Author Archives: Bobduh

Summer 2017 – First Impressions, Part Two

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And we’re back with the second volley of new premieres! The summer season continues to be pretty much terrible on the whole so far, with my prospects at this point basically just amounting to one new show. Fortunately, that new show was actually terrific – I’ve heard questionable things about the source material, but Made in Abyss’s first episode was phenomenal. And hey, you guys don’t actually have to watch everything else, you can just enjoy me suffer.

As usual, you can see the full list of reviews over at ANN, or click below for my latest scores and direct links. Happy hunting!

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Aikatsu – Episode 7

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Alright everybody, let’s get back to Aikatsu. Last episode was a pretty important turning point for the series, and by that I mean “last episode was good, unlike the previous two, which were unfortunately bad.” Contrary to what many angry fans may think, I actually vastly prefer watching good things to bad things – I’d like to spend my very limited time on earth appreciating things that I find interesting or meaningful, not laughing at stuff that doesn’t work for me. “Ichigo undergoes rigorous/absurd training to improve her signature-writing” is a hell of a lot better than whatever the previous episodes were doing, so I’m hoping things stay kinda ridiculous from here out. Aikatsu ho!

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Summer 2017 – First Impressions, Part One

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Preview week is in full swing now, which means it’s time to to briefly take stock of all the nonsense I’ve watched. So far, Restaurant to Another World is pretty much the only thing I might follow up on, and that one’s honestly more likely to be dropped. With Kakegurui having been swept up by Netflix and Symphogear nowhere to be seen, the season’s still looking pretty barren. That’s okay, though – I’ve still got three continuing shows, after all, and there are plenty of contenders left to come. We’ll ride this storm out like we’ve done before!

You can check out my scores and links to individual writeups below, or just head to the overall preview guide right here.

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Natsume’s Book of Friends – Episode 13

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Natsume’s thirteenth episode, the final episode of its first season, offers a beautiful culmination of all this season has accomplished. First off, it’s simply lovely in a visual sense. Natsume’s vision of rural Japan has always been one of its strongest features, and this episode is rife with beautiful shots of Natsume’s adopted home. Whether he’s trudging through the woods or gazing out across the open fields, shots here are framed to emphasize the rich colors and layered architecture of the world around him. With the trees alive in fall colors, Natsume’s world has never looked lovelier than this.

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Tsuki ga Kirei – Episode 12

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And so Tsuki ga Kirei comes to an end. Like the show itself, this episode was imperfect but unbelievably charming, a soothing balm in a very harsh world. Tsuki ga Kirei let its lovable heroes enjoy their happy ending, and even spoiled us with a charming credits sequence of their life down the road. I’m gonna miss these awkward kids.

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

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Ojamajo Doremi – Episode 14

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Let’s get back to Ojamajo Doremi! Last episode saw Doremi and the gang returning to the magical world, where they just barely passed their Level 8 exams and even ran into the queen of all witches. It was a surprisingly fantasy-focused episode for a series that generally just uses magic to illustrate pretty mundane personal problems. That’s certainly not a bad thing, though – the show’s premise is loose enough to facilitate episodes using as much or little magic as they need. Let’s see what Doremi’s latest adventure brings!

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Spring 2017 – Week 12 in Review

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Things stayed at a pretty even keel for this week in anime, with my precious surviving shows offering neither stunning highlights nor frustrating failures. In The Eccentric Family’s case, the fact that this episode wasn’t a standout was itself kind of a disappointment – this was the final episode, after all, and so if this season had any pretensions of matching the original, now was the time. But overall, this week mostly just demonstrated that shows like Sakura Quest or Re:Creators have become very adept at maintaining their good-but-not-great dramatic ratios. With The Eccentric Family suffering a pretty meaningful decline from the first season, there’s nothing here that seems likely to claim the top spot of the year. Alright Kemono Friends, you’ve still got a chance!

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STARMYU – Review

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Today I reviewed STARMYU, which turned out to be something of a hidden gem in the musical anime genre. STARMYU succeeds on solid character work and terrific musical sequences, fully embracing the possibilities of its genre to express dramatic turns in catchy and visually vivid song and dance segments. It’s a little rough around the edges in some ways, but still a very fine show.

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

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The Eccentric Family 2 – Episode 12

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The Eccentric Family came to a relatively satisfying close this week. While this finale pretty much unavoidably lacked the perfectly threaded cohesion of the first season’s ending, it still offered fun individual scenes for almost the whole cast. Benten and Nidaime got to act like the bratty siblings they are, Yasaburo and Kaisei were adorable, and Yaichiro finally got the happiness he so richly deserves. Sail on, brave tanukis.

You can check out my full review over at ANN.

Aikatsu – Episode 6

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Alright, let’s get back on that Aikatsu train. My most recent experiences with Aikatsu have been… well, less than spectacular. The fourth episode just wasn’t particularly interesting, and the fifth episode was actively aggravating, so our relationship is a little strained at the moment. The show’s aesthetics are just plainly not very good, and I’ve given up on expecting anything approaching Doremi’s thematic cohesion and character work, so it seems like I’m basically just here for whenever this show Gets Weird. Please get weird, Aikatsu. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do with you.

Alright, that’s enough moaning and groaning. LET’S GET THIS AIKATSU STARTED!

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