Quick Series Thoughts: Arknights – Prelude to Dawn

So with Arknights events back to back as the anime aired, I was more focused on that as well as my job.

Explaining that Skullshatterer and Misha are related made more sense in how it was depicted in the anime than it did in game. In game a lot of people made fun of the ‘Skullshatterer was a kind soul’ line uttered by Misha.

But making it out to be an older sister who was mourning the death of her (admittedly stupid) younger brother. Caught up in pain, in guilt, of the short reunion between them. She took up his guns but was in the end, unable to enact her revenge.

So my final thoughts?

BRING ON SEASON 2.

We get to see fan favorite boss, FrostNova, which I believe is what Season 2 will focus on. I hope it’s longer than 8 episodes though.

Ten Years

So I’m sure some people know I work for the US Federal Government.

Today, December 2nd, is my ten years. I got a nice little certificate and a pin. My blogging really tapered off as I started to focus more on that job over the years. I did swear an oath to uphold and defend my country’s constitution. And sometimes work really cuts into life.

I’m still around, but playing Arknights or other video games are truly a destresser compared to watching an anime episode to try and create content for it.

I’ll still be blogging, but I can’t believe it’s been that long.

 

 

Quick Thought – Arknights: Prelude to Dawn – Episode 4

So we’re at the halfway point of the eight episode run. I can see why it has a short season, apart from the obvious cost of producing an anime, Arknights is still a mobile game adaptation. But it’s more along the lines of Granblue Fantasy or Fate/Grand Order in terms of animation quality and not that weird production of Girls Frontline done by Warner.

My friends still refuse to acknowledge it outside of the cursed gun memes. When the animated comedy shorts are even better, you know you done fucked up.

The meeting with Chief Wei was a bit of a slog in the game but was what, five minutes in the anime. Really not enough to say “Wei the Cunning” to me. But then again, we see more and more of that in the game’s story as we go through the chapter. Who knows, Amiya was just there to ‘seal the deal’ that Kal’tsit had been working on for hours now.

I said it before but Arknights’ writing wasn’t totally the best until you get to some of the event materials and in my opinion, Chapter 9. Chapter 8 was quite blargh. Chapter 7 had its moments but I think what’s going to hurt the anime is just how mediocre the story is in the Reunion arc. It most definitely has to come down on the characters and animation to carry this season and any other season ordered until we get to later chapters.

Anyways, the latter half of the episode we start laying the groundwork for the boss character I’m not too fond of.

If I want to punch Mephisto for, reasons I won’t elaborate because it’s a bit of a story item, Skullshatterer I hate for a different reason. Skullshatterer (the character with the dual rotary grenade launchers) just brings up so many memories of the Che T-Shirt wearing buffoons I’ve met over the years.

Dokutahs probably know where I’m going with this. It’s a bit of a tragic thing, that someone can be so deluded into thinking someone is such a kind soul.

Speaking of tragic things. My friend and I were watching the episode and on voice comms in Discord.

Infected Boy: We’ll hide real good. They won’t find us.
Me: But they just found you.
Infected Girl: But they found us just now.

Cue laughter and needing to pause to get a bit of a breather.

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Once again just doing these little short things. Arknights: Prelude to Dawn is really more a quick summary of the game’s story wrapped up in fancy new animations. Granted again, with how Yostar screwed the pooch on the Azur Lane anime, Hypergryph wanting none of that and making an anime studio for their game is just a flex in my honest opinion. They’re a music production company with a mobile game and animation studio.

A Tale of a Shark, a Bird, a Fish, and the Ship of Fools

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too”

Vincent van Gogh

Specter the Unchained (center), Irene (left) and Lumen (right) by suketoudara

FUUUUUCK the last section stages. But the Stultifera Navis event is done. I’m gonna spend the next few months leveling Surtr and then hopefully getting Chalter and the Gavial banner.

 

I think of all the little bits of lore added, this item was what shook me the most. Breogan went from the man who orchestrated Iberia’s Golden Age, to the one who was seen by its populace as having destroyed the country. Only few knew the truth, and no one spoke in his defense.

 

He died facing his killers in a back alley, his last wishes forgiving them and wishing all those he knew above on land and those under the sea good luck. Poignant.

 

These events, and frankly anything past the Reunion arc, starting with Chapter 9, is where Arknights really started to hit its stride with the writing.

Quick Thought – Arknights: Prelude to Dawn Ep 2 and Ep 3

So, why didn’t I make a post the last week or so? Apart from recovering from a bout of Strep, I was also dealing with the Stultifera Navis event that launched on Global.

GOLDEN AGE WILL RETURN AGAIN

Yeah, got my goal, the Guard operator Irene (voiced by Rie Kugimiya), also got the main draw for the event, the Specialist operator Specter the Unchained. Along the way I also got me a Defender operator Mudrock and Guard operator Surtr. Basically I finished everything up to the EX stages this morning.

ANYWAYS, thoughts on the two episodes.

Three Episode Rule – Arknights: Prelude to Dawn – Episode 1

Welcome Home, Dokutah!

These posts will be quick thoughts, as most of the time I’m just going to state some things and be on my merry way. I won’t have much to say in terms of the story and I’ll probably make little observations here and there on what changed, or how they’re integrating gameplay elements into the anime, etc. And even then I may just not do something for that week and prolly just say something on Twatter.

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Episode Thoughts:

I believe Hypergryph learned from the Azur Lane anime adaptation and is sticking as close to the ‘Main Theme’ as much as possible. Unlike say, Kantai Collection or the other aforementioned Yostar gacha game, Arknights has a rather engaging story. Hell, each ‘Operator’ has a story to tell and is sometimes much more interesting than the main theme.

The new roguelike mode they’ve added with many alternate endings (only the first/main ending is the true one) showcase an operator’s death (Ceobe please stop eating the shrooms) or the end of all life on Terra (with not!Skadi wanting your love still). So I don’t have anything to say for the story department other than this:

If you’re a Dokutah, provided you didn’t skip the story (I did for Ep8 and 9, so I need to watch those later), I reckon this is all something we’ve seen before. If you’re not a Dokutah, this is a good way to catch up I think. We’ll see if it holds true for the run of this show.

Visually the anime is a bit gritty, this isn’t some happy fun times.

Otherwise I can’t really comment, planning/controlling the operators on a smartphone is pretty meta, and the hexagonal world map is taken directly from the game, so it’s amusing to see.

I hope game Doctors won’t ruin it for the anime-only crowd, as I think to get the first three stages of the Reunion arc before getting too deep into the story would make or break this and any future installments. So I’m hoping for the show’s success, Hypergryph has made an excellent OVA and have done great animated and 3D stuff to hype up their game. The music is also top notch if I say so myself.

Oh, and to prove I’m also a Dokutah? Unless people haven’t seen my various stage clears on YouTube, here’s my card.

TANSTAAFL

Lycoris Recoil – Episode 13: Recoil of Lycoris

A most satisfying conclusion to a surprise hit of the season, Lycoris Recoil reinvigorated a niche genre but captured the attention of those outside the military otaku circles.

Lycoris Recoil – Episode 12: Nature versus nurture

One plot has been taken cared of in this episode, the penultimate one, and its resolution brings to mind what I think is a timeless question that has gained much relevance and use in the past few decades.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Or more popularly known through Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel Watchmen as “who watches the watchmen?”

Lycoris Recoil – Episode 11: Diamond cut diamond

“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Winston Churchill

We’ve come at the beginning of the end. I believe two more episodes left, according to next-episode and MAL. A very apt title in my mind, as you got two diamonds coming into a head this episode.

Lycoris Recoil – Episode 10: Repay evil with evil

One last set-up episode for the road, before the end. A lot of chickens are coming home to roost, eh? I can’t wait for the last few episodes now. Everything is all coming together.