Tag: anime

Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 16 [Thunderclap]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to another episode of Jujutsu Kaisen! This week was a bit of a banger with 2 fights concluding and villains slowly getting taken off the board. One by one characters are going down leaving us to wonder who will be left by the end. There’s a fair bit to talk about so lets dive in!

Starting off, let’s talk production. As a whole, I would say this was one of Jujutsu Kaisen’s most memorable episodes. The Jogo vs Sukuna fight looked fantastic, heavily stylized in ways I imagine some might not like, but for me fantastic. I love it when animators are allowed to do whatever the hell they want with a scene, and that feels like exactly what we got here. As was mentioned by one of our readers in the discord, Kimjosh, this episode, as well as the Choso one, was apparently done outside of the usual production cycle. This means that, by my understanding at least, they were most likely started earlier and given more time than is usual. Regardless, the effect on the episode was obvious. Literally the only bad things I can say about it, visually, is that Jujutsu Kaisen was once again cursed by Japanese TV anti-seizure laws. Damn you Porygon, damn you…

Continue reading “Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 16 [Thunderclap]” →

The Big O – 13/14 [R・D/Roger the Wanderer] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, The Big O, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to the midway point of Big O! This week sees one season finish and another begin, a finale and a pilot, and let me tell you both are kind of weird. Not in a Migi & Dali way, more of a psychedelic Serial Experiments Lain way. Is that a good thing? Well lets dive in and find out.

First up is episode 13, “R・D”. The most frustrating thing about this episode is that it ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. Seriously, if I had to wait 3 years for the next episode like viewers at the time did, instead of the 3 minutes I did today, I’d have gone insane. Really glad we can just skip straight to season 2 because Big O covers a lot in this episode. It feels like things are finally kicking into gear, like it’s finally ready to start tackling the central plot it has been setting up for the past 6 or so episodes, as well as finally diving into Roger as a character. I say “finally” because until now Big O has mostly looked at Roger externally, at his role in Paradigm City at large. But here it starts to explore him internally, and I like that.

Continue reading “The Big O – 13/14 [R・D/Roger the Wanderer] – Throwback Thursday” →

Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 15 [Fluctuations, Part 2]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to another week of Jujutsu Kaisen! This week is a fun one as Toji gets to go off and Sukuna finally makes his appearance! We have a lot to talk about so lets dive into it.

Starting off, lets talk production. Jujutsu Kaisen had a pretty rough time last episode, I don’t think anyone can deny that. So I was pretty nervous going into this episode. Luckily, as terrible as their scheduling and production appears to be behind the scenes, MAPPA pulled it together for this one. It looked great. Toji got to pop off. The only criticisms I have aren’t even MAPPA’s fault, it’s the TV station and their mandatory-by-law seizure prevention dimming and ghosting. That, more than anything else, is what held this episode back. Jujutsu Kaisen fans should look forward to the Blu-ray where that will all be gone. Animation aside, this was also one of the first episodes where I really noticed the OST. There were a lot of good tracks this week that fit their scenes well, from Toji to Sukuna’s arrival. To sum it up? Episode was a good time.

Continue reading “Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 15 [Fluctuations, Part 2]” →

The Big O – 11/12 [Daemonseed/Enemy is Another Big!] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, The Big O, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to the almost half-way point of The Big O!  This week we kick off the Christmas season with a shockingly seasonal episode and begin the finale of Big O’s first season. We have a lot to talk about, so lets dive right in.

First up we have episode 11, “Daemonseed”. Overall, as a complete package, I quite liked this episode. It’s probably the stronger of the two we will be talking about this week. Centered on Christmas, I mean “Heaven’s Day”, it’s all about Dorothy, Roger, their relationship, religion, all the regular things that come up in normal Christmas episodes. But because of Big O’s setting, where no one has any memories from 40 years ago, it manages to do away with a lot of the usual “baggage” that comes with it. Suddenly Christmas songs passed down through holiday cards have a special meaning, presents become based in Paradigm City’s history pf charity and control, and Roger gets to be surly about it all. Add on Dorothy’s android existence, her struggle to understand not only what it means to be human but specific emotions like love, and you have something solid here.

Continue reading “The Big O – 11/12 [Daemonseed/Enemy is Another Big!] – Throwback Thursday” →

Migi & Dali – 5

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Migi & Dali

Welcome all, to what is easily the weirdest episode of Migi & Dali yet. Is that a good thing? Who knows! A lot happened this week, from finding the room they grew up in to being taken hostage. We have plenty to talk about so lets dive right into it.

Starting off, what in gods name did I just watch? Migi & Dali has always been a weird show, that’s part of why I love it. But this one was extra weird. Almost to weird in a few ways. I could take feeding Migi dog food, trapping him in a secret room, and general homicidal tendencies. But the whole baby thing? Being dressed up in a diaper and put in a crib, fed milk from a bottle, all the while trapped in a room with no way out? Or pulling down Migi’s pants to fondle and examine his ass while the family watches? Those were uncomfortably weird, and almost to much for me. And yet… When considered as parts of a whole, when I think back on the growing feeling of dread throughout the episode as we learned more about the Ichijo household, it sort of works.

Continue reading “Migi & Dali – 5” →

Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 14 [Fluctuations]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to an incredibly late episode of Jujutsu Kaisen! Apologies for that, I was traveling this weekend only just got home. Trust me, I’m feeling this delay worse than you, my backlog is getting insane so this is a busy Monday. Anyways, schedule management aside, how about we dive right into the episode?!

Starting off, let’s talk production. This week was easily the jankiest yet. I’ve been talking about it for weeks, the slow decline, the MAPPA curse, the issues Jujutsu Kaisen is having behind the scenes. Well this is all of that starting to show in the final product. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some great cuts here. Jujutsu Kaisen hasn’t burned out completely, the team is still doing the best they can with the resources/time they have. But it’s undeniable that large portions of the episode move and look like they weren’t finished. And if you look on Twitter, sorry “X”, you’ll find loads of animators who worked on the episode talking about how troublesome it was. It’s kind of funny in a way. The episode with the most troubled animation yet has the power based specifically on animation.

Continue reading “Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 14 [Fluctuations]” →

The Big O – 9/10 [Beck Comes Back/Winter Night Phantom] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, The Big O, Throwback Thursday

Welcome all, to week 5 of The Big O! This week sees the return of an old friend, Dorothy asking an important question and Dastun getting perhaps the artsiest episode yet all to himself! Is it any good? Well that’s what we’re here to talk about, so lets dive right into it.

Starting off we have episode 9, “Beck Comes Back”. As the name implies, this episode sees the return of Beck! And wouldn’t you know it, the guy looks great with a beard/goatee. Overall I felt this was a solid episode. It’s core is a pretty straight forward revenge plot from Beck, but Big O introduces a side narrative involving Dorothy, the kidnapped man and questions of identity that really filled out it for me. My biggest, and really only, gripe with the episode would have to be just how easily everyone believes Roger would kidnap someone. Seriously, Dastun of all people should at least know Roger would never do this. And he was called in to help resolve the kidnapping long after it had already occurred. It felt a bit weird to me is all, even with Mr. Wise backing it up. Still, it’s ultimately a very small nitpick.

Continue reading “The Big O – 9/10 [Beck Comes Back/Winter Night Phantom] – Throwback Thursday” →

Migi & Dali – 4

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Migi & Dali

Welcome all, to another episode of Migi & Dali! This week is a weird one. I mean, they’ve all been weird, but this one especially so. Why? Well lets skip this preamble jump right into it, you should figure it out fast.

Starting off, this episode puts our leads, Migi & Dali, in a new environment: School. On it’s own this doesn’t change much. Their goal is still to discover the room they stayed in with their mother, to track down their killer. Where before they tried to make friends in scouts, now they have to do the same in school. What makes it interesting are the new challenges a structured placed like school brings. Now they are organized into classes, with little reason or ability to socialize with those outside of it. On top of that, these classes are organized by “intelligence”, and by that I mean performance on tests, something that their time as orphans has ill prepared them for. Combine that with all the new experiences school brings, from homework to romance, and there’s a lot of these twins to deal with.

Continue reading “Migi & Dali – 4” →

Dr. STONE New World P2 – 2 [The Medusa’s True Face]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Dr.STONE

Welcome all, to another episode of Dr. STONE! This one is a bit late, had a lot on my plate this weekend, but it’s ok now. This week sees the science kingdoms continued progress and the mystery of the islands shadowed ruler revealed. We have a lot to talk about, so lets dive into it!

Starting off, lets talk visuals. Dr. STONE has particularly cared about this. Oh the designs are nice, the linework, backgrounds and general style of the show is appealing, no one can deny that. However it’s never been what you would call “animated”. The characters have never moved much and the action we got was, generally, just bad. Dr. STONE has largely avoided this pitfall by just not having action. A smart move. Eventually however, someone is going to fight. Which is why it was such a surprise this week when it actually looked… decent? I still wouldn’t call it good, not in the same season as Jujutsu Kaisen, Frieren or Undead Unluck. But Kohaku’s spat with Moz was actually watchable. That’s nice! I don’t think anyone expected that, it feels like Dr. STONE is starting to figure that out. Hopefully it can maintain that going forward.

Continue reading “Dr. STONE New World P2 – 2 [The Medusa’s True Face]” →

Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 13 [Red Scale]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Jujutsu Kaisen

Welcome all, to another week of Jujutsu Kaisen! This episode is basically one big fight, no big narrative moments, no huge revelations (yet), just the meaty crunch of fists on faces. And you know what? It’s pretty good! Lets go ahead and jump on into why.

Starting off, let’s talk production. I’ve been critical of Jujutsu Kaisen for the past few episodes. Talking about melt, issues behind the scenes, all that jazz. And a lot of that is still present in this episode as well. Some closeups still look meh, the contrasting red and blue looks fantastic in wide shots but doesn’t translate well to many of the closeups, that sort of stuff. Basically there were a lot of good ideas, but some of the execution was off. Overall though… God this episode is stylistically beautiful. It’s rough at times, yes, but there was clearly a vision behind it all. The shading, the fluid animation, the dynamic action, the board, the freaking POV shots. If you break it down frame-by-frame you can nitpick the hell out of it. In motion though, this might be one of my favorite episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen, visually, in a while.

Continue reading “Jujutsu Kaisen S2 – 13 [Red Scale]” →