SPOILER FREE
This show was quite the let down for me. Not to sound too sentimental, but I am almost writing this with a heavy (or at the very least, weighted) heart.
This didn't even feel like a real show, it felt like a show within a show. Something a character in a show I actually like would watch as an afterthought in an episode of their show, that took the creators of their show about 30 seconds to come up with. It's like Itchy & Scratchy: the anime.
I should make it clear that I am a massive fan of Flying Lotus, LaKeith
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Stanfield, and Afro Samurai, for what it's worth. Even tho I am sceptical of all ONAs, as well as any project by studio MAPPA (an unpopular opinion, I know--but I really just do not like their animation style whatsoever, I can hardly even watch Jujutsu Kaisen because the animation is such a turn-off for me), I still held out hope that this would be something of a passion project from some of my favourite creative people in the realms of film and music. It obviously didn't pan out so positively.
Story • 3/10
This would honestly be a 1/10 if not for the tiny nugget of what could've been. There actually could've been a decent story here, had it been grounded and not totally blown out and trying to do so much (in so little time, I might add). I think so many of the best shounen-style anime of late have proven that having a clear, concise plot with a clear, concise endgame established early on is (usually) the best way to start off a show like this. See recent smash hits, such as Shingeki no Kyojin or Kimetsu no Yaiba. In SnK it's a small town, terrorized by man-eating titans, gotta figure out how to kill the titans before they extinct humanity as we know it. In KnY, it's a kid's family is eaten by demons, he joins a crew of folks dedicated to slaying these demons, who are led by a certain malevolent figure, who will undoubtedly be the last battle at the end of the series. Maybe this is just a preference on my end, but I think less is more in stories like these and having a clear, simple plot in the series allows you to add ancillary plot points and characters without feeling aimless and completely lost.
I have to say, I even feel this way about MAPPA's other recent mega-hit, Jujutsu Kaisen. I haven't read the manga, but I have no idea where this show is really going. After describing who the characters are and what the world is, I cannot possibly tell you what the show is actually about or what the endgame is going to be, and that's a problem as far as I'm concerned. Even the longest-running anime/manga ever, One Piece, clearly establishes what it is and where it will eventually end right from the get-go. To me, if this show focused on Yasuke and his relationship with one or two of the characters, and kept it as being some type of path to redemption or something of that ilk, it would've been significantly more satisfying.
Art • 3/10
I did not like any of the character designs or any of the fight scenes. Even something with absolutely no story, like God of High School, MAPPA has been able to make engaging in those moments of action. I honestly felt like they mailed this one in and weren't taking it as seriously. I have no idea when this was being made, but if the timing of the release is suggestive of it being made around the same time as the final season of SnK or the first season of JJK, I can see why this took a back seat. If I didn't know any better I would've guessed this was a side project from the guy who did Avatar. The animation and character designs look straight out of the Avatar sketchbook in my opinion (which isn't inherently a bad thing, but it feels like a poor man's version of that).
Sound • 6/10
As I already said, I am a big FlyLo fan. The music is pretty cool throughout, but it only gets a 6 from me because of how one-note it all is. Having what is essentially lo-fi trip-hop playing in every single scene just doesn't fit. It never seemed to really shift enough one way or the other in terms of excitement or tranquillity to justify the mono-genre theme that other shows (that clearly influenced this one in many ways) have been able to pull off, such as Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Shamploo. Could've been cool but didn't fit, and almost came off amateurish in concert with everything else that went wrong with this show. It might not have been so jarring if not for the other issues.
Character • 2/10
Probably the biggest issue with this show. Every single character is painfully, egregiously generic. It feels like a show within a show, truly. Not to mention how out of place so many of these characters are. It can't be understated how offensive it feels to have mecha and the generic Russian bear lady and everything else wasting time on screen, I almost don't even want to talk about the rest of the characters. it's so abysmal, a true cornucopia of nonsense and blandness that was a real letdown, and the ultimate downfall of the show in my opinion. They could've done without 2/3 of the characters they added and stuck with about 2-3 of the main characters, fleshed them out over 6 episodes and not have had the mess of undeveloped archetypes that we don't care about at all wandering in and out of frame onscreen.
A side note as well, I don't know if it was just me, but LaKaieth Stanfield's voice acting was awful, and so inconsistent. It sounded like he could hardly be bothered to take it seriously and was doing it over the phone and was fading in and out half the time. Every character's voice acting was pretty bad, to be honest. It all felt bland or robotic. Every single VA phoned it in, or at least that's what I'm gathering from watching it.
Enjoyment • 3/10
I dropped it after the penultimate episode. Can't think of a harsher indictment for a TV show than that, to watch the whole thing and decide it's so bad that I don't even want to take the time to watch the finale after investing so much time into it. I just watched it waiting for it to become good. It didn't. That's all.
Overall • 3/10
The one good thing I will say about this show is that it didn't shove any identity politics or significant racial commentary down anyone throats, which I thought it easily could've. I'm sure we all possess different thresholds, but other than one or two comments from folks of that world who had never seen a man with dark skin before (which actually make more sense for them to comment on it than to not, if we're being realistic), there wasn't any leftist agenda sewn into the script or plot. I know others have commented on it saying otherwise, and I genuinely don't know what they are talking about. Maybe they saw something I didn't, or maybe the second someone mentioned skin colour (which, again, makes sense in this show, it's based on a time where black people didn't exactly make it to japan all that often) their radar went off and they threw their hands up in offence at the mere mention of someone's skin colour. Either way, I can say that I saw nothing like that and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how non-political the show was in that regard.
Still, very disappointed with the show nonetheless. I'm a big fan of almost everyone involved and had high hopes for this, but it really did not deliver. The best way to describe this show is to think of what the Simpsons would make an anime look like for a 5-second clip if Bart were to watch it in an episode of their show. A guy with a sword, magic arrows, a giant mecha robot, a little girl with superpowers, and give it a Japanese sounding name (pats dust off hands). Done. It's as if a parent of a weeb was forced to describe what they thought anime was and someone ironically put it to six episodes. It's just way too nonsensical, all over the place and incoherent. A real bummer. I feel bad writing a negative review, but someone needs to know exactly where they screwed up and learn. This entire thing needs a redo already.
May 5, 2021
SPOILER FREE
This show was quite the let down for me. Not to sound too sentimental, but I am almost writing this with a heavy (or at the very least, weighted) heart. This didn't even feel like a real show, it felt like a show within a show. Something a character in a show I actually like would watch as an afterthought in an episode of their show, that took the creators of their show about 30 seconds to come up with. It's like Itchy & Scratchy: the anime. I should make it clear that I am a massive fan of Flying Lotus, LaKeith ... 
Jun 30, 2020
Black Clover
(Anime)
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I don't have too much to add that hasn't already been said. This show isn't deep. It blatantly rips off other anime and even other pop culture staples (i noticed a few harry potter rips off bordering on straight-up plagiarism). That doesn't take away any of the fun, however.
This show is kind of equivalent to the Fast and Furious films. it's a mindless indulgence. If you know what you're going into it for, you're probably gonna love it. It's shameless shonen porn essentially. obnoxious MC who has a demon trapped inside of him, is obsessed with integrity and ... |
