Well here we are, with bearly twenty more minutes of Yuri Kuma to go. I enjoyed a lot of what this show had to offer, and though I wish it were a bit more emotionally strong, it’s certainly offered plenty to talk about. Even if they did kill the best character goddamnit Ikuhara that’s not okay. Let’s see it end well!
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Rolling Girls – Episode 12
Well, this was a garbage ending. It’s a real shame – I was actually looking forward to whatever theatrics Rolling Girls put together for its final episode, and then the finale ends up having zero animation and even less coherent plot. Friggin’ Log Horizon was more animated this week than Rolling Girls. And the plot ends in about as unsatisfying a way as it could, and the story just sort of falls over itself. How do situations like this even happen? It feels like professional writers should not write themselves into holes like this.
My full ANN post is available here. Incredulous notes below!
Log Horizon II – Episode 25
And so season two comes to an end. This was about as much of an “ending” as I expected – we got a variety of resolutions, but even more gestures towards future material that may or may not ever exist. The raid boss fight was a lot of fun, Kanami and Shiroe have really great interactions, and it was nice (if a little anticlimactic) to see Crusty’s perfectly okay. Overall, season two felt significantly stronger than the first, and though we definitely cashed in a lot of the show’s existing conflict-chips, I’m sure this author could think of all sorts of ways to continue the story. Here’s to hoping we actually get that season three one day.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Parasyte – Episode 24
And Parasyte finally ends, with an episode that sure was incredibly boring to write about. I’m pretty happy to see it over, honestly – it’s been something of a trial in this second half, doing a full day of work only to know I’ll have to come home and say something about a show that could never quite be as good as I wanted it to. Ah well. I’ve watched plenty of ultimately disappointing anime, I’m sure I’ll watch plenty more.
My full ANN post is available here. Notes below!
Yuri Kuma Arashi – Episode 11
The bears have returned! Lulu seems to be out of the picture for the time being, while Ginko has come back to devour Kureha. And Kureha has finally appeared before the bear court, who we now know are clearly here just to fuck with things in ways they find amusing, and adjust the rules whenever they feel like it. Will Kureha have to wager something to save Ginko, as Lulu and Ginko did in the past? Is love impossible without giving up something equally valuable? ONLY THE BEARS KNOW.
Let’s get to it!
Log Horizon II – Episode 24
A surprisingly excellent episode here at the tail end of Log Horizon II. The focus and production were just on a much higher level than usual, and Shiroe’s very understandable dilemma gave the whole thing a well-defined structure. Seeing the whole team work together was nice, seeing that team brought to life through some actual animation was even better, and in general the whole thing just worked, and moved the quest to go home in a fairly compelling direction.
My full ANN post is available here. Sadly no notes this week, as I actually watched this one on my house TV as opposed to my computer.
Rolling Girls – Episode 11
Welp, at least we’ll always have the fights. This episode really brought Rolling Girls’ narrative failings to the fore, with the busyness of this arc’s storytelling offering pretty much no emotional hooks whatsoever. But yeah. The fights! Plenty of fun fights this week, plenty of beautiful backgrounds, not an ounce of narrative sense. Ah well.
Here’s my full ANN post. Notes below!
Parasyte – Episode 23
The strongest Parasyte in a while this week, with both the action and themey-wemey sides of the show putting up strong performances. The Gotou fight was the most well-depicted one in a while (a long while, actually… hell, maybe ever? Parasyte hasn’t exactly had the most impressive fights), and the final Shinichi-Migi conversation was great on both a character and idea level. I really thought the show was just falling apart altogether a few episodes ago, but this post-police stakeout arc has been pretty solid. Nice to see!
My full ANN post is available here, and notes as always are below.
Rough Notes Archive: Fullmetal Alchemist
Management: So I heard you guys like notes or something! As with Utena and Katanagatari, I took a whole crapton of timestamped notes while watching FMA, with almost any line of any noteworthy thematic relevance being recorded and commented on in time. They’re not intended to be an actual formal piece – they’re me gathering ideas and poking at thoughts as I watch the show in real time. But if you want a big dense journey into FMA’s threads that goes beyond my essay on the subject, here we are.
Yuri Kuma Arashi – Episode 10
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.