This is a blog, that as dictated as the title, reviews two topics. What would these topics be, you ask? Why, anime, and video-games. On the left we have Jacob, a huge anime lover with a penchant for Sci-Fi, who'll be handling the anime reviews usually. And on the right we have Ben, a hardcore gamer with a penchant for all things adorable, who'll be handling the game reviews, and Music for Today, when he remembers. Both these nerds are super passionate about their topics, so read on and enjoy!
Kill La Kill Episode 24, Final Episode- DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAAAAY
*Warning: spoilers for episode 24 of Kill La Kill*
Wow. There it is. And there is was. Kill La Kill is done. Finished. Kill La Killed. Everything is over. Remember when this series was just "Studio Trigger's first full-length anime, to premiere this fall"? Remember when the first PV came out and it kinda looked shitty? Remember when it actually was kinda shitty for a while? Remember when everyone was flipping their shit about the fanservice? I said in my first episode reaction that it might become one of my favorite anime if it kept up its pace. Well, it didn't really, and for a while it was a real roller coaster of quality. But that doesn't mean it wasn't an exhilarating ride.
But my job right now is to talk specifically about this episode, so I shall. OBLIGATORY THEY DIDN'T MAKE MY OTP CANON I AM FURIOUS okay now that that's over this was an incredible episode. I honestly think we might have found an episode better than the fourth episode, that filler one where Ryuko gets a pie in the face and there are homages to 2001, Pulp Fiction, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. And that is tough to beat.
If you could have one episode that perfectly showed everything great about Kill La Kill, it would be this one. Absurdly stylized animation, hilariously melodramatic monologues, Mako Mankanshoku, plot twists no one could have predicted, and of course, copious sexual subtext, from tongue-in-cheek innuendos to disturbing incestuous villains. There are too many good moments to point out, and if I tried, I think I'd wind up screaming and babbling incoherently at the sheer amount of excitement this anime has brought me.
Kill La Kill, I think, is very much inspired by what came before it. Though it is technically a Studio Trigger anime, it is a Gainax anime in spirit, because Studio Gainax can no longer make Gainax anime. And indeed, Kill La Kill is what it is because of Gurren Lagann, because of FLCL and Panty & Stocking, and hell, even because of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I've known since the beginning that this was the anime Studio Trigger, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi, needed to make a statement with. Now I know what that statement is: yes, we're not Gainax anymore. But God help us if that'll stop us from making the anime we want to make. I think Ryuko Matoi said it best; "Not making sense is kinda our thing." God bless you Trigger, may you never start making sense.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 23 of Kill La Kill*
"Not making any sense is kinda our thing!" -Ryuko Matoi
No other anime I've seen can get you pumped up quite like Kill La Kill. I'm told Gurren Lagann has a similar affect, but I dropped that after 6 episodes so I dunno. Guess I should try to watch that again. Regardless, Kill La Kill. Dude. How cool is this. And check out that imagery! That's something this anime has been consistently brilliant with, from Ragyo's horrifying final form, to Nui Harime's overblown head peering over our heroes, to the slightly sexual overtones of the Great Naked Dagger (best name ever btw) plunging into the hole in the Original Life Fiber. It's the kind of inherent talent that isn't bogged down by low-quality plot, characters, or even animation.
I draw your attention again to the quote I put above. Because indeed, this episode made very little sense. But man, who caaaaares. Never has nonsense made so much sense than in Kill La Kill; the whole anime is more or less founded on it. I mean, imagine if you read a full synopsis of the show without ever watching an episode. It would sound even more insane than it looks.
I also got a real kick out of Mako saving the day all heroic-like. One of my favorite things for shows to do is take a comic relief character and give them a genuine role to play in the final battle, and Mako's role is perfect for her; running maniacally on an over-sized hamster wheel wearing an outfit that's a small homage to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. I'm so glad Mako is in this series. What would Kill La Kill be without her? But let's be honest. What major character WOULD the show be complete without. Even Harime, who I despite, is pretty necessary for this show.
As we near closer and closer to the conclusion of Kill La Kill, I look back to my old episode reactions and see, in the few predictions I make about the series, how completely wrong I was. But hey, some of these plot twists come so out of thin air I don't know how anyone could have predicted them. Hell, if you called the crucifixion of Ragyo, you should be given some kind of award. And it's still debatable whether or not Trigger is literally making all of this up as they go along. But if they are, they're doing a damn good job of it.
(Very slight spoilers for the new South Park game below, no plot related spoilers whatsoever. It's simply utilized as an exemplar.)
Everyone seems to be raving about the new South Park game, and some have asked why I haven't been. Truth is, I did pick up this game rather early on in it's release, and have recently revisited it, 3/16/14 being my most recent attempt to play through this game. And I simply cannot bring myself to do so. And this is not due to my hatred of RPGs or South Park, I have a noted love for both. Furthermore, the game itself is not a bad game by any means. So, why do I enjoy this game about as much as I enjoy having my clothes lit on fire?
The design.
But, what do I mean by design? Let's go over a quick tally.
Design can be classified as:
The overall control scheme of the game.
The actual technological designs of the game, from engines to framerate to loading, to even glitches.
The style of gameplay and genre the game utilizes.
Place your bets now, what do I have a problem with?
....
If you guessed 1 and 2, you are absolutely correct! Congratulations! You just won our grand prize, air! Enjoy it, it's fresh and keeps you alive!
Regardless.
This article isn't a review of South Park: The Stick of Truth. I have a purpose to all this, so allow me to prattle on a little bit more about the game whilst linking it to my actual argument.
The control scheme of SP:TST isn't all that bad, but it makes the cardinal sin of being uncomfortable to use and inconvenient to control. You see, the game relies heavily on ALL of the buttons on the controllers, including using the D-Pad and the directions on the Right Analog Stick as inputs. This wouldn't be an issue if key functions weren't mapped to these controls. The D-Pad is used to open the menus and inventory, and let me explain why this is problematic.
Each direction on the D-Pad corresponds to a different aspect of the menu, whether it be Friends, Quests, Inventory, Equips. But let it be noted, there are 4 base inputs on a D-Pad, and 6 aspects to our menu. Now, one may think that's no issue, you can simply navigate from one aspect to another, right? Not if you value your time. Every time you maneuver from one aspect to another, a movement to a necessary tab for gameplay, a simple press of the Back Right Bumper, the game takes several seconds to switch over. Each and every time. And not to mention, opening the menu itself takes 3-4 seconds. Don't worry, I checked, my PS3 isn't broken. It runs FAR more intensive games at an extremely smooth framerate. But I digress.
This employs another cardinal sin. When your mandatory everyday functions take up more time to get to than the time they're actually utilized for, that's a huge issue. Why is it so bad? To put it simply, it doesn't feel good.
Let's look at another game that does almost the exact same menu system right. Paper Mario on the N64. Which, may I remind you, was released over 10 YEARS AGO.
Within Paper Mario, one can press start to pull up the menu with almost no delay, which is separated into 4 tabs. One can then navigate through each tab by pressing the Left and Right Bumpers, with almost no delay between each switch. Now. Listen close. As well, Paper Mario allows you to open up subsections of the menu by pressing one of four directions on the Right Analog Stick, almost exactly akin to SP:TST. You might be shocked to discover that there is almost no delay in opening these menus, and they stay open for a few seconds at most, and open in far less than that.
That was made 10 years ago. A modern game running on infinitely better hardware has no excuse for taking several seconds to load something as simple as a menu, let alone take several seconds to navigate between each section. Don't think for a moment that SP:TST has really intensive menus as well. They're plain white with almost no substance, very bland and lifeless.
But enough about the menus. I'm not done with the controls yet. I can forgive the poor switching mechanics, they simply did the best they could, and it's not that intrusive. What I can't forgive, however, is mapping a key function, that is to say the ability to fart(South Park humor) to UP ON THE RIGHT BUMPER. Why does this bother me so much?
Let's say you have a game where you have several key mechanics, many being mandatory to progress. They'd be mapped to buttons, or so you'd expect. The Right Analog Stick is usually reserved for switching, or cameras, or non obtrusive use. (Lookin at you, OOT. Good job.)
However, when a key action is mapped to a specific direction on the Right Analog Stick, that requires you to go out of your way with your hands very frequently just to progress forwards slightly. Mix this with the switching mechanics, and your fingers will be flying all over the controller in a mishmash of directions. The worst part?
It just doesn't feel good or responsive.
The game doesn't feel responsive or natural at all. When I press a button, it should be a near instant reaction every single time. In SP:TST, sometimes buttons didn't even react at all.
When I have to press a button EARLY to account for slowdown in order to use a KEY GAME MECHANIC, that's what we call Awful.
But, enough about the controls. Let's talk about how it feels to play the game, the tech.
Firstly, the game is open world, meaning that you can wander freely and accept quests. Despite this, often times loading another screen would take several seconds. 3-6 upon every transition. Every. Single. Transition. 10 transitions could take up to a minute of your time! In loading alone! In a game where you're meant to venture to as many areas as possible!
Yet again, back to the cardinal sin of wasting time. But the worst load times are yet to come.
Within the game, a main mechanic is looting houses and defeated foes, akin to Fallout or Skyrim. (Which, may I remind you, are on the SAME CONSOLE WITH FAR MORE PROCESSING NEEDS.) And I found that just about every time I went to loot anything, the game seemingly froze for a few seconds. This doesn't seem that bad, until you realize that's perhaps the most pivotal game mechanic besides the battles themselves, and it stutters almost every time you go to use it. I personally found it to make the game near unplayable. To waste several seconds just sitting and waiting for my chance to hit ONE BUTTON was one of the most infuriating things I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through. However, don't even think about the looting issues until we talk about the battle issues.
The battles themselves have little to no issues, besides delay on button presses to block, and inputs from special moves that range from "Mash the Button!" to "Rotate the control stick like in Mario Party!" (Note, no skill is required to perform these, and they don't feel satisfying.) The problem lies within actually GETTING to the battles. Every time I went to initiate a battle, I was greeted by anywhere from 5-15 seconds of loading time where I just saw the same black lightning screen flash over and over. To get to A SINGULAR BATTLE. These weren't boss battles, or even important battles. This was a random encounter on the street, which took 5-15 seconds to load. On several occasions. You should be able to understand why this is a huge issue, but I'll restate. It wastes your time. You didn't spend 60 dollars on a game to spend a 3rd of it sitting around and waiting for it to start. You spent 60 dollars to actually play a game, and experience all it has to offer, outside those many loading screens.
What does this all total up to? A frustrating and extremely slow experience. However, that's not why I dropped the game. In fact, I was willing to forgive it if the mechanics of battles and plot/humor were top notch. However.
An hour into the game, in wandering into a random area, I attempted to head up a normal ladder, and my game softlocked. Softlocking being when the game still runs, but for one reason or another, progression is impossible. I couldn't move any direction, and I was forced to reload my save. Giving it little mind, I continued into another area where climbing up stairs wouldn't register, and I had to reload my save. At this point I was saving once I entered every room. And that takes almost 30 seconds. Actual saving time being a few seconds, but getting there well over 20. After getting softlocked a few more times, I simply dropped the game.
That is a fine demonstration of perhaps the greatest cardinal sin of all. Don't sell your game for 60 dollars if it doesn't even work properly. It's actually mildly offensive. It offended me enough to write this at 5 in the morning. So.
Long story short, no matter how good your game might be, if it's designed poorly, both controls and engine itself, then it will completely ruin the experience. Trust me.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 22 of Kill La Kill*
Part of the beauty of anime is the effortless way it pulls off having a completely tied together story that spans the series, without requiring much, if any, one-off episodes. It's one lesson anime learned long ago that American TV is just learning now. And you can really feel it when an anime is getting close to the climax; every episode is consistently heart-pounding, breathtaking, and captivating. Kill La Kill's days of being inconsistent ad insubstantial (in my own words, a "roller coaster" of quality) are spectacularly over.
This episode is everything anyone could have wanted out of Kill La Kill (EXCEPT MAKO X GAMAGOORI GODDAMMIT WRITERS). I was especially fond of the scene in which Harime was mutilated and then went off the deep end. That made me happy. But personal feelings aside, it was a brilliantly designed scene, combining horror and comedy, which of course, is pretty much Harime's whole deal. Consider right when her arms are chopped off. It's animated the way many of her scenes are: We see Ryuko's blades flying, and the arms both pop off, the animation intentionally showing no depth to give them a flat, cartoony feel. A moment of silence. Then, blood starts gushing out, and a gruesome, panicked look appears on Harime's face, which is then seen in close-up. The grotesque humor is repeated in the helicopter, as Hououmaru stoically explains the situation to a half-crazed Harime as a constant stream of blood spurts into her face.
The characters are becoming more and more well-defined, and their relationships to each other more and more well-established. Episode 5 was the first time I commentated on the quality of the growth of character relationships; look how far we've come since then. And look how well Ryuko is developing a friendship with Satsuki! Truly heartwarming. She's even starting to get along with the Elite Four, which I think would be a very interesting relationship to explore.
Oh yeah, and Mako suddenly popping out of a fridge-looking thing and reminding everyone of that one really awful episode where she became badass. So I guess I have to take away my earlier recommendation to skip that episode. *sigh* But I suppose it's worth it now, because Mako has once again gone Tyler Durden and is ready to take down the REVOCS. I don't really have to tell anyone how great this is going to be.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 21 of Kill La Kill*
Yes, it has in fact rained blood in Kill La Kill before, such as when Ragyo was crucified. But this is a whole new level of blood rain; a virtual torrent of red erupting from who even knows where, after Ryuko triumphantly rips off Junketsu.
I don't even car how cheesy this episode was, I needed it. I mean let's be honest, how satisfying was it to see Harime knocked off her high horse, if only for a few seconds? Hopefully next episode we shall see a gloriously slow and painful death for her. It was also very a very heart-warming spectacle to see Mako invade Ryuko's weird dreamscape thing and convince her to side with her. All in all, a very satisfying episode, albeit not with any real unpredictability.
Ragyo's Life Fiber thing is worth mentioning though. If she's Emperor Palpatine and Satsuki's Darth Vader, then this Original Life Fiber doohickey is like the Death Star. I expect the last few episodes, of which there are only four left (side note: OMG THERE ARE ONLY FOUR EPISODES LEFT), will deal with the destruction of the Original Life Fiber, and with it, Ragyo, but hey, this is Kill La Kill, so does anyone really know what's going to happen?
Oh yeah, and Ryuko might die from ripping off Junketsu. Yeah right. Can't wait for the deus ex machina that pulls her out of this one. I don't even care at this point; if they just went "Ryuko's survived because she's just that cool" and then started blaring "Don't Lose Your Way" or whatever it's actually called, I doubt I would actually mind.
Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most emotional experiences I've ever had with an anime. A 1988 film from the great Studio Ghibli, but directed not by Hayao Miyazaki, but Isao Takahata, this movie is incomparable to any other anime I've ever seen; it contrasts the realism of the storytelling with the evocative, stylized animation to create a story that, at its core, is very simple, but becomes incredibly powerful through its animation.
It tells the story of a young teenager named Seita and his younger sister, Setsuko, living in Japan towards the end of World War II. American bombers regularly fly over Japanese neighborhoods, dropping firebombs and laying waste to the wood houses and killing hordes of civilians. Seita and Setsuko are living in one of these neighborhoods when the firebombs hit, and they are suddenly rendered both homeless and motherless. What follows is a an simple yet intense tale of survival.
One of the most brilliant things about the movie is how it utilizes the medium of animation. Since the dialogue and story is so full of realistic human feeling, there is room to bring out style and surrealism in the animation. We are guided through the story by the spirits of Seita and Setsuko, bathed entirely in red light. In one of the best scenes in the movie, Seita releases a bucket of fireflies into a dark room, and the fireflies, depicted simply as green balls of light, fly across the room as the siblings talk.
The characters, of course, are another high point, not only the two siblings but the surrounding characters as well. They are surrounded by adults who offer kind words and sympathy, but either can't or won't offer them real help. We see throughout the movie that may others are suffering the same fate as Seita and Setsuko, and they are simply two people the movie chooses to look at. However, no one except their cold, empathy-less aunt is looked at close enough to have developed traits. Takahata understands he must strongly evoke the sense that Seita and Setsuko are alone in the world.
The music is also worth mentioning; Grave of the Fireflies contains some very different musical tracks across the film, from a very Japanese-sounding flute piece to a piece that sounds like an opera. The dubbed voices I would also enthusiastically recommend, even for those who dislike dubs. It's also worth quickly mentioning that this was based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, and realizing that this is heavily based on a true story adds yet another layer of emotional impact to the story.
This film is a masterpiece in every way, not only a great achievement of anime, but of cinema in general. It's astonishingly human characters and brilliantly evocative animation make it one of the best arguments for the medium of anime.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 20 of Kill La Kill*
Yeah, I admit I pulled that title from the next episode preview. But it was so clever, I couldn't resist! But anyways, tons to talk about this episode. First of all, I loved the way they diffused the drama of angsty Ryuko at the beginning with a Mako monologue. These episodes are scarce in comedy, so this was kind of refreshing. But this episode was definitely awesome.
I admit, however, I was unimpressed by Ryuko's "no one understands me" teenage angst bull. But maybe that was the point. After all, it's been shown many times during the series that letting your rage consume you is a very bad idea. And clearly, this time, her alienating of herself wound up brainwashing her and turning her against her friends. So there you go.
And talk about that ending! Ryuko wearing Junkestsu looks so badass, and Satsuki wearing Senketsu made her look like she did in her flashback. it really shows you how much work was put into making their uniforms fit their places in the show when they were first created. Shoutout to the character designers of Kill La Kill. It's kind of ironic; just when Satsuki and Ryuko start to work together, they wind up fighting each other again; except this time, it's Ryuko who's evil. It's also worth noting how interesting it is that Senketsu, the eternally "good" Kamui, has a black and red color scheme, colors generally associated with the villain, while Junketsu has a white and blue color scheme, colors generally associated with the hero. Hm.
Other than that, all business as usual. Still love how much attention the minor characters are getting, still hate Harime with a burning hot passion, still think Satsuki is cooler than Ryuko, still love the way the animators can never quite get down how large Gamagoori is supposed to be. Kill La Kill is so much fun. What an experience.
Editorial - Trigger's statement that I cannot reccommend
(All that is beneath the readmore is only an opinion. Take it however you wish. And, in addition, due to the polarizing nature of Kill La Kill, those who have a distaste for the show should steer clear.)
(there's a tl;dr at the bottom for short summary)
For those who have stayed out of the anime news loop, Kill La Kill is a rather recent anime that's been polarizing the community, rife with controversy on any side of the argument. But what's more important in this little article is the studio behind it all.
Studio Trigger was established in 2011(3 years ago at the current time of writing)by ex-Gainax employees. It hadn't done much, besides the popular Little Witch Academia. But all that changed with the announcement and development of Kill La Kill. It was big news, and still is now, being their first television series, and the indicator of their talent.
And what an indicator it is. With fantastic animation, a fantastic soundtrack, and good voice work, Trigger has clearly showed that it has talent, quite a bit. However. As the title may indicate, all is not sunshine and rainbows. You ask why? Well, the disclaimer at the top is perhaps the main reason, the show's polarizing nature.
You see, for those who have not yet seen the show, despite it being very action packed at a breakneck pace, it's not the standard beat-em-up. Kill La Kill suffers from the ever present issue that is incredibly gratuitous fanservice. Placing the main characters in extremely skimpy outfits ranging from cleavage central to a bare ass in the center of the camera, it can be viewed as rather tasteless. And despite the argument that it's all a metaphor for puberty, or whatever that theory is now, nobody can deny that it can be a huge factor against the show, driving away many viewers. Not only that, but it sets a poor precedent for the taste of the show on an outward look, making it look like nothing but a fetish board, which is further re-established by scenes illustrated later on in the series.
We're getting into spoilers here, so steer clear if you don't want to be spoiled. Despite it being incredibly important to this article, I can understand if you don't wish to continue. As well, I'm going to establish a Trigger Warning for Molestation/Sexual Harassment right here. With all that said, let's continue on.
In later episodes, one of our main antagonists, Satsuki Kiryuuin, is shown being molested on multiple occasions by her mother, Ragyo Kiryuuin, and little detail is spared on the visual aspects. From caressing to spanking, it's all there right in front of you. And, since this is an opinionated article, I'm going to flat out state that it's rather disturbing. Being both incestuous and nonconsensual, it's honestly extraordinarily off-putting, and can cause many watchers to immediately drop the show, which is completely understandable. Despite the intention being to establish Ragyo as a despicable character(which it does quite well) the intention does not detract from the extreme nature of the scene, which further adds to the overall poor view from outside view, making it once again seem as though that Kill La Kill is akin to High School Of The Dead or Seikon No Qwaser, which it really is not, despite seeming so.
And that's really what this all comes together to establish. The polarizing and controversial nature of Kill La Kill causes me to be unable to recommend it to really anyone with a good conscience, which is a shame, as the show does have good aspects to it.
Yet, I must throw in another however. Despite all the controversy surrounding the show, and my many personal issues with it, I CAN say that Kill La Kill is a fantastic "statement," as the title indicates. Meaning, it's a surefire show that Studio Trigger itself has intense talent, and could do something great. I'll actually go out on a limb and say that I will bet my several side jobs and contracts that Studio Trigger WILL do something big.
tl;dr:
Kill La Kill acts as a statement showcasing Studio Trigger's overall potential, however, due to it's controversial and polarizing nature, I cannot recommend it with a good heart, but this does not detract from the quality beneath the rather intense and off-putting fanservice.
After enough breaks and hiatus's(hiatusi? boatload of hiatus? what even is the pluralization of hiatus) we're going to be back in a big way. I meant to do this sooner, but due to intense computer troubles, I've been unable to do so. However, my computer is now repaired and thus, I can finally start updating more. We've got a few plans in the works, and we can finally start acting on them.
(Also, I'll actually remember to queue up Music For Today. Finally. I'm so sorry.)
We hope you enjoy us actually being a presence on your dash! Not a big one, but hey, anything is bigger than nothing.
The more episodes of Space Dandy that end with one or all of the characters dying or being put into some position in which they cannot escape, and then not explaining it at all the next episode, the happier I will be. The best thing this show could do, in my opinion, would be to end every episode like that. Specifically the end of this episode was right up there with the pitch-perfect episode four, with what may or may not have been an homage to the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Well, seeing as Shinichiro Watanabe did an entire episode in Bebop that was basically an Alien parody, then ended it with a 2001 homage, I'm gonna go ahead and say yeah, I think it was. Hooray for movie references.
Just when I start to get frustrated with Space Dandy, it pulls out something like this. To say the quality of this episode was a shock would be an understatement; I was ready to drop the show when I started the episode, and ended hooked. This wasn't even the best episode yet. It just convinced me that episode 4 wasn't a fluke; that the staff of Space Dandy are capable of producing consistently good material. Now they just have to do it.
What was so good about this episode? I couldn't even tell you. Even though it uses as many cliches as episodes 5 and 6, it's different somehow. It doesn't let cliches drive the plot, it takes charge of the cliches it's using, makes them conform to the logic of Space Dandy, rather than the other way around. When I first saw the preview, I dismissed this as being a Redline ripoff, but to be quite honest, I think I enjoyed this more than Redline. It had the insanity of a classic cartoon; the laws of physics are totally disregarded, and it uses the most contrived, arbitrary setup to throw the characters right into an absurd situation which will require many hilarious gadgets and slapstick to get out of. Will the next episode live up to this one? I really hope so.
Kill La Kill Episode 19- Attack of the Stylish Suits
*Warning: spoilers for episode 19 of Kill La Kill*
We've entered the final stage of Kill La Kill now, where the heroes AND initial villains have all teams up against the big bad and her evil empire, there's a team of underground rebels fighting guerrilla warfare, one of our heroes is in a coma and one is captured by the enemy. But as cliche as it is, Kill La Kill, much like Hiroyuki Imaishi's entire other body of work, has a way of embracing cliche so that in spite of, or perhaps because of, having seen it a thousand times before, you're still able to be thrilled by Imaishi's particularly unconventional spin on it.
I loved the way the color tones in this episode mirrored the mood. The scenes with Nudist Beach are set under perpetually gray skies, and Satsuki's ornate cell is placed under a single, glaring blue light ad surrounded by cold, white bricks. And at the very end, when Ryuko is awoken from her coma, everything is bathed in a fiery red light. The color change, while a bit cliche, serves one essential purpose; it showcases Ryuko's complete and utter dominance over every single other person in the scene. In the rest of the episode, the mood was set by general consensus; it reflected both the despair of Nudist Beach and the coldness of the Covers, but once Ryuko arrives, it switches to mirror the emotions of one and only one person.
And Ryuko, man! Let's talk about Ryuko! Coming in at the last moment with this vagabond-y ripped cape thing, completely owning all the Covers, and rejecting Senketsu? Whoa! What is going on there. I'm not usually one to theorize, but the music thing that the Covers did was very odd; its only purpose seemed to be to wake Ryuko, and why would they WANT to wake her, if she would then rip them apart? Perhaps it was Ragyo's doing; perhaps her aim is to get Ryuko out of control, like that episode where she turns into a monster and wrecks everything.
On a final note, I loved seeing more of the minor characters this episode. I have a weakness for minor characters, I tend to love the ensemble cast of a show, movie, etc. more than the leads. So this episode I loved seeing the Elite Four, Nudist Beach, and the Mankanshoku family interacting as teammates. Also Gamagoori was so adorable when are we going to see him get together with Mako I know I mention this every episode reaction but I really need this.
Space Dandy Episode 6- Social Commentary with Underpants
*Warning: spoilers for episode 6 of Space Dandy*
It's like that one episode of Star Trek! With the guys with the half-black half-white faces who are stuck in a never-ending war or whatever. Except with underpants. In fact, the more I think about it, the more ridiculously similar this episode of Space Dandy is to the incredibly famous "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." In fact, it probably was based on it, because the character of Space Dandy himself is kind of a riff on characters like Jim Kirk. But I feel like Watanabe's attempt at making a homage episode (which he did frequently in Cowboy Bebop) is marred y the fact that it's not very clear it's a homage, and seems like either a ripoff or simply a dumb, ham-handed episode.
The episode showcases two aliens who are the last remnants of a 10,000 year war between people who wear underpants and people who wear vests. It's the perfect example of what happens when an absurdist comedy show like Space Dandy tries to do any kind of social commentary; the strain to inject comedy into their "serious issue" makes the entire episode feel forced.
But on the other hand, I applaud Watanabe for trying, whether the episode was a tar Trek homage, or just an attempt for an episode with an Aesop at the end, it was something different, which Space Dandy really needs. So far, nothing has even come close to episode 4, the one with the zombies, so that, I think, is what Space Dandy needs: complete and vicious mockery of cliche, not subtle parody or homages.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 18 of Kill La Kill*
If nothing else, the imagery of Kill La Kill is bar none. Singular shots in Kill La Kill are some of the funniest, most dramatic, and most bizarre in any anime, and you can certainly appreciate that if nothing else about the show. I love the way they'll occasionally make one character several stories high for a monologue so they can tower over their adversary. It's just the kind of thing that's only achievable in a format like anime.
Also, thank god Harime is down for the count. I can't even express how much I hated her. I kind of wanted her to have a one-on-one with Jakuzure, a sort of ego vs ego thing, because I've grown to quite like Jakuzure. But, it makes more sense to give Ryuko the final say. Hopefully, Harime IS gone; after all, we never saw her actual demise.
And what about all the plot twists, huh? They all swept by me so fast, I'm still processing everything that happened. But basically, Ragyo's still alive and the good guys are screwed, eh? Huzzah. Man, I just want Ryuko to catch a good break for once. Oh well, I will have lots of fun watching the Elite Four and Nudist Beach working on the same side again. Especially seeing Gamagoori and Mako working together (did somebody say OTP?).
Also, Ragyo is an awful person. Congrats Trigger, you really made a completely despicable villain. Wow.
This episode was so cliche I was wondering at times whether or not it was supposed to be a parody. But everything was more or less played straight, and unless you count me laughing at how dumb everything was, nothing was ever very funny. Especially compared to the brilliance of the last episode, this was an incredible disappointment.
I don't even know what to say about it. Like, this was the most cookie-cutter plot I've seen in an anime in a long time, especially for one this original. I guess you couldn't really call it filler, since apparently the girl will join the Aloha Oe once she's an adult, which will give Dandy a great opportunity to act like a creepy pervert 24/7. I mean, I know he's supposed to parody womanizing space heroes like Kirk and such, but come onnnnnn. It's starting to grate on my nerves honestly, and the fact that this is actually not very uncommon in anime just depresses me.
QT and Meow are the best characters in the show, in my opinion. Not that Dandy is terrible, but I'd like to see more of them if possible. But what I'd like to see the most of, really, are those gimmicky episodes like episode 4, the definite best episode in the series so far. At this point, I can't make any real statement on the progress of this anime, being only 5 episodes in. It's reminding me of Kill La Kill actually, how its quality goes up and down randomly, but let's hope it comes out more consistently better.
Jacob Reviews- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Season 2)
7.95/10 full review under the cut
On April 2nd, 2006, the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya aired on TV, and with it, a new age of moe, slice-of-life, and high school comedy shows that is still running (though losing steam) today. And on April 3rd, 2009, the long-awaited second season of Haruhi Suzumiya aired. But Haruhi had never been the prototypical slice-of-life show, and it would be about to prove that once again, with something called the Endless Eight.
For those of you who don't know, I'm sure there aren't many, Endless Eight is a strange project taken on by the Haruhi staff, in which they took eight episodes from the season (over half), and essentially repeated the plot of one episode, while varying the cinematography, slight details of the scenery, and bits of dialogue. If you've ever seen the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called Cause and Effect, then it's exactly like that, only eight episodes. The whole "deja vu" things sets in pretty quickly for the characters, but they somehow manage to take the 7 episodes to be able to do something about it.
Now, all things said, I loved Endless Eight. It was my favorite part of Haruhi. I'm one of the very few who do, and I don't expect anyone reading this to enjoy it like I did. But to me, Endless Eight was a cinematic treat, a sort of spot-the-difference, but with tone, mood, and camera angles. Scenes that are literally exactly the same feel incredibly different in various episodes, and while I can definitely say it got weary by the end, I'm definitely glad I saw it. And I think everybody should at least try to get through it, it's really an experience.
Unfortunately, the last five episodes of Haruhi are a total disappointment. They're 90% generic slice-of-life situations, with a bunch of drama surrounding Haruhi's powers thrown in that feel really disjointed and half-baked. In the very last episode, they try to toss in some dispute between Asahina and Koizumi, but nothing ever really comes to it, and the episode, the plotline, and indeed, the entire series, comes to a rather abrupt and disappointing end. In fact, I'd recommend either skipping it completely or watching it at some other time in the series other than the end, because it really is an incredibly lame end to a series, which I suppose it technically is.
Basically, this season is practically a different show from the first. The animation, for one thing, really showcases Kyoani's maturity as a studio; no longer does the style look like the animators still don't quite have a grasp on how digital animation works. It's worth noting that this aired at the same time as K-On, and the resemblance in the art shows. And since Endless Eight makes up the majority of the season, it's hard to look at the season as a whole, expect by looking at the plot of the last five episodes, which I don't really want to do.
In my personal opinion, it's hard to even look at this as a full season; it's just Endless Eight with some crap tacked on at the end. So it's pretty hard to recommend. I'd say, watch the whole thing if you're a fan of Haruhi, and watch only Endless Eight if you're just looking for something strange and different to watch, and weren't repulsed by the first season.
*Warning: spoilers for episode 17 of Kill La Kill*
Oh man. Oh maaaaaaaaan. OH MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! Who could have EVER predicted this! Satsuki is hands down my favorite character in Kill La Kill now. This all but proves the creators are making this up as they go along, but man, when they get it right, they get it RIGHT. Satsuki stabbing, then crucifying her mother, then proclaiming her new allegiance as her mother's blood rains over her. Now THAT'S badass.
I don't even know what to say. Especially because most of the rest of the episode was just leading up to the last moment. i guess the only way to go is forwards; looking at what's going to happen in the future of Kill La Kill. Will Honnouji Academy and Nudist Beach team up? Will we see Satsuki and Ryuko fight side by side? Does this mean Mako x Gamagoori could become canon? The latter of course being the most important. Come on, Trigger, I'm counting on you!
And a big "I told you so" to everyone who thought the bathhouse scene was just kind of disturbing fanservice. It's pretty clear now it was put there to emphasize the abusive and controlling relationship Raygo had with her daughter. Now, the audience is fully ready to see Satsuki switch teams and get ready to fight alongside her mortal enemy. Are you psyched? I know I am.
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