Category: Finished Series: Action

Mob Psycho 100 III – 10 [Mob 2 ~Rival~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to another week of Mob Psycho! This was an interesting week, a rather contentious one in fact. Looking around I seem to be the only person with a lukewarm impression of it. Why am I not super hyped? What could possibly have hurt it for me? Lets dive in and talk about it.

Starting off, this episode really isn’t what I was expecting. Now that doesn’t have to be a bad thing! Surprises can be very good in fact. If everything goes the way the audience suspects all the time, you will start to lose their interest. The issue here is more that Mob Psycho surprised me not by tackling something in a completely different way, but by avoiding it all together. What does that mean? Well we’ve known Mob was going to explode, it’s in the previews, the title of the show, it was obvious. The question was only ever why. I expected, and hoped, it would be because of Tsubomi. And that his final emotional hurdle would be dealing with rejection when he has faced acceptance by the rest of the cast across the season. I thought that would be really poignant. Instead? Instead he gets hit by a car.

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Chainsaw Man – 9 [From Kyoto]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

I would say to avoid the episode preview for this week due to spoilers but by the time you see this that it would be too late. Though admittedly avoiding spoilers for this series has proven to be just as hard as expected. I knew that manga readers would have a hard time shutting up and efforts have been made (Like making a subreddit just for anime only fans) however It’s still egregious. I would say if you want to experience this blind I would say to go on complete social media and internet blackout. Well besides from your weekly post from yours truly of course. I ain’t joking by the way, don’t even touch youtube comments as I have seen bots posting ending spoilers in replies to every comment on an innocent Chainsaw Man video. We have people so committed to annoying people that they have created bots for it. Popularity can be a curse and while I understand they would be those attempting to deflate the level of hype surrounding Chainsaw Man, as even I think it’s gotten a bit out of hand, it’s still a dick move to ruin the experience for others. No matter what you always got the small few who ruin everything, before this was Attack on titan and even way before that was Death Note. I remember being spoiled on a certain twist and being gutted then. So for those who do it unintentionally I say maybe think twice before trying to refer to future events. For those spoiling for the laugh well…that says more about the value of your character than any insult ever could.
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Mob Psycho 100 III – 9 [Mob 1 ~Moving~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to the beginning of the end for Mob Psycho! That’s right, this episode is the start of the final arc in the series. A lot is getting set up and a lot is about to go down, so lets jump right into it!

So. The final arc. It’s core is exactly like I guessed, though I won’t act like it wasn’t obvious: Tsubomi is moving and Mob wants to ask her out and it clearly won’t go the way he want. Personally? I found the entire thing incredibly cute. I loved seeing just how much Mob had grown up, how he handles this sort of thing and how different he is compared to the 1st season. Just look at the soccer scenes for instance, taken straight from the first few episodes but now with an entirely different outcome. No longer is Mob the wallflower, the third wheel, that useless kid on your team no one cares about. Now he can contribute! He can reach out, ask for advice, talk to people. My little boy is all grown up! The only surprising part of it all is why Mob’s confession failed.

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Chainsaw Man – 8 [Gunfire]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

Welcome to this week’s edition of Chainsaw Man tuesdays and let me begin by saying this. Yes, that did actually happen and we are only getting started. Looking around you likely see a lot of comments stating that this is where Chainsaw Man truly begins though maybe a few over enthusiastic individuals have been saying that for each episode. Personally I would consider this the major turning point as I actively made clear in my other posts. I wouldn’t be surprised if up until this point people thought that Chainsaw Man wasn’t all that different from other Shounen. I actually watched a video on youtube from a fairly well known personality who claimed that the premise and plot structure of Chainsaw Man was identical to Jujutsu Kaisen. And then I thought “There’s a statement that will age like milk.” Not blaming them though as many were making that claim and even the mangaka himself once jokingly claimed Chainsaw Man was a ripoff of Jujutsu and Dorohedoro. Still things are going to change and this is where this show becomes something quite unlike any other. For this author is insane and nothing is off the table.

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Mob Psycho 100 III – 8 [Transmission 2 ~Encountering the Unknown~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to this weeks (late) episode of Mob Psycho 100! I’m not going to apologize for this one, it aired on Thanksgiving and I just got home, you should have expected this. I will say however that I was looking forward to this the entire trip, and I’m glad to be back to watch it. So without further ado, lets dive into the episode!

Starting off, we have to talk about the animation. This episode was storyboarded and directed by the absolute phenom that is Hakuyu Go, so right away you know it’s going to be beautiful. But instead of his usual explosive action set pieces, here we get to see his hand at character acting. And like kVin of Sakugablog fame says, it’s absolutely beautiful. The disorienting direction while lost in the forest, their unified individuality after finding the trail, the outrageous full-body character work present all throughout. And none of that even comes close to the trip and a half that is the ending sequence with Inukawa. While it wasn’t the kind of expressive explosion I was expecting from Hakuyu Go, it was certainly still one of the best and most visually memorable episodes of the season.

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Chainsaw Man – 7 [The Taste of a Kiss]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

Welcome to another Tuesday and to when we get weird and wacky with Chainsaw Man. You thought it was that already? Oh my sweet summer child, you have yet to see. We got a mix and match of action and somber times. The eternity devil meets its end and Denji has a drinking party with his coworkers along with an unforgettable night. Indeed, one could never forget this…no matter how much they want to. Overall impressions, a fine episode. Did what it needed to do but I admit that I am more interested in what comes next. The pacing is still a matter I am mixed on but it’s very much a manga reader thing. Character moments still remain gold and the humor does consistently bring out a smile. I would say the antics of the group on screen only grow more endearing the more we see of them with even the two with the worst first impressions getting some degree of redemption. Something Kobeni certainly needs as she received quite a bit of hate for the last episode’s antics.
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Mob Psycho 100 III – 7 [Transmission 1 ~Winter Break~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to what I hope is the latest Mob Psycho 100 post you will ever see. Sincere apologies for this. There was simply no motivation to write this week, for various family related reasons. Still, the show must go on. So lets see if I can get this out before the next episode!

Overall, this was a pretty simple episode. Much like SpyXFamily, Mob Psycho is giving us some much needed time to rest and destress after the big emotional rollercoaster that was the Divine Tree arc. However where SpyXFamily largely uses that time for Anya gags, which are still fun don’t get me wrong, Mob Psycho uses it to explore it’s cast of side-characters. In this case, the Telepathy Club. This is an interesting choice, as these guys really haven’t been relevant since the first season. They’ve been in the background, Tome appearing here and there. But they haven’t really been what one would call “characters”. So Mob Psycho picking them up and deciding that now was the time to change that is really interesting. The question becomes though: Is it time well spent?

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Chainsaw Man – 6 [Kill Denji]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

We hit the halfway mark of Chainsaw Man and I wonder if my exclamation of “No!” at the moment the credits show is a good sign or a bad one. It’s good that this show can engage me to a level where I don’t want it to end with me even knowing how the story will go. However I also find these cliffhangers to be aggravating and I had thought that we would have time to see the fight between Denji and the Eternity Devil. On that, yes devils are not just limited to objects and animals but even abstract concepts. So things like heights or thalassophobia can indeed have devil representatives which I am honestly curious as to how they would look. But back to the topic of these cliffhangers, I haven’t been this bothered by them since Code Geass about…16 years ago(Oh my god. It’s been that long) and I do kind of feel they are a double edged sword. Without doubt they do ensure viewers will stick around to the next episode and they become a non-issue once the series is out in full. But for weekly viewers it can be annoying to be promised something only to have it suddenly taken away. Like reading a good book only for it to be yanked out of your hands with someone saying you can continue it in a week. Though being a manga reader and knowing what’s coming next makes this all the worse as I really was looking forward to that fight.

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Mob Psycho 100 III – 6 [Divine Tree 3 ~Dimple Is~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to what is so far the best episode of the Fall 2022 anime season. You know how I was talking about hype, and how to much of it can hurt a season? Well this week is what happens when that promise of hype gets fulfilled. Mob Psycho absolutely nailed it this week, on every front. Now lets dive in and talk about how.

First up, the production. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. This looked gorgeous. Not just because of Dimple flying around shooting laser beams and beating the crap out of broccoli men, but also the facial expressions, body language and evocative storyboards. I’m talking stuff like the giant set of eyes looming behind Dimple as Mob leaves, or Dimple’s desperate cry as the battle rages on and on. There is an art to conveying emotion in a fight. Any Shounen, any anime at all really, can animate a fight well if they put their mind to it. It’s selling the audience on the conflict, on why the characters are fighting that makes it truly impactful. And that’s something I think Mob Psycho did incredibly well here. Dimple went from the arcs antagonist to it’s hero in the span of 8 minutes, and I loved every single one.

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Chainsaw Man – 5 [Gun Devil]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

Urge to binge, rising. Really not only wth the anime but the manga has been torture to wait for as well. Part 2 is ongoing and it’s interesting but a bit tortuous to have chapters supplied piecemeal. I have to end every Tuesday wanting more while also devoting the night to getting this post out.(I really have no idea how I did this on a regular basis) We have a calm episode this week with the focus being the start of a new arc, guns and boobs. Funny how juvenile that sounds out of context despite the events themselves holding an opposite tone. So has Chainsaw Man dropped the ball this week? No, but it’s likely the weakest episode to come out yet though more out of necessity. Things need to be set up and time needs to be devoted to that setup so no action scenes(Outside of a small encounter) and a good amount of exposition. I would say there was a slight downgrade on visuals for some scenes as well though with this content we don’t exactly need sakuga. I got more to say this week though than the past two so that’s something.
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