Author: SuperWooper

Spring 2020 Season Preview

by SuperWooper, posted in Seasonal Previews

Wooper: It’s crunch time in Japan right now. Schools are closed as a measure against COVID-19, people are discontent with the lack of testing facilities for the virus, and the fate of the Tokyo Olympics remains uncertain. In times like these, people turn to entertainment to forget their troubles, and the spring anime season has over 40 potential distractions to choose from. Among them are a slew of popular sequels (including Kaguya-sama S2, which needs no elaboration), a Netflix-exclusive Trigger series with a 99% chance of getting fansubbed, the highest-profile manhwa adaptation ever, and a couple of promising detective shows. Even if we limited the preview to just those series, though, that wouldn’t cover all the good stuff in store for us beginning this April. You’re sure to find something interesting on the list, so read on and we’ll break down the upcoming season for you.

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MIDDLING EXPECTATIONS

Kitsutsuki Tantei Dokoro

Studio: LIDENFILMS
Director: Shinpei Ezaki
Series composition: Taku Kishimoto
Source: Novel

Wooper: I have good news and bad news regarding this literary detective series. The good news is that it’s based on a novel, so it’s unlikely to get bogged down in delivering an otaku-friendly product. The bad news is that it’s being adapted by Taku Kishimoto, whose previous stab at detective fiction was Kabukichou Sherlock (a show I dropped midway through its interminable two cour run). Even before that, his mystery-centric scripts for Erased and Joker Game hobbled their respective stories. In spite of his involvement, however, I’m excited to try at least one episode of Kitsutsuki. The idea of an early 20th century poet opening a detective agency opens all kinds of doors for his character, and the PV’s aesthetic looks a lot like Concrete Revolutio. Making use of that comic book style to adapt a work of historical fiction is an intriguing decision, so I want to see whether it pans out, even with a saboteur like Kishimoto as head writer.

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Chihayafuru S3 – 20-22

by SuperWooper, posted in Chihayafuru, Finished Series: Sports

It’s time for a Chihayafuru Super Post, to borrow a term from fellow blogger Amunchet. These episodes have been on the back burner for a couple weeks now, owing to my increasingly busy work schedule. The one that prompted me to push them onto my to do list, though, was number 20 (“May the Scarlet Kadsuras”). There was some sloppiness to its shot transitions that made it feel almost unfinished, which was discouraging as a longtime fan of the series. I’ll explain what I mean by that in a bit, as beyond the “Continue Reading” link I’ll be dedicating a few hundred words to each of these three episodes. The last two installments of the season ought to get their own posts, so I hope you’ll forgive this one-off cram session. Hit the jump for some conflicted thoughts on the final leg of Chihayafuru’s third season.

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Dorohedoro – 09 [Ah, Flower Smoke]

by SuperWooper, posted in Dorohedoro, Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

This episode was mildly confusing to me. Some of you might be surprised to read that, but it’s my belief that Dorohedoro should be presenting itself in a measured, straightforward manner. These weekly assaults of new plot points and ideas are great, but their greatness is sometimes in spite of that rapid clip. Take this episode, for example. Yaku and Baku have cool powers, and it’s appropriate that Shin and Noi get truly threatening antagonists. But what about our cleaner duo makes Yaku and Baku want them as partners, specifically? Even if the show provided that bit of info (and I don’t believe it did), it wasn’t sufficiently clear. And how about Noi’s stunted growth during her devil training? The last phase was only supposed to last one year, but Shin appeared to age much more than a year during that time. Even Risu’s recovery after getting blasted with smoke, while it makes perfect sense, doesn’t gel in the moment because the show’s focus shifts to Noi. I know Dorohedoro is on a journey to a particular stopping point in the manga, but damn, can’t it hold my hand for two minutes before moving to the next checkpoint?

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Dorohedoro – 08 [Welcome to Blue Night Land]

by SuperWooper, posted in Dorohedoro, Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

After last week’s grand slam, I was prepared for a more ordinary episode this time around. That’s pretty much what we received (by Dorohedoro’s standards, anyway), but the breakneck tempo that I complained of in mid-February returned here, forcing me to flex my neurons just to keep up with the story. Every major character barring Nikaido crossed a major speedbump in this episode, and they didn’t bother to hit the brakes first. Even without getting into the nitty gritty of the editing or direction, you can look at the four chapter titles placed throughout the episode’s run to see how many stories it was juggling. Since I’m such a big fan of Dorohedoro’s characters and setting, I wish the show would decrease its average scene count, and use the extra time to lengthen each of the ones that remain. There is an advantage to high-speed presentation, though – it creates hesitation in the mind of the viewer, which mirrors the confusion that Caiman must have experienced in the sorcerer’s realm this week.

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Top 50 Anime of the 2010s

by SuperWooper, posted in Anime of the Decade

Aidan: A lot of things can happen in a decade, though two of those things appear not to be flying cars and self-tying shoes. Ten years is a long time and a lot of anime has been made. Just going by an average of 30 shows a season, in ten years that would mean 1200 anime series made. 360,000 minutes of entertainment, though don’t check my math on that. To consider the amount of work that has gone into the creation of so many shows is truly mind boggling and is worth my utmost respect. So late as we are to the party, we decided to make a list of the top fifty shows of the decade. Take note that this list was the product of all writers voting, so any complaints about what should be here or why something isn’t higher on the list can be reserved for the democratic process. This is mainly just a list for fun and maybe a resource for anyone to take a peek at a show or movie they might have missed. So to cap off this decade of shounen brawls, otherworldly reincarnation, animated waifus and all of the emotions, let us reel off some of our personal favorites. And may there be many decades of anime to come to show the world just what animation is capable of.

#50: Girls’ Last Tour

Aidan: When it’s all over, when the last day falls and our history ends with a bang or a whimper, it’s a wonder who will wander our monoliths of civilisation after we are dead and gone. Girls’ Last Tour’s setting is an easy way to get cold hard depression, with it being about two girls wandering through the world after everything is over, the very world alien and devoid of any meaning to both them and us. However, in a twist, the story – while not shying away from the bleakness of the situation – instead focuses on them finding small rays of happiness in the last days of earth. Naturally if everything is already over, then why bother getting sad over it? So for a show set after the unspecified apocalypse, it’s surprisingly upbeat, making for a relaxing watch. It makes you think that if these girls can cheerfully sing, “It’s hopeless!” in the worst situation, whatever has you down is small stuff in comparison.

Mario: Girls’ Last Tour falls within my favorite new trend that emerged in the anime medium over the last decade: dark moe anime. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human race is almost extinct, our two girls wander around the world in their Kettenkrad looking for food and shelter. If it sounds a bit bleak and minimalist, rest assured that Girls’ Last Tour is at its heart a slice-of-life show about those girls having a relaxing time in that world. The show could be entertaining and soothing enough with just those factors, but it has more tricks up its sleeves. More often than not, Girls’ Last Tour ponders some basic philosophical questions about our own existence, our purpose in life and even what life is itself. Moreover, the anime adaptation enhances this show further with consistent audio-visual production and great attention to detail. Depressing and comforting at the same time, Girls’ Last Tour is a rare show that produces unique charms and distinctive tones, while always keeping its feet firmly on the ground.

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Dorohedoro – 07 [All Star Dream Game]

by SuperWooper, posted in Dorohedoro, Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

This is my new frontrunner for Best Episode of the Season. I had heard rumors about Dorohedoro’s legendary baseball chapters, but this thing surpassed my vague expectations by several miles. What’s most impressive about it is the huge number of genres and moods it cycles through, despite featuring one of the craziest sporting matches in anime history during its second act. Hell, the baseball game itself was a pitch perfect mix of action, comedy, drama, horror, and even a dash of romance. I usually take notes while watching episodes I plan to blog, but for this one? Not a chance. The whole thing ought to be experienced, rather than analyzed, but I’ll try my best to put out something decent. Hit the jump if you want to read my thoughts instead of just re-watching the episode, for some reason.

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Chihayafuru S3 – 18/19 [The Storm Will Soon Carry Me/Bring a Life of Everlasting Love]

by SuperWooper, posted in Chihayafuru, Finished Series: Sports

Early in Chihayafuru’s first season, a young Arata told his new friend, “If you become the best in Japan, you become the best in the world!” He was speaking, of course, about karuta – the obsession of nearly every character in the series. There’s no money or fame to be gained from playing it, but an obscure sort of glory awaits two winners at Omi Jingu each year. Their victory places them atop a list of seven billion people, most of whom will never hear of karuta, much less sit down to play a game. Nevertheless, the allure of being the world’s best is sufficient to attract a small but devoted crowd of competitors. These two episodes are dedicated to four of them, each of whom play the game for different reasons, but all of whom fiercely desire to stand at the summit of the karuta world. Let’s go through them one by one, shall we?

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State of the Season – Winter 2020

by SuperWooper, posted in State of the Season

Wooper: Give yourselves a round of applause for making it to mid-February, everyone! Your reward is our third ever State of the Season post, where our regular contributors talk about which seasonal anime they’re enjoying (and which ones they aren’t). This won’t be quite the hot take bonanza it’s been in seasons past, since Amun’s real life has demanded real attention in 2020 thus far. Mario, Lenlo and I are here to talk about our winter favorites, though – read on to see which writer has the best viewing habits and opinions.

What show are you enjoying that you’re not reviewing?

Mario: Dorohedoro. It says a lot that after halfway point it still manages to surprise. While it can feel random at times, I’m more eager than ever to see what kind of madness and trippiness and bloodiness Dorohedoro is gonna throw at me next. And I’d take them all with pleasure. Also, Kyokou Suiri with its lengthy dialogues but ultimately enjoyable chemistry between its cast.

Lenlo: Dorohedoro. I almost regret not trying to take it up from Wooper, because this thing is madness. Every week we go a bit further down the rabbit hole, down Dorohedoro’s special brand of insanity, and I love it. I have very little idea what’s going on, but I honestly don’t think that’s very necessary to enjoy the show at a base level. It’s there if you want some silly fun and it’s there if you want something with little bits of info hidden around every interaction.

Wooper: Eizouken, for sure. I love both anime and metacommentary, so a series that deals with the creative process, the intersection of finance and art, and the medium of animation is right up my alley. It doesn’t hurt that the characters have great designs and dialogue, either. No matter what the motion picture club gets up to each week, it’s sure to be informative and entertaining.

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Dorohedoro – 05/06 [Caiman in Wonderland/The First Smoke]

by SuperWooper, posted in Dorohedoro, Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

This was the worst possible point at which to write a Dorohedoro double post. Not only did I start a new job last week, but the show started unloading all its groceries in a single trip beginning with episode 5. I can just picture director Yuuichiro Hayashi with fourteen sets of plastic handles digging into his palms, carrying too many bags of source material at once in the name of efficiency. Not being a manga reader, I don’t know which part of the story he’s trying to reach before this cour ends, but I sure hope it’s worth this frantic pace.

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Chihayafuru S3 – 16/17 [Takes Me Away in Haste/As My Sleeves Are Wet With Dew]

by SuperWooper, posted in Chihayafuru, Finished Series: Sports

Chihayafuru kind of lost me a couple weeks ago, but I had a (very) minor epiphany while watching episode 17 that changed the way I think about this season. The lack of sustained focus on karuta matches is still disappointing to me, but here’s the realization that offset some of that feeling. As the series has progressed and the cast has gotten larger, the amount of time that the main characters spend observing games (rather than participating in them) has increased. The narrower the field gets at the top, the less likely it is that your main players will be a part of it. This has led not only to an increased amount of time spent in the audience during matches, but also a shift in the show’s direction. It’s more concerned about the big picture than it is about card differentials or tracking a competitor’s psychology across a ten minute span. This is clearly illustrated in the first game of the Queen match, where Shinobu fails to take the Impassionate Gods card, sees Chihaya in the crowd and smiles, and suddenly we’re down to a luck-of-the-draw finale. How we got there isn’t as important as Chihaya’s personal link to the match.

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