the first season and Mob Psycho already has Best Animation for the year locked down. It’s insane. My gushing aside though, how about we actually, objectively, look over it a bit hmm?

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Paranoia Agent – 2 [The Golden Shoes] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Hello to week 2 of Paranoia Agent, now with an extra dose of weird! This week we focus on some new characters, the cruelty of children and the supernatural presence of Lil Slugger. Lets jump in!

In general, this was an odd week of Paranoia Agent. Only 2 episodes in and I expect to see myself saying that often. It started off very subdued with its animation. Lots of nice details, but nothing like Kawazu’s beautifully creep fluidity. It did have some awesome direction though. Showing how Icchi views himself and his growing paranoia and solitude. A lot of the shots were very evocative, and really sold the growing dread, even if the animation was more subdued. That isn’t to say Paranoia Agent didn’t have its moments of Kon greatness though. It just reserved it. Every time Icchi started to freak out, the art changed to a more simplistic but exaggerated style. Really playing with the camera angles and stretching the models. I think reserving the fun animation for these moments was a great idea, as it made them really stand out from everything else.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 15 [Place of Destiny]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome back to running made interesting, Kaze Fui! This week the team makes it to the qualifiers, Hana teases some twins and Haiji finds a cliffhanger! Let’s start runnin!

Starting off, I am surprised we made it to the qualifier so quickly. Sure, we just had a training arc, but I figured we would get another episode of buildup. It’s a good thing, really, because we have 8 episodes left and I expect the Ekiden to take up probably half of those. As for the team, it was nice seeing them come together, again. I really should stop enjoying it, it’s happened so much, but I just can’t stop. It’s nice seeing them all prepare in their own ways. King memorizing the route, Yuki relaxing with his music, Musa in the bath, Kurahara going for more runs. Its all these little personality quirks, the in between moments, that make each of these characters feel equally important. Each of them have, or will soon have, their own stories that all tie together, and I love it.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 4 [Inside ~Evil Spirit~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

This week Mob Psycho hits us full force with its unique style. Reigen and Mob get a new job, we meet a bunch of new psychics and a villain makes a questionable tactical decision. Lets jump in!

First off, Mob Psycho went a little crazy with the animation this week. Almost as if to make up for the character focus of last week, as if that was an issue. We got straight up animated renditions of manga panels, slow motion shots, bright colors, wild camera angles and more. Personally, I loved it. I find Mob Psycho’s willingness to go wild with its animation, go off model or use unique mediums, one of its best features. Mob Psycho is, even in its quieter moments like Rock Paper Scissors, always visually interesting. It really makes you wonder why Mob Psycho is so unique in this. I attribute it to BONES, who had absolutely no chill this week, and you know what’s funny? This was all setup for the big sakuga explosion we can expect next week! This was the appetizer!

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Dororo – 4 [The Story of the Cursed Sword]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

This week Dororo returns to its episode demon slaying, as our intrepid duo combat a cursed blade! We have flashbacks, family issues and regained body parts galore! And you know what? I loved it all, so lets jump right in.

Now, last week I was a bit nervous about Dororo. I found some of the washed out visuals and scrappy animation to be a let down. This week, while it hasn’t gotten rid of those issues, Dororo made me realize that they won’t be as prevalent as I had feared. The chosen color palette has its uses, the limited animation will be… limited, and the however episodic it might be, everything will come together. I will, of course, hit on each of these as we go, but before we get out of technical aspects, I want to say I enjoyed the layout of this episode. Dororo started and ended on the same note, Hyakkimaru standing in the rain, yet the context of each was completely different. Its hard to say he is the same person as he was at the start, because he grows over the episode. I loved it.

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Paranoia Agent – 1 [Enter Lil’ Slugger] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Paranoia Agent, Throwback Thursday

Hello all and welcome to another round of Throwback Thursday, with this seasons special guest, Paranoia Agent! Satashi Kon through and through, lots of weird beautiful things are happening, so let’s jump right in!

Starting off, some details for how this is going to go. Planetes was a 26 episode series, so we did 2 episodes a week so we could get through it in a season. Paranoia Agent is a 13 episode series, so we will be doing 1 episode a week. A nice and easy pace. As for Paranoia Agent itself, you can tell its Satoshi Kon right from the get go. He has a very personal, odd style, which I love. I think you can see it most in his focus on lips and mouths, faces in general. You can see it to a great extent in Tokyo Godfathers, but his faces are always… not droopy, but fluid. Detailed in how the mouth and the skin around it moves. It could almost be described as plump on some characters. Regardless, it’s an iconic and brilliant style that I love.

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 14 [You’re Not Alone]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Welcome all to another episode of Kaze Fui, Best Boy Simulator 2019. This week we have some more qualified times, lots of wholesome bonding and a hint mystery. Lets dive in!

Starting of light and happy, I loved Kaze Fui’s attention to detail this week. All of our boys, aside from Yuki and Prince, tanning from all their running in the sun. Makes it clear time has passed, to go along with the running montage they had. We also get to see how this has started to effect some of our boys, such as Kings short interview segment. He seemed to sit up straighter, with more confidence, and the Ekiden line is a real conversation starter for an interview. While I am sure Haiji didn’t intend for this to happen, not entirely, it is not to see King’s job search getting addressed. Seeing him move forward on that front. Lastly, I am pretty sure Kurahara was smiling throughout this entire episode, and I loved it. Our boy deserves a little happiness after all his emotional struggles.

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Dororo – 3 [The Story of Jukai]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Airing at the same time as Mob Psycho, completely independently, Dororo also managed a somber, character driven episode. This week we learn more about Junkai the prosthetic doctor, Hyakkimaru’s past, and the world at large. Let’s dive in!

Dororo started off in a very dark place this episode, which contrasted oddly with the beautiful sunset behind it. Before I get into the story aspect of that darkness though, I want to talk about the visuals. A large portion of this episode was in grey scale, or with lots of browns. As effective as it was in some scenes, I was largely not a fan of it. It made multiple parts of the episode visually dull, and this is a visual medium. Especially when compared to the striking reds and oranges that Dororo opened with or we sometimes saw in the middle. Could it be argued the grey scale is what helped those scenes stand out more? That helped the important parts rise higher? Yes, easily. Its a strong argument. I just don’t know if the across the board grey scale was worth how much it provided those scenes.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 3 [One Danger After Another ~Degeneration~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Another week, another episode of Mob Psycho, though this week is a little different. Last time was all action and comedy. This time, Mob Psycho takes a more somber, character driven tone, and I love it. So that said, let’s dive in!

Like I said, this week Mob Psycho was much more subdued than previous episodes. There were very few flashy lights or pretty sequences, instead focusing almost entirely on Mob’s character development. Since Reigen is with Mob virtually all the time, it also helps build his character as well. A sort of 2 for 1 deal. Personally, I loved it. It really helps Mob Psycho be more than just another Shounen series. This character focus makes the action sequences mean so much more, especially since the biggest ones are tied to Mob’s emotional state. Gives it a depth that other series can’t reach. With all that said though, how about we hop into some specifics now?

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 13 [And Then Start Running]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Kaze Fui returns, contending with and maybe even beating Mob Psycho for best episode of the week! We have introspection, backstory, and the team coming together to protect their emotionally stunted friend! Lets charge in!

Everything about Kaze Fui this week was fantastic. From the narrative to the VA’s. But one I want to hit on before we get into spoilers that is often overlooked is the sound design. Yuki Hayashi did an amazing job this week. Some of the music played during this episode fit perfectly with what was happening on screen. Hiromi Kikuta also did a great job this week. The buzzing static noise during the flashbacks confused me at first. I thought maybe my audio was breaking down. But once we cut back to present time and it went away, once I realized it was a purposeful effect, I loved it. I loved how it got louder and louder the closer Kurahara got to his breaking point. The visuals getting more static filled as we went through. Kaze Fui really nailed the emotions this week. But now, onto details!

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