Yeap, turns out it takes more than four or five handy tips to survive in the JoJo universe. Today I returned to JoJo’s Bizarre Survival Guide, and had an altogether wonderful time pulling together a few more key rules for surviving in Araki’s wild wilderness. Let’s get to it!
JoJo’s Bizarre Survival Guide, Part Two
From the beginning, Koko has clearly seen Spirit Circle as a kind of revenge narrative. She must get her revenge on Fuuta, and hopefully break the cycle in the process, but the revenge part at least is paramount. Of course, simply punishing this boy who doesn’t even know what he’s done wouldn’t be particularly satisfying – so first, she must make him understand the weight of all the suffering he’s caused her. It’s an instinct almost anyone can relate to; revenge is in large part about wanting someone else to understand and pay back the pain they inflicted on you, and if we could simply share our pain directly, then we might not lash out through other means.
For this week’s Why It Works, I wrote up my traditional slew of recommendations for Crunchyroll-specific properties. All four of this article’s properties genuinely seemed pretty darn great to me, and though I probably won’t be sticking with all of them, they’re certainly fine entries in their own genres. Let’s get to it!
Nick’s Anime Picks for Spring 2019
Today on Why It Works, I return to JoJo with another mostly nonsensical article about bizarre adventure best practices. While it’s true that JoJo is full of incredibly bullshit abilities that will kill you for the most preposterous of reasons, the seasons so far have also established a clear catalog of actions that will pretty much always get you injured, killed, or otherwise punished for your foolishness. Today we break down just a few of those classic mistakes in JoJo’s Bizarre Survival Guide!
Surviving this Bizarre World: JoJo’s Bizarre Survival Guide
Today I wrote the necessary followup to last week’s Watanabe-focused article, this time exploring the career of the equally remarkable Kunihiko Ikuhara. It’s a pretty classic retrospective, focusing on both his themes and influences, with a solid shoutout to Junichi Sato for good measure. Let’s get to it!
Revolutionary Girl Utena’s Ikuhara is Directing an Anime this Spring!
Today on Why It Works, I used the occasion of Carole & Tuesday’s upcoming release to talk about Watanabe’s work in a more general sense, highlighting the themes and narrative quirks that have remained consistent all through his many years as a director. I get the feeling my insistence his works are all a part of one cohesive statement might not tempt people who are just hoping for Bebop 2, but I gotta try! Regardless, I enjoyed looking and thinking back over Watanabe’s career, and now feel even more excited for his new show. I hope you enjoy the piece!
Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichiro Watanabe is Directing an Anime this Spring!
I’ll get the bad news out of the way right from the start: the second Chihayafuru film is not that great of an actual film. If I were giving it a formal review, I’d probably spend a fair amount of time talking about how its first act hangs on insubstantial drama, as well as its inability to maintain the manga’s tactical sports intrigue, which generally acts as a needed counterbalance to the story’s melodrama. I’d praise Mayu Matsuoka for absolutely killing it as Shinobu, but reflect that ultimately, in spite of doing its best to reconstitute the manga into a coherent three-film structure, it loses too much of the original’s appeal in the process. I’d conclude by summarizing it as not a great film in its own right, but a very fun lark for fans of the franchise, and a fascinating exercise in the difficulty of translating ongoing manga to discrete films.
With last week’s article having covered the overall “here’s what this show does well” pitch, this week’s Why It Works offers a more traditionally Wrong Every Time take on Run with the Wind, as we explore the themes and emotional experience of the show. I really enjoyed writing this piece, and hope you enjoy reading it too!
We Are Stronger Together in Run with the Wind!
Today on Why It Works, I’ve got a general sales pitch running down the diverse strengths of Run with the Wind. Though I’ve been impressed with this show from the start, I never expected it to be quite this consistent, and certainly not this genuinely moving. The final relay has had me misting up for a few weeks straight now, and As Is My Code, I must do my best to share that blubbering with you all. Here’s the piece!
Why You Need to Catch Up on Run with the Wind!
After last week’s parental love letter to a remorseless conman and serial liar, I felt kinda obligated to celebrate some anime parents who don’t necessarily possess quite so much baggage. For this week’s Why It Works, I ran down a scattering of other great parents or parental figures, giving me a fine opportunity to rep shows like March and Eccentric Family once more. Look, if March didn’t want to show up on half of my recommendation lists, it shouldn’t have been so good at absolutely everything.
Reigen is Great, But There Are Other Great Anime Parents Too!
