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What did you think of this episode?
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Jan 21, 2023 5:59 AM
#1
On the journey to the capital, Touko encounters 3 girls: Hotaru, Benio and Kaho, who were taken from other villages to be wed outside. Touko is being offered work in exchange for her time on the collection truck, and the 3 brides share their experiences in their own villages which made them be chased out from things like curses. And just nice, on the other side of the truck, there is a fire hunter too, which the dog Kanata can only sense. To Koushi, enquiring on his fire hunter father Haijuu and to save his ill sister from Master Yuoshichi, being in the capital is not going to get him any further, plus the emergence of monsters called fallbeasts which the fire hunters can harvest resources from. All of the leftovers were sought as inheritance, though with Koushi being still a student, that's highly unlikely. The presence of a likely fallbeast has a fire hunter escort Kanata with his hound Izumo, and to make matters worse, Kaho's escape was unsuccessful due to the fact that a fallbeast has captured her, but thankfully both hounds and the fire hunter took care of things smoothly. The consequence of leaving the collection truck seeing both Touko and one of the brides get off at the next village, it's a rule broken that will see a setback to Touko's journey. Really like the ominous message this has, it's a dangerous world out there. But the in-between art illustrations, they can mean 1 of 2 things: either make this artistically, or the most obvious being a limited production budget. |
KANLen09Jan 21, 2023 10:00 AM
Jan 21, 2023 7:54 AM
#2
the brilliant illustrations in-between animation scenes shocked me into waking up. this anime really is deserving of my severe lack of sleep on the alarm for it. these soundtracks are haunting... |
Jan 21, 2023 8:17 AM
#3
Wait no way that was 23 minutes??? Episode BLEW by. It’s a shame that this drops on such a packed day and will likely be overshadowed. Has that old school anime movie feel. The art and animation during the fiend fight today were stellar. I hate how people keep fucking with Touko, like she goes to help the fire hunter she gets in trouble, now she helps Kaho and she’s being kicked off the train. |
Marinate1016Jan 21, 2023 8:20 AM
Jan 21, 2023 8:28 AM
#4
Wow, this anime really use every technique just to make sure that people will call this a masterpiece. But my advice is that, the earlier Touko (the girl) meet Koushi (the fire hunter's son), the better. |
Jan 21, 2023 8:44 AM
#5
oh my god, this is sad, they really have zero budget for this adaptation. they blew whatever they had on the first ep probably, whether it will turn out to be good or not depends exclusively on the plot/narrative |
Jan 21, 2023 8:56 AM
#6
This has so much potential, I just hope it continues to surprise and awe as it airs. |
May the Uguu be with you. |
Jan 21, 2023 8:57 AM
#7
Awesome episode, it ended so fast. For now top 1 serie of this season <3 |
Jan 21, 2023 9:24 AM
#8
WhiteTestament said: Yeah. Those in between illustrations are artistically a brilliant choice to cover up that their animation budget is small. Same with the screens with text on them. Doesn't look too good for the future to be honest.oh my god, this is sad, they really have zero budget for this adaptation. they blew whatever they had on the first ep probably, whether it will turn out to be good or not depends exclusively on the plot/narrative |
"Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov |
Jan 21, 2023 9:45 AM
#9
Ah, so judging from this episode, it's pretty clear the budget for this show is pretty limited, and there were definitely shortcuts taken, with the still frames and illustrations. That doesn't bode well, and I hope they didn't blow all their budget on the first episode. As for the content itself, it was definitely interesting knowing the lore around Fire Hunters, and around Koushi's family. Touko being treated in this way by the people is unfortunate, and it seems that this train won't be what takes her to the capital, and a detour will have to be taken. Also, didn't mention this last episode, but the OP and ED are definitely one of my favourites of the season. |
Jan 21, 2023 9:54 AM
#10
Farabeuf said: There is a small chance that they've saved up the budget for future more demanding (I presume) episodes... but this one was really bad from a production viewpoint. Those artwork are straight from a 70s anime like Tiger Mask and all the exposition being done with Kanji/hiragana on a black screen isn't great. Apart from the reused scenes from the first ep they even go back and forth using the same clip in the same episodes like the one with the gate and garden of the villa. Hope this ep turns out to be the only one with such problematic production because the overall atmosphere and lore is on point. WhiteTestament said: Yeah. Those in between illustrations are artistically a brilliant choice to cover up that their animation budget is small. Same with the screens with text on them. Doesn't look too good for the future to be honest.oh my god, this is sad, they really have zero budget for this adaptation. they blew whatever they had on the first ep probably, whether it will turn out to be good or not depends exclusively on the plot/narrative |
Jan 21, 2023 10:21 AM
#11
Cracks in the animation are showing more often, but at least music was good. |
Jan 21, 2023 10:38 AM
#12
Everything seems promising and interesting so far, storywise, because it is more obvious now the production problems this anime might be facing, the in between illustrations looks gorgeus at least, the in between kanji on the screen is fine I guess, at least I can learn some since there's hiragana translating them, not a big deal, but that action scene at the end, that was... weird, and I don't even need to talk about the animation quality, but the entire direction of that scene, seemed like they couldnt animate everyone perspective during the attack so they just mixed everyone together in one screen, hope the animation struggles get mitigated by the quallity of the story. |
Jan 21, 2023 11:06 AM
#13
The art cuts looked a bit off, but the story is still interesting. What is wrong with this people, she's just a little girl in unfortunate circumstances, they treat her so brutally. But it's a brutal world on a brink of collapsing after all. The megane boy must be a son of the fire hunter who died. It must be a build-up for him and Touko to meet, so I don't think she'll actually be left in the next village. Kanata won't allow it. |
Jan 21, 2023 11:15 AM
#14
Well, she made a few friends along the trip, but it seems like it's ending soon as she is told to get off with one of the braids. What she did was dangerous, but to protect Kaho, she stood up and went outside. The action scenes felt off most of the time and also the art illustrations lol. |
“You yourself have to change first, or nothing will change for you!” ' |
Jan 21, 2023 12:40 PM
#15
Animation kinda off so I hope future episodes look better |
Jan 21, 2023 12:55 PM
#16
A lot of exposition… and the many stills and janky wolf v fiend fight have me worried. Maybe they are saving the budget for future episodes? Hope the story can keep it all together. |
Jan 21, 2023 1:28 PM
#17
I like me some Postcard Memories(the pastel freeze frames). This isn't the type of series that needs lots of motion for episodes like this. |
One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron |
Jan 21, 2023 1:40 PM
#18
The animation reminds me of Watership Down for some reason, especially the fight scene. Maybe it's a budget issue, but it seemed stylized enough to work well, at least for me. |
Jan 21, 2023 1:55 PM
#19
Usually I don't notice animation problems. But here it was too obvious - and obviously not for artistic reasons or as part of the style. Though for one episode it is endurable. And for parts where they talk. (Though better usage would be to have a narrator and skip certain parts. Then when the people talk ... to have real animation again.) Fight did not look good though. Better to omit fights then maybe. |
Jan 21, 2023 2:09 PM
#20
Extremely weird and out-of-place illustrations are a bad sign - there are other signs that point out this wasn't some artistic choice. While episode 1 was promising, episode 2 leaves a bad aftertaste. The story is still intriguing for sure, but it seems like the studio and people behind this show have serious problems in terms of budget. They used pieces from episode 1, we saw black screen with text several times and quite often we saw frozen frames. bad, bad, bad... As for the story. Gosh, can we talk about how the young bride was dumb? Why would she run from the train in this hellish world? what did she expect??? Is getting married that bad of an alternative? She's suicidal and hopefully that's exactly why she ran away since any other reason would make no sense. I mean, she wasn't eating as well so that's +1 for suicidal. Still it's strange why she'd rather get mauled and eaten by a big monster, rather than killing herself "more peacefully" (I'm sure there are "better" ways she could go). |
Jan 21, 2023 2:13 PM
#21
When I read that the production of this anime died, I was expecting worse, like, Hoshi no Samidare level or something. Still, as beautiful as the illustrations were, they were used weirdly and just as an excuse for less animated scenes, true. Also, that fight at the end of the episode was terrible. Plot wise it wasn't as good as the previous episode, still decent but not as good as it was initially. |
Jan 21, 2023 3:37 PM
#22
I like the ideas and the story so far but while most of the animation was fine - the colour palette and art style look good and work to create the vibe of the show - it's just really lacking sometimes. The illustrations were one thing, I could overlook that as them making do with their budget or just an artistic choice, but the animation of that fight at the end was really weird. The beast and the dogs were morphing in odd ways as they moved and the beast in particular felt very flat. The white text on black while the man was talking felt pretty lazy as well, and the couple of times when they showed multiple people's faces in boxes felt out of place in this show, breaking my immersion a bit. |
Jan 21, 2023 4:36 PM
#24
What a amazing episode |
Jan 21, 2023 4:40 PM
#25
Jan 21, 2023 4:43 PM
#26
loved this episode, really got me into the story more and the world keeps getting more interesting. still a major fan of the artstyle, i think the techniques they used to skirt around budget issues worked well and i enjoyed the fight scene a lot as well, the distorted monster looked cool and the way the fight progressed was fun. looking forward to continuing this anime next week |
Jan 21, 2023 5:52 PM
#27
Decent episode, not much to talk about though. 3/5 |
Jan 21, 2023 6:25 PM
#28
The animation was pretty janky in the action scene. And the directing is kinda strange too. Like breaking the scene up into panels for no real reason or using illustrations in weird ways, they were pretty but felt out of place. Like usually they'd be used for impactful scenes, not just cleaning a toilet haha. And I don't know, nothing about it story or character wise is getting me invested. |
Jan 21, 2023 6:47 PM
#29
Visual wise giving me such a classic vibe, even though its sure reach some way too vintage touch, but still a good point on my book. Talk about the story side, Koushi visiting his father's lord, idk if that's the right word, in order to rescue his sick little sister. Time for him to invent some good thing? Also, idk if the previous one already telling me, or i just completely ignore the story telling, but i feel like Koushi father was the one that died saving Touko. So, yeah, the opening makes sense having both in the same place. But to what end? Meanwhile, Touko and her new life inside the train-truck is not doing fine. But at least theres a good story among those three brides, or two i said, when the last one was just a nuisance to Touko. All in all, its sucks for Touko hanging around there. Her little trip toward the capital isnt that smooth and she almost died if the fire hunter and all the doggos were'nt there. Additionally she got banished for something that she didnt intend to do. Look at that silent sad face... |
Hide and seek is the best offline games on this fatamorgana-called-world-thing. Please comment nicely. I am newbie here. I'm level on mal-badges. View my badges |
Jan 21, 2023 7:55 PM
#30
Some horrendous directing lol, not to mention the obvious lack of a budget with the stills. Fire artwork though. |
Jan 21, 2023 8:10 PM
#31
The OP continues to be one of the catchiest this season. I like the static frames. Sure, they may be lower-budget, BUT they are well within the traditional block-print style established in the opening. So... planned or whatever, they fall well within the style, so it sits well with me. The story moves forward with the backstories of our MC's travel-mates, each given away as brides rationalized as payoffs for bullshit superstitious curses of sorts. Maybe not BS, we don't really know this universe yet. Post-apocalyptic wasteland whateverness, love the doggies and the crazy staticky forest beasts. |
Jan 21, 2023 9:47 PM
#32
A bit of a depressing anime with its storyline and limited budget which is a shame. I am still vested, however, and I'm guessing that Touko will eventually meet with Koushi since they keep going back and fourth on their situations (I'm assuming that the fire hunter that died was Koushi's father). |
Jan 21, 2023 10:35 PM
#33
wonder what will happen at the next stop |
Jan 21, 2023 11:15 PM
#34
More than problems with budget looks like a horrendous artistic decision. The illustrations are cool but felt off |
Jan 21, 2023 11:27 PM
#35
I see a lot of people mistaking this as a budget problem, but what causes such thing to occur is largely due to time restraints. The style, tone, and story are all imply that it's due to not having time to properly anime scenes that they had to resort to stills and the subpar fight scene. Problems in this episode may not arise in the next, but there is an equal chance they will the more consistently it occurs. I'm hoping for this series to be good, but it's times like this where it might make it hard to watch. If push comes to shove, at least the novel* is something to look at, but at the very least, the otherwise the minimal but fine animation and great atmosphere will keep me watching till the end. *(originally said manga when it was a novel) |
NightSkyPatrolOSJan 22, 2023 7:45 AM
Jan 22, 2023 12:34 AM
#36
Where can I watch it? It isn’t on Crunchyroll :( |
snowthemuscleJan 22, 2023 2:35 AM
Jan 22, 2023 2:36 AM
#37
Nvm. I just found it on crunchyroll 😅 |
Jan 22, 2023 3:26 AM
#38
I kinda regret coming to the comment section here. Yes the animation wasn't as great as it could have been but we can see worse animation on a regular basis every season. And the illustration are actually artistical and fit the narrative style. The animation during the fight looked weird and the illustrations seemed out of place, I agree. But as a whole it captured the scene very well from Tokou's perspective. She was extremely frightened, everything happened very fast and she likely had flashbacks as well. Imho the mix of illustrations and strange animation showed what the situation was like for Tokou, how she experienced it. Maybe I give it too much credit here but I don't really understand the negativity. For me, the direction and flair is so far beyond anything that came out recently that a bit of subpar animation, even if unintentional or out of time-constraints, doesn't ruin it. |
Jan 22, 2023 5:17 AM
#39
I can tell this is a very limited production (The story is still captivating IMO but the direction wise needs more enhancement later on since it was announced for this series to have 20 or more EPs) Art-style-wise & the background simple composition is bearable likewise. |
Jan 22, 2023 6:40 AM
#40
NightSkyPatrolOS said: Agreed. The animation team is extremtly reputable, so it would seem that they tried to put the animation together last minute.I see a lot of people mistaking this as a budget problem, but what causes such thing to occur is largely due to time restraints. The style, tone, and story are all imply that it's due to not having time to properly anime scenes that they had to resort to stills and the subpar fight scene. Problems in this episode may not arise in the next, but there is an equal chance they will the more consistently it occurs. I'm hoping for this series to be good, but it's times like this where it might make it hard to watch. If push comes to shove, at least the manga is something to look at, but at the very least, the otherwise the minimal but fine animation and great atmosphere will keep me watching till the end |
Jan 22, 2023 8:53 AM
#41
Hmm the anime did a really good job of destroying all the world-building that it built from ep 1. Ep 2 just felt off, bad and the animation went "The way of the househusband season 1, but without a good storyline" |
Jan 22, 2023 9:38 AM
#42
JKKH said: The animation was pretty janky in the action scene. And the directing is kinda strange too. Like breaking the scene up into panels for no real reason or using illustrations in weird ways, they were pretty but felt out of place. Like usually they'd be used for impactful scenes, not just cleaning a toilet haha. And I don't know, nothing about it story or character wise is getting me invested. I don't agree This anime will be great and we have 2 cours |
Jan 22, 2023 9:42 AM
#43
TGAvi said: I'm not going to wait around for an anime to become great. Maybe I'll come back to it if people start saying it's gotten good. Right now people just think it seems like it could be promising, but the episodes we have so far aren't anything to write home about, and I don't think it'll suddenly start improving.JKKH said: The animation was pretty janky in the action scene. And the directing is kinda strange too. Like breaking the scene up into panels for no real reason or using illustrations in weird ways, they were pretty but felt out of place. Like usually they'd be used for impactful scenes, not just cleaning a toilet haha. And I don't know, nothing about it story or character wise is getting me invested. I don't agree This anime will be great and we have 2 cours |
JKKHJan 22, 2023 9:46 AM
Jan 22, 2023 11:19 AM
#44
Everything about this episode was good, except from the fact that it looks like the production is already on the verge of collapse. The animation was minimal-to-nonexistent, there was loads of reused footage from episode 1 and the still art frames were egregiously over-used. And even when there was a little bit of animation, like in that fight against the Fiend at the end, it looks absolutely awful: genuinely, words can't do justice to how embarrassingly bad that fight was on every possible level. Wait, this is the same director as Glasslip isn't it? I guess that could also explain all the still art moments, as I distinctly remember Glasslip doing that a lot too. I sincerely hope this production doesn't completely collapse, as everything else here is so promising and I'm really intrigued to see where it goes over the next 18 or however many episodes. |
Jan 22, 2023 11:25 AM
#45
I had this pegged as sleeper hit of the season. After seeing just how small the budget possibly is and all the shortcuts/dodgy animation in the end, I am forced to rethink this. Even if the story and everything is great, the whole thing will suffer with lack of presentation. I hope it gets better. |
Jan 22, 2023 12:17 PM
#46
Definitely worried about the production of this, people who know the industry were talking about how Signal.MD should already have gone belly-up right now, and it was unlikely they'd be able to manage an ambitious project like this without significant difficulties. The postcard illustrations are a cool idea, but don't always work. What DOES work is showing other people's reactions to things in little boxes like that, it's a clever way to convey a lot of information at once. I wonder if the boxes are edited in after the fact, with each piece animated separately. That'd be an ingenious method for not having to animate too many things at once in the same frames. at the very least, while the production is ropey when it looks bad it looks bad differently from anything else. That unique jank has its own charms, to me. But within the limited budget, the direction and writing are pretty good. This poor girl keeps getting fucked over by selfish people with worrying empathy deficiencies, but it feels natural to this harsh, unforgiving world. Not sure what's going on with the boy's plotline yet other than that the rich man seems obviously suspicious and like he might have worrying ulterior motives. it's clear he knows the boy's value more than the boy himself does, and that's a recipe for exploitation. I hope production doesn't break down, because this kind of dark postapocalyptic fantasy scratches a particular itch for me. Especially because it's melancholy in tone, and the darkness seems measured and mature rather than in a way to appeal to the sensibility of edgy teens. This feels like the ideal project for Mamoru Oishii's talents as a writer. |
Jan 22, 2023 1:57 PM
#47
Well, she deserves being kicked off. Not sure what that rich guy is after, but I don't trust him. |
Jan 22, 2023 2:00 PM
#48
I guess no one told her the transit rules |
Jan 22, 2023 3:59 PM
#49
Not good, the animation is beginning to crumble and we're merely on episode 2... |
Jan 22, 2023 8:51 PM
#50
Okay. Narrative-wise, this is being really interesting so far. Really enjoying the "somber" OST and the in-between illustrations look absolutely stunning. Not to mention they work well as cover-up for the notorious issues in production. Still not sure which story-line captivates me the most tho. |
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