Commentary: ‘Super Crooks’ Takes A Unique Approach To Its Pacing
by Frank Martin
Pacing is extremely important regardless of the medium in which the story is being told. Pacing that moves too slowly can leave the reader disengaged, while pacing that moves too quickly lacks enough room for characterization. The key is to find a balance between the two so the action can move the story along while character beats are spread out to fill the story with meaning. Anime has often been criticized for having extremely slow pacing. Dragon Ball Z is notorious for fights that last multiple episodes with characters screaming to power up or simply just staring at each other. Netflix’s adaptation of the Mark Millar comic Super Crooks is an anime that takes a rather unique approach to this problem.
The series follows the life of Johnny Bolt (Jonah Scott), an electrical-powered superhuman who originally wanted to become a hero as a kid before he accidentally electrocuted everyone at his community pool. Johnny fell into a life of crime, assembling a gang with a long-time super villain, the Heat (Doug Stone), in order to take down the heroic Praetorian (DC Douglas), who was really a criminal himself.
What’s unique about Super Crooks is that it doesn’t mix up pacing between action and characterization within its individual episodes. Instead, it devotes entire episodes to one or the other. Some episodes move very slowly and are all about building up character and setting up the plot, which basically means planning their heists. Meanwhile, the other episodes are all action. After the characterization and plot development is out of the way, the series dedicates entire episodes to nothing but chase scenes or superhero fighting. It’s a strange experience as some episodes can get very boring while others are the complete opposite. It makes for a very up-and-down viewing experience that’s rather unique and completely different from anything Western audiences are used to.
Super Crooks is now streaming on Netflix.