ayase
State Alchemist
You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle 1-5
In which multinational corporations function like hereditary monarchies, Saori is put on the Tōkairin bus, Natsumi takes fashion tips from Melissa Mao and the art of taiyaki making and the excretory functions of snakes are explained. And then there's THIS:
Well, shows what I know because apparently drifting a FWD car is possible, sort of (though that Civic has an extra 1000cc's on the Today which I suspect would just quickly grind to a halt) but it is also a bit friggin' pointless
Putting suspension of drift-belief aside, this season feels a lot more modern, for good or ill. The production values have clearly gone up and we get some really nice animation (it also seems very well directed) but from the progression and change of Season 2 it seems to have all gone a bit business as usual. What happened to Natsumi's new job? What happened to Ken and Miyuki's slightly more developed and formalised relationship? Who knows? Who cares? They're just going to be glossed over for the sake of returning to the status quo, it looks like.
I was a little surprised at the decision to immediately write out Saori after they spent a season integrating her into the main cast (pretty well, I might add) but this does appear to have resulted in more Aoi and Yoriko time, which is a trade I'll take. The comedy and the fanservice seem more obviously played-up here than they were, though this is probably just a reflection of the times - A full six years had gone by since Season 2 when Full Throttle started airing (and just over ten since the TV show began) so tastes and styles are naturally going to change.
And perhaps it was the right decision to go back to basics - The core cast are front and centre again and after the two-part rather Hollywood action style opener (I have to wonder if the writers had a Sonoda moment and visited the US) we seem to be settling once again into episodic cases by turns comedic and dramatic. That perhaps isn't the most satisfying for those who, like me, were looking forward to more development and building on the plot threads and relationships of the previous season but I'll be damned if it isn't bloody entertaining. Only time will tell if these threads get picked up again - Balancing the wants and expectations of fans of the earlier seasons with trying to make the show accessible to new fans after such a lengthy gap can't have been easy, and I can't say I'm really disappointed since the show is still so much fun and is looking better than it has since the OVAs.
One more thing - The music. I've enjoyed the YUA themes up until now, but I'm finding FF's themes pretty underwhelming. I also kinda miss the familiar music cues which were used throughout seasons 1 & 2, though I can understand them being retired after so long.
In which multinational corporations function like hereditary monarchies, Saori is put on the Tōkairin bus, Natsumi takes fashion tips from Melissa Mao and the art of taiyaki making and the excretory functions of snakes are explained. And then there's THIS:
Well, shows what I know because apparently drifting a FWD car is possible, sort of (though that Civic has an extra 1000cc's on the Today which I suspect would just quickly grind to a halt) but it is also a bit friggin' pointless
Putting suspension of drift-belief aside, this season feels a lot more modern, for good or ill. The production values have clearly gone up and we get some really nice animation (it also seems very well directed) but from the progression and change of Season 2 it seems to have all gone a bit business as usual. What happened to Natsumi's new job? What happened to Ken and Miyuki's slightly more developed and formalised relationship? Who knows? Who cares? They're just going to be glossed over for the sake of returning to the status quo, it looks like.
I was a little surprised at the decision to immediately write out Saori after they spent a season integrating her into the main cast (pretty well, I might add) but this does appear to have resulted in more Aoi and Yoriko time, which is a trade I'll take. The comedy and the fanservice seem more obviously played-up here than they were, though this is probably just a reflection of the times - A full six years had gone by since Season 2 when Full Throttle started airing (and just over ten since the TV show began) so tastes and styles are naturally going to change.
And perhaps it was the right decision to go back to basics - The core cast are front and centre again and after the two-part rather Hollywood action style opener (I have to wonder if the writers had a Sonoda moment and visited the US) we seem to be settling once again into episodic cases by turns comedic and dramatic. That perhaps isn't the most satisfying for those who, like me, were looking forward to more development and building on the plot threads and relationships of the previous season but I'll be damned if it isn't bloody entertaining. Only time will tell if these threads get picked up again - Balancing the wants and expectations of fans of the earlier seasons with trying to make the show accessible to new fans after such a lengthy gap can't have been easy, and I can't say I'm really disappointed since the show is still so much fun and is looking better than it has since the OVAs.
One more thing - The music. I've enjoyed the YUA themes up until now, but I'm finding FF's themes pretty underwhelming. I also kinda miss the familiar music cues which were used throughout seasons 1 & 2, though I can understand them being retired after so long.
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