Author: SuperMario

Kanata no Astra – 10 [Culprit]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

I hope you watched the episode before reading this review because there’s heaps of spoilers below.

Kanata no Astra’s plot sure gets thicken quickly, as this week it drops two Earth-shattering (pun-intended) twists: the first being the disparity between Astra’s history and the Earth’s, and the second being the revelation of the traitor. Again, fair shares of great and not-so-great developments towards the Earth/ Astra plot. On one hand, I just love how the reveal doesn’t betray anything the show has built up so far. In fact, when the kids (and we) realize that the dead planet they tumbled right at the start was indeed the Earth, it all adds up in terms of significance. The journey has always been the journey from Earth to Astra, from one civilization to the next. If we’re talking about the leaf from ancient to new society, our kids walk that very step. Function-wise, this new flush of information makes sense how the kids came across the ship in the first place. On the other hand, Polina’s reaction to all that is just… so self-serious and I’m not sold one bit of that. Yeah, the Earth as she knows it might be destroyed, but if she aware about the comet hitting the Earth, she can figure out that they could’ve come from the new planet, right?

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Cop Craft – 09 [A King Maker]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

While I am all for show that moves at its own pace – thus having the length as they see fit, Cop Craft would benefit better if it fits the whole body-swap affair into one single episode in my opinion. I know it sounds contradicting to my usual complain of Cop Craft (too rush), but looking back to this case I realize that the plot isn’t at all dense to merit that much length. I don’t necessarily think of it as a flaw, either, just to say that the whole decision-making regarding which chapters to adapt and how long for each case have been… weird.  Still, our Tilarna’s desperation to take the crossbow back, and the realization when she wakes up to find a guy seeing her butt-naked (no sexual tension, but still… HAHA), are all hilarious moments. Even more hilarious when you realize that if they have done nothing, the result would be the same anyways (the crossbow being destroyed negates the effect it had). While this case might appear to be slight, imagine what devilish things could have happened if this magical bow falls to the wrong hand. As for me, the body-swap story is still a delight.

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Carole & Tuesday – 19 [People Get Ready]

by SuperMario, posted in Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching:

Cydonia Festival is approaching and our girls want to go out with a bang. That’s like, the mentality of every rookie band in their first big gig. The intention fails miserably though, because 1) they’re not the type of flashy band to begin with and 2) before them, Etergun and Angela’s over the top performance completely blows the stadium away. Also happening this week, we have the conclusion of the Angela stalker subplot, Jerry’s attempt to bring Tao to his political side, and Tao acting cool for a change. Overall, this is another typical Carole & Tuesday episode: girls on their episodic quest with a strong performance (in fact, this is my favorite song of theirs), the conflict is raised and resolved a bit too quickly (the stalker’s subplot), and at the end of the day, as I’ve said since the beginning of its run, Carole & Tuesday the series doesn’t necessarily aim for complex narrative or to break any new ground, but it goes for accessibility and can work as an inspiration for those indies who want to break out to the bigger stage.

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Kanata no Astra – 09 [Revelation]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

I’m glad that Kanata no Astra doesn’t beat around the bush with the game changing revelation last week. Once they learn about Quitterie and Funi’s DNA match, they figure out themselves being clones from their respective single parents. It makes total sense as one of the common themes they all share is the neglectance from the parents, by design no less. But allow me to take a moment to dissect how good and bad this revelation gets. In order to do that I’m gonna address it from most to least effective. At its most effective, this twist asks the very question of their existence. They have been born as lab tests and now are being thrown away by their original selves. The weight of it sure is hard to dismiss. Secondly, as soon as we learn about the truth, we proceed to the perspective of the adults, who make it clear that they wanted to erase their clones from existence. It partly works as a tense reminder of threats of them returning home: there’s no home to begin with. On the less positive side, they do want to return home! Goddamnit, why don’t you just settle down somewhere and perhaps enhance yourself with skills and experience first?

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Cop Craft – 07/08 [Girls On Ice/ Smells Like Toon Spirits]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

For some, Cop Craft might not deliver the ambition it promises in its first two episodes: the production values is still barebone for one, and it lacks the central narrative focus for another, it still burns through the material like gasoline on top of that. But for me, I enjoy Cop Craft much better when it isn’t dealing with heavy-handed overarching plot. The universe in Cop Craft is seedy, corrupt and crimes-ladden, but the show flirts around with its dark settings with light tone and even pokes fun at its absurdity. Sure, aliens are obssessed with human’s porno mags because why not, and in the case of episode 7, a politician gets tangled up in alien prostitute’s ring. Episode 7, titled “Girls on Ice”, remains one of the best episodes in Cop Craft, seemingly because it weaves seamlessly between its dark subject matters and lightheart screwball moments, making the case in this episode fun to follow and still has room for more thoughts if we want to dig a little deeper.

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Kanata no Astra – 08 [Lost and Found]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

As expected, Kanata no Astra offers many foods for intriguing thoughts on the table, and a revelation that is pretty much a game-changer here. But first let’s get into the new card of this week, the awoken of Polina, a former astronaut. As with any other Kanata no Astra plot threads, and I mean it in the best possible way, every answer is followed two more bigger questions. Just like the kids (and us), Polina is just as surprised when she finally gets rescued by our leads… just to learn that they had been stranded themselves. The most question mark about her, however, lies on her reaction upon learning the year she wakes up. By her expression, I suppose that something she expected to happen doesn’t happen in this timeline. That might have to do with what the adults have been scheming all the way.

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Carole & Tuesday – 17/18 [Head Over Heels/ Only Love Can Break Your Heart]

by SuperMario, posted in Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching:

In episode 17, Etergun receives the spotlight when he basically got the rug pulled off his feet and gains some back at the end of the episode. While the event played out is too quick for me to register his loss, it feels hilarious nonetheless that such a guy with high-esteem like Etergun can feel low and depressed at times. After all, he has to fight between Good Etergun vs Bad Etergun in his head, and the way he was scammed by his Pinocchio AI is a hood tweak on the beloved character. One thing that I feel amiss though, is that there is little to no interaction between him and Carole & Tuesday. Well, he did crash into their house but there’s hardly actual conversation between them, and guess who he wanted to sing for his new song? ANGELA. Well, isn’t that a betrayal of sorts? Kidding aside, the way he and Tao have a totally different approach towards AI music, but are pretty much acknowledge other’s style is another high note for me.

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Carole & Tuesday – 15/16 [God Only Knows/ A Natural Woman]

by SuperMario, posted in Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching:

The last two episodes of Carole & Tuesday give the focus on 2 one-off characters, and frankly it doesn’t surprise me that these characters leave a much bigger impact than our central characters. Both Desmond and Flora have so much screen presence and the way the approach music, as well as how music affects their lives, leave something substantial to talk about. The show also provides a rare occasion where I greatly enjoy the whole music playing in these episodes. The music feel grandeur, and they pack with emotions unlike those songs from Angela. Not only do they serve as interesting characters on their own, they help broadening Carole & Tuesday’s own approach into music. As a whole, Carole & Tuesday the series sadly trades any thematic complexity for accessibility. If you were looking for a show with depth, you might come off disappointed.

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Cop Craft – 06 [Need For Speed]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

Cop Craft mixes up many unusual elements such as porno magazines, gay policeman, car chases and even romance into its trip this week. The result is that while it’s light in content, it proves to be more entertaining than when it deals with serious plot. While at this point I still prefer the relationship between Kei and Tilarna as partners, Cop Craft leans forward to the feelings Tilarna has for Kei, or more like how she wanted to be his equal. I have a good laugh of the running gags of her destroying his cars in pursuit for the chase. hey, she did the job marvelously, and Her facial expression is still as cute as ever. They still bounce off each other nicely at this point. In fact, their casual remarks and attitudes to each other makes the whole thing fun to watch.

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Kanata no Astra – 08 [Past]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

There sure is a lot to unpack in Kanata no Astra this week. Kanata no Astra loves to give clues, and with every reveal it opens up more questions and make it think how all these puzzles fit in a big narrative frame. I must say that I am enjoying the ride so far, it’s these clues that make the guessing game much interesting as a first timer like myself, and can prove to be rewarding for those who know what comes next (but please, DON’T SPOIL). We will start with the basics first, the (cheap) clifthanging last week is resolved quickly this time, with Charce reveals that he’s also a transfer student just like Aries, and he comes from a royal town Vixia. I absolutely love the world building details regarding the country that still retains its monarchy system, while at the same time becomes a popular tourist spot. What we learn from his backstory is another case of struggles between him and the family – an outcast so to speak. The intriguing part here is the common girl he used to play with, Seira, who looks uncannily like Aries (if the names are any indication). What does that mean then? I’m guessing for now that Aries is the reason why he comes to this trip in the first place, and Aries’s memory is wiped off, as well as her photographic memory ability is gained when she was transferred out of the hospital.

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