LAB Notes Update 003

Just taking a moment to explain the lack of LAB Notes posts.  Aside from having to crush through the last couple of books in this year’s Cannonball, there isn’t really a good excuse.  I had intended the next series to be Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, but after working my way through the first half of the series, I found that it hadn’t aged well at all.

The animation, which wasn’t top quality to begin with, looks jittery and cheap and the flow of the story is lackluster.  Large sections of individual episodes are either blank scenes with SFX or voice-overs, or three or four key frames on a randomized loop.  There are literally minutes that go by without plot advancement of any kind, either episode internal or series story arcs, and even the ‘budget-busting’ musical numbers don’t hold up to the production values of contemporary shows, like Nodame Cantabile.

There’s certainly a worthwhile story here, but it’s aimed at a niche market of independent rock enthusiasts, so there isn’t a lot to bring other viewers to the table.  Combine that with the lackluster production and you have a show that borders on unwatchable.

I might  flesh this update out into a full review, but for the moment, I can’t see myself getting through the series.

Thanks for your patience.