Category Archives: Essay

Why It Works: Nick’s Picks for Winter 2019

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Well folks, you know the drill. With the winter season having unloaded its initial bounty, this week I offered my seasonal recommendation of Crunchyroll-specific properties in my Why It Works column. It wasn’t hard to fill the list this time, as even with several of my own favorite properties appearing on HIDIVE, this season is looking strong enough to easily fill a suite of recommendations. I’d frankly really like to be watching Endro! myself, but just can’t be sure I’ll have the time. Either way, enjoy some more picks!

Nick’s Picks for Winter 2019

Why It Works: The Brilliance of Mob Psycho 100’s Season Premiere

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Today for Why It Works (well, yesterday technically, but I was too busy to actually link stuff then), I gush some more about Mob Psycho 100’s season premiere! The episode was friggin’ brilliant, so I was happy to extol its strengths in a longer format than the preview guide allows. I could probably just dedicated Why It Works to weekly Mob posts and be happy this season, but I’m sure I’ll mix it up – with Neverland and a variety of other hits on the service, I certainly won’t be lacking things to talk about. Anyway, here’s the piece!

The Brilliance of Mob Psycho 100’s Season Premiere

Why It Works: Anime to Inspire Your New Year’s Resolution!

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Today on Why It Works I’ve got a pretty sentimental article that I’m actually quite proud of, where I run down some recent favorites of mine in the context of potential new year’s resolutions. I have absolutely no time to describe the whole thing though, as I’m still buried in preview week. I hope you enjoy the piece!

Anime to Inspire Your New Year’s Resolution!

The Great and Terrible Cycle: Mizukami’s Spirit Circle (Volume One)

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Satoshi Mizukami has weathered a long and circuitous road on his way to western acclaim. Though his Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer has long been lauded as a unique, ambitious, and heartfelt twist on the shonen formula, it only received an official translation long after its release, and never received an anime adaptation. Most recently, his Planet With demonstrated both the power and limitations of translating Mizukami’s work to animation, but without that translating into anything approaching wide appeal (in spite of my best efforts). And nestled between those two works, we find the brief, beautiful, and utterly characteristic Spirit Circle.

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Why It Works: A Kaleidoscope of Feeling: Light and Color in Tsurune

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Today for Why It Works, I wrote a craft piece entirely focused on Tsurune’s dazzling use of color and composition in the illustration of its characters’ feelings. I feel like I initially took Tsurune’s tonal strengths for granted, but as the episodes have built up, its ability to consistently evoke a neat balance between its characters’ feelings and the overall tonal austerity of archery has only impressed me more and more. Tsurune is a quietly terrific show, and I’m always happy to talk about it.

A Kaleidoscope of Feeling: Light and Color in Tsurune

Why It Works: Five Star Anime Directors of the Coming Season

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Today on Why It Works, I was hard at work hyping up some of the most exciting shows of the winter season. Though every season has its all star directors and staff, I felt this coming season was particularly stocked with S-tier directors, and so decided to highlight these terrific artists specifically. And hey, any excuse to use One Punch Man in order to trick people into reading about Kemono Friends and Rakugo is a good one. Here’s the piece!

Five Star Directors of the Coming Season

Giant Robots and Absent Friends: The Split Identity of SSSS.Gridman

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Today on Why It Works, I explored a topic that’s been intriguing me all season – Gridman’s pronounced divide between its two principle genre modes. Obviously giant robots shows care about their characters in general, but Gridman seems to be making a genuine point of splitting its drama into categories defined by unique styles of direction, animation, and storytelling. It’s a neat trick that seems to genuinely reflect the show’s themes, and something I was very happy to talk about. Here’s the piece!

Giant Robots and Absent Friends: The Split Identity of SSSS.Gridman

Why It Works: It’s Time to Catch Up on the Thrilling Mob Psycho 100!

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Today on Why It Works, I’ve got a big ol’ pitch for Mob Psycho 100, the terrific spectacle that I’d personally place as the best action show of the last five years. I loved Mob Psycho while it was airing, and I’m very excited to return to it this winter season. It’s nice to have at least one show you’re basically certain is going to kick ass, and Mob Psycho feels as sure a bet as basically anything. Here’s the piece!

It’s Time to Catch Up on the Thrilling Mob Psycho 100!

Chihayafuru Part One: The Movie

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The opening scene of the Chihayafuru film embodies something utterly fundamental to karuta as a sport: the constant, thrilling sense of tense anticipation. Karuta is not a game of continuous action. Its energy and appeal build up over strained moments of anticipation, waiting for the next card to be called. Karuta embodies the thrill of the silence just before a decisive play in any sport; the ball aloft, players’ eyes trained, all voices hushed as victory and defeat hang in the balance. Karuta bottles that thrill, and unleashes it again and again, as its contenders rush for glory on the tatami mat.

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Why It Works: The Spectacular Boat Battle of Abbacchio

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Hell no I won’t stop talking about JoJo. This week’s Why It Works article is basically a piece I was destined to write at some point – a breakdown of the various style shifts apparent in the move from Diamond is Unbreakable to Golden Wind. I was initially hesitant to embrace Golden Wind’s style, particularly after I so adored the compositional glory of Diamond, but the show has absolutely sold its unique identity at this point. New JoJo is grosser and closer and more focused on movement than Diamond, and all those qualities are resulting in a very engaging production. Here’s the piece!

Golden Wind’s Manifesto: The Spectacular Boat Battle of Abbacchio