In this episode, the gang take one of those inevitable trips to a hot spring inn. And though Hyouka does find time for just a smidgen of fanservice (which is very appropriate, given this episode was directed by the future director of Free!, and even this piece of animation was handled by one of Free!’s shirt-flinging maestros), the majority of this episode’s running time is dedicated to another hot springs staple – the classic ghost story. We’re here for mysteries, after all, and what’s more mysterious than whatever compels a lost spirit to haunt its final resting place?
Author Archives: Bobduh
Hyouka – Episode 6
Episode six of Hyouka is very nearly a bottle episode – an episode where every scene takes place within the same room. Episodes like this used to be born of budgetary necessity; nowadays, they’re more often used as an intentional dramatic gimmick, as in shows like Community or Breaking Bad. Of course, this episode isn’t really self-consciously trying to do some structural trick with that; this is Hyouka, it’s all about small moments, and even episodes that aren’t exactly bottle episodes generally use a sparse economy of settings. This show is about tiny events that are nonetheless important, and spaces that contain great import in spite of their everyday nature.
Beautiful Bones – Episode 12
And I’m done. It’s over. Beautiful Bones will never bore me again.
You can check out my full review over here. Four whole lines of notes below.
I’m going to go do something of value with my time, like anything other than watching Beautiful Bones.
A Silent Voice, Volume 4 – Review
Dear lord is this manga painful sometimes. A Silent Voice is just way, way too good at capturing the exact truth of anxiety both as a personal issue and as it expresses itself in social situations. Shoya’s overthinking and self-doubt is something I can way too vividly relate to, and single moments like the way his chance meeting with an old “friend” completely steals his prior confidence make old scars tickle in a way I probably wouldn’t have been okay with a few years ago. But these characters are also deeply endearing for their own sake and really do care about each other, and so the pain is mitigated by all the lovely moments of connection. It’s a great damn story, and I am really trying my hardest not to freak out about Yamada’s adaptation.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my chapter notes below.
Fall 2015 – Week 12 in Review
I don’t tend to enjoy writing negative stuff. If I can make some kind of upbeat game or challenge out of it, like I did when writing about Strike Witches or Dragonar Academy, it can be pretty okay – but when it’s just a grim reporting of disappointment and failure, continuing week after week, that’s just the saddest kind of writing. I like being enthusiastic about stuff, and sharing that enthusiasm with people, and lately it’s been feeling like my week in review posts are just too dang negative. But like all good critics, I’m going to remain confident the problem isn’t with me, it’s with the media. I’m just watching too many bad shows! I’ve got bad shows I’m watching on contract and bad shows I’m watching on faith and mediocre shows I’m watching for their occasional glimmers of greatness. If not for all these bad shows, everything would be fine.
So yeah, I’m looking forward to next season. The only show I’ll really be sad to see go is Owarimonogatari, and that one ended so well that I can’t even complain (plus hey, Kizu’s on its way). Other than that, this shambling collections of rejects and ne’er-do-wells can just shuffle on into the past, and we can embrace a whole new collection of anime hopes and dreams. Plus I’ll be posting my top ten shows of the year about a week from now, and it doesn’t really get more positive than that! This cloud shall pass, but for now, let’s take a somewhat skeptical look back at this week’s shows and RUN ‘EM DOWN.
Uncomedy and The Room
So yep, I’m reviewing The Room. Famously terrible movie, known to be one of the most enjoyably poorly constructed productions of all time, now canonized through rifftracks performances and Rocky Horror-style midnight showings and all manner of other cult classic silliness. It’s honestly difficult to say much that hasn’t been said about The Room at this point – as far as truly horrible things go, this one has been pretty much analyzed and mocked as a movie and a phenomenon to the point of saturation. So what’s a poor, contractually bound media critic to do?
Owarimonogatari – Episode 12
Owari is done and Owari is good. It honestly took until this episode for me to really feel that Owari was on par with second season, but yeah. It’s there. Maybe we didn’t get an entire Kaiki arc or Medusa Nadeko, but Sodachi’s story was wonderful, and these last two episodes have been overwhelmingly good. Such great conversations all through this episode, with characters ranging from Senjougahara to Kanbaru to even Yotsugi getting great little bits. Even Araragi was excellent in this arc, demonstrating some of the most consistent growth and true strength of character he’s displayed all show. This season was another triumph, and I now feel even more confident in Monogatari succeeding all the way to the ending. It continues to demonstrate why it’s one of my favorite shows.
You can check out my supersized review over here, or my notes down below!
Hyouka – Episode 5
Hyouka’s fifth episode opens with one more of the series’ most iconic sequences (directed and storyboarded by Yoshiji Kigami, in what would be his single largest contribution to the series – though he’s done plenty of other excellent work). Oreki and Satoshi head back from Chitanda’s in the rain, with Satoshi once again needling Oreki about his inconsistent actions. “You had your chance to escape,” he says, this time moving beyond “you’ve made a mistake relative to your persona” to “you really are interested in Chitanda, aren’t you?” And as the rain begins to stop, Oreki turns back to Satoshi, and for once doesn’t disagree.
The Perfect Insider – Episode 11
And so The Perfect Insider comes to an end. This episode was pretty much of a piece with the last one – more meaningless pseudo-philosophy from our resident pseudo-geniuses, more glum reflections on how this entire show has essentially been yanking my chain. There were definitely nice moments here, though – the whole thing looked perfectly nice (I’m still totally cool with this show’s subdued color palette), and the long conversation between Moe and Souhei was actually pretty great. But basically every Magata moment was a chore, and there were a lot of Magata moments. Congratulations, Perfect Insider. You really had me going there.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.
Hyouka – Episode 4
Episode four opens with another idyllic after-school scene. Classes are out, kids are leaving the gate, and Chitanda and Oreki are walking home in that classic sepia light.
It’s not a particularly climactic moment, but it’s reflective of something I find kinda generally interesting about Hyouka – in comparison to most shows, it feels like Hyouka uses shot transitions almost as “paragraph breaks.” A sequence of shots sets a scene, and then a couple jump transitions move into a conversation. Two characters reach some agreement in a conversation, and then the shots reset for their next engagement.