I honestly don't know what happened between s1 and s2, but I hope the reverse of it happens between s2 and s3. That's really all that's needed, no need to go the extra mile in an attempt to reinvent yet again. I'm legit curious about the reception on the Japanese side, because we all know that's what they're gonna listen to - are they as disappointed as most of us outside seem to be?
It's not like s1 was some outstanding technical or artistic marvel phenomenon, but it sure was animated through the season, and yeah, it definitely had great standout scenes. There was also so much uh, anatomy for lack of a better word, bodies all up in our face, incredible closeups and details, and that's despite the near-constant bodysuits (or perhaps because of those). Sure there were pacing issues, but at this point that's more like a perennial, general anime thing, rather than anything work-specific.
S2, however, has indeed been more of a slideshow, from start to finish - I wouldn't even begrudge the particle effects themselves, but those most certainly should not be the only gimmick. We do get an incredible lot of closeups of CGI feet- well, shoes, really, for whatever reason; most everything else is slow panning and/or zooming. Labels and nameplates on everyone in every episode as if we need that (and then second harf, how on earth does something like that slip by in something this international). Off the field scenes, seem to be normal, almost a breath of fresh air, if only in comparison to the match itself. The bodies just feel wrong, like everyone got compressed, everyone's a short and stocky gremlin, height or build differences barely noticeable unless the appropriate characters are standing right next to each other - idk if it's the uniforms or whatever, but it's jarring. And the pacing... oh gods. U20, but hey we gotta have a selection first, but hey we can only spend like 4 episodes on idek how many matches because, y'know, U20, and it's only 14 episodes this time. Geez.
Idk what the hell happened between s1 and s2 - if there ever was a case when the anime could've/should've just gone on, business as usual, because pretty much everything was great and minor improvements would've been more than well enough, it was this. Instead it felt like we got bait-and-switched, like the entire foundation was demolished, to start with a clean slate... for what reason? From all we can tell, the franchise is still swimming- heck, drowning in money. I can't imagine s2 cost more than s1, so whatever money was saved on it, well... I sure hope they use it for s3 to reverse this curse. It doesn't even need "saving" per se, they don't have to brainstorm to come up with ideas to salvage a wreck, we don't need a miracle. Return to however s1 was produced, I reckon it'd be more than enough to make us forget about this travesty. |