Eighty Six S2 – 7 [The Truth Is]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six, Currently Watching:

Hello everyone and welcome to the third “I’m back” catchup post of the week! This time I lucked out because Eighty Six is skipping another episode, letting me take my time with this one. What that says about the production I don’t know! But it probably isn’t anything good. Enough about that though, lets dive into the episode!

Starting off, Eighty Six had some fun shots this week. Nothing as ground breaking as the week before sadly but still some good shot direction. I’m talking stuff like the President meeting with the General, showing us most of the conversation through their reflections rather than their faces. It sounds like a pretty straight forward trick right? Tell us, the audience, that something is off, make us feel like someone is lying, by not showing us their face. And it is! But so many series fail to something even as basic as this. Then there was also the long held final shot in place of an ED, really letting the battlefield comms sink in. It’s simple… but effective. And it does a good job of hammering home just how much is riding on this mission without repeating it over and over “Everyone will die if you fail”. I like that.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 5/6 [Seal of the Brothers/City of Intrigue] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone! Apologies for being late on this, Thanksgiving will kinda do that to a man. Food coma’s are dangerous don’t ya know? This week we finish up our conflict with the Zaibach Empire and make our way to Allen’s home of Asturia. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive in!

This week picks up where we left off, with Van leading Dilandau and co away from everyone else. And you know what? He gets caught! I should have expected this but I really didn’t. I was prepared for a half episode long chase sequence where we get to see what the dragon can do. Something that culminated in Van proving himself superior to Dilandau and flying off into the sunset! Instead he gets captured almost immediately and has to be rescued. And I’m into that for a lot of reasons. Not only does this curb Van’s power, giving him something to grow into, it also gives the rest of the cast room to flex. From Hitomi and Allen all the way to the individual soldiers, everyone get’s a small moment to shine. And the best part? The villains get to have personalities!

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 6 [Akaza]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Kimetsu no Yaiba

I’m back from New York City everyone! That was a fun trip. Got to see the city, hang out with some friends, go to a weeb convention and spend way to much money on food. Even got to see Pompo the Cinephile! Alright movie. But that isn’t what you’re here for, oh no. You want some Kimetsu no Yaiba! So lets dive into last weeks episode that I’m many days late on.

This was always my favorite part of the Yaiba movie. It has issues, especially in the TV format which we will talk about. But at it’s core this section is just unadulterated hype. It’s one big fight that they poured their everything into. From big fire and wind effects to flashy lighting and large CGI environments, this is everything Yaiba is good at. And we are only half way done with the fight! There are some issues, sure. The camera gets a little wild and Ufotable completely ignore the 180 degree rule making it a bit of a mess to follow. On top of that the CGI fire lion was a bit to much if you ask me. These are both relatively small complains though and by and large I think this scene shows us what Yaiba does best: Set piece battles.

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Fall 2021 Summary – Weeks 6-7

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Blade Runner: Black Lotus – 1-2

Wooper: Black Lotus is yet another of Sola Digital Arts’ CG reimaginings of classic sci-fi properties. Kenji Kamiyama (who also directed the Star Wars: Visions episode discussed below) and Shinji Aramaki have been pumping these out for a few years, and now it’s Blade Runner’s turn to get the Barbie treatment. So what’s the verdict, setting aside my distaste for the primitive 3D art style? After two episodes, I’d call it a passable replication; the rainy neon streets, murky lighting, and Vangelis-inspired soundtrack evoke the original film, but only superficially. (I haven’t seen 2049, so it may be that Black Lotus’s vacant streets are a more accurate reflection of Villeneuve’s sequel, but they certainly can’t hold a candle to the bustling exteriors of Ridley Scott’s version.) The story is a wisp of a thing with an amnesiac protagonist (Elle) and a handful of fight scenes to mask the absence of atmosphere. Most of the characters lean too far in one direction or another – the friendly black market trader is too helpful, while the corrupt senator is too evil. Episode 2’s final moments served as a pretty good hook, though – the show skillfully cut between Elle being hunted in both the past and the present, leading to a cliffhanger that honestly surprised me. I wouldn’t recommend this series to many people, but Blade Runner superfans can rest easy knowing it’s got a shade of promise.

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Ousama Ranking – 06 [King of the Underworld]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Ousama Ranking

This week was certainly an episode of Ousama Ranking. It was not an episode I’ll remember for long.

“King of the Underworld” was a bit of a chore to watch. With several flashbacks and a fighting sequence that we had basically seen before, there wasn’t the series’ usual heart in this one.

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The Vision of Escaflowne – 3/4 [The Gallant Swordsman/The Diabolical Adonis] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in The Vision of Escaflowne, Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Vision of Escaflowne! This week we meet our next party member, receive our mandatory exposition dump and get to know our villains. We have a lot to talk about so lets dive right in!

First up we need to talk production because Escaflowne took a bit of a dip this week. And then a rise. And then another dip. In just the 4 episodes I’ve seen it’s already clear to me how wildly inconsistent Escaflowne’s visuals are. Sometimes you get this really strong contrast! Saturated colors, heavy blacks and bright whites! The kind of stuff I love. But other times the linework becomes thin and weak, feeling almost rushed, and the colors lose a lot of their luster. You can see this most clearly with Allen and his blonde hair. The way it loses a lot of depth between scenes and the black lines become almost pointless, or how his chin suddenly becomes a lot weaker. And then there’s the fire at the end of Episode 3! Oh that fire. It does not look good…

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State of the Season: Fall 2021

by Lenlo, posted in State of the Season

Lenlo: It’s that time of the season again everyone! The time when we get all the writers together to fight about the best show of the season and complain about the worst. From Ousama Ranking and Heike to Taisho Otome Fairy Tail and Komi-san, we have quite the list of topics ahead of us. So without further ado, read on! And I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

P.S. I will be out this weekend attending ANYC so Eighty Six and Kimetsu no Yaiba will no doubt be late.

What show are you enjoying that you’re not reviewing?

Mario: Ousama Ranking and Komi-san. As we talk about the little prince and his shadow down below, I’ll say more about the latter. Komi-san’s adept direction elevates this gag-based material greatly. It knows when to amp up with the jokes but still allows the emotions to slip in. The comic timing and the text bubbles that explain the situation are spot on. It makes fun of the characters but never makes light of them.

Lenlo: Apart from older shows outside the season? Probably Sakugan and Doukichan. One of those because I like underground mystery adventures as much as the next guy. The other because office ladies.

Armitage: Ousama Ranking is the obvious answer here. I am ready to wax poetic about this show at any moment you let me but I am given an official opportunity to do so down under and so, guess you scroll over to the end to read that. Apart from our smol king, I would say Senpai ga Uzai has been especially charming week in, week out.

Amun: Annoying Senpai has been pretty good so far; World’s Best Assassin Isekai went all-in, which makes it better than expected; Kicked Out of the Brave Man’s party I praise below. And I love World Trigger irrationally.

Wooper: Ousama Ranking! It’s got a fantastical setting, an adventurous plot, lovable characters and powerful fight scenes – what’s not to love?

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Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 5 [Move Forward!]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Kimetsu no Yaiba

Welcome everyone to another episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba! This week is going to be a bit of a shorter post, we don’t have to much to talk about. I’ll do my best to cover everything that’s important though so lets dive into it!

Starting off, animation! And like usual Kimetsu no Yaiba fares pretty well here. I especially like the elemental effects. These things continue to be gorgeous, I absolutely love the Ukiyo-e style water and fire effects. The thick, contrasting lines of white and black within these bright colors sets them apart from everything else. And because of how heavily saturated the colors are I find myself not caring about the lack of detail such as shading or how they are composited. Maybe its just my love for heavy blacks, but I think it looks really good and reminds me of cel-shaded animation and games graphics. And on top of all of that the 3D camera work is actually really solid! At least… as long as you ignore the poop tentacles. Yes, you read that right. Poop tentacles. And they look just as ugly as they sound.

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Ousama Ranking – 05 [Intertwining Plots]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Ousama Ranking

I’ve been harder on Ousama Ranking than any other reviewer I’ve seen.  I’ve criticized, nitpicked, complained.  But it’s not out of spite – it’s out of love, because I can see the immense potential here.  So let me be the first to say – “Intertwining Plots” was absolutely fantastic.  It earned the highest compliment that I can give a seasonal episode: I watched it twice in a row.  This episode was everything I want out of this show – and more.  Let’s take a look!

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