Category Archives: Review

Terror in Resonance – Review

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Time for another review! This time I got a chance to revisit one of my favorite shows from 2014, and actually found it even more enjoyable in retrospect. Knowing from the start that the thriller stuff would be kind of silly made it easier to focus on the show’s actual strengths; its plot is functional and sometimes over-the-top, but that doesn’t really take away from the show’s strong ideas or gorgeous execution. The show feels filmic in a way only KyoAni shows tend to match, and it’s kind of astonishing how gracefully the show’s ideas are illustrated, considering this is the same show that also features friggin’ airport chess. Its weaknesses ultimately feel almost inconsequential to me; it’d be nice if this show were actually perfect, but it’s still really damn good.

You can check out my review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!

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Rokka, Episodes 5-8 – Review

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The second collection of Rokka has come in, and fortunately, this set of episodes turned out to be far superior to the first. Having the first four episodes of your show be a boring feint in a genre you’re not particularly good at seems like a weird choice, but now that I’ve actually passed the early episode doldrums, it turns out Rokka is actually a perfectly entertaining mystery/action thing. Its character writing may not be great, but that doesn’t matter when all the characters are doing is tossing theories about traitors back and forth. And the cast is diverse enough in their motives and personalities to make this an engaging whodunit adventure. I’ve heard awkward things about the show’s final act, but this middle segment was plenty of fun.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below!

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My Hero Academia, Volume 3 – Review

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My Hero Academia continues to be just the most consistent dang shounen action spectacle on the block. That really is something worth celebrating – very few manga hit their genre notes as cleanly and engagingly as My Hero Academia, and when the manga’s overall polished is combined with how friggin’ likable all of its characters are, you get something that is as pleasant and engaging to read through as a manga can be. It’s the kind of story you could chew through forever over a long afternoon, and having to review it in sub-arc chunks like this is a little agonizing. My Hero Academia was born to be an anime action hit, and I’m really hoping Bones knock this one out of the park.

You can check out my full review over at ANN or my chapter notes below!

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Blast of Tempest – Review

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So yep, following up on my exploration of the first episode, I ended up marathoning Blast of Tempest and putting together a streaming review. The end result was frankly pretty unsatisfying – I know some people love this show, but it’s just such a messy thing that I could only rarely feel legitimately invested. It rambles and overtells and often feels like it lacks a strong throughline, failing in terms of storytelling fundamentals even as it impresses in terms of personality and creativity. It’s certainly an interesting show, and the cast is great, and I don’t regret watching it… but I can’t say it’s a show I’d actually recommend. Still, for better or for worse, I now feel like I’ve pretty much seen all the acclaimed 2013 anime. So I guess that’s something?

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my copious episode notes below!

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Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu – Review

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So yep, turns out I got to see Kizumonogatari just a little bit ahead of schedule. AND IT WAS SO GOOD. God damn this movie was great. An utter change of pace from what the current television series has become, but a very compelling alternate interpretation of what the series could be. Tekketsu spins a very sparse number of plot events out across vivid, atmospheric minutes, creating a sense of being trapped in Araragi’s head without actually saying a word. It’s a remarkable feat of execution, and I am extremely excited to see the next ones.

You can check out my very thorough review over at ANN!

Kizumonogatari

UQ Holder, Volume 3 – Review

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The UQ Holder reviews continue, through a volume that… still isn’t particularly good. There’s plenty of spectacle here, but not much reason to care – the manga’s characters are still pretty one-note, and there are no tangible stakes in most of these fights. Writing a manga about immortal characters who already start the series with incredible powers is a pretty tall order, and it feels like Akamatsu still hasn’t quite figured out how to make that interesting. Fortunately, having read further ahead of this myself, I can say there is hope on the horizon! Three lousy volumes is a harsh way to start a series, but it turns out Akamatsu does have some good ideas hiding in here after all. Just gotta soldier through.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my frankly pretty limited chapter notes below.

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Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Part Two – Review

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Well, I’m sure you knew it was coming. I reviewed the first half about a year ago, and now that the second half’s blurays have finally come out, it’s time to go once more into the breach. I actually really enjoyed UBW’s first half, even if I already felt its writing was somewhat dragging down its fantasy-action appeal. But here in the second half, the turgid writing pretty much wholly sinks the production, resulting in one of the least compelling shows I’ve watched in recent memory. UBW’s second half is a mess, and it’s a shame, because there really are some nice fundamental ideas in there. Ah well.

You can check out my full review over at ANN!

Unlimited Blade Works

Missed Chances in Colorful

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I really, really wish Colorful were a better movie than it is. The kind of movie that Colorful is trying to be is a great idea – a painful, intimate portrait of depression, where any slight hints of the supernatural are really just there to better illustrate the context of the protagonist’s life. A movie that fully embodies the mindset of feeling divorced from happiness, and the reality of an unhappy adolescence. Colorful works somewhat better in retrospect, but even looking back on its trials, it’s a messy, awkward movie, one too caught up in its own bitterness and too hamstrung by its conceit to really invite the audience in. But it certainly tries to be something.

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Shirobako, Part One – Review

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Aw hell yeah I’m reviewing Shirobako. I’ve talked about Shirobako repeatedly and at length, but that’s no reason not to spend more time repping the best show of 2015. Shirobako remains just as compelling on my third watch, and it’s actually even more satisfying to see the initial circumstances and relationships of the characters before they evolve over time. Shirobako is funny and propulsive and endearing and heartbreaking, a show that’s surprisingly moving for how easy it is to watch. Considering what huge successes both Shirobako and Girls und Panzer turned out to be, I really hope Mizushima has many more originals coming down the line.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or the notes for the five episodes I watched before switching to full marathon mode below!

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A Silent Voice, Volume 5 – Review

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Dear lord this manga is good. Stepping back and looking at it, this is probably the single best media object I am currently engaging with. I guess you could make an argument for Rakugo being a more holistically impressive production, what with its gorgeous combination of direction and storytelling – but when it comes to character work, dear lord does Silent Voice blow everything else out of the water. This is a phenomenal work, every single volume continues to impress, and I am so god damn excited for Yamada’s adaptation. This is pretty much a genie-wish production here. Please, please, please be at least half as good as you could theoretically be.

Er. Anyway. You can check out my actual potentially informative review over at ANN, or the ol’ chapter notes below!

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