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Jan 4, 2015
Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis is a surprising gem that does not deserve to be nearly as good as it is. Coming from the still very young studio MAPPA, with a director that has directed nothing particulary of note except Tiger and Bunny, and based on a card battle game for mobile devices - I would not have been surprised in the least if it was mediocre. But obviously, from my first sentence, it certainly wasn't.
But let's break it down:
~~STORY~~
SnB:G's story is simple, and simple doesn't mean bad. It's an epic adventure to stop a great evil from awakening, not really a unique plot in anime;
...
but if you're able to look past that fact, you'll see it's a simple story well-told. While the story happens in a variety of different places (This is a fantasy world after all, inhabited by demons, gods, monsters and such), I never found myself thinking 'now how did we end up here again?'. While the story does occasionally suffer from certain conveniences and coincidences, none were bad enough to tear me away.
One thing I did notice was that it felt like the last few episodes were a little 'compressed', so to say. Some things don't get sufficiently explained, and it kind of made me wonder if it was intended to be 13 episodes originally.
~~ART~~
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes! MAPPA, after last season's beautifully animated Zankyou no Terror and this season's Garo: The Animation as well as SnB:G, I can definitely see them becoming one of the top studios for stunning weekly animation. The animation quality of each episode was movie-quality (I was watching the first episode when a friend walked in and asked if it was a new anime movie!) and even the CG animation (which I usually hate) was some of the best I've seen in anime. The colours are beautiful and varied, matching the tone of each scene, the backgrounds are stunning, and the detail for what is often a very grandiose anime is top notch. Great work!
~~SOUND~~
Yoshihiro Ike, if I ever have to fight for humanity, write my battle theme. The soundtrack of SnB:G is very fitting. Perhaps not a soundtrack that you'd listen to by itself, but with the visuals it blends perfectly to create the atmosphere it desires. It is grand, it is exciting, and it fits well. You can't expect anything more.
~~CHARACTERS~~
I was surprised to find myself really liking most of the main cast of SnB:G by the end of it. The main cast are all enjoyable in their own ways and all go though a subtle but fulfilling arc - showing that they've all changed for the better at the shows conclusion. The dynamics and interactions between the main cast are also enjoyable and stay consistent for each character. It's something that is hard to find in many anime - characters that are 'themselves' but still change organically. There's no single moment where a character suddenly changes, it feels natural - and I really appreciate it.
The side characters are also well developed, especially for the screen time they're given. The characters you're not supposed to like, you won't - not because they kick puppies or anything radical like that, rather through their body language and word choice and not just their actions define them. It's about a character HAVING character, rather then having to tell you what their character is.
Despite this heaping praise, I wouldn't be able to say that any of the characters are 'deep' - this isn't a character drama after all, it's a fantasy adventure. But everything else still stands - simple, well-written characters are a treat that aren't as common as they should be in anime.
~~ENJOYMENT~~
Loved it. Was there every week to see the latest episode. The simple story did not turn me away in the slightest since the rest of the show was so well executed. Would definitely watch again.
~~OVERALL~~
Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis could have been bad and it would have been fine. Instead we got an epic adventure, fantastically well-executed, well animated and just all round enjoyable. Would not be surprised to see this one turn up in the year's top 10's.
Toodles~
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 11, 2014
'Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke no Bohyou', or 'Jigen Daisuke's Tombstone' - a spinoff of one of my personal favourite anime 'Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Mine Fujiko'. While I certainly didn't see it meeting the same level of quality as the the original, this spin off was certainly still an enjoyable watch. But let me break it down:
~STORY~
The story of Jigen Daisuke's Tombstone is definitely weaker than its original counterpart, even compared to individual episodes - which is certainly a shame. Rather than a focus on Lupin III, as you may have guessed the story is focused more on his hat-tilting, gun-toting friend
...
Jigen. Or does it? Jigen is indeed the one in the title, but he seems less interesting than other iterations of himself, and commands less focus (More about that in Characters). Rather the plot revolves around an assassination, the assassin involved and why it happened. But is that even the point?
If you couldn't tell, the story, while easy to understand, lacks focus. It sets up a story of politics and assassinations, changes to one of 'who is of greater skill', gets sidetracked by something almost completely unrelated (Pretty much an excuse to get Mine Fujiko naked again - which isn't a spoiler), then wraps it all up with brief mention to previous points. While it does hit the regular Lupin III plot point of Lupin being the smartest guy in a room, I can't help but feel as if it's setting up for sequels by intentionally leaving things unexplained. I guess I just expected more.
~CHARACTERS~
The regular Lupin III cast returns... except my two favourite characters are missing! But oh well, the detective and samurai can be put on hold I suppose. As for the cast that does show up, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. While indeed Lupin, Fujiko and Jigen are all more or less themselves, I can't help but think that Fujiko and Jigen are less capable than they were in the original 'Mine Fujiko' series. To say more is spoilers, but I can't help but think that their skill is arbitrarily reduced to generate conflict. Despite this, there's nothing particularly wrong with any of the main characters personalities - if you liked them before, you'll like them now. The 'villain' however is not too exciting, the writers thinking eccentricity is a replacement for actual character. But if you're into calculated killer type of villain, then I'm sure you'll enjoy him just fine.
~ART~
While the art and the character designs is still very nice to look at (almost identical to the 'Mine Fujiko' series), I have to say that it looks much cleaner than its original counterpart, lacking the same style. Depending on your personal opinion that's either better or worse, but personally I missed the thick chalky shadows of the original. Certainly anything but bad, but it doesn't look quite as impressive as the original.
~SOUND~
Pretty standard for a modern Lupin creation - which means it's quite good. It lacks the breadth of the original 'Mine Fujiko' series, but then again 57 minutes compared to a 13 episode series means you can't have as diverse a soundtrack. Also a little less jazzy, which I missed, but that's just my personal tastes.
~ENJOYMENT~
As I said in the opening, while lacking the same quality as the original, Lupin IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke's Tombstone is still entertaining, as pretty much all Lupin is. It's a short watch, and worth it just to have a bit more quality Lupin.
Overall, if this is the first spinoff of many, this first one certainly hasn't reduced my opinion of those to come. I'm excited to see where this is heading, but I hope the story improves.
Toodles~
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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