Author: SuperWooper

SK8 the Infinity – 05 [Passionate Dancing Night!]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

One word, four letters: ADAM. Actually, let’s go with “Adam” from now on, as the show has started caps-locking a bunch of other skater pseudonyms as well, and I can’t be bothered to replicate them every time. Adam is this series’ breakout character without question, possessing a villainous, flamboyant energy that only Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter could dream of matching. I’ve written previously about how these traits could pose a problem for SK8 without proper context, and while this episode did send his crazy levels soaring to unforeseen heights, it also planted an important seed regarding his past – he used to be partners with Cherry and Joe. I was highly impressed with this reveal, not only for the casual way it was incorporated into the script, but also because it promised to build two side characters into something more than window dressing, then show us their former teammate’s heel turn. For a show that made its final boss so visible so early, what could be more promising than that?

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Winter 2021 Summary – Week 5

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: This will be the last recap post for a couple weeks, as we’re currently shifting our focus to the mid-month State of the Season update. Before that project drops, though, you can get a taste of what we’re watching right here: a bunch of mid-tier seasonal offerings, plus a couple mid-2000s anime on Mario’s end. Click through for the full post – it’s a big one this week!

Urasekai Picnic – 04/05

Mario: Urasekai Picnic so far nails the creepy atmosphere of the Otherside and not much else – the production is barebones. Granted, there aren’t many action scenes but you can see the clunky production through the extras walking by. The two worlds, especially the connection between them, are still pretty much ambiguous – in the sense that visits feel more like nightmarish trips than an adventure. There’s way too much we don’t know about the Otherside, as each episode the girls encounter different kinds of urban monsters but for me at least these monsters don’t feel connected to each other. The lack of information about its world-building does help, though, in the sense that we don’t know what will happen next – making it kinda work as a mystery show.

I was Reincarnated as a Spider, so What?! – 05

Amun: Lads, we can all rest easy. Our darling spider has finally gotten something good to eat. As Spider-chan continues to try and survive between a rock and a hard place (or more accurately, the frying pan and the fire), I can see some complaints you could have about this show. Lots of text. So much text (that’s also upside down). I think whoever made this show got really into typefaces. There’s also the human drama that no one cares about – although the parallels with the Spider-chan’s bully who was reincarnated as a land dragon are mildly interesting. But all that’s beside the point – Spider-chan is still doing cute things (training montage was hilarious) and overcoming enemies…albeit in less interesting fights than before. I’m sure the plot is going to converge at some point, but so far it’s some good ole’ arachnid slap-stick, and I’m here for that.

Continue reading “Winter 2021 Summary – Week 5” →

Horimiya – 4-5 [Everybody Loves Somebody/I Can’t Say It Out Loud]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Horimiya

This series wasn’t titled “Horimiya” for nothing, as the people whose names comprise that portmanteau are far and away its most interesting characters. Whenever they’re on screen, I’m engaged; whenever they aren’t, I’m thinking about what’s for dinner rather than attending to the show. Thankfully, this week’s episode kept them in focus for the majority of its runtime, but last week’s was so preoccupied with other characters that it gave me writer’s block (hence this double post). I kind of want to start complaining right off the bat, but in the interest of optimism, let’s avoid chronological coverage and jump straight to the three little words that bridged these two episodes.

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SK8 the Infinity – 04 [ADAM, The Matador of Love]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

I think it’s safe to say that SK8 the Infinity has abandoned the mask it wore during its first two episodes. This is no longer an anime about having a rad time skateboarding with your bros – now it’s about settling beef with your bros, and I’m not talking about the burgers that Miya refused to eat at A&W. Everyone wants to start beef with ADAM, a bloodthirsty politician from a well-to-do family who channels his aggression through extreme skateboarding. This is such an insane premise that the only way to make it work is by leaning completely into the insanity, which this episode did without hesitation. And it worked! By the end, I was laughing at everything ADAM said and did, from skating uphill groin-first to villainously licking Reki’s blood off his cheek (framed with a Dutch angle, no less). I still miss the version of SK8 that we glimpsed two weeks ago, but at least this new model is demonstrating some knowledge of its own stupidity.

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Winter 2021 Summary – Week 4

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: Another week, another roundup of what we’re watching that isn’t getting dedicated posts. This time we’ve got two demon-themed shounen series, two anime that take periodic trips to the great outdoors, and two shows where vehicles are the main attractions. Can you spot which is which?

The Promised Neverland S2 – 04

Lenlo: So I will, as a manga reader, admit to being a little bit biased when I write this but: What the hell Neverland? What is this? Not only are you skipping the only good arcs/characters left in your story to fast track to the bad stuff, but you are undermining what good you had from the first season with Isabella. I can’t think of another series that has managed to kill my interest faster than this. I’ll keep watching just to see if the author can manage to not screw it up a second time in a row, but I have no faith that this is going to end up good.

Pui Pui Molcar – 01

Wooper: I just learned of this show’s existence and had to spread the good news. Pui Pui Molcar is a stop motion series of two minute episodes about guinea pigs that are cars. I repeat: this anime is about guinea pigs that are cars. Whether you find that adorable or stupid depends on how much of a joyless Scrooge you are, but even if you fall on the “adorable” side, this show is more charming than you can imagine. The colors are bright, the soundtrack is jammin’ (the melodica track in the first episode is a bonafide ode to optimism), and the squeaks of the cars are provided by actual guinea pigs. There’s not much more to Molcar than cuteness, though it does win some points for telling its stories without any dialogue (despite the guinea pigs’ human drivers). Here’s a link to the premiere on YouTube (the first of five available episodes), so you can see for yourself why it’s become a minor sensation in Japan.

Continue reading “Winter 2021 Summary – Week 4” →

SK8 the Infinity – 03 [Undesired Hero]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

The list of anime tropes I hate is considerably longer than the list of those I love. Even during shows that are largely enjoyable, small annoyances tend to derail episodes or even whole character arcs in my head. I think that’s what happened with SK8’s third outing, about which I’d noted a meager number of positives and one overwhelming negative by the time the credits rolled. As far as tropes go, there were plenty to turn up your nose at: strawman bullies who try to embarrass the object of their jealousy, women fawning over the banter of two handsome men, a Char Aznable clone foreshadowed to be the final boss. But those were minor enough to come out in the wash, unlike the one that prevented me from embracing this episode: an antagonist who repeatedly decried the concept of friendship, then learned the error of his ways after losing to a pair of best friends.

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Winter 2021 Summary – Weeks 2-3

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: There seems to be a consensus online that Winter 2021 is one of the strongest seasons in recent years, but not everyone agrees on which shows are doing the heavy lifting. For some it’s the powerhouse sequels; for others it’s the anime originals; for others still it’s the new crop of isekai series. No matter where your preferences lie, it’s impossible to cover everything – which is where this column comes in. This week we’re touching base with ten shows that didn’t quite make the cut for full coverage, but are still doing their part in making this a jam-packed start to the year. Hope you’re enjoying the season so far – as you’ll see below, we certainly are!

Back Arrow – 2/3

Wooper: Remember when mecha anime ruled the airwaves through a combination of spirited characters and semi-coherent plotting? Back Arrow remembers. “Semi-coherent” is a charitable descriptor, really – the number of meetings, partings, alliances and betrayals in these episodes was enough to make my head spin. Episode 3 was the guiltier party on that front, since it detailed a conflict over a futuristic warship which was largely obscured from view until the end. A clearer sense of just how imposing this dreadnought was, and why so many people would be willing to fight over it, would have been greatly appreciated. Even if the visual direction had been improved, though, a transparently corrupt cowboy leading an entire village by the nose would still make for eyebrow-raising viewing. The previous episode was simpler and more goal-oriented, which worked to the series’ benefit, but it was still packed full of nonsense. My tolerance for that sort of thing is generally pretty low, but the main character’s combination of big dreams and straight talk will keep his show tethered to my watch list for at least 2-3 more weeks.

Heaven’s Design Team – 2/3

Lenlo: This show is too clever for its own good. Somehow, some way, Design Team continues to make edutainment entertaining. Each half of an episode is cleverly pieced together so that every monster, every make believe creature, every feature of life seamlessly leads into whatever the end animal is meant to be. Somehow going from dragons to chickens to starfish, all while feeding into each other. It’s incredible really. Design Team is not and never will be an incredible, Best of the Season type show. But what it is, is interesting and entertaining discussion about nature and just how fucking scary and weird it can be. I love it far more than I should. Also it looks pretty charming.

Amun: I completely agree. This is one of the better “feel-good” shows of the season – maybe that should be an awarded category?

Continue reading “Winter 2021 Summary – Weeks 2-3” →

Horimiya – 03 [That’s Why It’s Okay]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Horimiya

Any time a romcom dips into one of its characters’ sad pasts, a tightrope materializes beneath its metaphorical feet. Throw them a pity party and fall to the left; trivialize their pain and topple to the right. Kaguya-sama’s indulgent depiction of Ishigami’s backstory is a good example of what can go wrong during this process – it’s been lodged uncomfortably in my brain since I first saw it eight months ago, so I was highly conscious of the similar issue that Horimiya might create for itself. Now that we’ve gotten a glimpse of Miyamura’s elementary and middle school woes, it’s clear that the show intends to treat his past experiences with a tad more nuance than that, but it’s not out of the woods yet. The true test of Horimiya’s capabilities will arrive when we learn what happened to Miyamura ten years ago – what caused him to wish he could reassure that version of himself that things would be okay.

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SK8 the Infinity – 02 [Awesome for the First Time]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

Am I watching a 2021 anime series or a 2001 Jimmy Eat World music video? That’s the question I had to ask myself at a couple points during this episode, so similar were its guitar-heavy soundtrack and punk-lite style to the bands of my youth. SK8 the Infinity isn’t merely a nostalgic trip, though – its use of CG backgrounds and approach to color design (“just use all of them”) are exceedingly modern. The frequent cuts to cartoon versions of the characters bear a loose resemblance to street graffiti, as well, giving the show a unique brand of visual comedy. All of this is wrapped in a love for skateboarding that even an energetic anime like SK8 can scarcely contain. It’s a sophisticated production with a simple story, which could make for tough blogging, but I’m enjoying the hell out of the series so far, so I’ll give it a whirl.

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Horimiya – 02 [You Wear More Than One Face]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Horimiya

I intended to cover Back Arrow this season instead of Horimiya, but then I rewatched that show’s premiere to get a better handle on its terminology and worldbuilding, and had to pause to take notes every 30 seconds (also it’s a two cour show, which is something of a commitment). So I jumped ship to a comfy romcom – one with which I have a bit of prior experience, having seen the OVA that began in 2012. That version still gets updated every couple years (with two new episodes due this May), though its web manga art style is much more limited than what the TV adaptation has delivered thus far. That’s not to say this new version is a visual stunner, as its plain backgrounds and hair-swapped character designs are perhaps its biggest failings. Everything else is great, though, so let’s talk about it.

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