Back to the UQ grind again, with a volume that finally dug into one of this manga’s core issues – how goddamn boring its protagonist is. Tota is a shounen lump, and this volume did its best to paint some character on that lump, with generally positive results. UQ is still a surprisingly mediocre performance from the guy who made Negima, but there’s plenty of entertainment to be found regardless.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Genshiken continues its questionable adventure into harem territory, making the most of it but still being fundamentally much worse than what the manga used to be. There are certainly plenty of effective moments here, and the story still has better dialogue than most manga and solid art all around, but Second Season is still an inescapable disappointment. We are in the lean times of Genshiken now.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Continuing through Hosoda’s catalog, today I reviewed his newest and likely messiest original film. The Boy and the Beat has a lot of awkward parts, but my second viewing actually ended up being a lot more rewarding than the first – I knew it wasn’t going to be “followup to Wolf Children” good, so I could appreciate the many, many individually compelling moments. Hosoda’s dramatic priorities largely match my own – plot is basically always working in service of characters and relationships, not the other way around. In The Boy and the Beast, that ultimately results in a film that feels disjointed and somewhat lacks momentum, but the things he actually cares about are as strong as ever.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!
Today I took one more look back at this spring’s big shounen superhero extravaganza. My Hero Academia’s strengths and weaknesses have been pretty firmly articulated at this point – the show had great material to work with, and understood the spirit of that material perfectly, but was hamstrung by the limitations of adapting too few chapters into too many episodes. In spite of that, I had a solid time with MHA, and am hopeful the second season will learn from this one’s mistakes. There’s always next time!
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Today I wrote up Imaishi’s latest, which was very him and also potentially reflective of maybe a little emotional nuance coming somewhere down the line. Luluco was an extremely messy show, but its best bits were good in ways that make it pretty distinct, and at five minutes an episode, it certainly didn’t waste anybody’s time. A reasonable short all around.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Today I went back to check out one of the very first shows I covered for ANN, Shonen Hollywood. The show definitely held up; Shohari is almost uniquely pointed in its approach to the idol industry, and even though its aesthetics are pretty crap all around, the writing is good enough that it’s still definitely worth a watch. I’m glad writing for ANN has given me the chance to branch out and discover shows like this, that I may never have found on my own time.
You can check out my full review over at ANN!
Funimation finally rereleased Hosoda’s first original film, so I got to take another look at one of my favorite movies. The film is still a bit awkward in its construction, rambling in the middle act and arriving at an awkwardly exposition-heavy conclusion, but it’s also full of so many charming scenes that it’s hard not to love. Makoto is just the best – her enthusiasm brings the whole film to life, and makes her adventures a joy to experience. How can you not like someone who expresses such genuine delight at learning she can use time travel to regain the pudding her sister stole? It may have some clear lows, but the energetic highs make The Girl Who Leapt Through Time a charming debut all the same.
You can check out my big review over at ANN, or my notes below!
Concrete Revolutio’s second half sure was something. I was initially a little disappointed to realize the second half would largely stick to the same structure as the first – but as I say in my review, ultimately that’s just how the world works. It wouldn’t fit with Concrete Revolutio’s style to pretend all the problems it’s discussed can be resolved through some vast central conflict; problems emerge out of natural circumstance, we deal with them the best we can, and then we just keep doing our best to live. Concrete Revolutio’s mix of frank, almost bitter realism and clear optimism resulted in a wonderful experience all around, a show that was unafraid to either admit the world is a harsh place or submit to the fatalism that understanding might engender. This season might be called “The Last Song,” but it is clear right up until the end that the song goes on.
You can check out my full review over at ANN!
And so A Silent Voice comes to an end. This volume was definitely weaker than much of what came before, and essentially gave too much time to what was all pretty much epilogue. There were loose narrative tangents and unnecessary additions, and it all made for a slightly rambling experience. But A Silent Voice’s fundamental character writing is so strong that it really didn’t harm anything, and at this point, seeing the untidy threads of the manga actually just makes me feel even more excited for the film. A Silent Voice is a fantastic manga, but it could be condensed into a basically perfect movie. For the first time in a while, I can’t help but let the hype be real.
You can check out my full review over at ANN!
UQ Holder arrived at another peak in this volume, with the Santa arc’s second half offering both big visual thrills and some legitimate emotional sensitivity. The manga deliberately and somewhat unexpectedly sidelines basically all its established characters in order to give Santa’s story more room, a choice that really ends up paying off. Santa is one of the most compelling characters introduced in the manga so far, so I hope this is a sign that the central dynamics will continue to improve.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my chapter notes below!