For this week’s Why It Works article, I ran through my usual process of sorting out Crunchyroll-specific recommendations for the coming anime season. This has felt like a truly unending preview week, likely because it actually stretched across two full weeks, but the end is finally in sight, and I’ll be posting my Virtually Every First Episode post on Wednesday. We’re back in action, folks!
Nick’s Anime Picks for Fall 2019
No subterfuge or trickery in this title; Given has concluded, it’s absolutely one of the best shows of the year, and I felt duty-bound to sell it as hard as I possibly could. I say “one of” in the post title, but honestly, there’s not really any competition for that title; it just is the best character drama of the year, full stop. Incredibly convincing dialogue and rich, vulnerable characters, terrific layouts and bold, uplifting dramatic turns; Given was altogether stunning, and I’m thrilled it ended so well. By the last few episodes, I’d transitioned fully into “as long as they don’t fuck up, this will be a classic” viewing, and guess what, they didn’t fuck up. If you haven’t watched Given and you like the sort of stuff I tend to like, you should probably give it a try. If not, maybe one more article will convince you!
Given is One of the Best Anime Dramas of the Year
With one of my favorite goddamn shows premiering in just a few short weeks, it seemed about time to sing the praises of the endlessly entertaining Chihayafuru. It’s hard to summarize Chihayafuru’s appeal in just a few hundred words, but I did my best to highlight how it’s one of those rare and wonderful shows where your investment in the tactical mechanics of sports drama is always rewarded, often in ways you’d never expect. Here’s the piece!
It’s Time to Get Caught Up For Next Season’s Chihayafuru!
Today on Why It Works, I had a great deal of fun writing another in-universe flavor article, this time about GRANBELM’s many ferocious heroines. I always really enjoy writing these sorts of pieces, which is one reason I tend to write so many Crunchyroll articles about My Hero Academia and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures – they’re both universes that invite tactical speculation, and embody a specific authorial tone that’s really fun to emulate. GRANBELM occupies a similar combination of tactics and tone, and has been keeping me fully stocked on satisfying action even as the season’s ostensible shonen front-runners have faltered. Let’s get to it!
Announcing the Contenders of This Season’s High-Stakes GRANBELM
Today on Why It Works, it’s time for some shameless promotion, as I break down just a few of the things to look forward to in My Hero Academia’s fast-approaching fourth season. If you’ve read the manga, none of this will be new to you, but if you haven’t, this post should offer a spoiler-free sampler of the directions the story will soon be taking. Have at it!
What to Expect from the My Hero Academia Anime’s Fourth Season!
Many giant robot properties are, most fundamentally, about the power and freedom of becoming your adult self. Often centered on young men on the cusp of adulthood, their robotic instruments become vehicles through which those boys can explore the responsibility of genuinely impacting society, and deciding what kind of mark they want to leave on the world. It’s a robust metaphor that gracefully implies the world-shifting nature of adolescence, but the dramatic range of giant robot narratives expands far beyond individual transformation, as the brilliant Patlabor demonstrates. Developed throughout the late ‘80s by the five-artist Headgear collective, and set only a brief decade after its own creation, Patlabor focuses on a very different kind of transformation – not on one boy becoming a man, but on Japan becoming a modern and technologically advanced global power.
Jeez, these titles don’t really work when my crunchyroll title also contains a colon, huh? Anyway, today on Why It Works, I dive into the excellent use of visual and sound design in this season’s terrific given, specifically breaking down the tonal tricks and visual metaphors of the fifth’s episode most important scene. Let’s get to it!
Drama with All the Senses: The Rich Storytelling of the Anime given
Today on Crunchyroll I’ve got something a little different, as I reflect back on my own relationship with the incredible works of Kyoto Animation. This studio’s shows have genuinely, deeply impacted the course of my life, and given me so much hope and joy over the years. I wish Kyoto Animation’s brilliant family all the best in overcoming this tragedy, and can only say again how grateful I am for all the treasures and feelings they’ve shared with me.
Celebrating the Quiet Beauty of Kyoto Animation
Today on Why It Works, I dug into the smart use of color both in character theming and background design for this season’s excellent Granbelm. Granbelm was an entirely speculative pick for me coming into this season, but it’s turned into one of my top favorites, quickly surpassing the uneven strengths of this season’s more obvious action contenders. Here’s my piece!
Conflicts of Color in the Granbelm Anime
This week on Why It Works, I run through a wide array of recommendations for all those brave souls who’ve just finished their first watch of Neon Genesis Evangelion. There are plenty of shows that directly echo the narrative tropes or iconography of Evangelion, but capturing its underlying appeal is a lot trickier, and I felt I did a fair enough job of offering selections for a variety of Evangelion’s strengths. March comes in like a lion feels like a weirdly appropriate spiritual successor to Evangelion, while other choices like Flip Flappers are more obvious, but still well-worth watching. Anyway, here’s the piece!
So You Just Finished Neon Genesis Evangelion. What’s Next?
