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Garden of evil
'Ultimate Book of Spells' first aired when this reviewer was 9. Liked it a lot back then, and have revisited it a number of times since as a fan of animation. It is far from ground-breaking or one of the best shows, animated and not, ever made, but it also does not deserve its now relatively forgotten status. Thank goodness for good old Youtube. Can totally see the criticisms it garners for being closely indebted to Harry Potter (only picked up upon some while after the show first aired), and there are elements throughout that are very similar and clearly inspired, but this viewer considers it more of a love letter rather than a rip off.
On the whole, the episodes were getting better and better, but there is a slight dip with "Rootopia of all Evil". It's still quite good and with it being one of my first episodes of 'Ultimate Book of Spells' there is a fondness for it, just not quite as involving as "He Who Laughs Last" for instance. A lot of good things can be seen in "Rootopia of all Evil", many of them being in the previous three episodes as well, but there are a few things that are not quite as good as they could have been.
Beginning with the good things, most of the animation is colourful and crisp. Especially the Rootopia background art, the animation in Zarlak's short scene at the end and the imposing character animation of the stone head. The music fits well and doesn't sound out of date. Catchy theme tune. Have little to fault the voice acting for, with Cassy, UBOS and Zarlak being particularly well voiced (Cassy's upset, desperation and determination were really brought to life in the voice acting.
The writing is not juvenile or complicated and was really struck as a young adult how self-aware and on the nose it is. Cassy's hilarious tactless standing up to Zarlak being the highlight. A lot of charm can be found in the storytelling, with an amusing beginning and Cassy's relationship with the flowers is so caring and charming. The climax is very well done and UBOS is his wise, gruff and funny self. The episode does a great job with the two settings, Vonderland already feels magical and immersive and Rootopia gives the creeps.
"Rootopia of all Evil" isn't perfect. It does take a while to take going in a story that is slighter than most in the show and Zarlak's plan is not one of his best or most logical ones, the question "what would he want with flowers" is on the viewer's lips for most of the episode and even when explained it's not easy to buy.
It's hard to overlook as well the really bad animation once Gus, Verne and UBOS are captured and underground (for example a flower practically gliding mid-air in not very fast motion for no reason), especially the static and hasty looking character animation. It was like the animators had either run out of budget or had cut it fine finishing the episode on time.
Overall, nice episode but not one of the show's best. 7/10.
On the whole, the episodes were getting better and better, but there is a slight dip with "Rootopia of all Evil". It's still quite good and with it being one of my first episodes of 'Ultimate Book of Spells' there is a fondness for it, just not quite as involving as "He Who Laughs Last" for instance. A lot of good things can be seen in "Rootopia of all Evil", many of them being in the previous three episodes as well, but there are a few things that are not quite as good as they could have been.
Beginning with the good things, most of the animation is colourful and crisp. Especially the Rootopia background art, the animation in Zarlak's short scene at the end and the imposing character animation of the stone head. The music fits well and doesn't sound out of date. Catchy theme tune. Have little to fault the voice acting for, with Cassy, UBOS and Zarlak being particularly well voiced (Cassy's upset, desperation and determination were really brought to life in the voice acting.
The writing is not juvenile or complicated and was really struck as a young adult how self-aware and on the nose it is. Cassy's hilarious tactless standing up to Zarlak being the highlight. A lot of charm can be found in the storytelling, with an amusing beginning and Cassy's relationship with the flowers is so caring and charming. The climax is very well done and UBOS is his wise, gruff and funny self. The episode does a great job with the two settings, Vonderland already feels magical and immersive and Rootopia gives the creeps.
"Rootopia of all Evil" isn't perfect. It does take a while to take going in a story that is slighter than most in the show and Zarlak's plan is not one of his best or most logical ones, the question "what would he want with flowers" is on the viewer's lips for most of the episode and even when explained it's not easy to buy.
It's hard to overlook as well the really bad animation once Gus, Verne and UBOS are captured and underground (for example a flower practically gliding mid-air in not very fast motion for no reason), especially the static and hasty looking character animation. It was like the animators had either run out of budget or had cut it fine finishing the episode on time.
Overall, nice episode but not one of the show's best. 7/10.
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 18, 2023
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