Author Archives: Bobduh

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 1 – Review

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Manga trawl continues, with another very solid series! This one may go in any manner of weird directions, since its premise is so incredibly loaded, but the story so far is just totally enchanting. It’s basically holding to one of my favorite styles of magic, the one that builds off of old stories and treats magic as beautiful and dangerous and tends to feel vaguely European. It’s a style I strongly associate with Diana Wynne Jones, since her Chrestomanci stories were very formative for me, and it’s used well here. Definitely worth a look.

Here’s my full review over at ANN. Notes below!

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Oregairu S2 – Episode 10

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We had a lighter episode this week, as the student council issues essentially worked themselves out now that the emotional issues tying all these characters down were cleared up. It was great to see the whole team working together again, with the scenes from the halfway point onward all demonstrating the stuff that was initially so appealing about this show. Hikki and Yukino have a great conversational dynamic, and Iroha’s become a pretty natural extension of the whole group. The characters are able to honestly express that they care about each other now, meaning it feels a lot less stifling just watching them interact. It’s just rewarding to spend time with these characters now.

Anyway. Here’s my more thorough thoughts on the key scenes, and you can find my notes below!

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The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Episode 10

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Aw shit, stuff actually happened this week! Like, BIG stuff! Not “this retroactively justifies me watching an entire season of a low quality slice of life” big, but certainly “wow, this episode was really rewarding for its own sake” big. The execution just really, really stepped up for this episode’s Big Shift, and the result was one of the more effectively moody episodes I’ve seen in a long time. Great work, Nagato Yuki team.

Alright, that’s enough beating around the big spoiler this week. Here’s my full ANN post, and you can check out (spoiler-filled, of course) notes below.

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Summer 2015 Season Preview

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What, you guys want MORE anime? There’s plenty of good anime still sitting there on your table! There’s Euphonium and Oregairu and BBB, and I hear people over on twitter are even watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes! There’s good shows from the last few years and good shows from before Ghibli was even a thing, and you’re here complaining that you need something new? Typical. Just friggin’ typical. You know, this is the problem with anime fans these days – the second you have something good, it’s already old news. There’s no pleasing you!

Well, I for one have had enough, and in light of my disgust with your attitude, I’ve been talking with the heads of anime, and they’ve all agreed. You guys don’t deserve more anime, and so this summer, you’re going to have to survive on like 2.5 new shows worth watching. We’ll see how much you clamor for new toys when the season lineup is Gatchaman Crowds and then Six Days Without Gatchaman Crowds. Have fun.

Alright, let’s run down what shows seem at least moderately tolerable. And remember, this is on you.

(also, as always, you can check out the full list at anichart, where you can also get synopses if you want them. I’m just going to be running down why I’m compelled to highlight any of these shows)

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Sound! Euphonium – Episode 9

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A somewhat lesser episode of Euphonium this week, split evenly between friendship and anxiety. There were good moments scattered throughout, and the cast remains strong, but I guess basically anything would feel like a comedown after last week. My favorite scene here was easily the Kaori-Haruka centerpiece – in just a bare handful of scenes, those two have managed to define themselves and their friendship in sharp and poignant strokes. Their conversation here reflected a great deal of the central concerns of Euphonium, from friendship to personal excellence to the fear of wasting your precious time, and having them essentially be stuck as the unhappy counterweight to Kousaka is a really inspired choice. This show’s base variables are really damn good.

Here’s my full review. More notes below!

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Spring 2015 – Week 9 in Review

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I should have something piercing and salient to say here, but really I’m just staring at all the stupid faces I chose for the episodes this week and giggling to myself. Goddamnit Takeo. Goddamnit Shinji. Hurray for silly anime faces.

Anyway, some anime came out this week. It wasn’t the best week, outside of Oregairu having one more Holy Shit Good episode, but most of the episodes were reasonable nonetheless. Let’s run ’em down!

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The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Episode 9

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Oh hey, this episode wasn’t totally terrible! Was pretty happy to see that. Watching shows that are consistently bad is really just tiring for me at this point – even when SAO was bad, it was at least visually interesting and moved well, whereas Nagato Yuki-chan’s bad stuff is just absolutely interminable. But this episode had good scenes! A couple solid jokes, and a legitimately nice moment between Asakura and Haruhi. You get a pass this time, Nagato Yuki-chan.

Here’s my full episode post. Notes below!

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Oregairu S2 – Episode 9

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No rest for the ‘rohas, apparently. Hikki’s finally repaired his relationship with his friends, and this episode did a wonderful job of conveying both the old sense of easy banter between them and the new degree of honesty all three of them share. But the big moments here were the last two – that gorgeous moment on the rollercoaster, and Iroha’s long-awaited confession to Hayato. Season two just keeps giving us these unexpected gifts of presentation; normally it comes down to the animation, but here, the framing was just so damn on-point. There’s no stopping this train.

Here’s my oversized ANN review again. And plenty of notes below!

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Sound! Euphonium – Episode 8

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So yeah, that was an all-time great. One of the best episodes I’ve ever seen this studio produce. God damn.

I wrote essentially a double-length review for this one, and I still barely even got to cover the tremendous acuity of shot framing and animation that elevated what was already a fundamentally well-written and wonderfully composed episode. This was basically the first episode where Kousaka got to come into her own as a character, and she made the most of it, dazzling Kumiko and basically everyone else through her proud, captivating personality. From the quieter moments with Hazuki and Midori, or Goto and Riko, up to that tremendous finale sequence, everything here was poignant and beautiful. KyoAni are playing in the stars again.

Here’s my full review. Notes below!

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Spring 2015 – Week 8 in Review

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Holy crap did this week have some peaks. God damn. Not all the episodes here were great, but the ones that were… I’d be surprised and ecstatic to see Oregairu and Euphonium’s episodes here somehow be challenged for positions in the top 5 episodes of the year. They were both just That Good – that full of everything that makes their respective series great, and that satisfying as a realization of everything that had come before. Those two episodes were stunning, and I feel lucky to be watching two shows that good in the same season.

Anyway, some other episodes came out too, I guess. Let’s run ’em down!

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