Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Just Because! – Episode 12

Posted on by

Just Because!’s final episode concluded the show as strongly as it could have, offering a welcome reprise of its early character acting and plenty of stunning individual scenes. The show is such a dramatically reserved production that even this climax felt like a pretty quiet affair, but it hit all the notes it needed to, even if that meant the clear best character Ena ended up getting rejected. Don’t worry Ena, being the best character in one of the year’s best shows is still pretty good.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

Continue reading →

Ojamajo Doremi – Episode 25

Posted on by

Let’s power on through some more Ojamajo Doremi! Last episode saw the show finally reaching the end of its Majo Ruka arc, with Doremi and her friends’ level six powers proving just strong enough to conquer Rika’s nemesis. Unfortunately, Ruka’s exit has opened the door for an even more powerful foe: Doremi’s sister Pop, the most competent and confident character in this entire series. Defeating evil witches is one thing, but Pop has demonstrated she can handily cross swords with Doremi any day of the week, and her silence will not be bought for cheap. My personal suggestion is Doremi give Majo Rika to Pop permanently in order to keep her quiet, but I suppose the show couldn’t make things that easy. It’s Pop’s time to shine in Ojamajo Doremi twenty-five!

Continue reading →

Kiss x Sis OVA – Episode 1

Posted on by

There’s a tricky balance involved in watching the dire stuff people fund specifically to make me suffer. To be frank, I don’t enjoy watching bad media. I am not at all a hatewatcher – I can enjoy something that’s truly exceptional in that way like The Room, but movies that are simply not good? Why not watch something good instead? I get very little pleasure out of watching other people’s failed projects; I’d much rather embrace the vast range of experiences possible through intentional, intelligent artistic choices, and could easily do without the simplistic, repetitive “lol that was incompetently conceived/executed” comic beat of hatewatching. I want to watch shows I can care about, shows that transport me to unique places, shows that teach me new things. Great media has so much to teach us, and we have so little time on this earth; why waste it on garbage that leaves us empty?

Continue reading →

March comes in like a lion – Episode 33

Posted on by

We were basically just in transition territory for this week’s March, as the show swept up the emotional loose ends of the past arc and started arranging some pieces for future conflicts. The show’s rigid adaptation style once again resulted in some dramatic weirdness, but frankly, this week’s material would have been kinda blase regardless of its presentation. They can’t all be standouts!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

Continue reading →

Ojamajo Doremi – Episode 24

Posted on by

It’s time for more Ojamajo Doremi! It’s been about a month in my time since my last Doremi episode, but certainly not due to lack of interest. The last episode of Ojamajo Doremi was possibly the best episode the show has put together yet, and undoubtedly featured the best single sequence of any episode so far. The flashback to Ai and her father coping with her mother leaving was a devastating and phenomenally executed sequence, building on Doremi’s strong familial relationships to arrive at a moment of transcendent catharsis. It was pretty much the definition of beauty through tragedy, demonstrating the strength of Ai and her father’s relationship in the harshest of times. I’m guessing it’ll be some time before we reach another sequence as strong as that, but Doremi has actually gotten consistently more powerful all throughout, so I’m excited for whatever comes. Let’s take it to that friggin’ Majo Ruka!

Continue reading →

March comes in like a lion – Episode 31

Posted on by

I apparently forgot to post this one back when episode 31 aired. Whoops!

Rei finally arrived at the Newcomer Tournament finals this week, and was able to pay Nikaidou back for his loss in the semis. Of course, that victory only came after Rei painfully accepted this arc’s main lesson: that sometimes we cannot help the ones we love through direct action, and must exercise emotional restraint. It was a smart narrative embodiment of this arc’s central emotional conflict, and seeing Rei rewarded by actually being able to help Hina was great as well. This show is good stuff.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

Continue reading →

Just Because! – Episode 11

Posted on by

We’re clearly in the Just Because! endgame now, with this episode taking us all the way through Mio and Eita’s misguided exams. I’m still too annoyed by their inability to communicate to really root for them, but if you were rooting for them, this episode was extremely gracefully constructed, contrasting their two journeys and smartly building towards their simultaneous exams. BUT ENA, THOUGH.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

Continue reading →

ef – A Tale of Memories – Episode 8

Posted on by

Let’s continue our journey through A Tale of Memories! Last episode was a serious spirit breaker, with its first half dedicated to the seeming dissolution of Renji and Chihiro’s relationship, and its second half diving deep into Miyako’s heretofore unknown childhood trauma. The sudden reveal and immediate consequences of that trauma were a little clumsy, but the visual execution was terrific, and the episode overall placed us in a fraught dramatic space for this here eighth episode. I’m not exactly sure how things could get worse at the moment, so I’m hopeful we’ll see some actual, much-needed honest communication between our main pairs. But then again, ef is an unabashed melodrama, so things very well could get insanely worse in any number of ways. Let’s find out!

Continue reading →

Flip Flappers – Episode 7

Posted on by

Episode seven opens with the unexpected, unwanted consequences of Cocona and Papika’s emotional meddling. Having “solved” Iroha Irodori’s childhood trauma, it appears they’ve also stolen her passion for artistic self-expression. A need to create is often born in a desire to articulate and perhaps come to terms with your scars; with Iro’s relationship with her childhood friend now resolved without regrets, she currently sees no reason to paint, claiming her works “just take up space, anyway.” Cocona feels guilty for this shift, and the ambiguity of her feelings points to a greater general truth. We don’t need to be ashamed of our unhappiness or our strangeness or our trauma – those are all a part of us, and even if we can’t see anything positive in our pain, that pain may still contribute to our finest qualities in its own way. We shouldn’t fetishize suffering, but also shouldn’t be ashamed of being wounded or imperfect – a fact Cocona herself is only slowly coming to realize.

Continue reading →

March comes in like a lion – Episode 32

Posted on by

March veered away from the ongoing Hina-Rei drama again this week, instead focusing on Rei’s just-defeated opponent Junkei. In any other show, this would be a frustrating diversion, but Junkei’s story was just so damn charming that I was completely taken in by his worldview, anxieties, and utterly pure love of pigeons. Anybody who cares about pigeons this much can’t be a bad guy. Damnit March, you made me care about another one.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

Continue reading →