“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”

– Just one of many similar comments flooding in after this week’s Yaiba. I guess we’re really turning a blind eye to their output of God Eater, Tales of Zestiria the X, and KatsugekiTouken Ranbu for basically the last half-decade.

 

 

SEASONAL PRATTLE

Carole & Tuesday (3)

Good mix of creative directing and digestible writing this week, that not only keeps Carole & Tuesday free-flowing and fun, but also effortless when it attempts to rock the boat emotionally. As much mileage this series gets out of its incidental detailing, quietly compiling building blocks that flesh out its world and leads with seemingly every turn of the camera, it’s getting even more mileage out of its songs:  Episode three’s insert is particularly wonderful, doubling as a beautiful track and a slick narrative piece with its reflective lyrics and spontaneous nature.  Carole & Tuesday may very well continue to progress in a pretty typical fashion for its genre space, but with all its clear embellishments and lacing like we received today, that’s more than acceptable.

Attack on Titan S3 part 2 (1)

Great to see Attack on Titan is still in very fine shape, glazing evocative sequences with a meaty level of dynamism and rigid understanding of pace. I love how clean Araki and Wakano are when it comes to getting viewers resituated with this work’s general touch and tone;  For as lovely as this first episode comes across from a visual craft sense, it’s almost equally as well built as a pure tension piece.  Even better, our twenty minutes spent feel very decisive, down to the way certain scenes scale and how dialogue lands with clear emotional intent. Attack on Titan can be loud in its telling and a little trigger happy with its hooks from time to time, but that’s simply not the case here. This is a well-done premiere played at the appropriate volume with plenty of tangibles that could be applauded.

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san (3)

Checking in on Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san for the first time in one of these posts, and so far,  it’s competently ticking all the box of its genre with steady efficiency.  The art design is non-abrasive, the show’s comedic side is ripe enough to carry when needed, and its overall delivery has a keen level of comfortability with the warm notes it wants to hit. Our latest episode, in particular, shows a lot of promise that the supporting cast can be effective contributors – not only adding to the wholesome, family heavy dynamic with Yasuko stopping by for a meal but also immediately upping its comedic appealing with a few different wrinkles. Nicely done.
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Ao-chan Can’t Study! (4) 

The thing about a narrative like this is it’s often more brittle than audiences think, given its high reliance on situational comedy and cute, good-intentioned attempts at relationship progression –  even a handful of drama can be a dangerous ingredient if cooked wrong.  Thus, it’s paramount that Miyabi’s inclusion in this recent showing and the drama that she does introduce fits snuggly in with Ao-Chan’s current mode and flow – an aspect that’s handled with little irritation here. Miyabi’s flirting scenes with Kijima and overall positioning as a rival for Horie work effectively, coming from an understandable perspective and never washing out this series typical set of strengths. More importantly, Miyabi’s bits act as a decent splash of narrative grease to push the romantic uncertainties between our lead pair forward, setting up for what should be an eventful next episode.

Kimetsu no Yaiba (4)

It’s certainly a shame, this work has appealing aesthetic prowess especially in this latest offering – where weight and movement in and out of combat are purposeful and thoughtful, mixing beautifully with a variety of gorgeous comps and glitzy sword effects. Be that as it may,  Kimetsu no Yaiba’s inadequacy when it comes to its written elements still balances the scales  – yet again starkly coming off as a run of the mill Shounen in textual structure and flow even now with the anticipated Final Selection underway. Throwing fuel on the fire, parts that clearly attempt to gain emotional footing, like Sabito and Mokomo’s material, are routinely undermined by their predictable build – a fate that episode four’s conclusion would also sadly suffer.

Isekai Quartet (3)

Perhaps it’s because of its short run length or the way it prioritizes certain interactions between the cast, but Isekai Quartet distinctly feels like it’s not living up to its potential –  burning too much time on narrative choices that really don’t take advantage of the characters at its disposal.  For every good moment we receive this week, like Albedo x Rem or Tanya x Ainz, there’s twice as much uninteresting writing spent on establishing this series’ flimsy school backdrop. It would be lovely if we could just see these characters bounce off of one another without its classroom spin eating away at what little clock it has.

 

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO (4)

This series has really been a vortex for Seasonal Prattle on a whole for the last month – having more than its fair share of storytelling red flags and straight up pitfalls to push a viewer away in less than an episode’s time, but being vaguely magnetic with its Steins:Gate like vibes and core conceit to genuinely see where it’s going. With that noted,  It helps a lot that episode four’s “twist” packs enough momentum to dent what’s otherwise a heavy serving of serviceable at best narrative elements  – especially when you isolate Takuya and Ayumi’s roles. Admittedly, their acting is fairly dry and even poor at times given the circumstances at play. Thankfully for the show’s sake, it’s not enough to completely steal at least the surface shock value that four sought and ultimately concluded on.

Kenja no Mago (3)

It’s overtly generic, it’s struggling to be mediocre, it’s another episode of Kenja no Mago. This latest showing is noticeably poor on a lot of textual fronts, namely in how  it hastily sews together shallow school tropes  during the parts centered around the Ultimate Magic Study Group, and later, how it sloppily handles all demonoid related beats – completely lacking any semblance of build and tension to its delivery. Copiloting with that, we’re still working through a ton of tired Isekai dynamics and flat character interactions at almost every turn, especially when Sicily and Shin share the screen as both are painfully uninspired from the ground up.

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