We're checking out all the newest pilots this season! Read our write-ups on other Fall 2014 offerings like...
- TERRA FORMARS *** TRIBE COOL CREW *** KAREN SENKI *** WORLD TRIGGER
- PSYCHO-PASS 2 *** WHEN SUPERNATURAL BATTLES BECOME COMMONPLACE
- YOU LIE IN APRIL *** PARASYTE *** MYSTERIOUS JOKER
Here's another demonstration of that never-ending arm-wrestling match between and the head and the heart…
This definitely isn’t a good jumping-on point if you’re a novice to the FATE/ franchise. I only ever caught the first episode of FATE/ZERO a while back, so you can just imagine how lost I was in the dense maze of lore and big ideas here. Obviously, I knew that going in, and maybe should've avoided it, but this is one of the bigger debuts this season, so I was sort-of obligated to comment…
== TEASER ==
I still don’t have even the loosest handle on this epic fray for the Holy Grail, and the semi-immortal champions competing for it. At best, I can compliment the rich atmosphere evoked here because, even when I wasn’t registering the specifics of the plot, I still had a very strong sense of cosmic importance. It’s an understated balance of framing, pacing, sound design and music which fills this show without the exact air of ‘the beyond’ that it’s reaching for. By nature, we take it for granted, but it’s worth commenting on when it’s done right.
Maybe that sounds like faint praise, so I’ll get back to what I legitimately liked here...
Before it gets mired in long-standing super-duels, this super-long episode does paint a compelling character portrait. Even if he weren’t secretly a superhuman, I’d still be moved by the plight of this over-eager handy man - - a guy who's probably too nice. Put the heady concepts aside for a sec, because that’s a place we’ve all been. Or, at least, we felt like we’ve been there. Too nice to ever say ‘no,’ so we’re easily exploited by ingrates. It’s a sharp, real world situation to conflate with this guy’s amateur evil-fighting.
And I focus on that because, even while most of the uber-plot was going way over my head, I could relate to it. Doesn’t matter how intellectual your theme is, you still need something humanist like that. When all else floats up into the ether, at least you've still got that grounding.
Watch this episode, and decide for yourself.
from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1phZfg9
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