[barnstenchfartface]

Finally finished Black a bit ago. My feelings on it are mixed...is...I guess, a statement I wish I could make. I guess. Truth is, I'm not very mixed about my opinion on the show, which is that I unfortunately just didn't care too much for it.

And it is unfortunate, because the beginning is really strong, as is the ending, and a few bits in between. But by god, if I tried to claim I got even halfway to caring about the vast majority of everything that happened in the meantime I'd be a humongous liar. The characters weren't engaging or entertaining to me, and neither were the stories of the week, so I just...didn't care. It really could have stood to be much shorter.

That's not to say I think it's a bad show. I don't think there is or can be any real debate that it is the best or at least the best realized of the Showa series, and I don't think it's even close. But it just didn't click with me in any meaningful way. So yeah, eh.

Though I do have my criticisms. I think the brotherly relationship between Kotaro and Nobuhiko was poorly utilized, and poorly demonstrated and just...kinda poorly done I guess. Felt like it needed a good dose of show don't tell. All we hear is how they were these super close brothers and best friends, but when it came to actually showing that in flashbacks or whatever evidently all they could think of is that damn shot of them in a boat, which they must have shown like five hundred times over the course of the series. It just felt kind of shallow for what they were going for.

Also, the ending felt weird. Specifically Kotaro being left all alone and the narration talking about how all his close friends being gone, and then him saying this big final goodbye to Nobuhiko, Kyoko and Katsumi. But it's like...dude, no, the girls are still alive? Like what is even going on with this scene. They just left because of Gorgom, with Gorgom gone there is all of no reasons for them to not come back. It's weird. I guess it's just a dumb way to not have them in RX or something.

Meh, I dunno.

The next series I'm tackling is Kiva, which should be an interesting experience. I haven't seen any of the series between Blade and Wizard, and Kiva falls flat in the middle between those two. Also it's supposed to be pretty bad. Guess I'll see.