Today on Why It Works, we’re exploring the messy yet surprisingly thoughtful relationship between Mob and Reigen! Though Reigen isn’t truly Mob’s dad, his time spent teaching his young employee has felt more true-to-life and poignant than many overt parental anime relationships, and it’s been a thrill to watch this season expand on their bond. Let’s get to the piece!
Reigen Arataka and the Ideal Anime Parent
Today on Crunchyroll, I’m celebrating one of JoJo’s strangely iconic qualities – those times when its solution to some particular narrative riddle is so absurd or convoluted you just have to say “no JoJo, that’s bullshit.” I genuinely love those moments, and feel JoJo tends to pretty gracefully dance between sequences that are given enough tactical grounding to feel genuinely tense, and sequences that are so laughably ridiculous they’re entertaining purely as fantasy. Let’s get to celebrating some of JoJo’s most absurd turns!
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Has Crossed the Line
I’m guessing a lot of readers probably knew what this week’s post would be the moment “The Magnificent Kotobuki is now on Crunchyroll” was announced, and I’m happy to prove them right. Tsutomu Mizushima’s work has been bringing me great joy for years, and I had a great time celebrating his career with this week’s column. Let’s get to the piece!
The Magnificent Kotobuki and Its High-Flying Director Have Arrived
I’ve got a nice, meaty topic for this week’s Why It Works, as we dig into the complexities and unique priorities of anime in adaptation. While an anime that attempted to echo Neverland’s intricate fairy tale tone would have been very interesting, it’s clear that this team are instead focused on making a tightly wound suspense thriller, and their choices bear that out. I hope you enjoy the piece!
The Adapted Vision of The Promised Neverland
For today’s Why It Works, I’ve got a plus-sized breakdown of Mob Psycho’s overall thematic thrust! Well, not its entire thematic thrust – there are also subthemes regarding social difference and mob mentalities and whatnot that I didn’t directly address, BUT STILL! This is basically a classic thematic essay, and I’m pretty happy with it. Mob Psycho embodies a great deal of what I love in anime, from its visual experimentation to its psychological inquiry to its quirky dramatic sensibilities, but its underlying belief in the power of human kindness and worthiness of all people is what speaks to me most. I hope you enjoy my tribute to this wonderful show!
The True Nature of Strength in Mob Psycho 100
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!
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
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!
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.
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
