Category Archives: Episode Reactions

Attack on Titan Final Season Episodes 80-87 and What’s to Come

August 3, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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The journey through Attack on Titan has been, if nothing else, exciting. It started with a re-ignited spark of interest in the series and has turned into a strong change in opinion about its quality. Whereas my original opinion of AOT was positive but not all that passionate, it has now become one of my favorite series, if not top 10, then at worst top 20.

It is a series like no other and has really proved that over the course of the last season, from its strong political drama and allegorical elements to the production side of the equation which remained equally strong even after swapping studios. So, the ending, at least for now, has finally come. How was it?

Not like this will be much of a surprise, but it was amazing. I was honestly kind of surprised just how many compelling stories beats the show was able to fit into the season’s last eight episodes. There is of course the Rumbling and its initial devastation on Paradis, which transitions pretty smoothly into Gabi’s redemption arc. There is also Armin stopping Coney from killing Falco, and Annie meeting up with Hitch just in time for the Apocolypse, after which they join together with Reiner, Levi, Hange, Piecke, and the Marleyian general.

This would be a lot for a normal 10-12 episode anime, but to fit into the final third of an already reveal filled-season while still remaining totally coherent is an incredible feat. Bubble had about the same time to accomplish that and could barely manage 1-2 engaging plotlines.

As for particular highlights, Coney and Armin’s interaction right before meeting up with the others felt the most compelling. It serves as a reminder that desperation can make people do anything. Coney’s mom is the only one who has a chance of being alive, and so he takes that chance, even despite part of him knowing it was wrong. The final fight at the harbor was also really cool as well. One thing that Attack on Titan is consistently good at is showing both the ease and difficulty of throwing away one’s humanity at the drop of a hat. Again, we see Coney making a difficult choice in order to save Armin.

Speaking of choices, might be worth addressing the founding titan in the room, Eren. It was not much of a surprise to see Eren take back the founding Titan from Zeke (The opening of this half is literally called The Rumbling), but that does not make it any less dramatic. Finding out about Eren’s ability to see the future and therefore have everything already planned down to the second was wild. The screenshot of him staring down Grisha while right next to him is funny, but also indicative of Eren’s willingness to do anything for Paradis.

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All of that ignores the fact that Eren has become a genocidal maniac. However, hindsight is always 2020, and I think what a lot of initial discussions about AOT’s ideology missed is that Eren is rarely the good guy. The only time he is ever cast in a sympathetic light is during the first few episodes. After that, Eren’s reckless and homicidal attitude is very often framed as at best concerning and at worst actively putting others in danger.

The show has always been about ideology. I mean, they live in a post-apocalyptic military state. However, it has never, up to this point at least, actively glorified these repressive beliefs and systems. This could change in the last part, and if it does then we should be having a different conversation, but since I am definitely not reading the manga, we will have to wait and see.

I know I have mentioned it a ton of times already, but man the action scenes in this show are amazing. There is the inherent appeal of Godzilla like battles against two monsters just beating the shit out of each other, or the David and Goliath style battles of man versus titans. Besides those two, the show also takes care to make sure that the human-level conflict is engaging as well. Going back to Coney and Armin, their meeting in Coney’s hometown felt genuinely nerve-wracking in a way that the outcome was unclear until the last second.

Good CGI also helps its case. There are very few anime that can actually claim to have good 3D animation, with Beastars being one of the only ones that I personally have seen. However, the titans and heavy machinery that is rendered in 3D still fit seamlessly into the world.

Ok, but where does the series go from here? Well, ideally up. The reality is that Mappa is working on a number of projects over the next year, including the upcoming Chainsaw Man adaptation that also has a large number of eyes on it. This means that, while it would be awesome to see the last of Attack on Titan go off without any problems, there is a non-zero chance that an extremely overworked production team will inevitably let some things slip through the cracks.

Still, this last season was arguably the best so far. On top of that, Mappa at this point has established itself as one of the best Studios in the industry, employing a lot of talent throughout the years. Hopefully, that means good things to come.

Now that I am officially done with all of Attack on Titan‘s anime available story, what are your thoughts on the series? Let me know down in the comments.

If you are interested in reading more from me, check under blog to read my most recent stuff, or look below for some related posts. Also, if you would like to support Animated Observations, consider donating on Ko-fi or through paypal, or pledging on Patreon. You can even support by just liking and sharing this post.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting the blog on Patreon.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Attack on Titan Final Season Episodes 76-79

July 27, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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Wow. Attack on Titan has been through some crazy arcs. Revelation after revelation has come and gone, and while many of them have been shocking, none have really hit with this level of intensity, outside of the Reiner and Bertolt reveal in season two. These episodes genuinely made me consider abandoning this episode-by-episode format and just marathoning the rest. Without rambling for too much longer, let us get into it.

For starters, the stakes have never been higher. What sets the content of the final season apart from the rest of the series is its sense of scale, which is on full display in these episodes. The Marleyian army has begun their invasion of Paradis, with a large percentage of their strength, including the Titans, helping out. The story of Attack on Titan has gone from the survival of a small group of people trapped inside the walls to a global conflict implicating millions of people. An event like the rumbling does not just affect Eldians, but rather everyone on earth.

We also find out that Eren, who was presumably on board with Zeke’s euthanization plan, was actually only using him to access the founding titan’s power, even if it ultimately backfires. Part of me wants to argue that this was a pretty obvious twist, but at the same time, was it? Eren witnessed the deaths of hundreds, probably thousands of his comrades at the hands of titans. I am by no means saying that euthanization is a proper response to the situation, it is understandable how someone whose mind has been twisted by that kind of trauma might ultimately arrive at that conclusion.

On top of this, Eren…dies? Probably not, but seeing his head gets blown off by a titan rifle was one of the more visceral scenes of the entire series. While in liminal space, Zeke takes it upon himself to show Eren some memories of their father Grisha, but after a while, it seems as though Zeke is coming out of the experience more surprised. Also, the whole attack titan having the ability to predict the future thing both made sense and did not, but it was a pretty cool reveal anyway.

While Eren spends his screen with Zeke time having a, uh, reverse change of heart? Gabi has a normal change of heart. For her entire life up until this point, the people of Paradis were nothing but devils to her, an amorphous blob of evil on some distant island ruining the Eldian identity. However, as she spends time with the locals, and almost gets killed by “one of her own,” she comes to understand the folly in her thinking.

It is a brutal realization to have, not just as a kid, but as a kid who has spent a non-insignificant portion of her waking hours training to inherit a titan that would be used to kill the Eldians as well. It is the kind of identity crisis that can only come to fruition in the midst of something as traumatic as war.

The stakes were also pretty high for Falco, as despite going with his brother to beg Zeke not to turn him into a titan, he ultimately ends up as one anyway. Well, he was for all of two minutes, anyway, but ultimately end up eating Galliard, and will presumably take the roll of the jaw titan. Still, this was another section where it felt like nothing was guaranteed. His confession to helping Eren back in Marley and admitting his feelings for Gabi ultimately made it seem like his time was coming to an end.

On top of some quality writing, there were also some crazy bits of animation. Specifically, the transition scene between Eren getting shot and finding himself in the liminal space with Zeke was some of the most expressive animation I have seen, not just within Attack on Titan, but across anime period. The way it portrays the slowdown of time alongside the compactness of the battlefield in stark contrast to the empty desert that is the home of the Eldian founder Ymir is breathtaking.

These were without a doubt some of the best episodes in the series, and I am beyond excited to see its conclusion. Speaking of, since it is the end of July, I figured next week would be a good time to marathon the rest of the episodes and wrap up this series, so stay tuned for that!

What are your feelings on the “final” season of Attack on Titan? Let me know down in the comments.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting the blog on Patreon

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Attack on Titan Final Season: Episodes 72-75

July 20, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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The walls are coming down, and society on Eldia is in the midst of total collapse. This time, however, it is not because of some mass titan invasion, but rather the military strength of an entire country. Marley has decided the time is now, and in pursuit of Eldia’s demise, they fly into battle alone, without the support of other governments. Eren must now use his newfound power amongst the Jaegerists to fight against this now impending invasion.

Of course, that’s only the finale of this set of episodes, and while it was certainly well done, there are a lot of other things to talk about.

First, watching the various factions related to Sasha come together in order to find out how she died, only to be faced with her killer in Gabi, was a legitimately thrilling moment. For as nice a person as Sasha’s dad is, it would not have been surprising to attempt to kill Gabi in a fit of rage, especially considering how much her character has been set up in the interim between her death and that scene.

For as important as Nicolo has been in this season, though, it would have been nice to get a bit more about their relationship other than “they were probably in love,” but obviously it is nowhere close to the main plot, so I understand why they did not.

Speaking of Gabi, for as annoying as she can be, the internal conflict she has been going through based on her identity as both an Eldian and a Marleyian has been genuinely compelling to watch. On the one hand, she has been indoctrinated by the Marleyian government since birth, raised to believe that only by serving her country can she redeem her sinful existence.

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On the other hand, when faced with Eldians who were cast out and labeled “island devils,” she is faced with nothing but kindness, despite having killed one of their comrades. The psychological conflict between what she has been told versus her immediate reality is something I hope gets resolved by the series’ end.

Sooner than expected, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin manage to reunite while Eren is holding them hostage. It was at this point in the episode that I started having even more conflicted feelings about Attack on Titan and his character than I already do, and where the conversation around the show’s political ideology has taken a decided turn.

Memes upon memes were being thrown around during the early Attack on Titan episodes about how Eren’s goal was simply to kill all of the Titans and get revenge. By the end of the third season, this goal was much closer to being a reality, but it is also at this point where also incredibly meme’d to death scene of Eren at the beach comes in, with him asking “If we kill all our enemies over there, will we truly be free?” This brings us to the restaurant scene, where Eren’s conception of freedom has warped into something decidedly more fascist in nature, where there is a clear black and white boundary between the free and those he would call slaves.

Of course, I am only halfway through this season, and there is of course one final part that is not coming out till next year, so I will save all the think-piecing until then.

Arguably the most compelling section of this group is the episode that focuses on Zeke’s past and his connection to Paradis. Owl, the leader of the group planning to overthrow Marley, is Zeke’s dad, and in order to save himself from being killed, Zeke rats them out at the order of his future mentor, the previous beast titan holder. While not providing a ton of information that was not already known, it is an interesting dive into his character and the origin of his twisted ideology, highlighting the circumstances which lead to his existence today.

Overall, this was a great set of episodes, both in terms of writing and animation, but also one that leaves me conflicted as to AOT’s direction ideologically.

How do you feel about Attack on Titan? Let me know in the comments (no spoilers please).

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting the blog on Patreon

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Attack on Titan Final Season: Episodes 68-71

July 13, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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And welcome back my friends to our continued coverage of the “final” season of Attack on Titan (for those unaware, the final is in quotes because it has been confirmed that the series will be continuing for one more cour sometime in 2023). We took a bit of a break in order to finish up the coverage for the spring season. Now, though, it is time to find out more.

This series of episodes focused a lot on the politics of the Island of Paradis which were happening before the invasion of Marley, both internal and external. The military retains a large degree of power, by which I mean pretty much all of it. Zachary is still large and in charge, and the major generals, including Pyxis, are also making a lot of decisions. On top of that, it is shown that the nation of Hizuri, Paradis’ sole ally and the place from which Mikasa is a descendent, is primarily interested in Paradis for its natural resources.

As a side note, I also want to talk about the incredibly smart commentary which is happening in its external political affairs. If the traditional Japanese art and the name Lady Azumabito were not obvious enough, Hizuri seems to be a stand-in for Japan. Historically, when it comes to economic policy and foreign relations, Japan has often been incredibly self-interested, even to the point of being fairly amoral. This can be seen even in recent history in its decisions to engage in business with African dictatorships. While this is not particularly relevant to the overall story, at least not yet, it is a smart bit of world-building that is worth pointing out.

Meanwhile, after a mostly successful invasion, Eren is locked up for going out on his own. However, the mission also cost the life of Sasha at the hands of Gabi and Falco who snuck on board the ship and are consequently locked up. This causes a lot of distrust even among his close friends, the most centered of which are Conny, Jean, Armin, and Mikasa.

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The show also gets around to explaining why Eren ventured out on his own in the first place, the most likely reason for which is Yelena. Yelena is the leader of an anti-Marleyian force that hid inside the military and ends up siding with the people of Paradis. Yelena’s character is interesting for a number of reasons. First, her motives at this point seem to be unclear, but the show does draw an interesting parallel between herself and the anti-military uprising which is happening among the people of Paradis.

Because of this uprising, Eren is seen as a leader in his own political faction. Near the end of episode 71, Eren breaks free from prison and causes all hell to break out while the military looks to keep him from speaking with Zeke. The “Jaegerists,” as they have been dubbed, are looking to support Eren in any way they can.

Gabi and Falco’s journey during this time ends up being a lot more philosophically involved. After coincidentally being taken in by Sasha’s parents, they agree to lay low for a while. Yet, one of the other orphans, the girl who was saved by Sasha during season two, sees through them pretty easily. As she tells the story of her mother dying at the hand of a titan, questions of generational guilt arise: Are the Eldians who are long removed from the horrors of their ancestors still responsible for those actions? What sort of punishments do they deserve? Much like in reality, though, these questions are not so easily answered, and Gabi, stunned by her inability to see the people of Paradis as anything other than devils, is left speechless.

The final episode ends with a shot of a stranger reading a newspaper, who is revealed to be Pieck before the credits roll. This seems to confirm what the Marleyian officers were planning, which is to attack Paradis before they are ready, rather than waiting for a worldwide invasion. This, of course, complicates an already tense situation and may result in more lives being lost.

At this point, though, only time will tell.

We’re a little less than halfway through what is out of the final season, and wow this has been a lot of fun. Have you seen all of Attack on Titan at this point? What are your (spoiler-free) thoughts? Let me know down in the comments.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special thanks to Jenn for supporting the blog on Patreon.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Attack on Titan Final Season: Episodes 64-67

June 22, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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It is once again time to talk about everyone’s favorite dumpster fire: Attack on Titan. The first part is a joke, obviously, because the series has been amazing. These next four episodes have continued to impress as well, highlighting the chaos that has come from the Marleyian government and its focus from the rest of the world.

As it worked out, these next four episodes covered what ended up being a pretty big reveal, not that it was not obvious anyway. As it turns out, the older man that Falco was helping deliver letters outside of the camp was Eren, who managed to sneak in through the military. Eren and the others use the power of the titans to launch a surprise attack inside the camp, on the night that the head of the Tyburs made his big speech.

Again, what surprised me about these episodes is not necessarily the reveal itself or what happened after, but how it happened. While it certainly makes sense after the fact, Eren confronting Reiner directly was not something that I was anticipating. It felt like something that would have happened near the end of the season, rather than it its first quarter. Still, it was a surprisingly powerful moment, one in which neither character came out looking morally good but certainly the emotion behind it was there.

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As for the fighting that happened after…look, if there is one thing that I can count on AOT for its some damn good looking fight scenes. Seeing two giant monster swing at each other is always going to be fun as long as there is some reasonable context behind it. On top of that, the lighting in most of these scenes gives off the feeling of war movies set in enemy territory at night, and it absolutely nails the tense atmosphere that comes with those settings. People and titans are moving quickly and often the only light comes from gunshots and the fires burning just a few hundred feet away.

Another element of warfare that Attack on Titan does fairly well is the strategy. A good battle scene not only gets the audience invested in what is happening immediately but subtely draws their attention away from things that they might have lingered on otherwise. A good example of this comes in the middle of the fight between the Eldian titans and Eren, when unbeknowst to everyone else, Armin was getting ready to set of the Fat Guy level bomb that is the Colossal Titan, destroying an entire bay of ships.

The only thing that feels somewhat protest worthy is the character development of Gabi. Whereas Falco has fairly clear motivations for his actions at this point in the series, Gabi, who is important enough to be considered the next Armored Titan, does not give me that same feeling. The episodes this week helped with that a fair amount, which is why I would not consider it a big deal, but I do hope she gets a little bit more development before they inevitably kill her off.

At least, those are the vibes I get from the season thus far. On top of Gabi and Falco’s suicide mission into the blimp and procedeing murder of Sasha, there is also the reveal of Zeke working for Eren and the others. I would be lying if I said that this made total sense to me, but it did happen in the last five minutes of the last episode I happened to watch, so judgement will be reserved for next week’s episodes.

Have you finished season four already? Have you yet to even watch Attack on Titan? Are you a clearly superior manga reader who already knows what’s going to happen? Let me know down in the comments, but please avoid spoilers, for my sake and others.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special thanks to Jenn for cotinuing to support us on Patreon.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Attack on Titan Final Season: Episodes 60-63

June 15, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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The time, my friends, has come. It has been a long and perilous journey, with many hardships, including having to swap ps4 controllers while watching. Hours and hours of catching up on all of the previous seasons, along with the surprisingly impressive OADs, have brought me to this point. It is with great pleasure that I announce the weekly Attack on Titan final season coverage.

In order to fully immerse myself in Attack on Titan over the next couple of months, I will be covering three or four episodes until I finish what has been released. Then, once the last of the final season begins airing, I’ll be doing a final post wrapping up the series along with another post of some kind to finish my coverage.

Rediscovering Attack on Titan this year has been some of the most fun I have had with anime in a while. Not to say that I have been particularly bored with anime, far from it in fact. However, AOT in particular has been one of my main points of enjoyment. With that being said, let’s talk about the final season.

The opening episodes place us sometime in the future, where Reiner has successfully returned home and is helping the Marleyians fight against a nearby middle-eastern nation. In order to accomplish this feat, the country continues to rely on the power of the titans held by the Eldians and their descendants. He has started looking after the next candidates to host the armored titan, of which a young girl named Gabi seems to be the most promising.

However, these opening episodes are, for the most part, viewed from the perspective of Falco, another of the armored titan candidates and the younger brother of Colt, the successor to the beast titan legacy. Falco, in a lot of ways, seems to be a mirror to Eren Jeager: a young upstart who wants to help his family, blood-related or not, by putting himself through immense self-sacrifice. In his case, his most immediate motivation seems to be protecting Gabi, who he has a crush on.

Zeke has also resurfaced as a relevant character. His standing within the Marleyian army has given him enough power to engage on a mission to secure the founding titan. His reasoning for this, which the other top brass seem to agree with, is that the rest of the world has caught up to Marley in terms of military strength and that the founding titan will be needed in order to reassert dominance.

What I like about this series so far is not necessarily the characters, however, although they certainly are good. Rather, what makes this season so intriguing is how the scale of its politics has jumped from the island outside of Marley to basically the entire world. The perspective has shifted from those trapped inside the wall to the ones who banished them, to begin with.

The parallel between the two groups of Eldians still exists, though. One group is trapped behind the wall due to the titans, and the other is trapped behind the walls of internment. Both are suffering at the hands of Marley, just in different ways.

The change in animation styles has definitely thrown me for a loop. Character designs among the Eldians look pretty similar to the point it was hard to tell characters apart at times during the first two episodes or so. Still, despite being lukewarm on the change initially, I have come to appreciate it. In the context of the story being told, the change in style certainly makes some sense. Although, I do maintain that the series would have looked fine even in its previous look.

Overall, the direction Attack on Titan has taken is an exciting one. So many questions are yet to be answered, and it is clear that many unnamed forces are still at play, driving the series’ world in ways that maybe do not make any immediate sense. Will the oppression of the Eldians finally come to an end? probably not yet at least since we are not even a quarter of the way through, but whatever happens is sure to be a good time.

Have you started the final season of Attack on Titan yet? Are you still behind? Let me know in the comments, but please leave out any spoilers.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, thanks to our patron Jenn for the support.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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SPY x FAMILY Episode 1 Reaction

April 10, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 3 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

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The spring season is officially upon us, and with it a plethora of exciting new offerings. However, the series I am focusing on today has received the bulk of the hype from manga readers and new comers alike. Yes, my dear readers, I am talking about SPY x FAMILY.

The series takes place in a slightly alternate universe from our own, one in which the war of information between the west and the east is well on its way. The most trusted by spy on the side of west, Twilight, has been tasked taking out an influential party leader. His mission is one which could potentially alter the course of history, but in order to accomplish it he’ll need… a family?

In my recent binge of romance anime, I think it fair to say that what I was really looking for was some emotional levity. I went looking for solace in stories which were primarily focused on romantic relationships, and while I got some, there is also plenty of that to be found in anime like SPY x FAMILY.

If the series were taking itself super seriously, there might be a problem. Names like Westali and Ostania feel a bit on the nose, especially considering the period they are trying to invoke (At that point you might as well call them Americaville and Russialand). On top of that, Twilight as a character takes himself way to seriously to be enjoyable on his own.

However, the moments in the first episodes which are most enjoyable come from when the veil is lifted, and we seen the humanity in both Twilight and Anya. As much as the life of spy is one of deceit, retaining a sense of humanity is important too. It also helps that those moments also happen to be pretty hilarious.

There honestly is not much else to say beyond that. Both characters seem to have a solid foundation, and for as much as the show does not take itself super seriously, the action sequences still look fantastic. It feels like an adaptation worthy of its source material. The big question is whether or not the rest of the series will stick the landing, and given that SPY x FAMILY has been confirmed for 25 episodes, it is a big landing to stick.

How do you all feel about SPY x FAMILY so far? Let me know in the comments below.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

As always, special shoutout to Jenn for supporting us on Patreon.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Dr. Stone Season Two Episode One Reaction

January 17, 2021 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It certainly has been a long time coming, huh?

Definitely not as long as, say, “Made in Abyss,” but, ya know, still pretty long. After all, in a year that felt like an eternity, its exciting to have a season with so many highly anticipated sequels, many of which I was excited for myself. Some for different reasons *cough cough* I can’t wait to make fun of “Beastars” *cough cough.* “Doctor Stone” was one of those series, without question. Though the first season was a bit goofy, there was enough in terms of the overall plot and thematic messaging that kept me engaged.

For those uninitiated, Dr. Stone is set in a world 3000 years past the modern day, where everyone has been turned to stone after being hit by a strange ray of light. Senku, a teenage science wiz, has managed to survive into this new world along with a few of his friends. Now, he must try and restore humanity to its former glory while simultaneously beating Tsukasa, a man who wishes to end the life of the adults of the past, and build a new world with only young people.

It can feel hard at times to judge a second season’s opening episode, because, a lot of the time, its just continuing the plot. While I certainly give credit to “The Promised Neverland’s” opening episode this season for having a great presentation, I can’t really fault “Dr. Stone” for just playing it safe. Of course, most of the material is going to be predetermined by whatever is in the manga, but sometimes its ok to go for what people in the Fighting Game Community would call the no mix-up mix-up.

The series picks up pretty much right where it leaves off at the end of season one, with Senku and the rest of the village making their final preparations for the battle with Tsukasa. The Kingdom of Science is almost ready, but just needs one more thing: space food. Senku wants to end the battle quickly, and so decides to launch a surprise attack in the middle of winter, and so invents freeze dried foods so that their army can eat while making their attack.

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As far as shounen anime go, having the first episode of a new season be a sort of preparation episode can feel kind of lame, but, as I mentioned before, it works here. Senku and Gen manage to devise a secret plan that will not only end the battle quickly, but turn Tsukasa’s army against him in the process. Chrome overhears their plan and, of course, has to get involved. The group joke about how they are going to have to lie to Tsukasa’s army and how they’re probably going to hell as a result, which ends up being a pretty funny scene, all things considered.

One thing that has not been touched on in a while in the series, and I kind of doubt that it will be touched on much of all, is Tsukasa’s ideology and his reason for raising his own army. While it wouldn’t fit to well into shounen manga generally, it would be nice to have Tsukasa’s worldview expanded upon, outside of just science vs anti-science.

Still, I am generally excited to see what this upcoming season has to offer.

How do you feel about “Dr. Stone’s” second season? Let me know in the comments below.

Check out my writing blog, Solidly Liquid!

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

Horimiya Episode One Reaction

January 13, 2021 Jack Scheibelein 3 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

I don’t know if I’ve ever made it super clear, but I love romance anime. Like, love love romance anime, probably to an unhealthy degree. That is, when its done right. There are plenty of romance anime that have left a sour taste in my mouth, either because they are built on a really strange premise like “My Little Monster,” or because their is zero actually chemistry between the characters themselves, like in “Say I love You.”

At least as far as the first episode, however, Horimiya seems to be free of these problems, save for a few minor concerns I have.

The series revolves around the idea that people can live vastly different lives outside of the environments they are normally seen in. The two main characters, Izumi Miyamura and Kyouko Hori, embody this idea most prominently. Miyamura is a quiet, gloomy nerd who turns out to be a typical bad boy with piercing’s and tattoos he is not supposed to have. Hori, meanwhile, is the popular girl in school who just so happens to be the perfect housewife when she gets home. After Miyamura helps Hori’s brother and brings him home, the two begin to hang out, slowly getting to know the other side of each other.

“Horimiya” is definitely riding a really fine line when it comes to its premise. Don’t get me wrong, I do think its interesting the way it plays with the idea of having multiple identities, or faces that we put on in different social environments. However, that is one of those things that just feels kind of obvious, like, is there really a need to explore a concept that simple?

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Still, it is hard to deny that, at least so far, it is doing it really well. Miyamura in particular seems like he could grow into a pretty unique character, even by the standards of romance anime. Hori, though good in this episode, doesn’t inspire the same confidence. She gives the impression that she might end up as just a typical tsundere love interest.

One of the things I am most curious about though is how the side characters will play into their relationship and the story as a whole, as one of the them, Tooru, has already started an arc of his own, confessing his feelings to Hori and getting rejected. Seeing the promotional art for the show gives me major “Tsurezure Children” vibes, and while I liked that show quite a bit, I have yet to determine whether its actually a good or bad thing.

Now that I think about it, pacing might be another issue with the series, depending on how its handled. Maybe it does not feel as rushed in the manga, but so far quite a bit has already happened, at least as far as character development is concerned. After all, Hori felt close enough to Miyamura to ask him to go buy her eggs while barely giving him any notice whatsoever.

Ok, maybe I’m still giving this show too much of a hard time for how much I actually enjoyed it. For as potentially flawed as the show COULD be, its first episode showed a lot of promise, and its main characters definitely seem to have great chemistry anyway, so we’ll just have to see how it ends up.

How do you all feel about “Horimiya’s” first episode? Let me know in the comments below.

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Anime/Manga, Episode Reactions

The Promised Neverland Season Two Episode One Reaction

January 10, 2021 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Just when I thought the series could not get any better, “The Promised Neverland” manages to up the stakes in an unmistakably original way. The show already had a definingly good first episode in its first season, but man did Cloverworks put in the effort again.

For those unacquainted with the show, “The Promised Neverland” follows a group of kids living it what at first appears to be a normal orphanage, but is revealed to be a human farm, operating to create food for the demons that rule the earth. After finding out this information, the three oldest kids, Emma, Norman, and Ray, attempt to make an escape, despite the obstacles that lay before them. Now, having done so, Emma and Ray must lead the kids to some form of safety while avoiding their demon pursuers.

The first episode of a series is, at least most of the time, going to be the main entry point of a series. Sure, you might watch a clip on Facebook or Twitter occasionally, but the first episode is what makes it to where one wants to get to the clip. As I alluded to before, the first season of “The Promised Neverland” had an amazing first episode, possibly one of the best of all time. This made me wonder just how the series would manage to follow it up.

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“By diving head first into the action,” is apparently how. Opening on a scene from the middle of the episode is not a particularly original way to start a series, but it does make a lot of sense for “The Promised Neverland.” Given how the first season ended, it would make sense that characters would still be in the midst of action, not just running away from their captors but from the forces of the unknown that are the outside world.

The significant increase in the amount of action scenes in the first episode might lead one to believe that the overall quality of the animation has gone down. Luckily, though, this is not the case at all. In fact, all of the elements that made the first episode of the last season so good are here as well. The animation has never looked better, with the expressive faces and character movement that made the best scenes of the last season stand out.

On top of that, the same type of beautifully arranged pieces that made the soundtrack scary as hell are present in the first episode, adding even more suspense to an already thrilling episode. As cliché as it sounds, it is legitimately difficult to find anything bad about the series thus far.

While it is pretty much impossible to speak to the exact quality of the series at its end, it is not that surprising to see its second season have such a strong start .

How do you folks feel about “The Promised Neverland” season two’s start? Let me know in the comments below.