English Dub Review: Wandance “Prelims”

Overview:

Hulu has dropped the latest episode of Wandance, “Prelims,” which sees the club members try their hands at the dance battles. Three characters will hit the stage to show what they’ve got, sometimes even more than once.

Our Take:

The Inter-High Dance Battle’s solo division starts up and Assay is already back as one of the judges, leaving Kabo worried about being judged. This seems strange at first, considering how well he did in the competition, but then you remember how things played out with Assay before.

After how smoothly things seemed to be going for the dance club so far, it’s tempting to think the series was getting the previous school dance competition out of the way before the real drama can begin. This episode proves that right, since Kabo messes up throughout his time dancing. While the show’s 3D animation already suited the break-dancing seen in the last episode, it weirdly works even better when Kabo’s dancing is meant to be awkward.

Twisting the knife further, when other dancers, like Usen, try to reassure him, his stutter keeps him from talking, and he even forgot his phone, which explains the situation. To give him some small mercy, Wanda wasn’t there to see him mess up, due to her view of the monitor being blocked. This is enough to make Kabo smile. Of course, it’s tempting to think that Wanda not being there to watch him in the first place is the reason he was so out of step.

However, the drama doesn’t last for long. Kabo immediately redeems himself in the comeback round in what feels like a matter of seconds.

Soon, however, it becomes Wanda’s time to shine when we see her in her next battle. This time, she proves Kabo isn’t the only one with impressive imagination spots, as her steps transform her into the master of some sci-fi techno world. Even Kabo is left wondering about the place Wanda goes, where he cannot follow. Unfortunately, this also leaves him wondering if he is as close to her as he thought. Or as he’d like to be.

This series, however, doesn’t always need big effects to make the dancing look impressive. On and Usen finish out the episode with a battle of their own, and On shows there’s a reason she’s the dance club leader, once again combining the show’s 2D and 3D styles. It’s tempting to think that the show’s use of 3D animation was always meant for the break-dancing and they just took their time to show it. Whether or not you find On’s dancing impressive, it’s still great seeing her get a time to shine.