So, I watched the third episode of Hand Shakers tonight and... I probably won't be finishing this series. While there thankfully wasn't nearly as much of the ridiculous swirling camera tricks which plagued the first episode, the CGI animation in battle scenes still felt very flat, sluggish and lifeless. Even though some scenes individually looked cool (such as boss girl running along the side of a building), they didn't fit together into any kind of exciting or energetic whole. Nearly every action is performed as if the characters were pushing through molasses, which isn't exactly the vibe you want for a heart-pounding Shonen action show.
The episode also felt absurdly dragged out with almost nothing of note happening. Pretty much the entirety of the "date" and (mostly pointless and uninteresting) banter between the MCs and the new rival characters should've been cut down to brief montage shot, or at least severely abridged instead of eating up more then half of the episode with its inanity.
Koyori still manages to be the most utterly uninteresting heroine I can recall from recent anime, simply for the fact that she never freaking talks or expresses anything but the most rudimentary emotions. There's a difference between being a cute fragile girl meant to inspire protective feelings in the audience and being simply a blank doll with no personality whatsoever, and Koyori, alas, falls squarely in the latter camp. I mean, I appreciate "moe" as much as any good otaku, but I do have some standards. Even the most bargain-bin genki girl or tsundere would be more appealing then this vacant non-entity.
While the overall chuuni atmosphere kind of interests me, at this rate it definitely looks like the show won't be getting very much better then its lackluster opening.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart
