Right from episode 1 this anime came across as rough. There was some pretty bad CG and more than a few off model character moments. After that though things kind of settled, until this episode (that isn’t saying there aren’t some poorer moments in the episodes in between but they weren’t noteworthy). Episode 5 on the other hand manages to look incredibly rushed.
It is most prominent when shifting between close ups of characters that look mostly fine, save perhaps a misshapen neck, slightly unfocused eyes or just a general wrongness, to far shots where eyes might disappear altogether and the character looks very much like a placeholder rather than a finished product. It’s actively distracting in this episode and that’s before we even look at the fighting animation which is, in the most generous description of it, terrible.
And all of this is quite the shame because the plot here is rolling along nicely. The concern Yin has as Ning is apparently slipping further into bloodlust and revenge is quite touching. The rebels are pretty cliche but interesting enough and the concept of the fights are pretty cool even if the execution is questionable. Not to mention, this week we saw Zhao reunited with the sisters even if neither side actually knew it and we got to see more of how the Empress feels about Zhao in general. This is a fairly interesting story and with slightly more competence behind its production it could have actually been great.
- Part of me wonders if she’s putting on a show for her attendant or if this is how she really sees Zhao.
The end result is I’m sticking with this one and I’m enjoying it for what it is but I can’t say I really recommend it. There’s too many areas where it just under-performs. Still, for what it is there are things to enjoy and hopefully it will bring things together nicely by the end (though past experience probably suggests otherwise).
- Episode 1 – A Rough Fantasy With Some Potential
- Episode 2 – Not Entirely Convinced We Needed To See Any of This
- Episode 3 – The Plot Thickens
- Episode 4 – Rising Tension
- Episode 5 – Attack of the Poor Animation
- Episodes 6 + 7 – The Sword, The Confession, and the Betrayal
- Episodes 8 – 10 – Great Heights and Great Falls; It All comes With Ambition
- Episode 11 – Give In To Your Hate; Embrace the Darkness
- Episode 12 – Everybody Hurts Sometimes Even If You Want to Forget
- Episode 13 – The Small Victory and Loss Within a Greater Battle
One episode in and it’s already troubling. The premise of the plot is very interesting. It has a very strong The Last Air Bender vibe to it. The character designs are gorgeous and seem lovingly crafted. Shows a lot of potential. But it goes downhill fast. The animation is over all very jarring to watch and doesn’t look well done. The plot is moving at break neck speed. Covering in 20 minutes what …
I really wish this one had ended up better. There’s a lot of potential but just too many issues all around.
I’m the one saying Senran Kagura Shinovi masters animation is bad, this looks on par if not worse in places.
…wow, and I’m the one saying Senran Kagura Shinovi masters animation is bad, this looks on par if not worse in places. Just wow 🙂
I’m not watching that one so can’t really compare, however this one is definitely going to make itself impossible to recommend even if the story ends up brilliant.
Haha: that title was pretty hilarious😂 Well…I think I will reserve this one for a bingewatch as from what I am hearing here it doesn’t sound like I’m missing out really on this. That said: admittedly tge story still sounds pretty cool, pretty much the sole reason that I am not crossing it off my list altogether😀
Yeah, as I said it is a bit of a shame because the story is quite interesting but they just need the execution to at least reach average levels but there’s been a lot of misses in the presentation so far. It isn’t unwatchable but it is definitely distracting in some scenes.
I usually don’t mind when the animation levels aren’t good, especially when the series itself is enjoyable. But, this sounds like it’s having a pretty big impact on the viewing experience. I will keep that in mind when I start my bingewatch for this 😊