天下制覇

Waggle that worm.

Impressions:

Oh hey, look what finally decided to join the internet a week late. Remember back when OVAs had some actual effort put into them? Even Beetrain OVAs? Well, I guess that’s why they don’t put out too many of them anymore. At least it provides a good baseline for the upcoming season for what cheap fights are. And yet at the same time, it felt oddly rushed. When Kenichi was giving his generic morality speech that signals that last couple attacks before his opponent is invariably moved by his spirit or insight enough to stop and/or make a dumb mistake for him to finish them, there were still a good 12 or so minutes to go. But at the same time the fight was a boringly formulaic affair of an attack (typically a still) and then one or all of a cut to Miu explaining it for the benefit of Renka (supposedly an expert in her own right), Raichi being surprised, the other side characters gasping, or the other side characters cheering. Frequently all four. Occasionally also Kenichi talking to plants. It’s a fight, damn it!  If you feel the need to describe the whole thing, at least be showing what you’re talking about at the same time. Better yet, just shut the hell up entirely. Yes yes, animating is haaaaaaaaaaaard. You’re in a visual medium. Be visual!

Well, cheapness and Kenichi is nothing new, but this was a step down from the first OVA episode. At least what I remember from it, which is… a train, maybe? And Miu’s thighs? Eh, it’s gone. I do fondly remember the random episodes of the actual series where it was painfully obvious that they hired some bigshot to come in and workover the whole animation. Here, they were having issues keeping the art on-model along with the rampant abuse of stillery and/or those ridiculous frame cycles of punches that should’ve gone out of style back with Fist of the North Star and Dragonball. There wasn’t even any decent battle damage either. Come on, Brains Base. Get in the game. What’s the point of a pink-haired girl in a skintight biker suit if you’re not going to then peel it off her? She also got all that hair tucked back up under her helmet disturbingly quickly. As in between two cuts with her both in them quickly. Must me a magic helmet. Or magic hair.

If you’re reading this, it means that I forgot to change the template.