Today on Crunchyroll, I’m embarking on another two-parter, this time cataloging the shifting art design of Monogatari. I’ve collected so many damn images of this series that at this point, it’s fun just to sift through my own personal galleries, picking out the best representations of all of Monogatari’s myriad visual styles. This article only gets through the Oishi Monogatari material, but there’s certainly more than enough to dig into there!
Why It Works: A Monogatari Art Exhibition, Part One
This week’s Tsuredure Children was more focused on relationship progression than gags, but I’m already fully invested in these relationships, so I certainly didn’t mind that. The show’s balance of comedy and narrative would be impressive even if we were only focusing on one of these relationships – the fact that we’ve got so many couples and they’re all so strong is really something. Tsuredure Children continues to own this season.
Tsuredure Children – Episode 8
This week’s Classroom of the Elite was stupid in ways the show isn’t normally stupid, but not particularly surprising ways nonetheless. This was a goofy pool episode, meaning it was full of fanservice and even some jokes riffing on the show’s own usual absurdity. I’ve basically lost all expectations for this show, so eh. Do your thing, Classroom.
Classroom of the Elite – Episode 7
I’ve fallen behind on linking all my reviews this week, so here comes the friggin’ flood. We’re starting off with The Ancient Magus’ Bride, which saw Chise embracing the role of dragon detective. It’s quite a volume!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride – Volume 7
The very cover of One Piece’s thirteenth volume filled me with skepticism. Emphasizing a balloon-shaped Luffy and the Baroque Works baddies, it seemed to promise a volume filled with meaningless battles, where Luffy’s buddies fight inconsequential enemies while Luffy sleeps off his meal. “Luffy is incapacitated” has already become something of a warning sign in this manga – though Oda’s art is strong, the tactical interplay of One Piece’s fights can’t really aspire to the heights of something like Hunter x Hunter, meaning its battle scenes are less likely to be rewarding for their own sake. And after a volume dedicated largely to One Piece’s actual specialties (discovery! adventure!), a volume of empty fighting seemed like a bit of a letdown.
Let’s get back to Ojamajo Doremi! I have no idea when this post will actually go out, but I’m currently sitting at the end of what unwillingly became a three week break from writing Current Projects articles, with a combination of family obligations and an extended preview week leaving me relying entirely on my buffer. That break definitely underlined the fact that these writeups are my favorite part of my work; weekly reviews and Why It Works articles are fun, but I love watching and writing about the stuff you all pick for me. It is extremely good to be back.
Anyway, reunions aside, we’re starting off with Ojamajo Doremi. Last episode was easily one of the show’s highlights so far, going to darker places than usual to illustrate the emotional complexity of loss. One of our stars was actually put in real danger, and though we arrived at a happy ending, Hadzuki made some serious wrong turns along the way. It’s possible this episode will follow up on that ending by emphasizing Hadzuki’s current lack of magic, and also possible it’ll be counterbalanced by a much lighter episode. Either way, I’ve come to have great trust in Ojamajo Doremi’s storytelling, so I’m on for the ride. Let’s get to it!
The anime was all very respectable this week, maintaining an even course without really offering any major highlights or disappointments. Made in Abyss arrived at a necessary training arc, though given this show’s generally speedy pacing, that “arc” may just take one more episode. My Hero Academia was in exposition mode, but it still managed to offer some fun moments with the class. And Classroom of the Elite finally got as dramatically indulgent as it’s apparently always wanted to, topping off a series of grim inter-class showdowns with the introduction of some actual mad scientists. I complained about the show’s super hammy musical cues when I reviewed its first episode, but as it turns out, those musical cues turned out to be the only element of that episode that would truly indicate the show’s nature. But let’s start in the fringes of the abyss, and run this week down!
Flip Flappers’ second episode begins with Cocona waking up in her bed, as if her adventure with Papika were all some strange dream. The sequence of shots here directly echoes the last time she woke up, further emphasizing the unreality of the moment – and even her glasses are intact. But beyond just casting doubt on the reality of the previous episode, this opening’s sequence of precisely repeated shots emphasizes Cocona’s sense of complacency in this life. In comparison with the first episode’s dreary tone, the frightening excitement of Pure Illusion now makes her everyday life seem like a kind of comfort.
And then Papika arrives, and so much for all that.
Today on Crunchyroll I looked back on the Hero Killer arc, in an article that’s more or less trying to suss out my own feelings as to why this arc felt more effective in anime than in manga. The added material for the anime was all pretty great, but I also just felt the anime polished the Stain battle in a variety of ways, and it was fun to break those things down. Hope you enjoy the piece!
Why It Works: Translating Tension in My Hero Academia
One Piece’s fifteenth volume offers a rich sampling of pretty much everything that makes this manga great. After a couple of Baroque Works-focused volumes that were frankly a little below par for the series, the team’s exit from Little Garden and subsequent steps offer action, comedy, and even some smaller character-building moments. One Piece may be at its best when fully embodying a spirit of adventure, but volume fifteen demonstrates it’s entirely comfortable operating within any number of dramatic and genre modes.