Spring 2019 – Week 12 in Review

Anime was good again, folks! After a punishing drought, my seasonal contenders emerged with episodes that were, if not full returns to each of their strengths, at least indicative of their potential. Demon Slayer had one of its most visually astounding episodes yet, with the tight geometric confines and perspective-based conceit of its latest battle allowing ufotable’s team to pull off a truly astonishing spectacle. Carole & Tuesday finally felt like it was regaining some momentum, and gave us our first new song by its leads in three weeks. And JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continued to center its drama on an extremely no-nonsense talking turtle, a choice which obviously justifies itself. There’s plenty more details to discuss, so let’s dive right into another Week in Review!

This week’s Demon Slayer was simultaneously one of the show’s most impressive demonstrations of its substantial production strengths, and also one of the clearest possible illustrations of how little those strengths can do to salvage this underlying material.

On the positive side: holy shit. I mentioned last week how the unique perspective-shifting powers of this current opponent naturally benefitted from Demon Slayer’s digital approach to sets and combat, and this week cashed in on that combination to beautiful effect. The sequences of Tanjiro being thrown around the room as the floor shifted against him, constantly trying to regain footing and press his advantage, were a thrilling demonstration of hand drawn/CG integration at its best. The show has at times been forced to lean on its CG models for its lengthier movement sequences, but they pulled out all the stops here to make sure Tanjiro’s tumbles were all captured in fluid, traditionally animated cuts. Meanwhile, Zenitsu’s lightning slash featured some beautiful effects animation, and vividly conveyed the tremendous, terrifying impact of that single strike.

And yet, and yet, and yet… the dialogue. Every moment Zenitsu wasn’t unconscious was utter misery, with his whiny, abrasive comments and repetitive, ridiculous faces only getting more intolerable by the second. Zenitsu is every insufferable gimmick shonen friend rolled into one, and his preeminence in the show’s OP indicates he’s probably never going away. Other issues aside, I’m not sure I could ever stick with a show that prioritizes a character like Zenitsu. And of course, there were other issues – like Tanjiro’s speech to this week’s opponent, that might as well have read “I am a shonen protagonist. I am the hero of this story. You won’t beat me, and instead, I will defeat you!” All the cool production assets in the world can’t save this narrative and this script.

Carole & Tuesday at last began its long climb out of the darkness this week, as the focus on Cybelle’s sabotage restored at least a portion of the momentum from earlier episodes. Cybelle’s character never felt particularly interesting to me, but the aftermath of her sabotage ended up giving a variety of other characters a chance to shine, with Angela and her mother both benefiting from some time spent as observers rather than antagonists.

While there are parts of this show’s approach to the music industry that seem simplistically cynical, Angela has always stood as an interesting counterpoint to that attitude. She is both completely prefabricated and also completely genuine, a fashion icon backed by dark money and computer-generated songs who nonetheless takes honest pride in her drive and talent, and who could never have made it this far without those personal qualities. Seeing her lash out at her assistant for allegedly denying those strengths felt very natural, and I’ll be interested in seeing how the fallout makes her reconsider her responsibilities to those around her. That explosion also served as a tidy counterpoint to Cybelle’s actions, with this episode illustrating both the earnest joy and ugliness of fandom across its three leads. And with the episode ending on a dynamically storyboarded and animated abduction, it seems the Mars Brightest status quo has at last come to an end. This has definitely been a weak arc, but I think we may be reaching the end of Carole & Tuesday’s current struggles.

As for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, I have to admit that my capacity for objectivity regarding this final arc has been severely handicapped by Polnareturtle. Every time that fucking turtle starts explaining some preposterous new twist in their circumstances, I feel thankful anew that Araki was able to write such glorious bullshit, and that his audience was wise enough to turn this franchise into a genuine phenomenon. Seeing the turtle included in JoJo’s freeze-frame reaction shots, explaining the nature of split personalities, or providing the focus point of a dramatic To Be Continued shot is a joy like few other in anime, a joy I’m not sure I’ve experienced since the equally bullshit The Lost Village. God bless you Polnareturtle.

As for the actual narrative of this episode, to be honest, I’m still not sure how this strange combination of variables is going to pull together into a satisfying final fight. That’s not even necessarily a critique (though I do think we’ve spent a bit too much time now in confusion and explanation) – this fight is just far less straightforward than prior final fights, and choices like the introduction of powered-up Stands have yet to prove themselves in either direction. Narancia’s death was a little abrupt, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have enjoyed a lengthy Narancia eulogy anyway, and what we did receive was quite gracefully executed. If I have any one central complaint about this fight, it’s that the terms of engagement are largely unclear – the mechanics and stakes are too loosely defined to really feel like the characters are in clear peril, or what specifically they must do to avert that peril. But these recent episodes have been so full of totally unexpected swerves that I’m perfectly happy letting Araki hold onto the wheel, and simply marveling at the delirious sights along the way.

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