“The Living Shadow” (part ten)
I can also see the logic in placing this chapter right after the previous one. Johnny isn't just a foil to Harry; he's also a much more experienced version of Harry who's been playing this game for many years to Harry's couple of months. Highlighting Johnny's skill and cunning against Harry's clumsiness and inexperience really builds Johnny up as a major challenge for him, as well as, ironically, sort of an aspirational figure.
Haibane Renmei E1: "Cocoon — Dream of Falling from the Sky — Old Home" (continued)
She might still be having some dysmorphia issues, but at least for not the conscious thrill of having angel wings is keeping it subdued.
Haibane Renmei E1: "Cocoon — Dream of Falling from the Sky — Old Home"
It's like one of those really weird dreams that you wake up from immediately wanting to tell people about, but then within seconds realize that it's too nonsensical to even communicate to someone. But somehow works anyway, at least so far.
Texhnolyze S1E5: “Loiter”
I'm not really sure what to make of this one. It was...something, alright. There were thematic threads running through it, but I'm not sure what they actually were. I might be better able to understand in retrospect. I hope.
“The Living Shadow” (part nine)
"Can be in multiple places at once" is becoming a hard conclusion to avoid.
Texhnolyze S1E4: “Synapse” (continued)
The pain, horror, and hopelessness of life under a kleptocracy.
Texhnolyze S1E4: “Synapse”
Fucking hell this guy gets raped a lot.
And dismembered a lot.
And orphaned a lot.
“The Living Shadow” (part eight)
Hopefully it'll get better again soon. These three chapters weren't as bad as some of the early stuff, but they sure weren't good either.
Texhnolyze S1E3: “Texhnophile”
Honestly, the weakest part of this show for me is how hard it leans on its aesthetics and style. I don't *dislike* the vibe it goes for, but the show spends way too much time setting the vibe with long silent shots, scenery montages, etc without doing much else, and I find the story more engaging than the scenery.
The Living Shadow (part six)
Let's snore through a little more of this slightly embarrassing cultural touchstone.
Texhnolyze S1E2: “Forfeiture” (continued)
His city turned into a hostile desert wasteland around him, leaving him to parch and die and leave his bones on its sandy bedrock.
Texhnolyze S1E2: “Forfeiture”
Losing two limbs in a world where prosthetics are this goddamned hard to talk or write about.
Texhnolyze S1E1: “Stranger”
The minimalist approach to storytelling makes it a little hard for me to get into the characters, since I don't understand much about what they're doing. It also feels like it's struggling to fill its 22 minute runtime without biting the bullet and having people talk. On the other hand, I do like the urban exploration sort of aesthetic, and while I only understand a few bits and pieces of the story it seems like it at least *could* be interesting.
“The Living Shadow” (part one)
The Shadow! He knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but that's literally the only thing I know about the Shadow. And even that much I only know because of a dad joke (told to me by my literal dad).