Yearly Archives: 2016

Sound! Euphonium 2 – Episode 11

Posted on by

Well, this episode kinda sucked. My review focuses on KyoAni “doing the best with the material they were given,” but apparently that’s not actually true – this whole sequence took up just a few pages in the book, and the studio crew apparently decided to turn it into a full episode of nonsense. Reina’s crush has always been a pretty silly conflict, and giving it a full episode right near the end of the season certainly didn’t help. Ah well.

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

Continue reading →

Girlish Number – Episode 10

Posted on by

Poor, poor Chitose. This episode really did make me feel for her – she may be a brat, but the things she’s going through are just too real for me to help but sympathize with her. Girlish Number’s articulation of the fear of being left behind, and the ways we’re forced to act publicly even when we think we’re losing everything, made this a tough episode to sit through. Chitose’s burned a lot of bridges at this point, but I hope she makes it out of this okay.

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

Continue reading →

Fall 2016 – Week 10 in Review

Posted on by

We’re coming to the close now. With 2016 ending on America electing its first Russia-approved candidate, it’s a little hard for anime to really shock me, and so I’m perfectly fine with embracing stability in my Japanese cartoons. The fall’s highlights all seem to be ending strong at this point – Euphonium has risen from a weak middle arc to some stunning Asuka-focused material, Flip Flappers is actually making a coherent transition into its more straightforward endgame, and Yuri on Ice is finally giving Victor the focus he needs. And if strong new episodes aren’t enough for you, I also made posts I’m happy with for fans at either end of the pool: a next step recommendation list for new fans, and a dive into Studio Pablo’s background work for regulars. But these posts are for celebrating the week’s anime, so let’s get right back to that and RUN THIS WEEK DOWN!

Continue reading →

Owarimonogatari, Part One – Review

Posted on by

The Monogatari review train continues today, as I return to the Ougi/Sodachi-focused stretch of Owarimonogatari. Looked at in total, these arcs feel a little awkwardly placed in the narrative, largely because adding a character like Sodachi is both disruptive and a return to a long-abandoned Monogatari format. But Sodachi’s a reasonably compelling character in her own right, and only getting Ougi’s introduction now is actually some pretty great storytelling – though this is her first chronological appearance in the story, it feels like the natural progression from the times we’ve seen her before. I kinda doubt Monogatari will give us a clean conclusion to Ougi’s narrative, but I guess we’ll have to see what the end of the final season brings.

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

Continue reading →

Mawaru Penguindrum – Episode 12

Posted on by

Penguindrum’s twelfth episode begins with a familiar refrain, as we hear Shoma’s bitter speech on fate revisited in Kanba’s voice. But this time, it’s tied to the hospital, and the mysterious man known only as Sanetoshi. A clear set of new symbols mark the occasion – two black rabbits with piercing red eyes, and an apple with a bullet sticker. Sanetoshi places a picture frame on the doctor’s desk, and we see it’s of some expedition to the arctic, marked with the familiar penguin logo. One man in particular is familiar to us – sharing a unique set of angular, unfriendly eyes, he’s almost certainly Kanba’s father.

Continue reading →

March comes in like a lion – Episode 9

Posted on by

March comes in like a lion had a bit of a lesser episode this week, though Rei’s match against Mr. Matsunaga was still both entertaining and dramatically important. I continue to appreciate how thoughtfully March approaches character drama focused on someone who’s fundamentally unhappy – Rei’s daily life is full of failures, victories, and new emotional discoveries, but all of that occurs in the context of his more overarching depression. Some occasional lazy jokes are a fine price of admission to a show that handles March’s key variables this well.

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

Continue reading →

Why It Works: Sculpting Worlds with Studio Pablo

Posted on by

Alright, so this one technically isn’t another Flip Flappers article – it instead focuses on Studio Pablo specifically, whose gorgeous background art lends the show so much of its power. But Pablo aren’t only associated with Flip Flappers, meaning I got to have a lot of fun digging around through their history to find even more highlights of their work. As someone who often appreciates shows for their mastery of tone more than anything else, background art is pretty dang important to me. I hope you enjoy the piece!

Why It Works: Sculpting Worlds with Studio Pablo

Flip Flappers

Nichijou – Episode 18

Posted on by

And we’re back on the Nichijou train! Last episode was very important, as it finally saw the integration of Nano into the group of high school friends. I was extremely relieved to see that; the show’s tone had been suffering overall from Nano’s unhappiness, and letting the professor interact with people like Yuuko and Mai seems like an extremely good plan. The professor is frankly becoming one of my favorite anime characters – I’ve come to terms with the fact that a truly good Yotsuba anime will almost certainly never exist, but the professor seems to demonstrate it’s not actually an impossibility. Either way, Nichijou is here right now, so LET’S GET TO IT.

Continue reading →

The Best Anime Next Steps

Posted on by

There are a lot of anime out there! Literally thousands, with over a hundred more being released every year. There are new hits every season, and old favorites that have slowly lost their topical sheen. Given all those shows, it can be understandably hard to pick what to watch next – anime, like every other medium, is full of stuff that will disappoint you, and everyone’s tastes are different.

My own tastes in particular are a little weird – I like arthouse stuff and intimate character studies and occasional cathartic message-focused shows. But fortunately, there is indeed such a thing as “normal” taste in anime, or at least the most common preferences shared by fans outside of Japan. And today, I’m hoping to help that audience – or more specifically, hopefully, You.

Continue reading →

Sound! Euphonium 2 – Episode 10

Posted on by

Euphonium had another stunner this week, finishing off Asuka’s story in the most cathartic possible manner. Even Mamiko’s material was really great this time, and the contrast between the two couldn’t be starker – Mamiko’s scene was all quiet reflections on the realities of family, Asuka’s was a melodramatic showdown between two of the show’s most compelling figures. Euphonium 2 has had some rough patches, but this last arc has been the series at its best.

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

Continue reading →