ThomasNATION Reviews - Kana Goes Slow
April 09, 2022
Out of all the new All Engines Go! characters, Kana seems to be the one with the most promise. Sure, her personality's a little bit of a blank slate, but there's a lot of story potential with her that could be explored, for example, maybe an episode where she becomes cautious of her own speed, much like what Cautious Connor did. In fact, one of the potential story ideas I wanted to see from Kana is being explored here - where she has to slow down and learn that life isn't about going fast. But how is this idea tackled? Let's begin.
After Kana breaks down, Thomas makes a promise (I'm not calling it a Thomas promise, ya can't make me) to help her deliver her cargo to Vicarstown before sundown. But this means Kana has to slow down and go at an average speed.
Storytelling was never the reboot's strong point, seeing as the stories always came off as too predictable or sometimes banal. But to this episode's credit, the story does seem to be ripped straight from the original series, which honestly makes it work. Not to say that's a ripoff of episodes like Time for Trouble or, to an extent, Gordon Runs Dry, but it retains the simplicity that came with the original. There's no high-speed race full of twists and turns, no rocket launches and no...whatever the hell Dragon Run was. It's just a simple little romp through the island with Kana and Thomas. This also leads to some solid jokes here and there, since not only are there a couple of chuckle-worthy exchanges between the Troublesome Trucks, but even some of the visual gags are pretty well done.
The one problem with the storytelling here is that it does come off as rather predictable, where you can guess how the story goes from the moment the conflict is set up. From the moment Kana breaks down, you'll practically know that Thomas has to take her, ends up showing her the fun sights, loses track and gets derailed, climbs back onto the track, takes Kana to Vicarstown and she ends up repaired. But this could be a nitpick more than anything, and it doesn't subtract from the rest of the episode's charm.
Because that's what Kana Goes Slow is - a charming and funny ride through Sodor. Ironic that the moral is that it's nice to slow down and appreciate the little things, since this episode proves that the reboot doesn't need to go big and bombastic to be good, it just needs to take it easy and keep things simple, which is why I recommend checking it out, but if you're still cautious about the reboot, this may not change your mind either way. But I still find it pretty entertaining, so it's gonna be a 4/5 from me.
Final Score: 4/5
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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