qaiz
Pokémon Master
Kaiba - Episodes 1 - 5 (out of 12)
The show itself has an overarching theme, one about memories and our physical being and the marriage between the two and the importance of identity. The stories are great and it’s clear that a lot of thought and consideration has gone into the research and preparation for Kaiba. Each episode although strung together is of an episodic nature, and each episode nestled with its own tragedies. It’s a sad show, and emotional one and a really well made one, however I must admit that the flamboyance of some scenes and the comedy can get in the way of it all, and sometimes it’s hard to know if I’m supposed to cry at a scene as a sad scene goes into a funny one that hits you with its punchy visuals.
So far I can say without a doubt that I’m enjoying this series and know that it’s a special one that I should savour, and although it’s the visuals that attracted me to the series in the first place, I’ve never been one for theatrics and the mishmash of scenes and emotions might be too much for me. I wanted to be unanimously positive for this series, but unfortunately something hasn’t truly clicked for me yet, which is a shame. Some episodes are phenomenal and others are great with things littered here and there that take me out of my otherwise meditative state that the show has me in. In the end I’m still enjoying it a lot and I'm fully immersed in the series, I just find that a few moments pull me out and sour my feelings.
So I just watched the first five episodes of Kaiba, a 2008 animated series directed by Masaaki Yuasa, the man behind fan favorites Ping Pong, The Tatami Galaxy and Mind Game among many other striking series and films. Like the aforementioned two series, Kaiba is a short series capping off at 12 episodes. Right off of the bat I will admit to the dismay of many here in this thread that I have never seen any of his other series but I’m nevertheless well aware of his talents. I have to say that the series if pretty weird, and that's not directed at the striking visuals but at the fact that I don’t know how to feel about the series so far. What I expected to be a knockout has instead left me neither here nor there. I guess that's a bit of a lie because my viewing experience so far has been very positive, but at the same time it's striking me in the manner that I didn't expected it to. First things first, the OP is great and makes for an apt introduction to each and every episode, with a catchy song and beautiful visuals that represent the quality of the series perfectly. It’s a fantastic looking show with inspired character designs by Nobutake Ito who also did the character designs for The Tatami Galaxy and that much is obvious at first glance. The visuals pop and come to life with each and every frame and really in a series like this, one that is so reliant on its characters it’s great that the designs are as vibrant and varied and interesting as they are. The music is also nice but is what it is, a few tracks get my mind racing and blood pumping and it’s all appropriately arranged. Voice acting is perfect and I have no qualms here. Each line is delivered with conviction and the voice actors really sell each and every line and deliver the emotional punches in quick succession.
The show itself has an overarching theme, one about memories and our physical being and the marriage between the two and the importance of identity. The stories are great and it’s clear that a lot of thought and consideration has gone into the research and preparation for Kaiba. Each episode although strung together is of an episodic nature, and each episode nestled with its own tragedies. It’s a sad show, and emotional one and a really well made one, however I must admit that the flamboyance of some scenes and the comedy can get in the way of it all, and sometimes it’s hard to know if I’m supposed to cry at a scene as a sad scene goes into a funny one that hits you with its punchy visuals.
So far I can say without a doubt that I’m enjoying this series and know that it’s a special one that I should savour, and although it’s the visuals that attracted me to the series in the first place, I’ve never been one for theatrics and the mishmash of scenes and emotions might be too much for me. I wanted to be unanimously positive for this series, but unfortunately something hasn’t truly clicked for me yet, which is a shame. Some episodes are phenomenal and others are great with things littered here and there that take me out of my otherwise meditative state that the show has me in. In the end I’m still enjoying it a lot and I'm fully immersed in the series, I just find that a few moments pull me out and sour my feelings.
