Forum - View topicREVIEW: Sweetness & Lightning
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meiam
Posts: 3450 |
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I think the show is actually brought down a bit by it's hock, it force the episode to be incredibly repetitive and most cooking segment are not that great, being both too short to properly showcase good cooking and too long because they take away from the great casts and there interactions. The food tasting part was also super repetitive, it always end the exact same way, they taste the food and it's so good that it almost bring everyone to tears and solve most problems. Maybe if there was only cooking every 2-3 episode instead of almost all of them it would have been better, but as it stand the exact same cast but in a purely slice of life show would have been a more entertaining show.
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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Thank you for the review, Nick!
This is certainly the case, with the confrontation in episode seven being the most outstanding and relatable example. When at the hight of its powers, this anime gives expression to something almost ineffable, yet still immediately reminiscent of our own childhoods. Sadly, meiam's criticisms are also quite accurate. The degree to which the cookery is intertwined with the broader depiction of fatherhood is too neat in its separation for the most part, with the former often sharply curtailing the understated joys stemming from Tsumugi's interactions with the world. Furthermore, the kitchen sequences dilute the residual bonding that manages to occur within them. There is too much reverence given to each procedure, as if its completion is an end unto itself—something that must occur and must be finished well—rather than being a mere exercise to enrich the characters involved in it. Again, episode seven is a prime example: the sudden tensions between Kouhei and Tsumugi that flare in such a brilliant scene are diffused, somehow, by the awkward act of making rice cakes. Contrast this with the stuffed peppers from episode four: though we barely see their preparation, their circumstantial presence comes to reveal the familiar and arresting matter of childhood dietary phobias, something that would have been harder to convey had the peppers been placed on the same pedestal as other dishes. Cooking and parenting present considerable challenges but yield great accomplishments, and this show demonstrated how well it can expose the technicalities and delights of each to a broad audience. Its flaw lay in how it weighed each of these goods against one another, for this imbalance ultimately came to dictate each episode's focus. |
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WingKing
Posts: 617 |
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@meiam and Zin5ki: Shows like this really come down to what you want, and want to get out of it. For me, a show like S&L is something to watch in the 20 minutes right before I go to bed, because it relaxes me and puts me in a good mood, which helps me sleep better. I wasn't looking for something unique and insightful in every episode - I just wanted something easy and comfortable to watch and it gave me that. And I think a B from Nick is a fair grade, since it's a well-made "comfort food" show but doesn't really elevate the material to a level beyond that, the way the very, very best SOL are able to do.
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Lemonchest
Posts: 1771 |
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His wife died a year ago? One of the things that bugs me about S&L is how at times almost only seems to have realised he's a single father for the first time at the start of the series. He can be a snappy arsehole who doesn't have much of a clue how to deal with children, which makes him seem like the kind of dad who assumed parenting was that thing the wife does before his passed away. That they're supposed to have been in that weird stasis for a whole year almost makes him sound negligent.
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DanQ
 Posts: 114 |
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@WingKing: Funny, I usually watched new epizode while eating breakfast.
 It was pretty optimistic way to starts a day and I guest it's quite dangerous watch it hungry ~_^
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rahzel rose
 Subscriber Posts: 831 |
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I could have sworn it was only six months or so and not a year, but it's been a while since I've read the manga and I haven't seen all of the anime yet. Also I wouldn't call him a "snappy arsehole" as you say. The only time I can remember him really snapping at her was when she left the house on her own and that freaked him out because he thought she'd disappeared/something had happened to her. Other than that, I think as an imperfect person, he is doing the best he can to raise his child. |
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