It’s bear time, and all of the tertiary bears are dead! Yuri Kuma has always been pretty narrow in its scope, but with Yuriika gone and Kureha apparently accepted by her classmates for the moment, there’s not much left to do but see Ginko and Kureha finally clash. Will Ginko’s lust-rage devour her friend? Will Kureha forgive her friend? Will we just get three straight episodes of Lulu derping around instead, which I totally wouldn’t mind and upon reflection actively encourage? ONLY TIME WILL TELL.
Author Archives: Bobduh
Rolling Girls – Episode 10
Fine recovery from Rolling Girls this week – to make up for last week’s slowness, this one kicked into narrative overdrive, pushing pretty much the whole cast along a variety of story tracks. There were some funny jokes, a great fight, and just a general sense of energy that kept momentum high even when the show attempted to dramatically overreach. Hopefully things stay this fun through the end!
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Log Horizon II – Episode 23
Pretty low-key episode of Log Horizon this week, with Isaac and Iselus getting a moment in the sun while the whole cast kind of vaguely ruminated on the possibility of going home. It certainly doesn’t feel like this is a show that could possible end forever in two more episodes, but hey, Log Horizon’s doing its thing. I guess we’ll have to see where they decide to wrap things up.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Genshiken Second Season, Volume 3 – Review
Back on the Genshiken train! I had a whole ton to say about this volume, since these chapters really dig into a lot of the nerd culture and identity stuff that makes Genshiken so interesting. Stuff about social cues, stuff about gender performance, basically just all sorts of interesting stuff. It’s nice to have a work to talk about that rewards these discussions!
Anyway, here’s my full review over at ANN. Lots of notes below!
Parasyte – Episode 22
A strange and strangely enjoyable episode of Parasyte this week. We got the expected Gotou fight, and that was… pretty alright. But then the rest of this episode diverged into a side narrative with a little old lady in the woods, and that was actually quite a nice time! That material felt like it had more grace and energy than the show’s possessed for a while now, so even if it was a diversion, it was a welcome one.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Spring 2015 Season Preview
It’s that time once again! With three weeks of the winter season to go, it’s time for me to start feeling existential dread at the thought of one more preview guide, and time for you all to get some uselessly vague predictions about how this whole spring season’s gonna go down. As per the usual, I’ll just be covering stuff that actually looks interesting to me – if you want the full list, head on over to anichart to check it out. Normally, this is a time of celebration – it’s the end of winter doldrums, and spring is generally a pretty stacked lineup. But between Shirobako and a few intrepid newbies, this winter season has actually been perfectly respectable, so let’s try and approach the upcoming shows with a bit less desperate of a look in our eyes. It’s just another anime season, you guys. No need to get excited.
Winter 2015 – Week 9 in Review
I’ll just come out and say it – this week kinda sucked. Almost everything on the weaker half of my list either hit a season low point or continued a losing streak, and even Shirobako’s episode was only “great.” I felt kinda awkward just dropping sad remark after sad remark, but this was just not a respectable week for a lot of shows. Fortunately, the top tier remains strong, and that’s definitely the most important thing. Both Death Parade and Maria nailed absolutely critical episodes, Yuri Kuma didn’t make any real missteps, and Shirobako just settled back into “a very solid Shirobako episode.” The season isn’t ending gracefully for some, but things are still gonna be okay. Let’s run ’em down!
Yuri Kuma Arashi – Episode 9
The bears have returned! After a week off, we finally get to see the results of last episode’s asshole cliffhanger. What was said in the rain? Has Kureha murdered Ginko? Will love survive? ONLY THE BEARS KNOW.
Alright, enough of that, let’s get to the episode.
Fullmetal Alchemist and the Promise of Power
Management: This piece is about the 2003 series. Please refrain from or at least clearly mark spoilers regarding Brotherhood in the comments!
Alchemy is the promise of power.
That doesn’t sound particularly profound – it sounds obvious, actually. Clearly stories of alchemy are stories of men of science attempting to harness the unharnessable, to make the laws of the universe bend to their will, to achieve great things. But in the case of Fullmetal Alchemist, “power” doesn’t necessarily mean “strength” or “possibility.” Power can simply mean knowing your strength exists, and the world is a place you have the chance to affect.
Alchemy is the promise of control.
Rolling Girls – Episode 9
Rolling Girls took a turn towards character drama this week, which unfortunately meant we had to grapple with the fact that the show has spent this entire season ignoring its main cast in order to futz around with side characters. Futzing around with side characters is fine, but if the show was going to eventually turn to this, it really needed to do more meaningful work humanizing its main cast – as is, this came off as a turn I wish worked, but just wasn’t supported by the show. A shame.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!