Neon Genesis Evangelion – 1 [Angel Attack] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to the next series of Throwback Thursday, Neon Genesis Evangelion! Apologies for the late start, I sorta lost track of time this week. Won’t happen again though, because after this I am excited to keep going. Because if nothing else, I know it’s going to look good. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, we need to talk about production, because Evangelion looks gorgeous. I had seen a few clips or screenshots prior to this, but always assumed those were one-offs. Or came from the movie, End of Evangelion. However this entire episode looked really good. From the explosions to the almost organic movement of metal during the Angel’s introduction. Of course its the first episode, so this could easily go downhill from here. But visually its a very strong start. This of course goes for the background art as well. The opening shot of tanks along the bridge is beautiful, as are many of the backdrops. Really, Evangelion is showing off the best of what Cell animation can do. With bright popping colors, all of it with the imperfections that make hand-drawn anime beautiful. Something that is often lacking in modern digital series, sometimes to perfect for their own good.

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Beastars – 04/05

by SuperMario, posted in Beastars, Currently Watching:

Episode 4 is kind of a testing game for Legosi’s own nature, but from a new angle they haven’t approached before. Instead of testing his relations towards the herbivores, Beastars introduces Bill the Tiger, another carnivore who is the exact opposite with Legosi. Bill embraces his own nature and is proud of it. He’s macho, isn’t afraid to speak his mind and always wanted to be in the spotlight – your typical alpha dominant type. It’s quite clear how this Bill character is built as a foil for Legosi and further pushes our grey wolf to come to term with his animal instinct, and then some. The “then some” part is ultimately a small dose of rabbit blood that boils Legosi’s own blood. Make no mistake, the vial of blood reminds both Legosi and Bill of their nature. Whereas Legosi sees it as a curse, Bill regards it as something he’s entitled to have. I can clearly see Bill’s argument over this, as up until the second stage performance he walks a fine line between embracing his predator side and getting along well with the rest. As for Legosi, this vial of blood also reminds him strongly of Haru and all his guilt towards harming her.

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Chihayafuru S3 – 04/05

by SuperWooper, posted in Chihayafuru, Finished Series: Sports

Raise your hand if you thought it would be Chihaya vs. Taichi in the finals of this tournament. Okay, manga readers, you can put your hands down.

The odds were against them; a former queen, a sadistic Class A beast, and a Meijin hopeful stood between our heroes and the finals of the Yoshino tournament. Sure, Hiroshi scooped to Chihaya in the semis so that she could get some sleep, but defeating Inokuma wasn’t easy for her. And Taichi’s path to the championship match was nothing short of harrowing, so he’s probably going to be wiped out during next week’s episode. Nevertheless, they made it, and their upcoming showdown will likely have a seismic impact on their relationship. Even if you set aside their rivalry and Taichi’s infatuation, one of them is about to win a tournament with dozens of Class A players in attendance. In the immortal words of Eri Ninamori, “That’s pretty good, right?”

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Vinland Saga – 17 [Servant]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

I’m a bit split on Vinland Saga this week to be honest. On one hand, the story continues to be top notch and one of my favorite of the year. On the other hand, the production was a mix of iffy and pretty good. Either way, let’s dive in.

Starting off, the aforementioned production. There were a number of good shots this week of course, Wit did what it does best. Such as Thorfinn charging in against Thorkell, or Askeladd’s fight for his life. Some of the good shots even included things like the CGI sled. In fact, in general, the CGI was pretty cleverly used throughout the episode. Very little of it actually felt intrusive. However, as is the curse of an anime adaptation, I can’t help but compare it to the manga. As there are a number of scenes that just fell short comparatively. The number one of course being Thorkell’s confrontation with Torgrim, which just lacked the impact the manga panel did. As if they just copied over the character model from a sheet and put him in, rather than the passion Yukimura put into the panel. You can see what I mean down below.

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Psycho-Pass 3 – 02 [Teumessian Sacrifices]

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Psycho-Pass 3

I guess that if you want an anime to illustrate how the economic crash of 2008 transpired, Psycho-Pass has definitely has you covered here. It’s actually cleverly written into the current case and really shows the limitations of the Sybil System where committing white-collar crime can go undetected and has the potential to be more far destructive than simple violence. It’s a rather ingenious way to bypass the system by loaning people money and letting the housing market forces do the rest. The nature of the crime doesn’t make it conclusion any less thrilling when the new inspectors have some hidden talents of their own like parkouring over an entire block of building or winning a gunfight against a shotgun-wielding gangster. Can we just appreciate how good the animation and music is in this entire sequence? I would dare say that this is the constantly best-looking production of the season that is on par with some anime movies and the music is a delightful collection of new songs, remixes and classic themes that defined the first season.

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Fall 2019 Summary – Week 5

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: The gang’s all here this week. Mario has returned from Isekai Hell with a couple impressions of shows he’s still watching, and our resident shounen expert Amun has an update on an overlooked sequel from this season, plus some thoughts on NGL. Lenlo and I are up to our usual tricks, as well. We’ll be publishing our second ever State of the Season column in a couple weeks’ time, so this post should provide some big hints as to what we’ll be highlighting in mid-November. Until then, thanks for reading!

Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo 4-5

Mario: I’m still on the fence with this one. Episode 4 was its weakest week so far, mostly because it plays exactly like what we expect. While the show so far still offers some minor tweaks to its genre here and there (as bold as pointing out stuff like: I’m like a protagonist of a romcom), the very fact that it’s there to poke fun makes the characters inconsistent for me. The library girl suffers from this the most as for the last two episodes she doesn’t drive the story at all, instead she’s just there, and our Main-kun switches between being an asshole and still acting genuinely nice to his friends. More additions to the cast are welcomed but when they’re there for the sole purpose of interacting with Main-kun, they better be unpredictable.

 

Radiant S2 5

Amun: Surprise sequel: we’re checking back in on our boy Seth and his search for Radiant. Despite the new city, Radiant still keeps things in check and the plot tidy so far. This latest episode also had one of the best confrontation scenes I’ve seen in a while – if you watched the first season and are on the fence about this one: Seth getting schooled by Mellie is definitely worth these 5 episodes so far. We have really only one new character introduced, and that’s more than fair given the number of ones we’ve left behind. So far, aside from past emotional trauma and abandonment issues, Seth’s interactions with the Magical Knights have kept the show from getting too heavy. We’re getting towards revealing some mysteries, so Radiant has me still hooked.

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Dr.STONE – 18 [Stone Wars]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Welcome one and all to another week of of Dr.STONE! Normally this is where I do a whole spiel, about what happened this week, etc. However this episode really solidified that I am just not into it. That Dr.STONE is really starting to lose steam with me. It has moments of brilliance there, as we see the science play out. But as a whole I just feel it doesn’t work as well as the manga. The gags last to long, the pacing much to slow compared to the manga. Meanwhile, I am realizing my nostalgia for reading the manga so many years ago was misplaced. Perhaps it was the magic of seeing a non-battle shounen anime. Or just the excitement of seeing Boichi’s art once again. Regardless, that magic has worn off, and the flaws are showing through.

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Chihayafuru S3 – 02/03

by SuperWooper, posted in Chihayafuru, Finished Series: Sports

Chihayafuru’s cast of characters is its biggest asset, and these two episodes leave no room for debate on the matter. Plenty of sports series can build impressive rosters over multiple seasons, but how many of them can bounce between simultaneous matches in the same room with this degree of naturality? How many anime series (of any genre) can incorporate significant dialogue from upwards of 15 characters in the span of 45 minutes, each of whom make you smile when they burst onto the screen? How many shows with tumultuous shipping wars at the heart of their fandoms can make all three participants in a love triangle so interesting? “Not many” is the answer to all three questions. I was satisfied with last week’s premiere, but these two were on another level, thanks to the fantastic appearances by non-Mizusawa, non-Fujisaki competitors. And we’ve got another double episode coming next week, too! What have I done to deserve this anime bounty?

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