An ice cold betrayal.
Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.
As time begins to slowly run out in the Tournament of Power, Frieza steps up to finally make his power play. Episode 108 focused heavily on the long time villain and his underhanded but entertaining exploits as he deceived and fought against his own allies. Unfortunately, these tense moments were often broken up by dull and unnecessary dialogue, while poor animation made it clear who was favored more heavily during production.
Things started off with Goku, but quickly shifted to the antics of Frieza, Frost and Gohan. It comes as no surprise that Frieza was once again represented in a wonderfully evil and exciting way. His presence is a menacing one and it’s conveyed perfectly through his actions, dialogue and the art of each scene. I particularly liked how manipulative he felt this week. From the first moment he was on screen, it felt out of place, but in a good way. It was immediately clear he was up to no good, and I loved watching as he indulged in combat against Gohan, only to spin it all against his ‘ally’ and knock Frost clear out of the arena. Frieza surely isn’t done yet, and it’s moments like these that make me eager for the future.
On the other side of the partnership was Frost. His inclusion this week didn’t feel quite as strong as Frieza's, and certainly not as exciting as his battle against Roshi. Some of this is by necessity, since his role this week was to be baited and then knocked out of the ring, but it seemed a little too easy to pull off. Frost is known to be just as devious as Frieza, so the idea of him getting so easily tricked just didn’t come off well. His art also couldn’t compare to Frieza when they were side by side and it’s clear far more time and attention to detail went into Frieza and not Frost. When it was all wrapped up, I did find myself smiling as Frost made an unexpected exit from reality. His boiling rage that then led to his own demise reminded me a lot of the same anger that once led to Frieza’s death, and I thought it was great homage to see that replicated again in Super.
Episode 108 was light on action and the lengthy dialogue sections only made this lack of fighting more apparent. Often times the characters in Super deem it necessary to speak every thought on their mind and explain every action and consequence of what they see happening. Not only do these moments drag on and make for boring scenes but it also reflects poorly on the show as it makes it seem like Super does not trust its viewers to understand what’s happening right in front of them. Good dialogue and strong action scenes can convey all the information that a viewer needs if they’re handled well, but minutes upon minutes of expositional conversation do nothing to help the show.
The Verdict
The core of Episode 108 was strong, as it centered on Frieza, one of the longest running villains in Dragon Ball history and for good reason. Even as an ‘ally’, Frieza is incredibly fun to watch. He’s manipulative, devious and has a presence about him that few characters can replicate. Unfortunately, Frieza can’t carry everything on his shoulders. Episode 108 suffers heavily at times as the dialogue meanders on, explaining things to the viewer that were already clearly displayed on screen. On top of that, Frost felt underutilized, and his art and animation simply couldn’t compete with the lovingly detailed artwork around Frieza.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire