Yasuke

There is one thing that simply cannot be denied about Yasuke: this anime series is definitely not boring! It is a combination of unpredictability, crazy plot twists - just a show that surprises you with something new in every episode, until you start frequently cracking an amused, sometimes even ironic smile, and the thought "What the hell am I watching here?" crosses your mind. It is almost as if Netflix gave the screenwriters absolute freedom to do whatever they wanted, and they quite seriously threw absolutely every batshit crazy thing they could think of related to Japan and the fantasy genre into the screenplay. In truth, I just would not be surprised if Nazi zombies riding dinosaurs came out of nowhere, or if it turned out that aliens were actually behind everything, wanting to take over the world through the sale of soy sauce. However, even without that, there was still plenty of weird stuff... It is pretty insane at times, the story flies along at a pretty brisk pace, and a lot just happens because in the fantasy world it can, and when you might be subconsciously thinking you might want an explanation, if you are lucky you are treated to one terse sentence explaining why that character is there, or what just happened. It is weird, it is fucking nuts, it is even quite cringe-worthy at times, however, it all somehow holds together and works well. Yasuke is a strange combination of tradition and an unorthodox modern take on it, which by its very nature should contradict itself, and that does happen sometimes. However, after saying all that, it also combines the two things in a new and unusual way which ends up unexpectedly working in the way that it brings in a lot of innovative and refreshing ideas to the table. It is almost like they are trying to convince me that anything goes in the animation industry, and I kind of believe them. However, at the same time, I sometimes think that I have never seen such terrible narrative exposition or massive load of horsehit in my entire life. In truth, I am not sure, if the first season needed more episodes than this, but I wish some things had been explained in a better way, and that some of the storylines were better developed. I also wish that the secondary characters had been given more screen time in comparison with the main protagonist (because the only character I got to know really well and found likable during this season was him). However, on the other hand, the pace was just right and made the episodes fly by, and not get boring, which was refreshing (and again I repeat - I did not find it boring at all). On the whole, I am not really sure how much I really liked it. I alternated between amusement and "WTF?" moments which only signified irony and disbelief - sometimes I wanted to get excited about what I was seeing, sometimes I wanted to bang my head against the wall. It was not just about all the plot twists, there was the dialogue, which was sometimes very good and other times just, well, bizarre... What I can say is that in the field of animation, the MAPPA animation studio is doing extraordinary work. The fights are pleasantly fluid, gory, and graphic, and the battles look pretty epic. The magic is colorful, intense, and spellbinding, it just really feels as powerful and engaging (sometimes it is a bit over the top, but that is fine) as it should be in fantasy series. About the soundtrack, I am not very qualified to talk about electronic music, and I have always been pretty clear that I think it is primarily suited to science fiction games (like Mass Effect) and movies (Blade Runner), however, using it on the soundtrack to a fantasy set in feudal Japan? You would think someone must have lost it! However, surprisingly, it works really well... The soundtrack is great. The opening is a beautiful track that I am tempted to download and listen to in its entirety, the ending is not bad. The rest of the music in the background is a combination of various traditional motifs (like the drums) and electronic music, which suits the katana fights beautifully, and its beats are often in sync with the characters' movements, so you can tell that whoever did the fight scenes did them to on the music, or maybe the composer wrote the music to the fight scenes he was watching, in other words, they work well together. Likewise, if you are listening, the music really resonates, and it complements the atmosphere of the show... Flying Lotus really knows what he is doing in that regard, and I am now a fan! All in all, I found this to be an interesting anime series with high production values that is either something completely unique and innovative in terms of its plot or otherwise a total shamble. It could however quite possibly be a bit of both. Is it cool, or is it nonsense? I will leave that for you to figure out on your own, I do really recommend you check it out... Also, I guess any kind of rating is understandable, I ended up somewhere in the middle, however, on the whole, the animation and soundtrack raised it to a slightly above-average for me, so 6/10. (29/04/2021) (moins) (plus)