Category: Weekly Summary

Super Crooks – 1-2

Wooper: I went into Super Crooks completely blind, so I had no idea it was a superhero – or more accurately, supervillain – series. Turns out it’s a “mature” take on the genre in the same vein as The Boys or Invincible, which in this case means comically large-scale violence and implied sex. The violence showed up in episode 1, a high school origin story for newbie hero Johnny “Electro Boy” Bolt, with all the Spiderman theft that entails (the “hero” even has a crush on his bully’s girlfriend). Compulsory scenes of Johnny confiding in his nerdy best friend and trying on his first costume had my eyelids drooping, but the over-the-top carnage of his superhero debut (which ended with a bunch of dead pigs in a public swimming pool) managed to wake me up. Cut to episode 2, set in the present day, where an adult Johnny is released from prison and the exposition begins to flow. Tales of powerful enemies and a shadowy villain organization were all over the second script, but they were neither illuminating nor tantalizing enough to hook me. For all the show’s clunkiness, it’s amusing to see Bones tackle this material, even if its stiff visuals tell us it was hardly a priority. The substudio that produced it is also working on Mob Psycho 100’s upcoming third season, but hey, I doubt anyone would protest that Super Crooks was sacrificed at the altar of Mob’s wondrous animation.

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Week 8” →

Blade Runner: Black Lotus – 1-2

Wooper: Black Lotus is yet another of Sola Digital Arts’ CG reimaginings of classic sci-fi properties. Kenji Kamiyama (who also directed the Star Wars: Visions episode discussed below) and Shinji Aramaki have been pumping these out for a few years, and now it’s Blade Runner’s turn to get the Barbie treatment. So what’s the verdict, setting aside my distaste for the primitive 3D art style? After two episodes, I’d call it a passable replication; the rainy neon streets, murky lighting, and Vangelis-inspired soundtrack evoke the original film, but only superficially. (I haven’t seen 2049, so it may be that Black Lotus’s vacant streets are a more accurate reflection of Villeneuve’s sequel, but they certainly can’t hold a candle to the bustling exteriors of Ridley Scott’s version.) The story is a wisp of a thing with an amnesiac protagonist (Elle) and a handful of fight scenes to mask the absence of atmosphere. Most of the characters lean too far in one direction or another – the friendly black market trader is too helpful, while the corrupt senator is too evil. Episode 2’s final moments served as a pretty good hook, though – the show skillfully cut between Elle being hunted in both the past and the present, leading to a cliffhanger that honestly surprised me. I wouldn’t recommend this series to many people, but Blade Runner superfans can rest easy knowing it’s got a shade of promise.

Continue reading “Fall 2021 Summary – Weeks 6-7” →

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” →

Amun: It’s been my pleasure hosting you for this summer season.  With fall upon us, I’ll be handing the reins off to Wooper again.  Not to worry though, I’ll still be here for my hot takes on the latest shounen trash!

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Slime Isekai – 12 [FINAL]

Amun: Slime Isekai finishes out the second half of its sophomore season…to mixed results. Frankly, this season spent far too much time talking and far too little time doing – the first half was basically a political conference. The second half, and the finale in particular, were some good old fashioned beatdowns that were quite cathartic given Clayman’s nonsense. We also have the looming spectre of the final boss baddie, which I’m not entirely sold on. As far as finales go, this one was pretty good – especially with all the homages (most of all being the clown’s “You’re already dead”). I actually want to see more of the other Harlequins troupe members in coming seasons, because they’ve turned into decent characters. All in all, a pretty good season (more the back half than the first), and an excellent OP – I’m pretty happy. Amun’s unofficial grade: 7/10 (5/10 being average).

Kaizoku Oujo – 7-8

Wooper: When a fictional character spends a great deal of time pondering the meaning of their existence, it’s sometimes a sign that the author who created them isn’t sure of that meaning either. That seems to be the case where Fena (the “Pirate Princess” from this series’ title) is concerned, at least if episode 8 is any indication. A slow-moving installment designed to give the characters time to recuperate from a naval battle, the episode played host to a lot of ponderous dialogue about who Fena truly is. An ordinary girl? A princess? A witch who puts everyone she encounters under her spell, as Shitan seemed to reveal? We won’t find out until reaching Eden, the story’s final destination, but for now she exists as an object of fascination for three men and not much else. Many of their conversations with her have involved grand proclamations and desirous stares – it’s all getting to be a bit tiresome. I would have loved to see her level up as a pirate or learn more about her destiny before reaching this point in the story, but as long as one or both of those checkpoints arrive before long, I’ll be alright. Plus there’s still the memory of Fena’s excellent episode 7, with its ship-shredding cannon fire and climactic boarding mission, to tide me over until the next big set piece.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom – 12/13 [FINAL]

Amun: I criticized Realist Hero before the season as a poor man’s Amagi Brilliant Park. Turns out…I was right. But, as I surmised, it wasn’t all bad – in fact, it wasn’t that bad at all. Realist Hero set realistic expectations, and met them. And you know what, that should be commended. I expected a straightforward power-fantasy, slightly political isekai. I got that, with serviceable characters, a moderate harem, and a plot with enough interesting situations to keep me engaged. Is it likely a high schooler makes all of these great judgement calls? No way (I’m also very concerned about Japan’s libido after seeing some of these recent protagonists – no wonder the population is declining). These final two episodes had some nice moments: I particularly liked the singing of the conquered national anthem, with the full expectation of execution. Solid moment. The season was wrapped up well, with the future conflicts pretty well telegraphed – I foresee an adequate amount of character creep, with a few new harem additions. A good way to judge your true opinion of an anime is to react to news of a sequel; in Realist hero’s case, I’m looking forward to it.

Continue reading “Summer 2021 – Weekly Summary Week 13 [FINAL]” →

Amun: Note: This is the second to last week of this season’s weekly summary, with several shows wrapping up. I’m going to have to take a break next season due to IRL, but hopefully this continues in some format (may go to a bi-weekly post, we’ll see). Until then, enjoy (we have unofficial ratings this week)!

Vanitas – 12 [FINAL]

Amun: Our favorite vampire bois have ended their run with…a whimper. These final two episodes feel like backdoor pilots (which I HATE) rather than a meaningful arc conclusion. The good news is that a second season is already confirmed, and apparently it’s quite a good arc. Overall, I liked the execution of Vanitas far more than the premise – I’m still a little confused as to what all the world’s mechanics are (there’s a mirror Paris, history’s been rewritten so that vampires exist, and despite all that, we STILL don’t know if Jeanne is a curse bearer…). Speaking of Jeanne, I think she’s a wonderful waifu, but she had far too much screentime (I’d prefer to see more of Noe’s cat). I hope that’s remedied in the upcoming season, but really that was my main complaint. Vanitas is infuriating, but he’s supposed to be; Noe isn’t a wallflower and surprisingly nuanced – quite a refreshing duo. One of this season’s best. Amun’s unofficial rating: 7.5/10 (with a 5/10 being average – if you use a 7/10 as average, then this is 8.5/10).

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi – 8-9

Wooper: It’s fitting that a show starring gods that can break the sound barrier would outpace its audience in the move from one arc to another. Episode 8 detailed the success of the coup d’etat in Zoble – or more accurately, it spent 10 minutes on fight scenes with its Emperor and Empress, 10 minutes on major developments for Gil and Rin’s characters, and one minute on a list of bullet points detailing the success of the coup. I enjoyed getting to witness Gil’s rebirth as an Idaten (it was a smart way of repurposing the show’s least valuable player), but the series has been all about the conflict in Zoble for weeks now, and it flaked on the strategic aspects of the protagonists’ mission at the very end. Idaten-tachi didn’t slow down for even a second in the coup’s aftermath, either, shifting its focus to the villains in episode 9. The subplot about Brandy’s children resurfaced in a big way here, since her offspring will clearly play a major role in rebuilding Earth’s demon population, but they’re so ineffectual without the Demon Lord’s support that it’ll take another timeskip to make them truly relevant. Can Idaten-tachi’s plot support another jump forward when it’s already running a million miles an hour? Probably not, but this show has already demonstrated a tendency to do whatever the hell it wants – more power to it, I guess.

Continue reading “Summer 2021 – Weekly Summary Week 12” →

Kaizoku Oujo – 5-6

Wooper: Pirate Princess Fena may not be the most pleasant surprise of the year (that’d be Odd Taxi), but it has to rank pretty highly on that list. Taken together, these installments served as a major turning point for the adventure series, and I’d say it handled the transition with aplomb. Things got real starting in episode 5, where the previously cartoonish band of female pirates from several weeks back revealed themselves to be major players in the show’s universe. Their alluring Captain Grace led an operation that landed Fena back in captivity, and her crew pulled far fewer punches in the process. The Indiana Jones-ish descent of the episode dovetailed quite nicely with our heroes’ sudden imprisonment in an undersea cavern; they escaped near the start of episode 6, of course, but that was far from a copout. Rather than throw Yukimaru & Co. back into the fray, the series hunkered down for some good old-fashioned exposition regarding its larger plot – emphasis on “good.” I can’t remember the last time an anime dumped so many mythical countries, legendary swords, and ancestral warrior clans into my lap while keeping my full attention. Abel was a positively magnetic antagonist here, fully earning the wonder of his new prisoner and the hatred of his former lover in the process of explaining all these concepts to us. Add to that Yukimaru’s surprisingly emotional decision to undertake a solo rescue mission, and you’ve got a recipe for a killer second half of an already-engaging anime. More please!

Re-Main – 8-9

Wooper: Re-Main just jumped the shark in a major way, but the question of how it’ll cross the finish line still interests me. After Minato’s memories were restored thanks to a five minute lecture from Chinu, he hit his head AGAIN in episode 8, this time maintaining his recollection of junior high but losing his cheery high school demeanor. Now he’s an overconfident asshole with the sort of anger issues that lead him to trash his room, and his seiyuu has been forced into mimicking Yuki Kaji’s babyrage voice in an effort to keep pace. The growl-off between Minato’s old self (which is new for those of us in the audience) and a surly former teammate made me embarrassed for everyone involved in the making of the scene, from the writers who had to play along with their boss’s Double Amnesia vision to the actors who had to pretend that it made any sense. Episode 9 did a decent job of bringing Minato back to Yamanami High and humbling him a bit in the process, but that hardly puts a dent in the whiplash created by this plot development. At this point, my curiosity about how the show plans to recover is morbid in nature, but hey, at least I’m curious.

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Amun: Honestly, nothing really stood out to me this week – although I am a little behind on Fena.  MHA was slightly better, and Iruma-kun ended the season on a high note.  We’ll try again next week!

My Villain (Hero) Academia (S5) – 22

Amun: After last week’s controversial and personally disappointing episode, MVA is back on track. For some reason, it wasn’t clear until this week that these episodes are going to be origin stories for each league member – I think the other problems with Toga’s story overshadowed the mirrored “hero-origin” format: single enemy, going beyond one’s limits to overcome past problems, power of friendship, etc. Twice’s origin hit the right notes, largely due to his built-in humour and the fact that his quirk is pretty important to smoothing out plot problems. Now that I’ve understood what’s happening with My Villain Academy, I appreciate what the writers are going for. Some major plot developments look to be brewing – we know Shigaraki is connected to All-Might’s teacher, the previous One-For-All (I think we were told he’s her son?), and Dabi is being strangely built up as a character – he really didn’t get that much screen time in past seasons. With the earlier drauma from the Todoroki family – and given that one other major league member is a Nomos – I half suspect he’s the dead brother (he’s a zombie, uses fire, etc). Why else spend the first half of this season setting that up? That twist might be a bit on the nose, but this is MHA we’re talking about. Regardless, I’m happy to see our season’s major franchise back on track.

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi – 7

Wooper: I found this to be Idaten’s least daring episode to date, perhaps owing to the fact that all the demigods’ plans went off without a hitch. Ysley put the church of Sarabael under his thumb just by dangling Paula in front of their faces, and Rin/Hayato’s invasion of the Zoble Empire was the very picture of one-sided carnage. Some of the shots of the two of them working together were significant in terms of their evolving master/student relationship, but I don’t think we saw anything in episode 7 that we hadn’t seen before (unless you count Sarabael’s tower-heavy architecture, which kinda reminded me of Utena). The big surprise here was supposed to be the emergence of a self-styled Emperor from within the demon camp, but isn’t he just going to get his shit pushed in like everyone else? This show has only four weeks left, being a noitaminA entry, but even that number almost seems like too much, given the Saitama-sized gap that exists between Rin and everyone else. Just throw her into a string of fight scenes and dispatch all the villains one by one so we can get back to the strangeness and psychedelia of the early episodes, please.

Love Live! Superstar!! – 5

Wooper: One of the things that most impresses me about this show is how consistently it generates fun and friendly banter between its female characters. Keke and Sumire bickered with each other all throughout this episode, but I never tired of listening to them bust out variations on their catchphrases or proclaim the supremacy of their favorite artistic field (School Idols vs. Show Business). Whether they were daring each other to practice in sweltering temperatures or thumb wrestling to secure a solo bed during an overnight trip, their antics kept me engaged in each of their scenes. This week’s trip to Kozushima was important for Kanon and Chisato, too, allowing them to take on individual challenges before their imminent reunion (whereupon Chisato will likely join the idol group). What’s interesting to me is that I don’t know which of them will have more success: Kanon with her lyrics or Chi-chan with her dancing. Regardless of who fails and who triumphs, Superstar has already succeeded in shifting Chisato’s focus so that it lines up with the other girls. She might win her competition and prove to herself that she can be a part of both worlds, or lose but remain satisfied because she’s found a different calling. This is all good stuff – now to wait for Liella to gain some ground on Sunny Passion in anticipation of the finale!