Idle Master

Ousama Ranking is a show that wears its heart on its sleeves. Episode 1 and 2 has no doubt tugged onto everyone's heartstrings. The struggles of Bojji and Kage are simple and yet instantly palpable. The blob-like designs and pastel colors are childish and yet infinitely expressive. Both elements lend to incredible scenes where every emotion are painted in the most beautiful way possible, so much so that you may not even need context for you to "feel it".  It is with these type of expectations did my heart gleefully awaited episode 3. But what I was left with when I finished the episode was a profound respect not for the animators of the show, but for the scriptwriters. You see, for a show that thus far had such a simple story, what was brought onto the table was a script that was far more complex and masterful than it deserved to be. And what I am talking about is it's ability to play with expectations and write multi-faceted characters. Writing a good mystery Queen H...

Why tension pervades in death games should be quite intuitive. Unlike the tension of a heated argument, there are no do-overs. You can't talk your way out of it, or is there a second chance. One life is all you get. Similarly unlike the tension of a heated battle, the threat to life is much more spontaneous and visceral; In a fight scene someone can land a punch but you expect the other to retaliate. But in death games, a snap of a finger may be all that it takes. Even on the thematic lens, death games are palpable. Not everyone can relate to having your life threaten or to be a threat to other lives, but everyone can understand the significance of those moral dilemmas. After all, the weight of human life is engraved into our bones, biologically and societally.  Once you add up the permanence, spontaneity and palpability of death games, what you get is a seemingly perfect story. One whereby your audience can be expected to be at the edge of their seats every second. However, us aud...