Category Archives: Essay

Why It Works: Why You Absolutely Need to Check Out Pokemon: Twilight Wings!

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As is often the case for Why It Works posts, the title says it all here. The new Pokemon shorts they’ve been producing to promote Sword and Shield are phenomenal, blessed by a terrific core team and the freedom to seemingly tell any sort of vignette within Sword and Shield’s universe. They’re a fantastic collection, and they’re each only about six minutes, so there’s not much excuse to check them out. But if you still need convincing, here’s my article!

Why You Absolutely Need to Check Out Pokemon: Twilight Wings!

Why It Works: Let’s Celebrate the Birthday of A-1 Pictures!

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Welp, it’s A-1 Pictures birthday, and I think you all know what that means: time to shamelessly plug every single artistically interesting thing they’ve ever been involved with, and hopefully trick some unsuspecting young anime fans into broadening their aesthetic horizons. In spite of lacking any overarching artistic vision or creative mandate, A-1 Pictures have produced some terrific shows over the years, and I was happy to celebrate them once more. Let’s get to it!

Let’s Celebrate the Birthday of A-1 Pictures!

Why It Works: How Princess Connect! Re:Dive Captures the Spirit of Konosuba!

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The title pretty much says it all with this one! Featuring the same director and a variation on the same premise as Konosuba, Princess Connect feels like a direct spiritual successor to Takaomi Kanasaki’s last comedy hit, and also just a great time in general. I actually kinda prefer Princess Connect’s more slice of life-oriented tone to Konosuba’s harsher comedy, but they’re both excellent productions, and comparing them gave me plenty to talk about. Let’s get to it!

How Princess Connect! Re:Dive Captures the Spirit of Konosuba!

Why It Works: Fighting With Impact: The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter’s Nen System

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With the already-limited spring season now experiencing a necessary wave of delays and cancellations, my Why It Works columns are at last able to assume their final form: weekly odes to Hunter x Hunter, each column celebrating a different aspect of its collective majesty. Alright, that’s probably not actually going to happen, but I really could write about Hunter x Hunter’s excellence forever, and I was happy to ramble about the nen system this week. Let’s get to it!

Fighting with Impact: The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter’s Nen System

Why It Works: Sing “Yesterday” For Me is this Season’s Must-Watch Drama!

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The title for this one pretty much covers it – Yesterday’s premiere was fantastic, and also happened to be on Crunchyroll, so today I wrote an expanded article breaking down the show’s excellent staff and apparent strengths so far. I’ll definitely be keeping up with this one, though my seasonal schedule beyond that is currently an open question. Anyway, here’s the piece!

Sing “Yesterday” For Me is this Season’s Must-Watch Drama!

Why It Works: A Lifetime of Competition: Growing Up in Chihayafuru

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With the spring season rapidly approaching, it felt like about time to write some sort of thematic wrap-up for this season of Chihayafuru. I’ve been thrilled by Chihayafuru’s expansion of its dramatic scope all throughout this season, and greatly enjoying its exploration of how your relationship with karuta naturally changes as you embrace the full responsibilities of adult life. Let’s get to it!

A Lifetime of Competition: Growing Up in Chihayafuru

Why It Works: Who Defines Justice in My Hero Academia?

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This week’s Crunchyroll article returns us to My Hero Academia, as I explore the central question presented by Gentle Criminal’s addition to the narrative. Gentle’s actions aren’t legal, but they’re clearly pursuing a specific ideal of justice – so are heroes ultimately just super-powered shock troopers for the police, or genuine, independent heroes of the people? It’s a question that cape comics have explored all throughout comic history, and I’m delighted to see My Hero Academia expanding its moral scope through the defiantly ambiguous Gentle. Here’s the piece!

Who Defines Justice in My Hero Academia?

Why It Works: Prepare Yourselves for a Superb, Sequel-Packed Spring Season!

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Along with my own personal list of shows that appeal to my snooty critical sensibilities, this week I also wrote up a more general preview piece for Crunchyroll, highlighting the shows that your average anime fan might actually care about. I couldn’t help myself from devoting a bonus paragraph to Oregairu, but otherwise this is a pretty straightforward rundown of the upcoming season’s likely biggest hits, with an emphasis on the big friggin’ sequels in store. Let’s get to it!

Prepare Yourselves for a Superb, Sequel-Packed Spring Season!

Why It Works: My Hero Academia’s Most Terrifying Team-Ups!

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Today I’ve got a pretty silly Why It Works feature, mostly prompted by how much fun the new My Hero Academia movie was. Inspired by that film’s generous spread of 1-A combinations, I took a crack at building my own My Hero Academia teams, along with some light commentary on the general fun of the hero team concept. Here’s the piece!

My Hero Academia’s Most Terrifying Team-Ups!

One Piece – Volume 19

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We return to One Piece in the midst of its Alabasta arc, as we’re presumably nearing the climax of the overarching “Baroque Works” era. I haven’t actually read One Piece before, but given this final confrontation will involve squaring off against the actual leader of the Baroque Works pirates, and prompt either the fruition or destruction of the plan he’s been concocting for literally years, I have at least a certain degree of confidence that this arc will resolve the overall Baroque Works saga. So how does the view look from this point, as we near the conclusion of such a crucial conflict?

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