The Story
It’s just about a month into the Fall season and Tokyo Ghoul:re 2 is still drunk driving with the pen and calling it an episode every Tuesday.
Catch me up
Basically, the second season has been an absolute mess of an adaptation through its opening three weeks – completely lacking in even the most elementary storytelling fundamental to land scenes with proper weight or coherence. Most notably, the entire product has been beyond rushed. In the first two episodes alone we went through 20 chapters. To give you an idea just how ridiculous that is, the entire 13 episode first season of My Hero Academia just about covered 20 chapters.
Yikes, how are fans responding?
The title of this video by itself can sum up the sentiment.
But it still has time to get better, right?
It has time, but after the most recent episode, it’s highly unlikely that it will actually improve with the episodes that it has left. The issues with Tokyo Ghoul:re 2 are almost entirely mechanical. It’s not like we can hit a more rewarding spot of the story or gain needed texture to make previous plot points make sense. The show straight up doesn’t have the delivery and overall handling to give viewers the insight that they need to even remotely engage.
The Bottom Line
Tokyo Ghoul:re 2 has been on a literal, and very appropriate, downward slope rating wise since it’s opening seconds – with virtually no signs of that trend stopping. The work has nothing to blame but itself and salvageability is looking slim at best. You were wise if you avoided it altogether or dropped it early.
“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”
–One of the remaining souls still watching Uchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru. Apparently, you can take the trash out of the anime but you can’t take the anime out of the trash.
SEASONAL PRATTLE
Find what you’re looking for fast
Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
Sword Art Online: Alicization
My Sister, My Writer
Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (4)
There’s a lot going right with Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara: Well-blended character interactions that don’t take away from the mood, efficient tempo and a workable floor of writing to bounce it all off of are just a few that are at the top of the list. Plenty of nuanced and expressive frames all throughout this latest entry, even passive shots are given a higher level of care and respect to contextualize this episode’s tone, and now with Kohaku in the mix, we have a missing x-factor to organically give the narrative more pop. This has really shaped up quite nicely!
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (4)
I keep waiting for Bunny Girl Senpai to come down to earth, but it simply never does. This week is just another circus act of all kinds of intangible strengths – playing Tomoe’s personal drama at the right volume to where it doesn’t drown out Mai’s stake in the narrative, and still finding plenty of corners through good timing to let Sakuta’s personality dominate and carry key scenes. I’m not exactly sure how long this show can keep this up, but seeing supporting characters like Tomoe and Rio perform like they did today suggests that we still have at least a few more weeks on the clock of entertaining and fundamentally strong outings.
Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (4)
It’s still really pleasing to see Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru work its little moments, giving mundane interactions and routine conversations the life they need to hold viewers over while the show works towards its grander beats. Fuiteiru plays those grander beats fairly straightforward – this week’s fallout falls thoroughly in the “boys train a bunch to top other boys in their way, gaining friendship and trust in the process” mold that this genre loves to sit on. However, there’s enough wiggle and dramatic lacing around it to keep it rewarding.
Sword Art Online: Alicization (4)
There’s a lot of works that use space well, delivering a keen sense of intensity and scale for a handful of cuts. However, Alicization takes that a step forward this week, mixing in dynamic body control and well-observed movements to create a sensual visual experience during Kirito and Eugeo’s fight. I love how lighting was highly utilized as a storytelling tool, controlling the emotional tone of some of the episode’s key scenes and directing viewer attention to particular clash points. Lighting is a commonly perceived weakness of SAO – coming off as very stocky in this franchise’s past especially when used to signal the activation of a skill in combat. This week though, it’s hard to see it as anything but a strength.
Worthwhile Prattle:
Super Strong, Sakuga Kirito Was What You’ve Been Waiting For
My Sister, My Writer (3)
This show is such a physical abomination at this point that I’m actually starting to feel bad. Please send your good wishes to this staff tonight. They need all the help they can get.
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