Tag: anime

Isekai Ojisan – 3 [I’m Your Un―…Aunt, Dear]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Isekai Ojisan

Welcome back everyone, to another week of Isekai Ojisan! This week we have more subversive isekai humor, vtubers and… wait a second. Is that a joke about the 2018 Youtube ad revenue change? And… and wholesome interactions? Oh no… I think this episode might be good. How about we dive in and talk about that?

So like I said, this episode was actually really funny for me. This is, without question, the most an anime has made me laugh in a long time. Not ironically, not because the contents were so bad it was good. The jokes were just legitimately well crafted. You know last week when I said that Ojisan’s humor was going to get old fast if it didn’t do something? That subverting modern Isekai expectations and making the same gag about the lead having magic in the real world would get old? Well it seems that the author of Ojisan had always figured that out. Because not only did it make some new jokes, though many of the old staples were present as well, but it went deeper with them than I could have ever imagined it would. Like seriously, who makes half an episode about the 2018 Youtube Ad Revenue change?

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Yofukashi no Uta – 2 [Do You Do LINE]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Yofukashi no Uta

Hello everyone, and welcome to my last show for the season, Yofukashi no Uta AKA Call of the Night. It’s a cute series, but I’m sure you all have other questions first, such as “Where the hell is the seasonal coverage post”. Well I’m wondering that to, so don’t worry. Currently waiting on some last minute additions from the other writers, so it will go out when it goes out. Don’t worry though, I’m going to keep a consistent schedule with my 3 (4?) series. So without further ado, lets dive into some late night vampire sexy times!

Starting off, Yofukashi continues to look good I think. There are some issues here and there with the composite, the characters feel very out of place at times. But I absolutely love the neon color palette. When combined with the darker, flatter backgrounds it lets the colors really pop. On top of that there are some really cool shots peppered throughout, even if the animation isn’t anything impressive in them. My only real issue right now is that some of the colors feel… off. My friend described the yellow ones in particular as a “piss filter” and I can’t get it out of my head. They really do look that unhealthy, questionable shade and simply don’t look as good as the blues, greens and purples. And sadly? I don’t think they are going away any time soon. At least the OST is fire, right?

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Welcome to the NHK – 15/16 [Welcome to the Fantasy!/Welcome to the Game Over!] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Welcome to the NHK

Welcome back to another week of Welcome to the NHK! This is another fantastic pair of episodes as, for the 3rd time, NHK leaves me absolutely floored. What could it tackle to achieve that you may ask? Well let’s cut this preamble short and jump into it!

Like I said, with this arc NHK has once again flabbergasted me. The setup, lead in, execution and climax of this arc was simply perfect. From the type of neetdom it tackles to the arc/involvement of every character in it, french kiss. But before I get into details I want to talk about something I thought was really impressive: The way NHK fit this entire arc into 2, maybe 3 episodes depending on what the next one does. And this is only possible because of the consistency between arc, the way they flow into one another. Sato came into this arc after just being cut off by his parents, after trying to improve himself, failing, and then almost killing himself. Already the stage is set for him to desperately want money while being more horrified than ever by crowds and society. This setup leads us into the first episode.

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Isekai Ojisan – 2 [“Guardian Heroes” Shoulda Been Number One!]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Isekai Ojisan

Hello everyone, and welcome to what is technically the 2nd show I’m covering of the season. RWBY preaired 3 episodes though, and that’s cheating. Anyways, this week Isekai Ojisan continues to riff on the Isekai genre while also introducing a new character! Is it good? Sorta. Will it last? Let’s jump in and talk about that.

The core thrust of Isekai Ojisan is riffing on Isekai as a genre. Taking shots at every character and story trope it can. And for episode 1, this was pretty funny! I had a good time. But it has already, by the 2nd episode, started go stale. It feels like Isekai Ojisan only really has 2 jokes: Old things that the Uncle remembers that are no longer around, and screwups within the fantasy world. Now I want to be clear, this is fine if all you want is a few chuckles. Even telling the same joke for 12 episodes will probably get one every now and then even when I know it’s coming. But if you want to truly succeed as a comedy? Then you have to widen your repertoire. Luckily however, it does seem like Isekai Ojisan recognizes that and is trying to fix it. On both counts!

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Welcome to the NHK – 13/14 [Welcome to Heaven!/Welcome to Reality!] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Welcome to the NHK

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the 2nd cour of Welcome to the NHK. This week we finish up this whole “suicide cult” think, learn a bit more about Misaki, and Sato doesn’t get the girl. Sound like a sad time? Well it is, but it’s also a pretty good time. Lets dive in and talk about why.

First up is episode 13, “Welcome to Heaven!”. This picks up right where we left off on the beach and has all the same good stuff I loved about last week. The dark humor, the plot progression, the characterization, it was all great. I will admit that, going into this episode, I was a bit worried. Would NHK be able to pull off this suicide plotline? Would it be respectful or would it fall a part at the very end? How was everything going to get resolved? As it turns, NHK ended up going the rather vanilla route of everyone surviving. But it did so in a way that felt very human, very earned, for all of the characters involved. It wasn’t just a last minute switcheroo, rather it was something built up from the very start of the arc. What do I mean? Lets talk details after the break.

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Welcome to the NHK – 11/12 [Welcome to the Conspiracy!/Welcome to the Offline Gathering!] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Welcome to the NHK

Normally this is where I welcome everyone to this weeks episodes of Welcome to the NHK. I have this whole spiel about what happened this week, maybe try to hook you in, its a jovial and happy time. But not this week. Cause this week, after an entire cour of soft balls, NHK finally decided to start playing hardball. And I’m all about it. So lets dive in.

First and foremost, mostly because I want to save all my spoilers for after the break, NHK looked janky this week. It was never a good looking show to begin with, relying heavily on clever and engaging direction. But we didn’t really get that. Instead, this week in particular with these two episodes, the production quality felt like it dropped like a rock. From static cars sliding across the screen to incredibly low detail closeups, NHK did not look good this week. Now luckily NHK isn’t the kind of show where that really matters. It would be nice, I would love this to get the unique production it deserves. But there’s just enough there to not take away from the story *too much.

And what a story it is. To give you a bit of a teaser: Turns out I was wrong, Hitomi isn’t a prostitute. That would have been an easier pill to swallow.

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Summer 2022 Season Preview

by Lenlo, posted in Seasonal Previews

Lenlo: And so ends one of the most packed seasons we’ve had in a while. From the drama and artistry of Dance Dance Danseur to the wholesomeness of Deaimon, the grand finale of Kaguya-sama‘s third season to the rising star that is SpyXFamily. It’s going to be hard to top that moving forward, but let’s turn our eyes to the future and see what is has in store for us. Like every season you have the usual batch of sequels, some big some small. Overlord returns for its 4th season of anti-hero Isekai while Made in Abyss will once again toe the line between tragedy and the grotesque. What is surprising though is the sheer amount of originals. Engage Kiss, Lycrosi Recoil, Bucchigire and Ongakutai Witches to name a few. For anyone wanting something new, you’re spoiled for choice. I just hope you don’t want anything good. And of course the big surprise of the season for me is RWBY actually becoming a real anime now. You hear that Reddit?! You can’t stop me from talking about it on r/anime anymore! Who has the power now?! ahem Like I was saying, there’s a lot of decent looking stuff this season. So join us and read on as we take a look at the ones that stood out to us. And make sure to vote on the poll below for what you’re looking forward to!

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What will you be watching this summer?
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Middling Expectations

Isekai Ojisan

Studio: Atelier Pontdarc
Director: Shigeki Kawai
Series composition: Kenta Ihara
Source: Manga

The Premise: An Isekai protagonist is transported back to Earth only to find 2 decades have passed, and now it is up to his nephew to help him fit back into the world.

Lenlo: The only reason I’m even remotely interested in this is because I think the concept is interesting. So many Isekai are just wish fulfillment for the young Otaku, pandering to the lowest common denominator. And while Ojisan still might be that, probably is to be frank, the idea of seeing him re-integrate with the real world after his Isekai adventure is one I’m very interested in. Very few Isekai actually tackle the implications of disappearing from the real world, with even fewer actually returning to said world. So while I expect this to be just another seasonal Isekai dumpster fire, I’m willing to at least give it a shot and see if it can’t do something more with this concept. On top of that it’s also Shigeki Kawai’s Directorial debut, so I’m always curious about a new talent getting their first shot at the big leagues. Who knows, maybe their desire to leave a mark will work out here!

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Spy X Family – 11/12 [Stella/Penguin Park]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Spy X Family

Hello everyone, and welcome to a SpyXFamily double feature! I apologize for missing last week. I was so caught up in writing the Danseur review that I completely forgot to do this. Luckily, the season is taking a break until October so I have all the time in the world now to get ready for the second half. A shame the industry needs this but hey, take what we can get. Now lets dive into the episodes!

So first up, lets talk about SpyXFamily’s animation. There was some great stuff in both episodes, but this week’s certainly takes the cake. There were so many small bits, like the water and character animation when Loid was checking the ID or when Anya was touring her penguin around the house at the end, that simply beautiful. For those who don’t know, parts of this episode were outsourced to Studio Madhouse, getting some help to finish off the season. Now I don’t know who did what scenes, but helping relieve some of the pressure clearly paid off with just how produced the episode looked. It really makes you wish studio’s would take less work so that teams could focus on what they have, rather than having to trade favors and get help just to finish an episode. Regardless, it looked good.

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RWBY: Ice Queendom – 1/2/3 [Red, White, Black, Yellow/This is Beacon/Nightmare Comes]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, RWBY: Ice Queendom

Welcome everyone, to the first airing show of the Summer 2022 season, RWBY: Ice Queendom! The first 3 episodes pre-aired for some reason, so despite our opening seasonal coverage not coming out until this weekend I decided to go for it. Don’t worry, you don’t have to know anything about RWBY to read along. It’s most just going to be me explaining and reaming into it. So without further ado, lets jump in!

First up lets get this out of the way, Queendom looks wildly inconsistent. This isn’t a huge surprise, its Shaft post-exodus so it was always going to be rough. But it still hurts to actually see. Once or twice an episode we will get an absolutely bonkers Hiroto Nagata cut, and it will be glorious. I’m talking everything I ever wanted an anime RWBY to be. Outside that however… The stills look nice, huke’s art style is always great, but the moment things begin to move it falls apart. Everyone becomes stiff, like they can’t handle the character designs in motion. Meanwhile the bullheads and airships look like literal toys, sliding across the screen motionless. And the backgrounds? They are occasionally nice, but nothing to write home about. They do their job and nothing more, rarely pulling us deeper into this world. Basically what I’m saying is, Queendom looks… meh.

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Welcome to the NHK – 9/10 [Welcome to Summer Days!/Welcome to the Dark Side!] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Throwback Thursday, Welcome to the NHK

Welcome everyone, to what will no doubt be a late week of Welcome to the NHK! I apologize for that, I’ve been playing a bit to much Path of Exile this week and I’ve shirked my duties a bit. Don’t worry though, I’ll get over this obsession soon… I hope. Now on with the show!

This week lets skip the preamble and jump right in with episode 9, “Welcome to Summer Days!”. This was an interesting one, because it was a Yamazaki centric episode. And if I can be honest, it’s more than I thought Yamazaki was ever going to get. My mistake, I know, but I kind of thought NHK would be all about Sato. That it would be using him as a comparison point to all of the other characters, rather than giving them their own solo-stories. More the fool I, huh? My own stupidity aside, I really like what NHK did here. It didn’t just present Yamazaki as this pitiable fool, rather it showed us how he got to be the way he is. And just how easy it would be for him to escape it had he the will. Not to dissimilar to Sato, huh? Spoilers after the break!

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