天下制覇

Manglobe goes where Key doesn’t dare.

Impressions:

I’m implementing a new rule here. Any time a character says anything along the lines of "I’m searching for my lost smile," I will mock them and question how far the show has its head shoved up its own ass. Well, to be perfectly honest, that’s not a new rule, but consider it a codification of what was already be in place. Honestly. The corny art style against photographs run through a pair of Photoshop filters to make them look artsy are bad enough, but then having your samurai talk about how their lives are full of ennui and how they can’t smile? Ugh. Why not just have some beatnik play bongos in the background and complete the scene.

The music was probably the most enjoyable part of this one for me, but that’s still reaching. It was very very peaceful. I suppose it fit the mood of "nothing happens." The art and animation was predictibly terrible with nothing of note outside of the unusual style. Even Katanagatari looked rather animated compared to this, to say nothing of the basically unanimated fight scene shots of people’s faces. If you’re going to have samurai running around and you’re going play up how awesome they are, you could at least show that. I get that the focus is on listening to them write haikus about how hard life is the ol’ west when daddy doesn’t love you and your lofty noble soul would be crushed under the chains of the proletariat if you spent a day doing manual labor, but I’ve seen more dynamic and engaging calligraphy.

However, it did teach me a valuable lesson. Totali is actually a Chinese spy trying to irradiate the US. You heard it here first.

Preview:

I don’t buy that these women are supposed to be attractive at all.