天下制覇

And review.

If you're wondering how Pastel Memories's second episode reboot went, goofy monster were going around the MMO world sort of zombifying people, but they zapped the big bad, complete with a "Team Rocket is blasting off again" ending. The end. Basically, it decided to be Endro instead, because apparently we need something that split the difference between nothing and a slightly different flavor of nothing.

Impressions:

This had the same issues as the first episode. The first half went on way too goddamned long without actually going anywhere, leading to a rushed and anticlimactic second half. Instead of introduction though, it was largely review, and the monster dies when it wouldn't stop monologuing. Afterwards, they hurriedly do an infodump of what the story of the episode was supposed to have been, but never actually got around to. Not a bait and switch so much as an oopsiedoodle, is I believe the technical term. It would have been a perfectly acceptable episodic story too. The Scooby Gang encounters a monster. Monster runs away. Monster revealed to actually be a good guy trying to warn about real monster. Your Buffys, Supernaturals, Flashs, Grimms, etcs have all done this episode a dozen times each.

Problem here is that we're shown and told right off the bat that Monster A is harmless and that lady is the actual 'secret' Monster B. That's what happens when you faff around for half the episode and need to have more time reserved at the end for further faffing. Even so, they could've salvaged it if the monster hadn't been so helpless and stupid, or they found a way to actually work bell-dude into the story. After the monster is slain and during the denoument is the wrong time to be screaming about the agony of the Tell-Tale Bell. Why was the stolen gold even buried outside the village in the first place? "1.) Lure travelers. 2.) Feed them to local monster. 3.) Bury money in the forest. 4.) ?????? 5.) Profit!" But also, if there's anybody here to slay the monster, bring them right to it? Then rush in as soon as you hear a commotion when you expect it to be eating them? These villagers are imbeciles.