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deltaengineering · 3 years

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Spring Anime 2021: Embarrassment of Riches

So this current anime season absolutely stinks, which just makes the last one look even more impressive. Well, maybe not all of it...

Zombieland Saga Revenge

First off, you don't need to tell me that the following is a severe outlier opinion. We good? Ok. ZLSR is, in a word, subpar. I liked S1 back in the day, but it was already in the process of getting lazy towards the end. S2 continues this trend and is basically just another idol show. And as someone who actually does watch other idol shows I have to say that it's not a particularly good one of those either. The zombie gimmick has mostly stopped mattering and we're just doing what every idol show does, only with the odd occasional sight gag. The alleged subversive qualities mostly amount to a flashback for Yuugiri, which is admittedly the best part of the show but feels like it barely has anything to do with anything. Apart from that, it's a bunch of generic idol plots, rehashed character beats, shoddy attempts at twists (while not connecting to any setups from S1), and the obligatory "idols give us hope" ending, which is terribly hackneyed and flat out bad. Tae gets further memed into the ground, because of course she does. And there's stuff that was simply never good to begin with, like Kotarou and his comedy schtick, which gets truly insufferable now that there's no qualities to distract from it. It really makes me think that S1 wasn't even all that good to begin with and seems like an attempt to turn this surprise success into an easy money longrunner with no edge and no ambitions. "The idol show for people who don't watch idol shows" indeed, but not the way you mean it. 4/10

Bakuten

But not to dwell on the failures, with the second show we're already above the cut — barely. This one got my attention with its really impressive performance scenes early on and it totally sticks to that, which is even more impressive. But besides that? Well, this is by far the most predictable show in a season where I watched an unambitious Kiraralike and put ZLS on blast for having no ideas. The characters are a mixed bag, some are cool (Shida, Asawo), some are very annoying (Mashiro), but those are the supports. The main cast is extremely one-dimensional, which is fine until they try to heap a ton of pathos on their lead, which doesn't go well. But I guess execution matters, and Bakuten is slick enough to get by. Writing this down in stark daylight I feel like I overrated this show somewhat (I actually put it over the next one originally, which definitely doesn't hold up when thinking about it), but I was indeed mostly entertained. 6/10

Yakunara Mug Cup mo

Yeah. Of course Mug Cup definitely doesn't invent or subvert anything either, but it's a pretty good Kiraralike that's always entertaining to watch. Explaining the qualities of such a nothing genre is as difficult as ever, but it mostly comes down to me liking the characters and it having nothing to annoy me. It's shorter than normal, which is a plus for slim shows like this. And yeah, you can make an excessive amount of dick jokes with the clay fondling. That helps too. Looks are just fine, pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary. Comfy low-effort anime. 6/10

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

This one is decent, but sadly still a major letdown. Because the first few episodes of Vivy were excellent and kicked ass, but then it became increasingly clear that the writing can't cash the checks the ideas wrote while the action starts running into severely diminishing returns. Vivy just keeps slowly getting worse and worse as it goes on, not by a huge amount each episode but by the end there's a pretty sizeable gulf between potential and result. Going into detail would probably be a little much for this venue because there's a lot, but from the top level view the issue is that while Vivy has good fundamental ideas and steals at the right places, it just isn't a smart show — it's schlock, and by the end, poorly thought out schlock that tries to smooth out every problem with liberal application of the big feels hammer and le epic twist at that. Yeah, couldn't tell that the Re:Zero dude was aboard here, for sure. That said, it still works pretty well as entertaining schlock that is not to be taken too seriously, and the characters are generally just very fun to watch even when they're doing stupid things. Still, I can't in good conscience rate this higher than Beatless, a show that looks like butt but properly executes on its ideas. 6/10

Super Cub

So this is 100% a Honda commercial, and I got really mad a Yuru Camp last season for being a blatant shill. Yet I'm feeling this, what gives? I think the main difference is that Super Cub is specifically a commercial for one product (and a very iconic product at that), while Yuru Camp is so all over the place that it ends up mostly a commercial for consumerism in general. And when Super Cub goes too hard on the product (which it does), it's at least pretty entertaining. That's something about Super Cub in general: It goes hard. Your regular Kiraralike this is not, because it's uncommonly slow, focused and moody - yes, it almost measures up to Yuru Camp at its best and demolishes it at its worst. Also, it's just extremely amusing to see sadblob Koguma grow a huge grizzly biker beard and become a badass outlaw dad to her goofy wife and cute daughter, all thanks to the power of afforable personal transportation. Needless to say, that can get unintentionally silly, but Super Cub has so much charm that it doesn't matter — it's great when it's good and still funny when it's not. 7/10

Shadows House

Shadows House turned up with a lot of potential, and I have to say it at least delivered on most of it. It has some problems; notably I'm not a fan of how the entire middle turned out to be a tournament arc of sorts that seems curiously inspired by Resident Evil memes, crest-shaped intentations and boulder punching included. I also think that this is a show that would be perfectly fine without explaining much, but I guess it is a shounen manga after all so we got dumped on eventually anyway. At least that came late - close relative Promised Neverland didn't show that much restraint. Shadows House is generally well written though, with great characters, interesting interactions and a great hook. But what really makes it memorable is that it's exceptionally good at the cute/creepy contrast, something that is often tried but rarely works as well as here, with great character designs and very appropriate production. I hope this gets a sequel, because it seems like it's just getting started. 7/10

SSSS.Dynazenon

Coming in with a fondness for Gridman, Dynazenon didn't have to do much to convince me. The surprise though is that it's not a rehash even if it's basically the same show, a character drama where occasionally huge and goofy fights break out. Dynazenon is Gridman done better, and the interesting part is how it accomplishes this - mainly by being far more conventional. I do appreciate that Gridman went for something weird and almost experimental, but that only really paid off towards the end while most of the show was a distraction/holding pattern. It just didn't feel like there was enough material for a full series there, more like a movie maybe, if even that. Dynazenon fixes this by just being a TV show, with an actual cast of characters that each have their own arc. And by spreading the material this way, Dynazenon ends up having a lot more nuance than its intensely focused predecessor, while having the same themes and not actually being any deeper. In a way, Gridman ends up looking like the spinoff in retrospect, while Dynazenon is the full package. 8/10

Thunderbolt Fantasy S3

So how good was this season? So good that Thunderbolt Fantasy doesn't end up at the top, that's how. And all the elements that made Tbolt such a sure thing are still there, big hammy puppets doing stunts and scheming never gets old. However, I do have to note that at this point, the writing appears to have gotten too comfortable. I don't expect it to ever top the amazing S1 ending, but at this point it's like Tbolt has stopped trying to deliver on endings at all and seems in the process of retooling itself into a longrunner instead. Barely anything gets resolved in S3 (the climax is that the climax of S2 is resolved again, for good this time... maybe), and everything else is just setting up plotpoints for the next season. Tbolt is truly lucky that it doesn't actually need to resolve anything to be a great time, but at this point I have to say that I'd appreciate it if they wrapped it up with S4. 8/10

Nomad: Megalobox 2

Speaking of sequels to shows I liked, Nomad doesn't so much improve upon its predecessor but steamrolls right over it. This is a tall order, since Megalobox was surprisingly good for a sports shounen and had a real nice, heartwarming ending that Nomad instantly negates for purposes of drama and everyone being extremely miserable. That sounds like a pretty terrible idea - and it would be, if Nomad wasn't as excellent as it is. To call it not the same show would be an understatement, because it's a true sequel, not just the same characters doing their thing some more, or new characters doing the same thing as the old ones did. Indeed my biggest problem with Megalobox was that it still closely adhered to its genre template and was very predictable; Nomad fixes this issue thoroughly. Nomad is about questioning what being a hotblooded shounen protagonist eventually leads you to, and how to fix everything you screwed up by being one. You could call it a deconstruction, but that term has been so abused for cynical, edgy "thing you like actually sucks" takes that I feel like it doesn't really fit here. Nomad isn't cynical at all, it's just a character drama about some boxers past their prime, and it being a sequel to a show that is indeed rather formulaic just enhances the experience. My biggest issue with it was that I really like what they did with Joe in this story, so the big focus on Mac's backstory felt like a distraction for a long time. But in the end that turned out to be absolutely necessary to make the ending work. The ending's just great, by the way, and I shall say not more about it. 9/10

Odd Taxi

Yeah boy, here's the show that has apparently become somewhat of a "greatest show you didn't watch" meme, which I can feel smug about because I don't need YouTubers to tell me what's good and followed this from day one. Anyway, Odd Taxi is indeed great, the greatest show in a few years even. What starts out as seemingly a relaxed hangout show in the vein of Midnight Diners quickly turns into a psychological murder mystery while never losing its quirky humor. The character writing is outstanding, with even small bit players being on a level that the average anime wishes it could have for leads. And the rollout of the mystery is exemplary, with answers given and new questions raised every episode with a satisfying and logical payoff in the end. This is also the rare anime that has rock solid production from the first to the last second; it's never really flashy but excellently done and highly consistent nonetheless. And the music just owns. I have a few complaints, mainly that there's a few logical weaknesses in the story (which wouldn't even register in a lesser show, but sticks out here since the rest is so immaculately constructed) and that the ending overextends on the emotions when the rest of the show is so reserved and dry in comparison. But those are only the reasons why I didn't give it perfect marks, and I almost did that anyway. 9/10

#Zombieland Saga #bakuten #yakunara mug cup mo #vivy: fluorite eye's song #super cub #shadows house #ssss.dynazenon #thunderbolt fantasy #nomad megalo box #odd taxi #anime #review #spring2021

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toku-explained · 3 years

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The Master Swordsman's End

SSSS.Dynazenon: Gagula continues to rampage while Kaiser GridKnight lies defeated. 2nd has no more Fixer Beams, but tries to ease Gauma's pain. As Kaiser GridKnight struggles to stand and fight, Koyomi is running. Juuga, Mujina and Onija are surprised there's another kaiju, and try to use Instance Domination only to realise it's Sizumu, and they call out, wanting to fight more, and Gagula consumes them, evolving. Gauma opens his eyes, but can tell he hasn't got long, he apologises to Yomogi and Yume for getting them involved in his Battle, Yomogi says it's only because of him they've made bonds, he thanks them and asks that they thank Koyomi too. Gagula breaks Kaiser GridKnight into constituent parts, Yomogi and Yume rush for DynaWing and DynaSoldier, Chise leaps off her train, DynaStriker lands in front of Koyomi. Gauma starts pulling himself up, intending to help finish Gagula to give his friends a future, and we see like Koyomi, Yomogi now has a scar similar to Gauma's. He thinks he's missed his chance with Yume, and leaps into DynaSoldier. As GridKnight struggles, DynaStriker rolls in, Mujina from inside angrily yells at Koyomi for touching her again. Yume falls, also getting a scar, and tells Kano she'll make it, DynaSoldier appearing to get her there. Chise sees Goldburn and calls out, he wakes up, and flies into shield mode to protect GridKnight, then DynaSoldier Wing Combine leaps in, and DynaDiver joins the fight Gauma piloting with help from 2nd. He apologises to the confused Koyomi, and tells Knight he'll help if he likes it or not. They form Kaiser GridKnight and fight. Onija declares his goal to destroy humanity, Yomogi rejects that, Juuga talks up how important Gauma is, which Gauma dismisses, Mujina claims Koyomi caused her to realise Kaiju was all she had, he can only apologise. Yomogi and Yune call out to Suzumu, but he refuses to respond. As Gagula overpowers them with a blast, Yomogi detaches Dynamic Cannon to try Instance Domination again as he flies DynaSoldier at Gagula. He gets a definite reaction, causing Gagula to point it Blast away from Kaiser GridKnight. They split, Dynazenon launching all it has at Gagula, followed by Goldburn attaching as wings to GridKnight, flying past Gaguka and wrecking the back, before riding DynaRex. Sizumu stays silent as Onija, Juuga and Mujina declares their hatred of the "false kaiju", attacking and met by the Grid Rex Roar, Gagula loses the clas and the heroes fly in to finish things. The Eugenecists die, Onija seemingly glad to die again, Mujina wondering if it's for the best, Juuga sure kaiju will have their day, Sizumu still silent. Gauma collapses, dying as he is sad he never met her, but glad he met his friends, understanding why he was entrusted Dynazenon. Chise watches everyone descend fro the remains of DynaRex, except Gauma.

3 months later, Yomogi and Yume walk together, meeting under the bridge Gauma lived with everyone, Koyomi has changed his look and is working, a healed Goldburn is waiting. Yomogi and Yume remember Gauma always said 3 things must be kept, Love and Promises, but don't know the third. Knight and 2nd prepare warp out of this world, taking Goldburn and the inert form of DynaRex with them, as the gang wave, Chise calls after the best friend she ever had, and the group vanish into Hyper World. Yomogi and Yume head to some planned meeting. Chise and Koyomi stand outside Chise's school, under repair, and it turns out Inamoto-san's husband got Koyomi his job, he insists she's not an ex but a friend, Chise now has her dragon tattoo uncovered. At the school festival Mei's photos include ones of Yume, who needs to do something. Yomogi tells his mother and Kamijo where to go, when his mother asks about Gauma he opts to explain he's banned from school grounds, before being dragged over to the waiting Awaki, Nazumi, Ranka and Kaneishi, telling him to find Yume while Mei just appears there. She's sat in a corner of the roof when he finds her, they're meant to be running the café now. Yume offers her hand and tells him to take her, and he hears Sizumu's voice from a Computer World environment, questioning why he "wasted" his potential to be a Kaiju User, arguing if he'd embraced kaiju and destruction he'd have experienced true freedom, questioning if he'll regret it. Yomogi isn't sure, but intends to live, and rejects Sizumu's philosophy that bonds are shackles, Sizumu doesn't get it. Yomigi comes back and helps Yume up, calling her by her first name for the first time at her prompting. They get to work at the café, hoping their scars stay with them. In Computer World, Knight looks at the seal from the statue, and DynaRex stands once more. Scarred Souls Shine like Stars.

Heroes' Odyssey: Zero looks at Belial's battle with the Ultras of the Land of Light, theft of the Plasma Spark, Zero training with Leo, Rei and the Ultras battle with Belial's army, and Zero's joining the battle to defeat him. He uses this to highlight another Ultra who struggled with his own darkness, showing the revival of Hudra, Darramb and Camaerra, and how Tiga Dark appeared to face the threat they unleashed.

Saber: Luna is lost, and Izaak is going full god complex, talking down at Storious, intending to eliminate the Swordsmen, he ambushes the Shindais and turns Durandal into a puppet, forcing him to attack Reika. Yuri hears from Tassel that Luna has appeared. Kento lends him Kurayami. Solomon uses his power to reach into Wonder World to seek Luna and attack Tassel, Sophia can sense his use of the Tome's power, as Sabela contacts Northern Base for help. Slash and Buster join Sabela as Durandal begs them to kill him. Touma, Mei, Rintaro and Kento reach Solomon. Saikou, in Wonder World, blocks the attempt to reach Luna and joins them, Solomon does something that causes him to vanish, and claims Kurayami and Saikou. Xross Saver Brave Dragon, Blades Tategami Hyoujuu Senki and Espada Golden Alangina face him. Tassel reaches Luna, introducing himself and promising to take her to Touna after she understands what she is. A Triple Rider Kick defeats Solomon, who attempts to use his spell to control Touma unsuccessfully, but uses it properly on Blades and Espada. Tassel explains to Luna that she is the embodiment of Wonder World, and her chosen one, Touma, will receive Wonder World's power and live their with her forever, she doesn't want to separate him from his friends though. Kento mocks Izaak for just manipulating people, and Runtaro notes his ambitions have caused him to lose all respect anyone ever held for him. He tries to drag them into darkness, but Yuri reawaken and brakes the attack and the spell, right before Durandal is made to kill Reika. Saber uses Lion Senki and Lamp do Alangina to form Special Edition. Combining their powers, they defeat Solomon, destroying Omni Force. At Southern Base, Ryoga collapses, to both siblings intense relief. Storious laughs. The injured Izaak crawls to a tunnel, where Omni Force reforms, but as he claims eternity, Storious appears, informing him his story is at an end, he reduces him to dust and claims Omni Force for himself, debuting a new outfit.

Zenkaiger: Boccowaus praises Gege, Barashitara grousing that he's treated better despite failing as well, Stacey is distracted by Yatsude reminding him of his mother, Boccowaus has Ijirude lend Gege another gear. Items are magnetised to everyone, thanks to Jishaku World, who disrupts the change by magnetising the Geartlingers, they do separate on changing, but attach to other things, and Jishaku World leaves them trapped until Zox arrives late. They get back to Colourful, there Stacey is having a snack, he gets them to pretend he's an acquaintance, Satoshi, not their enemy, but tension flares as soon as she leaves the room, but nothing happens before they realise the magnetic fields on the Kikainoids are getting stronger and making them flee the shop, Zox is waiting outside, as Magine is trapped Kaito and Secchan realises they need to stop Jishaku World fast. "Satoshi" helps Yatsude tidy up stuff that started moving, leaving but planning to come back, he runs into Kaito trying to get his help. Vroon is caught, and Gaon and Zyuran start pulling CrocoDaiOh, which only avoids crashing thanks to reverse thrusters. Zox argues to Stacey he should help Kaito since he's Yatsude's grandson. After Jishaku World reports to Gege, Stacey tells him the Zenkaigers might have found a way around his powers luring him to where Kaito and Zox are, they start fighting him as Flint keeps fighting to stop CrocoDaiOh hitting Zyuran and Gaon, who arrives at the battle running straight for Jishaku World, forcing him to reduce magnetism in the area so CrocoDaiOh doesn't hit him, and allowing everyone to move better. Zenkaiser uses Fiveman to access FiveRed's physics knowledge that lets him know heat will weaken Jishaku World. Shinken Form uses his fire abilities as Zyuran and Gaon join the fight, ZenkaiZyuran accessing his own fire and lending it to ZenkaiGaon, the 3 weakening him for Zenkaiser. Stacey leaves since he did as asked, Dai Jishaku World takes the field, separating Twokai-Oh, both ZenkaiOhs attempt to form, but are made the same poles. They use this to force Zyuran at Dai Jishaku World, so he pulls them in, only for them all to get stuck to him, but together they attack. Ijirude and Barashitara tell Gege he's not better than them, but he notes his involvement put Boccowaus in a better mood, so they'll now have more chances to try, and tells Stacey he knows what he did, but won't say for now. Yatsude asks Kaito about Satoshi, she could tell something was up when they met, Kaito admits they've fought, but makes clear he wants to be friends.

Dogengers Nice Buddy: Everyone returns to where they were before the distortion, the Dogengers are all asleep. Great Z uses an Affect System drones to warp them and Maid Shitsuji away. Tanaka wakes at home, Maid Shitsuji tells him he was dreaming. Yabai Kamen approaches Great Z, who acknowledges he hasn't been acting out of justice. Yabai Kamen goes to attack him, when Riku arrives in the stage suit to try and stop him, but it's clear Yabai Kamen has the advantagem winning as Riku yells his love for heroes and his father. Yabai Kamen steals one of the 2 remaining drones, and uses it to warp away. Riku and his father reconcile, Riku explaining he truly seeks to be a hero, after a talk, Riku puts his helmet on and Great Z transfers the suit to him, President Hanagata sees his son off. At breakfast, Yabai Kamen reveals he has the Affect System drones and declares they're enemies again and warps away, the rest of Aku no Himitsu Kessya say their goodbyes, thanking for the hospitality, and leave. At Fukuoka Dome Yabai Kamen is surrounded by the Dogengers immediately, and runs with 2 Karami, when the Dogenfers eventually corner him, Kitaqman Metal is thrown at the defeated pile he's making by the rest of Aku no Himitsu Kessya. A voice announces, as Yabai Kamen seems to have expected, the arrival of Great Z. Yabai Kanen crushes the drone using it to upgrade, in turn Gulf, Gallia, Uzagi and Nectaris unveil their own upgrades. Yabai Kamen mourns the loss of Shuraomaru, only for him to appear and unveil his new form.

#toku explained #kamen rider saber #kikai sentai zenkaiger #dogengers #ssss.dynazenon

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