State of the Season – Fall 2020

by SuperMario, posted in State of the Season

Mario: With 3 staff members moving house and everyone rushing to get their whatchamacallit done before Christmas, this Fall season (and Spring here!) has undeniably been busy. But that chaos of so-called real life doesn’t stop us from following and checking back on a ton of current seasonal anime and the classic ones. This season has been heavy on action with a couple of fun surprises along the way. In particular, we have a talking cat, a talking panda, a talking bird, a talking crocodile, a self-proclaimed alien girl, a self-proclaimed goddess, a self-proclaimed mind reader and a self-proclaimed immortal harakiri man (can you guess all the shows?), so you know this Fall season isn’t short on weirdness and is full of excitement. This time 5 of us will be doing this round-table post, with plenty of hot takes, contradictions and influences and even a heartwarming exchange among us writers around the corner. Read on and enjoy: 

What show are you enjoying that you’re not reviewing?

Lenlo: Akudama Drive, Golden Kamuy, Tian Guan Ci Fu and Haikyu. Nothing too crazy, all things considered.

Wooper: I’m liking the Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken reboot, but I write mini reviews of each episode for our weekly recap posts, so I don’t know if it qualifies. I’ll go with Jujutsu Kaisen as a backup, since it looks nice and tries hard not to be a boilerplate battle shounen.

Amun: Tonikaku Kawaii – this show is just heartwarming and wonderful and it just makes me happy.  On the same note, Kuma Kuma is far better than it has any right to be (somewhat of a Hamefura for the season).

Armitage: The volleyball boys have been great as always and Talentless Nana has been very dumb but very entertaining. Also, Tian Guan Ci Fu is a glorious piece of entertainment which many people might not even have on their radar due to it being a Chinese animated production.

Mario: Akudama Drive has been a consistently fun ride with loud, crazy characters and impressive production quality.

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Taiso Samurai – 06 [Samurai Father and Daughter]

by SuperWooper, posted in Currently Watching:, Taiso Samurai

I’ve been opening these posts with some variation of, “I can’t believe Jotaro wasn’t the focus of this episode!” for three weeks now, so it’s about time I stop being surprised whenever it happens. His training camp’s overlap with Rei’s birthday is the origin of the conflict here, so he’s at least involved in the plot, but it’s his daughter’s feelings that Taiso Samurai is interested in exploring. Quite simply, she’s overburdened. Going to school, doing the shopping and cooking for the family, putting on a smile for her dad even when he puts himself first… It’s too much for a nine year old girl to bear. Though this week’s resolution sees her cling tearfully to her father, I couldn’t help but feel like he got off easy. No parent enjoys seeing their child cry, but such a straightforward and cathartic expression of sadness made their subsequent reconciliation a piece of cake. We probably won’t get a story about fatherhood to follow up this depiction of a difficult childhood, and that’s a damn shame, because it’s precisely what Rei deserves.

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Tian Guan Ci Fu – Animation Appreciation

by Lenlo, posted in Random Anime Recommendations, Special Articles

Welcome everyone, to round 2 of me making a fool of myself to talk about Chinese animation, this time featuring Tian Guan Ci Fu or Heaven’s Official Blessing. Just like the last series we talked about, Fog Hill, odds are you haven’t heard of it. And if you have then congratulations, you anime hipster you. Just like last time, this isn’t actually a review and is in no way meant to be taken as such. In fact the series is still airing right now, having just shown its 4th episode on Bilibili. Rather I just want to talk about its production and the cool things going on in the Chinese animation scene right now. So let’s just jump into that shall we? Directed by Haoling Li and made by studio Haoliners Animation League, this is Heaven’s Official Blessing!

So first up, who the hell is Haoling Li and Haoliners Animation League? Unlike Samsara Studio from my last post, these two have actually been around the block a few times. Haoliners is based in Shanghai, China, and according to their website was founded by Haoling Li in 2013. Prior to this, Haoling Li primarily worked as a storyboard artist on projects for Shanghai Television, though I was unable to find which ones. Meanwhile Haoliners is a different story, their earliest works being Lu Shi Dai and Man Tou Riji, the second co-produced with Studio Lan. Since then they have done steady work, airing consistently on Bilibili and QIY streaming platforms, slowly growing their staff. It wasn’t until 2018 that they achieved their “western debut” so to speak with their contribution to the anthology series Flavors of Youth.

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Akudama Drive – 06 [Brother]

by SuperWooper, posted in Akudama Drive, Currently Watching:

All of Akudama Drive’s episodes are named after famous crime or action movies: Se7en, Reservoir Dogs, Dead Man Walking, etc. Each film title has some relation to the plot of its anime counterpart; for instance, “Mission Impossible” was the name used for the characters’ improbable boarding of the Shinkansen, while “Speed” refers to the episode where the same train hurtles toward oblivion (in that movie it was a bus, but the parallel sort of holds up). This week’s title is “Brother,” which is the first Japanese film to be featured, and it’s probably the weightiest parallel yet, thematically speaking. It should be noted that I haven’t seen Brother, but I did read a Wikipedia plot synopsis ten minutes before writing this post (very professional), so there will be spoilers for both that film and this episode of Akudama Drive after the jump.

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Jujutsu Kaisen – 7 [Assault]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

This week on Jujutsu Kaisen we get punches, kicks, explooooooosions galore! That’s right its a low-narrative, high-hype week as Goto defeats a curse spirit with the power of theoretical math. Without further ado, lets dive in!

As I said, this week was pretty light on the story content. The whole thing was basically one big fight with a dash of narrative relevance at the end. I’m not complaining of course! I love hype fights, I’m self-proclaimed Shonen trash. It just means this weeks post is going to be a bit shorter since I can only gush about animation for so long. As for the narrative we did get, it’s mostly setup for the arc to come. We meet a new villain named Mahito, who many will recognize from the OP. Meanwhile Gojo gives us a hands on lecture on jujutsu domains, how they work, and just how powerful they can be. All in all it isn’t anything to incredible, but Jujutsu Kaisen did a fine job working it into/around the set piece fight for the week. So enough piddling around lets talk about that!

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Twelve Kingdoms – 19/20/21 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

This is an important week for Twelve Kingdoms. It marks the completion of an arc and the (almost) halfway point of this watch. We have lies, deceit and murderous beasts, oh my! All that and more in this weeks three episodes. So without further ado, lets dive in.

Starting off, it’s always a bit dry, but lets talk production. Twelve Kingdoms is not a series known for its stellar animation. In fact, there are some episodes where it barely has any at all. However with the general quality of Twelve Kingdom’s direction, that just makes the big moments standout even more. The entire sequence with the Toutetsu inside the cave during episode 19 was simply great. Between that and the actual narrative of the episode, it felt like the whole thing went by in a flash. Similarly, Taiki’s transformation into a Kirin and his subsequent run in the night also looked great. Something about Twelve Kingdom’s art direction, whether it be the color palette or something else, really sells the otherworldly beauty of these creatures. I just wish these sorts of scenes weren’t so few and far between.

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Fall 2020 Summary – Week 6

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: Last week I said that we might be skipping our weekly recap for a seasonal check-in, but then Amun came through with some impressions to give us three whole writers in one post, and I couldn’t pass that up. We’re approaching levels of blog contribution that shouldn’t be possible! Next week will be our Fall 2020 State of the Season shindig, but for now, we’re here to gab about the newest wave of weekly anime. Enjoy!

Tonikaku Kawaii – 06

Amun: Not in my normal strike zone of shows, but I find myself watching Tonikaku Kawaii first on the weekend anime binge. With a simple premise and a tiny cast, Tonikaku Kawaii should fall under the category of show that gives you cavities and I avoid like the plague. Tonikaku Kawaii banks on, and makes light of, some common early onset romantic issues – but it’s done in such a light hearted way that you can’t help but cheer on our silly, spacy couple as they bumble through the beginnings of married life. I’m sure you could find some criticisms of the perverted bath owner or the meddling little sister, but for now, it’s cute and that’s all you really need to know.

Golden Kamuy S3 – 06

Lenlo: I never know what to expect with Golden Kamuy. Some weeks it’s light hearted gallows humor with a sprinkle of drama, other weeks like this one that recipe is flipped on its head. Sadly it’s in weeks like this that I really start to see the cracks in the series. Drama is not Golden Kamuy’s strong suit, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, the sniper battle was fun. I really liked the double misdirect in regards to Ogata’s position, and how his strategy actually laid him flat for the rest of the episode. Pair that with Shiraishi’s introspection and you have some decent drama. But I didn’t care much for Ogata’s flashback, all things considered. It didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about him as a character, and while it introduced a bit of guilt, it’s not something I really see it acting on. All in all it felt like it existed to pad runtime. Not in the worst way, it fit the show and reminded us just how much of a cold bastard he is. But it definitely wasn’t the most interesting thing in the episode.

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Taiso Samurai – 05 [Battling Samurai]

by SuperWooper, posted in Currently Watching:, Taiso Samurai

Here’s another Taiso Samurai outing where the script sidelines Jotaro, who seems to be the main character in name only. Last week it was all about Leo and Rei, and this time we’re focusing on Tetsuo and… the NHK Cup broadcasters? I’d have said “the other competitors,” but they’re so lacking in presence, both in screen time and personality, that they hardly factor into my memory of the episode. Given the upcoming Chinese training camp plot, this new crop of gymnasts are certain to recur – even if they’d been created merely to get steamrolled by Tetsuo, though, they ought to have been given decent designs. Without a reason to remember them, it’ll be tough to generate interest in any Japanese gymnasts apart from Jotaro or Tetsuo going forward.

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DanMachi 3 – 6 [Knossos (Man-Made Labyrinth)]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi 3

Back to the dungeon we go, with the monster-vs-man war in full swing.  Last season, I complained how we didn’t spend enough time in the titular dungeon – season 3 is making up for it in spades.  Also, who knew that the 18th floor (Rivira) would be so important?  Let’s get into it!

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Great Pretender Anime Review – 78/100

by SuperWooper, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Great Pretender, Reviews by SuperWooper

From an aesthetic point of view, Great Pretender is my favorite TV anime of 2020. I’ve spoken plenty about art director Yuusuke Takeda in previous posts, but since this is the last time I’ll be writing about this show for the blog, allow me to recap: he’s one of the best and most prolific visual designers in the industry today, and Great Pretender is one of his most striking works. His brash juxtaposition of color was a great fit for such a sharp, fast-moving series – as were the angular designs of legendary character artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. Tasked with creating an entirely adult cast, he opted to give them prominent noses and messy hairdos, incorporating plenty of detail while still allowing the animation team room to breathe. They did their nimblest and most acrobatic work in the show’s first arc, but even as Great Pretender settled in for the long haul, it maintained a sense of liveliness sufficient to absorb you in its story.

So why the caveat that it’s my favorite only in aesthetic terms? What disqualifies it from being the runaway AOTY that I initially hoped it would be? And on the flip side, what does Great Pretender do right that most other series wouldn’t dare to attempt? Read on for one man’s thoughts on one of the year’s most original anime.

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