“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”
– A commenter that’s definitely not alone on that. We’re only an episode down and Sarazanmai is already testing viewers’ sphincter strength…let that sink in for a second.
SEASONAL PRATTLE
Carole & Tuesday (1)
As with almost anything that’s well built, it’s taken a lot of care and a variety of impressive components to get here. Carole & Tuesday’s premiere lives up to its billing, braced by a wonderful production effort that offers just as much functionality as beauty – gently walking viewers through the opening stages of a seamless journey of art and self-discovery. Shinichiro Watanabe’s vision never feels indecisive. His firm control comes across in the tiniest strokes, like the stream of incidental details that begins to cleanly thread the world when following Carole’s daily life. It’s in the bigger strokes too, with plenty of timely shots that catch the swirling congestion that surrounds Tuesday’s trek or the raw emotion that bubbles through in her duet. Easily a confident start when it comes to its telling and one that raises many positive flags for future content to come.
Sarazanmai (1)
Ikuhara’s works tend to have a natural barrier of accessibility given their deliberately cloaked, yet dense, brand of storytelling. Be that as it may, it’s absolutely worth crossing that barrier for Sarazanmai – a premiere that bridges meticulous visual craft goodness with a level of creative insight only Ikuhara can bring to a project. Our quirky director wastes no time getting knee-deep in a spread of potential thematic pools, particularly hinting at understanding and acceptance in equal measure with slick efficiency, and reinforcing that with a beautiful final quarter that ties its opening material together with style. It’s hard not to be impressed from a construction standpoint with just how powerful this first episode was.
One Punch Man 2 (1)
As much as its discourse suggested this to be a trainwreck, One Punch Man’s sequel was actually pretty manageable in its debut – obviously a visual step back from what viewers would like, but by no means an outright awful effort when it was all said and done. Action-oriented scenes weren’t as rigid and lifeless as foretold; There’s a reasonable amount of competency in the way sequences are imagined noticeably once Genos starts getting active. It also helps a bunch that this franchise’s intangible touch points are still very much in play here: OPM’s knack for understanding the timing and pop when it comes to pulling off its gags is still a lovely feature and makes this premiere just that much more palpable than it was initially assumed to be.
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Kimetsu no Yaiba (2)
Kimestu no Yaiba continues to be a juggling act of strengths and weaknesses in its second showing, but one that’s not balanced in the slightest. On the bright side, there’s a fair blend of plot beats and craft embellishments that do a respectable job in keeping the viewer engaged: Both Kajiura’s involvement and various sound effects like Nezuko’s punt and Tanjiro’a interaction with traps are pulled off sharply and particularly deserve praise. However, these aspects are out leveled by some prominent hang-ups. There’s still no antidote in sight for Tanjiro narrating blatantly observable details, such as Nezuko’s frown when she was in the hole or his sudden athleticism when he was avoiding the traps. Piling on, there’s a greater concentration of rougher CG polluting a variety of scenes, with its tonal detraction only being outdone by episode two’s use of comedy – implemented at really poor times. I still have faith that Yaiba will iron out the wrinkles once it really gets going, but in a vacuum of just this episode, I would be lying if I said this was a confidence boost.
Hitoribocchi no ○○ Seikatsu (2)
Second time around and HitoriBocchi is still a pretty enjoyable watch, albeit, toting similar issues as its week one version. This latest episode further pushes concern with the series’ loose management of time and content density; Stretching Bocchi’s explanation for why Sunao’s mad at her well past the expiration date for its level of pay off. Thankfully, a healthy dose of Bocchi’s typical friend needy antics alleviates a bit of the drag, and its second half has a notable uptick with Aru getting more hands-on with the narrative. Wishing HitoriBocchi is more economical with its minutes next week, but certainly satisfied with the product we received here.
Kenja no Mango (1)
Outside of a handful of polished sequences, Kenja no Mago feels like it’s not even trying to offer any value in this opening episode. Almost every other plot beat here is lowly invested, struggling to push the dirty worn husk of a basic Isekai setup as its telling comes off as rushed on more than one occasion. For that, our twenty minutes are essentially spent being propelled by a speedrun of stale Isekai tropes – only shifting away from this formula to fall on its face as it attempts to pull off comedy. By credit roll, it’s easy to see this series is comfortable with chasing mediocrity – leaving us on a note that suggests more of the same next week.
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