Finished up two anime last week, one retro and one very contemporary.
First was Frieren, the show that the anime community has been going crazy for if the MAL rating is any indication. And yeah, I can see why, though I’m also fairly surprised. It’s a very thoughtful, contemplative, and emotional series that doesn’t lean too heavily on traditional anime tropes and over-the-top action that a lot of anime fans crave. Although, yes, there are definitely a good share of action scenes and great animation. And I do think some of the appeal comes from the fact that Frieren herself is essentially an introvert, which, let’s face it, most anime fans are. Story-wise, everything is paced out pretty well. The standalone episodes are nice and do their job of establishing and building up the characters, but I think the story arcs that cover several episodes are where the show really shines, with the demon arc being my personal favorite. The magic exam is really good too, though it felt a tad drawn out. I’m not sure if I can call the show overall one of my personal faves as it didn’t quite hit the emotional highs I was hoping for, but it’s still a very chill, accessible show that I can recommend to almost anyone.
The other was Revolutionary Girl Utena or Symbolism: The Anime. This is one I can safely say I would not recommend to just anyone. I’m sure if I watched this show one or two or ten more times, I may be able to fully decipher and pick up on the symbols and metaphors going on this show, but as it is I think I get the gist of it…more or less. It started off kind of tedious and repetitive, but the show definitely got better as it went along with the final arc being the best of the three. And while I enjoyed the second arc more than the first, at the end of the day, I’m not even sure what the point of it was since Mikage is never mentioned again afterwards. And I don’t know who on the anime staff had such a big crush on Nanami, but her episodes really didn’t do much for me. Oh yeah, and I did watch the movie, hoping it might shed more light on what was going on, but…yeah, naw.