Today on Why It Works, I’ve got another topical list for everyone, courtesy of the end-of-season drought of things to actually critique. This one’s a pretty fun list though, and runs down a pretty wide array of shows I’ve enjoyed over recent years, highlighting them for tonal strengths that are sometimes overshadowed by their overt premises. Here’s the list!
10 Anime to Inspire Your Summer Vacation!
Having most recently tasked our heroes with mastering Dance Dance Revolution in order to defeat an angel in a dance-off, followed by wrestling in a volcano while wearing a fat suit, it should be clear at this point that Evangelion’s reputation as a grim and self-serious production is perhaps a touch overstated. While we’ve already run through episodes that grapple frankly with topics like social isolation, anxiety, and depression, the arrival of Asuka has heralded our entrance into the middle act of Neon Genesis Evangelion, where it most closely resembles a conventional episodic giant robot show. Shinji has gained friends and allies, the full NERV team has been established, and the stage is properly set for a menagerie of bizarre angels to attack NERV. But all of that is not to say that this stretch of episodes is lacking in aesthetic craft or distinctive personality – on the contrary, episode eleven’s pacing and directorial style offer one of the most clearly defined and energetic personalities of the show so far.
Alright everyone, we’re diving back into Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The show’s previous episode was a goddamn barn-burner, both illustrating Fate’s continued integration into a loving civilian life, and also pulling off some of the most technically impressive fights of the series so far. To be honest, that feels like the Nanoha A’s experience in a nutshell – a looping sequence of thinking “surely they can’t top THIS fight,” only for that fight to be dutifully topped by whatever clash happens next. And in episode seven’s case, the introduction of cartridge shells to both of our heroines’ staffs meant their attacks grew in both power and flexibility, leading to Vita almost getting nuked out of orbit.
Instead, our masked spoiler arrived, saving Vita and stabbing Fate in the back. Right now my money’s on that guy secretly being the old admiral, but I have no in-text reason for that suspicion – it’s solely a “well, they introduced this guy and haven’t done anything with him, so maybe he’s secretly evil” meta-textual assumption. Whether we receive some actual clues or focus on some other thread entirely, I’m very ready to continue this bombastic adventure. Let’s check out Nanoha A’s!
Folks, I’d say it’s well past time we settle down for another episode of Girls’ Last Tour. This production has been a charming and profoundly atmospheric show from episode one, with the sound design, use of color and space, and general pacing consistently elevating the show’s world from a narrative conceit to an immediate, tangible reality. From the start, the show has embraced the unique emotional appeal of the apocalyptic travelogue, contrasting a global situation that seems completely hopeless against a friendship that at least provides a light in the dark.
Last episode, the thematic subtext which tends to always underline this subgenre rose up into the actual text. The introduction of Kanazawa, an actual human in the wasteland, led the show to frame its thoughts on purpose and hope in the starkest of terms. While Chi and Yuu at least have each other, Kanazawa’s source of meaning was the map he was creating – in a world gone to ruin, he found hope through his dream of cataloging the fading city. But when his map blew away in the wind, Kanazawa was forced to ask himself why he really keeps moving, and what purpose he can actually serve in this world. Ultimately, Kanazawa was consoled by the unexpectedly profound words of Yuu: “you don’t need a reason. Good things happen sometimes.”
Yuu might not understand the gravity of those words, but “you don’t need a reason. Good things happen sometimes” is one of my favorite thematic arguments. Life is messy and unsatisfying, and we often won’t get the clean endings or earned payoffs we feel we deserve. Life is like people in that way, and just as I love shows about messy people, I love shows about messy lives, stories where our heroes just have each other, and ultimately discover that maybe that’s enough. In the realm of apocalyptic travelogue, “good things will happen sometimes” stands alongside “at least we have each other” as the defiant counterpoint to society’s wholesale collapse.
In shows like Sound of the Sky or Planetarian or even Kemono Friends, the world as we knew it isn’t coming back – the time for gallant heroes who set things right has passed, and all such heroes are dead and gone. But people live on past society’s end, and though we don’t need society, we do need hope. Yuu helped Kanazawa rediscover that hope, demonstrating the grounding kindness and common-sense, one-foot-in-front-of-the-other attitude that has likely kept Chi standing as well. It was a terrific episode, and though I suspect we’ll probably be heading back to more scattered vignettes this time, I’m eager to see what wonders this city still holds. Let’s dive into another episode of Girls’ Last Tour!
The spring season just doesn’t seem to be ending that well, unfortunately. Though this week’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was hindered more by the inherent limitations of an exposition-focused episode, both Demon Slayer and Carole & Tuesday felt like they were running out of momentum, and too often lingering on their worst elements. Demon Slayer in particular is definitely hovering in the drop range at this point – the show’s writing is consistently terrible, and the reintroduction of the insufferable Zenitsu made it feel like the show was outright challenging me to keep watching. At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m only sticking with the show until the summer provides some new bright-eyed anime children to suffer my inevitable disappointment – but until then, I’ve got plenty of grievances to share with all of you. Let’s break down another resoundingly mediocre week in anime!
Today on Why It Works, I offered my usual rapid-fire list of upcoming seasonal contenders, with the summer’s particularly broad slate giving me plenty of shows to talk about. I’m not sure how many of these action shows I’ll actually be keeping up with, but with JoJo ending and Demon Slayer continuing to disappoint, I’m guessing I’ll at least be picking up Dr. Stone and Fire Force. O Maidens also seems like a given, and Granbelm definitely has a lot of potential. Without clear guidelines like “Watanabe and Ikuhara are making shows,” the season’s prospects are a lot more open, and I’m excited to see where all these shows sort out. Here’s my list!
Anime to Look Out For in the Summer Season!
After being forced to share the stage with that idiot Shinji during both her grand debut and her first official mission, Asuka Langley Soryu at last enjoys the full spotlight in Neon Genesis Evangelion’s tenth episode. No collaborating with wimpy boys, no interference from that creepy Rei Ayanami, no one at all to stop Asuka from demonstrating her brilliance as the greatest of Eva pilots, a hero with the talent, beauty, and courage necessary to inspire humanity’s future. Stand back and secure those dropped jaws, folks. Asuka has arrived.
At long last, we return to Hugtto! Pretty Cure. I’ve been greatly enjoying our journey through Hugtto!, both appreciating how it illustrates the evolution of the magical girl genre, and also enjoying it as a charming, good-hearted, and visually compelling production in its own right. While standout episodes like Homare’s big introduction have been genuinely stunning, episode-of-the-year level aesthetic objects, even the show’s usual mode is energetic and visually appealing and an altogether endearing time. And as a standard-bearer for its genre, Pretty Cure essentially slots in between Ojamajo Doremi and Nanoha, blending its life lessons with falcon punches while offering an unexpectedly forward-thinking focus on the difficulties of integrating into adulthood.
Our last episode was Saaya-focused, and featured a rival from her glamorous Veggie Girl past coming back to challenge her commitment to acting. With that resolving on the refreshing “I genuinely don’t know what I want yet, but I’d like to keep acting in order to find out,” we find ourselves immediately bumping into an old friend from Homare’s past. Homare’s focus episodes have been the show’s strongest yet, and though I’m not necessarily expecting another aesthetic triumph on the scale of her first appearance, I’m still excited to see what the show can pull together next. Let’s dive into Hugtto’s eighth episode!
It’s generally a good policy to design your stories with a planned beginning, middle, and endpoint. Certainly leave yourself room for creative twists and new discoveries along the way, but beginning with a coherent, planned structure is crucial if you want your story to feel like a satisfying, cohesive saga. Of course, not all stories can afford to open with knowledge of their ending – particularly stories in mediums like weekly manga, where concerns like “what new variables can I introduce to keep readers hooked” will often trump more luxurious questions like “how do these new variables further articulate my story’s fundamental point.” Continuing weekly narratives demand novelty, and novelty often ends up evolving into baggage.
This was not the best week in spring anime, I am sorry to say. Carole & Tuesday had what was easily its worst episode to date, and leaned into pretty much all of the show’s most dubious qualities, from its questionable sense of humor to its nearsighted cynical streak. Demon Slayer’s visual execution tried its best to make up for its lousy writing, but with even the mechanics of this week’s fight lacking in creativity, there was only so much to be done. And Sarazanmai… well, I’ve actually dropped Sarazanmai for now, after having it feel like a chore for most of the season. The show had recently made some strides towards humanizing its relatively flat characters, but trying to care about the show has always felt more like work than pleasure – like it assumes I should care about its characters and their entirely metaphorical world just because those things exist, and not because the show offers any points of emotional entry or narrative hooks. But hey, at least JoJo is still great! We’ll save the JoJo rambling for the finale then, and start off this week in review with a treacherous journey through the week’s lowlights. Let’s break down some cartoons!