SEASONAL PRATTLE
Stories in this medium often suffer from inadequate groundwork. Anytime a writer begins graciously sprinkling in thick chunks of coincidence and convenience to keep the narrative moving forward it’s usually symptomatic of malnourished storytelling – a large red flag no series wants to raise. Unfortunately for Kanata no Astra, it has and continues to do so as our crew’s broken ship and stranded dilemma is quickly erased in one highly convenient flick of the pen this week, earning it the starting spot of our latest Check-In for the sheer audacity. Episode eight resolving the ship repair via modularity is outright poor textual craft, heavily lazily in a lot of clear fashions, and just another testament to this show’s sliding quality. Adding insult to injury, eight’s “reveals” throughout this shoddily written piece and tacked on as a cliffhanger never end up compensating given how strongly they’ve been telegraphed. A very easy step down in a show that can’t exactly afford them at this point.
Vinland Saga (8)
Once again, Vinland Saga delivered an episode that was both a rhythmic narrative performance and a concrete demonstration of how emotionally vulnerable Thorfinn is under the surface. Structurally eight is in good shape: The execution matched its tonal intent, being particularly synergistic with dialogue options surrounding Askeladd’s duel that had their fair share of thematic bite, and our brand of telling continues to be fluent in its flow. However, this week truly glistens in the bigger strokes – tangibly displaying its cognitive nature in a fantastic boat scene late second half that carried plenty of pull. Good job!
Given (7)
Another good turnout from Given, offering a smooth blend of methodical relationship building and pure character texture. For much of this Summer, this series has been firmly in control of its elements and quietly so – which is unfortunate as this aspect is easy to overlook by audiences. Given isn’t flashy, but much like with this week’s episode, it accomplishes what it needs to do with little hassle or wrinkles. It’s a praise that doesn’t get sung, a factor taken for granted, and an appreciation that’s typically developed after experiencing just how rough stories in this genre space can be. It’s great to see Given tell its story with confidence and clarity where similar works with less talent would have crumbled long ago.
Dr. Stone (8)
This was yet another healthy indicator of how Dr. Stone leverages its core strengths to good effect, finding plenty of mileage through well-time comedy all while still balancing its passion for science with a fun and easily digestible step forward in our narrative. For the second week in a row now, we’re getting a notable return on our invested time from the cast. I can’t emphasize enough how much of an upgrade Koharu, Chrome and the rest of the village has been, both bouncing off of Senkuu and as standalone actors, compared to when we were just operating with Taiju and Yuzuriha. The energy, comradery, and charm they offer are a lot more palpable and it shows up in spades this week – carrying episode eight to an enjoyable finish.
Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo (8)
Drama is a very transparent genre that’s generally much more sensitive to the minute to minute execution of its scenes than its peers. For that, when an author starts formulating drama with cheap, artificial ingredients, it’s easy to tell way in advance as the narrative ungracefully steers to an obvious emotional strain. This essentially encapsulates the meat of this week’s Araburu: A twenty-minute outing packed with the glaringly apparent seeds of forced drama courtesy of the anything but natural writing that makes up and surrounds Sugawara, her latest behavior, and even portions of the other pieces in her thoroughly manufactured love triangle. It’s a real shame that this series’ primary relationship continues to be so unearned and uncared for despite dominating screen time.
Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (6)
As if it needed to be more blatantly clear, Arifureta passionately reminds viewers that its tight chokehold on mentally deficient scriptwriting is equally matched by its abysmal adapting – reassuring the fires in its dumpster are still burning brightly halfway through the season. Episode six bravely summons the strength to offer audiences poor pacing, large heaps of “comedy” that’s anything but funny, an utterly uninteresting storyline, and a weakly carved addition to Hajime’s inevitable harem – achieving next to nothing in the process as it clumsily runs through a very forgettable twenty minutes. Truly a fine display of trainwreck engineering.
