Shouta
Member
Catching up with last week's episodes because I was still overseas, lol.
Asterisk 12 - END
Finally, a fight that they've been promising in the show. I love the tactics they used for the entire match and the animation was really good. I also really liked the color used as well. Getting a bit of back story on Priscilla and Irene just before the fight helped carry the ep a bit more and I liked how it smoothly transitioned into a preview of next season.
Overall, I liked this season for Asterisk. It has problems, but it does a lot of setup that makes me a bit hopeful for the second season of the show, especially if we can get fights like this last one. If they can kinda tone down Kirin and Saya stuff a bit and focus on the story more, that'd be great. I'd really like them to emphasize moments more to generate the moments that resonate.
Grade: B-
Rakudai 12 -END
The fight was disappointing, especially after Shizuku's match with Toka. On the other hand, I really liked the direction of that moment in the episode. The color transitions, the animation with him squeezing out his abilities even further, the framing of some of the moments, etc. I think the worst part in there was Toka's hella goofy looking stance.
The other parts of the episode were the continuation of the contrived BS from the last episode but I liked Ikki's dad getting told to fuck off from Stella's Dad. I'm also super interested in how Alice and the VP fights.
Overall, I think Rakudai is a super bumpy show. It has some great highs but it also has some super low-lows. I think the strongest point for the show is simply the directing of the animation. This is the one aspect that Rakudai absolutely blows Asterisk out of the water. The director knows how to build tension and intensity in the fights and there are a lot of great looking sequences despite maybe not being animated extremely well. Honestly, I'd want this director to work on Asterisk instead, lol
On the other hand, the writing of the story is nowhere near the level it needs to match up to the directing. Probably an issue with the original novel which makes me wish the writers decided to take some liberties with it. I also don't really like the cast overall. Ikki is easily the best character of the bunch with Alice, despite lack of overall screen time, in 2nd. I personally like Toka too and Stella isn't too bad. Everyone else is kinda eh and a little annoying, or really annoying in Shizuku's case.
That said, I'd like to see a second season if it hasn't already been announced. The fights could be really awesome in the national tournament.
Grade: C
Asterisk 12 - END
Finally, a fight that they've been promising in the show. I love the tactics they used for the entire match and the animation was really good. I also really liked the color used as well. Getting a bit of back story on Priscilla and Irene just before the fight helped carry the ep a bit more and I liked how it smoothly transitioned into a preview of next season.
Overall, I liked this season for Asterisk. It has problems, but it does a lot of setup that makes me a bit hopeful for the second season of the show, especially if we can get fights like this last one. If they can kinda tone down Kirin and Saya stuff a bit and focus on the story more, that'd be great. I'd really like them to emphasize moments more to generate the moments that resonate.
Grade: B-
Rakudai 12 -END
The fight was disappointing, especially after Shizuku's match with Toka. On the other hand, I really liked the direction of that moment in the episode. The color transitions, the animation with him squeezing out his abilities even further, the framing of some of the moments, etc. I think the worst part in there was Toka's hella goofy looking stance.
The other parts of the episode were the continuation of the contrived BS from the last episode but I liked Ikki's dad getting told to fuck off from Stella's Dad. I'm also super interested in how Alice and the VP fights.
Overall, I think Rakudai is a super bumpy show. It has some great highs but it also has some super low-lows. I think the strongest point for the show is simply the directing of the animation. This is the one aspect that Rakudai absolutely blows Asterisk out of the water. The director knows how to build tension and intensity in the fights and there are a lot of great looking sequences despite maybe not being animated extremely well. Honestly, I'd want this director to work on Asterisk instead, lol
On the other hand, the writing of the story is nowhere near the level it needs to match up to the directing. Probably an issue with the original novel which makes me wish the writers decided to take some liberties with it. I also don't really like the cast overall. Ikki is easily the best character of the bunch with Alice, despite lack of overall screen time, in 2nd. I personally like Toka too and Stella isn't too bad. Everyone else is kinda eh and a little annoying, or really annoying in Shizuku's case.
That said, I'd like to see a second season if it hasn't already been announced. The fights could be really awesome in the national tournament.
Grade: C
