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.

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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.

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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.

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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 (>_>).

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Fire Force – 5 [The Battle Begins]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Fire Force

For the second episode in a row, Fire Force has quietly impressed me. Obviously the episode of the week would have to go to Yaiba (see Lenlo’s excellent post on it!), but Fire Force turned in an admirable performance. With the mess of Episode 3 still looming, I was quite happy to see an episode without much to complain about (and a lot to praise).

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Mix – 17-18

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Sports, Mix

We’ve reached the midpoint of the summer season, and while plenty of new shows have started spinning their wheels already, Mix has managed to stay steady. Think of all the sports series that enter tournament mode, and suddenly it’s nonstop matches until the starring team either makes an early exit or wins the whole thing. Now consider Mix’s approach in these two episodes. One of them abbreviates a spectacular no-hitter by focusing on the series’ ensemble cast; the other divorces itself from the summer tournament entirely by dialing in on a middle school romance. This will be uncharted territory for some baseball anime enthusiasts, but even those of us who watch for the character drama could be thrown by these decisions. Mix doesn’t care one whit about expectations, though, having been written by a man with a time-tested formula. Though Adachi’s characters often seem to be mirror images of those from his past works, he clearly cares about all of them, since he’s willing to sacrifice tournament time to shine a light on even minor players in the overall story.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba – 19 [Hinokami]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

With this episode, Kimetsu no Yaiba has cemented this as the best arc of its run. For those that don’t want to read 1,000 words: It was great. I loved it. I’m going to gush about animation for the next 10 minutes. Let’s freakin go.

Right off the bat, be prepared for 3 paragraph or so of this, Yaiba looked phenomenal. Eat your heart out Fire Force, because you no longer have the best animated fire of the season. Now for the sake of coherency, let’s break this up into 3 sections. Pre-dance, mid dance and money shot. Pre-dance, Rui’s threads were fantastic. I loved the impact of these tiny little flashes of light, really selling the power. The best shot pre-dance for me is no doubt Rui just obliterating his “sister” and the effects behind it. This isn’t to say the rest were bad, it just had the most “weight” to it. Also managing to sell Rui’s mental issues with the scenes before and after it. His emotional distress and such. Enough about all this though, you want to talk about that. Head below the break, and we will do just that.

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Dr.STONE – 6 [Two Nations of the Stone World]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Welcome one and all to my favorite episode of Dr.STONE yet. This week we finally meet our main character Science, the natives, and Taiju takes a hike. Let’s dive in!

Starting off let’s talk production, specifically I want to talk about the music. You see, I think it safe to say that Dr.STONE has one of the more unique OST’s this season. With a strong focus on rap/hip-hop and mixing in some more “ancient” instruments like woodwinds and drums. It’s not something I normally expect to see in anime, but it’s clearly worked before. Just look at Samurai Champloo for proof of that. I think it’s a good mix to combine the modern day with the “Stone World” of the series. OP and ED aside, both of which I enjoy the actual songs of, this episode had some great pieces. One the stands out to me played during Senku’s scene with Kohaku. It’s short, but something about Japanese Rap makes it a nice change of pace from American rap. But enough of that, onto the meat.

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Mononoke – 1 [Zahikiwarashi Part 1] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Mononoke, Throwback Thursday

Welcome one and all to another season of Throwback Thursday, this time covering the 2007 Horror series Mononoke! There is a lot going on here, so fair warning, this series is going to get weird and probably a bit creepy. But if your ready to come a long for a 12 episode wild ride, then let’s get into it. And remember! This is based off the last arc of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, so check that out as well!

Starting off, I think it necessary to explain my mindset going into this series. You see, recently I have been burning my way through the entire Monogatari series. So expect to see a lot of comparisons between the two, with how similar the subject matter is. So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if this inspired it. You see, Ayakashi came out in early 2006, with the first Monogatari novel releasing later that same year. Then a year later you have the offshoot of Ayakashi’s last arc, Mononoke releasing. With a style very similar to what we would later see in Shaft’s Bakemonogatari adaptation. That series finally starting in 2009. There is plenty of time between each of these for them to inspire each other in a myriad of ways. Which considering their subject matter is very interesting to me. But enough with the history lesson, onto the series.

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Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 04-05

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

As the first multi-episode mystery, Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo does all right in setting up its case while having all sorts of Fate crossover from every series in its main timeline. From Fate/zero to Fate/hollow ataraxia, there is plenty of connections to make if you are an avid follower of Fate with the discussion of the two mages that the clock tower is sending over to fifth Holy Grail War and Kairi Shishigou becoming involved in the case. If you liked Sisigou in Fate/Apocrypha, then he’s pretty much the same person you know and love in this iteration, albeit without Mordred. Other characters like Reines shows why she is the equal counterbalance in the partnership between her and Waver. In her first case, she is shown to be witty and playful by enticing Waver to come into her bed for the sake of advancing her magus bloodline while heaping insults on his third-rate magical circuits. It’s not just her personality that she brings to the table as the mystic eyes that she processes is a necessary part in how the case moves forward. Continue reading “Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – 04-05” →