“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”
– The Phil bandwagon is picking up a ton of steam. Friendly reminder to grab your seat while you still can.
SEASONAL PRATTLE
Mob Psycho 100 s2 (11)
An outright Winter diamond. The framing, the weight, the movement – text shouldn’t have to be formed disclosing how much of a standout this showing is as it very much speaks for itself to anyone who laid eyes on it. However, this is Seasonal Prattle after all and our Weekly Check-In post, so please allow for a brief unpacking: This latest entry of Mob Psycho was a rare artisan blend of thematic pulp and technical craft , pureed through Shimazaki’s propulsive battle with Scar and Mob’s short, yet powerful, conversation with a freshly released Mogami. Its excellence reaches such extents that it would be a complete disservice to isolate the visual and textual sheen of any one particular beat. Truly a dish that deserves to be wholly consumed and purely enjoyed for the combination of flavors it offers, only to be finished with immediate demands for seconds.
The Promised Neverland (11)
Really solid display from The Promised Neverland. This one portrayed the fruits of a very labored escape plan, demonstrating just how textually resourceful and skilled previous episodes were at laying foundational clues through raw body language and bite-size conversations. For that, Norman’s forethought and ingenuity is an easy choice to applaud, but the real star was the underlying tonal execution. It’s been regurgitated for weeks now how powerful, and largely understated in the community, this work’s sound design has been especially in its second half. Be that as it may, it bears to be said yet another time as its integration and utilization is silky here all the way down to Isabella’s transitional lullaby. Eager to see if we can muster one last strong performance next week to close this out.
Kaguya-sama wa Kokuraseta (11)
Presenting a palette of comedic strokes and palpable character drama, Kaguya-sama pulled yet another finely constructed episode out of its hat. A lot of the material delivered still manages to be fueled with charm – executing its typical script and individual routines with a plethora of smaller details that convey just how easy going and fun our cast is. With the end just around the corner it’s going to be sad seeing this work walk, but until then, the consistent joy it brings should be soaked in while it’s still here.
Dororo (11)
Dororo had a reasonable performance this time around, greasing the gears for what should be a powerful follow up with episode twelve’s material. Even though it’s lacking the emotional momentum of its top content, there’s still a lot of confidence to be found in its storytelling. Rarely do we experience any hiccups or fumbling as it strings plot beats together – still in clear understanding of how structure and voicing are more than fine tools to effectively push a viewer through the pipeline of a narrative.
Kakegurui xx (11)
It’s a shame that MAPPA is going with anime original material again to conclude Kakegurui – a choice that yields notable script based deficits by credit roll. A large chunk of episode eleven suffers from marginal writing, often making this work’s auction gamble feel like a drag to trudge through and ultimately, not worth the payoff of Rei’s involvement. To make matters worse, the wade to its finish is exacerbated by the gamble’s inherent design, lacking this series’ recent control of physical and mental dynamics to cultivate sources of tension. It’s hard to expect Kakegurui ending in strong fashion given these recent circumstances, but can we at least get a decent finish?
The Rising of the Shield Hero (11)
Where do you even start with this one? Spear, Bow and Sword hero being outrageously dumb in this wave’s particular brand of combat ( despite their gaming background and previous quest experience ) inevitably resulting in a laughable internal conflict with their characters’ writing? Maybe Naofumi activating Rage Shield at will even though the series has never indicated that he can control this mode, and actually, portrayed the opposite so far by only showing it trigger sporadically when under immense stress? Perhaps everyone not in Naofumi’s crew literally standing around doing nothing for half the fight and questioning why they should help out Naofumi, when you know, their lives and the rest of world’s are on the line? Oh, I know, Iron Maiden’s asspull introduction that feels completely out of left field as it’s not even on brand with the rest of Naofumi’s shield base abilities. No matter where you start, the end result is the same. This show has become a complete flaming dumpster textually with no water to put it out in sight.
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