__MoBlack’s avatar__MoBlack’s Twitter Archive—№ 11,519

                                                  1. This is it. It's here. The Fall 2020 Mo Black review thread what do you mean it's spring? How about you SPRING into the garbage where you belong Anyway, as usual I don't rate things out of 10 but with a custom scaling system docs.google.com/document/d/1hsaEOm4qLu25Tikv-_7uZuoYgv0VKN-vp0mvxLaB3Xw/edit?usp=sharing
                                                1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                                  King's Raid Recommendation: do not recommend Coherence: Sloppy Politics: Reactionary
                                                  oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                                              1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                                I took my first look at King's Raid because I was told it would be the next anime fascists sort of glom on to and refuse to let go. It ended up not being that. King's Raid is a fantasy starring a dude name Kasel and his RPG-style party on a quest to inherent his father's legacy
                                            1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                              ...and defeat the dark lord of evil. It bills itself as a grand, sweeping, classic fantasy adventure. It's perhaps a little TOO classic because the story is so predictable and recycled you can tell everything the show is about to do next.
                                          1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                            In fall I had this game where I would check in and look for orcs - since the show mentions they exist in the first few episodes but hides them from the viewer until episode 11. This is because the orc designs are extremely racist
                                            oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                                        1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                          That plus some tacky fanservice gives King's Raid the "reactionary" rating from me on the political side. But it's not even the most problematic anime out there. I wasn't mad or anything, just bored and annoyed
                                      1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                        Akudama Drive Recommendation: recommend Coherence: Coherent Politics: Basically theory [seal of approval]
                                        oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                                    1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                      Set in a dystopian future, a civil war in Japan pits Kanto against Kansai, where Kanto drops a new bomb so powerful it renders a huge part of the country uninhabitable. Kanto occupies Kansai much in the same way the US occupied Japan post WWII, and uses...
                                  1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                    ...Kansai as a capitalist production base. This story slaps hard
                                1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                  Its overtly anti-capitalist, anti-police, and anti-nationalist message, tied with bombastic characters and beautiful fight scenes tie together to make the show a truly unforgettable viewing experience. Akudama Drive is easily one of my favorite things to have ever been made
                              1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                                Our Last Crusade Recommendation: do not recommend Coherence: Sloppy Politics: Inoffensive
                                oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                            1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                              A magic empire and a technological empire find themselves in combat for a 100 years. A soldier from the tech side and a witch princess from the magic empire meetcute and fall in love in neutral territory, making this a Romeo and Juliet story with more politicking.
                          1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                            In theory, this is supposed to be a romance with heavy implications about war and oppression. In practice it's just... bad? Yeah that's it
                        1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                          The story neither understands how politics works nor how to write a compelling romance other than making the girls pretty and having them stand next to the male lead for a scene or two.
                      1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                        The centrism in this show is relentless. It sees two sides fighting and attributes the war to both sides being unable to forgive each other, even though the tech side are explicitly oppressive to magic users who just want liberation.
                    1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                      But it gets "inoffensive" over "reactionary" in the political section because its centrism is more boring than actively malicious like, say, Code Geass
                  1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                    Moriarty the Patriot Recommendation: recommend Coherence: Coherent Politics: Basically theory [seal of approval]
                    oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their APIoh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                  I was EXTREMELY skeptical of Moriarty. The MAL summary said something about a "noble seeking revenge against his heritage" and the first episode was a standard, edgy reverse-detective fair.
              1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                But then the second episode started talking about colonialism, the industrial revolution, the British Empire, and how the class system under capitalism corrupts people, and how the system needs to be overturned.
            1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
              Y'all this show uses "mutual aid" in dialogue CORRECTLY. I can't even get my DSA chapter to do that
          1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
            But it's not just good politics with Moriarty. The stories, which are adaptations for Sherlock Holmes novels you may have read, are extremely well done. The characters are all likeable and sexy. Every episode (except the first one) is a fucking blast. Amazing work here
        1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
          Taiso Samurai Recommendation: recommend Coherence: Coherent Politics: Inoffensive
          oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
      1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
        Okay so stop me if you've heard this one before: a sports legend past his prime is faced with the prospect that he can no longer compete with the new talent in his field. But rather than give up, he decides to train for one last competition to prove to himself he can still do it
    1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
      Yeah it's the premise of Cars 3 and a million other sports movies from the 2000s. But it's ALSO the premise of Taiso Samurai, and it's executed perfectly here
  1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
    This story has a perfect balance of humor, drama, and tension. I was surprised by how at the edge of my seat I was by the end, even though I can't tell a spinny horsey thing from a flipy bar thing in the Olympics.
    1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
      So there is a bit of queer-coding going on with some of the characters, where the show plays with your expectation that they would be creeps? But these characters end up being good people in the end. Your millage will vary on that front
      1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
        Warlords of Sigdrifa Recommendation: do no recommend Coherence: Passing grade Politics: Inoffensive
        oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
        1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
          So people were hyping up Sigdrifa as the next big thing for Re:Zero's Tappei Nagatsuki. So, having just been hounded by a bunch of Re:Zero stans, I decided to tune in and see what it was about
          1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
            Unfortunately for both me and them, Sigdrifa is actually not at all like Re:Zero. Different target audiences, different ages, different writing processes, differenge genres. There's not a load you can tell about Re:Zero from Sigdrifa or vice versa
            1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
              I mean it's a story? With a beginning? And ending? Cool I guess. I was nice seeing Nagatsuki give female characters arcs, unlike in Re:Zero where this does not happen. But having arcs does not make them good or interesting
              1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                I will say it was funny seeing everyone on MAL go "NOOO HOW CAN THE LEGENDARY GOAT WHO WROTE RE:ZERO WRITE SOMETHING BORING" like yeah welcome to my whole life lmao
                1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                  Dropout Idol Fruit Tart Recommendation: ??? Coherence: Passing grade Politics: Straight to hell
                  oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
                  1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                    So on paper, Fruit Tart is awful. It's a yuri show about idols that heavily romanticizes and sugarcoats the exploitation of teen girls rampant in the industry. The writing itself is incredibly repetitive and trope-driven
                    1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                      It's one of those anime you can't watch with other people because porn would probably be easier to explain.
                      1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                        On the other hand though, this show got me through, like, really stressful homework and a whole presidential election. It was my "turn your brain off" show. I had a lot of fun and finished it, noting, in every episode, every problematic and repetitive trope it was pulling.
                        1. …in reply to @__MoBlack
                          Calling Fruit Tart a "problematic fave" gives it too much credit. It's more like "problematic junk food". "do not recommend" implies I did not enjoy this show but I did. But "recommend" is really irresponsible of me as a reviewer so I'm leaving that blank