Spice and Wolf S1 – 3 [Wolf and Business Acumen] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome back to another episode of Spice and Wolf! This week is all about the stonks as Lawrence and Holo talk market volatility, currency theory and the economic value of an apple. Confused? So was I, lets dive in.

Now it’s at this point that I have to admit something to you dear readers: I am not smart enough for this show. I don’t know economics, I didn’t go to business school, I can barely balance my bank account. I have a Computer Science degree for goodness sake, computers do my math for me. So when Lawrence and Holo starting discussing economic policy and warfare via coins I got a little lost. I had to actually rewatch some sections a bit to fully… not understand, but to truly “hear” it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I can’t predict where this silver coin plot thread is going at all because of it. But it can certainly be a bit of a chore at times to listen to. Luckily the back and forth between Lawrence and Holo is interesting enough, their play by play entertaining enough, to keep me engaged

Continue reading “Spice and Wolf S1 – 3 [Wolf and Business Acumen] – Throwback Thursday” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 18 [The Day Betelgeuse Laughed]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

They still aren’t using the opening, this is honestly quite amazing and we have another 30 minute episode that flies by like wind. Perhaps it’s due to the literal length of the Arc 4 that White Fox was pushed to allot more time to be able to get through it though in that case I wish they allot more to Arc 3 as that needed a bit more time to sort out some plot issues. So today we got a continuation of Emilia’s backstory while splicing in a bit of Beatrix’s and Ryuzu’s which is a bit of awkward placement as we now have two backstories to finish but I guess they thought we might need a small break from Emilia’s. I admit that this episode makes for a difficult thing to talk about as we mainly have a fight between Geuse and the two new arrivals. Regulus is a villain I can’t say much about as his general deal seems to be to act like a triggered social media user to each and every conversation. As a character there just doesn’t seem to be much to him but then again I could have said the same, and likely did say, about Geuse in Arc 3 and now that boy has layers. We even see him obtain an unseen hand from a box containing what I believe was a witch factor and can we just bask in the beautiful irony of a villain named Pandora forcing someone to open a box? Well ok if we are to be pedantic about it, Pandora’s box wasn’t actually a box but was a pithos but whatever.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 18 [The Day Betelgeuse Laughed]” →

SK8 the Infinity – 04 [ADAM, The Matador of Love]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

I think it’s safe to say that SK8 the Infinity has abandoned the mask it wore during its first two episodes. This is no longer an anime about having a rad time skateboarding with your bros – now it’s about settling beef with your bros, and I’m not talking about the burgers that Miya refused to eat at A&W. Everyone wants to start beef with ADAM, a bloodthirsty politician from a well-to-do family who channels his aggression through extreme skateboarding. This is such an insane premise that the only way to make it work is by leaning completely into the insanity, which this episode did without hesitation. And it worked! By the end, I was laughing at everything ADAM said and did, from skating uphill groin-first to villainously licking Reki’s blood off his cheek (framed with a Dutch angle, no less). I still miss the version of SK8 that we glimpsed two weeks ago, but at least this new model is demonstrating some knowledge of its own stupidity.

Continue reading “SK8 the Infinity – 04 [ADAM, The Matador of Love]” →

Winter 2021 Summary – Week 4

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: Another week, another roundup of what we’re watching that isn’t getting dedicated posts. This time we’ve got two demon-themed shounen series, two anime that take periodic trips to the great outdoors, and two shows where vehicles are the main attractions. Can you spot which is which?

The Promised Neverland S2 – 04

Lenlo: So I will, as a manga reader, admit to being a little bit biased when I write this but: What the hell Neverland? What is this? Not only are you skipping the only good arcs/characters left in your story to fast track to the bad stuff, but you are undermining what good you had from the first season with Isabella. I can’t think of another series that has managed to kill my interest faster than this. I’ll keep watching just to see if the author can manage to not screw it up a second time in a row, but I have no faith that this is going to end up good.

Pui Pui Molcar – 01

Wooper: I just learned of this show’s existence and had to spread the good news. Pui Pui Molcar is a stop motion series of two minute episodes about guinea pigs that are cars. I repeat: this anime is about guinea pigs that are cars. Whether you find that adorable or stupid depends on how much of a joyless Scrooge you are, but even if you fall on the “adorable” side, this show is more charming than you can imagine. The colors are bright, the soundtrack is jammin’ (the melodica track in the first episode is a bonafide ode to optimism), and the squeaks of the cars are provided by actual guinea pigs. There’s not much more to Molcar than cuteness, though it does win some points for telling its stories without any dialogue (despite the guinea pigs’ human drivers). Here’s a link to the premiere on YouTube (the first of five available episodes), so you can see for yourself why it’s become a minor sensation in Japan.

Continue reading “Winter 2021 Summary – Week 4” →

2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu – 4 [Higher, Faster, Stronger]

by Lenlo, posted in 2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu

I’m a bit late on Volley-Bu this week, apologies for that. Between Jujutsu Kaisen and Dr. STONE releasing right next to it, Volley-Bu seems to be taking a back seat. But have no fear because I am in this for the long haul! All 12 episodes of it. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Production wise it was nice to see a return of the snappy direction. It’s not like Volley-Bu is well animated, the CGI volleyball barely even bounces half the time. But between the quick cuts, fast movement and good camera angles, Volley-Bu does a good job of tricking us into thinking its well animated. We can see examples of this early on in their training as Okuma, the rugby guy, joins in or later on in their match. It’s not perfect, a lot of the strikes still lack weight and the characters feel very stiff anytime the camera lingers on them to long on the court. Overall though this is a step up from last episode and a step in the right direction for the series. Lets hope it can keep it up for the next… 8 episodes!

Continue reading “2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu – 4 [Higher, Faster, Stronger]” →

Jujutsu Kaisen – 16 [Kyoto Sister School Exchange 2]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

Another week, another episode of Jujutsu Kaisen’s token tournament arc. I imagine it’s tough to follow up Yoshino’s arc, that was both emotional and hype. But I was hoping for something a bit more… poignant from Itadori’s return. Still, this week Toudou gained some depth and Panda got a backstory, so not all is lost. So without further ado lets dive in!

Production wise this week was an improvement from the last. Along with the fights being overall better choreographed, Jujutsu Kaisen also brought back some of the sakuga. It’s still a far cry from the series highs, but it makes for a decent time nonetheless. The continued use of the CGI environments for rotating camera shots is interesting, but the forest is proving to be a challenging location for it. Unlike the sewers or the highschool, a forest is a natural location. It doesn’t have the same rigid, geometric style to it as man-made locations. So when you start trying to render it in CGI, to rotate around it, the fake becomes very easy to spot. I think it has to do with the trees, their leaves and the general spread of color through the scenes. It’s not great, but Jujutsu Kaisen makes it work well enough.

Continue reading “Jujutsu Kaisen – 16 [Kyoto Sister School Exchange 2]” →

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.

Continue reading “Dr. STONE S2 – 3 [Call from the Dead]” →

Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 17 [A Journey Through Memories]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

I am sorry miss Mayu Maeshima but I don’t think this anime is going to do a good job of promoting your new single. In a way I wonder if they are using Realise as a insert song so much to make up for it barely being present in the first cour. This is the fourth episode and we still haven’t seen the opening and truth be told I kinda want to see them only play it on the last episode out of pure amusement. The scary thing being that they just might do that but well today we have another thirty minute episode, all hail White Fox. A deep dive into Emilia’s backstory which has started off on a surprisingly fluffy note full of heartwarming cuteness. Which in Re:Zero is that alarm ringing to let you know that the nuclear bomb is about to drop and you should dive under the desk to prepare for inevitable pain and suffering.
Continue reading “Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World 2 – 17 [A Journey Through Memories]” →

Spice and Wolf S1 – 2 [Wolf and Distant Past] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome to week 2 of Spice and Wolf! This week Lawrence and Holo have a sleep over at a church, get involved in shady deals and lie to a pastor. So without further ado, lets talk about these paragons of virtue!

Right off the bat, Spice and Wolf surprised me this week. You see, I’m typically not a fan of shows that are 90% talking. Hell, I don’t even like Re:Zero that much and that one at least has some murder. But some how, some way, Spice and Wolf did a good job of making its dialogue engaging. The back and forth between Lawrence and Holo was rather nice. Their constant one-upping of each other, of poking and prodding to figure each other out. I think a good portion of this is carried by Ami Koshimizu’s voice work as Holo. Her inflections and the way she speaks ride this line between smug and playful really well, pulling me along through the conversations. I especially like when she drops the playful bit and gets… maybe not sultry, but its a fitting word nonetheless.

Continue reading “Spice and Wolf S1 – 2 [Wolf and Distant Past] – Throwback Thursday” →

SK8 the Infinity – 03 [Undesired Hero]

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, SK8 the Infinity

The list of anime tropes I hate is considerably longer than the list of those I love. Even during shows that are largely enjoyable, small annoyances tend to derail episodes or even whole character arcs in my head. I think that’s what happened with SK8’s third outing, about which I’d noted a meager number of positives and one overwhelming negative by the time the credits rolled. As far as tropes go, there were plenty to turn up your nose at: strawman bullies who try to embarrass the object of their jealousy, women fawning over the banter of two handsome men, a Char Aznable clone foreshadowed to be the final boss. But those were minor enough to come out in the wash, unlike the one that prevented me from embracing this episode: an antagonist who repeatedly decried the concept of friendship, then learned the error of his ways after losing to a pair of best friends.

Continue reading “SK8 the Infinity – 03 [Undesired Hero]” →