I normally start these off with some joke based on initial impressions gleaned from the thumbnail and/or summary but I got nothing. Uhhh… Some of the artwork I found when looking around for a header image looks like Danganronpa. So, uh. That’s cool. I liked the first game. Never finished the second, though.
My ballot is sitting on the desk in front of me. Let’s see if this manages to be more interesting than my Civic Duty.
Well, that was absolutely fantastic.
From the episode being titled “Se7en” yo the first sound you hear being that irritating BWOOMM that’s been in every single movie trailer for the past 15 years, the anime gets you thinking of movies, which it immediately pays off with an excellent panning shot from the sky down to a cat’s eye level on the street. And aside from some wonky CG on the vehicles, it manages to more or less live up that that level of animation quality for the entire episode.
In addition, the episode’s storytelling is all about showing instead of telling. Aside from tags to help orient the viewer to the where and character intro screens informing a bit more about the who, the vast majority of the information is conveyed via the way the characters’ interact with each other and the world around them, rather than having someone explain at the audience “this is a futuristic cyberpunk setting where law enforcement has gotten a little bit out of hand. There’s an issue with drug use and homelessness, and older people who haven’t been able to adapt to the changing times are facing Difficulties. That one dude’s motorcycle uses cables and shit to fly and it’s cool as hell.” That one hacker kid did exposit to himself about bank security, but that gets a pass partly because that information is ultimately irrelevant to the plot of the episode and partly because guys who spend all day on the computer are just Like That.
Also, I wasn’t sure where to fit this is, but Swindler saves not one but two cats.
I didn’t think anything was going to top DECA-DENCE‘s first episode, but this one blew it out of the water. It’s not only the best premier all year, it’s one of the best I’ve seen, ever. Go watch it right now.
that was so interesting i forgot to vote. support us on patreon
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