Yearly Archives: 2016

Sound! Euphonium S2 – Episode 3

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Oh jeez, Sound! Euphonium was really good this week? How friggin’ predictable.

Yeah, this episode was great. Given a cohesive thematic center through Kumiko’s repeated reflections on competitions, full of sharp conversations featuring some as-of-yet underutilized characters, it basically did everything I’d want from a Eupho episode. And that gorgeous performance by Asuka at the end was basically a cherry on top – the show didn’t need that moment, but it’s sometimes those accidental encounters that end up the most meaningful. Euphonium is a hell of a show.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy – Review

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Today I reviewed Thunderbolt Fantasy, because why the hell wouldn’t I review Thunderbolt Fantasy. The show was ridiculously entertaining, easily one of the best times I’ve had this year, and thoroughly deserving of more recognition. I get the feeling the puppet style means it naturally breaks the suspension of disbelief for many fans out there, but hopefully spotlighting its strengths will convince a few more people to give it a chance. I’m sorry I doubted you, Urobuchi. Do whatever weird experiment you want next, I’m definitely on board.

You can check out my full review over at ANN.

Thunderbolt Fantasy

Fall 2016 – Week 2 in Review

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Preview week has finally concluded, and most shows are already past their second or even third episodes. This season turned out to be even more bountiful than I’d expected, meaning I’ve had to make some ruthless cuts to make the absolutely most efficient usage of my cartoon consumption experience. Magical Girl Raising Project’s second episode killed the sleepy magical girl, so it’s off the list. Keijo’s second episode only had me intermittently laughing through its first half, so it’s gone. With roughly forty or fifty weekly articles to write, I’ve been forced to cut down my list of “leisure anime” to only the fiercest, boldest, most ruthless entertainment machines on the market. It’s brutal work watching all these cartoons, but I can take solace in compressing the painstaking work of dozens of artists and animators into an offhand paragraph for your lunch break consumption. Let’s grit our teeth, clench our bowels, and RUN THIS DOWN!

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Popee the Performer – Episodes 1-4

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Welp, somebody paid for some Popee the Performer notes, and you all know what that means. All I really know about Popee is that it’s an insane CG shock-comedy spectacle and that @shinmaru has very honorably matched my dedication to Speedwagon with his own psycho clown avatar. I really don’t know what, i craft I’ll be able to glean out of this experience, but I’m beginning to suspect you guys fund these things just to see me try and spin meaning out of bullshit, so hopefully my generous benefactor will be satisfied either way. Let’s get right into Popee the God Damn Performer!

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March comes in like a lion – Episodes 1-2

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And with March comes in like a lion, we’ve got all three of my episodic shows up and running. March is very excellent so far – its tone can sometimes feel disjointed and its comedy can be pretty bad, but its characters and framing are easily strong enough to make up for those issues. Some shows can get by purely by conveying a character’s headspace as well as this show’s first episode – the fact that it seems the character development going forward will be just as strong is gravy. I’m having a great time with this one!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below.

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Why It Works: Rough Gems of the Fall Season

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This week on Crunchyroll I gave a wave to a few of the less renowned premieres of the season, before we get into the period where I can only really discuss the shows I’m actually following. There’s just too many dang shows out there for me to watch everything, but I’m sure somebody could use the direction of these recommendations. It can become easy to forget that to most people, there’s really no way of knowing what new shows might actually appeal to you!

Why It Works: Rough Gems of the Fall Season

Kiss Him, Not Me

Planetes – Episode 14

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You know, I was ready to get extremely mad at this episode. Based on the setup of the first half, it looked like the show was going to throw half a dozen new wrenches into Tanabe and Hachi’s relationship, delaying progress purely for the sake of more juicy, artificial drama. But while this episode was a little heavy on the will-they-or-won’t-they stuff, it actually pulled their story together with some real grace. Tanabe and Hachi’s relationship has at times been Planetes’ weakest element, but it turns out you can’t keep a good ship down.

(I’m sorry)

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Nichijou – Episode 11

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As of the time of this writing, I’m currently only funded through eight episodes of Nichijou. This is episode eleven. I do not give a fuck. Nichijou is fantastic, I will watch it whatever the consequences, this is the hill I will die on. If anyone is actually reading this now, that hopefully means the funding has actually reached this point. Don’t ask current me how much Nichijou he has watched since then. You will not like the answer.

Anyway, that’s enough preamble. LET’S GET RIGHT TO THESE NICHIJOUS.

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Girlish Number – Episode 1

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Girlish Number has begun, and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from Wataru Watari versus the industry. The characters and dialogue in this one are already terrific, and I was happy to see those strengths matched with some great expression work all throughout. Hopefully this one keeps it together!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Sound! Euphonium 2 – Episodes 1-2

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Sound! Euphonium has returned, and holy shit these reviews are going to kill me. I feel like I’ve actually gotten more thorough in my episodic posts since the first season, and those were already some of the most consistently oversized reviews I did for ANN. KyoAni may be the death of me, but it is a fine death indeed!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

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