灼眼のシャナ II Ep. 01
So, the second season is finally on. I’ve been browsing around online for the past couple of days and it seems that the general consensus is that this first episode is either a work of art or a lame attempt of putting some story behind a recap of the first season. Being the diplomat that I am, I’d have to put myself between these two extremes. There is, without a doubt, no question about the fact that the opening and ending songs and sequences are a work of art. I’ve watched them countless times and am eagerly awaiting its CD release and creditless versions of the videos. I didn’t buy any of the CDs from the first season but I’ll probably at least buy this season’s CD single, at least this first one anyway if the second one isn’t that hot. The best part is that both songs are on the same CD, which helps cut costs tremendously.
The art in question during the actual episode, unfortunately, wasn’t really something to call home about. I think that the fight scenes were improved but a lot of the scenes in the first half of the episode were a little iffy. I felt that practically everyone but Yuji’s face was a little too circular and wide. Maybe it was because it was an illusionary world (ahaha, what a sad excuse), I don’t know, but things just didn’t look very proportional to me for the most part.
I don’t really have any qualms about the story personally. Since I’ve actually played through the game on the NDS, the events that have transpired thus far are kind of like what did happen in the game. I’ll admit that it’s not exactly the same which caught me off guard a little but it’s close enough. I mean, the main idea is there, and that’s what counts. Anyway, here’s to hoping that we’ll get some good fighting next episode or the one after (depending on when Shana will actually fight Mea). I mean, given the art production of this episode, I can only hope that they’re saving their budget for some key scenes. :P
