Quoted By:
Okay, I might eat these words as I get further into the show, but I'm watching Superlink for the first time (hot off of just finishing Galaxy Force) and I feel fucking lied to. I'm only 3 eps in so far, but this seems great so far!
Everybody kept saying that the models are 100% expressionless, the fights were weightless and boring and poorly paced, and that the characters were insulting to fans of their Armada/ML incarnations, but I don't see any of that here.
For one, the models already are expressive thanks to the fact their eyes change; this alone is a huge improvement compared to the later GF, where they constantly had the same exact expressions (discounting ep 42 where they were all fully lipsynced outta nowhere and then never again for some reason), and the cel-shading helps them blend with the 2D elements way nicer than GF's models and their realistic lighting. Speaking of the 2D elements, oh my god they're fantastic so far, they're much more prevalent than I've been led on, and they're very well-drawn compared to the admittedly sloppily-drawn humans in GF, and early ML eps.
Secondly, the battles have been surprisingly well-paced so far. Sure it's a lotta laserfire, but I somehow feel more engaged than I did during GF, which had awesome setpieces but still led to my eyes glazing over often, somehow. Again, pacing/direction I think is the main factor. Also GF's copious footage recycling.
And the JP voice actors are just as good as they were in ML (read: top class), they do a ton of the heavy lifting for making these 3D robots expressive, but even if the 3D animation's basic, they have some good body language too. The 3D feels like a product of streamlining the workflow rather than lack of funds or skill. And while Kicker n Roadbuster are angsty now, they feel understandable, and it feels like setup for character development, so I'm invested.
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