Tag: anime

Sonny Boy – 2 [Aliens]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Sonny Boy

Welcome everyone to another season of anime! This is a pretty slow one all things considered but through some clever word play, see “asking nicely”, I was able to get what I think is the most promising show of the season: Sonny Boy! So without further ado lets dive in!

Starting off lets talk about how Sonny Boy, with one of the more unique styles, looks . Character wise all the designs have low line counts and each section of their body is flatly colored. There’s no complex shading or patterned clothing, these are very simple and straightforward designs. In that way Sonny Boy reminds me a lot of Masaki Yuasa’s work and the freedom it grants him in their animation. Sonny Boy hasn’t yet done much with said freedom, a nice water splash on Nozomi, some nice character work across the episode and on Mizuho, but that’s it. Instead Sonny Boy has focused on evocative imagery and heavily stylized effects work. The blue fire, shifting sand or water around Asakaze’s landing for examples of that. And I have to say… I like it. I like the style and the unique scenery it brings and I hope for more.

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 12 [Wolf and the Endless Tears] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to the final episode of Spice and Wolf Season 2! It’s been a long road to get here, 6 whole months of wolf waifu. While this may be ending however that also means its time to vote for a new series! You can find the link to that at the end! So without further ado lets dive in to the last episode of Spice and Wolf.

Before we get into the episode proper I want to talk a bit about my feelings on this arc as a whole. Don’t worry, ill have much longer thoughts for the final review, but this needs to be talked about. Because overall this arc feels like a rehash of the previous one. Except where the last arc with Fermi stopped just short, this arc seems to fully commit to the relationship. In a way that’s nice! I’ve wanted to see these two be in a relationship, to process their feelings, for awhile now. And while this arc finally gave me that, it did so by hitting on a lot of the same beats as the last. Sort of like a rehash or repeat of what came before except without the benefit of being the our first time. Want specifics? Read on and find out below!

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Spice and Wolf S2 – 10/11 [Wolf and the Lonely Smile/Wolf and the Decision to Part] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Spice and Wolf, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to the penultimate post for Spice and Wolf Season 2! Apologies for missing last week. I had a case of writers block and couldn’t figure out what to write and eventually it was to late. Thus a double header this week! So without further ado lets jump in and make up for lost time!

Starting off I want to talk about something I’ve noticed these last 2 episodes: Flashbacks. Spice and Wolf is using a lot of them. To much if you ask me! In the first half of the season it was rather nice. They are exploring and figuring out what their relationship means to them now. But in the second half they have so often, reminding us of things we have been reminded of many times before, that they feel like they’re filling time. These flashbacks take episodes that are already slow and bring them to a crawl. You readers know me! You know I get impatient sometimes! So when a show that I already consider slow gets even slower its going to bother me a bit. And that’s what Spice and Wolf is doing to me now. I don’t think the content has gotten any worse. Its just agonizingly slow.

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Megalo Box: Nomad Anime Review 83/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama, Megalo Box, Reviews by Lenlo

Megalo Box first aired in the Summer season of 2018. Part of the 50 year anniversary for the legendary series Ashita no Joe it was… satisfactory. It brought anime fans back to a different time, an older time, in ways good and bad. Yet despite ostensibly being an “Original” Megalo Box was so heavily tied to Ashita no Joe that it couldn’t escape the comparisons. The story felt like a retelling of something we got 50 years ago, smashed into a 13 episode season. And while some, myself included, still enjoyed the series it felt like something was missing. In Nomad we find that something. While while watching Nomad I felt like I was watching Megalo Box for the first time. The real Megalo Box, more than just a copy of Ashita no Joe, what the series was always meant to be. And I love it.

Created by TMS Entertainment, jointly written by Katsuhiko Manabe and Kensaku Kojima, and directed by You Moriyama I give to you my Summer 2021 Anime of the Season: Megalo Box: Nomad. Let’s dive in

Be warned, this review contains minor unmarked spoilers for Megalo Box: Nomad. It also contains major spoilers in some sections however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents.

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Megalo Box Nomad – 13 [El con alas lleva al sin alas, y el sin alas bendice al con alas]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Megalo Box

Welcome all to the finale of Megalo Box: Nomad! It’s been an interesting ride with ups and downs, both of which we will talk about in this weeks episode. If you’re looking for a final review just give me a few days, it’s almost done. So without further ado lets dive in!

First up lets talk about the visual aspects of the fight. By and large I would say it was… lackluster? Meh? I wouldn’t call it disappointing because the narrative beats were strongly delivered. But as far as fights go Nomad’s best action was still a sparring match. Its a really weird allocation of resources to me. Did they not want the spectacle to overrun or take away from the narrative of Mac’s fight? Or did they just decide that the simpler background and lighting of the sparring match was easier to handle? I’m not sure. Whatever the case though, this fight wasn’t a very “hype” fight and that was a little disappointing. Luckily for us that the fight wasn’t the main draw of the episode or even the show. That honor goes to the narrative.

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Megalo Box: Nomad – 11/12

by Lenlo, posted in Megalo Box

Welcome back to Nomad everyone! Apologies for missing last week but work and Wisconsin called. Lucky for us though that these two episodes feed into and fit so well together because we have a lot to talk about. So without further ado, lets dive in! And be ready because this is a long one!

Since I missed last week I wanted to start this post off by talking about where Nomad is going. I’ve talked a lot in previous posts about my dislike of the corporate angle, and I stand by that! I think it, Sakuma and Rosco as a whole, are at odds with the story Nomad is trying to tell. But credit where it’s due, Nomad has at least worked it in well. It has done the best with a bad situation. Nomad has taken Rosco and, while they are still antagonistic, removed them from the center stage. Making the focus not them, but their effects on Mac and his family. How corporations take advantage of, abuse and ultimately throw away the average person who is simply looking for a better life. Just like Chief. Just like the immigrants and their theme park home. And that’s kinda cool.

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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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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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