Category: Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction

Dr.STONE S2 – 4 [Full Assault]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

And we are back with more Dr. STONE! This week we Chrome gets captured, Tsukasa reappears and Senku builds a car of all things. So without further ado lets dive in!

This week was a bit of a slow one for Dr. STONE as its a bit of a transitionary episode. No big emotional gutpunches, just setup for future conflict and reintroducing our main villains. It also wasn’t that great production wise as we can see from the CGI mechanics and the return of still, sliding objects. About the only thing Dr. STONE did do this week was further its narrative a bit through the reintroduction of Tsukasa. This marks the first time we have seen him since the start of season one. We’ve heard plenty from Hyoga and the others but he hasn’t had much presence. So the question becomes: Can Tsukasa earn his place as the antagonist of Dr. STONE?

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Dr. STONE S2 – 3 [Call from the Dead]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Welcome to week 3 of Dr. STONE! If you enjoyed last weeks emotional cliffhanger then boy do I have an episode for you. This week Chrome struts his stuff, Taiju gets punched in the face and Dr. STONE hits us with another tear-jerker of a climax. Without further ado, lets dive in!

Starting off, I can’t get enough of how vibrant and colorful Dr. STONE is. The colors always pop, especially when it goes all in on the big emotional moments. Yet it never seems to lose that thick line work that I love. Obviously as we zoom out to wide shots the detail decreases. We also see some increased CGI for some of the more mechanical science bits back at the village. But when it’s important, Dr. STONE never fails to craft some stunning stills. Add on to that the improved animation we have seen and it looks as if the production is in a very healthy place. I can only hope this holds true, because every week I find myself looking forward to more Dr. STONE. It’s not the hypest or most action packed series this season, but its competing for the most heart.

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Wonder Egg Priority – 02 [The Terms of Friendship]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Wonder Egg Priority

Frankly, I have never felt this immersed in an anime premiere since… Sarazanmai back in 2019, and if I look further down the line, it was Flip Flappers in the last quarter of 2016. And these comparisons are not at all coincidences. They all possess strong grips of visual storytelling with bold symbolism to explore deeper psychological turmoil of our teenage protagonists. Their worlds break the boundary of real world logic in service for dream-like state of mind and emotional relevance, and most of all, they are wildly imaginative, original with a resonating emotional backbone. And that is all I could ask for in this medium.

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Dr. STONE S2 – 2 [HOT LINE]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

I am back baby, and with another season of Dr. STONE! I’m so glad this series got a second season. Because while this arc is a bit more combat focused, it appears like Director Shinya Iino knows exactly what people loved about the first. The science is back in full force, the picturesque direction and we may even have a few animators this time! So without further ado, lets dive into episode 2!

Speaking of animators, hot damn does Dr. STONE actually have a few now. Last season was hardly animated at all, relying primarily on well shot stills and poses. This season however already has a few pretty good cuts and I’m looking forward to more! By no means is this a sakuga action show now but it is a step up. And the best part is that Dr. STONE hasn’t lost what made last season work either. The emotive posing, detailed background art and expressive… expressions are all still there. The Homura chase sequence was a perfect way to show off all of these, as we got a bit of each one. I don’t know if this is just a one-off event to start the season off. But my hope is that with the reduced run time, 11 episodes, Dr. STONE will be able to show off a bit more.

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Twelve Kingdoms Anime Review – 89/100 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Reviews by Lenlo, Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

In this day and age it is nigh-impossible to find a season of anime without an Isekai. From Konosuba and Slime Isekai to Sword Art Online and Re:Zero, they have invaded the medium. But the genre existed long before these more modern takes. .Hack//Sign did videogames almost a decade before SAO released its first light novel. Meanwhile Inuyasha did the same for fantasy worlds. Predating all of these though we have what can only be called an Epic in scale. Produced by Studio Pierrot during their golden years and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi, I give you Twelve Kingdoms. Spanning 45 episodes, Twelve Kingdoms adapts the first 3 of 9 novels written by Fuyumi Ono. Novels which are still releasing to this day and that I would relate to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time in scale and influence.

If that doesn’t excite you, doesn’t make you want to hear more about this incredible series, then be gone I say! But if your interest is piqued and you want to hear about this fantastical world and Nakajima Youko’s role in it? Then read on, and lets dive right into it!

(Disclaimer: I am working to make 50 the new “average”. 70 is not an average score people. 70 is above average. Carry on.) Continue reading “Twelve Kingdoms Anime Review – 89/100 – Throwback Thursday” →

Twelve Kingdoms – 43/44/45 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

Welcome all to the finale of our Twelve Kingdoms watch! It was a long road to get here, filled with self-discovery and political intrigue. Sadly, as incredible as the journey was, all good things must one day end. And this is that day. So without further ado, lets jump right into it!

Right off the bat I have to say… this isn’t how I would have preferred the series to end. Admittedly, following up episode 39 was going to be a tough task however you slice it. There was an air of finality, of release, to such a long an intricate arc that nothing was really going to match it. But to end on a recap of all things? It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, one that isn’t fixed by the ending of the actual arc either. It really feels like Twelve Kingdoms was given 6 more episodes than it needed, and so had no idea what to do with them. Either that or it was canceled when they thought they had more time. Because there was clearly more story to tell, and lots of setup to tell it. As far as what we got though, I find it wanting.

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DanMachi 3 Review – 88/100

by Amunchet, posted in Anime Reviews, DanMachi 3, Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Reviews by Amunchet

Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in the Dungeon?  You thrilled with season 1, kept the hype going with the spinoff, did okay with the movie, and derailed in season 2.  But now – the faithful have been rewarded with this phoenix of a 3rd season.  From a meme to a dream, DanMachi 3 provided a great story, surprisingly thought provoking problems, an excellent cast, and – astonishingly – above average animation.  Let’s take a look at where DanMachi scored and the few places it fell short.

A word on my grading criteria.  For me, each show has 50 points to earn and 50 points to lose. Points are earned by going above and beyond the norm – showing me something I hadn’t seen or making me feel something unexpected.  Something that makes me applaud.  Points are lost when I feel a component of the show was below average or less than acceptable in terms of animation, storyline, etc.  Something that takes away from the show as a whole.

Let’s take a look!

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Twelve Kingdoms – 40/41/42 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

Welcome all to the penultimate week of Twelve Kingdoms! It feels weird to be here, especially after how final that last arc was. But we have 3 more episodes to get through this week, this time featuring Shoryu and Enki! So without further ado, lets dive in.

My initial impressions of this arc are… ones of familiarity. Coming off of the previous arc, it feels like we have seen this all before. A troubled Kingdom, a rebellion, a disrespected Ruler. There are some changed details that make me curious of course. Such as Shoryu’s character, or how the rebellion is against the Ruler this time. But overall it largely feels like a retreading of the prior arc, at least on first impression. I would wager that Twelve Kingdoms is going to use this as a sort of commentary on the previous arc. To show us how such a thing could be resolved from the Rulers position, rather than participating in it. Unlike the last arc though, this one only has 6 episodes to gets message across and I cant help but fear it will feel… rushed. That concern aside though, there is a lot still to discuss!

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Twelve Kingdoms – 37/38/39 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

Alright, I don’t know where to begin this week, so let me just say: Holy shit Twelve Kingdoms. That was fantastic. What a way to end a 15 episode long arc. To save people from spoilers, I am going to start with the production. But if you want to get into the meat just skip this and head on down, I’ll see you there.

So, the production, it was weird. Twelve Kingdoms continues to be wildly inconsistent in its animation/art style. Some scenes everyone will be perfectly on model and it will look great. Meanwhile others a character will have a wildly disproportionate sided hand or their artstyle will change completely. Almost as if it was outsourced or something, I don’t know. But then we get something like the 2nd half of episode 38, or all of episode 39, that look great. I’m going to have to look into who directed which episode before the final review for this, because that really seems to be the determining factor. Because when the shot composition is just right, the sequence of them, Twelve Kingdoms comes out looking grand. Enough about production though, let’s talk narrative, cause god damn shit went down.

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DanMachi 3 – 11/12 (Ultra Soul/Argonaut) FINAL

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi 3

Watching episode 11 had me so anxious for the finale. This isn’t like last season, where by the time the final two episodes came along, all hope was lost. No – this was anxiety born of seeing far too many “almost” good endings. Well fear not, gentle reader – DanMachi capped off an absolutely superlative season… and stuck the landing!  Let’s go!
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