Author Archives: Bobduh

Dagashi Kashi – Episode 12

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Dagashi Kashi concludes with one more in a long series of pleasant but not particularly noteworthy slice of life vignettes, offering about as little of a real conclusion as you’d expect from a show about wasting time on summer break. There were some cute character moments here and there, some light sprinklings of fanservice, and a few final explanations of dagashi trivia to see us out. I suppose Dagashi Kashi ended up occupying my “pleasant fluff” slot this season, and as far as pleasant fluff goes, it did its job perfectly well. I liked the atmosphere this show created, and had a pretty good time throughout.

You can check out my last review over at ANN, or my very minor notes below!

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Texhnolyze – Episode 1

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Texhnolyze certainly has a reputation. The show comes courtesy of one of anime’s great creative supergroups; with a screenplay by Chiaka Konaka, character designs by Yoshitoshi ABe, and Yasuyuki Ueda on board as producer, it features the same core team that gave Serial Experiments Lain such a vivid personality. The three clearly had a strong relationship of some kind; Ueda was actually the producer who first hired ABe (they also worked together on Haibane Renmei), and Konaka and ABe were known as friends as well. Discounting the absence of Ryutaro Nakamura (who directed Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost Hound, and was intending to work on the never-released Despera with ABe and Konaka), you’ve got all the key players of one of the 00s great anime lineups.

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Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Episode 4

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We all handle grief in different ways. For Madoka and Sayaka, Mami’s absence is like a stifling weight in this episode, pushing each of them in their own unhappy direction. They now know the truth about magical girls, and have some idea of the actual bargain they are making. But knowing the danger won’t be enough to save them from themselves.

The episode opens with Sayaka running from her grief, running to the boy who gives her some sense of stability. But he’s not there for her, and so she can’t escape. Shots of the hospital frame Sayaka as trapped within geometrically impossible rooms with nearly vertical vanishing points, emphasizing how unreal and alienating her world now feels. Like with the witch worlds, Shaft’s tendency towards stark, interpretive backgrounds fits here – in the wake of loss like this, you won’t necessarily recognize the world around you as a place you know. Shots on the elevator position Sayaka as trapped, as her melancholy leads her to blame the same old target – herself.

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Bokurano – Review

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I just learned Bokurano got picked up by Crunchyroll a few days ago, and burned it down for a streaming review pretty much as soon as I knew. Bokurano was already one of my shortlist shows, and it turned out to be even better than I’d hoped – a chilling and heartfelt series of character stories that doubles as a relentlessly paced scifi thriller. It’s really something how well this show brings its broad cast to life. Bokurano is very much a “me” show – like Monogatari and pretty much all of Urobuchi’s works, it posits that the world is a harsh place, but that only means we have to try all the harder to bring hope and charity to it ourselves. Shows like that kinda kill me, but it’s a good feeling.

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

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Winter 2016 – Week 12 in Review

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Most of this season’s anime came to a close this week, leaving just those two oft-compared highlights, Rakugo and Dagashi Kashi, to finish the season alone. ERASED pulled itself together to end with as much dignity as it could, given the circumstances of its villain, while Active Raid similarly felt hamstrung by its own weak antagonist. I almost feel tempted to write an article specifically about antagonists now, because the problems with both those shows were so specific and so centered on the ways they handled their villains. Though of course, that article would then end up spinning out into how an antagonist shouldn’t be something you design independently, and should instead reflect the core themes and conflicts of your narrative, and then we’re all the way back at storytelling step one again. Anyway. Some shows ended this week, some shows didn’t. Let’s crack those knuckles once more and RUN ‘EM DOWN!

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Parasyte, Part One – Review

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This week I went back and took a second look at Parasyte, which still holds up pretty well across its first half. In retrospect, it’s less my kind of show than I would have thought a year ago, but it’s still a fine horror-thriller with a lot of polish. The one glaring weakness is, of course, the music. Parasyte’s music sounds like the kind of noise a robot attempting to imitate the concept of human music would create – grating electronic brips and braps that shift jerkily in some uncanny approximation of tempo and melody. But hey, you can’t win ’em all.

You can check out my full review over at ANN!

One Piece – Volume 4

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One Piece’s fourth volume is action-packed from start to finish, wholly dedicated to the protracted battle between Usopp, his new friends, and the former Captain Kuro. And it’s all very fun stuff! There isn’t necessarily a continuous heightened level of tension throughout these chapters, but there’s certainly plenty of momentum, and no sense that anything is being dragged out. I’d worried in discussing the last volume that Usopp himself would be more aggravating than endearing, but whether it comes down to the speed of manga versus anime or the simple execution of his character, Usopp is actually turning out to be one of the highlights of the manga.

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Dagashi Kashi – Episode 11

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This week’s episode of Dagashi Kashi sure was an episode of Dagashi Kashi. There is virtually nothing at all to critique in this show, given each episode is very nearly the same, they all have fairly low ambitions, and they all succeed and fail in very minor ways. The show sets itself a low bar and slowly rises over it every single week, occasionally disappointing by trying too hard to be funny, occasionally finding success by leaning into its character relationships. It is a very harmless show.

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

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A Girl on the Shore – Part Two

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“It’s so good to learn that from right here, the view goes on forever.”
– The Mountain Goats

A Girl on the Shore’s second half opens with more of its slow, wide-open panels, images of Sato and Isobe’s empty town shot from the distance it’s experienced. Sato’s tedium comes across in long sequences of repeated shots, as she slumps at her desk or stares out the window. Isobe’s self-hatred clutters pannels together, as the teacher reaches out to him and he slaps her hand away. The contrast of intimate cuts and wide-open spaces suits these characters; Sato sees herself as a willowy non-presence, whereas Isobe is claustrophobic, labeling himself unlovable and struggling to breathe.

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Konosuba – Review

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Aw dang yep I reviewed Konosuba. It was actually kinda tricky to sort out all of my feelings on this show – from its style of comedy to its visual design, the show is a bunch of contradictions all around. It’s very far from a great show, but it’s an interesting one to talk about, and kinda naturally divisive in a variety of ways. You could definitely put forth an argument that someone who finds Kazuma deeply disagreeable is probably too far from this show’s intended audience to give it the “right” kind of review, but at that point you’re already in nonsense true fan discourse land. Reviewing a show means engaging with its politics, and if you disagree with a show’s politics, the correct response as a critic isn’t to pretend that you don’t. Just gotta say your piece and hope that your perspective is at least understandable.

You can check out my full review over at ANN!

Konosuba