'Shirtless o'clock? Did I shave?' by Kara
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 9:34 AM

Had some good responses from posting the fall anime rundown on Monday. Glad to be of service, kiddies. I just wish I could've delivered some better news.

Last night, finally got a chance to watch the newest Lupin III special, Seven Days' Rhapsody. Now, I didn't see Red vs. Green for two reasons: one, no one appears to have subbed it; and two, everyone who had seen it warned me off it. Granted, when you've been doing the same franchise on a regular basis for x number of years, even the best characters are gonna end up in some really balled plots once in a while (see also: Doctor Who). For something with as decent a track record as Lupin III, I can forgive things like The Return of Pycal.

This one, fortunately, was good (at least to me). It had the ridiculous amounts of action I expect from these guys, Fujiko was far less whiny than she was in the last one I saw (which I believe was Angel Tactics, and why the hell was she whiny?), and the animation was nice. Granted, I've started to expect that last one from the franchise, so it goes without saying.

Also, rather importantly, the plot was quite good. And had enough silliness mixed in with the serious to feel right. I get a bit annoyed when they try to be too dramatic. Not because I feel like I should dictate how a genre behaves, but because when these writers get dramatic, they get pretentious, and when they get pretentious, you get photorealistic carp. If you have no idea what I mean, don't try to find out because you're very lucky.

See it if you have a chance. It's lovely. Also, it has puppets.

If you have been, nooooo!