Oh man am I ever ready for this one. The prologue flash-forward has been reached, Koto has been devoured, and we’re well on our way towards new, uncharted material. This is a delicate stage for any show actually seeking emotional truth – the search for a resolution that doesn’t invalidate the poignant, complex nature of the feelings presented so far. “Koto’s back! Everyone’s happy!” wouldn’t do it – that would basically end Yase’s arc without any growth whatsoever, and wouldn’t be particularly meaningful for either Kurama or Myoe. “Everyone escapes the Mirror City!” certainly wouldn’t do it either – both Kurama and Myoe need to learn from this place before they can be given their rewards. However narrative victory is achieved will be somewhat beside the point – this is a show about people, and waving a wand to fix characters’ problems renders any story about people emotionally meaningless. The key here is obviously young Koto – she’s the new variable, the person who’s already succeeded in giving Myoe something worth protecting, with the potential to change the other two as well. Her return from her visit with Mom should herald some serious shifts – though as I said in my week in review post, I’m hoping that return doesn’t cometoo quickly, because I’m eager to see Myoe legitimately angry at his siblings. In fact, I’ll take more of Myoe however the show feels inclined to show him – he’s easily my favorite character of the season. So let’s get to it!
Tag Archives: Kyousogiga
Fall 2013 – Week 8 in Review
It’s kind of pointless to talk about this week in anime without addressing the gorilla in the room, so let’s get that out of the way first.
Kyousogiga – Episode 6
So apparently last episode concluded the material originally covered by the OVAs. Which, first of all, seems kind of crazy to me. I’ve heard from people who watched the OVAs that the current season’s patchwork nature is fairly apparent, but as a first-time watcher, this has all felt like a remarkably cohesive work – each episode seems paced extremely well, each episode has told its own cohesive current story, each episode has also detailed the life story and motivation of one of our principles while knocking the overarching plot a few feet down the road. Episode two built perfectly towards the source of Koto’s confidence – episode five neatly danced around and then revealed the nature of Myoe’s emptiness. If this is what the show can do even while working around existing material, then…
Well, I’m excited to see what happens next.
Fall 2013 – First Half in Review
Welp, halfway through the season. I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve found new favorites and forfeit significant respect for old ones. Overall, this season easily eclipses the last three in terms of purely watchable shows, though its top tier is fairly similar in size to last season’s. But then again, that “watchability” level might just be a sign of my entertainment standards dipping, so I guess I have nothing valuable to tell you! On that note, let’s run down the list.
Kyousogiga – Episode 5
Alright, time for the best show of the season. My evangelizing has already begun in earnest – last night, I ended up watching the first two episodes again (1 and 2, skipping 0) with one of my housemates. Which, first of all, let me notice a few more nice details in this very well-designed piece. Yase’s lines in the first episode are great, and gain a retroactive poignance given the events of her own episode – when asked if she likes it in the Mirror Capital, she says “Yeah! I love being with Mom, and fun stuff happens all the time. Like that train station that just opened!” Ouch. Koto’s fox-father also wears a mask strongly reminiscent of the one worn by the priest who banished the first Myoe, and at this point it seems beyond question that her fox is Myoe himself.
But beyond seeing more clever details, just letting the show do its thing this second time really ground in exactly how strong this overall production is. There’s just no comparison – if most shows are daytime television, this is film. The aesthetic, the writing, the direction… it’s all great, and the show makes no mistakes.
Fall 2013 – Week 5 in Review
I almost feel like this entire season has had an overall theme for me – entertainment. Normally, I only watch 3-4 shows in a season, but I actually find all of those shows stimulating in some way – involving some degree of give and take. Last season, Eccentric Family, Gatchaman Crowds, and Monogatari all actually engaged me, providing interesting ideas and conversations along with their great aesthetics. I wouldn’t finish an episode and think, “well, that was fun” – I’d actually be doing fist pumps about how great this medium is, and how well those shows were handling their ideas. This season? There’s an awful lot of sound and fury. Which is fine, for what it is, and I’m not saying every show is that way – intelligence is more than just thematic density, after all, and I think most of these shows are smartly written. In fact, maybe the difference here is that this season has a lot of strict entertainment in the styles that actually appeal to me, considering the glut of self-aware comedies and smartly constructed action/adventure shows and whatnot.
Maybe I’m just developing shit taste.
Who knows.
Kyousogiga – Episode 4
I’m guessing it’s time for a Yase episode. Eager to see how her own feelings reflect on those of her siblings – Kurama and Myoe each want out of the Mirror Capital for their own reasons, and I assume Yase will have a still different take. Let’s find out.
Fall 2013 – Week 4 in Review
It’s pretty remarkable (and, from a writing-about-anime perspective, frankly intimidating) how well this season is holding up. Maybe it’ll just take a couple more weeks or something, but so far virtually none of the shows I initially enjoyed have fallen apart, and some of them have actually improved. Currently I’m impressed by as many shows this season as I was by pretty much the entire rest of the year to date. Running it down…
Kyousogiga – Episode 3
Not sure how I’m gonna format this. Kinda just want to watch this show straight through. We’ll see!
Fall 2013 – Week 3 in Review
Unless three or four shows spontaneously turn terrible, this season’s ridiculous set of shows is going to kill me. I don’t even