Travis Hymas

1 week ago | inbetweendrafts.com | Travis Hymas

It turns out it takes a whole season to shake off the rust. Doctor Who’s first full season after the return of Russell T. Davies and his production company had some really high moments. It also had quite a few low points. Many of the elements behind these highs and lows are present in Doctor Who season 2, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution.” Somehow though, the end result is significantly better. A new companion mystery actually feels compelling.

1 week ago | inbetweendrafts.com | Travis Hymas

It is easy to forget that in the age of streaming, anime still primarily follows traditional broadcast structure. Such is the case with My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 2. This episode is clearly the missing piece the premiere so desperately needs. The series has the time slot it has in Japan, so the show must make the choices it can within that slot. Had these two episodes been released together, they would have been one satisfying introduction.

1 week ago | inbetweendrafts.com | Travis Hymas

Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Episode 2 is really hoping less hardcore viewers do not mind not understanding what is happening. Even more so than the premiere, this episode has zero interest in filling in blanks. It cares so little about doing so that it reaches peak hilarity in avoiding lore dumps. That’s going to — reasonably — turn off a lot of potential viewers, but they will also miss out on some pretty consistent production value. Okay but how does any of this work?

2 weeks ago | inbetweendrafts.com | Travis Hymas

It’s clear that Toho and Bones Film putting My Hero Academia: Vigilantes to animation is an attempt to extend the brand’s life. The main anime will be concluding later this year, and Vigilantes can easily slide into the slot it leaves. A cynic might compare it to something like Boruto, which at first blush exists to keep an IP flowing. The new series is definitely that to a degree — its relevance to MHA proper passed about three seasons ago — but there’s more underneath that mask.

2 weeks ago | inbetweendrafts.com | Travis Hymas

Video games and anime go pretty well hand in hand, but never as much as Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers. Visually, the game is just as if I was playing my PS5 copy of Strive in real time. Narratively, I’m just as overwhelmed as I am trying to understand the game’s lore while playing. This is one of those series that’s really for the fans, and I kind of loved its first episode because of that.