Author: SuperWooper

Wooper: Just me again this week. Our State of the Season post will replace this column next Tuesday, and it’s looking like a heated one – lots of conflicting opinions on the fall’s anime so far. I’ll be back on the 23rd with impressions of one or two new things, hopefully with a friend or two in tow.

PokeToon – 6-7

PokeToon is an anthology project consisting of short pieces set within different regions in the Pokemon universe. There’s tremendous variety between each episode’s art and animation styles, which is the sort of thing I love – all the more so when the perennially underrated Studio Colorido is involved. Their work on last year’s Twilight Wings established them as the go-to group for vignettes in this world, and they’ve only improved their batting average here, handling four of PokeToon’s seven episodes thus far. That includes episode 6, an adorably spooky tale about a girl who turns into a Gengar while exploring her school after dark. I found the story’s climax to be genuinely suspenseful, and then surprisingly emotional once the tension had been resolved, thanks to the age-old ‘character steps from darkness into light’ trick (bolstered by Colorido’s standout lighting, which is second only to KyoAni’s). Here’s a link to [I Became a Gengar?!] as part of a playlist with the earlier episodes. Be advised that it doesn’t contain the most recent one, a less impactful but still attractive story about a trio of boys who rescue an abandoned Snorunt. Its shorter runtime and limited animation make it one of the series’ minor offerings, but its art design, which borrows from felt and paper cutout animation, is worth seeking out if you like those styles.

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Week 5” →

Wooper: It’s a solo recap post for your boy this week, which I’m fearing may happen more than once this season (despite my practice of pestering my co-writers). I’m trying to give my impressions on at least one unique anime each week, so titles like PokeToon, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Super Crooks, and Aggretsuko S4 will likely appear in this column as the fall season stretches on. Even if there’s something new to talk about every Tuesday, though, it helps to have some-one new to talk with me. Know what I’m saying, fellow authors?

Deji Meets Girl – 1-5

There are dozens of full-length anime series, particularly comedies, whose airy senses of humor would work better in short form. On the other hand, most shorts wouldn’t benefit from longer runtimes, as their premises are bite-sized to begin with. Deji Meets Girl is a notable exception to that second rule, because it’s trying to build a legitimate relationship between its main characters – an Okinawan part-time worker and a teen idol on vacation – but it keeps running up against the restrictions of its format. It’s unfortunate that this clash keeps occurring, because I like a lot of things about this show. The thick linework grounds the characters in reality even as they experience supernatural happenings (plus it reminds me of Gal & Dino, which I love to the moon and back). The animation is strong (especially in the premiere), the color palette shifts to match the new phenomena introduced in each episode, and all the teasing in the script is executed in good fun. At just 90 seconds per episode, though, it’s too chopped up to build anything substantial between its two leads. That’s too bad, because if Deji had gotten five minutes to work with each week, it could have fought for a spot on my year-end list.

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Week 4” →

Lupin III Part 6 – 2

Mario: Sherlock goes full Kingsman mode in this second episode (they missed their chance of using an umbrella instead of Sherlock’s walking stick but that’s just me) and yes, he manages to kick all the Lupin team’s asses. This episode is light on plot as it concentrates heavily on action set pieces. Lily is indeed the daughter of poor dead Watson and the last thing she remembers is that Lupin killed her father. Of course this is a red-herring but that is enough for Sherlock to confront Lupin and get his former partner’s daughter out of danger for good. The set pieces are fun and awesome and for that I’m looking forward to more Lupin to come.

Kaguya-sama S3 – PV

Wooper: Most anime PVs are pretty barebones, featuring a few bits of animation and a bunch of character intro stills matched with voicework from their respective seiyuu. A handful of PVs each season are fully-fledged trailers, pulling impressive cuts from a show’s first few episodes and smartly stringing them together to create a picture of how the anime will look and feel. And then there’s Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai, which just dropped an entire ten-minute episode to promote its upcoming third season. As if that weren’t enough, its story revolved around Ishigami and Shirogane’s excitement at their favorite manga adaptation getting a third season; I don’t know what the most self-referential anime comedy of all time is (Gintama? Osomatsu-san?), but Kaguya-sama just gave it a run for its money. This PV was a big surprise, and a very welcome one, given its hilariously authentic look at concealing your love of anime to escape the judgment of your non-otaku friends. The resolution, in which Shirogane proclaimed all people who have ever seen a single anime to be otaku, had a great handle on the sort of comedic hyperbole necessary to sell that sort of breakdown. Kaguya even made a reference to the classic WMT series Anne of Green Gables, confirming her Best Girl status once and for all. Great stuff all around – looking forward to season 3 in April of next year!

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Week 3” →

Wooper: New fall season, same old column recapping the last seven days in anime. I’m glad to be joined by Mario and Lenlo for the weekly summary’s return – join us as we express our pleasure and disappointment (mostly the second one) with a bunch of second episodes, plus a handful of summer leftovers.

Sakugan – 2

Mario: While in the premiere I complained about Sakugan’s rushed pacing, in this second outing it suffers from the exact opposite problem: it just wastes way too much time on the battle between father-daughter mecha and the kaijus. As a result, many better elements from last week were omitted – the backgrounds are blurred, the world-building is non-existent. To its defense, the CG models and fights aren’t too distracting, and Gagumber and Memenpu (what bad sounding names) make up for an unlikely but energetic duo to watch. There’s an implication that these kaijus target them specifically, which suggests that they might consider Gagumber as a threat to them. Now, it marks the end of the introduction arc as the duo leaves their town and embarks on new adventures. And hopefully it still engages me so I can follow along.

Love Live! Superstar!! – 9-12

Wooper: Well, I did it. I finished my first Love Live anime – and perhaps my last. It finished on a high note, with a series-best performance in “Starlight Prologue” (those piano chords during the final chorus had me jamming), and I loved that the final ED featured the whole group singing all the way through, rather than as individuals. After a nailbiting loss at the Tokyo tournament, the girls’ resolution to win next year opened the door for a potential sequel – but I don’t know if I can handle another string of episodes like the ones that led up to the finale. The comedy took a big hit for me over the last month, going from fun showcases of group dynamics to disasters like episode 9’s embarrassing livestream. A lot of the drama surrounding Sumire and Kanon’s lack of confidence was driven by scripts that had nothing else on their mind, leading to scenes like Sumire leaping into some bushes to catch a tiara (a symbol of Keke’s confidence in her) which had been blown away by the wind. If you read that sentence without raising an eyebrow in disbelief, you’re much more suited to this show than I am. There are lots of things to enjoy about Love Live – fun characters, creative storyboarding, smart fusions of 2D and 3D choreography – but its emotional logic is beyond me.

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Week 2” →