It’s interesting how fan communities often lionize the idea of “thematic depth” in stories, as if fiction with an underlying philosophical message is somehow more worthy than works that are largely concerned with having a good time. It makes sense for a few reasons – we see complexity as an inherent good, we see works that are trying to change the viewers’ minds as more challenging or morally profound, we more deeply connect with the works that taught us something new, etcetera. But it’s also a little funny to me, since there’s no type of art more prone to sermonizing than family entertainment.
Yearly Archives: 2016
Nichijou – Episode 3
The Nichijou train continues, as I fire off a series of staid, thoughtful reactions to three girls dunking on each other and a robot with a giant key in its back. This episode was framed from the perspective of Nano and the professor’s cat, and cats are good, so this was a good episode. I also spend some time rambling about the various dramatic roles played by the three high school characters. There’s lots of jokes to laboriously critique today, so let’s get right to it!
Charlotte, Part One – Review
So yeah, it seems I’ve found myself reviewing Jun Maeda’s latest production. And so far, Charlotte has proven to be… well, Jun Maeda’s latest production. The same broad character roles, the same hysterical dramatic peaks, the same fundamental lack of narrative foundation. Charlotte is far from the worst show, but it certainly isn’t a good one, and Maeda really does seem to be one of the least talented superstar writers out there. That said, Charlotte actually seemed to be getting more entertaining as it fell off the rails, so here’s hoping the second half is a beautiful disaster.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!
Summer 2016 – Week 8 in Review
Dear lord it’s week eight. We are almost three quarters of the way through the summer season. August is practically over. What the hell is going on.
Well, anime is going on. Outside of our communal existential dread at somehow being yet another week older, things haven’t changed much in anime land – Aqours are still doing their best, Urobuchi’s puppets are still being delightfully ridiculous, and Tsumugi is still hungry for new snacks. This was another placeholder week in anime, with its various low points being balanced out by some unexpected highs. So let’s start with the good news then, and get right into Love Live Sunshine’s big episode!
Mob Psycho 100 – Episode 7
Mob Psycho finally had a weaker episode this time, after a fairly consistent streak of excellence. The way this episode was weaker makes me think the show is trying to hit some later arc in the manga, but either way, it resulted in a somewhat unsatisfying middle phase of Ritsu’s current arc. ONE isn’t the most insightful of social scientists, and speeding up his stories only emphasizes that – Ritsu and Shinji were both shortchanged by this episode’s pacing, and the conclusion suffered for it. Hopefully we’ll be back on track next week!
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Mawaru Penguindrum – Episode 8
Episode eight starts with a crack of thunder, as Ringo drags her creepy self up from beneath the floorboards. Framed in jolts of lightning and hideous shadows, Ringo’s attempted consummation is anything but romantic – and of course, that’s the only way it could work. By framing Ringo’s actions as a horror movie, Penguindrum both clearly demonstrates that it doesn’t agree with her actions, and also somewhat stylizes and thus softens the dramatic impact of Ringo actually trying to rape someone.
Orange – Episode 8
Orange has achieved new heights of “will they or won’t they” assholery, following up last episode’s mutual confession with the reveal that Kakeru doesn’t want to date Naho because he might eventually hurt her. As simultaneously infuriating and true to his character that was, it wasn’t really my big problem with this episode. The real issue here is that Orange’s production has at this point entirely sunk, meaning it’s shifted from occasionally attempting to portray the illusion of movement to just kinda sequencing still shots in a row. It’s a shame when a show that so desperately needs strong animation is so entirely bereft of it.
You can check out my full review over at ANN!
Why It Works: Yukako’s Fairy Tale
I returned to JoJo again this week, unable to avoid the temptation of talking about a Yukako episode. Unfortunately, this article isn’t really about how Yukako herself is awesome – it’s more about the framing of her Cinderella story, and the influences it’s drawing on in both a narrative and visual sense. Hopefully that still sounds pretty entertaining!
Why It Works: Yukako’s Fairy Tale
Nichijou – Episode 2
Welp, I’m still burning through Nichijou, and it’s still offering a wild menagerie of jokes to comment on. As with the first episode, I found enough to comment on just within my notes that I’m making the second episode an article in its own right. These are almost turning into accidental time-stamp writeups, which is very craft of you guys to trick me into doing. Let’s get right to episode two!
Wandering Son – Episode 5
There is no one unifying point of Wandering Son’s fifth episode. As summer trudges towards its end, all of Wandering Son’s stars deal with the approaching cultural festival in their own way. Secrets are revealed, angry resolutions are made, and incompatible desires drift and collide in small ways. And through it all, Wandering Son’s consistent framing presents them as isolated in their world, tiny figures almost lost in a space beyond their control.