Kids on the Slope 1
Finally got the chance to sit down and watch this...I'm dead. Just dead. That... actually lived up to expectations. My God.
The tone was solemn, changing not even for the antics of Sentaro or the initial melodrama of 'Richie,' which worked not against them, but to ground them. Fabulously. Being much closer to his directorial style in Bebop, rather than the, what I thought was the obvious, parallel of Baby Blue, or the overbearing, but fun as hell, style he employed in Champloo. Kanno being back, no doubt, playing a large part in that decision, given that it always felt as if he directed not by the narrative, but by the BGM.
Which brings me to the fact that for a show on music, he employed such little of it in the background throughout the ep, which I find a fabulous decision; one that gave the eventual scenes of Sentaro and Richie jamming out, whether it be together/individually, an odd freshness by way of raw contrast. Really, I found myself loving the focus on birds chirps and brownian noise, just for they way it pulled you into the screen, and realized the dialogues, but actually looked forward to the energy of the music segments. Way of engagement, and I fell into it hook line and sinker.
My one issue was the pacing, surprisingly--or not, but it was an isolated incident: Richie's
It came a bit fast, almost in one line. I understand that by drawing the parallel between
but it didn't work with me; The ON--Well, one of the two moments that didn't.
The ED was blah, and a huge disappointment for me, coming off of not even the masterfully directed Champloo, but Lupin's awesome song choice. And I didn't find the OP as impressive as either Battlecry or Tank, but Nakazawa indeed brought his awesome eye/pupil animation and I'm a sucker for it, as was I a fan of the tone employed, so I can't say I disliked the OP at all. But a case of misaligned expectations there, and maybe even for the ED...Nah, I hate that ED.
Anime lives like a king. And there was very little Animu about that.
Finally got the chance to sit down and watch this...I'm dead. Just dead. That... actually lived up to expectations. My God.
The tone was solemn, changing not even for the antics of Sentaro or the initial melodrama of 'Richie,' which worked not against them, but to ground them. Fabulously. Being much closer to his directorial style in Bebop, rather than the, what I thought was the obvious, parallel of Baby Blue, or the overbearing, but fun as hell, style he employed in Champloo. Kanno being back, no doubt, playing a large part in that decision, given that it always felt as if he directed not by the narrative, but by the BGM.
Which brings me to the fact that for a show on music, he employed such little of it in the background throughout the ep, which I find a fabulous decision; one that gave the eventual scenes of Sentaro and Richie jamming out, whether it be together/individually, an odd freshness by way of raw contrast. Really, I found myself loving the focus on birds chirps and brownian noise, just for they way it pulled you into the screen, and realized the dialogues, but actually looked forward to the energy of the music segments. Way of engagement, and I fell into it hook line and sinker.
My one issue was the pacing, surprisingly--or not, but it was an isolated incident: Richie's
switch in outlook.
his father--by way of occupation, and Sentaro--by way of dress choice, they probably figured the audience would believe that Sentaro had a bigger impact on him than the usual fella,
The ED was blah, and a huge disappointment for me, coming off of not even the masterfully directed Champloo, but Lupin's awesome song choice. And I didn't find the OP as impressive as either Battlecry or Tank, but Nakazawa indeed brought his awesome eye/pupil animation and I'm a sucker for it, as was I a fan of the tone employed, so I can't say I disliked the OP at all. But a case of misaligned expectations there, and maybe even for the ED...Nah, I hate that ED.
Anime lives like a king. And there was very little Animu about that.
