Category Archives: Essay

Why It Works: The Tactical Titans of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

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For this week’s Crunchyroll article, I dove into the very different worldviews of Yang and Reinhard, discussing how their respective upbringings very clearly influence their views of not just their countries, but their own potential, and the way humans and history interact. It’s really fun to see such an ostensibly “great men make history”-aligned narrative freely admit that we’re all products of our environment, but that’s basically the perspective that makes Galactic Heroes so good in general. The show’s a treat, I’m having a great time with it, and I hope you enjoy the piece!

The Tactical Titans of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Why It Works: Hinamatsuri’s Comedic Timing

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It unsurprisingly didn’t take long for Hinamatsuri to pop up in my Why It Works columns. The show’s pretty much a comedy marvel in all respects, and also very endearing as a found-family drama besides, making it basically the ideal show for a huge mark like me. The fact that its jokes generally aren’t that surprising only really underlines the strength of their delivery; pacing really can work wonders, and it’s certainly working wonders here. I hope you enjoy the piece!

Hinamatsuri’s Comedic Timing is So Snappy It’ll Break Your Neck

Why It Works: The Anime-Original Secrets of My Hero Academia

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Today on Crunchyroll, I focused on precisely the kind of nitty-gritty craft stuff that makes me so happy to have this column, exploring how the added content for My Hero Academia’s new season reflected the overall authorial voice of the show versus the manga. Obviously they didn’t include any overbearing new foreshadowing or anything, but the way My Hero Academia The Show sees its own cast is interesting to me, and material that diverges from the manga is one of the clearest avenues for exploring that perspective. This was a fun one to write, and I hope you enjoy it!

The Anime-Original Secrets of My Hero Academia

Why It Works: Nick’s Picks for Spring 2018

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As usual, I wrapped up this season’s extended preview week with one last look back for Crunchyroll, offering some quick recommendations from across the genre spectrum. With Wotakoi arriving at the last moment, I no longer have much real cause to complain about this season – there’s no big ambitious art statement by one of my favorite directors, but there’s at least one or two solid shows in basically all my other genres. It’s a pretty fine time to like anime!

Nick’s Picks for Spring 2018

Why It Works: Where Must the Members of Class 1-A Go From Here?

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Today on Crunchyroll, I’m hyping up the new season of My Hero Academia by once again diving into the fragile self-image of its principle leads. I’m mid-preview week at the moment and have no time to chat, so you can check out the article below and I guess that’s it. I’m off!

Where Must the Members of Class 1-A Go From Here?

So Good You Can Taste It: Anime That Make Eating Look Great

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It was time for a recommendation roundup this week on Crunchyroll, and this week we explored great cooking shows! The most fun part of this piece was just trying to find enough of those precise “oh my god this meal looks so good” low-angle reaction shots to fill the article, but fortunately I prevailed, because I am a professional. The people need to know the truth, and the truth is food is good.

So Good You Can Taste It: Anime That Make Eating Look Great

What’s in Store for My Hero Academia?

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Today on Crunchyroll I’m basically just hyping the hell out of My Hero Academia’s third season, which was easy to do, considering I myself am hype as fuck for this one. My Hero Academia’s second anime season was a dramatic step up quality-wise from the first, and with the material this third season’s covering offering an even more significant quality jump, I’m pumped to see whatever Bones can pull together. It’s awesome to have a tentpole shounen like My Hero Academia receive such a strong episode-to-episode adaptation, and can’t wait to see Midoriya punch stuff good one more time.

What’s in Store for My Hero Academia?

Why It Works: Rin and Her Space

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Today on Why It Works, I took some more time to explore all the stuff that makes Laid Back Camp so great. This time, my focus was on how Laid Back Camp accomplishes the rare task of celebrating introversion in a slice of life shell, a genre that naturally trends towards emphasizing time spent with friends as the natural goal of life altogether. Laid Back Camp is very good at not just respecting Rin’s preferences, but also capturing many of the things that make time spent alone so uniquely appealing. Thanks for that, Laid Back Camp!

Why It Works: Rin and Her Space

Why It Works: What Awaits in a Place Further Than the Universe

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Today on Crunchyroll, I dug into the intangible sense of absence and longing that seems to guide so many of the stars of A Place Further Than the Universe. The show’s fixation with this ineffable something that will grant all our lives some greater significance is my favorite thing about it, so I was happy to dedicate a piece to specifically that. Hope you enjoy the writeup!

What Awaits in a Place Further Than the Universe

A Violence Like This: Tokyo Ghoul

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“There’s a violence in everyone.”
– Typhoon

Liquid drips from a metal basin, pooling on the tiled floor. The sound comes from some distance away, which helps – at that distance, it is simply an anonymous liquid, not an actual, vital, absent part of Kaneki’s body. Closer at hand, the truths become harder to bear: his scar-crossed wrists, his grinding teeth, the half-formed toes ever growing in, ever being torn away. Ghouls who feed on humans possess great powers of regeneration, but right now, that regeneration is only denying Kaneki the release of death. His body gives and gives, and yet his tormentor keeps coming back, keeps demanding more. Having lived his life by the conviction that suffering pain yourself is preferable to inflicting that pain on others, Kaneki can only wonder how he reached this metal chair, how things ever got so messed up.

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