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EP. REVIEW: Helck


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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3672
PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2023 10:50 pm Reply with quote
Been enjoying the comedy so far. Hopefully I'll still enjoy it when the other shoe drops.
Helck just running over his mount had me cracking up Laughing
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moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 11:12 am Reply with quote
I think the second episode is paced much better than the first, but that actually makes me worry because this adaptation is stated to be two-cours. With the breakneck pacing of episode 1 I'd become convinced it was going to adapt all of the 12 volumes in 24/25 episodes, but now that it seems to have settled into its real pace (roughly 3 episodes per manga volume, or 1/3 of a volume per episode), it will only have time to adapt 8, leaving 1/3 of the manga hanging. That would actually be the better outcome, because the other options are going with this reasonable pace for a while but then skipping or mutilating later content to fit all of it in, a la The Promised Neverland. I didn't care about TPN too much because the manga exposed the weaknesses of the writing shortly after the first major arc, but ruining Helck would be a crime.
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 744
PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 5:11 pm Reply with quote
It's unfortunate that the production values are cheap, despite this I'm betting that this will end being watched and enjoyed by a lot more people than Frieren.

Last edited by Panino Manino on Thu Aug 03, 2023 6:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5343
PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 9:52 am Reply with quote
While I am enjoying this as a decent comedy, I am a fan of the straight man reactions that Vermilio does, Japanese voice actresses for some reason are really good at that. I am curious as to what the show is to become, because I got the impression from all the excitement around the title that it is more than just a comedy.

The production values might be pretty bare bones, it is very static and most shots are very basic, at least it isn't covered by a thick layer of post processing effects and 3DCG.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1039
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 4:39 am Reply with quote
While it may not be an expensive production, imho they’ve been doing a good job with the old-fashioned 2D anime shortcuts and the end result is effective.
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Shay Guy



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 2132
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 10:45 am Reply with quote
Quote:
I wasn't expecting the exposition section of this episode to be about power scaling and I genuinely grew at the idea.


…Did you, now.
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Tuor_of_Gondolin



Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 3524
Location: Bellevue, WA
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 1:00 pm Reply with quote
Shay Guy wrote:
Quote:
I wasn't expecting the exposition section of this episode to be about power scaling and I genuinely grew at the idea.


…Did you, now.

Several inches, in fact. Razz
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 1:18 pm Reply with quote
With the transition at the end of the current episode, Helck survived being dropped for another week.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4092
PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 4:16 am Reply with quote
I thought Heroes was meant as a position you're born to... which thanks to the angels has an interesting parallel between the Demon Lords like Vermilio and the position demon lord all the weaker demons are competing for...

I'm stopping it there because there are some definite politics involved, not that I think it's an accident or a wrong reading but the story hasn't give me enough information to say which is more Fascist and which is more Democratic... though entire human villages emptied of people would seem to imply a few things.

"If everyone's a Hero then no one's a Hero." That's the Incredibles but there's also Animal Farm... "All Heroes are equal, but some Heroes are more equal than others."

Where are we going with this?
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moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 7:27 am Reply with quote
Animegomaniac wrote:
Where are we going with this?

Honestly, I think you might've read a little too deeply into this. From what I remember of the manga, it doesn't raise this juxtaposition nor condemns any specific political ideology at any point; rather, it focuses on the individual and their choices and how the people around influence those choices. You'll find that the vast majority of the characters in Helck have deep convictions and a strong sense of camaraderie. They care a lot about what they hold dear.

Helck in particular is a very complex character by fantasy standards, so while he is the protagonist of the story as a whole, it is Vermilio who provides the audience viewpoint to expose this complexity. I already mentioned this before in the seasonal preview thread, but their mutual dynamic is one of my favorites in all of manga. I don't know how far this adaptation will ultimately go (episode 4 adapted to the start of chapter 13, so it's still on track to only finish two thirds of the manga), and it certainly lacks in presentation compared to the original, but it's worth sticking around to see that relationship develop.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5343
PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 11:32 am Reply with quote
I thought Edil was female at first, it's not as common now for women to voice male characters of that age group now in Anime. Is Helck similar to Gintama, in the sense that it moves between comedy and more serious fare? Or does it just move away from comedy as the story progresses?
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1039
PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2023 1:14 am Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
Is Helck similar to Gintama, in the sense that it moves between comedy and more serious fare? Or does it just move away from comedy as the story progresses?

Not much of a spoiler, but just answering the question: spoiler[It does become more serious but there continues to be some comedy though most sections.]
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NeverConvex
Subscriber



Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2317
PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:01 am Reply with quote
This has been pretty entertaining so far. I think it needs a bit more meat to it to really keep my interest, but its goofy banter and central joke still have me grinning often enough.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1039
PostPosted: Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:20 am Reply with quote
NeverConvex wrote:
This has been pretty entertaining so far. I think it needs a bit more meat to it to really keep my interest, but its goofy banter and central joke still have me grinning often enough.

I’d recommend continuing.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7344
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:21 pm Reply with quote
If anything happens to that adorable fluffy bird creature I swear...! Anime hyper

Emerje
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