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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Jujutsu Kaisen – 6 [After Rain]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is a lot of things, but this week what it is, is disappointing. Because for all that the villains step up to the plate, for all that the animation is on point, Jujutsu Kaisen did one thing wrong: It went back back on its cliffhanger. So without further ado, lets dive in!

Clickbait doom and gloom opening aside, Jujutsu Kaisen did a lot of things right this week. And first and foremost amongst those has to be the animation. Seriously, just click into the full article below to see a clip of it, but Jujutsu Kaisen looked good. Between the burning effects, the facial expressions and the body movements, the whole café scene worked really well. I will talk more about what it did for the villains in detail later. From purely a production standpoint though, I thought it was a great. Jujutsu Kaisen didn’t stop there though, it was very expressive and creative with some of its scenes. One of my favorites being the paper-craft Itadori scene we see later on, fluttering in the wind. It’s a small thing, but it was really cute and I liked it. It’s those kinds of inventive animations I want to see more of.

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Akudama Drive – 05 [Dead Man Walking]

by SuperWooper, posted in Akudama Drive, Currently Watching:

It’s still too early to say if we’ll ever return to the sustained mayhem of Akudama Drive’s earliest offerings, but breathers like this episode aren’t so bad. Sure, the visuals might not be delivering in every single scene, but in terms of transitioning us into the show’s midgame, it did a fine job. There’s a departure and a new rivalry within the Akudama camp, and the Executioners are strengthening efforts to bring them in, putting the recently suspended Master and Pupil in a tough spot. Was there enough room for the show to say something meaningful about its characters during all this repositioning? I’d say no, but that’s certainly not for a lack of trying.

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Twelve Kingdoms – 16/17/18 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

Welcome all to the halfway point of the next our of Twelve Kingdoms! This week sees the continuation of Taiki’s story along with both some interesting and not so interesting political plots. Without further ado, lets dive in!

Starting off, I want to talk a bit about my feelings on this arc as a whole. Because so far, it feels like a side story. Having it be told to us/Nakajima through another character, when it has all already happened, makes it feel very disconnected from current events. It makes you wonder: How is this relevant to Nakajima? How will this effect the current Kei storyline? It’s entirely possible that by the end it weaves back in masterfully, and I have not yet passed judgement one way or another. But a comment from last week by user PhilippeO doesn’t give me much hope for that. It sounds more like his arc never truly gets completed, which only goes further to making it feel like this isn’t particularly relevant. For now we will have to wait and see. I can only hope Twelve Kingdoms proves me wrong.

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