Episode 6 Production Details

Episode Director: Tomoyuki Kurokawa ( Director and Storyboard on Seikoku no Dragonar Ending Sequence / Director on Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou The Last Song Opening Sequence / Storyboard and Episode Director on Un-Go episode 8 / Assistant Director on Naruto Shippuuden episodes 290 and 293 / Episode Director on Seikoku no Dragonar episodes 1, 5, 8, 9 and 12 / Episode Director on Baby Steps episodes 15 and 24 / Storyboard on Kuroko no Basket episode 20)

Storyboards: Kenji Nagasaki (Episode Director and Storyboard on Monster episodes 14 and 45 / Storyboard on Robotics;Notes episode 5 / Storyboard on No. 6 Ending Sequence / Director and Storyboard on No. 6 Opening Sequence / Director and Storyboard on Zetsuen no Tempest Second Opening Sequence)

Script: Kazuhisa Furuya (Series Composition on Kekkai Sensen)

Kekkai Sensen is a unique style of storytelling.  In the same way that Space Dandy told its collection of stories on different planets and aliens this one chooses aliens as an outlet for entertainment.  And a wild one at that!  This series just keeps getting better and better every episode!

This time around Leonardo befriends Nej – Amagranoff Luozontam Ouv Lee Nej.  Wow that is some name!  A mushroom alien with a love for hamburgers and not just any burgers.  Jack & Rockets’ burgers.  This anime, like Space Dandy, did with its creative humor doesn’t shy away from amalgams and in this episode we see that the popular restaurant chain is a combination of U.S. company’s Jack in the Box and Johnny Rockets.  This is a good way to tie in previous episodes with Leonardo and Zapp eating hamburgers giving us a familiar look at a setting and putting a different spin on it.  This episode held a very different tone than previous ones.  Leonardo’s friendship with Nej is heartwarming and this illustrates our main character’s personality and characteristics firmly to the story.  He’s a good guy with an intolerance for injustice.  Even if that injustice stems from the smallest of actions.  Small actions lead to larger consequences and Kekkai Sensen narrative is a first of its kind to show us how these aliens experience discrimination.

At first, Nej is run over by two Jack & Rockets’ drivers but as the events unfold his situation only becomes more grim.  Things seem to settle down when the two decide to give him a bag of hamburgers for the trouble but when they encounter him again is where things take a turn for the worst.  One of the drivers, Roger, beats Nej in brutal fashion in order to cover up their accident.  Martin wearing a mask reveals Nej’s hidden ability–when he becomes stressed he turns red, loses spores resulting in an amnesia event for anyone around him.

The second beating of Nej turns out to be disturbing visually.  Illustrating a dark side to humans in this fictional New York.  People that hate aliens just because they do. And at this point has Martin (the other driver) desiring this amnesia power Nej holds.

The aftermath has a Space Dandy style written all over it–ridiculous yet relatable.  Leo’s friendship with Nej shows the care he has for others.  He’s in some ways carefree even though just about every episode he’s attacked by Zapp or other episodic villains.

After Leo and Nej are kidnapped and Nej is beaten up (for a second time), he explodes again showing us a recurring storyline until we get to the final few minutes of the episode where more of the main story unfolds.  This was a fantastic episode full of feels!  There is also the Trigun reference “Love and Peace” from White towards the beginning of this episode speaks levels about Leo’s relentless compassion!

The music score in this was amazing!

Animator Spotlight: 

Takashi Hashimoto

Style: CGI, Mecha animation, smearing animation motion, Smoke effects and liquid effects.

[Previous Works Include]

• Kyousogiga Episode 0 [Key Animator]
• Mononoke Episode 12 [Key Animator on Close up cat sequence during the Bakeneko Arc]
• Casshern SINS Episode 7 [Key Animator on tower building crashing down]
• Bastard!! Episode 3 [Key Animator on fight sequence especially his work during the demon morphing scene]
• Gatchaman CROWDS Opening Sequence [Key Animator on the final segment before episode starts up in Part A]
• Kemonozume Episode 13 [Key Animator on fight sequence between Yuka and Toshihiko right after the Opening Sequence]

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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