Author Archives: Bobduh

Girlish Number – Episode 4

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Girlish Number’s going down a pretty interesting route at the moment. The central anime production is already crashing and burning, but it seems like the show isn’t particularly worried about that – instead, it’s going to follow this cast as they emerge from the ashes, leading their media mix enterprise regardless. Kuzu-P still feels like a monstrous caricature, but I’m finding it interesting how well his ideas are actually working out here. I’m not exactly sure where Girlish Number is going with all this, but we’ll find out soon enough!

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

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Sound! Euphonium 2 – Episode 5

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Yeah, this episode was a triumph. After four relatively low-key episodes, Euphonium finally let loose with an episode whose energetic first half was still dwarfed by its titanic performance segment. I obviously love the subtle stuff, but it sure is impressive to see what only this studio can do when they really let loose. Glad to have you here, Euphonium.

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

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Fall 2016 – Week 4 in Review

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This was a workhorse week in anime. We’re several weeks out from the premieres, meaning most of this season’s shows have more or less established their tone and structure, but we’re still also some distance from the sort of narrative shakeups that often mark the midpoint of one season productions. That point in the season means many shows are entering a bit of a lean period at the moment – demonstrating their fundamental quality, but not really dazzling with any new talents. Yuri on Ice and Flip Flappers have largely settled into their genre spaces, Girlish Number and Euphonium each hit some mid-sized dramatic turns, and JoJo just kept chugging along. Weeks like this put the onus on me to come up with new stuff to talk about, so thanks a fuckin’ lot, anime. Fortunately, after possibly more than a hundred of these Week in Reviews, I’ve learned how to spend a lot of time talking about basically nothing. So if that sounds like fun to you, pull up a chair and take a seat as we RUN THESE SHOWS DOWN!

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Planetes – Episode 15

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With Fee and Yuri both having earned a scattering of focus episodes, the only one-note characters remaining in the debris section were the buffoonish bosses and long-suffering temp worker Edel. Those bosses remained buffoons this week, but Edel finally got a chance to shine, pinning down a winding episode that broke from fourteen’s close focus to check in on basically all of the show’s minor characters. Things are stirring together now, even if anything approaching a focused narrative still seems very far away.

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 4

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March comes in like a lion spent an entire episode in its goofier, comedy-happy mode this week, which inevitably resulted in a weaker episode overall. I like these characters well enough that such episodes are still far from unpleasant, but the show has just not found graceful ways to integrate the comedy of the manga. The slice of life elements are clearly key to the structure of the whole, so hopefully the show eventually gets a better grasp on its own material!

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

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Why It Works: JoJo’s Equal-Opportunity Drama

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I took a few weeks away for the start of the fall season, but I couldn’t stay away from JoJo for long. This week I go into another of JoJo’s general-purpose strengths – the way it’s so genuinely invested in not-so-thrilling adventures that it drags the audience along as well. It’s pretty much a constant for JoJo, but I figured a week where Kira faced down a cat-plant was as good a time as any to discuss it!

Why It Works: JoJo’s Equal-Opportunity Drama

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Nichijou – Episode 13

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It’s time for more Nichijou! Today we actually will arrive at the series’ halfway point, which is certainly a tragedy. There basically aren’t any shows like Nichijou out there – even if there are other witty comedies, Nichijou’s execution seems impossible to match. It dedicates all the genius and resources any TV production could muster to jokes about friends walking into pies, or cats being adorable. It is a rare and precious thing, and so all I can do to celebrate it is BURN RIGHT THROUGH ANOTHER ONE LET’S GO YEAAAAH.

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Shugo Chara – Episode 1

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Today we’ll be jumping into a late-00s adaptation of a fairly well-regarded manga, Shugo Chara! Well, I say it’s well-regarded, but my own experience with the manga is limited to noticing my youngest sister bought it back when I was in high school. But my sister has pretty solid taste in manga, and so far, Shugo Chara bears that out.

Shugo Chara stars Amu Hinamori, a fifth-grade student who’s known as a cool, punky girl at her school. Amu’s dress style and fiery way of speaking make her an object of admiration at her school, but also isolate her. People don’t want to get to know Amu – they want to bask in the light of her assumed persona.

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Kizumonogatari Part Two: Nekketsu – Review

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Kizumonogatari is back, and holy crap this second act. The original novel was already as violent and sexually charged as anything in the series, but transposing that to film resulted in one of the most gloriously over-the-top sensory experiences imaginable. It still seems absurd that this film exists at all. I’m so happy it does.

You can check out my megasized review over at ANN!

Kizumonogatari Nekketsu

Girlish Number – Episode 3

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The shoe at least partially dropped in this week’s Girlish Number, forcing Chitose to… well, quickly learn how to act at a light novel-ready level and thus avoid much personal growth altogether. I was still happy to see this episode challenging Chitose, even if its resolution was pretty convenient, and I assume this means things will hopefully get tougher for her going forward. Chitose is a jerk, and jerks who are unchallenged by the world don’t make for the best protagonists. As long as Girlish Number doesn’t let her get away with being herself, it’ll continue to be a very entertaining show.

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

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