Co-worker's pick - I had an ep tossed on to a DVD full of Gurren Lagann, and he was interested enough to try it out; we then hunted down a few more episodes and watched. Interesting, but scattershot... Moving below the fold, no specific spoilers, but I'll talk about the show a bit.

Series is basically about super-powered people named Contractors; typically they get one power, and in return for using it, they're compelled to do something (anywhere from puffing a cigarette to breaking one of their own fingers). They exist for a big mysterious not-adequately-explained reason, they spend a lot of time killing each other, and supposedly their emotions are somehow suppressed. Okay, no problem, I can buy that.

Series spends the first few episodes giving you the idea that these are Not Nice Men (even/especially the protagonists). Lots of bloody, gory killing. Lots of tragedy. Not all that much angst, but what hey, we're talking emotionless killing machines (sorta). Okay, I can buy that.

Then it... takes a humorous turn. Detective side story, lots of comedy, only tangential relation to the main plot, lotta laughs. Co-worker really liked this part, thought it was a good humanizing element and a nice change of pace. I myself, however... I have to wonder, why go to all the point of puffing out the chest and strutting around saying "I am bad, bad, bad, bad" and then lighten up all of the sudden? It was almost like, if halfway through Noir, there was an onsen episode. Or (hm, gore level) watching an episode of Hellsing where Victoria went shopping and -that's it-.

I'm not saying that taking some time out from an intense plot to sit back and catch your breath is necessarily a bad thing. But there's such a thing as setting a tone, and this kind of writing really makes that hard. Are we watching a hard-boiled action thriller or aren't we? Mix it up too much and all you get is a mess.

Of course, this is all talking about a show that's not even halfway done yet, and goodness knows it's not unusual for a show to meander around early. And character development episodes are great ways to kill a bit of time in the plot, sure. Maybe I'm just objecting because the main character, the one getting the humanizing, is more or less an inhuman monster, ethically speaking?

Not precisely recommended. I'll keep watching (if for no other reason than the co-worker likes it, and it's not actually BAD, and keeping him happy enough to show up for work is an objective for picking weekend anime), so who knows, maybe it'll settle down again.

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at 12:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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