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REVIEW: Gen:LOCK




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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1291
PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:29 pm Reply with quote
I thoroughly enjoyed gen:LOCK! On the topic of the voice talents generally being part of the production team, it is worth noting that Michael B. Jordan IS one of the Executive Producers of the show. The final episode seemed to hint that the Union spoiler[might have managed to make more copies of Chase's brain, with the "last words" of "Nemesis"], so that could hint at a direction for the conflict. There's also the possibility that spoiler[the two versions of Chase merged in some manner, compromising his sanity] not to mention spoiler[the fact that he's not full-time out of body, so that could lead to problems as well].

I thought the writers did a great job of creating a cast of misfits with issues, for the most part. It was made clear that gen:LOCK compatibility was rare and involved mental resilience, but there appears to be a tendency toward a sort of rebellious type as well. I agree that there was a very larger Snow Crash vibe, especially in the virtual reality internet system they use.

spoiler[Also, I'm pretty sure Chase's sister was in that virtual reality world right before it was shut down in the episode they were in it, so that adds another potential plot line.]

EDIT: Oh... and RWBY hasn't used Poser for a few seasons now. They've moved beyond that.
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Color2413



Joined: 08 Jul 2014
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:45 pm Reply with quote
Based on watching the first three episodes, I feel that I should of liked this more than I did. There's something about the writing that falls flat for me (the humor, for example), and it feels overly dependent on Hollywood action tropes. I intend to watch a few more episodes, but this is one of the shows in my "I'll watch when I get around to it" category, as opposed to "I need to see this the same day it is released" (for example, Dororo and Mob Psycho).
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Robert Comer



Joined: 18 Mar 2019
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:49 pm Reply with quote
I saw this show mentioned on facebook, so i gave it a try and cannot express my surprise in just how much i liked it. The animation is crude by anime standards, but the story is definitely excellent. I definitely want more episodes!

The only real thing I can complain about is they really don't get into just what the Union is, but then again, I like to know who I'm fighting rather than just a name. Smile
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Sven Laguz



Joined: 07 Feb 2019
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 7:12 pm Reply with quote
I may be alone on this, but I rather disliked Gen Lock. Most of the characters seemed rather bland to me, except Cammie and Razzle. Cammie is great. Chase's personality is something I just not found appealing for the main character, put off by how he can be a jerk at times.

The plot was just... eh. I commend the art style and understand that the first season may not turn out as well as hoped, so it goes with my "first season mercy" rule. I mean, looking at the Dragon Prince, the animation definitely got better between Seasons 1 and 2. There were many points in the show that I feel RWBY just did better.

Overall, not feeling it. Might give Season 2 a look, but overall, not entirely impressed
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Philmister978



Joined: 12 Jun 2011
Posts: 305
PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:51 pm Reply with quote
zensunni wrote:

EDIT: Oh... and RWBY hasn't used Poser for a few seasons now. They've moved beyond that.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really translate well. It's clear the animators at RT are still not accustomed to Maya. Or maybe they are, but are just bad at actually animating the thing their CG shows are known for- Action. That could be why, aside from a possible executive decision from Hasbro (moreso considering Machinima/Tatsunoko's mess of a web series), Polygon's animating their Transformers series instead of doing it in-house.

As for Gen;Lock itself... Honestly I couldn't get behind it. Most of my thoughts on the series were "How did they manage to get this cast? And more importantly, how did the decision to get Yamadera happen?" And issues like how short the season was reared its ugly head on more than one occasion with its pacing.
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macattack



Joined: 07 May 2011
Posts: 256
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:21 am Reply with quote
Philmister978 wrote:
Unfortunately, it doesn't really translate well. It's clear the animators at RT are still not accustomed to Maya. Or maybe they are, but are just bad at actually animating the thing their CG shows are known for- Action. That could be why, aside from a possible executive decision from Hasbro (moreso considering Machinima/Tatsunoko's mess of a web series), Polygon's animating their Transformers series instead of doing it in-house.

As for Gen;Lock itself... Honestly I couldn't get behind it. Most of my thoughts on the series were "How did they manage to get this cast? And more importantly, how did the decision to get Yamadera happen?" And issues like how short the season was reared its ugly head on more than one occasion with its pacing.


From what I understand, no one on the animation staff when Monty was running RWBY with Poser is still there, they were let go after season 3 with the switch to Maya. Maybe that's why RWBY's action sequences have been lacking since then, the Maya animators are trying to imitate what was done before them, but don't know how.

As for G:L, I've only seen the first two episodes thus far and haven't been impressed. The character work feels bland, and The Union just seems to be exist so the heroes have something to fight. It just feels like things happening and I don't care a lot.
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brammerhammer23



Joined: 06 Jun 2013
Posts: 62
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:32 am Reply with quote
I'm not surprised. Its generic as hell. It's by RT which quite frankly since Monty died their stuff hasn't been up to snuff. It may have actual legit big name actors in it but thats about it. Even they cant save mediocre material. I hope no one subscribes to RTs over the top channel just for this hot garbage. I think Mile Toole is too generous. Its more of a c- at best.
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Scion Drake



Joined: 25 Nov 2017
Posts: 941
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:20 am Reply with quote
brammerhammer23 wrote:
I'm not surprised. Its generic as hell. It's by RT which quite frankly since Monty died their stuff hasn't been up to snuff. It may have actual legit big name actors in it but thats about it. Even they cant save mediocre material. I hope no one subscribes to RTs over the top channel just for this hot garbage. I think Mile Toole is too generous. Its more of a c- at best.


"Hot garbage"? Gee exaggeration much.

Sure it has some problems but overall its pretty decent. The characters are rather amusing, there's some interesting stuff going on with the Holon's especially that twist with the Nemesis, & the mech action is pretty dope in motion.

Overall a good start, hopefully it improves in the coming season.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 9:38 am Reply with quote
Caveat in that I don't go into RT shows looking for action; I liked Monty's work, but I'll take substance over style any day, which I think was early RWBY's biggest problem. Having said that, I think gen:LOCK's off to a promising start; I'd at least put it a shade past Voltron's first season, which was pretty by-the-numbers to me too. But I think the scale of the show (trying to work in showing mechs and humans in the same shot, for example) as well as the limited framerate is sort of hampering this show. The opening looks slick, but it seems to be running at a smoother framerate than the show itself, and gen:LOCK doesn't have the maximum charm that The Dragon Prince does to make up for it's slightly choppier animation style. I also spent a lot of the fight sequences feeling disoriented; I think the camera work needs another go around because it felt like characters were frequently shown flitting in and out of the borders of the scene rather than shown solidly in the center.

So not a bad start, and I'm looking forward to season 2, but I do think this show could do with a bit more polish (especially when it comes to cleaning up some of the rawer bits of mocap.)
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