Apologies for the wait on this one everyone, between Evangelion reviews and this virus, it’s been busy! As far as Runway de Waratte goes, this week was actually… surprisingly competent. Not perfect, the first half was a bit of a wash. But for once something Ikuto was involved in *didn’t suck*. So without further ado, lets dive in!
Like I said, the second half of Runway this week wasn’t half bad. Ikuto’s fashion show worked. The outfits, while clearly not my style, were interesting and his theme consistent. I could do without the various poorly thought out metaphors, or the constant “Mr.Perfect” praise. But compared to what I was expecting to come out of his fashion show, it all actually fit together. The way Runway spelled out the expected order of the countries and how clear his theme was worked. And the the finale on the minimalist outfit was an unexpected surprise. Had Runway built all of this up, the characters, the families, everything, it could have been phenomenal. As is it’s just this sorta bright spot in an otherwise lackluster series. Still, next week is Chiyuki so we may have something to look forward to there.
My big gripe with the whole fashion show though is with the presentation of the concept. What I mean is that a good series can make the viewer care about any concept. From boxing to cooking to board games, whether the viewer is interested in the subject or not. A good series will engage and educate the viewer on said subject. Runway though doesn’t really pull this off. We don’t get much, if any, of the technical side. Instead of educating us a bit, Runway just lists of stitches, techniques or fabrics as if they are supposed to mean something to the viewer. And while this is probably fine for those that know how to sew, for everyone else it just comes off as random. We don’t see these characters learn or grow, instead they just *know*. And that leads to characters like Ikuto coming off as “Mr.Perfect”.
Beyond that, the first half of Runway this week was a bit of a slog. The primary example of this is Kaoru, the older student with a grudge against Ikuto. With how little time we get with her, she doesn’t really land. Her whole show, her concept, all of it is rather dull. It doesn’t help that the presentation of her show was lackluster, especially compared to the manga panel. I mean just look at this above. Compared to the flat lighting and flames, it’s not even a contest. Combine that with how it has apparently skipped over or rushed through a lot of content and its a shame. Still, this is hardly the worst thing Runway has done over its run. So credit where its due for having at least one acceptable episode.
So all in all, this episode was a step up for Runway. Nothing to special still, and sadly I think we are to far gone for that to change. much. People have said to try and take a step back, to try and find the enjoyment in it, and I have! I tried to go into this episode with an open mind. And to it’s credit, the episode was better. But even then I was never truly engaged. It was a 5/10 episode among a sea of 3 and 4’s. That I had to wade through what I did, 10 episodes in, to get to this really hurts it. Odds are, I am just going to merge episodes 11 and 12 together, to save you all my complaining. Unless 11 really nails Chiyuki and Kokoro’s upcoming bit. If that happens, then we can be happy together.
