Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Mob Psycho 100 – Episode 9

Posted on by

Mob Psycho 100 played it reasonably cool this week, letting the first few minutes of Mob’s rescue and Ritsu’s escape largely speak for themselves. That was fine, though – even in the absence of anything as visually thrilling as last week’s spectacle, we’ve still arrived at an exciting narrative with an engaging cast of characters. Mob’s complexity as a person means his one-sided battles still have at least a bit more intrigue than Saitama’s deadpan victories, and Ritsu’s relative vulnerability actually led to a tiny bit of Hunter x Hunter-style power-plotting this week. Overall, I’m still very much enjoying the Mob Psycho ride.

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

Continue reading →

Nichijou – Episode 5

Posted on by

WHAT THE HECK IT’S NICHIJOU AGAIN. Nichijou remains an incredible, impeccably crafted ride through its fifth episode, and so I’m here to make my drooling way through its various treasures. We’ve got some thoughts on the show’s pacing this time, as well as more of the usual elaboration of the precise dynamic created by the three leads. It’s all heady, serious comedy craft here in Nichijou-land, and I urge you all to take it very seriously. NOW LET’S WATCH SOME SILLY CARTOONS.

Continue reading →

Mawaru Penguindrum – Episode 9

Posted on by

In Penguindrum’s ninth episode, the action pauses for a moment. In keeping with its title, “Frozen World,” the trials of Ringo and Shoma are briefly set aside, and we return back, back, back to the beginning. Back to the first episode of the show, as we experience that fateful day at the aquarium from Himari’s perspective. Back before that day, to Himari’s own childhood. And back before Himari’s childhood, back to our own world, where the terror and violence of 1995 hang high above the events of Mawaru Penguindrum.

Continue reading →

Nichijou – Episode 4

Posted on by

What the hell it’s more Nichijou. The show has established as much of a rhythm as something this ridiculous can, but there’s still plenty of fun craft to poke at and uncover. Though comedy being highly personal is a general truism, I personally find the craft of comedy one of the most rewarding things to talk about. Comedy is like music, or language – there’s a clear rhythm to it, and internal narratives of tension and release that give it a real sense of cohesion and beauty. So let’s ponder the beauty of comedy as we watch a show about a talking cat and a girl with a key in her back.

Continue reading →

Mob Psycho 100 – Episode 8

Posted on by

HOLY CRAP THIS EPISODE OF MOB PSYCHO WHAT THE HELL. This week’s fight felt even MORE impressive than the Hanazawa fight, somehow, amazingly, holy shit. It wasn’t as directly tied to cathartic emotional moments as that one, but given it came right after a wonderful reunion between Mob and Ritsu, I couldn’t feel that mad. I was actually kinda worried going into this episode that Ritsu was going to become a villain, in fitting with ONE’s general downer attitude. That fortunately didn’t happen – Ritsu has made bad decisions, but he’s still the same person he always does. It’s actually pretty satisfying to see one of the “heroes” make such ugly decisions, and then so quickly realize what he’s actually done.

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

Continue reading →

Orange – Episode 9

Posted on by

Orange is still meandering its way towards a conclusion. There were good moments in this episode, but that’s all I’m really expecting from the show at this point – even beyond its slowly drowning production, there’s just not enough substance to Naho’s feelings to really support an entire TV anime. A story can feel true to life without being good storytelling, and that’s basically what we’ve arrived at here – yes, Naho’s the kind of person who would let her feelings run in circles forever, but unless the show can articulate new truths in those feelings over time, that’s not really meaningful from an audience perspective.

Anyway! You can check out my full review over at ANN.

Orange

Why It Works: Tsumugi’s Great Adventure

Posted on by

Today I got to write a piece on Sweetness & Lightning for the first time, which was nice. The show honestly doesn’t offer that much to dissect a lot of weeks, but the Tsumugi-focused episode was a clear standout, so I had plenty to talk about. Hope you enjoy the piece!

Why It Works: Tsumugi’s Great Adventure

Sweetness & Lighting

Nichijou – Episode 3

Posted on by

The Nichijou train continues, as I fire off a series of staid, thoughtful reactions to three girls dunking on each other and a robot with a giant key in its back. This episode was framed from the perspective of Nano and the professor’s cat, and cats are good, so this was a good episode. I also spend some time rambling about the various dramatic roles played by the three high school characters. There’s lots of jokes to laboriously critique today, so let’s get right to it!

Continue reading →

Mob Psycho 100 – Episode 7

Posted on by

Mob Psycho finally had a weaker episode this time, after a fairly consistent streak of excellence. The way this episode was weaker makes me think the show is trying to hit some later arc in the manga, but either way, it resulted in a somewhat unsatisfying middle phase of Ritsu’s current arc. ONE isn’t the most insightful of social scientists, and speeding up his stories only emphasizes that – Ritsu and Shinji were both shortchanged by this episode’s pacing, and the conclusion suffered for it. Hopefully we’ll be back on track next week!

You can check out my full review over at ANN.

Mob Psycho 100

Mawaru Penguindrum – Episode 8

Posted on by

Episode eight starts with a crack of thunder, as Ringo drags her creepy self up from beneath the floorboards. Framed in jolts of lightning and hideous shadows, Ringo’s attempted consummation is anything but romantic – and of course, that’s the only way it could work. By framing Ringo’s actions as a horror movie, Penguindrum both clearly demonstrates that it doesn’t agree with her actions, and also somewhat stylizes and thus softens the dramatic impact of Ringo actually trying to rape someone.

Continue reading →