Author Archives: Bobduh

Sekai Seifuku – Episode 10

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CONQUEST TIME. Sorry I’m late on this one – I came down with some kind of terrible affliction this weekend, but I think my head is finally clear enough to work through the pain. I’m very excited for this episode – both the preview and the spoiler-happy internet have primed me to expect some crazy revelations, and last week’s episode already displayed the show’s themes coming together beautifully. Masks were flying off left and right, White Light and Zvezda each made their philosophy that much more clear, and Jimon once again demonstrated he’s still not quite comfortable with his new family, even as he deliberately spurns his old one. Jimon’s in the classic protagonist spot here – at the fulcrum of both the show’s two “families” and its ideas on family in general, he’s also the least aware of all the forces sparring around him. He’s the kid caught in the crossfire of a feud much larger than himself. And as the personal is the political in Sekai Seifuku, the squabbling parents hanging over his head might just fighting over the fate of the world itself.

Let’s get to it.

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Rough Notes Archive: Katanagatari

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Management: So, I’ve gotten a few requests here and there to post the rest of my Katanagatari notes – I actually did post pieces for episodes 1/2 and episode 3, along with a final essay, but I never posted the rest of my episodic notes. That was mainly because around episode 4, my notes started getting pretty shorthandy – I wasn’t really explaining my thoughts in an entertaining way, I was attempting to break the show down for myself as I was watching it. But people still seem interested in reading that sort of thing, so I’ve decided to post them anyway – just keep in mind this is much more bare-bones than the writeups tend to be, since it was originally only intended for me. If that still sounds interesting, read away!

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Kill la Kill – Episode 22

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Well here we are. Ryuuko’s latest existential tantrum has been resolved, Satsuki and Mako remain better friends than she deserves, and Ragyo is off cackling to herself somewhere. Things haven’t been going the best for Kill la Kill lately – the narrative has kind of rambled, and Ryuuko has sort of undeveloped. Fortunately, we’ve still got Satsuki to be an actually good character and Mako to be entertaining. And if we’re approaching the ending, Kill la Kill can once again lean on what it does best – pure aesthetic spectacle. Last week’s episode was heavy on iconic key frames but incredibly light on animation, so I’m guessing they’re saving up for some serious pyrotechnics to come. This show has had plentiful ups and downs, but I’m ready to see it end strong.

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Sword Art Online – Episode 5

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And I’m back for more Sword Art Online. Which I now know will continue to be episodic for a while longer, and continue to not really build on the character of Kirito as presented, and… well, a whole lot of other stuff I shouldn’t necessarily know. You guys are merciless in your comments – I try to be fair to this show and come at it from an honest perspective, but at this point I think it’s gonna seem great just by comparison with the grim spectre you’re all painting in your reflections.

Anyway. Last episode wasn’t good – it basically discarded all the character development of number three, and instead focused on a new vignette that didn’t really amount to anything. As I said at the end of that post, if you’re going to make your show a series of vignettes riding on plot alone, those plots better be goddamn fantastic – you can’t rely on building tension and character focus if nothing’s building and your characters aren’t consistent or deeply articulated. Apparently I’m now entering a two-parter, which I’ve heard actually elaborates on this world’s society in a fairly interesting one. I’m very ready for that – most of this show’s best moments have been when it hinted at the larger world Sword Art Online has become, so a more full exploration of our not-so-artificial society seems like a solid choice. Let’s get to it!

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Winter 2014 – Week 10 in Review

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Standard Winter 2014 week this time – Kill la Kill was entertaining, Sekai Seifuku was good, and Witch Craft Works did its job. Everybody else… I dunno, I guess ending a season is harder than it looks!

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Sword Art Online – Episode 4

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Alright, back for more SAO. No big preamble this time – I thought the last episode was pretty solid, and I’d like to see them build on it. I mentioned at the start of that episode that I hoped they offered some context for Kirito’s choices, and I mentioned in the middle of the first episode that I wanted him to have more motivation, and last episode went a long way towards answering those complaints – his feeling responsible for Sachi’s death, and her final wish for him to survive and win, seem like pretty solid motivation. I’m guessing he won’t actually swear off human contact, considering both Sachi’s admonishment to not blame himself and the simple fact that a show where Kirito interacts with no one would be pretty damn boring, but I would like to see the show more effectively and meaningfully portray his alleged anxiety. So far, it’s been limited to him looking nervous for a minute or two before proceeding to be charming and commanding for the rest of any given episode, and if it’s actually supposed to be a character flaw, it has to have, you know, meaningful repercussions.

Alright, I guess that’s my Nice Job and Needs Improvement breakdown for last episode. Let’s Sword Art Online!

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Critical Evaluation, Part Two: One Given Perspective

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Hey guys, back for Part Two of my critical evaluation piece. In Part One I argued, briefly, that art is valuable insofar as it imparts value upon the observer, and that in the collision between personal values and systems of aesthetic interpretation, we all have our own biases in such matters. Now, with that all said, it’s time to dive right in to my own stupid biases that make my evaluations crap that nobody should listen to. What kind of critic am I? Well, I’m actually pretty transparent.

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Sekai Seifuku – Episode 9

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Conquest time! Once again, probably gonna keep these notes pretty brief. Depends on the episode, though – if this turns into an incisive exploration of the intersection of family, youthful idealism, and reality, that might not be the case. Anyway. On with the show!

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Kill la Kill – Episode 21

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Well I was planning on saving this episode for tomorrow (I’ve done my posts for tonight), but friggin’ twitter won’t shut up about whatever nonsense happens, so I might as well run through it before all my actual reactions are spoiled. Ryuuko’s gone Ryuuserker™ for the seventeenth time, and is now wearing Junketsu of all things. Satsuki’s countering with Senketsu, though her ability to counter Life Fiber-synchronized Ryuuko will likely be more dependent on Sister Power than any, you know, actual power. But that’s pretty much how it’s always gone in this show – fights occur at random and are resolved however the show feels like resolving them. So now that we’ve established once again that analysis is useless in the context of this ridiculous show, let’s Kill la Kill.

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Sword Art Online – Episode 3

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Back on the Sword Art Train! Last episode was, well, pretty messy. Not only did it seem bizarrely dedicated to proving the wretchedness of the non-beta characters (for multiple definitions of beta even OH SHIT SWOOSH sorry), its ending had pretty much the same issues the first episode did – a combination of awkward narrative leaps to get the story where it’s supposed to go and a theatrical flair that turned drama into self-parody. And at this point, one of the central complaints generally leveled at SAO is becoming clear – the show really, really wants you to identify with Kirito, and some of the choices it’s making on that front are, well, pretty silly from a non-Kirito-aligned perspective. The one-man-army fight, the Batman speech, the trenchcoat. And this all gets back to things I’ve always said about how characters are defined.

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