Category Archives: Episode Writeup

March comes in like a lion – Episode 39

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March comes in like a lion made its long-awaited return this week, offering more of the oppressively intimate and often fatiguing character drama we’ve come to know and love. Up this week was Yanagihara, a regular member of the local shogi association who’d never really gotten much focus before. Yanagihara’s deal is “lion in winter, oldest class A competitor, and bearer of all his absent friends’ shogi dreams,” and this episode did an excellent job of making that deal a lived experience. March is back folks, and still really damn good.

You can check out my full review over at ANN.

Chihayafuru S2 – Episode 2

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Let’s get back to Chihayafuru! The first episode of the show’s second season introduced a girl who’ll presumably be the team’s newest member, the altogether charming Hanano. Hanano is petty and scheming and exactly the kind of sharp-edged character this largely wholesome crew really needed. I’d actually expected us to get a crew member who fulfills this caustic tonal role a long time ago, but I’m still very happy to see her now, and looking forward to seeing how she settles into the overall group dynamic. We’ve also got plenty of traditional Chihayafuru drama to look forward to, and given the first episode was basically all “Hanano is a horny gremlin who doesn’t give a crap about karuta,” I’m eager to see how this episode actually hooks her into the sport, or at least the team. I mean, maybe she’ll actually remain at “karuta is boring, but Taichi is hotter than the seven hells,” but I have to assume she’ll get a bit more texture than that. Either way, she’s an endearingly cynical on-screen presence, and I’m eager to see what this episode brings. Let’s get right to it!

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Princess Tutu – Episode 1

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Today we embark on one of my most anticipated backlog titles, Princess Tutu. By reputation, I know Princess Tutu to be one of the most highly regarded anime of all time, and easily one of the best shows specifically intended for children. I also know that it is a story about stories, and that it’s one of the crown jewels of its director Junichi Sato’s catalog. Sato would be magical girl and children’s anime royalty even without Princess Tutu – after all, he directed both the first two seasons of Sailor Moon and a great deal of Ojamajo Doremi, two other towering standouts within the field. And even today Sato remains an influential figure, from his highly lauded slice of life productions like Aria to his ongoing work with the Pretty Cure franchise.

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Flip Flappers – Episode 10

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Flip Flappers’ tenth episode opens with Papika in a mood we’ve basically never seen her in – insular and depressed, crouched alone in the dark, reflecting on this mysterious “Mimi” figure. It’s an appropriate starting point for an episode that essentially tears up Flip Flappers’ status quo, abandoning its largely episodic structure and setting pieces in place for the grand finale. This is far from Flip Flappers’ best episode, but unlike episode eight, that’s not really its fault. This is an unabashed transition episode, and though its turns aren’t all the most graceful, it’s all working in service of the great cataclysm to come.

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ef – A Tale of Memories – Episode 10

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Let’s get back to A Tale of Memories! We’ve been slowly winding our way through this production for a while now, and I’m certainly having a fine time with it. The show is divided between two very different narratives, but its obsession with the idea of truly existing and leaving an impact on the world carries through each of them. On the Hiro/Rei/Miyako side, Miyako is the most stark example of this theme, constantly panicking at the thought of being neglected until she simply fades away. On the Renji/Chihiro side, Chihiro has obvious reasons to be preoccupied with memory and the nature of being, assailed every day by questions and fears regarding her ability to truly engage with the world, as well as whether the active voice in her mind is even really “her.” That thread, along with the show’s wild visual experiments, have kept Ef engaging regardless of its romantic twists and turns, which have stuck to more traditional melodrama territory. My preference for the show’s thoughts on memory over its romantic drama likely informs my preference for the Chihiro story over the Hiro story, but I’m certainly enjoying both the show’s halves, and am very interested in seeing how all of this comes together. Let’s get right to it!

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Toradora – Episode 1

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Hey everybody! Today we’re beginning a journey through a show I’ve actually been meaning to rewatch for a long, long time. The last time I watched Toradora was almost a decade ago now – in fact, it was possibly the first show I ever watched along with its active broadcast, back in my junior year of college. At the time, my overarching impression of the show was that it was essentially the adolescent romantic drama that all the other ones were trying to be – insightful, emotionally rich, solidly produced, consistently rewarding. That year was a very difficult time in my life, a time when my social life had just dissolved into painful, identity-shaking backbiting, and I mainly just distracted myself through lonely hours in my dorm room. Most of that year sucked, but Toradora was a very welcome comfort.

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Scorching Ping Pong Girls – Episode 3

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It’s time for another episode of Scorching Ping Pong Girls! The show’s second episode was a big step up from the premiere, offering a very satisfying match, some nice animation highlights, and plenty of sturdy setup for the payoff of Agari and Koyori’s initial rivalry. I was particularly impressed by the show’s illustration of Hokuto’s unique ping pong powers, which was not only just engaging in a visual sense, but also very clearly conveyed the tactical back-and-forth of the fight, and even ended up underlining Hokuto’s emotional shift throughout the match. The show’s character writing is still only so-so, and Koyori hasn’t quite come into her own as a person, but this arc is clearly centered on Agari’s anxieties, so that’s understandable. Koyori is the intimidating new villain in Agari’s life, and at long last, the time has come for the two of them to truly duel. Let’s see some sparks fly in Scorching Ping Pong Girls!

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Chihayafuru 2 – Episode 1

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What the heck you guys let’s watch some more Chihayafuru. Chihayafuru has become one of my steadiest comfort projects in recent months – it’s always a joy to watch, and every episode offers plenty to talk about in a craft sense too, whether it’s through the show’s character work, overall sports drama structure, or the individual choices that bring its matches to life. Though the show certainly has its share of dramatic and aesthetic problems, it nails that ineffable “just one more episode” appeal that is incredibly difficult to achieve and incredibly valuable to possess.

The show’s first season ended on a somewhat unusual conflict, as instead of watching Chihaya herself compete, we last saw the Queen and Master each defend their own titles. In a practical sense, that was pretty much the inevitable result of a faithful adaptation of an ongoing manga – but it also conveniently set the stage for our heroes’ next challenges, and also brought Arata back into the foreground. At this point, my only source of hesitance in starting this season is the fact that we’re probably going to be changing opening songs, and Chihayafuru’s first opening song is one of my all-time favorites. But to live is to change and to change is to suffer, so let’s just accept what we must and GET ON WITH THE KARUTA.

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Chihayafuru – Episode 25

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Let’s finish the first season of Chihayafuru! This show has been a wonderful ride so far, building up an incredibly charming cast and methodically establishing karuta as a robust sports drama platform. Its matches have slowly but surely laid the groundwork for battles that are now both totally comprehensible in a tactical sense and also inherent reflections of their participants’ styles and personalities. And at this point, the cast is broad enough that the show can pull off exciting matches that don’t even even include any of the main characters.

The show’s weaknesses are equally clear. On the narrative front, the Chihaya-Arata-Taichi love triangle exists in a wibbly-wobbly shoujo romance space that is just never as compelling as the karuta-related drama. Though the show has worked to humanize Arata, in an immediate narrative sense, he’s still framed as some kind of lofty goal for Chihaya in a way that doesn’t really invite any sympathy for her situation. Beyond that, the show’s visual style reflects its director’s fairly one-note vision, bathing everything in golden light and generally aiming more for “functional” than “beautiful.” But the story being told and the matches being played are so enjoyable that I’m not really put out by Chihayafuru’s various issues. Let’s check out the Master finals, and finally see the mountain our boys have before them!

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Flip Flappers – Episode 9

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Flip Flappers has explored Cocona’s feelings and general mindscape from every conceivable angle, excavating her self-image, interrogating her feelings towards Papika, and generally articulating the richness of her personal world. We’ve also received some insight into Papika’s character, who has expressed herself consistently and opened up to Cocona in spite of still being a relatively mysterious figure. But Flip Flappers’ third pole has never been granted the luxury of understanding. Yayaka’s character has been articulated largely in contrast; her suspicions towards Papika, her would-be rivalry with the two other leads. Yayaka’s feelings have been as assumed by the narrative itself as they often seem to be by Cocona; but here in episode nine, Yayaka’s world is finally the focus. So what lurks inside Yayaka’s head, what animates her most deeply held feelings?

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