Wednesday, April 23, 2014

BRYNHILDR IN THE DARKNESS #1 -- Special Review


Spring is upon us! Join us as we view new pilots this season, and see where they fit on the highly-scientific Rock-or-Suck Scale… FAIRY TAIL SEASON 2 -- BLACK BULLET -- THE COMIC ARTIST & HIS ASSISTANTS -- ONE WEEK FRIENDS -- MUSHI-SHI: THE NEXT CHAPTER


Do moles carry a lot of significance in Japan? JOJO’S more-or-less ascribes Dio’s evil to the three spots on his earlobe. Now, we have a girl here who could either be a witch, an alien or a doppelganger - - and the three moles on her armpit are firmer evidence of that than any of her powers.


By the way, I know translators have to make choices about accessible phrasing, but I’m still amused THAT this girl calls herself a witch when she so neatly fits a doppelganger’s bill. Eerie resemblance to another person? That’s a doppelganger. An implication that she’s come to replace her dead ringer? That’s a doppelganger. Her appearing to prophesize the deaths of others? That’s a classic doppelganger.


== TEASER ==

Hell, the show even has pseudo-Germanic title to close the loop…


It’s a solid hook for a pilot, but given a few of the leaps in logic, I’ve got to wonder if the crew’s tongues were in cheek for a lot of moments. Like, a pool pump being so strong, it’d suck a high-schooler under water? Or how our lead never questions how he was able to survive falling off the top of a dam?


I do get the sense that there’s some self-awareness, though, because the scene where our doppelganger meets our lead at the observatory almost plays like a parody of a David Lynch movie. They characterize her a bit like the ‘real’ men in black are purported to be like, with an awkward unfamiliarity with basics of human life. She might not be trying to drink jello, but she doesn’t know her times-tables, and she apparently isn’t a good enough actress to get her cover story straight, either.


If I got a chance to continue BRYNHILDR, I’d love it if this show kept undercutting its own ominousness with all these deadpan jokes…


Watch "While I Wait For You" and decide for yourself.


About the Author











Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk





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