Yuri!!! On Ice is Actually Pretty Good

Being about a month into the fall season, enough episodes have aired for each show for us to have a good idea if they are worth watching or if they should just be dropped. Now I only watch one or two shows per season, one reason being that I don’t have enough time to watch as many as I would like, the other being that most new shows are garbage and are not worth what little time that I have. You already know that I’m watching Drifters, but the other show that I decided to give a shot has pleasantly surprised me, I’m referring to Yuri!!! On Ice. I decided to give this show a shot because everyone online was talking about how awesome the animation one, and they were right, but the show has more to offer than good animation. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to current season anime, this show is about a low tier professional figure skater, Yuri Katsuki, who captures the fascination of his idol, Victor Nikiforov after viewing a leaked video of Yuri performing one of his routines. Victor decides to coach Yuri, but upon hearing this, another skater named Yuri Plisetsky, whom Victor previously promised to coach, decides to try and convince Victor to go back to Russia with him. The show follows these three characters and the result is a wonderfully entertaining anime, so far at least.

At first glance you would assume that Yuri!!! On Ice is a run of the mill sports anime but Yuri!!! manages to side step, but not completely avoid many of the pitfalls that plague sports anime. For one it doesn’t take place in high school, but the character tropes are still there, just with a fresh coat of paint. The senpai that’s graduating next year that shows the ropes to the new guys, generally the protagonists, is replaced by Victor, the accomplished senior professional skater towards the end of his career. The new kids however are replaced with a somewhat older skater who hasn't accomplished much and is a late bloomer. There is still the main rivalry between the two Yuri’s, however they don’t necessarily see themselves as enemies. The show manages to keep part of the time tested sports anime formula, but it does it in a way that feels refreshing and it even adds its own touch to make the viewing experience unique, which many sports anime fail to do.

Speaking of a fresh coat of paint, the show is gorgeously animated, and the skating choreography is a pleasure to watch. And what an opening, the music isn’t much to brag about however I will admit that it’s catchy, but the real star is the stylized animation. Usually when I watch a show I’ll watch the opening for the first few episodes and then just skip it, but I have consistently watched every opening thus far, keep in mind that at the time of this blog, only four episodes have aired. It’s animated by studio Mappa, a relatively new studio on the scene. They've produced a few anime that I have enjoyed like Terror in Resonance and Punchline, but my favorite show they produced was one of their first shows, Kids on the Slope. The style of animation is similar to their other works, all of which look really nice.

One of the major detractors of the show is the out of place fan service, there is a time and a place for fan service, and studio Mappa just has no sense for when it is, or how often to include it. But this is a problem that just about every show today has. Too many shows today use fan service as a selling point for the show, putting issues of objectification aside, excessive fan service just gets in the way of the show and detracts from the experience. Usually I expect this from the endless sea of garbage that is modern seasonal anime, but Yuri stands out to me, it’s too good to rely on such cheap trends. There’s probably about two minutes of fan service per episode, and they just feel like they were put there just so they could meet their quota for that episode. This could be said of most seasonal shows though.

            I’m not saying this show is the best thing ever, I’m just saying that it’s fun to watch, even after I watch an episode I think back and realize that it’s not that good of a show, but when I watch the next episode I’m completely immersed and I can’t help but watch, which is a sign of a good show. Overall I am thoroughly enjoying this show, I care about the characters, the story is engaging, it has a quick pace but doesn't feel rushed and the skating is looks amazing, I can't say enough good things about the skating scenes. I know part of why i enjoy this anime so much that is because I had low expectations going in, but I ended up with a really solid show, hopefully the rest of the series is as enjoyable as the first four episodes.

Loss of Legend

If you're like me then you grew watching Miyazaki movies, and one thing that them so incredibly delightful to watch was the amazing array of colors utilized. Sadly the woman responsible for such amazing colors, which brought the movies of my childhood to life has passed away. Michiyo Yasuda was the long time colorist for studio Ghibli and worked on many of the films. So in her honor lets take a look at her wonderful art which has brought joy and inspired wonder in millions across the globe.

 Click here for a full article about Yasuda, and be sure to follow my blog to get the best anime critiques and op eds online!

Good Stuff I Enjoy Volume II

Demolition D+ is probably my favorite youtuber, he is irreverent, vulgar, self-depricating, elitist, and probably the best anime critic out there. His videos run the gamut of snarky humorous reviews to series in-depth critiques. He provides more insight in one ten second joke than most reviews can say in an entire video. Check out his videos but be warned, they are not for the feint of heart and you need some pretty thick skin to enjoy them. You also need to enjoy his brand of humor but if you don't then check out his more serious reviews. I just wish he would post more often.

Good Stuff that I Enjoy Volume I

Digibro has consistently proven himself to be head a shoulders above most anime critics, his videos provide insights that I haven't considered before, and I usually enjoy them, even if I disagree with what he says at times. Here is probably my favorite video of his in which he discusses, in depth, about how important aesthetic can be to a narrative. He even talks about Serial Experiments Lain which is one of my most favorite series, one that I plan to write a review about at some point.

I get a lot of inspiration from Digibro and I feel that his videos are worthwhile watching so check it out!

Drifters

New Show Hype!

Rarely do I find myself enjoying shows from new seasons, usually there's only a handful worth watching and out of those only one or two are truly good, and every once in a while you get a real gem. I think this upcoming fall season will have one of those gems.

I am getting hyped for a show called Drifters, the manga was written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano, my favorite hyper violence loving, comically edgy manga artist. He is most famous for creating Hellsing which received an adaptation called Hellsing Ultimate which is one of my favorite anime to watch just purely based on entertainment value. I've read all the manga of Drifters that is out and it is definitely Hellsing's spiritual successor. 

The show itself is basically Kouta's own fantasy football league but instead of players, its mainly militaristic historical figures, and instead of football, its the conquest of a fantasy world complete with orcs, elves, and dwarves. They released the first two episodes packaged into one OVA earlier this summer and it looks very promising, and like Hellsing Ultimate, its a very faithful adaptation of its source material.

Just to make things better they also brought on an awesome production team, you have Kenichi Suzuki directing, who also directed many episodes of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Hideyuki Kurata writting, who wrote Hellsing Ultimate, and Ryoji Nakamori doing the character designs, of Hellsing Ultimate fame as well as many other series. So right now it's hard to see how this series can be bad, here's to hoping they don't mess anything up!

Have you read or seen anything about Drifters? What do you think about it? Let me know in the comments!

Berserk 2016, or How Not to Adapt Manga

Why the Music is Garbage

               Berserk is without question one of the best pieces of dark fantasy ever written, and it holds a place close to my heart, which is why I am saddened that I am about to tear it apart. Now, Berserk has many adaptations since the first chapter was published in 1989 and still continues to this day. The series first received an anime in 1997, then another re-make of that series as a three part movie in 2012, and the latest adaption is an anime series that premiered in 2016 and picked up where the 1997 one left off. This most recent version will be the focus of this post as it is absolutely atrocious and is a mockery of what the creator, Kentaro Miura, intended. Berserk 2016 really does suck.

                I could talk about this show forever, any mistake it could have made, it made. I could talk about the horrible use of CGI, the bad pacing, the major story arcs that it just skips, the horrible tone, the worst sound effects ever, but if I did all of those this would be fifteen page essay so instead I’ll just focus on one aspect, the music.

Here’s a quick list of what the music did wrong:

• Completely misunderstood the tone of Berserk
• Forceful portrayal of action scenes
• Absolutely no subtlety
• No cohesion in the overall composition

1. Misuse of Tone

              Although this flaw is mainly due to poor direction, the music did not help. The world of Berserk is supposed to be mysterious, ominous, and dark but the music doesn't capture any of this. Instead of being the embodiment of these tones, which the original series nails, it decides to turn Berserk into a stereotypical shonen which doesn't fit at all. 

2. Poor Execution of Action Scenes

                Action scenes in the old 1997 Berserk either had no music, which created a very tense atmosphere, or had some of the oddest and most unsettling songs that I have ever heard from an original sound track. This not only complements the action scenes but it lets the animation and direction stand out while the pacing and delivery of the scenes have a natural impact that feels right. The adaptation on the other hand uses heavy handed heavy metal riffs to try and show as plainly as possible that this scene is supposed to be intense, instead of letting the scene be intense which it would not be if not for the music.

3. Lack of Subtlety

                The music in the old series has many complex layers that's unsettling and leave the viewer feeling adrift, and sometimes disturbed which is exactly how the series is supposed to make you feel, these are the exact emotions that the original manga leaves the reader feeling. Even during the peaceful scenes the music carries underlying tone that something isn't quite right. This is something that the new series completely misses, the new Berserk shows you outright how a scene should make you feel instead of letting things flow naturally and letting the viewer pick things up on their own. By telling the viewer how to feel about a scene it is either implying that the viewer is stupid and does not know how to feel about what is happening on screen, or that every other aspect of the show is so bad that the viewer wouldn't know how to feel about what is happening without the music.

4. Lack of Cohesion

                Every single track is similar in some respects mostly that similar instrument were used, they’re all similar genres, all the tracks were composed in a similar style, and they all sound like they were written with each other in mind. This makes musical transitions in the show feel natural and even paced which is a great attribute for a show to have. However this is something that the soundtrack for Berserk 2016 completely misses. Only a few tracks sound similar, there are many different genres, and all this makes for a jarring experience that takes the viewer out of their immersion whenever the music changes.

Recap

                 All of these pieces add up to this soundtrack being a complete mess. It completely misses the point of what a soundtrack should do and what Berserk is. Music in a series should always compliment what is happening on screen by adding another dynamic layer instead of being a crutch for shoddy direction. The soundtrack in the new berserk is by no means bad as individual songs, but in the context of the show and as a soundtrack they suck.

If you can't take my word for it here is a link to both the original soundtrack and the new one, give them a listen and see for yourself.

Berserk is such a fantastic series, and it deserves better than the horrible adaptation that it got this year. That being said I really can't expect another adaptation to be as good as the 1997 one, it was a weird mix of having a low budget and poor animation quality but being amazing in every other regard. So it's a little unfair to compare this series to such a high standard but considering that it is Berserk you kind of have to. If you look at the series by itself and not as a part of Berserk its decent and good fun to watch, there were even some moments later on in the series that I actually enjoyed, but overall as a piece of Berserk, its garbage compared to everything else out there.

Comment below and let me know what you thought of music, the series, or Berserk as a whole!

Anime Sucks

Why Anime Sucks

Anime Sucks is a blog that will critique anime and pose questions and ideas about the medium. That is our mission statement but there's more to this blog. Everything that will be posted comes from a deep love and appreciation for anime, so we'll start by saying that anime sucks, like really sucks, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Anime, like any other form of entertainment is flooded with garbage, and if you were to judge it just based on the number of good shows then it really sucks. This is the same for every art form, most shows on TV are bad, most music is bad, and most books are bad, but in a way doesn't that make the rare good works even more memorable? When there is so much content being produced, the bad becomes average, the average becomes good, the good becomes great, and the truly great become legendary, which makes them worthy of intense dedication from fans that will last for as long as the medium is around.

How This Will Work Exactly

Some might say that its impossible to objectively critique something like anime. This is true because it is impossible to say what is good and what is not when discussing something that is based on personal taste. There is no way we can do that if you consider anime to just be entertainment, which by definition, if you find it entertaining, than it is good because you find it enjoyable to watch. We are not trying to make anyone feel bad for liking what they like, we are simply making an argument on why we believe a certain show is bad.

We won't do whole overviews of why shows are bad, instead we'll focus on specific shortcomings from certain series; and remember, no matter how harshly we criticize a show for being unforgivable trash, we'll always be thankful that it exists because those shows make the great ones shine all the brighter!

Stay tuned for our inaugural post where we will be discussing the new adaptation of Berserk!