Hi everyone, Kern here. Well, it’s May. The month of April was super stressful, with lots of things going on behind the scenes, but the month has passed us by, and now it’s time to dig into what’s happening for the month of May.
First of all, as you know we’ve switched time slots for Saturday. We didn’t get to really test it out because Kresh was sick on Saturday, so I pulled a later night stream as a result. Next week we will both try to be there with bells on. If not, i’ll do another late night stream again.
Late Night Jurassic World Evolution and The Tenants streams are what’s keeping me occupied the most. Tuesdays contain Final Fantasy XI content, and Wednesdays and Saturdays really depend on what game we happen to be playing.
So with all of that said, let’s get into what you can expect for content for the month ahead.
Live Streaming Content:
Random casual late night streams (FFXI, Simulators, whatever Kern feels like)
Tuesdays: Primarily FFXI content.
Wednesdays: Whatever Kern happens to be playing, with Kresh on co-comm.
Saturday: Whatever Kresh happens to be playing, with Kern on co-comm.
We had a lot of real setbacks last month that prevented us from performing at our fullest potential. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to be around more often at our usual times, it was that we couldn’t.
Kresh had some minor surgery that prevented headset wearing for a while. We tested out different set-ups for audio, but none of them sufficed to our liking on such sort notice. That and the simple fact that Kresh needed to recover put us in a tough situation for streaming reguarly like we wanted.
In the meantime, my mother (Reminder: Kern here) has been in and out of several doctors appointments on a weekly basis. If you’ve been around the streams or seen a few of my previous blogs on the subject, you know that her health is an ongoing uphill battle, and has been since last November. With blood transfusions taking place for her every Wednesday for the past 3 weeks, it’s been a bit of a mess, and one that my family is still sorting out.
Hopefully my late night streaming has provided adequate content for my absence. I’m doing the absolute best that I can.
YouTube Video Content:
The struggle is real here. You may notice that there is more gameplay content than edited videos. That’s because edited content takes so long to make. We are doing our absolute best though, you can be sure of that.
Later this week the RWBY White Trailer Review will be released (with the included blog post here, as you can expect). Hopefully you’ll enjoy it. I really hope you do.
Other content planned comes in the form of more Kern’s Collections, and a new segment is also coming called “Kern’s Character Spotlight”. I have high hopes that you will come to enjoy these segments as we continue to work on getting them out.
The Blog:
The meat and potatoes of this post for all of you can be found here, because this is the blog. As usual our blog stands as our most diverse and robust section of content we offer, with all sorts of things to be had.
The video format of Kern’s Collections, reviews, and analysis come accompanied with the written script here. When the Character Spotlights videos come out, they will be treated the same way.
On top of anime, gaming and fandom related content there are other bits and pieces here too, and I hope our website will only continue to grow in number as time marches on.
Written reviews in the works for gaming Include Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (the 90’s one). Once I’m finished with that, I’ll move away to a few non-horror rated titles for a while. I’m not sure what yet, but something. I have a few outlines, but nothing I’m ready to announce.
For anime, I’m working on a Claymore review.
Kern’s Collections posts upcoming in the process include Emma: A Victorian Romance and we’re still trying to sort out the Death Note video so that it can accompany the blog.
Character Spotlight outlines are still being worked on, but you’ll see the first one this month if all goes well.
Artwork/Other:
We have Ruka hard at work designing some stream cards and other things when Ruka isn’t helping me with video content. There isn’t much to say here except that artwork is in fact being worked on.
In Closing:
All in all, we’re all hard at work doing our best to provide you with the content we can, in the way best we can. It’s a bit rocky, no one can deny that, but we are doing our best to provide you guys wonderful entertainment, and we hope you enjoy it.
This has been Kernook of “The Demented Ferrets”, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are par for the course. See you all next time.
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Video Production of This Script
This is the finished video regarding the script. It is written, edited, and read aloud by Kernook of “The Demented Ferrets”. You can watch the video on this blog and on YouTube. I hope you enjoy the content.
A world filled with unreasonable expectations, and a class of students unable to match them. For them, it’s the end of the line, What sits before them is a task they can’t hope to achieve as they are, and this world will only accept them at their best. Their job is to do what the adult world cannot. They need to take down their teacher, and do it before the planet itself ceases to exist.
Hello everyone, it’s Kernook here, and welcome to another Kern’s Collections.
Today I’ll be speaking about Assassination Classroom.
Once again. these are not full fledged review. These are merely glimpses of media, any why they may be worth your time.
So, let’s take a look at the misfit students who’ve been cast aside to the small schoolhouse on the hill, and the monster that is their teacher.
On the surface, Assassination Classroom has a school life vibe from the very start, mixed with more than a few shounen elements for good measure. The series doesn’t let you be fooled by this for long. Sure, it may seem to have all of the trappings of both genre’s crammed together, but that’s just the surface.
Instead of merely the protagonist being down on his luck, the whole class are labeled outcasts in a society that expects only the best out of them. These students are a strong ensemble cast, each of them unique, and with their own views of the world around them.
There’s an innocence that has been corrupted here, twisted by the malignancy of their own minds. Be it a poor self image, discontentment with their lots in life, or merely a failure to mold themselves into the people they wish to be, every student in this class faces adversity in one way, shape, or form.
They’re all underdogs to the world at large, even if among themselves there is clear pecking order when it comes to popularity and the friends they surround themselves with. Even from the first episode there’s a thick tension in the room, all of it made worse by their teacher.
Korosensei is not quite a monster, but he’s certainly no longer human either. His reasons for his current existence is a spoiler, so I’m not going to dig into it. What I will say instead, is that he is a reflection of his students in many ways, and therefore proves himself to be their ultimate foe.
Korosensi is in every way their superior. In fact, he is in every way superior to humanity itself. This is both because he understands human nature, and values the concept of nurturing the youths that will grab hold of the future.
If the students can beat him, they can beat anyone. If they can aspire to learn what he has to teach, they will no doubt be better for it. Ultimately the real battle is the one that takes place within themselves, however it manifests on screen in the form of combat against Korosensi purely icing on the cake.
This is a battle of wits. It all comes down to the heart and soul of the matter. How the students feel, and what they hope to gain largely influences the entire series to a point that the on screen battles never could.
Viewers will find at least one character to relate to, of that I am sure. What can be questioned are the characters themselves, and just how far they will eventually go. The ending is very fitting, but it’s laid out from the start.
This series doesn’t have a lot of plot twists, but the ones it has are darkly implied. In practice it never goes too far, the series is usually very light and easy to consume, but there are a few villains in the series that well and truly mean to do harm in ways that are not forgivable.
This brings me to the subject of morality, a key focal point in the series. Things are morally gray, both for the students aiming to take down their teacher, and the seedy underbelly they’re introduced to because of it. The students are trained by assassins, military, and their teacher directly.
The series paints two logical ideologies for the students to cling onto. Self worth can be found both in their own personal merits as people, or it can be found at the sharp end of a blade and forced victory. Neither of these ideologies are painted as wrong, or inaccurate. Therefore it’s up to the students to decide how best to go about reaching their ambitions.
Korosensei is the the vessel for all of this. Contrasting world views muddle and mix in a way that I find more interesting than the fights themselves. While it’s true you could just enjoy the anime like your typical popcorn shounen, there is a deeper narrative to be found here. All you have to do is search for those darker implications buried beneath the dialogue.
Ultimately, I really enjoy this series. Assassination Classroom is an anime that touches on the heart and soul of the matter. For these characters, victory would be biter sweet, and failure isn’t an option that they can accept. The struggle is as much personal to each character, as it is a group endeavor.
The series is not gigantically long, making it very easy to enjoy. At forty-seven episodes and an OVA, there’s enough content to dive deep into many of the characters, while keeping the plot fairly tight.
This is where I leave it for now. The rest is up to you. If you want to watch Assassination Classroom, you can do that on the Funimation and Hulu…
This has been Kernook of the Demented Ferrets…
“Where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course…”
The Demented Ferrets…
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Hey all this is a video I did for YouTube, but included in the blog post is the script I wrote in order to record it. I hope you enjoy it.
Hello everyone, it’s Kernook here. This is a segment called “Kern’s Collections”, a series dedicated to brief glimpses of media and why you might enjoy them. This is not a review, but merely a simple glance at an anime that could be worth your time.
The anime came out in the spring of 2012. Although it never saw a true completion, the story we got was well worth your time. You’ll have to read the written media if you want the full story though.
To be honest, this is one of my favorite anime of its decade. Furthermore to me this is the perfect gateway anime for someone that isn’t particularly invested in anime as a medium. When it comes to great gateway anime for older viewers, I try to stick to anime titles that are fairly down to earth.
Space Brothers is one the the absolute best options out there in my personal opinion.
It looks nice, it isn’t incredibly stupid or bombastic, and although it has some mature content, you could still watch it around youths comfortably. So, small children need not be disturbed.
There is nothing completely grotesque in this anime. Though there are some medical scenes, fragments of adult humor, and other things tied directly to the main plot, nothing is gratuitous.
There are no impossible fight scenes, and the adventure rests largely within the realm of possibility. The direct premise is the idea of space travel itself. The core ideas hinge on realistic dreams. They linger in the ideology that space travel is possible. That one day we may one day colonize on the moon, and perhaps visit mars.
The plot is simple. Two brothers aspire to be astronauts. One brother achieves his dream. The other decides to follow in his footsteps. This shows a life of an aspiring astronaut and the trials and tribulations he goes through to reach his goals.
In some ways, I’d call this series closer to a slice-of-life than a true science fiction series. It’s certainly not a space opera, either. The themes aren’t too heavy, but there’s a lot of heart and soul embedded in each episode, giving the characters a very genuine feel to them.
On the topic of that, the characters span wide range of interests and skills that are fundamental to working within the space programs. Very little comes easy to even these bright minds. You get to see these mostly successful adults living their lives, with plenty of flashbacks into their childhood and upbringing. Each character is very well written because of that.
To be honest, Space Brothers stands as a “catch-all” anime for me. If I don’t know what anime to pick out for a new viewer, I always go with Space Brothers. It is especially accessible for an american viewer because the idea of going to outer space is part of our mass media to begin with. It’s a concept and idea that we understand, and flock towards in mass.
The idea isn’t that far fetched, and even once characters are shown going into space, they don’t throw away basic logic. Things make sense more times than not, and you have no need to understand what anime is to like this series.
That it isn’t an animated space opera is a huge bonus here, because tropes that could be confusing don’t exist in this anime. What is important is the heart of the matter, and Space Brothers understands that.
These are the reasons you really should give it a try, particularly if you have dislike of anime as a medium, or simply don’t understand it. The content isn’t too dissimilar than what you’d find in down to earth live action shows.
So, this is where I leave Space Brothers, and now the choice falls onto you. There is a real gem nestled buried beneath time, and as of this video you can watch it over on Crunchy Roll.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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Those who join via Patreon get special perks, such as extra content, quicker updates, and more.
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You can help support us through PayPal or Patreon.
The RWBY series toes a fine line between wonderful storytelling and awful storytelling. The world of Remnant is both unfathomably deep, and yet contemptibly shallow.
There’s a lot to unpack in the entire series. Some things are up to personal opinion, and others are vague enough to spark discourse even years down the line. This is my analysis of the series.
I’ll be honest, the RWBY series has flaws. The volumes can be clunky and inconsistent. It isn’t perfect, but I look at RWBY now as a diamond in the rough. So, let’s look back on what sparked this exciting hype-train so long ago.
From here on out I’ll be speaking as if you’ve watched the trailer and that you have at least surface level knowledge of the series. If you don’t have those two things under your belt, you really should watch at least the trailers and Volume 1 before you come back to read this post. You can watch it on the Rooster Teeth website.
At the time of this blog post, RWBY Volume 8 is in full swing. Volume 9 has been announced. However, I am going to be starting where it all began. The RWBY Red Trailer.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear…
The RWBY Red Trailer does strictly what it sets out to do. It introduces us to Ruby Rose, a young huntress-in-training. In that regard it stands out with flying colors. With that said, let’s dive deeper.
Subtle Clues of Ruby’s Character
There are subtle hints to plot elements that were carefully woven into all of the trailers. Each one piggy-backs off the others in some way. This is a moment of great storytelling, showcased perfectly thanks to Ruby’s introductory song. This is my highest praise for the trailer. “Red Like Roses” is a lyrical masterpiece. It compliments everything about Ruby, from her disposition to her attire.
“Red Like Roses” flows perfectly with the scene as it unfolds. However, that’s not the only thing that makes this trailer so powerful.
Doleful tones carry gently as Ruby stands over her mother’s grave. Religion seems largely forgotten about in the series, but Ruby wears crosses that lay at an angle. Crosses like these are common in Christianity. The cross is known as a Missionary Cross.
Now this is important, as it signifies Ruby Rose as a missionary. While I doubt Christianity holds any real sway over the series, the intent of hunters could be seen as a spiritual endeavor. Something personal and deeply meaningful to that person.
Sanding over a gravestone, and carrying the symbology Ruby does, it’s hard not to see the similarities.
Particularly since when her hood is up, it looks as though she’s praying, or at least invoking the image of spirituality in some way. Think a nun, or the Virgin Mary herself.
In various christian faiths going on a missions is often a charitable thing. It’s all about crossing divides and spreading some sort of message onto others. Those are two things Ruby does in the series, although it has little to do with religion.
Ruby stands by her personal beliefs. She exhibits the desire to share them with others. She wants the world to be a better place, and voices that several times throughout the series. Furthermore, she believes that huntsmen and huntresses are intrinsically endowed with the means to do so. That to a degree, they must do so.
Now, in the series we see more often than not that huntsmen are not always altruistic people. However, that said, Ruby believes they should be.
This almost biblical imagery combined with the song, sets a strong tone that carries through the rest of the trailer and all through the volumes of the series.
As for the fight with the Beowolves, I appreciate it far more after watching the series. In the trailer, initially Ruby comes off as an overpowered little girl. Seeing the fight now, I can truly appreciate Ruby’s drive and her cunning. This mixed with the religious symbology makes for complex character.
She’s an expert in tactical combat for her age, showcased wonderfully in her fight with the beowolves. However, this is also a credit of her character design. Wars have been fought purely based on ideology since the beginning of time, and in the series this holds true as well. The show is full to bursting with Ideological conflict, and Ruby’s viewpoint is challenged time and time again as the series progresses. In later volumes, it’s challenged to the point she actually goes against her own morals on occasion. Particularly in volumes 7 and 8.
Also, as far as this trailer is concerned, hindsight is 20/20. Now that I’ve watched the series, I know she’s not overpowered. Far from it. She’s actually fairly weak in many ways that almost cripple her in the early volumes. Particularly, her social skills are completely lacking at the start of Volume 1. Her skill in combat is what earns her the respect of others when her awkwardness, and failure to spread her personal message doesn’t.
The Lyrical Symbolism
The opening lyrics go like this: “Red like roses fill my dreams and brings me to the place you rest. White is cold and always yearning. Burdened by a royal test. Black the beast descends from shadows. Yellow beauty burns… Gold.”
What I’d like to point out is that while these lyrics take nods to the main four girls, they also all apply to the way Ruby sees the world.
Now she’s just a young teenager at the start of this series.
About fifteen years old, and due to this the lyrics are simplistic. This mirrors the way she treats her teammates in Volume 1, and the conflicts she will ultimately have to face throughout the volume.
Weiss is cold by her nature at first, and always striving to be the best.
Failure isn’t an option for Weiss, and she treats Ruby like a naive child for a strong majority of Volume 1. Even when she’s being nice to Ruby, it’s the same sort of niceness you’d give to a child. Probably a young one that says things without knowing any better. It isn’t until Volume 2 that Weiss truly begins to see Ruby as an intellectual equal, instead of a child.
Blake is a shadow that looms over Ruby. A person she can’t understand or even get close to.
Every time Ruby attempts to reach out, Blake keeps her distance. This culminates in the final conflict of Volume 1, where Blake is so far out of her reach, that Ruby’s own voice gets lost between her teammates. While Blake runs off and Weiss is quick to anger, the burden to keep her team together falls on Ruby’s shoulders. She doesn’t handle it very well at all, requiring Yang to mollify Weiss.
Yellow beauty is a nod to Yang, Ruby’s older sibling. In the series, Ruby idolizes her at first.
Yang’s popular, has a lot of friends, she is more mature and she’s beautiful. As a younger sibling, Ruby has a lot to live up to. The nods to Summer Rose are certainly prevalent in the song, but the nods to Yang are too.
Entering into Beacon Academy, is terrifying for Ruby. As much as it’s her dream to be a huntress, it’s not her dream to be a team leader. It’s not her dream to be in the spotlight, and it’s not her dream to hold all of that immense responsibility on her shoulders.
All Ruby wants to do is help people… nodding back to the religious symbolism and missionary work, the message that Ruby truly wants to spread becomes difficult for her to talk about in Volume 1. This showcases in the “Black and White” arc. Team unity, helping others, and finding her own place as a “normal girl, with normal knees”. All of that truly takes a back seat to being a team leader. All of this is buried deep in the subtext of the lyrics, and it is truly masterful.
Now on a quick nod to the Grimm:
Let’s talk about the early Beowolf design. I actually like this design better than the show’s counterpart. They look feral and vicious, something to truly be intimidated by. I think the different design we received in Volume 1 was good, but this one is just better in my opinion.
Take notice, they have bloody looking mouths and eyes. They have a shadowy coat and wispy looking claws.
It seems as though they are truly creatures spawned by the depths of hell itself.
With Grimm looking like this, it fits the lyrics better in my opinion. The implication is that it is her dream to become a huntress. Their red mouths and eyes are a nightmare. They fill her dreams with that nightmare, and the only way to be at peace with herself is to become a slayer of those nightmares, the creatures of Grimm.
Meanwhile, The Volume 1 Beowolves are plated with bone and white claws. There’s nothing wrong with them, they just look more like an animal and less like a hellspawn.
That’s the point I take from the song personally. Without the context of Grimm design “Red like roses” sounds like Ruby’s focused on the horrors of blood and carnage. While it is still completely serviceable to utilize the song that way, the lyrics lose some of their poetic charm under that new lens.
There isn’t much more for me to say about the RWBY Red Trailer. I can’t compliment it more without digging into Ruby’s character. Since this is just supposed to cover her trailer, I’ll have to refrain for now. I have plenty to say about her, but, that will need to wait until I cover the RWBY volumes properly.
All in all, the RWBY Red Trailer is a foundational touch-stone of the series. It’s helped to shape the fandom that we know today. It gave us our first tastes of RWBY as a series, and Ruby Rose the character.
At first, we fans didn’t know quite what to expect, and that alone held our collective interests. Since the series is still ongoing, and it hasn’t died a slow death yet, I’ll let that impressive accomplishment speak for itself.
In the next analysis I’m going to cover the RWBY White Trailer.
Do you want more content until then? Well, Kreshenne and I have a Twitch account. We stream games every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. We also have a Twitter account and a blog. There are links in the description. Please check them out, and don’t forget to like and subscribe.
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Watch us react to the RWBY Red Trailer here:
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
You can help support us through PayPal or Patreon.
With your contributions, you make our efforts possible. Thank you for supporting our content. Patreon supporters receive access into our official Discord server, and a few other perks depending on the tier. If you don’t care for Patreon, and don’t care about perks, you can always support us through PayPal too… links below.
Those who join via Patreon get special perks, such as extra content, quicker updates, and more.
Please don’t forget to follow the blog. You can check out our platforms for great content too! It would be best to follow us on Twitter in order to see all of the content we have to offer as it comes out. This includes gaming live streams, and YouTube video essays regarding anime and other media.
If you haven’t seen the RWBY Red Trailer, go do that. It’s on the Rooster Teeth website, and it’s free. As always, please support the official release of the series.
Have you done that? Good. Then let’s move onto the meat of this content. I’d like to go back and re-evaluate my perspective on RWBY, a series in production by Rooster Teeth. That’s why on top of analysis videos for the series, I will also be doing retrospective reviews, like this one.
Video Production of This Script
This is the finished video regarding the script. It is written, edited, and read aloud by Kernook of “The Demented Ferrets”. You can watch the video on this blog and on YouTube. I hope you enjoy the content.
This retrospective will only be an honest, heartfelt look at RWBY from beginning to end. This won’t be like my analysis content. This is largely based on personal opinion, and very little else.
Prior to RWBY the only thing I cared about from Rooster Teeth was Red vs Blue, a Halo related series. I was only a small fan. Beyond that nostalgia of early seasons, I didn’t care for Red vs Blue, and I still don’t. It filled its time in my life for what it was, I am more than happy with it. I still watch the old seasons on occasion.
Rooster Teeth wasn’t really on my radar again until the RWBY Red Trailer and the announcement for RWBY as a series. Everyone I knew kept talking about it. I couldn’t avoid the trailer, it was plastered everywhere on social media, and bandied about at our favorite bar.
At first, I just didn’t see the spectacle in it. The musical backdrop was interesting. I enjoyed that more than the visuals in front of me.
Ruby was a cute looking character, sure. Yeah, she had this gigantic kick-butt scythe. She was even slicing monsters left and right. Some of her attacks looked very similar to job abilities found in the Final Fantasy games. Since I am a huge Final Fantasy XI fan, and enjoy the Dark Knight job, the concept of a scythe wielding bad-ass appeals to me.
Knowing that the RWBY series creator, Monty Oum was a Final Fantasy fan as well is what originally drew my interest to the trailer. Ruby didn’t fit the mold that I expected, but I knew that the series was influenced heavily by his own passions for fandom, and that knowledge is what had me strapping in for the wild ride that the RWBY series was promised to be. I was skeptical, but also hopeful.
At first, I didn’t see what was so amazing about the trailer. I’d watched plenty of anime before, and that heavily influenced my perspective. It still does, to be honest.
In my analysis post, I stated that the RWBY Red Trailer does strictly what it sets out to do. I stand by that. It doesn’t fail in its goals, not even slightly. It’s just not perfect, either. Then again, nothing really is, so let’s dig into this thing.
As I see it, all of the trailers had three basic goals to accomplish. Firstly, to showcase the four main girls. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long respectively. The second goal was to teach the viewer how to enjoy the combat in the series. The final goal was to give viewers a taste of the world through the eyes of these characters.
The RWBY Red Trailer introduces us to the first of these girls. Ruby Rose, a young huntress in training.
Ruby’s trailer is all about sentimentality. Although, you might not realize that detail on the first watch. It won’t become clear until after you’ve seen at least Volume 1 of series, it is an important note. However, it’s core themes carries on even now, into Volume 8. I suspect it will carry Ruby Rose and her personal story all the way to the end of the series.
The RWBY Red Trailer is bare bones. It wasn’t cutting edge, and it didn’t try to be. With as low budget as the RWBY series was at the time, it couldn’t afford to pretend to be more than it was. It just didn’t have the budget.
Instead of top of the line animation, fans received animation that focused more upon careful choreography and subtle distinctive movements that define each character. Instead of soundtracks played by full orchestras, music was crafted to resonate with the characters directly. These two things combined is what ultimately made the early volumes of RWBY entertaining to watch.
This makes complete sense, because Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY had several ethos in his life that he spoke about often as animator. You’ve likely heard of these before. One of them is “the rule of cool” which I will speak about at a later time.
Another ethos he had was that to be a good animator, you needed to be good at watching how people lived their lives. This ethos matters for the trailer and his ideas of how characters should be brought to life in general.
Small expressions and actions are the key foundations to characterization. Even in the trailer we see this in spades. I even have a few examples for you.
Notice Ruby’s small smirk, when she’s face to face with the Beowolf. It almost breaks the fourth wall.
It’s almost like she asking us to watch her fight these things. That little smirk doesn’t last long, but it says it all. She’s a little impish, but in this moment she’s self-assured and confidant. Now, compare that moment to the way she walks around in the forest prior to that fight.
Her almost lackadaisical steps across the snow covered land are gentle. They seem light, as if she’s trying not to leave deep tracks.
The sway of her movements imply she’s enjoying herself out in these wilds, she’s likes it here. She also likes fighting these Grimm. It brings her some level of personal satisfaction.
All of this is certainly backed up by the musical composition found in the trailer. As an anime fan, I can easily appreciate when carefully utilized musical talents are pushed to the extreme. “Red Like Roses” manages to pull that off.
The song begins slowly, with a soft melancholy and gentle ambiance as Ruby stands over her mother’s grave. Then, it sets a strong tone that carries through the rest of the piece. Kicking up the beat for Ruby’s fight with the pack of Beowolves keeps the fight interesting when the combat alone couldn’t keep me entirely entertained.
As for the fight scene itself, the choreography is wonderful. Allow me to highlight why. You can anticipate the entire battle, and you can follow along with the flow of the fight. The animation leading up to this showdown has given you everything you need to enjoy this battle.
You can feel each jump and flip, the weight of Ruby as a person.
Since she had been walking light on her feet before, it matches the bunny hops that eventually turn into flips and rolls during combat. The battle here is slower and more precise than we usually see, but since she’s not with a team, and this is a trailer, that makes sense.
The trailer is almost training us, the viewers, how to experience combat in in the series. It’s teaching us how to enjoy these fights, and most of us probably never even noticed that it was doing it.
How is it training us to do this?
Well, this battle keeps the training wheels on for the viewer. Ruby is naturally fast, but she’s slower in this fight, and she does that on purpose. Remember when I said she almost breaks the fourth wall? Well, this would be why I pointed that out.
She’s slower to pull the trigger and fire rounds in her trailer than you usually see in the series. She more mindful of the area around her. When she flips atop a Beowolf, takes the thing’s head off, and then catches some air, we can see this was a carefully planned attack. She did that in order to see her surroundings and the Grimm she’s fighting.
This is what I mean by great choreography. If we’re not following exactly what Ruby’s doing and why, we’re only a single pace or two behind her thoughts and actions. Before the final burst that ends the battle, the music slows and she seems to look at the viewers again, though arguably it’s the wolves off screen that she’s looking at. Still, it’s almost like she’s saying “this is it, what I can really do.”
Then she takes her time to load her weapon and puts a serious look on her face. When she’s about to go “all-out” so to speak, the music ramps up a final time. Then, only after one last pause, she lets loose. After the fight, bullets fall through the air, and Ruby looks self-assured once more. A job well done.
When the scene fades to black viewers are left with two things. The first is a basic concept of physics within the RWBY series. The shattered moon over head, the snow upon the ground, character movements, and other small details have opened us up to this wonderful and vast new world.
The second concept it leaves us with, is a metric upon which all other characters can be evaluated. Now that we’ve seen Ruby fight in a way that almost feels like a game tutorial, we’re more prepared for the later trailers.
The same is true for the songs. We know the lyrics here probably mean something, and we’re prepared to hear the next one and begin putting puzzle pieces together.
Fans did this in spades. Even after the first trailer, theory crafting was flooding the internet. If you were in the fandom during the earliest days, you have the luxury of really remembering this. As the other three trailers came out, a dedicated fan base was already forming. By the time Volume 1 happened, that fan base was already foaming at the mouth for more content.
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The trailer is everything it needed to be. A tutorial, an introduction, and a taste of the world. Thanks to the trailer, we have all three. On it’s own this trailer isn’t too remarkable. What makes it stand out is the hindsight you gain after digging into the series properly. I speak of this in my analysis, but the RWBY series is covered in foreshadowing. Every trailer is layered in symbolism that you can extrapolate into deeper meanings for the early volumes.
In the RWBY series, hindsight really is 20/20. It’s important to go back and re-watch the series, trailers included.
This trailer is a touchstone. It’s what started everything. You could say it is the first pebble in puddle, one that would become an ocean of content much later. It is easy to forget that this trailer is really what began the fandom. It may have been the first real taste of the series that fans received in mass, but it is no lesser than its counterparts. In fact I’d argue that historically speaking it’s the most important one.
The first step in a very long journey…
So this is where I leave this trailer, and this post. I’ll continue watching it fondly every now and then. I’ll continue to look back on it, and then I’ll look ahead to the minutia of details buried under its surface.
Maybe now, you will too…
In the next RWBY related post, I’m going to review the trailer that showcases Weiss Schnee, and her battle of mental fortitude, the RWBY White Trailer. I’ll see you there.
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This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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Primarily this series will focus on anime related content. These aren’t full reviews. I’d rather offer a brief glimpse into a piece of media. I’ll offer a few thoughts, and perhaps a bit of introspection.
Video Production
This is the finished video regarding this blog post, if you’d like to watch a video instead of reading. It is written, and read aloud by me.
I’m Kernook, or “Kern” for short. I’m part of “The Demented Ferrets”. You can watch the video on YouTube as well. I hope you enjoy the content.
Today I’d like to talk about Haibane Renmei, a rather short and sweet anime that’s only thirteen episodes long. It is an anime that is gentle in its implied cruelty. Due to the nature of the characters and their struggles, there’s a depth in this series that you may find hard to locate elsewhere.
These lost souls, with wings and halos are known as charcoal feathers. You’ll notice they don’t actually have white feathers, but grey or charcoal colored ones. This world they inhabit is almost a purgatory. Living alongside humanity they cannot have the finest of things, and the names given to them hold special significance. One that they most hold aloft over all else. It’s their one key to eternal peace.
They are born into the world from cocoons, knowing little of where they came from and a foggy dream to light their way in this newfound life, if you could really call it that. Bound by a strict set of rules that they must abide, they await the day they’re called to skies, to what might be the heavens.
Haibane Renmei is just as much about grief as it is about joy. Sorrow and regret live alongside happiness and catharsis. These charcoal feathers have but one real goal. They must come to terms with themselves, their circumstances, and what they must ultimately leave behind.
There are certainly slight biblical representations in the series. You’ll find small nods to the concept of god, faith and scripture. The idea of an afterlife, and a place waiting for these charcoal feathers high in heavens. Although these themes are left vague, it is no question that these undertones exist. There is such a thing as being “sin-bound” in the series, and theHaibane that become “sin-bound” often suffer great personal struggles because of it.
I find myself at odd with the series more often than not, when I’m watching it. I often wonder at the conclusions the series comes to. I can only wonder if these ideologies can truly stand in the world upon which the main story is built. As poetic as those narrative decisions are, as gritty as they can sometimes be, they are at least acceptable.
This, I believe that this is the entire ethos of the series. It is what drives the plot forward, even thought it has very little in the way of action. There are so few moments that feel directly urgent to the characters, and I feel that is the point. This is about overcoming something larger than any foe.
It’s about acceptance in a situation where such a thing is very hard to come by.
Haibane Renmei is not a series for everyone. It might seem soft and angelic, but the first time those same angelic wings spring out in a bloody mess, you’ll learn otherwise.
I can only praise this series for everything that it is, and forgive it for the many things it is not. I wish that I could say that you must watch it, but frankly I can’t say that. I hesitate to do so, because this is not an anime for the average viewer.
You won’t have amazing fights. It’s hardly in the genera of cute girls doing cute things, and really it isn’t a slice of life. It isn’t horror by nature and it’s not a healing anime either. It does not fall into any of the common tropes as anime fans understand them today. To classify it at all, diminishes it. At least, that’s what I believe.
What I will tell you is this.…
Haibane Renmei sits proudly on my shelf. I regard the series very highly. I think that it is probably one of the most poetic anime I have ever seen.
I have watched many series that deal with the general themes presented here, but never in a way quite like this. The ending didn’t leave me overjoyed, but it didn’t spiral me into sadness either. It was, in a word, fitting.
If you want to watch Haibane Renmei, it can be found on the Funimation website.
For the right sort of viewer, it would likely be seen as a master piece. However, I’d bet that the sort of viewer I’m talking about is few and far between. You’re not to get all of the answers in a series like this. Even the mere question of… “What really is, a Haibane?” Will be left vague and without a solid answer.
Sure there are things you can extrapolate, given their appearances. Still, that answer is not at all set in stone. So, that’s where I’ll leave it. If you choose to watch the series or not, it’s up to you.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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It’s long been said that the 80’s were the golden age of anime. With rose tinted glasses, and fond memories of simpler days, many anime fans were introduced to the medium thanks to the masterpieces of this decade. Every now and then, we should take a step back in time to appreciate these gems.
Vampire Hunter D, is one of these long buried diamonds. This is not a review of the movie that came out in 1985, this is just a glimpse and a few thoughts about it.
This movie deserves to be mentioned because in this day and age, older anime falls off the radar. It can be easy to forget about them. Vampire Hunter D was considered a fairly huge success upon release. It mixed the finer arts of sci-fi and high fantasy in an easily digestible way.
The 1985 film carries a narrative that you can easily enjoy, without requiring knowledge of the series. The movie will explain things as it goes along.
The anime movie swiftly became known as a cult classic following its release, and that’s one of the many reasons it remains beloved to this day. In spite of it’s age, the anime holds up very well, all things considered. As one of the anime films to hit the United States in the ’90s, american fans were given a world that was little dark, and somewhat gritty.
All of this was wrapped in stunning visuals that only occasionally dropped in quality. It was the era of hand drawn, so occasional dips were to be expected. These visuals coupled with musical genius, making for an atmosphere that still echoes into fandom to this day.
It stands alongside the giants of its time, Generally speaking, the movie was more or less a direct adaptation of the firstVampire Hunter D novel, which had been written two years prior.
In this series, the vampire hunter is hired by a blonde-haired, blue-eyed farm girl named Doris Lang who wants to kill the vampire that attacked and bit her. The hunter in question is the child of a vampire and a human. This means he has extraordinary vampire powers but his human blood protects him from having many of the usual weaknesses you might .
It’s a simple premise but the story is compelling, and for many viewers it was our first real taste of body horror in anime, not counting shows with even more of it, like Akira that came out a little later.
Yes, that is a hand with a face in it. This is what I mean by body horror. There are other good examples throughout the entire series too. It’s enough to be unsettling, without being too awful.
The blend of many horror tropes is both amusing and freighting depending on what scares you. It could be both hilariously delightful, or well and truly haunting. It simply depends on what horror manages to scare you and what horror doesn’t.
All of this said, the movie, and later iterations of the series do a good job at keeping spirits held high. It’s not all doom and gloom despite the setting. From nearly steampunk robotic horses and Gothic architecture, the series carries diverse themes, though none feel out of place. Tacked onto this are the psychic abilities found in the in the universe, which is also a wonderfully addition.
On the topic of the horse for a moment, this is what I mean by it doesn’t feel out of place….
It very much could have felt that way. Many of the core themes, ideas and setting could have been campy, or clunk. They don’t feel that way, and is worth mentioning that directly. If these little things would have been poorly handled at all, the movie we would have ended up being total crap.
This was an animated film unlike any other for it’s time. It had the luxury of not having too many predecessors in its themes or ideas. At least, not in the animated format of a movie. This gave it an edge. Nowadays, it stands tall as a piece of anime history, and it’s worth the watch if you haven’t seen it already.
I do like to offer fairness when it applies. Although I don’t particularly agree with the review on a personal level, I do find it to be a fair and impartial one. It might be worth it to you to give it a read.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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There are times as an anime fan when I want a series to watch that’s off the beaten path. Something that may be considered a little too dry or complex. These sorts of anime fall out of fandom discussions quickly, eventually slipping into obscurity.
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster fits all of this criteria, as the series isn’t exactly what I would call a “pop-corn” anime. It’s probably far from it, because even when it came out in 2004, I can’t think of many people who found themselves talking about the series. My friends certainly didn’t, and neither did I.
I tried to watch the series when it came out, but in 2004 I was still in high school. I had other interests, and what might be thought of as “high-brow” anime wasn’t among them. It wasn’t until I was a handful of years older and gave it try a the second time that I really came to enjoy this gem of a series.
So, today I do want to talk about this anime, and all that it has to offer. I don’t know many people personally that actually enjoy it, which I think is a shame. First though, time for obligatory self-promotion…
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Anyway, let’s continue with the rest of the content. So, Monster is a weird series in fandom. Funnily enough, this series is ranked fairly highly on “My Anime List”. This is a little odd, I have to say. I rarely hear anyone talk about this show at all, but it does seem to be fairly popular in the grand scheme.
Think I’m joking? Take a look at this screenshot. That was taken just as I was writing this post.
Though, I do wonder how many people added it merely by its reputation. It is known for being an intelligent anime. The series tells a very perceptive and complicated story, so it isn’t something easily bandied about.
Outside of anime reviewers or very small corners of the internet, it just isn’t discussed despite the fairly high ratings. Therefore I can only conclude one of two things.
Firstly, that it is a show a lot of people enjoy, but simply don’t discuss at length due to its nature. Secondly, is that Monster has fallen into that realm of obscurity that I mentioned before. Either way, this is a series worth talking about.
It isn’t a typical anime in many ways. It doesn’t follow the standard formula, nor does it pretend to try. In the near endless flood of anime of today, you’ll still be hard pressed to find shows quite like this one.
I like anime that push the limits of the medium. Fantasy and magic found within anime is almost akin to the platformers, role-playing games, and shooters of the gaming world. Even anime aimed at older viewers seem to have some sort of super natural quality to them, and a vast majority are a dime a dozen.
Finding something that manages to break the confines of gaming as we understand it can be a bit difficult. The same is true for anime.
Monster certainly accomplishes that goal, and without too much fantastical idiocy to go along with it. This isn’t a series filled with magic, but I promise you that it has plenty of mystery. If you haven’t watched Monster, Today I’m going to explain why you should.
This is not a review, this is purely a suggestion.
The Narrative
Word of warning: This series can be incredibly offensive to anyone with a firm faith in religion to the point they follow it blindly and refuse to study it. If your faith in Christianity is so strong that you cannot even question the bible even slightly, keep away from this thing. It’s not for you, and it isn’t intended to be.
More on that later, when I discuss the intellectual ethos of the series.
Summary without spoilers: The series takes place in the 80’s. We follow the story of a Japanese man by the name of Kenzo Tenma. He is a young doctor based out of Germany. As a skilled neurosurgeon, he’s earned the attention and praise of people in high places. Due to his high standing he is placed in a rather precarious position, forced to make a choice that he really doesn’t want to make.
Two people need complicated life saving operations. One person in need is a political figurehead, the other person in need is a child.
Tenma is the best of the best. There is no one his equal in terms of skill. Due to how well respected he is, Tenma is expected to bow down to the political bias of the hospital. They want him to operate on the figurehead, thus dooming the child to die.
He has been at the mercy of these kinds of decisions before, doing as he was told with a respect to authority. However to doom a child this way is a decision he refuses to make, and goes to save the child’s life instead.
Ultimately this decision will come back to haunt him. Beyond this, I dare to step into massive spoiler territory. Instead of talking about that, I’m going to cover a few other details. I really want you to watch this series if you haven’t, and I refuse to be the one to spoil it for you.
Instead I will say this:
The story is as much a mystery as it is thriller. It’s slow paced, but it is by no means a slog to sit through. If you take it slow and don’t try to binge watch it, you’re in for a real treat.
Everything in this anime toes an emotionally grey line. You cannot expect complete altruism either, neither from our protagonists or the side cast. Even the best characters have a dark side, and sometimes that side is vastly unsettling.
You cannot expect firm answers or conclusions to every tiny detail in the show. This series isn’t going to hold your hand. It wants you to come up with your own conclusions based on what you see.
What you can expect is a story that is very well written, with characters that are as multidimensional as any anime could ever offer. What you’ll find here is a truly mature anime. It is one that is certainly worth your time to give it a try.
I don’t know if you will “like it” per say. However, I can say that Monster is an experience in and of itself, and that alone is reason to watch it.
The Intellectual Ethos
If you don’t want complicated yip-yap bypass this section. Actually, maybe just bypass the anime at that point. It is a very complicated series, and as I fan I have to accept that.
Don’t believe me? Strap in, we’re diving deep on this one.
This series begins with a biblical quote, and right out of the gate Monster refuses to be simple. This quote is from the book of Revelations, the final one in the new testament. The quote looks like this:
Now, it’s very important to note that interpreters of Revelations typically have four key ways to view this section of the bible. Now, I’m not hugely religious, but I’ll highlight the main four in very simple terms.
Some believe that most of the events in Revelations have already taken place.
Meanwhile, others take it as describing the long chain of events that may take place, or is in the process of taking place.
The third group are those that find this book to be of the future, and place the book primarily in the end of times (which has not happened yet).
The final group view it as symbolic pictures of what they call “timeless truths”, applying the book as the standard victory of good over evil.
Fortunately, the message of Revelation does not depend on adopting a particular point of view. Any of those main four will do. So, why in the hell am I bringing this up then?
Well because it ties into the series. The quote wouldn’t be there mindlessly. I would argue this series touches upon all four views depending on what character you happen to following in regards to the series. The ideological undertones will conflict and contrast in many ways. They are not always blatantly obvious, but they could be somewhat offensive based on your own religious beliefs this particular section of the bible.
But that isn’t all, either…
Buried deep into this anime there are two core ideologies at play. Both of them are on display for the main character, Tenma, at almost all times.
One ideology is complex and morally grey area. The other is an emotionally driven conclusion based on the facts that the main protagonist will never have an answer for.
The first ideology is in regards to personal agency and the value of ethical intervention. What would you do when placed between two horrible outcomes? Would you act, or merely just stand still? Something bad will happen either way, so what option will you choose? Is there truly a “least bad” option?
As a doctor, Tenma made a choice, and he makes choices every day. He often reflects on those choices. Sometimes choosing to save one life results in the death of another. The grieving woman in the image above is someone that Tenma has to face in the first episode. This is a flashback scene. He can only watch as she morns the death of her husband, a man that needed his help.
A man that he chose to deny because of the orders passed down to him by the hospital. A man he could have saved…
This loss of life was not needed, and it weighs on Tenma. This event will influence his decision between the young boy and the political figurehead in the series, and every event thereafter.
This is in essence what is commonly known as the “The Trolley Problem”, as coined by English philosopher Philippa Ruth Foot back in the mid 1970’s.
The simple version of this ethical problem is known as “Bystander at the Switch“. It goes a little something like this:
There is trolley that’s out of control. It is speeding along railway, and it cannot be stopped. Up ahead, there are five people on the track, unable to move. If the trolley hits them, they will die. Now, there is where you enter into the picture. You are able to pull lever nearby. However, if you pull this lever, the trolley will switch tracks. Sadly, there is one person on that other track. If you pull the lever, that person will die instead.
Thus, you have two options. The first is to do nothing, effectively allowing the trolley to kill the five people on the main track. The second option is to pull the lever. You’ll save the lives of five people, but by your direct involvement with the lever, the trolley will still kill one person.
So, what choice do you decide to make?
This is the first question the series asks, and answers through Tenma. The start of the series begins with this same sort of ethical problem. The choice he makes will carry through the entire series. His decision lingers with him in the aftermath.
The second ideology is less complicated, but no less deep. It is the ideology of perseverance in the face of dire straits and negative outcomes. How do you cope with your choices after you’ve made them? How do you live with yourself, when the choice you make is the wrong one?
Tenma’s choice is one that impacts his life, and the lives of the other people around him. He thought he was doing a good deed, but that deed is no more than a devil’s deal.
This is the crux of the series. It is what ultimately drives the entire narrative I mentioned above.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. I doubt most will. Ultimately, what makes this show so well written is the minutia of little details. It comes down to the subject of interpretation. These are the same things that I feel hold this series back from being discussed at length.
Let’s be honest, trying to discuss Monster honestly has a lot of ideological landmines. I barely scratched the surface when it comes to the way the series presents its ideas, thoughts and themes.
That being said, the series is also a rabbit hole, there is such a thing as diving too deep. Let’s also be honest about that too. It’s easy to dive too deep on this one, and that can make it hard to relate to.
Some fans may end up seeing something that isn’t really there to find at all. Still the mere idea that you’re able to do that, is itself a nod to the main theme of Monster and the story it tells.
I can’t honestly review this thing because even trying to do that negates the reason why so many of us love this show in the first place.
I can’t just say “It’s awesome, go watch it!” nor can I say “The inevitable flaws are still worth your time…” because that alone isn’t enough to enjoy this sort of show. Saying “because you might like it” is a direct slap in the face for everything this show tries to do.
I doubt you’ll enjoy everything the series gives you. If you’re like me, there will be times that you will be flat out disgusted by certain characters and their world view. There are times you will not agree the subject matter, ethos, and ideology. However, you must expect it. That is the pointof the title, after all.
These aren’t the monsters under the bed. These are the monsters of humanity. Everyone in the show could, at least in part, be classified as such. Just as in reality, we all have our vices and our failings.
We are all able to be monsters under the right conditions and circumstances. In the series, the characters argue that conditions and circumstances often do justify their actions, grotesque or not.
Monstrous, or not…
This isn’t an anime that I would merely pluck from my shelf and cram into the hands of my best buddies, because as I said, they wouldn’t like it anyway.
However, I’m going to be a pretentious twat for a second. Yes, I’m going to be “that asshole“. If you consider yourself a true fan of the anime medium in its entirety, or you consider yourself an anime expert even slightly, you have to watch this show.
There are no “if’s”, “and’s”, or “but’s” about it. If you are a person that is a collector of the medium, or consider yourself an authority of the medium in any possible way, shape or form, do your due diligence! Plant your ass in a chair and sit through it.
Sit through ALL of it, and then discuss it. This is a series worth talking about. It should not be left to rot in the recess of fandom, alone and forgotten.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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Hey everyone, it’s Kern here, coming to you with a few ideas of how to build your watch-list during packed seasonal line-ups that always seem to get bigger as time goes on. How do you pick and choose the right anime? Well let’s discuss that.
First though, if you aren’t following out other platforms, you totally should be. Particularly if you like gaming and anime content.
If you’re an anime fan, you probably have a list of the seasonal line-ups that you know you’re just going to have to watch. These are obvious to you, and you know you’ve got to catch that anime every week in a timely manner.
Well, what about anime that aren’t on your watch list? How do you choose more anime? There are so many out there, the season floods make it difficult to decide what to watch next. I’ve got a way to build my watch-list and I’m going to share that with you today.
I’m just going to dive into it, there’s no sense in beating around the bush. Before that, let’s cover the obvious ones that need no explanation. They are as follows:
Follow the trends.
Choose anime from productions houses and creators that you already enjoy.
Word of mouth.
Squeal fodder.
Okay, now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s begin.
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Every season that my watch-list isn’t bursting at the seams, I choose an anime I know I’ll probably hate just to give it a try. I have been pleasantly surprised in the past by this method. On occasion I do get hooked into a series and find that I truly enjoy it.
This was the case withBeastars in spades and to a lesser degree Made in Abyss. These sorts of anime don’t fall into my typical watch-list. Both of them have content that I generally find to be unpalatable. That being said, I have come to love these anime despite that.
Although they’re not always easy to suggest to others, they’re anime that really resound with me. When it comes to Beastars, the social commentary on society at large is well thought out. It doesn’t fit the typical mold for many reasons and it me it is a series right up there with Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass for compelling stories regarding the human condition.
Another anime that strikes true to this rule is RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne. This anime not only has unpalatable content, some of it is very sexually explicit in its nature. Usually I don’t watch anime with gratuitous sexual content, certainly not anime with this level of depravity. This is a very dark and gritty series, but it is also intellectual in a way few can really match.
That being said, I’m glad I did sit through it, because everything has a point . Mind you, it’s not always a point I agree with. Often times I don’t. However, I don’t think that my disagreement with the content lessens the experience I had watching this show.
I find myself to be a better anime fan because I’ve truly stepped outside of my comfort zone. That I continue to make a habit of doing so only broadens my horizons. I can appreciate the narrative of certain series because I force myself to try and look beyond my own preconceived notions.
Does this method work all the time? No, I’ve dropped a lot of series I knew I probably wouldn’t like simply because of that. I didn’t like them, and the chance I gave them wasn’t enough for me to like them.
So, if you’re having issues building a solid watch-list, find an anime you typically wouldn’t like and give it a watch. This is also a logical option when building watch-lists, but I often feel it isn’t brought up enough. As fans, we typically find an echo chamber and stick to it.
Moving out of your usual anime viewing will lessen the echo chamber and teach you about yourself. You’ll also be able to have a window into the wider community of anime fans out there.
#2) Find A Quirk
A lot of anime out there has a gimmick to put itself above the onslaught of other shows. Find a quirk you like about your favorite series, and choose an anime based on that. It can be as superficial or as deep as you’d like it to be.
Do you like anime that feature a particular type of protagonist? Choose an anime only based on that. Would you rather see the world at large, choose based on that alone.
Don’t worry about the other qualifiers such as genre or tropes common in the medium. Just focus your search on one thing and give it a try. This is how I came to enjoy Vinland Saga.
Vinland Saga is by far one of the best anime I nearly bypassed because I didn’t care for the manga. I absolutely hate a lot of the characters, but I do like the history and lore of Vikings. This was enough for me to pick it up and stay with it. Even after the narrative took a sharp turn outside of the things I hoped the series would be, the one thing I cared about was enough for me to want to stick with it.
Ultimately why I came to love the anime so much is because it does what the written media couldn’t do by its nature. It gave me beautiful animation, a powerful soundtrack, and a voice cast that make these characters easier deal with… the main protagonist is way easier for me to deal with in the anime because he’s so wonderfully conceptualized and brought to life by his actor. This applies to both sub and dub versions. I’ve seen both, I prose both.
I get to love everything about the story, and the world, My one joy for this series was magnified beyond any level that I thought it could be, all because I chose to side with my love of vikings, and not my hatred of the manga.
This is why it can be a good idea to focus on a topic, rather than the series itself.
#3) Pick the Worst of the Worst
Every season there is one anime that is absolute crap. There is no saving an anime like this, there is no redeeming how awful it is. You know it’s garbage from day one, you’re sure it will continue being garbage by the end. If you’re really unlucky then that dumpster will catch fire ingloriously and you’ll be left with an even worse pile of crap than when you started.
So, why do this then? Honestly, sometimes it can be fun. Others, it can be educational.
If you watch truly bad anime, then least then you have a metric for what a really bad anime even is. Anime reviewers, this goes triple for us! We have to watch this kind of crap, because we need the insight between mediocrity and a true actual trash heap.
There are some truly terrible anime out there, and I’m not talking about the content. I mean it’s just all around bad. The acting, the animation, and everything in between is all just terrible.
Why torture yourself this way if you’re not an anime reviewer? Well, bad anime can be fun. Sitting together with group of friends as you suffer a terrible anime together can be just as fun as watching an awesome anime together. With streaming services aplenty and VOIP being a thing, there’s no reason not to sit together and watch something that you all know you’re going to hate.
The inside jokes and idiocy that can result might give you years of fond memories. For me, Green Green is the series that gave me this insight. It’s been well over a decade, and we still make jokes about it.
Years ago, a friend of mine (a self proclaimed asshole) decided one day to buy this pure unfiltered unfiltered garbage. He did this purely to enjoy our suffering on the next group anime night. The night comes, and there’s a group of us eating pizza out of a box and watching this absolute abomination of a series.
Green Green is all around bad in so many ways that it won’t ever hit bar of mediocrity. Too many things are just below average in presentation that even for its time, it wasn’t even decent back then. Funny thing is, it’s not even once of those “so bad it’s good” series either. The pure enjoyment of this anime comes strictly from fond memories that were induced by complete idiocy.
It’s worth it to make memories like that, and to cherish them fondly. Obviously if you do this, Just don’t take anything too seriously. In fact, this suggestion is the antithesis of seriousness, because you know you’re going to make fun of it.
#4) Random Roll
Too many good shows and not enough time? I feel that, and it sucks. So, how do you choose when a seasonal line-up is a smash hit and you know you’ve got too many anime to pick from?
Get a few dice, plunk in the series names, and let fate decide. I’ve had to do this many times. The year 2018 comes to mind. I was busy that year, and it was one of the best years for anime in a very long time. Every season in that year easily had ten or more anime that I wanted to watch. It was a flat out crazy year.
I picked five that I knew I couldn’t let slip by, but the rest I rolled on randomly just to see what I’d end up picking if the dice were to decide. That’s what got me by that year, and I still had anime to go back and watch or finish in 2019.
Without rolling on it randomly, I would have been in a very sad situation. There were just too many good shows, and I had to axe a few somehow.
#5) The Sleeper Anime
I don’t have a good example for this one. However, this is a rule I cling to, because one day I just might.
Every year there’s at least one or two anime in a season that falls off radar fairly early on in the line-up. They may not be popular from the start, or they may be overshadowed by the mega hits and squeal fodder that keeps anime alive and well.
You can’t always rely on anime reviewers to see every single anime out there. Frankly there is just too many to keep up with. If a reviewer attempts to watch every singe one, they’re very likely to burn themselves out. Even if they do watch every single one, they may not bring up the anime at all.
If you notice an anime that isn’t being talked about on a seasonal line-up, pick it up. See for yourself just how good it is. If it isn’t circulating around in discussion the reason is simply that it’s not worth the discourse in the first place. it’s either not annoying enough to piss off the anime community, or it was never made to be a mega hit. Very likely, and very commonly, it probably wasn’t widely advertised in the first place.
The thing is these shows will be average to most viewers. They won’t be amazing, and the reason they were dropped is because they may be unremarkable or easily forgettable. That’s what is most likely to happen, but there’s a chance you’ll find it to be amazing.
That’s a chance worth taking. For you, that seemingly unremarkable anime might be a diamond in the rough. It would be unfortunate if you didn’t hear of an anime that could become your absolute favorite for one reason or another.
Picking up the anime that get buried prevents you from missing out on a real gem. Yes, it make take a bit of digging and research, but you may find that to be well worth it in the end.
Final Thoughts
Anime is and will always be a very subjective medium. There are thousands of hours of content worth your time, and every season brings more of it. What used to be traditional classics are now buried under a sea of new content every single year.
When I was young, watch-lists were simple and easy to come by. Anime wasn’t incredibly abundant. When it came to sub-genres there were lists that everyone followed like gospel, because we had little else. Fandom followed a certain flow, you might say.
There were probably only six or so squeals even worth talking about every year, and the Shonen trinity (One Piece,Naruto, and Dragon Ball) was pretty much expected viewing. Since they were all on television and easy to access, everyone knew of them.
Other shows made it onto Adult Swim or early Saturday morning line-ups, and those shows also padded out the majority of anime related discussions. Anime movies were rarely discussed, and often times were off the beaten path.
Anime films were hard to come by back in those days. They weren’t widely talked about or discussed unless they were off shoots of major anime programming. Naruto and Inuyasha movies had the benefit of originating from known anime on television, so those movies were widely talked about. Meanwhile other masterworks slipped into obscurity.
Perfect Blue is a perfect example of a film that wasn’t family friendly and hard to find in theaters. It wasn’t on the radar here in in america, and therefore only very strong anime inclined viewers even knew of it back when it released.
Nowadays, none of that holds true. The anime medium is too large and vast to see everything. Sometimes you just have to pick and choose. That’s why I made this list of suggestions. Hopefully, it will make your watch-list choices just a little bit easier for you.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
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Mushoku Tensei is one of the 2021 anime that has a lot of people taking about it, and for good reason. It’s an interesting show, adapted from a wealth of written media. Now having not read all of the written material, I can only speak to some of it. Today though I’m going to focus on it’s anime adaptation, and the problems that are creeping to the surface because of its vast popularity.
The written media for Mushoku Tensei has been around since 2012, that’s why the series is so popular. It not exactly a huge stretch to say that this series would generally appeal to a far wider audience than most anime out there.
You see, this series contains actual full length novels, light novels, manga, an audio drama, and as of 2021 it now has an anime and a video game as well.
So, what’s the problem then? Well, you could call this series one of the grandfathers of the Isekai genre.
In these types of stories, characters will teleport into a different world in one way, shape, or form. Generally a character dies and is reincarnated, or they’re sucked into the world through some other event. Then that character lives in the newfound world after that.
The entire crux of these stories is the characters and the world they now reside in. Key plot points include living among the peoples that reside in these new lands, learning the laws and the way the world works.
Isekai anime all have a gimmick of some nature, and to be fair it’s not a genre I actively dive into regularly. This is mostly because the industry is flooded with them. Since the beginning of anime itself, we’ve all seen the series where a character goes to some mystical place, or our titular hero gets trapped in a video game. It’s standard, it’s common, and even before the term “Isekai” became part of the anime narrative, it has always been around.
Even anime that aren’t true Isekai can still feel like one. Think of anime such as Inuyasha, for prime example. I wouldn’t call it a true Isekai, but it does have many trappings of the genre.
If you want a good example of a great Isekai in the genre, look no further than “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime“. The manga and anime are both solid, and it also has novels and light novels. That is the reason I use this example. The wealth of contented provided is very similar.
When it comes to written media, Mushoku Tensei is the modern-day juggernaut for the Isekai genre. Prior to this series, Isekai were more fluid in it’s nature. What we considered Isekai was also vastly different.
This series established most of the tropes we know today. Predominately, this includes the concept of reincarnation into a new world, our favorite murderous device often named by fans as “truck-kun”, and the asshole protagonist that requires a new lease on life.
Does any of that sound like something you’ve seen before? Well, that is the ultimate issue for us anime fans.
The series took too long to be animated. More creative Isekai anime out there are using these established tropes. Some of them are actually doing it better than Mushoku Tensei ever could. This is simply because they had the benefit of learning from their grandfathers of the genre.
Thanks to these improvements on the genre, we’re getting some decent content. “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime” is the primary example I use. However, there are other solid choices out there if this is a genre you really enjoy. I just don’t, so it’s hard for me to really decipher what ones are best to list.
Sadly, Mushoku Tensei cannot live up to it’s competitors. If you’re a fan of the series already, it’s probably right up your ally and on your “to watch” list. For the rest of us it’s a “been there, done that, seen this before” type of show.
This doesn’t make Mushoku Tensei bad, not even in the slightest. It just means that despite the pretty visuals and decent voice acting, it feels dated. It’s hard for me to suggest this anime simply because of that, but there is a reason to watch it.
As I said before, Mushoku Tensei is one of the founding grandfathers of the genre. It would be ridiculous to overlook this series simply because any fan of this genre should watch it at least once. It is important to understand how this genre came to be what it is today, and this series allows you to do that.
The anime adaptation is still ongoing, so this isn’t a review on its quality. This is just a firmly placed suggestion. If you enjoy Isekai anime, you owe it to yourself to watch this series.
I know that I am enjoying it despite the dated feel, and I hope you will too.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll see you next time.
You can help support us through PayPal or Patreon.
With your contributions, you make our efforts possible. Thank you for supporting our content. Patreon supporters receive access into our official Discord server, and a few other perks depending on the tier. If you don’t care for Patreon, and don’t care about perks, you can always support us through PayPal too… links below.
Those who join via Patreon get special perks, such as extra content, quicker updates, and more.
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