While I’m on this kick of sampling new shows after KOKORO CONNECT, it seemed right to check out CAMPIONE! (as brought up by our very own Daniel_Newton.) Since “new” is really the operative word, here, I want to say up front that I honestly miss a lot of the flat coloring you’d find in these shows before computers took up that part of the burden. This show just looks too… glossy. Like the sheen tool’s been applied indiscriminately. Maybe that’s simply a product of this specific crew not having the best eye for the material, but I’d honestly prefer some sloppiness over an anti-septic feel.
Anyway, I’m kind of tired of the Greco-Roman myths. I say that was somebody who *AHEM* wrote a comic about them and has subsequently been having to live with the subject for five years, so I realize I’m a special case. However, even if that wasn’t in the cards, I don’t know how strong an angle these lost gods are, anyway.
Actually, you know what it really comes down to? Presentation.
I write a lot about how I’d prefer a series to hit the ground running and cut over most of the small talk - - but the pendulum can swing the other way, too! This episode’s so stuffed with plot that it doesn’t even have an intro or an outro. It really needs all that extra time to cover what it’s trying to say, making it another demonstrative case of excessive front-loading. You don’t get the sort of manic, breathless pace to this junior occultist's journey into esotery that anybody looking for. Instead, it all just feels rushed and hurried.
For as much as we rag on exposition, you still need at least some of it. We need a longer explanation for that boar god. We need a longer explanation for those arcana circles.
Watch this episode, "Tale of the Beginning” here and decide for yourself.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
