Blood Blockade Battlefront: Even These Are the Worst and Best Days Ever

BLOOD BLOCKADE BATTLEFRONT (BBB) Ep 10.5: "Today on Tradey of L (if you know, you know)" Recap episodes/movies can often feel superficial or unimaginative, caring noting of the charm and uniqueness of the anime and the story. It often feels like these exist to add more runtime or as complication videos (which is not far from the truth). This episode mostly involves combining scenes from the actual anime, to form a jumbled up, barely understandable 20 minutes of animation, which does a poorer job at cathing-up newcomers to the story than a 20-second synopsis. And what is really soar to me, they fail to capture the actualfeel or essence of the anime. I can count on my hand the number of recap episodes that are not total misses to me. And out of all, BBB is the BEST recap episode that I have ever seen. It not only serves as an excellent recap but also a way to introduce newcomers to the story. It is so well made, expertly edited and directed, and teeming with personality that it can even qualify as one of the main episodes of the show. Without spoiling anything, Leo would tell or think of all the different things and people he saw and experienced in his time in Hellsalem`s loot This is a smart way to make the episode fit in the actual timeline of the anime instead of making it feel awkward and out of place, and it was done similarly in NGE as well. Instead of going through the entire plot, the episode show scenes from many of the episodes, but they mostly only speak about and elaborate on the main plot and characters. This keeps the episode focused and only gives you just the jist, encouraging you to still watch the whole anime. And the thing I was most happy about, the episode perfectly captures and introduces the world of the anime and its people, and manages to keep their charm and appeal intact. The direction style is still just as unique, and the jokes and dialogue, both old and new, still work just as well. And best of all, the intrigue and mystery of the main plot still feel just as interesting and heartwrenching. I love this episode and think it seta new bar for me for Recap episodes. It`s extremely well done. And this is coming from someone who has watched every episode of BBB multiple times before even finishing the anime for the first time. If you want to introduce the anime to someone, who doesn`t have time or enough desire to watch the whole show, this is a good choice (but still not an ideal one though and I still recommend everyone to watch the anime in its entirety). It is able to summarize the main plot and quickly introduces the characters. Though I recommend against it for multiple reasons, You can watch this and the last two episodes and not feel lost or left out, plotwise at least. For those who are planning to watch it whole or are currently watching it, do watch this after episode 10. This episode feels less like a recap and more like an intermission. A great way to hold you over to the finale. Thank you for reading and have a nice day or night.