From the New World (Shin Sekai Yori) |OT| - Of molerats and men
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Well, it could be a prop knife and fake blood. As long as the kids buy it...
PoeticProse22
Member
Edit: beaten
From The New World - 3 & 4
Show of the season. Really loved how everything was handled and the explanations were given in such a convincing matter almost making the viewer feel as if he was a part of the scene himself. Great stuff. Possibly one of the best infodumps ever, the way Saki's reactions were intertwined with the flashbacks made it feel really dynamic.
Loved the Jun Arai scene at the start of episode 3 and the amazing animation at the end of episode 4 (no idea who animated that), show looks really beautiful.
Show of the season. Really loved how everything was handled and the explanations were given in such a convincing matter almost making the viewer feel as if he was a part of the scene himself. Great stuff. Possibly one of the best infodumps ever, the way Saki's reactions were intertwined with the flashbacks made it feel really dynamic.
Loved the Jun Arai scene at the start of episode 3 and the amazing animation at the end of episode 4 (no idea who animated that), show looks really beautiful.
It's Tuesday - new dictionary definitions day!
Because episode 4 is super spoilery for people who haven't caught up yet, I'm hiding these behind spoiler tags. You're safe if you've seen ep 4, though. Neither really tell you much more than we've just learnt.
Because episode 4 is super spoilery for people who haven't caught up yet, I'm hiding these behind spoiler tags. You're safe if you've seen ep 4, though. Neither really tell you much more than we've just learnt.
Death Feedback
A powerful deterrent against aggression spliced into the human genome. It is necessary to enable those with psychokinetic powers to have functional group societies. When someone thinks about harming another human being, their psychokinesis is subconsciously activated. Their kidneys and parathyroid glands are disabled. They therefore suffer from anxiety, palpitations, sweating and other warning signals; if they continue to attack, then they either choke to death from calcium deprivation or from cardiac arrest due to their bodies being flooded with potassium.
(for those of us who aren't particularly anatomically minded, the parathyroid glands regulate calcium levels within the body, and the kidneys also filter potassium. Science!)
A powerful deterrent against aggression spliced into the human genome. It is necessary to enable those with psychokinetic powers to have functional group societies. When someone thinks about harming another human being, their psychokinesis is subconsciously activated. Their kidneys and parathyroid glands are disabled. They therefore suffer from anxiety, palpitations, sweating and other warning signals; if they continue to attack, then they either choke to death from calcium deprivation or from cardiac arrest due to their bodies being flooded with potassium.
(for those of us who aren't particularly anatomically minded, the parathyroid glands regulate calcium levels within the body, and the kidneys also filter potassium. Science!)
The Holy Sakura Dynasty
A slave dynasty that ruled over the Kanto and Chubu regions of Japan for 570 years. In the dynasty's early days, the minority of psychics enslaved the majority of normal people, but following a succession of purges amongst the nobility it changed so that there was just one royal bloodline. 94 emperors followed; it is said that in the waning years of each emperor's rule, the next emperor would murder him and seize the crown for himself. Amongst the emperors, the 5th emperor - the Emperor of Great Joy - and the 79th - the Emperor of Merciful Light - are regarded by legend as being cruel tyrants. However, after such a long period of time, this 570 year chapter of history closed with the 94th emperor.
A slave dynasty that ruled over the Kanto and Chubu regions of Japan for 570 years. In the dynasty's early days, the minority of psychics enslaved the majority of normal people, but following a succession of purges amongst the nobility it changed so that there was just one royal bloodline. 94 emperors followed; it is said that in the waning years of each emperor's rule, the next emperor would murder him and seize the crown for himself. Amongst the emperors, the 5th emperor - the Emperor of Great Joy - and the 79th - the Emperor of Merciful Light - are regarded by legend as being cruel tyrants. However, after such a long period of time, this 570 year chapter of history closed with the 94th emperor.
Care to elaborate?
TheVampire
Banned
So is this show any good?
I watched the first episode but I was pretty drunk and it was a bit confusing and alot to take it.
I havn't watched the other episodes yet.
I watched the first episode but I was pretty drunk and it was a bit confusing and alot to take it.
I havn't watched the other episodes yet.
Rijin is there and is the one preparing the paper doll.
Oh, shoot, so he is. Thanks.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
It's very good indeed, in my opinion. Probably not the sort of show you want to be watching when drunk though.
They were all princes hoping for a kiss.
From the New World 5
A lot of interesting plot, and character development in this episode. I have a feeling that's going to get drowned out in discussion of the art style, though.
The visual style is undeniably unique. I liked a lot of the background art and art direction, although some shots had a digital filter effect which looked pretty bad. I was not as big of a fan of the stilted animation. I was in particular disappointed in the opening scene; I don't understand why it looked like this when we saw it in the very first trailer months ago, and the animation was undeniably superior. Why?
I felt like the direction was a bit confusing at times, especially during the action scenes.
And I have no idea what happened during the last scene. It reminds me of Shigeyasu Yamauchi's work in Penguin Drum 18 with the pulley system that made no sense visually. It's nice to have a distinct visual style, but you should really make sure your visuals are coherent first.
I guess this sounds harsher than I actually feel. It was a good episode, I just don't think Yamauchi did the best job with the material.
Squealer is moe.
A lot of interesting plot, and character development in this episode. I have a feeling that's going to get drowned out in discussion of the art style, though.
The visual style is undeniably unique. I liked a lot of the background art and art direction, although some shots had a digital filter effect which looked pretty bad. I was not as big of a fan of the stilted animation. I was in particular disappointed in the opening scene; I don't understand why it looked like this when we saw it in the very first trailer months ago, and the animation was undeniably superior. Why?
I felt like the direction was a bit confusing at times, especially during the action scenes.
The scene where Satoru blew up the caves was pretty hard to follow.
I guess this sounds harsher than I actually feel. It was a good episode, I just don't think Yamauchi did the best job with the material.
I didn't like ep5. I think it was pretty poorly directed, and I found it hard to understand or enjoy the narrative flow because of the bad editing and failure to really establish any sense of setting. I'll probably post something more in-depth later on, but I didn't enjoy this at all.
The scene transitions were really weird. I had a really hard time following what was happening at times. Everything just felt...off.
I think you're right about the setting thing. Characters would just be at one place, and the next shot they're somewhere else.
It's unfortunate because the actual story was really interesting.
"Off" was definitely the word that came to mind not even 5 minutes into the episode.
I even had to re-watch the first scene to get what just happened. The direction felt very floaty... like nothing had a real sense of weight to it. A lot of the scene transition felt really awkward and confusing. I dunno, maybe that's just his trademark style or whatever but it didn't really appeal to me. I did like a lot of the art and background details though.
I'm gonna have to give this a re-watch or something.
I don't think the general gist of the things was hard to understand, other than the ending. It's just that you don't understand what happens in each scene until the scene after it happens, which isn't really a good way to direct an episode.
Well, I probably want to give it another spin later so I can better articulate some of my complaints, but I think the three biggest issues I had with the episode was:
- Really poor use of establishing shots
- Poor visual narrative, mostly because of bad transitions and poor editing
- Excessive use of close-ups, which while initially effective started to wear thin throughout the episode
Regarding the point of establishing shots, I noticed the episode used quite of number of them, usually showing a distant shot of the location the next scene is supposed to take place in, except they were very ineffective because we don't know anything about the location or where these places are in relation to each other, so instead of clarifying, it just makes things more confusing. That defeats the purpose of using an establishing shot. If none were used to begin with, it would instead feel more naturally confusing, putting the viewer in the place of the characters who are no longer sure where they are.
The editing and transitions are much more problematic though, in the sense that they often interrupt the flow of the direction, and make the pace and momentum of the episode unnatural and abrupt at times. Sometimes it would appear that a scene has ended and time has passed, but that turns out to not be the case. I know that in one or two scenes this was the intended effect, but instead of feeling artistic, it just comes off as bad here imo.
The close-ups are probably the most debatable part of the episode's problems. I know why he uses them, and initially they were really effective. Showing the close up of a character interaction without showing the rest of the person, especially the face, can invoke stronger emotional feelings about the scene simply because of what the action implies. But the repeated use of this over and over made it start to lose its effect, and instead it just got annoying.
Okay, yeah, I followed the basic flow, but not very well, and as you said I really don't have any idea what happened at the very end.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I love Yamauchi's closeups and his sense of style. But even so, I'm man enough to admit that this episode had some serious problems with the depiction of the narrative. I think he naturally tends to depict things in a dreamlike fashion - even the art in this episode turned into a surreal landscape - but that does cause problems for creating a logical flow and clear sequence of events, for obvious reasons.
Jex
Member
I don't know if I want Yamauchi directing whole episodes, at least, not without someone standing over his shoulder and smacking him on the wrist until he learns to construct logical scene progressions together. It really doesn't feel like he has any intention of trying to link certain shots together. I don't actually mind the way he directs, I think it's can be used effectively at certain points but to do a whole episode like that was a mistake.
I don't like Yamauchi's directing for this episode because we're forced to talk about it instead of the events in this episode. You can't be this ostentatious in a plot-heavy episode like this one; narrative coherency has to be the primary consideration.
Well, this is Ishihama's first time as a series director after all. Hopefully he'll learn when to keep a tighter rein on things as he gains experience.
Well, this is Ishihama's first time as a series director after all. Hopefully he'll learn when to keep a tighter rein on things as he gains experience.
There are some scenes in episode 5 I felt were pretty effective and played well to the strengths of Yamauchi's direction style:
Too bad about the rest of the episode though.
- The intimate interactions between Satoru and Saki were done pretty effectively. They felt somewhat uncomfortable yet there's a strong sense of desire from the characters as well, interrupted only by common sense. The color choice in the scenes also created this dreamy sense of a hot Summer's day, which is effective for portraying the development of young potential lovers.
- The "reveal" of the queen was handled well, especially with all the ominous close-ups to parts of the tent throughout that scene before it caught fire. It was done in a somewhat horror-movie sense, and as such the confusion and fear the characters had of not knowing what was really behind that tent - and not really wanting to know, was very effective.
- The "reveal" of the queen was handled well, especially with all the ominous close-ups to parts of the tent throughout that scene before it caught fire. It was done in a somewhat horror-movie sense, and as such the confusion and fear the characters had of not knowing what was really behind that tent - and not really wanting to know, was very effective.
Too bad about the rest of the episode though.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I think being an animator with a somewhat idiosyncratic style himself makes Ishihama more inclined to give a large rein to people with strong personal styles. We've seen that already with Shingo Yamashita and Jun Arai, who were both given solo segments in which they were allowed to indulge in the kind of animation they enjoy. The big difference, of course, is that those were their own individual, self-contained stories separate from the main narrative whereas this was a full episode pivotal to the plot.
That was definitely my favorite scene in the episode.
Same here. Reminded me of Yamauchi's Mawaru-Penguindrum episode, actually.
EDIT:
Damn, I hadn't seen that!
hosannainexcelsis
Member
This reminds me of the scenario with episode 9 of Mysterious Girlfriend X, another Yamauchi/Hayama episode. The preview images of it from episode 8 look much more in keeping with the general style of the show compared to what actually appeared in the episode itself, where the color scheme and backgrounds were really monkeyed around with. It wasn't as drastically different as this, mind you, but it does seem that Yamauchi's episodes go through a process where at first they look "normal" and then he changes them to make them "his own".
It seems weird they would just throw away such good animation in favor of a weaker scene.
Pacing oddities aside, I came out enjoying episode 5 and it's awkward direction.
The whole episode sorta felt like a bizarre fever dream-- like a rough recollection of scattered events through Saki's eyes. And given their situation, it sort of fit the mold. I guess I liked the change after a few information heavy episodes.
The whole episode sorta felt like a bizarre fever dream-- like a rough recollection of scattered events through Saki's eyes. And given their situation, it sort of fit the mold. I guess I liked the change after a few information heavy episodes.
Jex
Member
I have to wonder if Yamauchi is actually deliberately editing things in a completely nonsensical manner to confuse the audience or whether he's just really bad at editing. There are scenes in this episode and in that Penguindrum episode that literally don't make sense, from a physics perspective and from a, er, general reality perspective. It's just really weird.
Maybe he just doesn't care. That's the vibe I get from everything I've seen from him. He doesn't seem to care about the actual continuity of a sequence, just the "feel" of it.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
From everything I've seen of his, I'm pretty sure it's totally deliberate. He goes for an expressionistic style of directing, where his goal is to depict characters' inner feelings with no regard for how things "really" happen in the physical world. Heck, that even showed up in his comparatively extremely toned-down Chihayafuru episode.
Well, that (and the color schemes, and the off-model characters, and their silly poses) annoyed the fuck out of me. It simply isn't consistent with the previous episodes, and I don't think the plot justified that at all either.
A few days ago, I was listing the (very few) complaints I had with the series to a friend, and the various styles used in the tales and flashbacks came up. I would have liked more consistency (for a show like this, anyway). But even then, those were just stand-alone sections. To have an entire episode stand out like that for no other reason than "Yamauchi was the director / storyboarder"... And I don't imagine they intend to "fix" that for the video release either.
Eh. Sorry for the rant, I'm annoyed.
Episode 5
Well, now that I've had more time to think about it and consider the overall episode, I think I can talk about how I feel about the episode in more detail. It is without a doubt a poorly directed episode. There is a lot of merit to how parts of the episode was approached, but there also remains an underlying weakness to the entire visual narrative, making it hard understand exactly what the show is trying to portray at times, and rather frustrating to actually just sit and watch.
But as I said, it is not without merits. This is an emotionally tense episode, focusing on Satoru and Saki on the run after being separated from the other characters. There is a good sense of loneliness, lust, and confusion. Saki's feelings especially are rendered very effectively here. There is sexual tension, cross signals, and just a general sense of not really knowing what she wants but having to keep going without having much of a chance to stop and think.
There are nice revelations about the world and the direction of the story this week too. The characters are finally experiencing a world they knew nothing about, and are thrust into what seems to be a war waged beyond borders - something that should not concern them at all, but now it is too late to turn back. Introducing these elements make the rest of the show much more exciting to look forward to, and it's a pity that they're introduced in an episode where the narrative language is so vague. Many of the scenes in the latter part of the episode would be much more exciting and intense if it was easier to tell what was really going on.
The unique visuals which Hayama and Matsumoto brought to the episode were definitely attractive. It made the show look different, but in an interesting way. Nothing really felt ugly or poorly drawn. Although there's probably a question to be raised if having an inconsistent looking visual style in a single episode is something to be desired in a TV series with a continuous story. I guess that's a debate for another time. The visuals definitely weren't the main problem here, and I liked them.
Overall I'll say this felt like an experimental episode which mostly failed because of Yamauchi's poor narrative direction and his hectic editing style, with a few good scenes buried within. The important point is that it did move the story forward, and it is unlikely that we will be seeing an episode like this again for a while, if ever.
Well, now that I've had more time to think about it and consider the overall episode, I think I can talk about how I feel about the episode in more detail. It is without a doubt a poorly directed episode. There is a lot of merit to how parts of the episode was approached, but there also remains an underlying weakness to the entire visual narrative, making it hard understand exactly what the show is trying to portray at times, and rather frustrating to actually just sit and watch.
But as I said, it is not without merits. This is an emotionally tense episode, focusing on Satoru and Saki on the run after being separated from the other characters. There is a good sense of loneliness, lust, and confusion. Saki's feelings especially are rendered very effectively here. There is sexual tension, cross signals, and just a general sense of not really knowing what she wants but having to keep going without having much of a chance to stop and think.
There are nice revelations about the world and the direction of the story this week too. The characters are finally experiencing a world they knew nothing about, and are thrust into what seems to be a war waged beyond borders - something that should not concern them at all, but now it is too late to turn back. Introducing these elements make the rest of the show much more exciting to look forward to, and it's a pity that they're introduced in an episode where the narrative language is so vague. Many of the scenes in the latter part of the episode would be much more exciting and intense if it was easier to tell what was really going on.
The unique visuals which Hayama and Matsumoto brought to the episode were definitely attractive. It made the show look different, but in an interesting way. Nothing really felt ugly or poorly drawn. Although there's probably a question to be raised if having an inconsistent looking visual style in a single episode is something to be desired in a TV series with a continuous story. I guess that's a debate for another time. The visuals definitely weren't the main problem here, and I liked them.
Overall I'll say this felt like an experimental episode which mostly failed because of Yamauchi's poor narrative direction and his hectic editing style, with a few good scenes buried within. The important point is that it did move the story forward, and it is unlikely that we will be seeing an episode like this again for a while, if ever.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
There is some precedent for a BD fix in the somewhat similar situation of episode 7 of Birdy the Mighty Decode:02, where A-1 went back to the extremely stylized, blocky web animation of the action scenes in the TV broadcast and replaced it with more normal, fluid looking animation after loud complaints. Obviously the issue here is considerably more extensive and I doubt they'll make any changes, but it has been done in the past.
It's impossible to know the intent without actually talking with the people who made these decisions, but I do think there is a potential narrative justification for the art shift. Saki and the rest of the children have been thrust out of their comfort zone into a totally new world that they struggle to comprehend, and I would guess that the dramatic shift in art and the confusing direction was intended to mirror Saki's personal confusion on being confronted with all of this, and that Yamauchi was allowed to shape the episode so strongly with this reason in mind. As this obviously didn't work for most of the audience, I think it would have been ideal if someone else had co-storyboarded/directed the episode with him and kept the atmospheric qualities of his direction while establishing greater narrative clarity and flow.
I am personally fond of visual experimentation - that's one thing I enjoy in anime, seeing animators and directors allowed to express themselves as they like without being forced to always conform to a bland studio mandated style. I liked seeing the freedom Yuasa offered to the various episode staff in Kemonozume, for instance. But I do think that the story needs to come first, and so restraint should be exercised in a work with an ongoing narrative. I didn't mind this episode that much, even, but considering how much it has interfered with the enjoyment of the story for the vast majority of people watching I do have to agree with those calling it a mistake.
Episode 5
Didn't like the sudden art style change in character designs, if they want to do the backgrounds or effects differently it's ok, but characters after 4 episodes, they looked like different people here and not in a good way, the designs went from having a lot of round shape faces and eyes to what seem to be angular, sharp shaped design, and looking older.
The designs give a very different impression;
, that was my impression at least and I think it did that well enough to set a different mood from the usual for this kind of interactions.
Next episode is back to original style looking at the preview, I'm guessing whenever it's about this, implied or not, it's going to look like this episode maybe.
Didn't like the sudden art style change in character designs, if they want to do the backgrounds or effects differently it's ok, but characters after 4 episodes, they looked like different people here and not in a good way, the designs went from having a lot of round shape faces and eyes to what seem to be angular, sharp shaped design, and looking older.
The designs give a very different impression;
I wonder if it's for the sexual content and they wanted them not to look like very young kids they are
Next episode is back to original style looking at the preview, I'm guessing whenever it's about this, implied or not, it's going to look like this episode maybe.
True, true.
So am I, but I don't think Shin Sekai yori is the show for that...
I really enjoyed the content of this weeks episode and the art as well, its a shame its so bogged down with confusing visual direction, particularly during the early and latter stages. Normally I like Yamauchi too, but what he was trying to accomplish in this episode really didn't work out. In theory his style of making the audience fill in the scene gaps is an interesting one, but its bit a more miss than hit lately with stuff like this episode or the Penguin Drum one(although I think this was pretty well handled outside of certain specific scenes). It's something I felt worked well in Casshern Sins, but not well suited elsewhere. It's not like he can't handle visual cohesion, he directed im@s ep.9 did he not? That was a very well done episode, and certainly one of the best of that series.
Moving on though, the various different segments really carried some emotional weight. I was impressed with how well the characters inner feelings were translated on the screen and to the audience. As I mentioned earlier, the actual content of the episode did not disappoint. We are treated to a much more physical and emotional unveiling of the world this week, in contrast to the intellectual history lesson from the previous week. This helps drive some interesting character developments, as well as peel back some the layers of how society works outside of the humans. The characters and audience are now learning through experience, rather than what they heard in the classroom or what the library had to say.
Moving on though, the various different segments really carried some emotional weight. I was impressed with how well the characters inner feelings were translated on the screen and to the audience. As I mentioned earlier, the actual content of the episode did not disappoint. We are treated to a much more physical and emotional unveiling of the world this week, in contrast to the intellectual history lesson from the previous week. This helps drive some interesting character developments, as well as peel back some the layers of how society works outside of the humans. The characters and audience are now learning through experience, rather than what they heard in the classroom or what the library had to say.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Episode 5
Episode was alright to really good. Starting part really seemed to require one to have just come right off of seeing the previous episode, so I guess it will work better when I do the rewatch of all the episodes end of the series or what not. But it was pretty intense and way action packed. I liked how the characters looked throughout especially Satoru at all times. Im glad the episode ultimately proved that the characters arent wholly reliant on Shun for having plans. I mean Satoru did a really good job.
.
Kind of 50/50 on
I really liked this moment or actually the whole scene.
I sometimes think the music direction is just odd for the time period of the series. Shouldnt it be less urbany and modern and more tribal wildernessy?
Episode was alright to really good. Starting part really seemed to require one to have just come right off of seeing the previous episode, so I guess it will work better when I do the rewatch of all the episodes end of the series or what not. But it was pretty intense and way action packed. I liked how the characters looked throughout especially Satoru at all times. Im glad the episode ultimately proved that the characters arent wholly reliant on Shun for having plans. I mean Satoru did a really good job.
Taking a hit for the team, the egg bomb thing, and then the torch to fire the stuff
Kind of 50/50 on
the "privacy" scene as Satoru said which cracked me up. I liked it for Satoru's faces and reactions, but didnt like it because well, it was Saki. I guess its just a preferance for characters, so I like it cause of how it played into what the living library said and Satoru but didnt like it because of Saki. I wonder if more will be thrown in
I really liked this moment or actually the whole scene.
I sometimes think the music direction is just odd for the time period of the series. Shouldnt it be less urbany and modern and more tribal wildernessy?
PoeticProse22
Member
From the New World 5
This was an excellently intense, emotionally complex episode that was unfortunately diminished by its flawed execution and incoherent storytelling. Due to the poor direction and editing, the pacing was a bit too scattered and inconsistent. On the other hand, in terms of the continuing narrative, this episode was as immensely satisfying as those that have preceded it.
The most intriguing development from the episode is that
, the
and the
, are
,
. Their imminent plight is a sympathetic one, since
indicated that their
, should they
, would be
; an existence of cruel suffering. It appears likely that a sizable portion of the furtherance of the developing narrative will directly involve this
that
have unwittingly, yet irrevocably entangled themselves in; a
that will potentially influence their lives in a significant fashion. It was rather surprising, though not entirely unexpected, that a
, since he
. It will be interesting to see if an explanation is given to provide a reason for his seemingly unique
. Though I could be forgetting some previously revealed information, this could potentially be a result of the temporary
.
My favorite sequence involved the
. There was a sort of awkward tranquility in these scenes that is entirely isolated from the rest of the episode. These complicated moments of
were portrayed excellently, subtly illustrating a struggle between logical restraint and an
. There was a purposeful, but nuanced incoherence that essentially illuminated the plethora of divergent, chaotic emotions that
. Another terrific scene was
. This entire sequence was suffused with a visual disorientation that was rather effective in evoking a sense of suspenseful dread. The final scene, though rather difficult to fully understand, seemed to imply, following
.
Saki's complex, intuitive characterization was evident throughout, particularly in
, as, after shes haunted by
. The interactions between Saki and Satoru were particularly great, and, as
. There was also a significant amount of interesting character development, particularly in regards to Satoru, whos shown to be considerably capable and useful, highlighted most notably throughout the latter half of the episode, in which
. Aside from those two, I love the manner in which Shun is being gradually depicted as an
, as, in these fleeting moments,
. Perhaps this minutia of
characterization foreshadows an eventual
.
Yamauchi's surrealistic direction was definitely the weakest element of the episode. There was a noticeable lack of restraint, particularly when it came to the close-ups, which, by themselves, are rather excellent in their ability to effectively portray the complexity of various emotions, but they were considerably overused. His unique style would likely complement a brief sequence, such as the historical preludes that opened earlier episodes, wonderfully, but, as it is, stretching it over an entire episode was an obvious mistake, since it really doesn't lend itself to narrative coherency. There was also some rather poor editing and scene transitions were far too confusing much of the time, faltering into this unfortunate disconnect between shots during a plethora of important sequences. Although there was, perhaps, a heightened level of tension, the action was handled with a chaotic touch that, for the most part, missed the mark completely, due largely to the over-abundance of close-ups.
This episode was visually fantastic, establishing an atmosphere that perfectly complemented the unsettling, claustrophobic nature of the episode. The background art was beautifully varied and visually striking. It was a decidedly unique aesthetic, but I felt that it worked quite well. The animation, however, was disappointingly inconsistent and stiff. I also wasnt particularly fond of the altered character designs, as, unlike the usual designs, theyre not nearly as well-suited for motion. Musically, the episode was rather satisfying, though there were several selections that werent as impressive as the others, but, thankfully, none that were especially jarring.
All in all, despite a temporary decline in execution, From the New World remains an exceptionally well-written tale of naïve children becoming lost in the unprotected edges of their strange, desolate society. Im really looking forward to the next episode, since the preview suggests that, once again, the story will focus on
. I'm also hoping that
.
This was an excellently intense, emotionally complex episode that was unfortunately diminished by its flawed execution and incoherent storytelling. Due to the poor direction and editing, the pacing was a bit too scattered and inconsistent. On the other hand, in terms of the continuing narrative, this episode was as immensely satisfying as those that have preceded it.
The most intriguing development from the episode is that
two queerat colonies
native Robber Fly Colony
foreign Ground Spider Colony
warring against one another
and that the Robber Fly Colony is losing
Squealer
tribe
lose
punished with an unending slavery
war
Saki and Satoru
war
queerat appeared who could be understood by Saki and Satoru
speaks their language
ability
removal of their Cantus
My favorite sequence involved the
affectionate interactions between Saki and Satoru
intimacy
awakened desire for sexual exploration
both Satoru and Saki felt
Saki and Satorus encounter with the queen at the bottom of the queerat nest
Satorus piercing of a particularly flexible cave wall and the organic substance that subsequently emanated from the crack, that the cave partially collapsed
Saki's complex, intuitive characterization was evident throughout, particularly in
her intimate interactions with Satoru
their growing similarity to the bonobos, she refrains from attempting to oblige her temporary curiosity
they're effectively isolated from the others, this allows for a deeper level of development between them, since, rather than the playful hostility that typically occurred, their interactions are no longer devoid of sentiment and emotion
he killed the queerat who guarded their cage and created an explosion that partially destroyed the cave
occasionally callous individual, constantly aware of inherent danger, yet fully willing to indulge his curiosity for risk, seemingly without much of an inclination for sympathy
he can become unaware of the others
foreboding
descent into darkness
Yamauchi's surrealistic direction was definitely the weakest element of the episode. There was a noticeable lack of restraint, particularly when it came to the close-ups, which, by themselves, are rather excellent in their ability to effectively portray the complexity of various emotions, but they were considerably overused. His unique style would likely complement a brief sequence, such as the historical preludes that opened earlier episodes, wonderfully, but, as it is, stretching it over an entire episode was an obvious mistake, since it really doesn't lend itself to narrative coherency. There was also some rather poor editing and scene transitions were far too confusing much of the time, faltering into this unfortunate disconnect between shots during a plethora of important sequences. Although there was, perhaps, a heightened level of tension, the action was handled with a chaotic touch that, for the most part, missed the mark completely, due largely to the over-abundance of close-ups.
This episode was visually fantastic, establishing an atmosphere that perfectly complemented the unsettling, claustrophobic nature of the episode. The background art was beautifully varied and visually striking. It was a decidedly unique aesthetic, but I felt that it worked quite well. The animation, however, was disappointingly inconsistent and stiff. I also wasnt particularly fond of the altered character designs, as, unlike the usual designs, theyre not nearly as well-suited for motion. Musically, the episode was rather satisfying, though there were several selections that werent as impressive as the others, but, thankfully, none that were especially jarring.
All in all, despite a temporary decline in execution, From the New World remains an exceptionally well-written tale of naïve children becoming lost in the unprotected edges of their strange, desolate society. Im really looking forward to the next episode, since the preview suggests that, once again, the story will focus on
Saki and Satoru's experiences, as they try to escape, potentially assisting in the war against the foreign queerat colony
well find out what happened to the others
From The New World - 05
A great episode destroyed (for me) by the art style change. I didn't really mind the weird direction style, it kind of fit into everything that was going on, but the visuals really ruined the experience for me, especially since the show looked amazing so far and developed a pretty unique style. I wouldn't mind if parts of the episode were animated this way, but to have the entire episode (and an important one at that) looking like this will create an unnecessary discrepancy with the rest of the show. It wasn't ugly or anything, just really weird and didn't fit with the style of the show, the characters looked really different, there were scenes I felt like I was watching Kaiba, and the shading reminded me of Sakamichi no Apollon, and while it looked okay there, here it looked like crap. By the end I was starting to get used to it and thought that it might not be so ugly, but then I saw the preview and realized how gorgeous the original style was and felt really disappointed again.
Visuals aside, the episode was really good.
A great episode destroyed (for me) by the art style change. I didn't really mind the weird direction style, it kind of fit into everything that was going on, but the visuals really ruined the experience for me, especially since the show looked amazing so far and developed a pretty unique style. I wouldn't mind if parts of the episode were animated this way, but to have the entire episode (and an important one at that) looking like this will create an unnecessary discrepancy with the rest of the show. It wasn't ugly or anything, just really weird and didn't fit with the style of the show, the characters looked really different, there were scenes I felt like I was watching Kaiba, and the shading reminded me of Sakamichi no Apollon, and while it looked okay there, here it looked like crap. By the end I was starting to get used to it and thought that it might not be so ugly, but then I saw the preview and realized how gorgeous the original style was and felt really disappointed again.
Visuals aside, the episode was really good.
From the New World 6
Well that was an interesting episode. It's nice to have the character designs looking like they should again, and the direction is considerably more coherent in this episode. That said, it does seem like this episode was a bit under-budget for its ambitions, and there's some really awful CGI in a couple of scenes. It also seems like they tried to fit too much into this episode, because the pacing and editing is a bit off again, though not as much as last week's episode. The most confusing moment was
Then again maybe that works for that scene.
Content-wise, this was a very dense episode. I'm curious if
. Also, I find Squealer to be a very intriguing character. The way he's framed in this episode suggests he's scheming something; at the very least he's far more intelligent than he first appears or wishes for the children to know.
Well that was an interesting episode. It's nice to have the character designs looking like they should again, and the direction is considerably more coherent in this episode. That said, it does seem like this episode was a bit under-budget for its ambitions, and there's some really awful CGI in a couple of scenes. It also seems like they tried to fit too much into this episode, because the pacing and editing is a bit off again, though not as much as last week's episode. The most confusing moment was
Saki's hallucination; I think the fade out was meant to indicate the passage of a large amount of time, but it was unclear how long they'd been stuck in the caves.
Content-wise, this was a very dense episode. I'm curious if
Saki unleashing Satoru's cantus has diminished the psychological restraints placed on their powers
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