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Aug 11, 2019
Serial Experiments Lain is, if nothing else, an anime I find myself constantly coming back to. The series is definitely not without flaws; it definitely bears a stretch-marked plot, bizarre pacing, and is not necessarily coherent. In spite of this, the moments in which Serial Experiments hits its stride, it is bathypelagic in depth, having the texture (even without the substance) of the Matrix series.
Lain is the bad haircut wearing brainchild of Yoshitoshi ABe, whose Haibane Renmei I watched in entirety despite its hazy, lukewarm effect on me. There were knots in the grain of Haibane Renmei that seemed promising, but none of these extended
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into a branch sturdy enough to heap much attention or praise on. The series seemed claustrophobic, unwilling or unable to really let itself go and really go for something shocking to reach through a cerebral yet baffling and slow narrative. Serial Experiments, in contrast, does exactly this activity myopically well and surprisingly often.
Some of this is done through the visuals, taking rather bold artistic decisions and focusing on small aspects in ways that are by no means orthodox and not even necessarily in the furtherance of making the series 'pretty.' ABe has an eye for where to mix something scary, interestingly flawed, or even a little ugly into the art to shake up the viewing experience and engender discomfort, unease, or mystery, whether it be stark lighting, texturing in place of shadows, emphasis on small lines or details of the face, or even, yes, characters' eyes themselves. On top of this are aesthetics that really give Serial Experiments a retro-futurism that I adored; the grainy digital voice synthesis that read off episode titles, the bizarre UI and hardware in this cyber-oriented world imagined before the smartphone, the legitimate care in its pornographic depiction of computer hardware and pc construction, etc. Your mileage may vary, though for me these design choices consistently came off as quaint or intriguing rather than corny or antiquated.
All this is all very well and good, but you may find yourself wondering, "what exactly is this series about?" I'll tell you when I find out for myself. It's not an exaggeration to say the series is about Men In Black-style conspiracies, aliens, lethal VR, sociopathic romance, Edward Jessup's sensory deprivation experiments, the structure and history of the internet, augmented reality, the noosphere, and literal Deus Ex Machina, to name a few conceptual hooks. These strands don't always come together to form a coherent tapestry, though there's something about their depth and presentation that makes Serial Experiments Lain one of the first sources I reference on many of these topics.
Serial Experiments reminds me most of the work of David Lynch, the American filmmaker behind such works as Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, and Eraserhead. The whole thing is off-putting, obtuse, and riddled with scenes that find all the chinks in your expectations to deliver something intensely memorable and unique. All the same, both Lynch and ABe share the same issue, namely I can't tell how much of their work is great and deep art and how much of it is simply in services of producing the atmosphere and mood to allow the scenes of consequence. Are the alien scenes there to punctuate the theme of Roswell that the narrator lays out, or simply because they look cool? Is the memory warping nature of Lain the reason why we seem to be out of the loop with what's happening in the world and why we see Alice be tormented by the inexplicable, or is the story presented in this way to conceal when it'll take the next punch at your viewing sensibilities' kidneys? Does Serial Experiments tie all of its loose ends together without me comprehending it, or as the intent never to nail down a narrative so much as put on screen the moments ABe wanted on screen?
All of this may sound like rather harsh criticism or dissuade you from viewing or enjoying it. I wouldn't blame pretty much anyone for viewing it and deciding it either didn't come together or wasn't trying to make sense in the first place. However, I can say that Serial Experiments Lain is one of those animes that, for me, cleaves a pre-viewing and post-viewing paradigm for my perceptions of anime and what this genre is capable of presenting. It perhaps will always be too esoteric for me to grasp, but the lasting impression Serial Experiments has put on me is well worth the viewing investment and, with a large disclaimer on account of the oddities listed above, I sincerely recommend experiencing it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 10, 2019
Haibane Renmei was a novel undertaking for me in that it was the first algorithmically recommended show I've watched. It appeared in my MAL suggested works and, having researched it a bit, I decided it was a good fit; I normally gush over the opportunity to watch mostly hand-drawn, slow-boil character pieces with big overarching themes.
Haibane Renmei features an absolutely sub-zero cold open, as our introduction to the main character literally occurs before she's born. This does set us up to receive exposition at the same rate Rakka does, however the stream of information still seems to come more as an intravenous drip than a
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solid flow. The concepts that get the main themes and story rolling don't even appear for quite a few episodes.
It's worth noting at this point that the cast we interact with for the most part has its own set of flaws. For one, the cast is almost entirely female, despite the fact that male haibanes exist in the universe. It's not done for a fanservice kind of reason at least and avoids any of the bonds between the main cast being shoehorned into romance plots, but I couldn't help but think it was a panty-shot and a filler episode away from being Gabriel Dropout: the sad version. As it is, the main cast is largely left out of the main themes of redemption and self-discovery; the main character and the Mary Sue, chainsmoking, Vespa-riding Reki share all the meaningful struggles in secret while most other haibanes get a pretty straightforward personality, an episode featuring them explaining what lies behind that, and then mostly simply follow the two more important characters around.
The atmosphere of the show is pretty decent, albeit made the more bland by the lack of action really occurring in it. The town of Grie is a pleasantly surreal mish-mash of time periods, hinting at deeper mysteries whilst giving off a sleepy exterior. The art and sound design do a good job of conveying this, though having more explicit displays of the world would have been welcome. Art and sound were similarly appealing though somewhat uninteresting, having all the boxes checked for things I normally like without having enough flair to make them distinct.
In summation, I didn't really go for Haibane Renmei. It simply did not cover enough ground or let its hair down enough to really break though a malaise of blandness it shrouded itself in. The world seems rich enough and the flourishes, where present, in the art seem to indicate that with a bit less prudish an approach to storytelling, a show in the Haibane Renmei universe could really take flight. From what was shown rather than hinted at though, I'd advise you to make like Nemu and sleep on this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 3, 2019
Watamote is one of my very favorite franchises; I've been lucky enough to have followed it from the very first manga releases up through today. What Watamote brings to the table that no other work I've seen has is that it portrays the lifestyle of a loser, NEET, hikkikomori, or however else you'd phrase it, in a light that is both stark and realistic and also sympathetic and comedic. From what I can tell, most of the criticism the show receives is from folks for whom the character's struggles hit too close to home. Watamote doesn't have the tone though of a show that picks
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on the viewer; rather, it shows us the insider prospective of someone awkward and immature in both a way we can analyze and laugh at.
The show is brilliant in that it is what I'd call an 'un-moé.' Tomoko, being less than confident in her own merits, frequently uses the kinds of 'get-popular-quick' schemes that, in moé animes, would work. She'll try adopting a persona of an 'anime hungry girl,' trying and failing to drink coffee in a trendy manner, or seducing her brother to predictably disastrous effects. When we are privy to Tomoko being a pervert, it is not presented with the kind of acceptance we'd see in an ecchi, instead either leaning into how bizarre it makes Tomoko. The interplay of the character with the show's refreshing, albeit perhaps gimmicky, tentpole makes for laughter and oof's in abundance.
The show isn't bursting with production value, however the artistic decisions are novel and amusing, with moody filters, use of kinetic typography and graphics, and even cubist renderings of Tomoko. Music and sound design are similarly on the quirky side, which really helps in establishing the mood, whether it be the naïve optimism of one of Tomoko's plans being lain or the wasteland of cringe when the ugly duckling finally hatches.
At least in the realm of comedy, nothing has come close to Watamote for me in terms of enjoyment. That's perhaps what makes its lack of a second season such a bitter pill; it seems anime fans, many of whom could probably benefit from the kind of cultural and personal introspection Watamote can offer them, had their fill with one season. It's a cruel irony that Watamote, which offered a chance for moé slobs to take a look at themselves and what they're doing with their lives, have ditched it by the wayside in favor of the newest season's oppai lolis and brutish male characters lifting skirts at will to no discernable consternation. Further, while the show and manga series are not 100% congruent, I highly urge anyone who likes the one to try the other. This is practically mandatory viewing in my opinion to anyone who either suffers from the kind of personal anxiety Tomoko does or anyone mired in the muck of moé shows.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 28, 2019
Life is Strange: The Good Version is not a Ghibli-tier blockbuster. Expecting as much is the greater part my fault, though given how gorgeous some of the screenshots are, I suppose I can be forgiven for making the mistake for reasons I will detail later. The disappointment was a bit of a stumbling block for me when the cracks appeared, but I still greatly enjoyed Girl who Leapt and highly recommend it as a somewhat generic but overall vivid experience.
The premise is pretty simple; the teenaged Makoto uses her newfound time travelling ability to redo moments in an essentially mundane, highschooler life. That can arguably
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be pretty dull and unambitious, but it fits Makoto's character well. Other characters will note that Makoto is not nearly creative or resourceful enough with a power that could allow her to accomplish superhuman tasks while she's transcending Relativity to save a pudding from her sister's appetites. This, coupled the with the fact that actually activating her time leap involves literally jumping wildly into the air (and often coming down with a crash) make it believable and lighthearted. As a young adult novel-turned-movie, themes of deciding what one wants to do in maturity and romance are the main narrative drivers. At least on my end as someone who doesn't normally go in for either, both aspects were watchable and played enough off the time gimmick to keep me occupied and even hook me with a sudden and unexpected veer in the plot's direction.
Artistically the movie holds up, having understated yet stylized character designs and very consistent art style and direction. The execution can really vary, encompassing a smattering of lifelike anatomical movements, overly simplified long distance shots of characters, brilliantly flowing cartoony action, and somewhat choppy areas where a more fluid movement was either attempted or scrapped. Everything here is drawn as opposed to modelled with only some very few exceptions though, which is always a welcome sight.
Sound design is in a similar boat as the art, albeit with flatter peaks and deeper valleys. For the most part, the voice acting both doesn't stand out nor does it do anything to detract from the scenes. There is the occasional positive exception, like Makoto and the supporting male cast that's close to her speaking with realistic familiarity and chemistry. There was a lack of fidelity in other respects though, such as long lines of confirmation lacking emotional undertone to mark each iteration apart or emotional superlatives like crying or laughing not reaching the intensity the visuals imply. On top of that, I remember at least a few instances where the sound design was enough to knock me out of a moment, like during a running sequence at an emotional climax of the movie that was about 90 seconds of panting and moaning without even any background music.
Most of the issues in the above can probably be attributable to the budget being an order of magnitude lower than the standard I had in mind going in. The dents could probably have been dinged out with more time and money, though it's conceivable that such resources might not have been available for the project. All that said, the number one thing they got right and did not compromise on for so long as a blink are absolutely gorgeous painted backdrops. To be honest, the sheer quality of the backgrounds are what made screenshots I saw of the movie look so good and put me in the mindset I was sitting down to a 'Ghibli movie' by another studio. They provide an absolutely rock solid foundation to the rest of the art without being intrusive. I suppose it is counter-intuitive to lavish over beautifully rendered sets when the major and minor characters moving over top of them can really languish when not in the camera's focus, but it works here in a way that I really can't overstate. The approach is not generalizable to every project, but Girl who Leapt shows just how good a work can be when they set the right priorities and really polish them.
By all means, I exhort you to jump into The Girl who Leapt Through Time with a more open mind than me. It is a damn fine movie that I was privileged to watch and more likely than not, you'll find yourself having a good time with it too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 25, 2019
I watched this shortly after finishing the mainline series from 2003. One of my main complaints about that series, which I nonetheless enjoyed quite highly, was its brevity. An episodic show like Kino no Tabi would really benefit from more screentime, hence my excitement to see this movie, which is essentially another episode.
KnT: Country of Illness stacks up well when compared to the mainline series. The pacing is not as cut up as some of the original series' episodes were by title cards and text blocks and as an episode length movie, the story remained focused on one major topic for a half hour, which
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is welcome considering how many 7-or-so-minute sidetracks would cut into the main stories in some KnT episodes. It focuses intuitively enough on a land whose focus is perserving their health and the costs the folks of the country must shoulder for their particular type of utopia. I wouldn't say it beats the best KnT episodes, but it fits comfortably between the median and top in terms of quality.
What most disappointed me though was to see the strains of an old-school series adopting flashier visual elements either due to having come out a few years later or perhaps by being better funded as a movie rather than as one of a season's episodes. Some foreground, background, or vehicular elements were unfortunately rendered in 3d and not very subtly at that. These elements don't steal the focus from the KnT visuals you're accustomed to, but in pretty much any shot they were present, the scene felt the lesser for it. Additionally, there was some camera swoops and other cinematic flairs that didn't translate well to the artstyle. This would cause kind of jarring changes in proportion and perspective that made the whole thing look choppy rather than making an old show do new tricks.
I don't regret having watched Country of Illness, however I feel it confirmed a few fears I had regarding fidelity to the original series in subsequent works. It stood well enough on its own aside from the hiccups where they deviated from the formula of the original such that it scratched the itch for more episodes of Kino and Hermes rolling into town, indulging the locals in braggadocio about their country being the best, and moving on, which is all I can really ask for from a movie to a series that wasn't picked up for a second season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 25, 2019
I have been on both sides of the debate surrounding Neon Genesis Evangelion. When I watched it as a youth on Toonami, I thought it was grotesque and the characters were terrible. I watched it again as an adult and saw the thematic elements at work. I still am convinced it's a great anime, though I've also heard it described as the second coming and heard people rail on it for having whiny characters.
The first and absolutely most vital piece of advice I can give you is not to self-insert or expect a heroic character out of the nominal protagonist, Shinji Ikari. When you understand
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that Shinji is a little shit, you can focus on how his frailties affect his role in the story, which is also a vital state of mind to be in for taking the rest of the cast at more than face value or expectations of what you think characters in their roles should be capable of. Pretty much everyone of note in NGE is carrying a lot of demons and struggle with their roles as the prophecy child, the supportive maternal guardian, the arrogant prodigy, etc.
The show is normally divided by fans into three major sections; an intro section mainly focusing on Shinji's ambivalence about piloting the EVA (think Takumi slowly agreeing to race Keisuke in Initial D), a more pulpy section dubbed the "monster of the week" string of episodes that have a Power Rangers balance of adolescent drama and giant robot fights, and a finale focusing on the deteriorating mental stability of the team and the consummation of all the mysterious, supernatural elements. They're all very interdependent such that you can't really skip parts of them you don't like if you want the payoff of seeing it all come together, though it helps to know both as a warning and an encouragement that the series will change gears a few times.
As I mentioned earlier, everyone has rather intense psychological problems and backstories to explain why. I agree with suggestions that Hideaki Anno's own struggles psychologically give these much more credence and realism. I still don't think I've seen anything in any medium that quite compares in terms of fidelity and attention to detail to the dark side of the psyche. Keep in mind the cast are largely kids, so the actual manifestations of their problems are immature, bratty, and even annoying at times. The same sometimes go for the adults too, as their traumas have kept them from attaining true adult maturity. Alongside the aesthetics, this introspection is the greatest thing NGE has pulling for it.
The visuals themselves are compelling, with gore and religious imagery liberally splattered over it. The music work is great and the cues are consistent in setting you up for the mood of the scene, or in contrast scenes that beg the viewer's attention and assessment will feature little sound work to put the focus on the characters' intimacy and dialog. There are rough edges, as the project had its fair share of money problems, though repeated frames and minimalist, experimental changes to the art style (especially in the last 2 episodes) were money-saving shortcuts that ended up making the work even better than it might have been with a fuller budget to pursue a more conventional, kinetically oriented direction.
All of that said, and the following does not change my opinion that NGE is a very great work of art, do not vivisect Evangelion simply because it is deep and artistic. A lot of choices in the series were picked for impromptu or transparent reasons. Hideaki thought Christian imagery was cool looking, hence it was used. Evangelion was first and foremost a giant robot show in concept simply because they're cool, not to trojan horse in a Freudian psychoanalysis. The show deconstructs a lot of tropes and anime pulp, but at other times it indulges in them. This is all to say that looking for the 4th dimensional connection between all the threads is all well and good and there's enough there to sustain it (as it has been in endless forum debates basically since NGE came out), but one shouldn't let shouting its praises or digging into it distract one from enjoying NGE for the art it is rather than the art we can analyze it into being.
Should you watch it though?
Yes; Get in the fucking robot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 25, 2019
Before I say anything else, I should say I have a biased love of shows like this. A character without knowledge of a society enters it, observes it from fresh eyes alongside the viewer, and typically leaves without knowing if or how the society will change as a result of the character's interactions with it. Think Star Trek: The Next Generation, though in this case with less starships and more talking motorcycles.
Kino no Tabi has been described as a series of parables, and I don't think that's a bad way of thinking about it. The viewer is invited to ponder how a democracy turns into
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mob rule or how two warring civilizations can set up a peace that imposes harshly on a third party to avoid a net larger number of casualties. The result is a very thoughtful show with some big ideas to be examined, albeit for brevity's sake it merely gives you the texture and direction of the idea rather than let you see it go into action and be debated back and forth like you might see in a series like LoGH. Like the main character Kino, you're simply taking these moments in as pitstops on a journey, not trying to find right or wrong in them.
In this way, I think Kino gets a bad rap as a character, normally for being non-interventionist to a perceived fault. I find it rather refreshing, rather, that Kino can be given to us as a self-interested character rather than being shoehorned into being the moral high ground. In DnD terms, Kino is a Chaotic Neutral, really only interested in her own freedom and self-development, though not in a way that entails disproportionately harming others. Kino has a role as a traveler as much as every citizen of each country has a role in their nation's perceived utopia. She strikes an interesting balance in accepting hospitality humbly, taking all that is given to her in good faith, and being firm about her prerogatives. Alongside her is Hermes, whose Tin Man nature as a living construct leads him to offer wry platitudes and question human irrationality in ways that either spark discussion or give us more insight into Kino's personal views.
All that said, just how fun is KnT to watch? Quite; humor is sprinkled in a fair bit for such an introspective show, the visuals are of that distinctive, old school style with a fair bit of gun and motorcycle porn, and the laid-back atmosphere and lofi soundscapes can suddenly ramp up into tension, action, or emotional weight with a surprising lack of restraint. None of these are necessarily the focus, but all add to establishing KnT's aesthetic in a way that ties the experience together.
The show is not perfect by any means. For one, it feels a bit too short. As an episodic show without a strong central narrative, you mainly remember it in terms of highlight moments, though there simply is not enough screentime to provide as many as I crave. There is a remake and a few 30 minute movies, though they have varying faithfulness to the aesthetics, mood, and presentations that I enjoy in this interpretation. Additionally, the pacing can be quite offputting. Some parables go for 2 whole episodes, others are a footnote tucked in the middle of a different thematic line of thought. It has a prologue and epilogue scene sandwiching the series, though they don't really have much significance Additionally, section title cards or bits of dialog that are thematically important will interrupt the story speedbump style.
All that said, KnT is among the luckiest gems I have happened to find in the genre. Maybe it can be obtuse, but that is a small toll to pay for a show with both the focus to give you a real feel for the characters and genuine attention to the small stories of their lives and the breadth to examine whole societies and feel much bigger than its discrete, single season 'size' entails. Take a turn off your crowded viewing itinerary and stop in with Kino no Tabi; it'll put that much more meaning into each step on your path.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 8, 2019
In my youth, I watched .hack//Sign and understood little of it. I've rewatched it recently and found that a lot of the themes, namely about growing up and coming out of one's shell, are spot on. Sign remains my favorite in the series, primarily because other entries are more adventure plots whereas this one is much more about character interactions and an overarching mystery about how to help Tsukasa.
Most criticisms of Sign that you'll hear are valid; It's slow, the characters can be pretty insufferable from time to time, and its success has caused spiritual successors or follow-ups that one might like better. The score
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is really quite good, though I could see where over 26 episodes, one might get tired of hearing the same music cues. Further, in spite of the brilliant watercolor backgrounds and hand-drawn nature of the show, I'd not defend Sign as being visually dynamic or particularly exciting artistically.
Where Sign stands out is in drawing you in to its world (helpfully enough called 'The World') and its conflict. The music work and backgrounds are a start, being in and of themselves works of art that can stand alone. The characters interactions and bonds are vital and develop organically in ways that make sense given the individuals' psyches and goals. Leads towards fixing what's wrong in The World normally take an episode or longer to mature, so when the party does strap on their adventuring boots for a plot-relevant dungeon romp, the payoff seems greater.
There's a lot of good character work here, with Tsukasa being so divisive and annoying because he is the up-his-own-ass woe-is-me Shinji Ikari that perhaps we all had a phase of being. Everyone in the show is vulnerable, though those vulnerabilities are what drive them towards their noble (or sometimes ignoble) ends. Dropping hints on each character's trauma takes place at a pace that might be seen as too slow, but at least avoids the trap of seeming like a rushed exposition dump.
There are some flaws here that can't simply be handwaved as a matter of taste, hence why I don't think it's a masterpiece and or that anyone who objects to it is a philistine. There's some filler and fluff to pad out the methodical pace the show wants to go at, characters will swap loyalties readily to the point it can be hard to track what characters are working towards, dialog can sometimes be more accurately described as a whirlpool than a back and forth towards a point, and elements of the plot that are played up as really important may not get a commensurate amount of screentime.
All that said, Sign is a work that speaks to me a lot. It is without doubt a bit of bias on my part that its flaws are ones I more readily accept and its virtues and potential are things I normally thirst for in anime, making for a perfect storm where such an obviously imperfect show can be so dear to me. Give it a watch yourself; even if you're not sucked in by it, its shadow stretches long across the MMO anime genre, making it as much a cultural piece as a show in and of itself.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 8, 2019
I recently finished Angolmois: Genkou Kassenki, mainly on the assumption that it would be a historical piece. While I panned Angolmois for downplaying a lot of its historical aspects as set-dressing for action, Hyouge Mono is what results when history is put above all else. The results are marvelous, being the absolute best show about bowls and teapots you will ever watch.
Hyouge Mono takes place right at the end of the Sengoku Jidai, one of the most exciting eras of Japanese history. The show ostensibly follows Furuta Sasuke, a greedy art connoisseur and by-the-books honorable samurai all in one, though much of the show is
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around the power and cultural struggles as the warring states period gets wrestled into a unified, Japanese hegemony. I absolutely adored seeing all these big names in Japanese history clashing and Bee Train was able to make the intrigue between these characters seem weighty, juicy, and believable. This does mean there's more talking than fighting, which may disappoint some who picked it up thinking it was another Sengoku samurai slaughterfest, but there's a lot there that's exciting in a more cerebral sense.
Something I can't emphasize enough is it is a show about art, which is not to say its art is its number one focus as that appraising art and the thoughtfulness that goes into it is one of the primary themes of the show. A lot of these objects are rendered in 3d unfortunately, but at very least it helps make these artistic masterpieces pop from the rest of the show, which is primarily drawn. The facial expressions are the real gem here, with Furuta (and a notorious shrimp monger) being the face-acting equivalent of Stretch Armstrong.
Despite being a show about intrigue, art, and philosophy, Hyouge Mono manages to be a real knee-slapper. Watching Furuta switch from samurai stoicism to transparent greed in the presence of a treasure he craves, buy a castle's loyalty with a fake object of desire, or completely bungle an artistic display by obsessing over the texture of art without understanding its substance makes for hilarious scenes with great comedic setup and punch.
In retrospect, the show also offers a lot of really faithful attention to historic detail. The show does have some speculative or alternate history elements to it, but the history presented is actually so true it's absurd. Things like a trifecta of tea caddies whose ownership implies dominance over Japan to a mammothine African warrior fighting for the Oda clan to Furuta's existance as an aesthete daimyo are all cases where truth is stranger than fiction. The writers knew the era inside an out, down to the smallest incident, and we the viewer are given everything from the grandest battle to the smallest verbal slight at a dinner party.
Hyouge Mono might not be everyone's bowl of matcha, but I cannot recommend it highly enough to those willing to deal with a slower, more thoughtful show. Everything on display here is genuine, full of substance, and unique from anything else you will find in anime or most any other medium. Enjoy this tea show to the last drop. Kanpai!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 8, 2019
Angolmois is probably best described as an action show with historical elements, rather than a historical show in its own right. Other than the setting and the main conflict, history really rides in the back seat whilst flashy fight scenes and the 'rule of cool' drive and work the radio.
That's not to say I learned nothing from Angolmois or it did a bad job at portraying the period; early gunpowder is on display to the bamboozlement of the Japanese defenders, the multi-racial nature of the Mongol invading force was front and center, and there's even a bit of alt-history at work in one episode that
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caught me by surprise. Sure, there was also scenes where the martial men of Tsushima marveled at a bamboo spear like it was space magic, but that lay more as a problem with the writers trying to emphasize the tactical brilliance of Kuchii.
On this point, the writing was rather trite. At best, it would work to make the exile group a kind of A-team where everyone boiled down to a specialization they added to a war party whose fight against the odds and small, interpersonal nature would give it a Spartacus or Braveheart vibe. When it wasn't at its best, which was most of the time, characters were either bland and unbelieveable, short sighted or prideful to the point of absurdity, or killed off when they begin to be useful or likeable. Just to name a few examples of this, the Sou clan spends most of the show ostracizing the exiles who are saving them, one of the exiles insists on producing penis humorisms to the point of obsession, enemy officers who look like Fire Emblem baddies make grand appearances and then disappear for most of the series, Kuchii is given constant screentime towards how virtuous and powerful until he's become a Mary Sue, the princess vacillates between Damsel and Anti-Damsel and is obnoxious as both, and romance interactions are more like what you'd see in a highschool sitcom than a samurai flick.
The art and sound design were pretty bog standard; sappy score, drawn sections having a few hiccups but otherwise being quite serviceable, 3d being used as a time-saver on things with lots of movement like blood sprays, flags, and ships. They even took the time to model the completely-doesn't-disfigure-our-chiseled-handsome-hero face scars to be persistent through the series, which was a nice touch. The main critique levelled for the show's art tends to be the papyrus-esque filter they overlaid. It can vary from being glaring to not being really noticeable, though I think it's more sad that it indicates the studio either lacked the heart or the resources to render the show in a more historical art style and thus tried to literally plaster 'old timeyness' over what is otherwise a run of the mill action title.
If you really go for works in the time period or action shows in general, you might get something more out of Angolmois than I did. For my part, however, I'll file this as a misadventure and seek my historical treasures elsewhere.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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