“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”
– One viewer after the latest Endro. This would be my weakness too, along with copious amounts of tasty coffee or tea. Take notes just to be on the safe side.
SEASONAL PRATTLE
The Promised Neverland (3)
Good job from Cloverworks keeping The Promised Neverland immersive for yet another week. This series’ inherent strengths continue to take leaps in quality – great execution of the tonal hallmarks that tend to be brightly associated with its genre spaces, a hassle-free approach to storytelling that’s very engrossing with each new detail unraveled, and a tight directorial touch that allows material such as Krone’s tag scene to truly shine in comparison to its paper counterpart. I’ve been high on The Promised Neverland all month, its toolkit simply makes it really hard for me not too, and I don’t expect that high to change given that this level of effort continues to be exhibited.
Dororo (3)
Gentler than last week but still rather fulfilling; Dororo continues to cook up easily digestible, twenty minute meals packed with well seasoned storytelling mechanics that are topped with a flavorful pace. The backstory supporting Jukai and how he met Hyakkimaru is the blatant root of this episode’s strength, but not just for its delivery or emotive weight. It’s genuinely nice to know this show doesn’t necessarily have to hang its hat on its action oriented material – Dororo appears to be a work that is quite capable on leaning on thoughtful character interactions and tonal telling to guide viewers to an enjoyable watch. I absolutely wouldn’t mind more episodes like this!
Mob Psycho 2 (3)
I’m very happy to say that Mob Psycho’s trajectory continues to point north. We’re not getting the exact level of bombastic visual nuance that last week’s Dragger centric episode brought to the table, but this episode’s construction remains a very delicious treat nonetheless. There’s plenty of fine layouts and progressions that add texture to the main prize of this third showing – the graceful exploration of Mob’s evolving headspace. It’s a blessing to have this every Monday.
Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai (3)
Offering an even mix of embraceable skits and solid aesthetic execution, Kaguya-sama carries on with its reliably comedic ways. This episode successfully deployed its usual touchpoints to reel in attention, with an armful of shots and transitions that makes its overall vision and character chemistry that much more vibrant an appreciable. Be that as it may, the ED was arguably the highlight here and may have very well stole the show straight up. Given its quality, I’m perfectly okay if that’s the case.
Kakegurui xx (3)
While it’s an enjoyable change of pace to see Suzui and Mary directly take the lead for a game instead of Yumeko, there’s still a lot to be desired in terms of this episode’s delivery. Part of what makes Kakegurui xx one of the better airing titles this season is its under discussed construction; The way the show cultivates tension and reinforces tone through an applaudable range of directorial quirks is right up there with the best. Unfortunately, this time around simply lacked that usual enthusiasm and nuance to consistently elevate the most dire parts of the script.
The Rising of the Shield Hero (3)
Lastly, we come to Shield Hero. This third outing feels pretty middling if not a notable step back from our previous two episodes, toting some sketchy CG during the episode’s climax and getting the ball rolling on questionable writing decisions with the lack of on the spot context for Raphtalia’s aging. However, it’s not all bad. There’s some actions sequences during the wave worth embracing, and the episode’s overall handling was firm enough to keep it relatively engaging. Hoping next week is better but all in all Shield Hero remains a fair watch.
If you enjoy this blog and would like to see more of them then please consider following Seasonal Prattle or using the sharing tools below to spread the word. Thank you!