|
Endorph posted:oh my god i forgot to vote for blue reflection ray
|
#
¿
Jan 1, 2022 03:28
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 14, 2024 04:02 |
|
|
1. Eighty-Six (Season One) San Magnolia's silver-haired Alba have labelled the rest of the country's people '86', stripped them of their citizenship and rights, and banished them to die in deathtrap mecha on the front lines of an unceasing defensive war. With this premise, Eighty-Six might have been yet another lazy allegory with nothing to say beyond the true-but-well-trodden "racism is bad"—but it isn't. We're given a look at both the original purpose of 86 dehumanization and the rhetoric and policies that ensure San Magnolian citizens continue to buy into it. Firstly, state media and education, including military education, hold that San Magnolian mecha are 'autonomous' and the 86 do not exist. Secondly, in-person and visual contact between Alba and 86 is kept to an absolute minimum lest Alba see the 86's humanity; even commanders, who are Alban, never once see their squads, communicating only via "Para-Raid", a voice-only sense-sharing technology. This angle is supported by a genius framing device: each episode is split into two halves, one shown from the perspective of Alban major Vladlena and the other from her squadron "Spearhead." The two sides mostly cover the same stretch of time, so events and (thanks to Para-Raid) audio are largely duplicated, but the visuals are entirely different—and that can entirely change the nature of a scene. In one early episode, what Vladlena sees as a pleasant call is visibly tense on Spearhead's end. It helps that both halves are laden with interesting (and gorgeous) imagery. Season One is excellent and largely self-contained (remarkably so for a split-cour anime that ends on a blatant cliffhanger). You can watch it without committing to Season Two and beyond, so give it a try. 2. Blue Reflection Ray Compared to fellow character-drama-cum-mahou-shoujo anime Madoka and GRANBELM, Blue Reflection Ray does a questiobable job of uniting its two halves—or maybe the magical girl half just isn't great; it's stuffed with magibabble and motionless action, and the show's limited budget and baffling art style hurt it the most. But even so, its drama side is excellent. Mundane moments never feel underwritten or by-the-book: when co-protagonist Hiori describes how her mother walked out to buy lightbulbs and never came back, she doesn't finish by trailing off or bursting into tears; she concludes, "So we just bought some new ones ourselves." The show's high points are its two episode-length villain flashbacks, which do more than provide backstory: even on their own, they're compelling, and surprisingly real, tragedies. 3. SSSS.Dynazenon I like Dynazenon's cast a lot. Yomogi aside, the protagonists are allowed to be fuckups: Yume is a social outcast and serial ditcher, Koyomi is a NEET, Chise skips her classes, and Gauma is a crab-eating bridge troll. It's refreshing. The action, unfortunately, falls flat for me—particularly when it comes to the kaiju, whose powers are conceptually cool but horribly underutilized. This was a a problem in Gridman, too, and I really hope Gridman x Dynazenon puts it to rest. 4. Re:Zero Season Two Part Two The pact is fulfilled. 5. idk what else i watched this year It hasn't been a great one. Eighty-Six Season Two is edging closer and closer to mid and Yuuki Yuuna: Dai-Mankai no Shou tried to cram two light novel series and the previous season's ending into one cour. Even Wonder Egg Priority, which had the strongest premiere of the year, fell apart utterly in the second half— 5. The First Six Episodes of Wonder Egg Priority ootokoito 4ever
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2022 03:44
|
|