Fall 2020 Summary – Week 5

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: We’re down to just two writers for this week’s recap, which means we’re down a few shows, as well. Now that we’ve entered the second of this season’s three months, it’s only natural that anime will start to fall through the cracks. The State of the Season post is coming up, though (it may even replace next week’s summary), so it won’t be long until you hear from the whole crew on their midseason picks. Until then, Lenlo and I have got you covered.

Haikyu: To the Top Part 2! – 05

Lenlo: I said last week that as much as I love Nekoma, I want to get back to the Inzarizaki match. I still stand by that, I love Atsumu, but boy is it hard to not get hype about our boy Kenma. The relationship between him, Kuroo and Nekoma as a whole is always a treat. How they tease and respect each other, how Kenma fails or refuses to see his own growth (“guts”) etc. My only real complaint with the episode is that, outside a few of the big scenes, it once again looked kinda… eh? Production has definitely not been a strong suit for Haikyu this season. My only hope is that they are saving something big for the finale, because the narrative core is all there, it’s great. Furudate is a great writer. I just think the show deserves better than this sometimes.

Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken – 05

Wooper: Boy, did this episode look good. The bulk of it was given to a continuous fight against Hadlar, first waged by Avan and then by Dai. It was chock-full of shounen staples, from the sensei who sacrifices his life to the villain undone by overconfidence, but watching such a slick reboot of a classic title makes it hard to find fault with its adherence to genre conventions. I’ll confess to being disappointed that Avan’s life-offering final attack wasn’t enough to end the battle – giving Dai the crushing blow smacks of protagonist worship – but Hadlar is a major antagonist, so killing him off this early wouldn’t fit the template that this series was instrumental in creating. Great animation and a sense of high stakes going forward are two reasons to love this episode, as well as some justification for Dai’s overpowered forehead (which is apparently called a Dragon Crest). Seeing what an effect that glowing mark had on Hadlar was an indirect promise of things to come – I’m hoping we get some adventuring and party building first, though.

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Taiso Samurai – 04 [Samurai Daughter]

by SuperWooper, posted in Currently Watching:, Taiso Samurai

Is Leo the stealth main character of Taiso Samurai? This episode certainly pointed in that direction, taking a prime opportunity for father-daughter bonding and making it a ninja-daughter pairing, instead. Once the Parent’s Day plot began to move toward center stage, I thought for sure that Leo would urge Jotaro to attend his little girl’s school event, but the show threw me for a loop and kept its lens on the freeloader until the end. I’m not displeased with the result, either, though I imagine that plenty of viewers are wondering where the gymnastics part of “gymnastics anime” wandered off to this week.

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Jujutsu Kaisen – 5 [Curse Womb Must Die -II-]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

Alright Jujutsu Kaisen, you win this round. For all that I expected it, Jujutsu Kaisen managed to actually keep it’s promise from 2 episodes ago. However long or short it may last, someone has died. So how about we jump right in and talk about that?

Starting off with the non-spoilers, action! Animation! Production! Boring technical stuff, but I like getting animators names out there. Jujutsu Kaisen actually did an alright job here this week. The close quarters combat wasn’t as impressive as the first episode with Gojo, not even close. It often felt a bit… floaty, in that characters where static in movement as the background spun. An attempt to give motion without much actual animation, and it shows. But that doesn’t stop Norimoto Tokura and Shota Goshozono from giving us some pretty great effects work like in this clip here. I love the animation on the snake twisting through the air, or how it explodes into particles down it’s length. It was easily the most stunning shot of the episode and one I hope we see more of. I can only hope that this slow shift isn’t a sign of MAPPA’s production curse starting.

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Akudama Drive – 04 [Speed]

by SuperWooper, posted in Akudama Drive, Currently Watching:

Here’s a curious case of an episode that’s just as action-packed as the first two, yet fails to bring the thrills of those earlier installments. The whole time I was watching the ‘Courier vs Kouhai’ and ‘Brawler vs Executioner’ fights, I was wondering when the show would do something new. It might have revealed some characters’ hidden abilities, or used its unique setting (aboard the Shinkansen) to give one combatant a surprise advantage over another. That didn’t happen, though, at least not to my satisfaction. I’ve got a couple theories about how that dissatisfied stew came to occupy my brain, but that’ll probably be it for this week. Speculating about the history of the Kanto vs. Kansai conflict would be fruitless, given our limited knowledge on the matter, and the main cast themselves are so static they might as well be Virgil Hawkins. So, let’s talk about what makes some anime fights better than others.

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Twelve Kingdoms – 13/14/15 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Throwback Thursday, Twelve Kingdoms

This is a big week for Twelve Kingdoms. We end an arc, get a recap and start a new arc all in 3 episodes. Sadly for all that I usually praise Twelve Kingdoms, this was a freakin mess. So lets just jump right into it!

Starting off, the production. Now you might think we have covered most aspects of Twelve Kingdoms production up until now. Animation, backgrounds, OST etc, what more is there to cover? Well the answer this week is art style, because Twelve Kingdoms couldn’t seem to figure out what the hell it wanted to look like in episode 13. I can’t tell if its because of the shifting lighting based on scenes, diffused lighting etc, or something else entirely. But it’s as if Twelve Kingdoms couldn’t figure out what it wanted to look like. There is the original style that I love, with sharper more angular faces and smaller eyes. But occasionally it would switch to this more… the best way to put it is “anime” style. Larger eyes, sharper faces, with less detail. This isn’t just me being insane, right? This happened? Either way the whole episode just felt… off.

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Fall 2020 Summary – Week 4

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: Ask and ye shall receive; we’ve got mini impressions from not one, but four writers in this edition of our weekly recap. Feels good to have some company for this column! Lenlo, Amun and Armitage pitched in to deliver thoughts on a few of the fall’s bigger shows and sequels, while I’m still banging on about weird anime comedies and a stray shounen property. It’s the new and improved Weekly Summary, y’all – enjoy, and we’ll see you next time.

Kamisama ni Natta Hi – 02/03

Armitage: I was supposed to write entire full-length posts covering this show but turns out that the events of each episode don’t lend themselves to wordy breakdowns. Still, this is one of the major torchbearers of the Fall Anime Parade and I cannot in good conscience let it air without any coverage. Which means that from now on, I shall be using the Weekly Summary section to give my thoughts on it! So far, Kamisama ni Natta Hi has essentially played out as a gag comedy anime and a solid one at that. Episode 2 was especially great with its parodies of Armageddon, Edward Scissorhands and the gut-bustingly funny Rocky skit. I am the kind of person who rarely full-on ‘laughs out loud’ but yeah, this episode got that out of me. Episode 3 too had its nice moments with Youta’s suit and sparkling MSG but it didn’t work quite as well as its predecessor. The characters, while being really entertaining, have not yet come off as people you truly care for and I hope the show remedies that in the coming weeks. Lastly, I just wanted to give a shout-out to Natsuki Hanae, the VA for Yota, as he is the one who solely makes the show such a blast to watch, displaying a voice range on par with Mamoru Miyano from Zombieland Saga. Honestly, this show is worth a watch just to hear him say “IZANAMI-SAAAAAAAN” as anime Rocky.

Golden Kamuy Season 3 – 04

Lenlo: I’m not usually a fan of comedies, anime ones especially. Something about their humor or their aesthetic just falls flat to me. So it’s always a joy when Golden Kamuy gets me chuckling for its entire run time, week after week. Something about the mix of murder and humor lines up perfectly with my love of gallows humor. It helps that every single joke has layers upon layers to it, similar in a way to classic Simpsons, though not of the same level. Take the chase scene early on for instance, Koito’s section alone has at least four jokes in 30 seconds that all build on each other. We go from the Naruto run and leap, to him running in the air, to grabbing a branch which then snaps, to his silly landing, to the branch landing on his head. It’s all small stuff, but no joke exists on its own, always building to the next.

Alternatively Golden Kamuy also establishes these episodic comedic narratives inside its larger dramatic narrative. This episode it’s Genjiro’s saga with dancing girls. His failure to actually dance, being fawned over and encouraged by children only to get a riff on a romance or career drama thrown in for good measure. There’s just something funny about this massive muscular soldier in a tutu getting fawned over by children for dancing a side-bit, and without a doubt the reaction faces help it. Suffice to say I am continuing to enjoy Golden Kamuy. From military circus jokes to “I’m gonna cut it” jokes to just how petty Koito is willing to be over his tricks. I am not caring that much about the larger narrative but god damn if this show isn’t fun.

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Taiso Samurai – 03 [Dueling Samurai]

by SuperWooper, posted in Currently Watching:, Taiso Samurai

Here’s a more conventional sports anime episode for you. Leo still refuses to take off his ninja headgear and Big Bird is still squawking up a storm in the Aragaki household, but those oddities were baked into the show from the outset. If you were to tinker with the structure of this week’s Taiso Samurai, you’d be hard-pressed to make it more ordinary. There was a strategy session between Jotaro and his coach, an 80s training montage, an injury surmounted by hard work and dedication, and a showdown with an angry rival (whose constant outbursts were the low point of the episode). If straightforwardness is what you wanted from this very quirky show, congrats on the fulfillment of your wish. Here’s an equally straightforward blog post to match.

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Jujutsu Kaisen – 4 [Curse Womb Must Die]

by Lenlo, posted in Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome to week 4 of Jujutsu Kaisen! Last weeks cliffhanger promised us some death, but it looks like that will have to wait until next week. In the meantime we do get some dismemberment, some curses and a whole load of pretty colors. So without further ado, lets jump right in!

Starting off, everyone’s favorite section, production! Animation wise what stood out to me the most were the ragdoll physics. Watching Itadori get knocked around or Sukuna jump around was a treat. I really enjoyed how the limbs flew around or bodies bounced off the ground, etc. There was also a 3D hallway scene similar to the first episode, but whether it be lighting or the environment, it didn’t look as good this time around. That said, Jujutsu Kaisen continues to be very colorful, using a lot of bright blues, purples and greens to keep things interesting. It was really nice how ever scene had its own color palette to differentiate it. From the dark blue with the curse to the bright red of their initial entry to the green’s of the waterway. Not only did it make it easy to tell locations apart, but it simply looked good.

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