- Last Online10 hours ago
- LocationBikini Bottom
- JoinedOct 14, 2019
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Sep 29, 2024
The Elusive Samurai is a tale of a young noble, Houjou Tokiyuki, enjoying his peaceful and mundane life in Kamakura until the great massacre of his clan. Afterwards, he is burdened with responsibility to reclaim his throne as the Kamakura Shogun and become a leader to the Elusive Warriors. With the aid of Suwa Yorishige, Tokiyuki will slowly lead the Elusive Warriors and the rest of his army to victory through his elusive ability.
The anime debuted with a shockingly brilliant first episode that showcases perfection in all aspects of animation. The stark difference between the opposing atmospheres of the episode is depicted through its colors
...
and animation sequence. One thing that is prominent with The Elusive Samurai’s style is contradiction / contrast. They used opposing color palettes to address the change of plot atmosphere in a bold manner, one is used to express serenity while the latter is used to showcase the fall of Kamakura. Although the animation sequence was fluid throughout the whole episode, the animation fluidity expresses different motions which are playfulness and intensity of a battle.
I would like to praise the Cloverworks team’s creativity in depicting Tokiyuki’s speed and elusiveness for the rest of the season, most notably episode 9, which I thought was the best at expressing his elusive ability in combat.
Personally, I find the character design of the main casts and several others well-translated into animation. The character traits drawn by the mangaka are recognizable through their silhouette, and the animation team improved on the source material even further with emphasizing each character’s sharp lines, particularly Tokiyuki himself, while maintaining their outfit’s flowy characteristic.
Although the first episode surprises the audience in a shocking manner, the writing of the rest of the series is consistent without any major twist and turns. Despite that, the main antagonist, Ashikaga Takauji, is one of the interestingly written characters in the series as the anime slightly provided hints of his true nature and motives. This might be a good pick for people who are looking for simple yet fascinating storylines.
However, it peaked at episode one.
When I said the main trait of this anime is contradiction, I mean it literally. The lack of animation quality in several episodes were overly jarring as the animation team would utilize poorly animated CGI in some sequences, particularly the fight scenes. The character designs and art style are unsuitable for the 3D medium as those were well-intended for traditional animation. Thus, the CGI looked out of place. Knowing that they animated Windbreaker last season, this shows how overworked the staff were despite their talent.
Furthermore, the comedy aspect of the scriptwriting was so unfunny and unnecessarily forced that it ruined the ambience of a scene whether it was emotional or gruesome. Instead of providing the audience time to properly learn the situation, they were later met with the tonal whiplash or so called jokes. As such, it is difficult to sympathize with the characters or to convey other emotions. This heavily affects the characters other than the main antagonist, which leaves their character writing left to be desired.
(Plus, Yorishige's suspicious behaviour towards Tokiyuki was uncomfortable to watch, especially in 2024, a year full of Drakes.)
In summary, the concept of The Elusive Samurai was its strongest trait and yet their worst enemy. The promising animation led to disappointment when it was unable to maintain its consistency. In addition, the comedy writing left a bad taste in the mouth. Yet, this anime is still appreciated and looked forward to for its big potential as proven by the first episode. I certainly hope the next season will be able to live up to this expectation that they’ve set, if they ever make one. I highly suggest watching the first episode, and you can decide whether to proceed further or not.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Dec 27, 2023
Paradox-Live the Animation is an anime that I wouldn’t have watched if the anime wasn't recommended by a friend of mine, and I wish I didn’t.
Paradox Live centers around four rap groups: BAE, cozmez, The Cat’s Whiskers, and AkanYatsura. These groups aim to be the number one group to win 10 billion yen worth of money and challenge the legendary rap unit Buraikan. Each contestant has a metallic accessory called “phantometal”, which can create illusions when it reacts to the user’s DNA. However, they will suffer from trauma after using the metal.
Although these aspects of the story have the potential to showcase an expansive
...
universe, Paradox Live unfortunately is unable to illustrate their creative ideas in mere 12 episodes. As results, only Hajun and Allen were developed, while the cozmez twins left a lot to be desired. The rest of the cast only have a single trait that differentiate themselves from another, such as Ryu being the “quirky maniac”. They have to rely on their character design to appeal audiences due to their lack of depth. This limitation affects the story as well, as some aspects of the plot is left unexplained, such as the villain’s backstory and motive. He ultimately becomes the villain of the week in the anime and served no purpose other than a plot device. Despite the limited time, the anime underutilizes their episodes. Instead of expanding their main story, the writers decided to create sub-plots or filler stories that doesn’t progress the story such as episode 9. Thus, the story becomes less engaging and confusing.
The animation is the least concerning aspect of the anime. Due to the intricate details of the characters, the 2D animation lacks the fluidity that is seen from their 3D animation. Paradox Live is one of the good looking CGI in anime that I’ve watched so far. The use of lighting and colors enhances the stage performances. A minor complaint that I have is the occasional change in animation style during the rap scene in episode 12, which is jarring to watch. Even then, the performances are enjoyable.
Unfortunately, I have to say that for a music anime, the music is the worst aspect of Paradox Live. Although people have different preferences, music isn’t fully subjective. Like art, music can either be poorly or well-crafted through passion or technical skill. All the tracks in the anime lack diversity in lyricism, as the casts rap about their shallow “swag” or them being number one on repeat. Furthermore, the choice for cozmez to have anything but an old school sound is hypocritical, as they believe hip-hop is a source to tell personal stories and social issues. BAE and even the legendary Buraikan are the worst offenders of the series. BAE has nothing to offer. The series have showcased dark, tropical, and even jazz-influenced rap. However, BAE’s musical instrumentality has the same quality as a copyright-free music that you can find on Youtube. Buraikan on the other hand… SINGS on a RAP track.
In conclusion, for an anime about hip-hop, Paradox Live is a parodification of hip-hop with some pop music sneaking in from time to time. With the addition of the subpar characterization and story, the anime becomes unberable to watch, that even the animation is unable to redeem its flaws. If only Anne rapped the “I’m fresh, I’m tight” part for episode 1, I would’ve gaslight myself and give this anime extra +6 points. Unless if you’re a fan of Paradox Live, I suggest you to watch anything else instead of this anime.
This is my first review for an anime. I'm Shellious and I'm out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
