Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
One type of show that I don't find myself watching very often is one that deals with psychology. Most television shows about this subject tend to be serious and down-to-earth but many of them don't try their hand at comedy like Wilfred does. My first impressions are only based on the first three episodes of a series, but I can tell that I will grow to love it.
Ryan (Elijah Wood) is depressed. So much so that the entire first episode is about him trying to take his own life by overdose. Wilfred (Jason Gann) is his neighbor's dog... kind of. To Ryan, a psychologically messed up bum, Wilfred is actually a fully-grown adult who just wears a dog costume. Confused yet? So was I for the fifteen minutes of the show. One day Ryan's neighbor asks him to take care of Wilfred while she's off running errands and so the friendship between the human and dog start.
One way I could describe the relationship between Ryan and Wilfred is bitter-sweet. These two are nothing alike but they get along very well. At least until Wilfred does something that Ryan has to fix by the end and learns a lesson from. These lessons are fairly straight forward and even predictable at times, at least so far. The main reason for this being that each episode is titled by the hump that the main character has to trek over. So far these have been 'Happiness', 'Trust', and 'Fear'. Maybe by the end of the show or even the season I can look back and see these as clever but right now it is kind of a spoiler for what's to come. I like to be surprised by a show but if I know exactly what the moral of the episode will be then it feels like I'm almost ahead of the plot at times.
The characters of Wilfred and Ryan are a great comedy duo. They constantly play off of each other in clever and interesting ways and, though I haven't died from laughter quite yet, they have gotten some good laughs from me. The only real problem I have with the two so far is the fact that Wilfred is always the one to incite trouble and Ryan is constantly the one to get them out of it. This, again, plays into the predictability that the show is having so far. There has only been a few stand-out moments of plot that have been instrumental in my motivation to keep watching.
Despite all that, I still want to keep watching. Why is that? The problems I have with the show would make me drop it like a hot rock with most others but why this one? Well, to put it simply, I want to see Ryan grow as a character. I love the fact that the series starts with Ryan at his lowest point. Though I can't necessarily put myself in his shoes I do want to see him get better and learn to be happy through his experiences with Wilfred. The comedy is great, the plot is only good, but what it could become is something that is yet to be seen.
I can't wait to watch more of Wilfred.
One way I could describe the relationship between Ryan and Wilfred is bitter-sweet. These two are nothing alike but they get along very well. At least until Wilfred does something that Ryan has to fix by the end and learns a lesson from. These lessons are fairly straight forward and even predictable at times, at least so far. The main reason for this being that each episode is titled by the hump that the main character has to trek over. So far these have been 'Happiness', 'Trust', and 'Fear'. Maybe by the end of the show or even the season I can look back and see these as clever but right now it is kind of a spoiler for what's to come. I like to be surprised by a show but if I know exactly what the moral of the episode will be then it feels like I'm almost ahead of the plot at times.
The characters of Wilfred and Ryan are a great comedy duo. They constantly play off of each other in clever and interesting ways and, though I haven't died from laughter quite yet, they have gotten some good laughs from me. The only real problem I have with the two so far is the fact that Wilfred is always the one to incite trouble and Ryan is constantly the one to get them out of it. This, again, plays into the predictability that the show is having so far. There has only been a few stand-out moments of plot that have been instrumental in my motivation to keep watching.
Despite all that, I still want to keep watching. Why is that? The problems I have with the show would make me drop it like a hot rock with most others but why this one? Well, to put it simply, I want to see Ryan grow as a character. I love the fact that the series starts with Ryan at his lowest point. Though I can't necessarily put myself in his shoes I do want to see him get better and learn to be happy through his experiences with Wilfred. The comedy is great, the plot is only good, but what it could become is something that is yet to be seen.
I can't wait to watch more of Wilfred.
Have you ever seen an anime that is so over-the-top and insane that you just need to turn your brain off to fully enjoy the series? Kill La Kill is that for me. It does have very apparent problems but just the general excitement and joy I feel watching it makes the whole experience seem perfect, even though the show is far from it. The explosive fight scenes and scenarios and dumb fun of the show tend to overpower but the lack-luster story and villain. And I'm okay with that.
The story of Kill La Kill is pretty stupid. If you are going into this anime expecting deep themes with interesting plots than you are in the wrong place. Ryuko has been tracking down her father's killer for an unseen amount of time and she believes that the criminal is Hounouji Academy's class president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Armed with her trust Scissor Blade and a magical talking uniform named Senketsu, Ryuko must fight her way up the ranks of the Academy's school clubs in order to avenge her father and find the other half of her blade. We've seen this plot a million times and it doesn't do anything new in this case but the show isn't about the story. Rather, it's main focus is on the relationship between the characters. As soon as Ryuko arrives at the Academy she befriends a no-star student ("Star" referring to power level) named Mako and during the series we even get to learn a lot about Satsuki's underlings. Every character has their own energy and finesse that I can appreciate, even though some of them can fit into archetypes. I also like how--- ugh, I can't take it anymore. This show has way too much fanservice than it needs to have. I don't mind it as much near the beginning because when Ryuko transforms she becomes embarrassed with her appearance which suppresses her power but once that hurdle is overcome the fanservice seems like it is there just to be fanservice. To the show's granted, however, a third of the way through we are introduced to a group of totally-to-almost nude men that one can argue balance it out but I felt it wasn't needed in the first place and just could've been an over-the-top anime. Maybe the fanservice is part of the show's nature, then? I don't know. Just something to think about.
Speaking of the characters, I absolutely love their designs and color pallets, fanservice aside. Ryuko usually wears black and red but can occasionally sport a "white-knight" type outfit that fits with the metal state of her character at that given time. Even Mako gets a variety of designs to show off her general craziness. I especially love her "fight club" outfit. I feel like the characters' various outfits were designed and then the writers wrote the story because of just how well they mesh with the tone of whatever story they might be on at the moment.
Before I started watching Kill La Kill I assumed a little too much from the animation. Sure it's good but from the screenshots and short clips I had already been privy too, it ended up feeling lack luster. It does have a few border-line Sakuga moments near the
beginning of the series but it seemed to take a dip in quality during the last six or so episodes. This is one of the most hype soundtracks I've heard in an anime recently. I absolutely love the militaristic style of "Blumenkranz" and "Before My Body is Dry" is just amazing all around. The only problem is how the show uses these tracks - that is to say too much. Every time Ryuko does something remotely cool I hear the chorus of "Before My Body is Dry" and Satsuki's theme is good but I can only stand it so many times! The constant abuse of these amazing tracks forced me to turn down my TV volume a number of times when they would play. Such a shame to pound such a great OST to the ground.
Kill La Kill is one of the weirdest but funnest anime I've seen in a while. It does have a lot of problems which tend to bog down the experience but if you just turn off your brain while watching you won't mind the flaws all that much.
Kill La Kill is explosive.
The story of Kill La Kill is pretty stupid. If you are going into this anime expecting deep themes with interesting plots than you are in the wrong place. Ryuko has been tracking down her father's killer for an unseen amount of time and she believes that the criminal is Hounouji Academy's class president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Armed with her trust Scissor Blade and a magical talking uniform named Senketsu, Ryuko must fight her way up the ranks of the Academy's school clubs in order to avenge her father and find the other half of her blade. We've seen this plot a million times and it doesn't do anything new in this case but the show isn't about the story. Rather, it's main focus is on the relationship between the characters. As soon as Ryuko arrives at the Academy she befriends a no-star student ("Star" referring to power level) named Mako and during the series we even get to learn a lot about Satsuki's underlings. Every character has their own energy and finesse that I can appreciate, even though some of them can fit into archetypes. I also like how--- ugh, I can't take it anymore. This show has way too much fanservice than it needs to have. I don't mind it as much near the beginning because when Ryuko transforms she becomes embarrassed with her appearance which suppresses her power but once that hurdle is overcome the fanservice seems like it is there just to be fanservice. To the show's granted, however, a third of the way through we are introduced to a group of totally-to-almost nude men that one can argue balance it out but I felt it wasn't needed in the first place and just could've been an over-the-top anime. Maybe the fanservice is part of the show's nature, then? I don't know. Just something to think about.Speaking of the characters, I absolutely love their designs and color pallets, fanservice aside. Ryuko usually wears black and red but can occasionally sport a "white-knight" type outfit that fits with the metal state of her character at that given time. Even Mako gets a variety of designs to show off her general craziness. I especially love her "fight club" outfit. I feel like the characters' various outfits were designed and then the writers wrote the story because of just how well they mesh with the tone of whatever story they might be on at the moment.
Before I started watching Kill La Kill I assumed a little too much from the animation. Sure it's good but from the screenshots and short clips I had already been privy too, it ended up feeling lack luster. It does have a few border-line Sakuga moments near the
beginning of the series but it seemed to take a dip in quality during the last six or so episodes. This is one of the most hype soundtracks I've heard in an anime recently. I absolutely love the militaristic style of "Blumenkranz" and "Before My Body is Dry" is just amazing all around. The only problem is how the show uses these tracks - that is to say too much. Every time Ryuko does something remotely cool I hear the chorus of "Before My Body is Dry" and Satsuki's theme is good but I can only stand it so many times! The constant abuse of these amazing tracks forced me to turn down my TV volume a number of times when they would play. Such a shame to pound such a great OST to the ground.
Kill La Kill is one of the weirdest but funnest anime I've seen in a while. It does have a lot of problems which tend to bog down the experience but if you just turn off your brain while watching you won't mind the flaws all that much.
Kill La Kill is explosive.
