Akuma no Riddle Midseason Review

Is this a riddle worth figuring out?

Conflicting Opinions: Devil Survivor 2 – Episode 10

Sometimes when I am looking at Tweets for a certain show I come across a couple that are diametrically opposed in their views. It’s exciting to see this because it creates a point of debate. There are two sides to every story but sometimes one half doesn’t get represented. In Conflicting Opinions, we will be looking at the complete picture. The lines in the battlefield have been drawn and we’re going to figure why exactly both sides have come to war.

Devil Survivor 2 is the perfect show to kick off this article series. While I have shared my disappointment with the series, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad show. It has great music, voice cast and visuals while putting together a logically cohesive and compelling narrative week to week. I can see why people would like it. This week’s tweet exemplefies the opinions of two camps: those who like Devil Survivor 2, and those who do not.

@Nooferdog: That was one of the best #DeSu2 episodes yet. This series has not declined. I am happy.

@appamn: That ending cat really save how terrible the last 3 episodes were. Unfortunately #DeSu2 has been dissapointing

Before we delve into how these two points of view differ, lets see where they agree. They both believe that the show was in some sort of narrative quagmire. There wasn’t much happening that pushed forward the interesting narrative points, such as Ronaldo’s rivalry with Yamato or the relationship between Jungo and Airi. Instead the show wanted to hit the viewer over the head repeatedly with the ideological battle between Yamato and Hibiki.This theme had already been firmly established. There was no need to constantly reiterate the conflict.

Rather than building tension it diluted the development of the characters surround the two. Poor Daichi, who was a wimp in the at the beginning of the apocalypse is still the same boy he was even though he has been literally going through hell. That sort of stuff changes a person! You would have expected him to get his balls together by now and taken some charge. Guess not.

The action, which was pretty well done at the start had also began to wane. These scenes were abrupt and the little that was there wasn’t choreographed that well. Combat and demons were the main reason people flocked to Devil Survivor 2 in the first place. It was a shame to see them take a back seat.

For all these faults it’s easy to say that the show was in decline as @Nooferdog pointed out. The question now is whether or not Episode 10 redeemed the series. In some ways it did. The show took some time to develop Io as a character. Everything that was bottled up inside of her finally came out as she explained her insecurities and fears. While these sentiments could be assumed, its great to see her finally come to terms with them. Daichi finally showed some growth as well. His small rebellion against Yamato was shocking yet pleasing. He’s finally becoming a man. Best of all, the action was back up to snuff. Seeing demons duke it out, spilling their guts, is quite satisfying.

But where did the episode go wrong? Even when it focused on the relationship of Io and Hibiki, it fell back on the narrative of Yamato and the hero. The narrative has hinted that it’s bit more complex than that, considering that have yet to face Polaris, who is technically God. It would make more sense if that sort of being was a more pressing issue than philosophical complexities our heroes face. The show should take some time to build up humanities battle with Polaris, not just Hibiki’s battle with Yamato.

Worse was the scene between Hibiki and Io… It was incredibly cheesy. I’m not too big on heavy handed writing and this moment has pretentious smeared all over it. While I’m glad to see the two get closer, I wish it was done in a much more natural way. Instead of being a very intimate and touching, the few minutes the two spend in the light is a tad bit comical. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intent.

What’s the final verdict? Was Devil Survivor 2 redeemed by it’s latest entry? The answer of course is a lot more complex than just saying yes or no. This show is trying to build both character and narrative depth and it’s taking steps in the right direction. It hasn’t quite reached their yet but has given us hope that while this might become a good, if not great, show.

Hype Machine: Shingeki no Kyojin – Episode 9

Is Eren a human? Or is he a Titan? There really doesn’t seem to be any answer. Maybe he is both! Oh what a lovely logical compromise that would be. If Eren thought he had the odds stacked against him before, he has to now face the wrath of those he is trying to protect. What will become of our fantastic trio of heroes? Only time will tell! Until then let’s see what the Twitterverse has to say!

@Ilinox: omfg Eren… I haven’t said this enough. THE ULTIMATE BADASS OF BADASSES #shingeki

Eren is truly a badass. He not only survived the stomach of a Titan, he took a cannon in face for his friends. I wonder if Chuck Norris would do the same.

@SashaBlaus: everyone needs to have a #shingeki icon uwu

I don’t take anything from Sasha Blaus’ Twitter seriously. Though if she wants to make me a Twitter icon, I would be more than happy to accept.

‏@MiroLaaksonen: I have a feeling that Levi and Eren will get along quite well 😛 #Shingeki

I think Levi is a fantastically balanced character. As much as he hates the Titans, he has compassion for his fellow humans. At first blush, he seems like the type that would be cold toward the weak because he’s so strong himself. But in fact he’s the exact opposite. He believes his strength is an onus of responsibility to those around him. Looks like he’ll be a fantastic leader and a man that has much to teach to both the young Mikasa and Eren. Maybe Armin could glean a thing or two from him.

‏@ryjonka: IDKY I hate Bertholt so much. Get the hell out of here. #shingeki

It’s Bertholt’s voice! I mean he gets all whiny when he’s either nervous or being a dick. He also yells treason for no apparent reason. Who died and made him king. From a narrative perspective he’s important though. He’s a personification of humanity’s fear. His actions, while selfish, represent the anguish everyone feels in the face of the Titans. He’s usually powerless but will take an easy victory to allieve some of his terror.

@ErosThanatus: Another excellent episode! They always know how to end them, too. Need mooore. #shingeki

Seeing the flesh melted off Eren’s Titan face isn’t really that pleasing. I don’t need more of that, thank you very much.

@Game8910: AHAHAHAHA OH GOD I LITERALLY JUST BUST OUT LAUGHING! #shingeki

What the hell is this person laughing at? Hmm… must have a terribly sick sense of humor.

Oh my the mystery of Eren’s key finally comes to the forefront. What exactly is locked in that basement? Could it save humanity? What I find Shingeki no Kyojin is exceptionally good at doing is hitting you with a barrage of different emotions that compel you as a viewer to watch the show. Some weeks it might be the sadness of melodrama, others it might be the thrill of action, this week it was the intrigue of mystery. This eclectic mix of genres have been seamlessly blended together over the course of this series.

I’m glad that this show has another cour to go. It’s been an exciting and fun run even though the gore has been a bit too much sometime. But hey not everything can perfectly fit your tastes right?

The Problem With Adaptations for Fans: Devil Survivor 2 – Episode 9

I was disappointed after watching the latest episode of Devil Survivor 2. How could they simplify the battle with Alioth down to literally 5 minutes of exposition. In the game, theres a massive battle with the beast that trumps any of the boss battles up until that point. In the show, he just merely falls atop a city and disappears into the hollows of the narrative. I’m not mad at the show. No, I’m angered by the circumstances wherein great source material gets slighted.

Anime is an expensive business. That’s why we see studios lean more towards adaptations rather than original intellectual properties. It’s safer that way. These franchises have established fan bases that they can tap into. If their show fails to attract the mass audience, it’s this fan base that’s a fail safe. They’re the ones that might still buy the Blu-Rays regardless of how terrible or niche the show is. It’s a way of hedging their bets and protecting their studio. I could go on to talk about how this practice is detrimental to the medium as a whole, but that’s a discussion for another time. Instead I want to look at why these adaptations sometimes fail because of the risks associated with producing a series.

For every frame that a studio produces, there needs to be an animator, a director, a writer, a voice actor, a colorist, an editor and an intern that needs to be paid. That’s not including the licensing fees, the benefits and the bills that need to be accounted for as well. When you begin adding all these items up, you can begin to see how costly a show can become. Its because of these expenses that studios need to consider how many episodes of a show they can green light.

Recently the trend has been to produce only a single cour, or eleven to thirteen episodes. It allows a series to be safely nestled into a single season, and lets the studio pursue other attractive projects for the following one. If a show is successful, a second season can be produced at a later time. If it fails, then it can just be lost to the sands of time. Sadly because of this, shows that often end on cliffhangers never get resolved because they weren’t profitable projects (Here’s looking at you Skip Beat!).

But what if the studio is working on something slightly niche. The risk on these shows is substantially higher, even though there is an established fanbase, they might reject the project. Show runners often go into a project like this with the mindset that they only have a single cour to tell their stories, regardless of how massive the source material is. It causes them to cut corners to try and stuff in a great narrative into clothes a bit to small for it. That’s when problems of pacing begin to arise, as script writers begin to cut corners all over the place to make sure the audience at least gets a gist of the story.

Often times because of all the cutting and pasting, important parts of the original materials get lost in translation, such as the action in Devil Survivor 2 or the deep character development in Gantz. At all moments these shows beg for a bit more time, time they won’t get.

It makes me wonder if we as an Anime audience are better off if these sort of adaptation don’t get made. Fans of the original franchise become deeply disappointed, while the uninitiated are left with a soggy experience akin to wet bread. It’s a lose-lose situation for everyone. Maybe studios should realize that if they’re not willing to go all in with a particular franchise, rather than scorning those that love it, they could try and create new shows to help create new audiences. I’m not one of those fancy corporate executives in a monkey suit, so what do I know, right? But until my prayers are answered I can just hope the last few episodes of Devil Survivor 2 make up for the nine episodes of mediocrity.

Poem Review: [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control [Average]

Title: [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
TV; 11 Episodes
Genre: Action, Mystery, Super Power, Thriller
Producers: Tatsunoko

The Review

Where money and fate
Crash into a boy’s future
and steal everything

Is greed really good?
Even at the cost of the world?
At the cost of life?

The Hero, The Asset
Invest in a planet of
Endless possibility

A world painted in
shadows, gilded in fake gold
Washed in pale colors

The future is what they stole
He saved the world with [C]ontrol

Category	Grade
STORY	Average
CHARACTERS	Average
PRODUCTION	Great
ORIGINALITY	Great
ENTERTAINMENT	Average
OVERALL	Average

Hype Machine: Shingeki no Kyojin – Episode 8

So the fandom behind Shingeki no Kyojin is just phenomenal. I didn’t expect this show to take off the way it did. It reminds me a lot of Sword Art Online, another popular paper franchise that got adapted to the silver screen. What separates the two shows is that most of Sword Art Online‘s popularity stemmed from Asuna and her immense marketability, while every aspect of Shingeki no Kyojin seems to excite the audience. While it’s true Mikasa has risen to the pantheon of Anime goddesses, the shows opening theme seems to have captured the internet’s collective creativity. I mean just look at some of these ‘re-imaginings’ of the song:

My personal favorite, Attack on the League of Legends

Or how about Attack on Coke

Maybe the Attack on Christopher Walken will tickle your fancy?

There’s even something for fanboys of the seiyuu!

The amount of videos are endless! I could fill an entire article with them. But instead of doing that, lets take a look at some Twitter posts!

@InvertMouse: One of the coolest part about watching Shingeki is that I get to see the OP =3. #shingeki

That’s actually how I felt about Shuffle. I still think it has the best OP known to Anime kind.

@DokiDokiNyaa: I can imagine how insanely popular #shingeki will get in the west once an American licensing company gets a hold of it..

Hmm who knows actually? I can’t get excited by Mikasa cosplays though… Just not sexy enough. She wears so much clothes!

@saku24gottsu: What the hell!? #shingeki

Yeah, hopefully we get answers.

@SashaBlaus: #SHINGEKI NO BUTTS everywheeeereee

So Sasha Blaus is now a Twitter account. I would like to point out how this proves my point from the opening paragraph. People are even nuts about a supporting character that only contributes her hunger to the show. I can’t get excited by Sasha Blouse cosplays either.

@Fake_Eva: Oh wow, Mikasa weighs more than me. Dat muscle. #Shingeki

Mikasa is a beast.

@maramala: Surprised that no one in the internet noticed that the “rogue titan”‘s face resembled a cross between Mazinger Z & an Evangelion. #shingeki

Hmm… could this be a nod to either series? Some easy comparisons to Evangelion can be made such as the extensive use of blood and the deep psychological profiles of the cast. Other than that it might just be coincidence.

There was a big twist at the end of Shingeki no Kyojin again this week. I wish I had the courage to spoil it for all of you but its something you should experience yourself. It’s a strong narrative point that introduces some interesting problems and a vehicle to finally understand the Titans. There is still a lot we don’t understand about this world, and it’s great we’ll finally get some insight into its background.

What I enjoyed most about this episode was the development of Jean. He is finally coming to terms with being a leader. He learns that while the lives of those that were lost under his care are a burden that he needs to bear, he also has to cherish that lives he has saved with his guidance. The scene where he realizes this fact is one of those rare moments of hope that glitter in a narrative filled with despair. Until next week!