Some Quick First Impressions: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru & Ken En Ken: Aoki Kagayaki

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken

Short Synopsis: A 30-something bland dude is stabbed and reincarnated as a OP slime.

Lenlo’s Review:
I remember reading this manga at one point and thinking it wasn’t too bad. It was a novel try at the Isekai formula, with the hero coming into the world as something other than human. As Aidan says, the best part is the time where he is learning to use his body and move around the cave. I loved all of the creative liberties the artists took here, it made the whole sequence a lot more interesting to watch than it was to read in the manga. The non-CGI dragon was nice novelty as well, really the visuals were pretty strong all around. From the looks of things, it will continue to be a good looking series. The big problem for me is that the manga got samey and stale relatively quickly. I expect the same to happen to the anime, as the ideas repeat and the OPness of the Lead Slime/RPG mechanics starts to grind on your patience. If you like Isekai, this is one of the better ones no doubt and will be a unique experience. If they aren’t your cup of tea, then this won’t be either. Side Note: The ending shot of destroying the computer was the funniest joke in the entire episode.
Potential: 50%

Aidan’s review:
To give points where points are due, it’s nice to see a non-cgi dragon. But I deduct points when the adult voice of the protagonist was replaced with a much more comedic lighter toned one. Sure it might be more suitable but it was also more annoying. The story clearly isn’t tracking itself all that seriously what with the MCs death being because of random guy running in straight line with knife and the protagonists last wish being for his kouhai to destroy his porn collection. I do think that they were quite creative in showing the sensory deprivation that the MC had when he first woke up as a slime without eyes or ears. The team had fun animationing that I bet. But this first episode was primarily just exposition and the MC getting to grips with his new body. Once again the world has RPG mechanics which are never explained and once again the MC is given broken abilities from the start though these seem decided based on his last thoughts. The best part of an isekai is usually the beginning where the main character is getting to grips with things but as shown in the opening eventually he will obtain a human body and that’s where I lost all interest in this story. What we have at the moment is a decent isekai story sure to scratch and itch for those looking for it.
Potential: 65%

 

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Short Synopsis: A broke college student moves into a new place on the condition that he’ll take part in Japan’s biggest relay race.

Wooper’s review:
For me, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru is a shot at redemption for this particular wing of Production I.G. Their adaptation of Ballroom e Youkoso fumbled the ball around the midway point, so I’m already nervous about this new series. The similarities are numerous: same Haikyuu-esque designs (minus the giraffe necks), same musical composer and same band doing the OP, same emphasis on sweeping motion, same sense of camaraderie between athletes. Thankfully, there are a couple key differences, as well: KazeFui’s principal cast is comprised of college students, and it’s based on a completed, award-winning novel, rather than an ongoing, sporadically-updated manga. The show is a little tropey, wasting no time in introducing all the attractive male characters living under one roof, but it doesn’t feel exploitative, and the dialogue is actually pretty authentic! The guys talk about food, booze, books, TV quiz shows, and how to disguise that pesky hole in the floor so the landlord won’t get on their case. Ultimately, though, the conversation turns to running, which is the canvas on which the show will paint its story, and the tie that binds the two main characters (whose relationship is already somewhat nuanced after just 22 minutes). How the show looks in motion will make or break it, and so far it’s making it. You’d be a fool to expect zero CG crowd members in a modern two cour series about competitive running, but so far KazeFui has been au naturale. There are a lot of positive signs in this first episode, but I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops – there may still be time for that, though.
Potential: 75%

Lenlo’s Review:
Kaze Fui is the first anime of this season I have put on my “Watch” list. The setup took its time, introduced the characters and made me interested in the people before dropping the story hook. The characters, by the way, whom I love. All of them. From Lazy Engineering Senior to Quiz Boy. Somehow Kaze Fui gave them juuust enough time to stake out a small spot for themselves. As Wooper mentioned, the dialogue was very authentic. I was interested in what they were saying and none of it felt expository for expositions sake. Really though the most striking thing is the animation. Kaze Fui looks gooooood. I don’t care what Wooper says, I enjoyed Ballroom and thought it was great in motion, and Kaze Fui so far is doing that again. I have no idea how Production I.G. is going to make running of all things interesting though. Ballroom dance is dynamic, unique and has a lot of interesting movement. Running though just seems so… basic. Like we will have seen all there is to see before to long. If Kaze Fui can pull of that aspect, then I think we have a winner here. At the very least, I will be watching it.
Potential: 80%

 

Ken En Ken: Aoki Kagayaki

Short Synopsis: A group of kids were separated after the enemy wiped out their village. Now, they pursue different paths and possibly become enemies… or not.

Lenlo’s Review:
Why am I watching this? No seriously, Mario, why is this on the list for the season? Sure sure, we can’t judge the animation by general anime standards cause of Chinese imports. Really, it’s not that bad in some places. The sword/spear fight near the start was kinda nice. But the Direction? The actual story and characters? It just feels all over the place. Like they had a lot of ideas they wanted to do, and couldn’t narrow it down. For all aspiring writers/designers out there, remember this one simple adage I was taught. “Kill your darlings” or else you get stuff like Ken En Ken.
Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:
We’re sure familiar with these Chinese inputs by now. Something I must note after watching two dozen of them season by season. The general reception for the animation in Chinese products is subpar, especially compared to anime counterpart. But I see it this way, Chinese animation industry (and Western cartoon on that end), don’t usually emphasis on animation like the Japanese does; as a result I don’t think it’s really fair to judge its fluidity quality from anime standard. The reason I’m bringing this up because I believe the production of Ken En Kei in general is pretty decent. It’s the direction that was a mess. We don’t have any real sense of how the story flows since it’s too busy to introduce too many characters and its plots. It has some nice world-buildings, but the characters in it are so far, unmemorable. As it stands, Ken en Kei functions more like a game. We get to some narrative progressions, but it feels all too weak with the messy packing that it fails to leave an impact.
Potential: 20%

Some Quick First Impressions: Double Decker! Doug & Kirill, RErideD: Tokigoe no Derrida and Akanesasu Shoujo

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Double Decker! Doug & Kirill

Short Synopsis: A police officer finds himself working together with a special agency.

Lenlo’s Review:
Double Decker surprised me with this first episode. Starting off, the CGI and overly moody lighting had me worried it was going to be a grimdark, I’m-so-serious fare. The quick jump to light hearted action romp was a pleasant surprise though. Kirill, the lead, is a real character who after I got used to his special brand of stupid, was pretty entertaining. If nothing else, he’s not your usual bland MC. He has style, however ridiculous it may be. It also kept the exposition to a minimum, which I am thankful for. I feared a lot of drawn out narrator BS about Anthem and how the world worked, but Double Decker seems content to take it slow. A good sign. My one concern is the CGI and how heavily it will be used, because the constant jumping between it and 2D really bugged me. Still, not a bad start to a season I had pretty low hopes for.
Potential: 70%

Aidan’s review:
This certainly is reminding me a lot of Tiger and Bunny which is good considering it’s a spinoff. The buddy cop nature of the main duo and the way the show doesn’t take itself too seriously is quite reminiscent of it. But I feel that part of the appeal of Tiger and Bunny was the commercialised nature of the superheroes which doesn’t appear to play any real role here. In fact this show is pretty much like any anime OVA about cops taking on supernatural threats which can be nostalgic for some but rather derivative in itself. That said I found it a decently enjoyable watch though I don’t have much incentive to continue. The characters are fun and it makes for decent entertainment but it doesn’t really excel in any way, just being passable. I would say if you are looking for something with a saturday morning cartoon feel or a buddy cop dynamic then this could make for a decent time waster.
Potential: 60%

 

RErideD: Tokigoe no Derrida

Short Synopsis: A scientist finds out about a bug in his robots that contribute to the end of the world. Also, birthday party, conspiracy and time-travel throw in to the fun.

Lenlo’s Review:
You know, maybe it was a bad idea for me to touch on a time travel series so soon after Steins;Gate 0, because I am burnt out on them. It doesn’t help that RErideD starts its season by just throwing exposition and information at me from the get go. It doesn’t help that, as Mario said, the birthday that is no doubt supposed to make me care about these characters just fell flat. The most interesting part was the corporate conspiracy aspect for me. Yeah, the hallucinations were curious to say the least, but with nothing to really go off with them they are kinda just… there for me. As far as characters go, I barely remember a single one of them after watching, barring the lead Derrida. They all just feel… bland. Overall it looks like a series that will make it or break it by the 3rd episode once the story gets going in full. If you have an interest in time travel, stick it out. If you’re burned out like me, then it’s probably not worth it.
Potential: 35%

Mario’s review:
RErideD has some neat ideas, but this first episode feels the need to feed us its worldbuilding a bit too much. This first episode clearly serves as a prelude, where we get to know where our main character comes from, its universe and its premise… so far, it’s a hot mess. We learn a bit too much, although it raises more question than clarity. We know about its descend to hell near-future when the robots basically overloaded and take over the world. We know about the project being Derrida and his father’s brainchild, then we learn about another project of leaping time and then characters that would be important later on (in a birthday party that feels superficial at best), and I haven’t gotten to the main catalyst of the episode. It doesn’t help that Derrida’s motivation and personality are an open book, which makes him feel more like a first-person device than a real character. Being said that I’m sure interested to see what the hell this world is now, and the current characters and how they fit in to all this. Also, when it hits it can produce some inspiring moment (I’m referring to the hallucination image, which might or might not be real). The story really starts in the second episode, so until then we will have a better idea how well this story is going to pan out.
Potential: 50%

 

Akanesasu Shoujo

Short Synopsis: A ritual-obsessed girl travels to another world and meets her warrior doppelganger.

Lenlo’s Review:
Everything about Akanesasu leads me to believe that, had it gone the horror route, it could have done quite well. It opened with some interesting, possibly sinister, tones. The lighting did wonders setting a mood. And then it went full mecha-magical-girl on me and I lost what little interest I had. I will say, the CGI is pretty good and it’s nowhere near the worst premise for this kind of show I have seen. Really Akanesasu’s biggest fault is that it’s just not my cup of tea. For those that enjoy some “sit back and relax, no moralizing fun” I think Akanesasu will fit in fine for them. So long as the monster of the week stays interesting it shouldn’t have a problem.
Potential: 40%

Wooper’s review:
There’s a point in this premiere where a supporting character complains, “If they’re just going to play boring old music, they might as well play nothing at all.” In addition to being a terrible perspective on art, this seems to be the general philosophy of Akanesasu Shoujo – if it’s not modern, the show wants nothing to do with it. That means we need a group of five girls with different hair colors and personality traits, another world for them to visit, and a soundtrack that never strays too far from Yuuki Hayashi’s work on My Hero Academia (apart from one piano/synth track early on which I swear was inspired by the Gen IV Pokemon games). The girls are mostly forgettable, so I started mentally referring to them as though they were dwarves: Quirky, Quiet, Brainy, Proper, and Trendy. The dwarves travel to the land of CG snakes and meet the main character’s doppelganger, who somehow accompanies them back to Earth. What happens afterwards was the only part of the show to interest me, as Quirky I offers Quirky II a place to crash for a short time, and their distinct personalities begin to inform you about the differences in their worlds. In the era of 12 episode series orders, though, the show won’t have the luxury of peeling back any layers, and Q II returns to the land of perpetual twilight by the end of the premiere anyway, so if you plan on picking this up, expect an info dump sooner rather than later.
Potential: 30%

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (Dubbed) Review – 72/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, My Hero Academia, OVAs and Movies:, Reviews by Lenlo

Ah, the movie tie in. A right of passage for all aspiring Shounen series. Some, like One Piece have weathered it and come out Golden, while others are better forgotten (Looking at you Bleach). My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, in my opinion, is closer to former. Animated by BONES , Directed by Kenji Nagasaki and advised/concepted by the original author Horikoshi Kouhei, the film checks all of my boxes. Even going so far as to be considered cannon by the Author, tieing into both the Anime and the Manga, Two Heroes is a brilliant first dip into cinema for My Hero Academia.

Lets jump in, and be warned, there are some spoilers within!

Continue reading “My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (Dubbed) Review – 72/100” →

A quick and dirty review of Angolmois: Record of the Mongol Invasion

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews
Our protagonist

What it claims to be about: Angolmois (a reference to a Nostradamus prophesy which is rather irrelevant for the show, as he lived several centuries after the events) focuses on the first Mongol Invasion of Japan in 1274. Specifically it focuses on the early phase of the invasion when the Mongols attack Tsushima, which essentially is a way station for invasions from Korea to Japan and the other way around.

What it really is about: We follow a band of criminal exiles, which are conscripted into defending the islands by the local feudal lord’s daughter, Teruhi. Among them is Kuchii Jinzaburō a spunky samurai with a good grasp of military matters. He is headstrong and that is what nets him his exile. The show follows the attempts of Teruhi and Jinzaburo to defend the island against overwhelming forces, while at the same time exploring elements of Tsushima myths and culture in the era.

Our protagonist again. Another side of him.

Why you should watch it: In general Angolmois is a mediocre show. It does some things right. The “Mongols” are presented ,as was historically accurate, as a multi-national force including Koreans, and Chinese. The Mongol openness to giving service to anyone is also correctly presented, as is their rapaciousness. The Japanese arms and armors seemed well researched to me, as well as the fashion. I found Jinzaburo an interesting character with complex motivations, but with enough blood-lust to not make him boring. The Mongol secondary characters are interesting, ranging from the timid but intelligent, to the blood-thirsty. The show does not dreg into too much overt nationalism and myth making. Do not get me wrong, the view of the Japanese as unique is still there, but it is not done in a vulgar way (I am looking at you Kopeki no Kantai). Indeed the show honestly dives into the more localist and personal motivations of the protagonists, including ones that lead to betrayal, without sermonizing. The end is well played out, being at the same time brutally realistic and still hopeful (in this sense sharing similarities to the excellent Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-watch that instead). Character art was in general pleasing to my aesthetics.

Why it is mediocre: The problems though are major. First, the secondary characters on the Japanese side are very shallow. While the Mongols get some great secondary characters, the creators on the Japanese side only focused on developing really Jinzaburo. From the eight exiles only one more gets any real development. The rest are really archetypes. Tehuri is a crucial character but her development is never pursued (perhaps realistically as war engulfs all).

Second, the animation was a complete and total failure. This was surprising, as I expected a historical anime, based on a manga, dealing with such a rumph rumph nationalist fervor topic would get more funding. Indeed the first and second episodes had some good work. Alas, it did not last. Still shots dominate, the battle scenes lack animation, and while bravo for the show pointing out the multi-ethnic character of Mongol armies, all those Chinese, Mongols, and Koreans look like each other. Over the whole animation is a filter that tries to convey the feeling that this is parchment, but fails. Instead it looks like a tv screen splashed with muddy water.

As a result the story suffers and the presentation also does.

Finally, you leave the show with a feeling that you just watched demo for a bigger show on the full invasion of Kuyshu. There is a feeling of indeterminacy. It is true our main characters get closure. But many of the secondary characters seem to have been shoved in for no other reason than to premeditate a sequel. Perhaps there will be, perhaps there will not. But I hope if there is that they actually spend the money for better animation.

The music is nothing to write home about. The Opening is pleasing enough, but not a home run. The rest is

End point. If you are looking for a light historical show and like spunky characters watch this, but do not expect much. A C- in my grading system.

Fall Season 2018 Preview

by AidanAK47, posted in Seasonal Previews

What happens when the anime season ends? That’s when the anime season begins. You would think that after all these years of this I would stop being surprised at a brand new anime season hitting faster than expected but it’s just one of those things you constantly underestimate.

Now last season we had a decent run with some stand out shows and this would normally be the point where I tell you that the next season coming also has potential greats in it. But this time I am afraid I cannot say that for I have done the research and this season is truly barren. There may be a few alright shows here and a new Jojo is always welcome but everything else is just bottom of the barrel. If those original shows don’t turn out to have merit this could very well be the worst season of anime we have had in a long time. Considering that is coming from me of all people that should at least give you an idea of the quality we are dealing with.

So same rules apply, I will check out all the source material I can to give an idea for what we are in for and there is a poll below for you to vote on what you wish to be covered this season.

This poll is no longer accepting votes

What will you be watching this spring?
VoteResults

Once again thanks to Mario for images, some previews and layout help and Wooper and Lenlo for editing.

The sequels/Shorts I don’t care about

Fairy Tail (2018) (sequel)
Bakutsuri Bar Hunter
Devidol! (short)
Souten no Ken: REGENESIS 2 (sequel)
Grimms Notes (???)
Gurazeni 2 (sequel)
Gyakuten Saiban: Sono “Shinjitsu”, Igi Ari! 2 (sequel)
Himote House (short)
Hora, Mimi ga Mieteru yo! (short)
Hoshi no Shima no Nyanko TV (short)
Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin (sequel)
Jingai-san no Yome (short)
Kira Kira Happy ★ Hirake! Cocotama (sequel)
Okoshiyasu, Chitose-chan (short)
The iDOLM@STER: Side M: Wake Atte Mini! (short)
Pingu in the City 2 (2018) (short)
Seizei Gambare Mahou Shoujo Kurumi 2 (sequel)
Senran Kagura SHINOVI MASTER -Tokyo Youma-hen- (sequel)
Shuudengo, Capsule Hotel de, Joushi ni Binetsu Tsutawaru Yoru (short)
Sono Toki, Kanojo wa. (short)
Space Battleship Tiramisu II (short)
Sword Art Online: Alicization (sequel)
Toaru Majutsu no Index III (sequel)
Tokyo Ghoul:re 2 (sequel)

Series I don’t care about

Akanesasu Shoujo

Studio: Dandelion Animation Studio
Director: Jin Tamamura
Script/Series composer: Shougo Yasukawa
Source: Video Game
October, 2018. Girls who live in a provincial city perform a certain ritual. The girls are in the “Crystal Radio Club.” It is an interest circle that Asuka Tsuchimiya, a girl known for her cheerfulness, started with friends in her high school. That ritual was considered just an urban legend. However, with several conditions coincidentally falling into place, it stops being fun and games…

I originally had some hope that this would be a kind of horror anime but the trailer unfortunately confirmed that it wasn’t. What this does seem to be is a mixture of a cute girls doing cute things club and supernatural battle anime. Not to mention it’s for a smartphone app so likely another gacha game. The director was previously involved with A Sister’s All You Need, and the scenario writer hasn’t done much to write home about. I honestly wouldn’t expect much from this.

Anima Yell!

Studio: Doga Kobo
Director: Masako Sato
Script/Series composer: Fumihiko Shimo
Source: Manga
The story follows Kohane Hatoya, a 1st year high school student who is a bit clumsy and scared of heights but who has a very bubbly and outgoing personality. Kohane decides to join the cheerleading club to try to make friends and overcome her weaknesses.

It’s a 4-koma manga with four cute girls in a club so you know the drill. Quickfire gags and cute girls being all cute and shit. I’ve only seen two chapters of this but already this feels too much like many, many things I have seen before. The cheerleading aspect is pretty much superfluous and can be interchanged with any school activity you so desire. The characters are copy pastes of the same archetypes you have in these kinds of series, and while these chapters were short, I found my eyes glazing over before I finished. My taste for humor has never been all that compatible with anime but even then I feel this series just isn’t really funny. To me this is an anime to fill a quota for an anime season. We gotta have a cute girls doing cute things show so let’s slap something together to just tick that box.

Continue reading “Fall Season 2018 Preview” →

Steins;Gate 0 Anime Review – 40/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Reviews by Lenlo, Steins;Gate 0

Before I begin this review in earnest, I have to ask, who doesn’t know about Steins;Gate? The amazing, beloved original series that Steins;Gate 0 is an offshoot of. Well if you don’t, if you haven’t seen the original, then stop now. Steins;Gate 0 is not worth it. It is not for you. Without having seen the original, Steins;Gate 0 will make even less sense and fall apart even faster than you than it did me. Because, long story short, Steins;Gate 0 tries to do everything and in doing so fails to do most anything.

Lets jump in!

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Steins;Gate 0 – 23 [Arclight of the Point at Infinity -Arc-light of the Sky-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

And so Steins;Gate 0 ends, not with a bang but a melodramatic whisper. Welcome to the finale of Steins;Gate 0. Whatever it was trying to do, it mostly failed, so lets jump in!

So with this finale I can definitively say, Steins;Gate 0 failed to live up to the hype. It’s not a bad series by any means, but every time it came to a crossroads, Steins;Gate 0 chose the wrong path. This finale is an excellent example of that. It chose to follow Mayurii going back in time to convince her old self to slap Okabe. But that wasn’t the interesting part of the story. To me, the story I wanted to see was the video getting made. I wanted to see Okabe and co surviving to the year 2025, using the Time Leap machine or D-Mail to always stay one step ahead. That, to me, is a far more interesting and unique story than what Steins;Gate 0 has given us. And considering how much was just… left to rot, it would have been a leaner story to.

Continue reading “Steins;Gate 0 – 23 [Arclight of the Point at Infinity -Arc-light of the Sky-]” →

Planet With – 12[Behold, The Universe is Filled With Blessings]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Planet With

The madman actually did it. Satoshi managed to take a massive story and crush it into 12 episodes without anything feeling too rushed. To be perfectly fair this episode did need a bit more of a epilogue and if we had a OVA episode to just go over what the character did after this then I feel like this show would be prefect. As far as Satoshi’s work goes it’s certainly my favorite anime from him but that’s mainly be virtue of being the only anime he’s ever made. In terms of his other work I would say that it ranks third below Biscuit hammer and Spirit Circle. Though I have yet to read Sengoku Youko which also seems to be fairly highly lauded. For his first outing in anime i would consider this a great success, Satoshi has shown himself to be a strong anime scriptwriter. In fact he may very well be better at anime script writing than manga as he know how to make use of the time he is given. Satoshi was given 12 episodes to write this story and he made full use of them.

Truly I cannot sing praises enough and it’s a damn shame that Planet With is a underwatched as it is. For the fact of the matter is that Satoshi has made a better Trigger anime than Studio Trigger ever has.(And trigger certainly did try and fail with Darling.) Well on to the episode itself, it acted as a great conclusion to the story. While I wish the battle was more action packed it still was an exhilarating fight with the heroes pushing the dragon into subspace. The dragons mental attack on Souya was certainly a surprise until I recall that Souya is the one of the only ones who never got a sealing device flashback. The dragons motive was certainly interesting, compelling Souya to hate him and act as device to carry on the dragons sense of justice. The contradiction is certainly interesting as the dragon looks to know that his actions are wrong but still feels that his line of thinking is right and wants someone to carry on his will.

This and the dragons final dream of his human family goes to show that his time as a human truly did change him but not enough to truly change his line of thinking. I will admit that the music in this episode could get a bit overbearing cheesy, in particular when the people of paradise pulled Souya out of the dream. Nonetheless there were some truly great moments like Ginko’s conflicted gratitude towards the dragon for inadvertently saving her home by attacking Sirius and breaking down over finally being able to express it after all this time. I loved the design of the dragons inner self and the final dream of his that finally allowed him to join his race being of his life as a human, showing that the silly old man we all love could very well have had a massive impact on this story. Lets not forgot Souya pushing the dragon into the subspace hole with a clog punch and everything returning to where it all started, at the dead planet of Sirius.

The last thing that the people of paradise say to Souya has a strange impact, namely that we can view this story from whatever view you like. What is right and wrong here is highly dependant on the one looking and if you look at it there is a far amount of moral ambiguity in what happened here. But all accounts the thinking of the sealing faction and the dragon isn’t necessarily wrong, though there actions are questionable. Well this has been a hell of a ride, it had a slow start but once it got going Planet With never let up. Again i think it could have used one more episode, though not to tie up loose ends as they most certainly did tie up everything with the last episode but rather just for viewer satisfaction. I at least would have liked confirmation on Nozo and Souya’s relationship through heavily hinted and I think some cooldown time was needed after the climax as it really did feel like it cut off too suddenly. But regardless this was a show that remained constantly unpredictable and fun throughout its run with it being my favorite of the season.

Hanebado! – 12 [Step Forward Already!]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Hanebado!

The angriest show of this season has come to the continuation of the final match between Nagisa and Ayano and overall it does a decent job. It has something to do with this episode is amongst Hanebado’s most traditional sport narrative, so it focuses more on the action, and tones down the excessive melodrama. On the narrative side Hanebado also does a lot of lifting, first they shed light to Ayano’s Mom point of view. Second, Hanebado uses this match as the way for Ayano to understand the importance of teammates. Moreover, Nagisa does a lot of lifting as well. If I have any complaint regarding this episode, that is Ayano’s eyes are different again. It’s not the “shifting from innocent-Ayano to youkai-Ayano” I mentioned last few weeks (which I pretty much take it as it is), it’s that she has her Mom’s eyes this week. As it stands, Hanebado seems struggle to visualize Ayano’s emotional conflict, hence this inconsistency in character’s design. As a result I never feel related or connected to Ayano as a character.

This final match spreads out pretty confidently. As this episode is much more action-packed than normal, I’m pleased to say that the production value maintains its quality throughout. We can sense very well every sweat, every footsteps from these two. Yeah, the over-analysing can become bothersome after awhile. Nagisa decides to throw Ayano off by covering the court instead of trying for winner shots. It sounds like a plausible plan considering that Ayano is much less efficient in attacking than defending, and Nagisa’s overall stamina is much better than Ayano’s. It’s not that Nagisa is only aimed at defense either, when Ayano’s shot become weaker, Nagisa uses her biggest weapon: her smash to win the point. Long story short, Nagisa has her leg up in this match.

It’s there that Ayano’s confidence starts to crumble. She had been, and now still playing with the affection of her Mom. Losing means that she becomes nothing, everyone will eventually turn away from her. That’s why the encouragement of her teammates, and the audience at large, makes her realize another joy of playing badminton: to play it with friends. On Nagisa’s part, I like the moment where coach Tachibana warms her not to overtax herself. It comes from a person who gone through the same thing and he definitely doesn’t want Nagisa to repeat the same mistakes he did. Everything comes quite nicely together for Hanebado in this episode (even the ex-members start cheering for Nagisa, it’s one of those small touches that are more effective that the contrived drama)

Finally, we get to learn Ayano’s mom point of view regarding leaving her behind, and it’s just cruel and loudsy, as expected. Well, she doesn’t deny that fact, and I find that “leaving her so that she can play badminton for herself” a huge pile of crap. She’s obviously displeased when she hears Ayano denying that she’s lost (it’s something she will have to work with, next episode probably), but for godsake she’s a preteen kid and you don’t just walk away and adopt someone else’s daughter like that evil mama. And the fact that she knows it’s wrong but she doesn’t regret that? It’s the same as the argument of someone who having affair and still assert that they don’t regret it. IT’S BECAUSE THEY AREN’T VICTIM GODDAMNIT. Well, it could’ve been worse so I still give credits for Hanebado for addressing that moment of truth as best as their humanly possible. Even though it has been a bumpy ride, I still hope that Hanebado ends on a good note next week.

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight – 11 [We Are]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight

It makes sense that after 10 episodes of dueling and auditioning, this week takes time to focus on the central pair Karen and Hikari. As soon as she “betrays” Karen in the cliffhanger last week, it soon reveals that the reason she does it is to not steal anyone’s else brilliance (especially Karen’s), even at the cost of herself. Admittedly, while I myself was expecting a bit more, this episode does have some emotional impact with some powerful scenes. By taking Hikari out of the equation (I swear if I ever come across with any document that has giraffe logo on it, I would dump it to the rubbish bin immediately), it takes a toll to Karen and effectively kills her joy to perform. Or as my sub says it, she loses her brillance. Which makes it all the more tragic because Hikari sacrifices herself in order to save Karen and the rest from it. As far as the narrative goes, I don’t think anyone of us is surprised at all these developments. Revue Starlight has been foreshadowing about this star-crossed love for quite some time and how Karen-Hikari relationship parallels with the Starlight story.

So it’s inevitable that we learn there is some more chapters in the Starlight book and it’s Karen the one who is willing to translate the whole book, with the help of every other member of the cast (poor Mahiru, always plays the housewife role). It’s the way for Karen to get back to the root, not only finding her own inspiration again after Hikari gone, but also finds Hikari through there. I also feel it’s more than appropriate that Karen’s walk to Hikari’s castle is accompanied by the whole case with their decor settings. We’re reaching the end of the stage production now, it’s perfect that these scenes play out like a play. Characters sing, characters function within their role (and their allocated spot) and leave Karen so that she can face her own issues by herself.

These stage-like quality, unfortunately, reduces our supporting characters into “roles”, so this episode we don’t feel them like real characters. There was one little moment that breaks that trend, however, which hit me harder than it should. It’s the moment when Tendou Maya implies, through her flashback, that when she sees Hikari’s eyes in one of their practices, she can sense that her eyes are empty. Hikari had been fighting and dueling even though her “brilliance” is forever gone, just barely make it back by the promise of Karen, and decides to win so that she can be an ultimate sacrifice. I already love the surrealist background of her palace, which vast desert and here she is, bare naked and all alone. That single image speaks more strongly than thousand words and I hope that, really hope that Revue Starlight can sweep me away again with its final episode.