valtterimiikovalo

This is my rick and morty version of ozymandias. I've seen a great many r&m episodes over and over, but most of them i revisit to get some more laughs from jokes i've already half-forgotten.

This one i watch over and over for the sole film making genius. It leaves me floored every time. I'm delighted by the pacing and flip in narrative. The title characters' relationship isn't a source of cheap laughs in this one. Here, we take a beautiful look under the surface.

Don't get me wrong, every episode can't be like this. It takes dozens of episodes of building to be able to culminate into something deep and meaningful. Therefore i'm fine with the occasional, seemingly misplaced, episode of brainless humor with a weak narrative arc since i know another 'fear no mort' is eventually coming.

I find many of the more recent episodes to often rely too much on rapid-firing your screen with absurd visuals that, while sometimes funny, feels a bit like you're getting force-fed a vision of the creators for how rick and morty should be a witty, confusing, and innovative show.

This particular episode is a prime example of that. Narrative tropes that are certainly original, but not in a particularly interesting or even entertaining way.

I'm giving this episode a 6 because one of the reasons i watch the show is to chuckle at something absurd for a good 20 minutes after a long week, and i did chuckle a good couple times.

Still, more narratively disjointed and needlessly provocative episodes like this one are not something that the crew seems to excel at.

Arcane has a distinct look to it in terms of visuals and cinematography. Directors of the show tend to have intriguing individual visions for delivering emotions to the viewer. We observe masterful playing with colors, angles, lighting settings, framings, frame rates, you name it.

The story is one of complex comradery, anguish, trauma, hope, division, love. Not all storytelling elements feel well placed or justified, but the beauty and raw emotion tend to make up for minor shortcomings.

The more major negative aspects of my review of the show were those of unconvincing or rushed narrative arcs. Some characters didn't feel relevant in function other than altering the viewer's perceptions of other characters. Some storylines got introduced out of nowhere and progressed too much during the span of one or two episodes. Some characters made choices or ended up in situations that left the viewer feeling skeptical.

Despite the fact that not everyone will feel at home in every character nor understand their decisions, everyone can find something beautiful and relatable in Arcane.

9/10 -- An exceptional animated TV show, rare among rare works.