Author Archives: Bobduh

A Silent Voice, Volume 3 – Review

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And I’m back to reviewing Silent Voice, with a volume that did a great deal with very little. These chapters felt more constrained in focus than the previous ones, but that actually worked for this story – because of that, we were able to get an incredibly close read on Shoya’s feelings, complete with expressive sequences of physical awkwardness and fully realized internal monologues. This is the sort of stuff I love when it’s done well, and Silent Voice is doing it very, very well. We’re not currently getting the equal glimpse into Shoko’s feelings that I’m eventually hoping for, but if the story stays this good, I’m fine with it sticking close to Shoya and presenting the people around him as figures we have to pull together out of his limited emotional reads. Good stories told well are always alright by me.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes after the cut!

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Owarimonogatari – Episode 7

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Shinobu Mail started off pretty inauspiciously this week, with an episode that was half consumed by tired old Araragi-Kanbaru banter, half underserved by late-era Monogatari’s “minimalist” animation. The fight between Kanbaru and Shinobu’s old partner actually could have been pretty sweet, but the show just couldn’t back it up. And everything the two said in the episode’s first half was a retread of past conversations, which came off as particularly disappointing in the wake of the superb Suruga Devil. But it seems like this arc’s actual meat will be about Araragi and Shinobu’s relationship, and that’s one of the most interesting dynamics in the series, so I’m not too worried about one messy episode.

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

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Blood Blockade Battlefront – Review

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Aw dang I reviewed the Nightow-Matsumoto monster mash. My ultimate feelings on the show are kinda negative, but that’s mainly the result of potentially overly high expectations. Matsumoto’s a genius, basically, and so I expect her works to be masterpieces. Instead we got a very aesthetically compelling series of adventure vignettes with some crappy humor that somewhat falls apart in its second half. Certainly not a bad thing, better than most shows you see, but basically nothing I’d place next to Kyousogiga. But it’s unfair to judge every show next to its creator’s first masterpiece, and so I’m hoping that going forward, I’ll be able to temper my expectations a bit and just accept that even the best directors don’t always make the best works.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, which is definitely more positive than this little blurb. Or you can check out my brief notes for the finale below!

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The Perfect Insider – Episode 6

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Screw you, Perfect Insider! I go to bat for you for half the damn season and this is how you repay me? A recap episode?! A RECAP EPISODE IN AN ELEVEN EPISODE SERIES?!?

Yeah, this week was some hot garbage in pretentious professorville. Not only was this episode dominated by a big ol’ recap segment, it also hung basically all its emotional weight on a scene between Moe and Souhei that I can’t even physically conceive of caring about. Who cares about Souhei? Is there a single person watching this show who actually likes Souhei? I cheer whenever Moe yells at him, and groan whenever any character takes him seriously. Souhei is bullshit.

Anyway. That’s that. If you want an actual non-rambling critique of this week’s episode, you can check out my review at ANN, or maybe my notes below. GOD DAMN.

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Beautiful Bones – Episode 6

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Well I liked half of this episode! This one definitely had some strong things going for it, with chief among them oddly being the fact that Shoutarou and Sakurako were barely in it. Kougami really hasn’t had much time to develop a character so far, but the pacing of an episode with her, along with her back-and-forth with her teacher, made for a much stronger base dynamic than the usual stuff. There was even a conversation that made use of what we know about her as a person! Additionally, this episode was also just very pretty – better direction than usual, and some very nice backgrounds. The actual plot was bad, but hey, this is Beautiful Bones, of course the plot’s going to be bad.

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

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Freelance Commission Info!

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Heyo! If you’re looking for rates on my media writeups, you’ve come to write the right place. Here’s a breakdown of what you can commission for a variety of reasonable prices!

$30 per episode of notes-style show writeups (informal structure, taken as I’m watching)

$75 per episode of full essay-style show writeups.

$450 for a whole 1-cours season of notes plus a writeup of some kind (likely a review-shaped piece, since I can actually produce those reliably regardless of my feelings on the work, but this can always be discussed).

$150 for an essay-style movie writeup.

Here’s info on more potential purchases.

If you can think of anything else you’d like me to do for money, I’d be happy to negotiate! I’ll also be looking to integrate some of this with Patreon, as well as set up ways people can contribute smaller amounts towards a larger communal request (like through this page!). I feel like I’m getting into the swing of freelance work at this point, and am excited to see whatever else you all might want to throw at me! You can contact me with any requests at nicreamer42 at gmail dot com. LET’S WRITE SOME STUFF.

Kyoukai no Kanata

K-On!! – Review

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I have returned back from the land of moe moe kyun, replete with riches and wonders from that distant place. Though most of these treasures come in the form of silly gifs.

Yep, I watched K-On!!, the double-length sequel to the original KyoAni blockbuster. And as many people hinted, the show definitely did improve in its second season – both the atmosphere and jokes were leaned into more completely and effectively, and the show’s final peaks had some startling emotional weight. The show is light viewing through most of its run, but very consistently funny, and its articulation of the melancholy of graduation beats out basically any other show I’ve seen. It feels like I experienced life at the pace these characters did, which was clearly the intent, and definitely not an easy feat to pull off. K-On!! feels effortless, but its craft is remarkable. Easy to enjoy, and also easy to appreciate as a high-quality production.

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

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Fall 2015 – First Half in Review

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Holy crap we’re already at the halfway point. It doesn’t really feel like a halfway point – Owarimonogatari’s just finished its first larger arc-sequence, and Okada Gundam is still basically in its preamble, so it kinda feels like we’re just getting started. But apparently everything else is already half over, and the halfway point ranking thing has become one of this site’s many random traditions (look, routines help with my insecurities), so here we are again. As usual, this will be the one and only time I rank this season’s overall shows. Ranking shows when they’re only halfway done may seem like an inherently useless gesture, but I assure you, that is definitely the point. “But Bobduh,” you might respond, “you rank your favorite shows of the year anyway, so how can you say you’re making a point about the futility of rankings when you then proceed to buy into them in the same exact way everyone else does?” “Shut up,” I say to this. “Shut up, stop talking, your face is bad.”

With all that cleared up, let’s get right to the listing! What has risen, what has fallen, and what is just sort of staggering on? ALL WILL BE REVEALED.

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Owarimonogatari – Episode 6

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And so Sodachi Lost comes to an end. This episode couldn’t match the cathartic peaks of last week’s stunner, but it was still a fine conclusion to a solid arc. Ougi’s villainy got some time to shine, and then was directly countered by Hanekawa whipping out her tiger hair powers. It seems like Isin’s haircuts aren’t just thematically important, they actually dictate the power levels of his characters – equipped with her self-actualization tiger stripes, it only takes Hanekawa roughly three seconds to figure out the truth behind Oikura’s mother. That answer didn’t really add or subtract anything from the story, but I certainly liked Araragi’s further thoughts on happiness near the end of this episode. Araragi’s certainly no Hanekawa or Kaiki, but he’s figuring stuff out one step at a time.

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

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The Perfect Insider – Episode 5

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Perfect Insider was back in top form this week, with an episode that mixed the compelling personal contrasts of the first couple episodes with the more plot-centric mystery focus of the last couple. The show is charting a very tricky course, and could probably topple into self-indulgence at any moment, but for now it’s nicely demonstrating how mysteries and character stories can work together if you make the mystery into the character story. The mysteries here are not just related to Magata’s death, but also Magata’s past and overall identity – and the show’s framing and dialogue is making sure to consistently tie Magata’s identity to Moe’s, meaning all the pieces fit together very gracefully so far. I don’t know if the show can pull it off for another six episodes, but it’s been walking this tightrope for half a season now, so it’s certainly got a chance.

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

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