Category Archives: Week in Review

Winter 2019 – Week 9 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome to… wait, week nine? Week NINE? When did that happen? THE SEASON’S ALMOST OVER!

I suppose it’s a good sign, actually, that the end of this season has so completely crept up on me. It’s probably just a reflection of how much I’m enjoying all these shows – basically nothing I’m watching has dragged at all, and shows like Mob Psycho and Run with the Wind are stacked with moments that remind me just how great anime can be. I’ll be sad to reach the end of this season, but I’ll be leaving it having gained a bunch of new favorites, and with Mob Psycho having taken a major leap up my all-time rankings. We once again find ourselves near the end of a winter of riches, and it’s time to assess the spoils. Let’s run this week in anime down!

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Winter 2019 – Week 8 in Review

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We’re arriving at the turn, folks! With the season nearly three quarters done, we’ve reached that brief sequence of around two weeks where it feels like every story I’m following is catching fire at once. As reliable as verse-chorus-verse-chorus, stories tend to put their characters through the toughest ringer at around the three-quarters mark, all leading into the triumphant rise towards the final conflict. Whether it’s Run with the Wind’s Hakoden trials, Mob’s Claw attack, or Kemurikusa’s final journey into the fog, our heroes are currently suffering through that ringer, and doing their best to entertain us all the while. Let’s celebrate their journeys as we run down one more week in anime!

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Winter 2019 – Week 7 in Review

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As we enter the second half of winter, this season’s diverse anime titans only continue to impress me. I actually don’t really know if there’s anything I’m missing – I normally desire a pretty balanced mix of fantasy/action, thematically rich stuff to dig into, and psychologically compelling character drama, and this season is offering all of that in spades. To be honest, even if nothing were airing but Mob Psycho 100, this season would still be filling out all those categories with ease. Basically the only category I care for that it doesn’t shine in is “goofy, warm-hearted palate cleanser,” and as it just so happens, this season also features a Tsutomu Mizushima show. The anime is fun, the anime is great, I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing me stretch for preamble. Let’s dispense with the formalities then, and get right to breaking down another week in anime!

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Winter 2019 – First Half in Review

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Well folks, we’ve finally arrived at the winter season’s halfway point. Last year’s winter season turned out to be that year’s best by far, and though I don’t think this year is quite measuring up to that standard, it’s still been a terrific season by any metric. The crown jewel of the season is clearly Mob Psycho 100, which has actually improved substantially from its already-terrific first season, but we’ve got great continuing shows, great anime-originals, and a pretty diverse genre distribution on the whole. For better or for worse, the age of CG has arrived, and though shows like Kotobuki and Kemurikusa aren’t necessarily the most visually impressive, they’ve consistently demonstrated that fundamentally strong storytelling always shines through. I’ve personally fallen off The Promised Neverland for the moment, but that’s not really a knock on its quality – its production just seems pretty specifically aimed at new viewers, with its focus on cliffhangers over atmosphere making it a little slow for someone who’s already experienced this story. And with JoJo powering through one of its strongest segments altogether, I’m basically guaranteed that any given week in anime will at the very least not be boring. It’s a bumper crop this year, and I’m happy to take stock of the highlights so far. Let’s get to it!

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Winter 2019 – Week 5 in Review

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Terrific news, everyone – the anime wasn’t universally great this week, and so for once, I actually have something to talk about in this opening blurb. It’s frankly gotten harder and harder to come up with new ways to say “these cartoons kick ass, everything is awesome” every week, so I’m grateful for a little inspiration courtesy of this week’s contenders. While Run with the Wind and Kemurikusa pulled off a pair of their strongest episodes yet, Mob Psycho took a narrative turn that seemed weirdly out of sync with its prior material, and The Magnificent Kotobuki basically coasted on its fundamental strengths. Neither of those are particularly serious Anime Crimes, but in a season that features three of my favorite directors and JoJo besides, I’m going to take whatever quibbles I can get. Let’s get on with the grumping then, as we run down another week in anime!

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Winter 2019 – Week 4 in Review

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God damn you guys I am watching way too much anime. It’s currently almost noon on Wednesday, and I still haven’t released the Week in Review because I tripped and got buried under a pile of new episodes. Sure, I could maybe have planned the week better and gotten this work done some time before now, but then how would have I found the time to watch the latest Mob Psycho four or five times? It’s a conundrum with seemingly no answer, and considering this post is already late, we’re certainly not solving it today. Let’s roll out the list and burn down another week in anime!

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Winter 2019 – Week 3 in Review

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There’s too friggin’ much good anime, you guys. We’re now over three weeks into the winter season, and I’m still so buried in worthwhile shows that I’m struggling to manage it all. I’ve been doing my best to cram in lingering episodes of Mob Psycho, my two CG-heavy properties seem to actually be getting better over time, and there are still plenty of things I haven’t even gotten the chance to continue. I’ve been hearing good things about Endro!’s later episodes, and Dororo could well be the best dang show of the season, but I am doing my best here. And I suppose Too Many Good Shows is always the best problem to have, even if it does turn all my Week in Review posts into monumental undertakings. Even if I haven’t caught up on everything, I’ve caught up on plenty already, and I have piles of thoughts to share with all of you. Let’s break down at least a slice of this season’s bounty in one more Week in Review!

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Winter 2019 – Week 2 in Review

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Hello all, and welcome to the new season’s first Week in Review! I’m still kinda scrambling to catch up on everything (I still haven’t watched Mob Psycho’s latest episodes, since I’m determined to trick my housemates into watching that one), but I’ve definitely got more than enough thoughts for a rambling Week in Review. So far, this season is looking to be an unusually fun one – that is, the proportion of shows I’m watching just because they’re propulsive entertainment, rather than harrowing psychological inquiries or whatnot, is pretty high. I suppose it’s not surprising that a season featuring both TATSUKI and Mizushima’s returns would be a particularly bubbly one, but I’m certainly enjoying it! Between that and the season’s many other contenders, all I’m really lacking at this point is a character drama on the level of After the Rain or whatnot. Fortunately, I’m also complementing this season with imports of Bloom Into You from last season, meaning I’m currently enjoying an extremely balanced diet of excellent anime. Let’s explore the bounty then, as we run down this season’s stars in the Week in Review!

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Winter 2019 – Virtually Every First Episode Retrospective

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Hello all, and welcome to the Winter 2019 Virtually Every First Episode Retrospective! As usual, my dedication to Anime News Network’s preview guide mean I’ve watched nearly every single new premiere this season, with I believe the exception of the slice of life mermaids show (I am sorry slice of life mermaids show). Aside from the mermaids, I’m pretty sure I caught every single premiere that was A. full length and B. not a sequel to something I hadn’t seen. That’s a lot of shows!

Having watched all these shows, I am clearly in the objectively best position to tell you all what is good and what is bad. Consider these words as law, their veracity as fixed and unchanging as the stars in the sky. Whosoever denies these takes, let them be cast out from our land, and condemned to forever wander with their terrible opinions.

Seriously though, these are all just my takes, and my own media preferences are pretty established – I like character stories, themey-wemey stuff, and occasionally well-executed action or adventure. I do my best to give everything a fair shake, but my own preferences and simple preview week fatigue mean something worthy is bound to get overlooked. In spite of that, I hope my thoughts give you something new to check out, and you can always click on any of the names for my fuller thoughts over at ANN (I’m Nick Creamer over there, incidentally). Starting with the absolute cream of the crop, let’s run down a full season of new anime!

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Winter 2019 – First Impressions, Part Two

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Hello folks, and welcome again to the madness that is preview week. The premieres are still piling up, and I’ve got a wide array of fresh reviews for your perusal AND DELIGHT. The season is shaping up pretty well so far, on the whole – there haven’t been any major surprises, but nearly everything I was anticipating has offered a fine premiere, and combining that with fall’s continuing stars should make for a solid roster. As usual, you can check out the full list of reviews over here, or scores and links to individual writeups below. Let’s get to it!

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