Finally getting some of my technical issues resolved, so let’s catch up with Supernatural.
Everlasting Love
Two things I’ve noticed, and I’m curious whether this is a Japanese motif, or one endemic to the creator, but I’ve noticed a few times in this anime when someone is about to strike another person (particularly with a cutting instrument), that person raises their striking arm straight up above their head. It not only looks like a very vulnerable striking position, but in this episode we see a victim actually pleading with the attacker for several seconds. Writers: if you want to portray someone as frozen in terror, then make sure they are babbling incoherently (if at all) when they do so. Otherwise, they just come off as winners of the Darwin awards who are too defective to have a flight or fight response.
And as we’ve seen several times before, although this is an “anime only” episode, it is very heavily inspired by Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (with 4-5 years between the episodes). Sometimes, though, the acting in this episode gets so overwrought that it becomes unintentionally hilarious. I know that in animation one can’t convey the subtle eye changes that a skilled actor can, but sometimes the boys’ “shock reaction” are so over the top, you’d think they started this job yesterday (instead of being raised in the life). Still, it wasn’t too bad, though the truncated nature of the 30 minute episodes means that this one leaves a few fridge-logic moments that probably could have been covered in a longer session.
the Spirit of Vegas
This is an anime original comedy episode. And…
Well part of the problem might have been the intro which told me that it was supposed to be funny. To me, that always seems to be self-defeating as I don’t laugh when I’m told I’m supposed to. On the other hand, I did fall over laughing when a scene had them finding a cobra in the car.
A cobra.
In midwestern America (yes, this episode takes place in Las Vegas).
Hint for foreigners: that’s the wrong continent for cobras.
Still, I’ll give the episode credit that that was an intentional joke. It also gets credit for having the hottest animated girl in the show so far, and a pretty kick ass ending.
But… it still has a bit too much in common with Bad Day at Black Rock with Dean being the butt monkey this time instead of Sam. Well I guess that’s unfair. This time while Dean is holed up in a hotel room while Sam searches, the TV catches fire instead of the air-conditioning – it’s completely different!
And unlike the rabbit’s foot, the cursed object this time is one that can’t be gotten rid of. Some of the instances of Dean tossing the thing, only to have it return do get pretty comical in their ludicrousness.
Ok, maybe it was a funnier episode than I thought.
Hunting Muses 