How Zeke Got Religion

As the title said, if I had to say which episodes I truly liked from this season, this is the only one I could mention. Even so, there is absolutely nothing in it in terms of story, I am just drawn to it because of the good old cel shaded animation style - it kept me being engaged and entertained on a visual level. And that is pretty much all I have for this one, the story is not something I could write home about, done a few times before. But that seems to be the theme of season - stories that were told a million times over, done to death. Animators, I salute you... writers, come on guys, surely you could have injected some personality into the story itself..

After being assigned to bomb an obscure church in Germany, the crew of a B17 Flying Fortress (pointedly, a mix of the faithful and atheists) is joined by a mysterious expert in the occult. As many others have commented, the imagery is similar to the B17 episode in 1981's 'Heavy Metal', and the plot of 'isolated men vs a horror' is pretty standard (and pretty thin). The realization of the interior of the bomber and the actions of the crew are very well done, the demon that attacks them is interesting (if hard to get a good look at,) and the gore is over-the-top (but a bit cartoonish). OK time passer.

From the beginning, I immediately got flashbacks to the early 80s Heavy Metal movie and the bomber scene. This one has a different twist and not as lasting, but a fun episode. Not as many memorable episodes in season 4, so this stuck out as a bright spot for me. Hopefully the writers get back on track for season 5.

During World War II, a lone bomber is sent to take out a church where Nazis are performing an occult ritual.

This is a nice mix of Hellboy story and the B-17 story from Heavy Metal. I don't know that I would have made such an incredibly strong callback to Heavy Metal, but it turns out to be different.

The primary difference is the monster. Whereas B-17 featured zombies, this one is a lot more in line with Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics set during World War II. You've got occult Nazis, evil Lovecraftian things summoned from hell, and a plucky group of good guys.

The art is good. The animation is pretty jerky, and it seems to have a low frame rate. The art draws more parallels back to B-17, though, which does make me wish the story stood on its own two feet a bit more.

However, the characters have names, which I don't think B-17 even really bothered with. There's also quick characterization and a bit of plot. Zeke, the title character, is an atheist, so we get to see how he deals with fighting a demon.

The design of the demon is pretty cool. Some of it is pretty horrifying. Lots of extra arms and mouths, certainly more Lovecraftian than the final episode. There's quite a bit of gore once the demon appears. The action sequences and kills are fairly creative for such cramped quarters, though the frame rate is a bit distracting.

I think it distinguishes itself from B-17 while also homaging one of the more memorable animated horror shorts. If you're a fan of that, you'll probably like this, too, though you may wish it were a bit more original.

Blood, limbs torn apart, eyeballs popping out, men's screaming, monstrous angel, faith, all Cthulhu-sorta elements mingled in an enjoyable and fast-paced short film. I can turn my brain off and on simultaneously while watching. It is the best because it delivers. You start "to realize we don't really know what this world is made of". If you believe it's about aesthetics of violence, sit tight for its breathtaking tense and relief. If you believe it has realistic concerns. The Nazi occult then can be other forms of violence and freneticism we are seeing nowadays. The house of faith can be another projection of solidarity and sacrifice. Overall, it showcases the spirit of Love, Death, and Robot, pinpointed and critical, not just some meaningless word salad or mediocre storyline.