Join us as we view new pilots this season. See where they fit on the highly-scientific Rock-or-Suck Scale… FAIRY TAIL SEASON 2 -- BLACK BULLET -- THE COMIC ARTIST & HIS ASSISTANTS -- ONE WEEK FRIENDS -- MUSHI-SHI: THE NEXT CHAPTER -- BRYNHILDR IN THE DARKNESS -- CHAIKA THE COFFIN PRINCESS -- CAPTAIN EARTH -- NO GAME, NO LIFE -- THE IRREGULAR AT MAGIC HIGH SCHOOL
Still catching up after the cross-country con tour. Bear with me here…
Actually, it makes as much sense to bus these two shows as it did to cover CAPTAIN
EARTH and NO GAME, NO LIFE together. Neither pilot is flashy enough to be
categorized as “style over substance,” but they’re still really clumsy openers.
I wasn’t asking “WTF did I just watch?” because there was anything shocking
going on. I was asking that because it felt like somebody mixed up their cue
cards.
At a glance, MAJIN BONE seems almost like Toei trying to update SAINT
SEIYA for the 2010’s - - and stumbling into the same pitfalls as GATCHAMAN
CROWDS. There isn’t enough pathos in this high schooler’s life to really justify
the slow pacing. We’re not taking our time to establish a
character here. It just seems like a bio card that’s been hastily thrown in between two bookends advertising figurines.
MEKAKU CITY ACTORS is a little more interesting for how it at least
teases a bit of anime metafictional self-awareness during the opening dialog.
The sprite girl seems to be making fun of her own tropey-ness for a minute
there, but they never end up going any further with it. It’s yet another set-up about another grotesque media-addicted shut-in who goes
into histrionic fits about the most basic human interactions. I’ve already seen
enough of this season (even if this one does run into a bunch of crooks. What a twist!).
There was something… unusual about how the angles were
framed, too. This might be the first anime I’ve seen that makes me aware of the
proscenium arch at all times. It’s almost like it’s a three-camera sitcom. I don’t
know if that’s a result of budget or style, but it was memorable. And I guess
that’s really faint praise. I’m just fed-up meeting this particular
character, over and over again in these shows.
Watch "Visitors
from the Darkness" and “Artificial Enemy” and decide for yourself.
About the Author
 | Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk |
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