Eric Fontaine ’22, Darius Martin ’24, and Alec Compton ’22
Contributors and Arts & Culture Editor
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is one of the longest-running anime ever and one of the first anime I ever watched. This connection I have with the show makes it one of my favourites. The main character, Goku, is hilarious and is on a quest to keep finding and fighting the strongest people he can find to prove himself.
The fight scenes in the anime are some of the best I have ever seen, but unfortunately, they can last over many episodes. Dragon Ball is also one of the most iconic anime ever. Even those who do not watch anime have heard of Kamehameha, Goku’s iconic energy-beam move. The characters are decent, and the story is great, but Dragon Ball is so drawn out that it becomes banal over time. Regardless of my criticisms, I still think highly of Dragon Ball due to the sentimental value it holds for me. 8.5/10
One Punch Man
One Punch Man is by far one of the funniest animes I have ever watched. The main character, Saitama, is easily one of the most nonchalant characters in anime, and it is hilarious to see him standing like nothing’s happening during perilous situations. With a compelling storyline that questions the belief that power solves everything, One Punch Man’s first season is filled with amazing action scenes that capture my attention.
These scenes are complemented by the excellent soundtrack, which sets the scene and really helps the audience feel the emotions of the characters. While the second season falls short of the expectations set by the first, the fight scenes are far more elaborate while still allowing for many comedic moments. Overall, the two seasons of One Punch Man make for a very entertaining watch. 9/10
Star Wars Visions
Star Wars: Visions is a collection of anime episodes based on the Star Wars Universe. Disney licensed seven Japanese animation studios to produce nice unique episodes, not within Star Wars canon. One of the major strengths of these episodes is their art styles. Each episode uses its own unique colour palette and character design fantastically. The unique art styles help to make up for the very formulaic stories in a lot of these episodes. Despite often having similar stories, these episodes vary widely in quality. The opening episode, “The Duel,” for example, is excellent. The story follows a mysterious Jedi knight who defends a village from a Sith intruder, a plotline which resembles later and lesser episodes “The Village Bride” and “The Elder.” These episodes are of decent quality, but this formula does get very stale. Another very stale formula is the sibling rivalry formula, used by both “The Twins,” and “Lop and Ocho,” where one sibling is on the light side and the other, predictably, is on the dark side. Episodes that break from these formulas such as “Tatooine Rhapsody” often feel tonally off and are lacking in substance. But they serve as fun romps in between more serious episodes. Visions is compelling in premise, but its uniformity in storytelling, yet lack thereof in quality, holds it back from reaching its true potential. 6/10
Photo Credit: IMDB
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