Welcome to DanMachi Episode 2 a.k.a. “Extreme Apollo Obstacle Course.” One of the things that I enjoy most about DanMachi is that they put it all out there, unashamed. Some shows spend 30+ episodes and have only the subtlest hints of relationship advancement or expression of how the participants feel – DanMachi is interested in no such thing. Confession during a run-and-gun fight? You got it! Getting friendzoned causes you to march right up the enemy and demand a duel. Okay!
This week in Kanata no Astra happens almost entirely inside the spaceship, and with that we come to learn more about some characters, the “conspiracy theory” and how once again they need to work together to save their asses. Put frankly, I found the way the discussion turns into a suspect game just based on Funicia’s mistranslation a bit of a stretch, but it does provide a nice mix of tension for the cast. It’s normal for someone like Quitterie to lose her composure for a moment there, after all, it’s never easy to hear that “the culprit is amongst us”. All the guessing game heads towards Yun-hua and Ulgar at the moment, but for me they are simply red-herrings. The thing that makes them suspicious is that we don’t know their motivation/ perspective in the first place so that we (and our cast) can’t entirely trust them. In this case it’s normally the person who appears the most normal is the one behind it, but I don’t want to point any finger at this early stage because it can ruin the mystery fun.
We finally get to the end of the Mars Brightest contest and the beginning of the new arc (with shining new OP and ED to boost), but narratively it’s not much of a big gap between these three episodes. While we can see how it wraps up from miles away, episode 12 wraps up the best way it can with the conclusion of the final showdown between Carole & Tuesday versus Angela. Turns out, there isn’t really a “showdown” to begin with, as our titular characters are disqualified for the final. Here, the show brings a fair share of pluses and minuses in its package. On one hand, I approve its focus on Carole & Tuesday relationship rather than the Mars Brightest contest. It’s nice to see them reflect on how important they are for each other and how they wanted to team up in the first place. With that, despite the fact that they didn’t win the contest, they still gain something more valuable: their partnership. On the other hand, the plot is simply too thin that it stretches out too much that you can see a lot of holes and inconsistencies. Take Tuesday’s Mom Valerie for example. We see her “abducting” her daughter because she’s in the middle of the campaign, but later on after Tuesday escapes we hear next to nothing about her in regards to Tuesday. So… she just gives up on Tuesday? Is she too busy to even consider Tuesday a threat for her campaign? Likewise, we have a random old passerby who appears just in time to give Carole & Tuesday a lift to the contest, then seemingly vanish without a trace. That’s what I called a clumsy plot device.
Welcome one and all to one of the more tragic episodes of Kimetsu no Yaiba. This week a Demon falls, Inosuke becomes a dating sim and Tanjiro makes googly eyes at someones mom. Let’s dive in!
Right off the bat, this week makes up for last in terms of production. Not even talking about the animation, which I enjoyed, this week Yaiba had some fantastic scenes. There were some legitimately beautiful shots, mostly near the end, but that doesn’t negate their effect. Narratively they don’t make the most sense, I have some niggling questions behind them. That Yaiba went for style over substance in some instances here. Now, considering that Yaiba is a fun Shounen romp, this isn’t a death sentence by any means. Rule of Cool has existed for decades, and it’s a rule I love. Kabaneri for instance existed on that rule. It is however the sort of thing that holds a series back. Keeping it as “good” instead of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood “Great” and “genre defining”. Still, hard to complain about getting something “good”.
Continue reading “Kimetsu no Yaiba – 16 [Letting Someone Else Go First]”
I’ve got to lead with a gripe: Mix’s new OP is worse than the first. I haven’t got anything against Porno Graffiti as a band, but Akihito Okano’s vocal performance is too deliberate and modern for a show this committed to naturalism. What’s ironic is that Sumika, who provided “Equal” for the first opening, have a much simpler, more nostalgic sound than a band that predates them by nearly 15 years. It’s the string arrangement in “Equal” that I miss most of all, now that it’s been replaced by Porno Graffiti’s wailing guitars. The visuals are entirely centered around baseball now, as well, with cuts to stunned crowd members stinking up the final leg of the OP. The disappearance of Little Glee Monster’s ED is a disappointment, as well, but the downgrade isn’t anywhere near as large as this one. That’s just one man’s opinion about the very beginning and end of the episodes, though – read on to hear about the juicier bits.
Continue reading “Mix – 14-15 [We’re Losing/I Wanted to See That Expression]”
Hello everyone, time for another day at the anime blogging grindstone. This week Tsukasa’s conflict comes to the fore, Yuzuriha wakes up and our team goes for a hike. Let’s get to it!
This week, Dr.STONE continued to make good use of Boichi’s original art. However we are starting to see some of the limitations of his style. Originally a hentai artist, Boichi’s style is rather exaggerated. After his years of work on Sun-Ken Rock, for men this results in veritable mountains of muscle. He clearly enjoys drawing that muscle as well, which you can see in Tsukasa. Turning them into rock solid titans. For his female characters however, he runs into a similar problem as Saber from Fate, though more exaggerated. With all of them looking the same, with the same proportions and similar doll-like faces. It makes for appealing manga stills with his exaggerated art. But an anime necessitates a lesser amount of detail, and this just ends up making Yuzuriha look… off, for me. Its not something that is going to change though. For better or worse.
I hate stereotypes. Mostly because they’re just the viewpoints of people lazy enough to not make the effort to know better. And from personal experience, I can safely say that women bear the burden of facing this almost all the time. Unjustified and stupid as it may be. If you’re a blonde, you must be dumb. If you wear short skirts, you’re loose. If you’re Asian, you must suck at the Queen’s vernacular. And the most preposterous of them all: If you’re a woman, sex must not cross your mind or may even disgust you. And that, is the main theme of this week’s episode of O Maidens in Your Savage Season.
Continue reading “O Maidens in Your Savage Season – 03 [Willy’s Real Rear Wheel]”
Welcome, one and all, to the penultimate episode of Serial Experiments Lain! This is a weird one, yet I feel like I got it on some level. As Lain questions peoples perception, her place in the world, and Masami’s words, let’s just dive right in.
Starting off, I haven’t been bringing it up as much recently, but I want to draw attention to Lain’s production. This was a really good week visually, rivalling 8 even. The outstanding finish aside, which was incredibly fluid, the presentation of Lain’s house and Masami were great. Lain really nailed the atmosphere of the virtually abandoned home. The entire thing trashed and dirty, Mika sitting upstairs and droning on like a modem. It was incredibly creepy and disconcerting, with only simple stills and a locations history to really go by. Meanwhile, the aforementioned final scene was the episodes capstone. Really belying the fact that Lain is from the late 90’s. None of this is even mentioning the sound design. So yeah, I suppose the only thing to say is Lain had a good week production wise. Now let’s take a look at the story.
Continue reading “Serial Experiments Lain – 12 [Landscape] – Throwback Thursday”
Contrary to the common belief, I feel that sunrises are far more prettier than sunsets. That’s because they represent a shimmering, sanguine new beginning. So, with that random fact about me out of the way, Hello Everyone! It’s your girl, Armitage. And today, we kick off and let the metaphorical sun rise on our coverage of the NoitaminA show of the season: Given.
As you all might be well aware, Fuji TV’s NoitaminA block airs series that are aimed towards a more mature audience. But over the last few years, the quality of NoitaminA shows did deteriorate quite drastically. That pattern seems to have changed of late with recent hits like The Promised Neverland and last year’s Star-Crossed AOTY, After the Rain. This season we have another promising new show with albeit a niche target audience but no lack for ambitions, Given. In the premiere, we were introduced to Uenoyama and Mafuyu, our central couple/pair of characters. Uenoyama had resigned to Mafuyu’s persistent demands and agreed to teach him guitar. He had introduced him to the supporting cast comprising of Haruki and Kaji. Let’s jump in to this week’s events!
You’re walking along in your neighborhood, going about your daily routine. It’s a fine morning. The sun is shining brightly. But suddenly, you see something strange. You squint your eyes; even rub them, to make sure it isn’t a mirage before exclaiming with excitement, “Oh, look. It’s a bird. No, it’s a plane! No no. It’s a…penguin?”
That is how this particular morning started for young Aoyama, who is the perfect embodiment of a child you would call wicked smart. Smarter than almost everybody in his class. Barring maybe Hanamoto-chan, but Aoyama considers her a bit too complacent. He is a self-proclaimed pupil of science. A true man of research. Well, actually just about 3681 days short of being a man (he keeps count), but you get what I mean. He is secretly in love with the dentist woman. Who is much older but that doesn’t bother him. His love isn’t the sexual kind. Yes, he does think about her breasts 30 mins a day but that’s for relaxation purposes. His sole reason for visiting the dental clinic is so as to get to talk with her for a little while.
Continue reading “Penguin Highway (2018) Movie Review – 89/100”