Hey so what does everyone think of Schwarzesmarken? Its definitely showing promise with its first episode, being a definite watch for me. I like the cold-war setting that it uses as it just helps with the atmosphere of the show a lot. Its a kinda pleasent surprise to see an earth-based anime that isn't set in Japan for a change, and I feel that the first episode has conveyed what the anime is gonna be very well. I have a hunch that it is going to get much darker than it currently is (tbh its already pretty dark) and the double cliffhanger (you miss the second one if you don't watch past the credits)it has left us on is making me very eager for when the next episode releases. Who was the man seen executing a room full of people towards the end, and what role is he going to play in the future episodes? Who is Alfred Strachwitz, and why is Katia looking for him? So many questions left to be answered, and I'm on the edge of my seat out of expectation.
This isn't to say that I don't have some knitpicks with it though. These are all minor, but I might as well mention them. Firstly, while it is very solid in terms of concept, I can't help but notice that it shares a number of similarities to AoT. Between the whole "humanity's existence is under threat from a new, previously impossible, so it must fight for our survival" concept (while not unique to this and AoT, it feels like the execution was much more similar to the latter than it is to other shows both in and out of anime that I've seen), the dark undertones, the military setting, the non-human antagonist race and the European setting (Attack on Titan's location is most likely based on Europe wheras this is set in cold war Germany), it is definitely showing a large number of similarities which I'm struggling to ignore when watching. Secondly, the presence of mechs is kinda jarring considering that this is 1977 and it is far more likely that the war would have halted their development as opposed to accelerating it to the high-performance ones seen in the anime. It kinda kills the atmosphere at times as a result. Finally, the character design and voiceover seem kinda off. The designs of a handful of the characters (most noticably Kaita's design) seems very anime-y, feeling very much out of place given the European setting, and I feel like having the voice acting in german and utilising kanji subtitles that would be displayed when airing/viewing in Japan would have been far more appropriate given the setting. While the latter is kinda excusable due to the fact that this is a Japanese medium, I feel that both of these do have an effect on the experience that I have of watching the show and take away from the feel of authenticity - especialy when combined with the presence of mechs. Like I said befor thoughe, these are mostly minor and don't have a large effect on my opinion of the show, so do give it a watch as it looks like it will be a good seies.
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Episode 2 of ERASED came out and I'm happy to say that it is on an upward trajectory from its already-amazing start. The plot/concept feels unique and it is being executed in a very mature and well-considered fashion; it is showing its dark tone without completely depressing the viewer (which is brilliant execution to say the least) and it seems to be lacking any clichés or immaturity thus far without showing any signs of heading down such a route. Additionally, it isn't rushing through character development or the thoughts of the main character for the sake of advancing the plot, which mens that after just two episodes we already have a large amount of visible character development.
The characters of Fujinuma Satoru and Hinazuki Kayo are complex and already showing signs of layering after us knowing them both for just two and one episode(s), respectively, and their relationship feels like it is well thought-out and showing a deep complexity which is already beginning to rival the levels that most shows take four to six episodes to reach, and I am personally looking forward to seeing it fleshed out even more. If I'm honest, their relationship has a vaigue resemblance to that of Taiga and Ryuuji from Toradora! at this very early stage in that the two characters are polar opposites in many ways while being direct parallels in others, to the point of reluctantly clicking after a reasonably low level of character interraction, and this leads to me having high expectations for future interractions.
Not gona say anything final cuz its super early, butI can definitely say that this has the potential to become AotS if it continues on its upward trajectory, and if I'll be honest and say that I am sad about having to wait another week to see the next chapter in this story. I am trying to avoid reading the manga so as to not spoil any of the anime, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up succumbing to the urge to read on past the point which the anime has reached at some point.
