Category: Weekly Summary

Undead Unluck – 8 [Victhor]

Woooo Undead Unluck continues to be one of my favorites, even managing to take my top spot this week. There was some jank near the end, sure, but by and large it all looked pretty good with some smart direction. A bit to much red for my taste, but hey they like the colors. As for the content, Shen got to be a badass, kicking around Spoil with Wukong’s mythical staff, before being bodied by Victor. Meanwhile Victor gets to show off the true power of Andy’s Undead ability, abusing it in ways Andy has either never thought to or just can’t. And to top it all off we continue to get these little tidbits about Undead Unlucks world. Things like days of the week not existing, mentions of a “decent lineup this time” whatever that means, all this talk of “rules”. It’s peak Shounen fun, and I enjoy it a lot. David Productions is doing a great job with the adaptation and there are a few more moments I’m really looking forward to seeing animated. Also I really appreciate putting all of Shen’s phrases in Chinese, it’s a nice touch.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 8 + Scott Pilgrim” →

Frieren – 11 [Winter in the Northern Lands]

This was a pretty chill episode of Frieren, which makes sense and is totally fine after the mid-season climax we got in the last 2 episodes. It was all about taking some time to enjoy life, get thanked by the people they saved, see the effects of their actions on those around them as the families finally get the bodies of their loved ones back. Oh and burgers, giant giant burgers. The most interesting thing about the episode I’d say was Kraft, the first elf we’ve met aside from Frieren. With him we get a completely different look at what it means to live for so long, as well as how nonchalant they are about it. Talking about not knowing each other, acting like the past 80 years was “recent news”, and talking about seeing each other again in a few centuries. It was kinda cool. The only thing that felt like a miss for me was their talk of praise, of being desperate for it and finding a way to get it. Kraft looks for it in his Goddess while Frieren got it from her adventuring friends, specifically Heiter. While it’s nice that she puts so much weight behind Heiter’s opinions, I don’t really vibe with this idea that we live our lives looking for praise from others. Maybe it’s just my perspective is different, as I generally only care about if I think something I do is good enough, and while praise from others is nice and affirming it’s not something I seek out. Because of that, Frieren lost me a bit here. Still even with that the passage of time, those 6 months as we slowly see them change in the montage like one by one praying at meals, was nice. Still a very well put together episode.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 7” →

Frieren – 10 [A Powerful Mage]

Ah here it is, here’s the Frieren going ham on some demons that I was looking for last week. Don’t get me wrong, last week was great, there’s just something cathartic about watching a villain get absolutely bodied. And when the entire episode is just buildup to that one moment? Walking us through Frieren’s relationship with her master, Flamme, and Flamme’s complete and utter hatred for demons? How they basically embarrass and belittle themselves as mages by hiding their Mana, typically a status symbol among mages and demons alike, just to shatter the pride of demons every chance they get? Frieren being so petty that she not only waits until the last moment to reveal her hand and crush Aura’s spirit, she also doesn’t even kill her herself? Instead telling her to end it LowTierGod style? It was all so very satisfying, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Sure it wasn’t the visual spectacle last week was, and if that’s what you were looking for I understand being a bit let down. But for me, last week satisfied all of my “Pretty lights go brr” desires and while week covered my “Compelling characters and narrative go brr” desires. Learning why there are so few elves, the Demon King systematically eliminated them, or the individualism of the demons and how much they prize it, or Lugner’s utter disgust at figuring out what they were doing. It was a good episode, I enjoyed it a lot, as much as I enjoy watching Frieren struggle with the passage of time seeing her clown on some demons is fun to.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 6” →

Frieren – 8/9 [Frieren the Slayer/Aura the Guillotine]

Doubling up this week to try and get current with Frieren for these posts. Don’t want y’all waiting a week and not getting anything until the day the next episode comes out. Last weeks episode 8 was solid. The demons got outed and the conflict started in earnest, forcing Stark and Fern to face them on their own. Meanwhile Frieren fled the town to avoid being labeled a guard-killer, but it was pretty obvious she was heading out to deal with this Aura person. I’d say the best parts of this episode were two fold. The first was Lugners aggravation at geniuses and this idea that demons, despite accumulating experience and focusing on this one thing to the exclusion of all else, can still be outdone by beings they consider “lesser”. The other was the reveal of just how much Frieren hates demons, to the point of specifically teaching Fern a demon-killing version of offensive magic and being regarded as the person to kill the most demons in history. It makes her rematch with Qual earlier feel all the more personal. All in all, solid, had a good time.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 5” →

Hello all! Apologies for any delay, both from this and anything else this weekend. I’m flying home to visit family and that’s not leaving me much time to finish all of these up. Should be back to our normal schedule by Monday!

Frieren – 7 [Like a Fairy Tale]

First up we have Frieren. Unsurprisingly, Frieren is still going strong. It wasn’t an action packed episode or anything, but it gave us another look back into her time with Himmel and, more specifically, her interactions with Demons. I thought this was really interesting. When it started, I expected it to be about Frieren being an old conservative grandma who couldn’t accept that times were changing. That, like how magic passed by the Demon Qual, society was progressing and passing by her. That these Demons did legitimately want piece, resulting in a Tiefling like scenario. I would have been cool with that, show us some flaws! It’s the pretty standard route to go after all, the world becoming more peaceful and such. Really progressive. Instead though Frieren doubles down. Yes Demons do suck, yes they are monsters that operate on a completely different value scale than us. That whole thing in the flashback? With the Demon child wanting to trade one child for another? Of only using the words “Mother” and “Father” because they know humans are emotional and won’t kill them if they do? Or what about Lugner blatantly looking around Graf’s son’s room to build a believable story about his own father being killed by humans to keep the negotiations going? It was all just presented so well, for an episode of basically nothing but talking it was some really good talking. Plus we have the promise of Frieren just going off in the next episode or two, so it’s not like the action isn’t coming up. So yeah. Shocker, another good Frieren episode.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 4” →

Fun new note: I have decided to order these recaps from most to least favorite. So anything near the bottom? It’s at risk of getting cut. Just some more fun times I guess.

Frieren – 6 [The Hero of the Village]

Frieren was good this week. It continues to have a fantastic mix of poignant reflection and fun fantasy action. From Frieren reminiscing about the fun and ridiculous parts of their journey, making the elemental dance and stuff, to a rad dragon fight, I had a lot of fun. There were a few things I wasn’t big on, I’m never huge on dick jokes and I don’t think a romance between Fern and Stark will add much to the story. I’m willing to see where it goes, I just don’t want it to take away from Frieren specifically.  Speaking of Stark, I like his motivations for all of this. He isn’t going because he cares for adventure or to stop some great demon or some other tragic thing. He just wants to be able to come back and tell Eisen some stories, like how Eisen told him some during their time together. Even if it’s through another character, I love hearing that Eisen cherished his time adventuring with them, that those 10 years left a memorable mark for him, enough of one to impart it onto someone else. So yeah, good episode, Frieren still going strong.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 3” →

Hello everyone! Like I said in the last preview, I’m bringing back the weekly summary. These aren’t going to be anywhere near as in depth or long as my normal posts, just me rambling a bit about what else I’m watching this season. I’d wager each will be about a paragraph long. Still, my hope is that these will give everyone a place to talk about the rest of the shows this season. Some of these might have this opening blurb if I have anything to say, like if I have to take a break or something for travel, but most probably won’t. Anyways, announcement out of the way, lets go!

Frieren – 5 [Phantoms of the Dead]

This was a pretty cool episode, and alleviated a fair number of my fears after the big premier. Remember when I said I was concerned about the journey? That as much as I loved the show, I wasn’t 100% on it? Well that was because I was afraid it would become more of an “adventure” and that Frieren would lose sight of what made me love it, the way it examined the passage of time and what it means. Luckily though, that wasn’t the case! Already, one episode in on this journey, and we have a conversation about legacy, grief and how we remember our loved ones. Stuff like Fren saying she would be fine, only to have a harder time facing Heiter’s “ghost” than she thought was nice. Same for Freiren’s almost offended reaction to Himmel’s, as well as even his “ghost” telling her to shoot him. The monster’s own power backfired on it! On top of that we also meet Stark, Eisen’s protégé, like they are almost rebuilding the party they had all those years ago with the next generation. It’s cool, and I’m looking forward it.

To touch on Stark real quick, I’m not huge on him yet. Zenitsu from Kimetsu no Yaiba has made me really wary of “Coward” fighters. And I get that isn’t his thing, he’s not a coward he’s just untested, and even when faced with a dragon he still stood up to it. Plus his relation to Eisen, who has his own past about running away and regretting it, makes it pretty clear he will grow as they journey. He’s also not at all weak, having carved that channel in the mountain, so he won’t hold them back. So it’s not that I hate him, I don’t. I just don’t love him as much as I do Frieren yet, which I think is fair.

Continue reading “Fall 2023 What-I’m-Watching Summary – Week 2” →

Wooper: I’m hitting publish on this check-in post at the eleventh hour, as today is the final day of the spring season. Today may also mark my final time doing one of these columns, as I’m in the process of weaning myself off seasonal anime. Summer premieres begin tomorrow, though, and I’ll still be wading through them along with the rest of the gang for the next couple weeks – thoughts and prayers appreciated.

Spriggan 1

First, a disclaimer: I haven’t read the Spriggan manga or seen the anime film by Studio 4°C, so my perspective may be useful only to those of you who are similarly ignorant of the series’ history. The only Spriggan-related material I’ve got under my belt is episode one of the new streaming series, all six episodes of which are around 40 minutes in length. The good news is that the first episode didn’t drag at all; the bad news is that it’s wall-to-wall action with little in the way of character writing. The CG characters (mostly protagonist Yuu and a couple dozen military dudes) integrate pretty well with the 2D ones, which greatly benefits the half dozen fight scenes in the premiere. Spriggan is a cut above TV anime like Dorohedoro on that front, but the same can’t be said for its script, which has been mangled by unimportant jargon. Characters spend precious minutes describing the functions of their biomechanical suits, the specific hardness levels of their swords, and the origins of relics belonging to ancient civilizations – meanwhile, we know next to nothing about Yuu or his professor friend, apart from the fact that they met as children. What sort of life does Yuu lead outside of being a Spriggan warrior? What sort of person is he, apart from being determined (as nearly all action heroes are) and talkative? The show hasn’t answered these questions so far. It’s possible that the premiere’s tidy resolution will give way to a slower, more personal second episode, but I won’t be sticking around to find out.

Continue reading “Spring 2022 Check-In – Weeks 10-13” →

Wooper: I’ve never felt that the phrase “weekly summary” accurately described this column, and now that I’m a rogue writer who shows up whenever he feels like it, I’m going with “check-in” and damn the consequences. This check-in post is too early to catch Hisuian Snow’s second episode (airing tomorrow) or the start of the Spriggan ONA (June 18th), but they’ll be in the next one, which ought to appear around the time that the Summer Preview gets pinned. See you then!

Pokemon: Hisuian Snow 1

There have been a bunch of worthwhile Pokemon shorts in the past few years, but the best of them is undoubtedly 2020’s Twilight Wings, the art direction of which far outstripped most TV anime from that year. With Hisuian Snow, Wit Studio aims to match that effort from Studio Colorido, and based on this short first episode they might just succeed. It’s set in the mountainous Hisui region, which I know nothing about, but you don’t need to be current with the franchise as a whole to appreciate how pretty this six minute short looks; the combination of the snowy peaks and the setting sun bathes the whole production in warm colors, from gentle yellows to harsh oranges. That contrast emphasizes what looks to be the story’s main idea – that Pokemon are beautiful but dangerous – alongside some “humans and Pokemon can never coexist” dialogue from the main character’s father. That’s not a sentiment you typically get from the franchise, and although it’s obviously set up to be disproven by the bond between a young boy and a wild Zorua, there’s room for Hisuian Snow to tiptoe into frightening territory before its feel-good finish. Still, the main reason to watch is the art, which I’ll stress again is excellent – you can see for yourself by watching the first installment [here].

Continue reading “Spring 2022 Check-In – Weeks 7-9” →

Wooper: A midseason offering from Wit Studio is as good a reason as any to write a check-in post, so here I am. There are a couple other anime I’m saving for a rainy day (Paripi Koumei and Healer Girl), so no thoughts on those for now – just continuing my Kaguya-sama streak and revisiting my premature claim that Summertime Render would be tops this season. Hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far, both in real life and in the world of animation!

Vampire in the Garden 1

Turns out Wit’s new vampire show is a five part mini-series, so I’m only previewing the first part here. I was disappointed by the length at first, but even 12 episode shows can collapse under their own weight these days, so concentrating your ambitions into a smaller space seems logical. And Vampire in the Garden is an ambitious project, make no mistake – it’s set in an alternate universe and centers on a costly human/vampire war, resulting in societal stratification and technological advancements that slot neatly into its world. What it doesn’t offer is innovation, since it borrows heavily from other dystopian fiction, especially ‘humans vs. monsters’ series like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress and Attack on Titan. There’s even a “wall of light” that keeps vampires out of humanity’s central stronghold – you probably don’t need three guesses as to where that concept came from. The story of a human and a non-human leaving their feuding tribes to search for a better life is similarly derivative, but Vampire in the Garden does a fine job selling the human side of things; Momo’s gentle temperament, love for outlawed art forms such as music, and fraught relationship with her mother leave her with few options but to flee her oppressive surroundings. We still need more details about vampiric society and Fine’s place within it, but now that they’ve escaped together, those ought to be forthcoming. I’ll watch this one until the end for sure, but based on the first episode, my expectations are set to “competence.”

Continue reading “Spring 2022 Summary – Weeks 4-6” →