Vinland Saga – 7 [Normanni]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

Welcome to the true start of Vinland Saga, as this week adapts what was originally the 1st Chapter of the manga. This week Thorfinn hits puberty, Askeladd makes bank and the French get laughed at. Lets jump in!

Starting off, this week was a series of highs and lows for Vinland’s production. I said it before, but the CGI is really starting to stand out. You need only look at the ending shots of the ships sailing down river to see that. With how beautiful the backgrounds are, the CGI ships just don’t fit. Alternatively look at the CGI soldiers on the battlefield. There are splashes of good there, and it cuts to 2D when it matters. But it’s very noticeable and doesn’t fit the rest of the art style. That said, Vinland did have some good CGI this week. The first person cut of Thorfinn fighting his way through the soldiers looked great. They kept the detail on the planks and decided to make the soldiers in the first person shot 2D. So as critical as I am of CGI, its very much a mixed bag.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga – 7 [Normanni]” →

DanMachi2 – 6 [City of Lust (Ishtar Familia)]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi

DanMachi, as an anime, grew up this week. From the show that brought you the cosplaying mechanic of the “Hestia ribbon” comes an episode dealing with largest taboo in hero anime, and in some ways, Japanese conservative culture as a whole. Watching DanMachi this week is like this: you have a friend who you hang out with for laughs, but one day they come up with something profound and life-changing out of nowhere. You remember it, just because of the juxtaposition with their normal personality; it’s jarring.

Continue reading “DanMachi2 – 6 [City of Lust (Ishtar Familia)]” →

Kimetsu no Yaiba – 20 [Pretend Family]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

After last week’s episode, I had high hopes for Kimetsu no Yaiba this week. Sadly, I think I came away from it with more criticisms than complements. Perhaps natural, since living up to last week was nigh impossible. But I wasn’t prepared for Yaiba to undercut its best episode either. Welcome to Yaiba, episode 20, lets jump in.

Normally I start this off with production stuff, but at this point you know what I think about Yaiba. It’s a good looking series, the OST is great, nothing to complain about there. Instead I want to get right into the meat, start with my concerns. The first one being, I don’t like the return of Rui. I feel like his revival completely undercuts the fantastic emotional highpoint of the last episode. There are arguments that Tanjiro shouldn’t be able to defeat a Moon this early, and they are valid. The Moon’s are supposed to be the big bads right below Muzan. However, that doesn’t change how Yaiba presented these last two episodes. If Tanjiro isn’t supposed to defeat a Moon, then don’t make their confrontation so final. With all the fanfare and emotion of a series finale. Basically, don’t break your series only rule for no good reason. Continue reading “Kimetsu no Yaiba – 20 [Pretend Family]” →

Dr.STONE – 7 [Where Two Million Years Have Gone]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Ah today is a good day. The day where Dr.STONE reinforces what I loved about it when I first read it. You see this week Science takes center stage, we meet the ancient sorcerer Chrome, and the legendary Kinro gets his fabled weapon. Enough with the preamble though, welcome to this weeks Dr.STONE and lets get into it.

Starting off, I want to talk about the fun presentation of the episode. From the OST to the sound effects, Dr.STONE did a good job of accentuating the animation. Take for instance the segment of Senku dropping mathematics on Chrome. With the sound of everything and the kitchen sink falling with it. Or the music during Senku and Chrome’s final conversation. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I am pretty sure I heard bagpipes in there. The last anime I remember using bagpipes was Fairy Tail, and even then the OST was never Fairy Tail’s issue. In Dr.STONE though it expertly brings out this sort of terrifying whimsy. Getting across the scale and destruction of what has happened, while still having the whimsy of Senku and his science. To put it simply, I could listen to those bagpipes all day. Love the instrument.

Continue reading “Dr.STONE – 7 [Where Two Million Years Have Gone]” →

Mononoke – 2 [Zashikiwarashi – Part 2] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

There really isn’t a good way to introduce this episode. Nothing is really going to soften the madness of what I just watched. As this week Mononoke has given us one of the darkest/creepiest yet most endearing episodes I have seen in a long time. So let’s just get on with it.

Starting off, a quick look into the production of this week. Once again, Mononoke didn’t really “wow” in terms of straight animation, but rather with it’s style. The most obvious example of this would be the “flip book” presentation of a number of scenes. Looking at it cynically, you could argue this is to save on the animation budget. A simple paper flip effect and 4 frames. For me though, with the overlaid paper effect permeating every frame, I thought it rather clever. That’s not even mentioning the actual subject matter that was displayed. This was… incredibly evocative. I thought a lot of the presentation was clever and clear. Such as the red cloth from the babies, to the urns in which they were stored. Or what body the Proprietress had during different tellings of the story. While it may have only taken place in one room, I was impressed.

Continue reading “Mononoke – 2 [Zashikiwarashi – Part 2] – Throwback Thursday” →

Cop Craft – 06 [Need For Speed]

by SuperMario, posted in Cop Craft, Currently Watching:

Cop Craft mixes up many unusual elements such as porno magazines, gay policeman, car chases and even romance into its trip this week. The result is that while it’s light in content, it proves to be more entertaining than when it deals with serious plot. While at this point I still prefer the relationship between Kei and Tilarna as partners, Cop Craft leans forward to the feelings Tilarna has for Kei, or more like how she wanted to be his equal. I have a good laugh of the running gags of her destroying his cars in pursuit for the chase. hey, she did the job marvelously, and Her facial expression is still as cute as ever. They still bounce off each other nicely at this point. In fact, their casual remarks and attitudes to each other makes the whole thing fun to watch.

Continue reading “Cop Craft – 06 [Need For Speed]” →

Kanata no Astra – 08 [Past]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

There sure is a lot to unpack in Kanata no Astra this week. Kanata no Astra loves to give clues, and with every reveal it opens up more questions and make it think how all these puzzles fit in a big narrative frame. I must say that I am enjoying the ride so far, it’s these clues that make the guessing game much interesting as a first timer like myself, and can prove to be rewarding for those who know what comes next (but please, DON’T SPOIL). We will start with the basics first, the (cheap) clifthanging last week is resolved quickly this time, with Charce reveals that he’s also a transfer student just like Aries, and he comes from a royal town Vixia. I absolutely love the world building details regarding the country that still retains its monarchy system, while at the same time becomes a popular tourist spot. What we learn from his backstory is another case of struggles between him and the family – an outcast so to speak. The intriguing part here is the common girl he used to play with, Seira, who looks uncannily like Aries (if the names are any indication). What does that mean then? I’m guessing for now that Aries is the reason why he comes to this trip in the first place, and Aries’s memory is wiped off, as well as her photographic memory ability is gained when she was transferred out of the hospital.

Continue reading “Kanata no Astra – 08 [Past]” →

Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 6 [A Girl, a Department Store, and a Gift ]

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Currently Watching:, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note

It turns out that next week will be the beginning of the adaption of the source material of volume four and five and this episode marks the end of original anime content. I rather like this episode as it breaks away from Waver solving cases and has a fun little shopping adventure with the three main female characters of Grey, Reines and Luvia, The classroom lesson about wealth coming from the underground and Grey’s curiosity about Waver’s past is just a thin cover for Studio Troyca to play dress up. I don’t mind the fun cutety stuff but it turns into a literal slideshow and I would like to see to see a little animation in those scenes. Thankfully, the story goes back to the main points of Waver’s past and a bounded field going up.

Continue reading “Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 6 [A Girl, a Department Store, and a Gift ]” →

Vinland Saga – 6 [The Journey Begins]

by Lenlo, posted in Vinland Saga

Another week, another dose of Viking murder, courtesy of Vinland Saga. This week we watch our baby boy grow up, learn a bit about Viking history, and get into the series proper. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, as always, the production aspect. This week showed us some of the cracks in Vinland’s production. For while the backgrounds still looked great, and I enjoy the lighting, the CGI was… obvious. It’s not unexpected, large battle scenes in anime like this seem to always get relegated to CGI. However it really stands out amongst the beautiful backgrounds and character work. With a horde of CGI vikings in the background walking around or fighting. Still, it could be a lot worse. None of the CGI was in the foreground, we didn’t have CGI Thorfinn fighting CGI goons. Wit only used it for background work, so as ugly as it looked, it was never really the focus. Except for maybe one shot of them all walking through the forest at least. Sadly its just something we will have to accept moving forward, because the cast isn’t getting any smaller.

Continue reading “Vinland Saga – 6 [The Journey Begins]” →

DanMachi2 – 5 [The Hearthfire Mansion (Home)]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, DanMachi

DanMachi, you have me scratching my head. It takes you less than 20 minutes of air time to wrap up a 4 episode built, fortune changing battle – and then you spend the next 20 discussing Hestia’s Homebuilding. And what’s more – it was a very enjoyable Fixer-Upper-At-Your-Enemy’s-Expense episode. Just…a bit puzzling pace. Let’s take a peek (>_>).

Continue reading “DanMachi2 – 5 [The Hearthfire Mansion (Home)]” →