How Zeke Got Religion

No spoilers

Fantastic, over the top, gory, classic LDR episode that tickles an ADHD brain. Pulls you in one hundred different directions and not for those with a weak stomach. Not the first episode I would recommend to an LDR newbie but still wildly drastic and imaginative. Animation artistry on point as always, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and would recommend to those that have already experienced the mind-eff that is season one and two.

My only complaint it that it's a complete steal of mid-war Howl from Howl's Moving Castle and No-Face from Spirited Away. I know most episodes are a nod to another smash hit, just my personal taste that wishes there was a moment of gratitude to Ghibli.

This episode seemed to be a generic hodgepodge of Nazi/WWII symbolism with a "Vote For Jesus" at the very end.

The audience was provided zero information on the motivations of the characters. Its just "blah blah blah, I'm an atheist" and then another guy is like "you sure about that?" Something something, a church is bombed, something something a demon appears, something something, God exists. That's the premise of the story. No explanation of why a church is bombed, or for the demons existence. It's just there for the plot to conveniently move along.

Worst episode I have seen, and it's not even close.

Preachy as hell and rarely entertaining. 1 star.

This was disappointing.

During World War II, a lone bomber is sent to take out a church where Nazis are performing an occult ritual.

This is a nice mix of Hellboy story and the B-17 story from Heavy Metal. I don't know that I would have made such an incredibly strong callback to Heavy Metal, but it turns out to be different.

The primary difference is the monster. Whereas B-17 featured zombies, this one is a lot more in line with Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics set during World War II. You've got occult Nazis, evil Lovecraftian things summoned from hell, and a plucky group of good guys.

The art is good. The animation is pretty jerky, and it seems to have a low frame rate. The art draws more parallels back to B-17, though, which does make me wish the story stood on its own two feet a bit more.

However, the characters have names, which I don't think B-17 even really bothered with. There's also quick characterization and a bit of plot. Zeke, the title character, is an atheist, so we get to see how he deals with fighting a demon.

The design of the demon is pretty cool. Some of it is pretty horrifying. Lots of extra arms and mouths, certainly more Lovecraftian than the final episode. There's quite a bit of gore once the demon appears. The action sequences and kills are fairly creative for such cramped quarters, though the frame rate is a bit distracting.

I think it distinguishes itself from B-17 while also homaging one of the more memorable animated horror shorts. If you're a fan of that, you'll probably like this, too, though you may wish it were a bit more original.

From the beginning, I immediately got flashbacks to the early 80s Heavy Metal movie and the bomber scene. This one has a different twist and not as lasting, but a fun episode. Not as many memorable episodes in season 4, so this stuck out as a bright spot for me. Hopefully the writers get back on track for season 5.

While I wouldn't say this short had much to offer in terms of interesting/engaging narrative like a lot of LDR shorts, it makes up for it with an incredibly cool monster design and great animation.

Firstly, the demon was definitely the best part of this episode. Its design was so unique and very creepy, seeming to take inspiration from eastern horror. You could tell the creators of this short put a lot of work into creating this thing like the design and its wild powers.

Second, I'm a big fan of this style of animation. It looked great and the gory parts were definitely visceral and quite vivid. I thought the backstory and context was engaging as well, with a lot of mysterious elements that left me wanting more lore from this universe.