Category: Finished Series: Action

Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 12 [The Battle for Social Rehabilitation ~Friendship~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Welcome one and all to the penultimate episode of Mob Psycho! This week Mob steps up, a Hobo finds his courage and Reigen finds a gun. Lets jump in!

Right off the bat, as always, I have to say Mob Psycho looked fantastic. There has been some disagreement/quibbling on my part about some still shots in the past. But none of that changes how, in motion, Mob Psycho is the best looking series of the season and probably year. The style in all of the important shots is beautiful, and the motion put into even the tiniest scenes is astounding. Often in anime, you will have scenes where the only movement is the mouth as they talk. Occasionally though you get a series, like Mob Psycho, that goes the extra mile. That animates body or facial movement to go with the mouth. Its a small thing, and often when reading subs you don’t notice it. But when you do, like I did this week, it makes you appreciate it all the more.

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Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 09/10 [The Vagabond Leader/ The Aggressive Bombers]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

Welp, Kotobuki is getting really good. Normally this is the time where shows reach its final overarching arc, and sometimes it loses a bit of it magic because of that (like what I currently have with Gotobun), but with its tongue-in-cheek manner and its main storyline that is totally unexpected but weirdly fit to the narrative, I’m all in for this final ride. Needless to say the first half of episode 9 is an unusually quiet moment for Kotobuki, now that the Squadron is out of mission so that the members are taking side jobs. Again, it isn’t the story but the presentation that makes Kotobuki such a fascinating show to watch. All of these are colored by their casual conversations carried by a member of Kotobuki squad and some stranger that you could immediately tell these characters have known each other for a long time. They only leave Kirie behind the office and of course the eccentric Kirie isn’t too fond on the idea of sitting around. I’ve come to certain that Kirie is a perfect protagonist for Kotobuki the show. The show relies on rapid fire conversations, goofy but likable characters and well-choreographed aerial battles and Kirie fits the bill extremely well. Just see how she reacts when playing dead at the end of episode 9 you would understand the way she can shine in small moments like that.

And then the plot suddenly kicks into gear as Kirie takes Allen (Kate’s brother) on a sightseeing trip. He then informs about the holes that once let through the Yufang have opened up at other places and that Isao is trying to monopolize the city so that he can take full control of that hole. It has been established several times before about this hole (during the first time we meet Allen), but to think that the story would head this way is totally unexpected, but one that is welcomed. Of course, as soon as they find the hole they get ambushed by dozen air jets where they managed to shoot down some before biting the dust themselves. Allen proves that he knows more than he lets on here and proves to be a good addition to the case. By saying that nothing can beat the introduction of a new character IN FREAKING EPISODE 10 (but she’s awesome so…), Naomi, who was in a dogfight with Kirie several times before, and who is then revealed to be a pupil of Old Sab. This old dude sure is popular.

Regarding the big bad overarching plot, Julia is forced out of the council for being against Isao and she seeks asylum from the Kotobuki Squad. There are two interesting plot threads going on right now. First, what is the significant of this hole? We have witnessed it sucking the entire bombs and vanishing like nothing happened. There is a rumor where it sucks out the entire sea. What is going to happen when they go inside the hole? Will they get transported to another world (isekai material right there!!). Second is the very motive of the charisma Isao. He appears as a goofy loud character and so far he acts like a true tyrant (bombing, monopoly and whatnot) but that all has to do with the hole. So what is his relationship with the hole that he’d risk everything, even bombing the cities, to achieve? I guess in the next event he might team up to the Kotobuki Squad when the girls learn more about the hole. And that’s not a bad development at all in my book.

Dororo – 11 [The Story of Banmon, Part 1]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Lets skip the preamble this week and just dive in to Dororo! On this episode our plucky pair explore Daigo’s city, fight some fox spirits and get in a bit of a pickle. Lets go!

Startin off, Dororo had some interesting visuals and colors this week. With the Fox Spirits and the Crazy Woman sticking out to me the most. Both had some great colors and unique styles to them. The Fox Spirits for instance had some fantastic greens and blues, really selling that other-worldliness in a series that is mostly natural greens and browns. They really brightened up their scene and drew the focus. The crazy woman on the other hand had some nice blending. With the green/black drooping from her eyes nicely accenting her sickness. It’s a simple effect, but one I loved. So overall while Dororo is not the most visually impressive series in this season, I can say it has established its style. Unlike Mob Psycho, which changes every scene almost, Dororo is really sticking to its older aesthetic and that sets it apart, similar to what Megalo Box did.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 11 [Guidance ~Psychic Sensor~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello and welcome once more to the Mob Psycho 100 blog, where I gush about Mob Psycho 100! This week see’s an old villains return, multiple defeats and more of Mob’s growth. Lets dive in!

Now, at this point I feel like a broken record when talking about Mob Psycho’s animation. But the fact is, Bones is killing it this season. Yeah there are parts that look iffy as still’s, sometimes when the action slows down Mob Psycho’s style is off putting. But this is anime god dang-it, its meant to be viewed in motion, and Mob Psycho looks unparalleled in motion. All three of the fights this week could be another series finale, with the scale and prowess that went into them. This isn’t even mentioning Mogami, who seems to be Bone’s excuse to get weird every time he shows up. Combine this with the tracking camera, inventive use of space and liberal interpretation of the word “adaptation” and you have enough animation to take over Sakugabooru every week. Still, none of this is new to you, so lets just get to the spoilers.

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Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 10 [Collision ~Power Type~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello and welcome once more to Mob Psycho 100, the premier animation destination of the Winter 2019 season. This week we have some fantastic highs, questionable lows and a show of brotherly love to rival Run with the Wind. Lets jump in!

As always, let’s start with production. After some discussion on last episode in the comments, I resolved to try and look a bit more closely at some of Mob Psycho’s stills and group shots. From what I saw, I can understand the opinion that it doesn’t look great. However, in my personal opinion, I think it comes down to the style. BONES purposely chose to mimic ONE’s simple style, to allow for more consistent and expressive animation. Yes, some of the stills come off as iffy. However I think this one comes down to personal preference. As Mob Psycho looks like nothing else airing right now, and stands out from the pack because of it. It’s willing to go wildly off model for the sake of effect, putting the strengths of the medium first. Whatever costs it has, I am willing to pay them. Now onto spoilers!

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Dororo – 10 [The story of Tahomaru]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Welcome to Dororo’s week of brotherly love! This episode, if the title wasn’t obvious, we look at Tahomaru and his relationship with various characters. Lets dive in!

Production wise, Dororo stepped it up a bit this week. As always, the direction and shot composition is it’s strong point. Doing a great job of conveying emotion. The surprise for me was the animation department, as Dororo really wanted to make a good impression for Tahomaru. His battle with the demon, along with the flowing of the water as it came down on them, was visually interesting. Take for instance the scene of Hyogo throwing the villagers to safety. It wasn’t huge, like Mob Psycho always goes, but it fit Dororo’s subtler style and stood out in the moment. Sure, it rarely wow’s me, but the landscapes are beautiful and do a good job of building up the world. Still, enough about Dororo’s animation, I talk on that every week. Onto the spoilers!

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Dororo – 8/9 [The story of Saru/The story of the Mercilessness]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Hello everyone, welcome back to Dororo! Thanks again for understanding about my vacation, as we head into this weeks double feature. This time Dororo makes a friend, we get their backstory and a ‘he’ turns out to be a ‘she’. Lets jump in!

As always, lets start off with the animation and actual production of these two episodes. Animation wise Dororo continues to be a series of highs and lows. Often during its fights, like with the giant centipede, it can look great. Smooth motion and clear choreography. Other times though, outside of these fights, it can be very limited and often just unappealing. This isn’t to say Dororo looks bad though, as its direction at least is always very good. It has a clear focus on its cinematography. This can be seen most obviously in this weeks episode 9, with little actual animation, but fantastic coloring and camera-work. It engages the eye in a very different way from say, Mob Psycho 100’s bombastic animation and almost blinding rainbow of colors. As I have described in previous posts, Dororo is an exercise in minimalism I feel. But now, onto actual spoilers!

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Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 08 [The Great Airship Robbery]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

Kotobuki pulls off another solid episode this week, as it surprises me in many ways. For the first time, the Kotobuki Squad faces a defeat, but by some incredible stretch they manage to get out of the situation magnificently. While the characters motion still feels awkward and off-putting at times – characters designs suffer the most when the show frames characters in profile, and when Johnny shows off his inhuman skills – Kotobuki more than makes up by its CG aerial combat craft, and exciting heist story this week. The episode represents the best the wild west tone of Kotobuki as a whole. It starts out pretty simple, our team has to protect “the golden fish” (noted that in Kotobuki’s world, real fish is as rare and precious as Swiss watch). The thieves, however, have a better idea. Instead of just stealing the fish, they hijack the Hagoromo ship, and demand Isao to resign or else they’d crash the ship to the town. Honestly I didn’t see that coming at all, and these enemies prove to be more and more formidable, almost army-like status.

But the plan to counterattack from our girls prove to be pretty entertaining, as well. This robbery is a chance to flesh out ship’s supporting casts, this time Johnny, who is revealed as a veteran shooter, and Ririko, who might or might not be Johnny’s ex-wife, that they claim back the ship with style (a bit over the top but hey, so do all the Western movies). The problem doesn’t stop there though, as the ship’s control is badly damaged and there’s explosions on board. Hence the Kotobuki has to fight a way to shoot the ship down safely before Isao’s air jets, for safety reason, destroy the ship themselves. While this episode is pretty thin on paper, we can still draw out two deeper plot threads going forward. First, it’s still unclear what the enemy’s objective is. It’s clear that they’re skilled, and they’re disciplined unlike normal air pirates. Second, while the rest of the team has their reasons to pilot (case in point this week, Reona wanted to protect the orphanage), Kirie doesn’t seem to have one. From what we know about her, she learned to flight from the old man and she loves to flight with all her heart. Is there any need for a reason to be up in the air at all?

Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 8/9 [Even Then ~Continue Forward~/Show Me What You’ve Got ~Band Together~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello everyone to a double feature of Mob Psycho 100 this week! I have returned from my vacation and its time for some catch-up. This time Mob Psycho goes from 0 to ??? faster than a bullet and we meet our big bad. Lets jump in!

Starting off, as always, lets talk animation and visuals. Mob Psycho is without a doubt one of the best looking series of the season, and probably the year. It’s all so expressive, from the faces to the wild activity on screen. I find it almost impossible to look away while Mob Psycho is on screen. Combine that with it’s willingness to dive into completely different mediums and styles, and its a feast for the eyes. Always changing for whatever works best for the scene instead of feeling constricted by its art style. Simply put, Mob Psycho looks fantastic. As far as the actual story goes, I am going to tackle this two-parter one episode at a time. Delving into 8 and then 9. Really, I think I got lucky with the vacation, as it meant I didn’t have to wait on that cliffhanger. And remember, spoilers after the break!

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Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai – 06/07 [No Place to Return/ Blood for a Nazarin Pound]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Action, Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai

I’m a bit regret that I missed my chance to cover Kotobuki last week, since episode 6 of Kotobuki is easily my favorite week of the show so far. The latest episode is no slouch either, as it expands its universe considerably. Now we have a clearer sense that there is indeed an opposing organization that is on about something sinister. It’s still vague, of course, but at the same time now we have a pretty good idea what Kotobuki will head in its second half. It also shakes up a bit from its own formula as the aerial fights happen pretty early into the episodes, and then they proceed to flesh out the characters/ advance its story. I also find the CG characters are less grating, and the CG model planes are a real treat to watch. While it’s for certain that Kotobuki has its limited appeal, I still like many elements of the shows to make it an entertaining watch every week.

The reason episode 6 remains my favorite is how it fleshes out our main character Kirie, and makes her likable and relatable even though she’s the simplest character out of the cast. The way Kotobuki mixes between her memories and her present time struggles is its highlights. Her memory serves a reminder why she falls in love with piloting planes in the first place. In addition, the chemistry between her and the old geezer Sab is solid. He’s shunned by the villagers but it’s a Kirie-way to just ignore all the talks from them. Instead, her persistence eventually reaches him and he opens up more to her, even teaching her the joy of flighting in the air. While this backstory isn’t necessary refreshing, it ties up really well with her current situation when she gets shot down by another airfighter (who proves to be even more skilled than her), and finds herself stranded with a broken airjet. As she has to starts again from scratch, and as this dire situation gets more desperate, it comes as natural that her mind flips back to the memory she treasures the most. Well, this breakup between her and the old geezer could very well mean that they might meet again in this present time, hopefully not as opposing sides.

In latest episode, Kotobuki delves more into its overarching story, now that we know there is an organization behind the scene doing something evil. First, there’s a cheap gasoline around the market from Standon Oil Company that has less quality, and second these bad guys want to destroy Nanko gas station in order to monopolize the oil market. This episodes also focuses on the silent voice of the team, Kate, who wants a day off to meet her bed sick brother, Allen. She is extremely knowledgeable about mechanics, thanks for her well read, and she proves to be the mastermind behind the plan to distinguish the fire, by explosions no less. I figure in the next episode we will learn more about the bad guys, and I really hope that they aren’t just a bunch of villain who want to monopolize the world. The cast of Kotobuki has been goofy so far, but somehow they’re also endearing so it fits the show better if they don’t make villains who take themselves seriously. The chase is on now, let’s hope for an entertaining aerial combats ahead.