86: Eighty Six – 11 [Here We Go]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

Welcome all to the finale of Eighty Six! Or at least the finale of the first half since it sort of has a second cour? But it doesn’t have a release date so its in a weird place. Regardless, how about we jump right into it because I have a review to write after this!

So my immediate thoughts after this episode are… why? Why does this episode have to exist? Why could we not have ended last week, or the week before? It feels like Eighty Six added this episode, and the big fight with the 86ers, purely to have a “finale” filler episode. Specifically one with a cliffhanger for the next season. Despite the fact that we already had a finale and an epilogue to boot! About the only thing of value in this weeks episode was the second half regarding Lena. All of the first half, with the 86ers? That’s just repeating more “feel good” scenes that we got last week. It’s almost like it was supposed to be an hour long special instead of 2 individual episodes, so closely do they match. And as for the cliffhanger? Well… since the sequel season exists no one believes that, right?

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SSSS.Dynazenon – 10-11

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Action, SSSS.Dynazenon

Looks like Dynazenon’s format-breaking episode arrived in its tenth week, rather than its ninth. “Which Memories Do You Regret?” was a challenging piece of work, much like Gridman’s “Dream,” and though I don’t think this season’s experiment went over quite as well as the previous one, the shake-up was appreciated. It wasn’t just the ‘kaiju of the week’ formula that received an adjustment, either. The character designs were noticeably looser – more angular in motion, yet rounder (and occasionally deformed) in close-up. “More with less” was the animation director’s mission statement for this one, as moments like Yomogi bursting through the barrier to Yume’s past were made hectic by limited frame counts, yet he still found time to slow down for a sisterly heart-to-heart in the second act. This assortment of styles put me in mind of the late Osamu Kobayashi, who surely would have enjoyed this episode for its aesthetic detours. That probably means a lot of other people didn’t like it, but hey, Dynazenon wasn’t built to be a crowd favorite.

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 8 [Wolf and the Mysteriously Charming Traveler] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to another week of Spice and Wolf! This is a bit of an odd one as I’m currently writing it from the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. But hey, maybe that will grant it some extra spice, who knows. My physical location aside how about we jump into this weeks Throwback Thursday!

Starting off this is a bit of a straightforward episode. The plot still hasn’t really started and Spice and Wolf is still just laying bricks for what’s to come. But it does a decent job of presenting those bricks and making them interesting! The way it slow-rolled us on the fur for instance. Slowly introducing what is happening through tidbits of conversation between Lawrence and Holo. Reminding us of Holo’s advanced abilities, etc. Leaving us to figure it out and connect the dots before explaining it to us via the barmaid and then introducing how to exploit it through the mysterious guest, Eve. It’s nothing incredible. Like most building-block episodes, it feels rather slow. But just like how the last arc started, it’s worth will be determined by the payoff. Was it worth taking this long together to? Was it worth slowly introducing all this stuff? Only time will tell.

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Spring 2021 Summary – Week 11

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: We’re bringing back the pre-column author’s notes this week! Not for anything too exciting – just a heads up that there won’t be a recap post on June 21st, since that’s Summer 2021 Preview day. We’ll do a final Spring Summary on the 28th, though, before jumping straight into first impressions mode. Seasonal anime never stops running, and neither do we!

Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song – 12

Helghast: What kind of super AI records in a 4:3 format and has an antique VHS overlay when recounting Vivy’s one hundred year journey? With that kind of tech, maybe it came to the conclusion that humanity has become stagnant and that AI should replace them to continue to evolve much like how children end up replacing their parents in the long term just with killer robots and apocalyptic imagery. Speaking of killer robots, that entire mission could not have gone more poorly for Vivy and her crew trying to take down the Archive. Everyone is dead and humanity got its ass kicked by hundreds of thousands satellites falling from the sky. I’m glad that Toak brought some rifles to the party and there were some awesome sequences, including a fight with the archive that bordered on abstract art.

Unlike Teppei’s other works of Re:Zero, there are no more retries. The autosave overwrote the timeline where Osamu is still alive and placed Vivy at the door of the final boss. At least Vivy finally has an answer to her question of what her heart is. I suspect it has something to do with her own desires and dreams of protecting those close to her and conveying those strong passions through her singing. With next week’s episode title being “Fluorite Eye’s Song,” I certainly hope that it will be a banger to close off a spectacular original show.

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86: Eighty Six – 10 [Thank You]

by Lenlo, posted in 86 - Eighty Six

Welcome all to the penultimate episode of Eighty Six! For this season at least. This is an interesting week as from what I have been told this episode is almost entirely anime original. And yet despite basically being filler, its good. Like really good. So without further ado lets dive in! Oh and before I begin a reminder that I will be away on a business trip until Thursday, so no Nomad post until then. Sorry.

Anyways, on with the show! And what better place to start than with the production? Once again Eighty Six has some of the best editing and shot composition I have seen in ages. The way it takes everything from dull shot-reverse-shot dialogue scenes or simple travel montages and makes them visually engaging is a treat. From the way it emphasized the emotional distance between Shin and Raiden despite their physical closeness or the way Shin’s head turn and the water hitting the leaf were cut to the music. I shouldn’t be surprised by it anymore, Eighty Six has done this consistently from episode 1. However I can’t help but smile when I see editing like this. Toshimasa Ishii is doing a fantastic job with his full series directorial debut and I can’t wait to see more from him. Absolutely Kino.

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 7 [Wolf and Playful Days] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

It’s here, it’s here, a new arc of Spice and Wolf! And the post for it is just barely on time since this late still counts as Thursday! My lateness called out and my SEO goal of naming the show reached, lets jump into this weeks episode.

Starting off: Jesus Christ the flirting. There was so much of it! And it was good flirting to! There was more flirting in this one episode than the entirety of season 1! Or at least it felt that way. I’m honestly surprised with how much I enjoyed this weeks episode. I’m not usually into fluff. I find it boring or, dare I say, cringe. But there was something about Spice and Wolf’s, about Holo and Lawrence’s back and forth, that made it endearing. I’m not sure if it’s just how well written the dialogue was again or something else. Maybe I’ve just spent enough time with the couple in recent months that I’m invested. Whatever the case, for an episode all about lap pillows, hand kisses and not-so-subtle innuendo’s Spice and Wolf got a fair bit done this week.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 10 [Las derrotas pasadas son acompañadas por señales de buena suerte]

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Hello all and welcome to another week of Megalo Box Nomad! This is late, I know, but I have a good reason. You see I will be out of the state for work starting Sunday and have been spending the week busily packing and prepping. This also means I will be unable post/writeup Nomad on Sunday as I won’t be able to watch it until Thursday. So yeah, expect this weekend and the week afters to be merged into one post before the final review. Sorry about that. Now on with the show!

And what batter place to begin than with exactly what I wanted to see from Nomad, the family stuff! So much family stuff this week. From Mac to Sachio, Joe to Yuri, the way Nomad managed to tie everything back into the 1st arc. This is exactly what I wanted from the series, up to and including minimal Rosco! While one reader might disagree with me on Rosco’s story overtaking Joe’s, I’m sure we can both agree that this episode benefited a lot from it’s family centric focus. And if I sound like I’m being purposefully vague here that would be because I am. I don’t wanna spoil non-watchers before the break but I also want to give a clear hook to make people read, oh the tightropes we walk. I’m rambling because I’m happy with the episode, I promise.

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Spring 2021 Summary – Week 10

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Bishounen Tanteidan – 5-6

Wooper: There was a reason I opted not to follow Bishounen Tanteidan on a weekly basis, and this hour of the series showcased it beautifully; for me, listening to this author’s dialogue is like overdosing on Ambien. All of his characters talk circuitously, and they don’t manage to generate intrigue in the process, either. Take episode 5, for instance – in its final minutes, all Doujima needs to do to expose Lai as a cheater is watch him carefully, since she knows he’s taking cues from an invisible man. Instead, we have to suffer through her internal monologue about concentrating all her thoughts on a single point, which leads her to realize that she has to look “at her own self” because she’s been accepted by her new friends, who she really wants to help by exposing Lai as a cheater. See how we looped around to where we started? This show is full of shit like that, and even when it’s not skipping Composition 101 to do donuts in the parking lot, it’s engaging in gab sessions about art that have nothing to do with the smaller stories it wants to tell (see episode 6). When even a windbag like me can’t appreciate your meandering script, you know something has gone sideways. Dropped.

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