Undead Unluck ep.8 thoughts
[Coming Down Like the Hammer of Thor]
(Contents: animation)
I'm going to start by saying that this was a better episode than last week's and that I did like it. I want that to be clear
That said, I think I finally understand how to describe what it is that I don't like about Yuki Yase's style, or at least about its application to Undead Unluck specifically: the shot composition
Everything is really zoomed out, so whatever part of the action our eye was originally supposed to be drawn to or was supposed to be emphasized in the manga is just another part of the shot here, which I suppose works fine for conversation-heavy series like Monogatari or Nisekoi, but for a Shonen battle series??? I really don't think that's the right way to go about it
Victor slashing up Spoil in real time was cool, but the final shot of him coming out the other side with Spoil's core didn't have the same impact that I think it should have. Victor kicking and punching Shen so hard that his own limbs broke and immediately healed was rad, but it took up so little of the screen that I had to specifically look for it. Everything also just felt really...slow. In the manga I always feel like everything's happening faster than the eye can see thanks to how Tozuka frames it and how frequently people get taken off guard, but this felt like watching molasses pour
I wonder if that's the price to be paid for getting full animation rather than semi-animated static shots, like perhaps the specific changes in perspective would be too difficult with the level of flow they want to have between frames? I'm not an animator, so I don't know, I just can't help but feel that one of the monkey's fingers has curved into the paw
The red filter was also pretty rough on the eyes. It's dramatic, but not in a way I care for. I think having it for key moments is fine, but having it through the entire back half of the episode feels like a bit much to me
I do like the shot of Victor's arm landing and regenerating though, the reveal of Victor was pretty cool and exciting. I also appreciated that they went out of their way to show the kids getting to safety, that was always a concern with how this fight goes and we only found out in an omake much later that the kids were nowhere near the fight
This episode made it about halfway through chapter 17, though it changed up the order a little bit. With that, we only need to go through a chapter and a half next week to reach a good cutoff for the episode, which should give each scene a little more breathing room. I have high hopes that it will be at least a solid episode if not the best one so far
Overall, I think most people won't have the complaints that I do; the animation is fluid and impressive, the art itself is good and stylized, I just personally don't think it fits with the style of Undead Unluck specifically. I'm always saying that UU has an iconic panel nearly every week, and I don't feel like David Productions is capturing that, but maybe to a non-reader these moments are super cool in and of themselves. I certainly hope that's the case, if I'm the only one with a problem, that's a win in my book
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