Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Joker Game
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11428 |
|
||
|
No, but I'm still enjoying it.
|
|||
|
|||
|
n3koryuu
Posts: 13 |
|
||
|
My favorite for this season! Been waiting for this since watching the live action movie, and I think the anime is much better regarding the plot since it's longer lol
I enjoyed the plot so far. They explained the spies' way of thinking and doing things, how to overcome the impossibles (like the 3rd episode amnesia and the live action double agent part), and the 4th episode where they complete a mission by doing something that may seem trivial then let the sergeant finish it by himself. Sneakily, smoothly, but leaves an impact. And we get to see what kind of impact is happening from those little doings. Can't wait for the next episode! 
|
|||
|
|||
Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
|
||
|
While i'm still interested enough in the show, i can't really share Jacob's enthusiasm. For me ep.4 was the weakest so far because it basically came down to "the evil city corrupted this upright Japanese officer"...but it was certainly interesting to read a completely different interpretation and some background information.
|
|||
|
|||
Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
|
||
|
What I got from episode #4 was that a spy can manipulate people by being at the right place, at the right time, talking to the right people. I liked the episode, and while the show can't afford to have more such episode (it is set to be a 12-episode show, so they'll need to start moving the plot), it was a nice breather.
|
|||
|
|||
Wingbeats
 Posts: 272 Location: Boise, Idaho |
|
||
|
Wow, ep 4 was great. Cartoonish yes, but I was definitely quite entertained. I'm liking this show so far for sure!
I am having one rather interesting problem, though. I'm face-blind in real life, which usually has no effect on my ability to remember cartoon characters, but I'm really having trouble discerning between the different guys in this show! I need like, a printout with pictures and names or something to look at while watching this. I suppose that is a downfall of a fairly-realistically-drawn anime about a time period where everyone wears the same hat, suit, and hairstyle 
Anyways, I've forgotten who was who and what they are about. So for me, the reviews, as well as a cartoonish evil guy I could recognize, are definitely helpful to me in that regard. |
|||
|
|||
whiskeyii
 Posts: 2251 |
|
||
Trust me, even non-face-blind folks are having those same issues. ^^; I've seen plenty of comments on other places basically going "Boy, I wish these spies came with name tags!" I've got a nagging suspicion that the depth we're looking for probably lies in the source material, and that the anime is mostly concerned with having a rollicking good time. I wouldn't mind being wrong on that front, but I've certainly tempered my expectations for plumbing the depths of these characters. |
|||
|
|||
Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
|
||
|
Given the potential for twists and cliffhangers that one associates with spy dramas, it is curious that an episodic approach has been taken thus far. An intrigue though they may be, personal investment in each agent's tribulations would be better aroused if individual plights are permitted to spill over multiple episodes. At present, only the perennially distant tempers of diplomacy seem to enjoy such a privilege.
|
|||
|
|||
eely225
 Posts: 96 Location: West Lafayette, IN |
|
||
|
For what it's worth, the soldier who shot Oikawa wasn't another officer; he was a private, the lowest rank in the army.
Infer from that what you will, but it said to me that the corruption was universal, not just among military leadership. It also makes the murder itself much more shocking (especially for Honma) as it came from someone at the bottom of the hierarchy. |
|||
|
|||
RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
|
||
|
The same-face is affecting me as well! There's not a lot to differentiate the bunch. If they had personalities it would be easier.
I am enjoying the series, but I also wish for more character development to balance out the hamfisted nefariousness. (I'm by no means against the portrayal, but I prefer it be a little more subtle!) It sort of makes sense that they're about the same while Sakuma and Yuuki are more recognizable, I guess. The spies have given up their individuality; they do not exist to further their own ambitions or act on them. However, I did like that we were given a hint of Hatano's character at the end of episode 3, and Miyoshi had at least a tinge of personality. Episode 4 was presented from a complete outsider's perspective. There was no indication to those characters that they had been manipulated. It's an interesting way to go about setting up an episode but it's at the expense of getting to know Fukumoto. He simply plays his role, achieves the goal, and moves on. To that extent, Joker Game feels like a series of compelling stories that as a whole leave something to be desired. Individually, they hold together well, but there's not a lot stitching them together or that makes the cast particularly compelling. |
|||
|
|||
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11428 |
|
||
For most of the episode, I thought the short guy who shot the tall guy in the alley was one of ours! But I think that's kind of the point - if they stood out, or were otherwise memorable, they wouldn't be good spies. If they had traits we could instantly identify, we'd be griping that no one recognized the guy with the green hair and the mole under his eye. Catch-22, I guess. Probably our best hope is recognizing voices. Kinda makes me feel a tad less critical of Lois Lane though... 
 Someone in the discussion thread made the point about what massive balls it took to give Honma a picture of himself while smiling right across from him. Indeed.
|
|||
|
|||
killjoy_the
 Posts: 2462 |
|
||
|
Episode 4 made me drop the show - while I didn't find it particularly bad, there was also nothing I found good in it. The cackling villain and the nonsensical plan to get the guy who's investigating it framed (?) were pretty bad, I suppose, but I was so disengaged throughout that I didn't even care.
|
|||
|
|||
Izanagi009
 Posts: 464 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
|
||
|
To address the cartoonish nature of the villain, Its Fujiwara Keiji voicing him. He's famous for villains like Ali Al Sachez of Gundam 00 and Jake Martinez of Tiger and Bunny, big over the top villains. It was a miscast in my opinion to have a person known for over the top villain roles to play a villain in a historical drama but he does an admirable job otherwise
As for the show itself, I can see why people are dissatisfied with it but I personally liked the episode for providing a look at WWII Shanghai as well as showing how spies can be subtle with their job |
|||
|
|||
|
Parsifal24
|
|
||
|
To me, there has not been a bad episode it may be little disorienting to try and keep straight who is who in D Agency but I think that's part of the charm sure I didn't know who the spy was in the episode til the very end yet I think that's a good thing.
No one wants a really conspicuiously noticabel spy after all what really grabbed me was the atomsphere of Old Shanghai from the cripling poverty and beggers the underground red light districts. the almost noir like reveal of the episode's villian's spoiler[descent into moral debauchery] |
|||
|
Zin5ki
Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
|
||
I shall say this of Oikawa's final scene. It was arranged and presented as deftly as it could have been. But there is much to dislike about episode four. Heavens, the nearest to a heroic character turns out to be a pederast like Oikawa! By process of (literal) elimination, it is most rotten that Fukumoto remains the only one emerging from this episode with any claim to virtuousness. His supposedly redeeming quality as a moral agent appears to be the mere fact he was not a murderer, drug trafficker or sexual menace, qualities that are hardly redeeming. You may gainsay that he acted righteously through his clandestine aid to Honma, but given that he is, after all, a spy, such deeds were a matter of procedure rather that conviction. This distinction should be remembered, lest we falsely identify the D Agency as a just force rather than an amoral one that happens to pick the right side. I grant that Shanghai at this time must have been awash with monsters, albeit monsters with presumably more dimension to them than Oikawa. I also accept that there is thereby a moral service to be done, for history's sake, in writing such distorted reflections of human beings. But as a story this episode was all the worse for doing so. Within the episode, a sporting game of join-the-dots culminates in the creation and demise of a ghastly, almost risible caricature. The inclusion of Oikawa as a Monster Of The Week could be symptomatic of an unwise directorial desire, historically pressing though it may be, to bestow onto mere individuals the ills of warring nations, to construct thin satirical allegories at the expense of a relatable cast, with the only designated voices of rectitude being humourless men in suits. When embattled countries are shrunk down to the size of people, we may find cruelty and madness, but sadly no glimpse of a soul. |
|||
|
|||
MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5395 |
|
||
|
I really liked the dark and oppressive atmosphere of ep5, that dark 1930s London setting was handled very well. ep6 was good for the game he played with the children to help him gather information. Seeing SMERSH was great as well, I enjoyed them as villains in James bond, and hope they appear again in a future episode. I've heard they are very brutal and ruthless, so they could be a big threat tot he spies.
|
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group