TV
Orange is the New Black Season 1 - Complete
I've finally bit the bullet and decided it's about time that I got caught up and one the most talked about TV shows that is still currently relevant in the whisperings and yelling of Social Media posts; this is probably one of the most hyped shows that I can remember in recent years that I've not been on board with since day 1 and found myself just getting started whilst the shows current season having come to an end pretty recently, not since the day I picked up Breaking Bad has a show came with such high expectation and while I've found that Orange is the New Black to be a rather addictive show; that I just want to endlessly binge watch, I do side with some caution with lending the show too much praise purely based on the addictiveness; for sure I enjoy every minute of the show and the characters are great with a cast mainly made up of women, which does feel like a breath of fresh air considering most mainstream entertainment being heavily male orientated, but it's not this wonderful stand out movement that most people seem to be labelling the show as, maybe in America audiences might not have seen a show that is so heavily reliant on strong female characters, but I grew up watching Bad Girls which ran for 8 seasons and given my memory of that show is pretty vague I can't honestly compare the 2 but think that they would certainly make for an interesting comparison. There's a line from one of the CO's in the show that pretty much goes "This isn't OZ" and hell no it isn't that's for sure, it's a fun time and everything about the show is pretty great, but the writing and especially in terms of the shows overall narrative direction is pretty obvious and often very predictable; the show just lacks the surprises to surpass the 'good show' feeling and the vibe of drama and comedy is often a hindrance to the shows overall impact - yes the show is funny, but it's certainly not a comedy and doesn't have the gravitas or the impact that HBO's OZ had. It's a hearty recommendation from me, just keep those expectations to a reasonable level and you'll have a fun time, it's just not the break out masterclass of television that some people might have you believe.
7/10
Orange is the New Black Season 2 (Episodes 1-6)
Heading straight into season 2 of Orange is the New Black, I thought that Piper's story and character development had great potential to take the show in a fresh direction and maybe mix things up a bit to provide some surprises and break away from the rigid narrative that season 1 delivered us; unfortunately it seems that the build up in the first episode and the way Piper heads back into her comfort zone seems like a short journey on the bullet train; and everything so far with Piper has been pretty much lacklustre and I can't shake that feeling that the show has dropped the ball on this one, after season 1's finale finishing on such a strong note; but outside of Piper, the rest of the cast and their flashbacks with more time on individual character development and their past histories being told on screen have been great to see play out; the inner workings of the social segregation of the prison feels far better execution and well rounded in its tone with this first half of the season. In particular the character Red is coming into her own in the show I feel and also Suzanne (Crazy Eyes) really has some excellent performance and delivery and the writing is their for us to really be able to engage with her character on more substantial ground that wasn't there in the first season. So far the show is still addictive, but I'm not sure that the show has really been able to up it's game, but it's only the halfway point and there's still time for improvements to come to fruition; still if you liked season 1 then you'll definitely find this season just as fun and addictive, whether or not it's able to step up and become a 'great' show? I've yet to be convinced, but it has the potential to do so and if nothing else the show is great in the moment and such easy viewing.
ANIME
Blue Exorcist (Episodes 16-26) Complete
So last week I was feeling a little Ho-Hum about Blue Exorcist and this week I decide to make an extra effort and just binge watch the second half of the series; and what I found was that I was really able to engage with the shows characters a lot more and really got caught up with the overall story arc of the show; the comedy really does work well and the interactions between the students really is great to watch, but, and I keep coming back to Bleach, but sorry I just can't help myself - it's not as fun or entertaining as Bleach. The build up to the shows finale is great, but it does seem like the actual end piece itself gets resolved very quickly, and while I know a lot of anime which linger too long and draw out its endings for far too long, Blue Exorcist is the complete opposite - just when I thought that the series was heading down an interesting and exciting path, it was all over then I was fed a wrap up piece which I'm guess means this was the definitive end and there will be no more Blue Exorcist; which is a bloody shame as the show was really starting to get things right and delivering some cool action set pieces. Don't get me wrong I still feel positive about the show as a whole and you could do a lot worse than Blue Exorcist within the genre and in anime as a whole, but it's also nothing special - there's some really great episodes but for the most part the show is mildly amusing and entertaining. I'd recommend the show if you really really love Bleach and are all caught up with that series, but I wouldn't rush you to make this show to be top of your 'too watch pile' for anime, it's worth watching but not worth getting overly exciting or hyped up about.
6/10
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