Author Archives: Bobduh

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Vol. 5-6 – Review

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Back to the manga front, with some more Biscuit Hammer. This story is just getting consistently better at this point, with the story and characters gaining complexity and poignancy as everyone moves towards the endgame. The art is also improving, though it’s still a mix of highlights and lowlights – some of the shots of the horse in particular made me kinda wince. If you can’t draw a horse, it is pretty ambitious to make a Horse Knight one of the main characters of your story. But that’s beside the point – this story is great, and you should buy it. I hear the manga hasn’t been a success for Seven Seas, which is a shame, because they really deserve to be lauded for bringing this one over.

Anyway. Here’s my full review over at ANN, and you can check out my chapter notes below!

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The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Episode 14

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Aaand we’re back to same old regular Nagato. This episode wasn’t the worst, but it sure did feel like an automatic letdown after the consistent highs of the disappearance arc. There were some nice scenes, though – the first one, where the two Nagatos “met,” was an endearing sisterly conversation, and the last bits with Haruhi made solid use of narrative mirroring both between characters and across Haruhi scenes. But still, the majority of this episode was more of the will-they-or-won’t-they stuff I’ve grown more than tired of. With only two episodes to go, I kinda doubt this show will end up offering much more, but I’m actually perfectly happy to leave with just the disappearance arc to remember this by.

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

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Sound! Euphonium – Episode 13

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And the best new show of the season comes to a close. Sound! Euphonium was a polished accomplishment from the first episode to the last, and likely one of the most consistent shows I’ve ever seen. Nearly every episode was full of engaging aesthetic tricks, poignant character moments, and an underlying level of execution that just demolishes most anime out there. This was a finale worthy of the show, one more episode that worked hard to ensure it had a strict internal tone that matched the headspace of the characters. It’s a little sad to see it go, but I’m always happy to see good shows end well. You did good, Sound! Euphonium.

Here’s my full ANN piece. More notes below!

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Spring 2015 – Week 13 in Review

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The final week has arrived! And there’s… basically nothing to talk about. With JoJo already over and Blood Blockade Battlefront resting up before its oversized finale, the only non-ANN shows I actually had to watch this week were Unlimited Blade Works and Ore Monogatari!! And I didn’t even watch OreMono! Sorry OreMono, I just couldn’t find the time/interest for you – as I’ve said before, OreMono isn’t one of those shows that fills me with desire to catch up when I’m not watching it, and considering the sort of static rhythms it’s gotten into over time, it’s just hard to muster up the enthusiasm. So we’ve got a mini-sized Week in Review this week, but don’t worry – with the summer season about to begin, there’ll be pleeenty to talk about soon enough. The preview guide is waiting. I can hear its call. Soon, soon, all will burn.

Alright, let’s run down what we’ve got!

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Criticulous (ANNcast) – Podcast

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So, just showed up on ANNcast for the first time! This one was mostly about criticism philosophy, what sort of shows we like to cover and how, our history in criticism, and all that good stuff, and featured me, Zac, Hope, and Gabriella. Then there were a bunch of listener questions, including stuff like what shows we’d theoretically want to cover weekly, etc. A fair amount about our various approaches to writing, too. Check it out if you’re a podcast-liking person, and I hope you enjoy it!

Criticulous – ANNcast

Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan

Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro – Review

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Diving deep for another review, this time covering Miyazaki’s very first film. This was both a fun artifact and a really entertaining film, and seemed particularly relevant since I’m just now nearing the end of The Anime Machine, which is deeply interested in Miyazaki’s evolving feelings on conflict, gender, and technology. Castle of Cagliostro fits neatly into the old side of these ambiguous themes, totally reveling in explosions and devices and masculine heroism, but it’s still rich with Miyazaki-isms, from the kinetic direction to the reveling in a kind of timeless, faux-medieval European aesthetic. And also it has a bunch of sweet chase scenes. Recommended!

Here’s my full review at ANN, and you can check out my notes below!

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Oregairu S2 – Episode 13

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Aaand it’s over. Season two of Oregairu, the season that handily elevated a show that was already one of my all-time favorites, has come to an end. And honestly, I don’t even really feel that sad; this conclusion worked perfectly, it resolved the critical dramatic arc-threads that were still lingering regarding Yukino and Yui, and it acted as an affirmation of everything Hikki resolved to work on back in episode eight. It was also one more precious episode of the main trio just hanging out and enjoying time together, which we certainly didn’t get too much of in this drama-packed sequel. Oregairu has come to an end, but it’s already given me everything I’d hoped for. I’m just happy it exists at all.

Here’s my full writeup for ANN. Plenty of notes below!

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The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan – Episode 13

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And the actual Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan arc comes to a close. This was a fittingly somber episode, full of rich sunset colors and slow scenes of Nagato and friends. I’ve really enjoyed this arc all throughout, and though this seems like a good place for it to end, I’m definitely sad to see this version of Nagato Yuki go. Hopefully the show doesn’t just immediately go back to being its original derpy self now, and has possibly learned something from this surprisingly compelling experience.

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

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Ping Pong the Animation – Review

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Aaand we’re back to the full lengths, with a review of one of the best shows of the past few years: Ping Pong the Animation. Ping Pong is a stellar achievement in basically all categories, and will likely be one of my gateway recommendations for many years to come. I actually wrote an essay about the show back when it aired, so I got to double-dip on this one, covering themes specifically then and the whole package this time. More writing about Kong can only be a good thing.

You can check out my full review over at ANN.

I didn’t take notes on this one, since I’d already watched it twice before my review, but I did write episodic posts about it back when it aired, so there’s a whole bunch of Ping Pong content to go around!

Ping Pong

Sound! Euphonium – Episode 12

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Another standout episode of Euphonium this week, one which probably won’t turn as many heads as eight, but which was very nearly as good in its own way. This one all came down to absurdly consistent tricks of framing and execution, as the episode pulled as close into Kumiko’s head as possible for one more intimate episode before the big performance. More reflections, more visual framing of distance, smart use of light and shadow, strong sound design, beautiful animation… this one just had it all. Kyoto Animation are really going all-out with this little show.

My full ANN post is here. You can check out my notes below!

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