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Reviews
Kimi wa Hokago Insomnia (2023)
Exceedingly well-done and unexpectedly moving
There's a lot to praise here, but the main draw of the show is the progression of the two protagonists' relationship: it feels incredibly natural and is done in a beautiful way. Unlike many other romances, this show doesn't feel the need to oversaturate itself with comedy and us unafraid of being emotionally vulnerable and sincere. The relationship between the the protagonists feels compelling because it is built upon a genuine friendship that is portrayed convincingly. Finally, the depiction of these two gradually deepening their trust and intimacy in one another moved me in a way I didn't expect.
The side-characters weren't standouts, but they also weren't bad by any means, they felt like real people, even if undeveloped (and that's for the best, it's a short runtime and should focus on its primary characters). I would give this show a 9.5/10 for being the most compelling romance narrative I've seen since Steins; Gate.
Steins;Gate 0 (2018)
phenomenal ending, two problems
The final third of the show rivals the original series, perhaps even surpassing it at some points. It was phenomenal imo. If the show had such quality throughout, I'd give it a 10/10, but two things that bugged me: (1) the fanservice is worse than in the original. We did not need a closeup of Moeka getting her boobs tickled come on, it's disrespectful to the characters and the audience. Plus, the short girl had her boobs exposed to other characters too often in ways that never enhanced the plot (eg. The muscles relaxing scene, towel dangling in lab shower, etc). (2) The pacing midway through is not great in my opinion, the show doesn't have the same thru-line the original did (originally it was developing time travel and stopping CERN), but the midpoint of SG0 jumped from side plot to side plot, and while several of these came together in the end, it was disengaging for me during the mid-section for that reason. Perhaps part of the problem is due to me watching the show in chronological order (SG0 between ep22 and 23 of the original) and so the sudden slow and frankly often uneventful pacing of the first half really stuck out when placed in the middle of the original shows climax.
However, the ending was incredibly satisfying, I had a massive grin on my face just seeing it, and I think it's well worth watching for that alone. An excellent show overall, but those two problems did detract from my viewing experience somewhat and I wish I'd finished the original before starting it as to not mess with the flow of tension.
Arcane: League of Legends (2021)
A work of art in a league of its own
Aesthetic value comes in many forms, and a television show has the privilege of expressing three of those: visual, audio, and narrative. For each of these, Arcane is a show at the top of its class. Few works of television reach Arcane's level in one, and I still have yet to find another show which can compare at all three.
Visually, there is not a single frame in this show that isn't gorgeous, which is due to both the beautiful artstyle in the animation and the unique cinematography which adds new depth to just about every scene (often in ways which greatly enhance thematic weight). You would be amazed just how much visual symbolism can be packed into such a short show. One could skip to just about any part of the show at random and (barring motion blur transition frames) use the result as a wallpaper. However, the most impressive visual feat of the animation is the expressions it allows the characters to convey. Dozens of little unnoticeable features are constantly at work in the faces and body language of characters, from subtle eye twitches to stretching of facial muscles, which although rarely explicitly noticed, are often subconsciously recognized. While live action actors do replicate these 'micro expressions', it is extremely rare to see them used even a fraction as well in an animated medium. (Simply slow down and carefully watch a 'certain scene' at the end of Act I for a demonstration of this)
When it comes to audio, the show is also consistently excellent. The sound design is fairly subtle but always on point. The voice acting is among the best, without one bad line read and evoking incredible emotion (see the end of Act I for an example of that as well). The soundtrack is phenomenal, and there is a ton of it too, around 3 hours of orchestral music worth for a show with 6 hours runtime, and most impressive is its incorporation into the show in such a way to enhance the narrative.
Narratively is where the show is most impressive, partly because all the visuals and sound are constantly informing and enhancing the narrative. I'm not sure what I can say besides the fact that there is not one bad character in the show, its themes are powerfully explored without ever imposing its viewpoints on the viewer, and each aspect of it continues to develop and improve as the show continues. It has a unique depth which partially explains the sheer number of detailed analyses one can find online, and in that sense, it feels almost like a great work of literature in that its themes are clearly present yet allow room for (and sometimes demand) interpretation, and its characters are the same with their psychological richness. Silco's unique transformation, which drastically alters his core values in a tragic and poetic way without ever explicitly manifesting itself as a redemption is a prime example of this. The shows payoffs rival the conclusions of many shows up to ten times its length, which leads to the runtime. For most shows that reach similar narrative heights to Arcane, they take drastically longer to do so. Arcane achieves this much in only 6 hours, and there is not one single scene that isn't essential, packed full with thematic and character development that's never stated explicitly. It's not perfect, some aspects (such as the relationship between Vi and Caitlyn) aren't done flawlessly (that is, rushed and sometimes confusing), but these are honestly nitpicks when compared to the what the writing has achieved as a whole.
We may evaluate a shows aesthetic value based on its visual, auditory, and narrative beauty, and I think Arcane lands a solid 10/10 in each of these 3 categories. While other great shows certainly could be said to reach a 10/10 in one of these, I've been hard pressed to find many which reach it in all three. This is why I view Arcane as being in a league of its own, it has its own tier, so to speak, perhaps shared by a small few works of audio-visual art. I think that the show is, despite its 4 Emmy wins and (record-breaking) 9 Annie wins, quite underrated, most people don't appreciate even a quarter of the intricate detail that goes into every scene.