Why It Works: Anime to Look Out For in the Summer Season!

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Today on Why It Works, I offered my usual rapid-fire list of upcoming seasonal contenders, with the summer’s particularly broad slate giving me plenty of shows to talk about. I’m not sure how many of these action shows I’ll actually be keeping up with, but with JoJo ending and Demon Slayer continuing to disappoint, I’m guessing I’ll at least be picking up Dr. Stone and Fire Force. O Maidens also seems like a given, and Granbelm definitely has a lot of potential. Without clear guidelines like “Watanabe and Ikuhara are making shows,” the season’s prospects are a lot more open, and I’m excited to see where all these shows sort out. Here’s my list!

Anime to Look Out For in the Summer Season!

Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 10

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After being forced to share the stage with that idiot Shinji during both her grand debut and her first official mission, Asuka Langley Soryu at last enjoys the full spotlight in Neon Genesis Evangelion’s tenth episode. No collaborating with wimpy boys, no interference from that creepy Rei Ayanami, no one at all to stop Asuka from demonstrating her brilliance as the greatest of Eva pilots, a hero with the talent, beauty, and courage necessary to inspire humanity’s future. Stand back and secure those dropped jaws, folks. Asuka has arrived.

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 8

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At long last, we return to Hugtto! Pretty Cure. I’ve been greatly enjoying our journey through Hugtto!, both appreciating how it illustrates the evolution of the magical girl genre, and also enjoying it as a charming, good-hearted, and visually compelling production in its own right. While standout episodes like Homare’s big introduction have been genuinely stunning, episode-of-the-year level aesthetic objects, even the show’s usual mode is energetic and visually appealing and an altogether endearing time. And as a standard-bearer for its genre, Pretty Cure essentially slots in between Ojamajo Doremi and Nanoha, blending its life lessons with falcon punches while offering an unexpectedly forward-thinking focus on the difficulties of integrating into adulthood.

Our last episode was Saaya-focused, and featured a rival from her glamorous Veggie Girl past coming back to challenge her commitment to acting. With that resolving on the refreshing “I genuinely don’t know what I want yet, but I’d like to keep acting in order to find out,” we find ourselves immediately bumping into an old friend from Homare’s past. Homare’s focus episodes have been the show’s strongest yet, and though I’m not necessarily expecting another aesthetic triumph on the scale of her first appearance, I’m still excited to see what the show can pull together next. Let’s dive into Hugtto’s eighth episode!

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Chihayafuru Part Three: The Movie

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It’s generally a good policy to design your stories with a planned beginning, middle, and endpoint. Certainly leave yourself room for creative twists and new discoveries along the way, but beginning with a coherent, planned structure is crucial if you want your story to feel like a satisfying, cohesive saga. Of course, not all stories can afford to open with knowledge of their ending – particularly stories in mediums like weekly manga, where concerns like “what new variables can I introduce to keep readers hooked” will often trump more luxurious questions like “how do these new variables further articulate my story’s fundamental point.” Continuing weekly narratives demand novelty, and novelty often ends up evolving into baggage.

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Spring 2019 – Week 10 in Review

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This was not the best week in spring anime, I am sorry to say. Carole & Tuesday had what was easily its worst episode to date, and leaned into pretty much all of the show’s most dubious qualities, from its questionable sense of humor to its nearsighted cynical streak. Demon Slayer’s visual execution tried its best to make up for its lousy writing, but with even the mechanics of this week’s fight lacking in creativity, there was only so much to be done. And Sarazanmai… well, I’ve actually dropped Sarazanmai for now, after having it feel like a chore for most of the season. The show had recently made some strides towards humanizing its relatively flat characters, but trying to care about the show has always felt more like work than pleasure – like it assumes I should care about its characters and their entirely metaphorical world just because those things exist, and not because the show offers any points of emotional entry or narrative hooks. But hey, at least JoJo is still great! We’ll save the JoJo rambling for the finale then, and start off this week in review with a treacherous journey through the week’s lowlights. Let’s break down some cartoons!

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Why It Works: Bucciaratti Versus Secco: Breakdown of a Classic JoJo Battle

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Today I returned to one of my favorite styles of Why It Works articles, as I went point-by-point through the smart storytelling choices of JoJo’s most recent major battle. There is both an art and a craft to great action storytelling, and I appreciate Araki for consistently demonstrating all the finer points of this unique storytelling form. Let’s get to it!

Bucciaratti Versus Secco: Breakdown of a Classic JoJo Battle

Girls’ Last Tour – Episode 3

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Folks, I’d say it’s about time we watch some more Girls’ Last Tour. This post-apocalyptic slice of life adventure’s first two episodes were an altogether lovely time; the show hasn’t really been making any grand philosophical statements or anything, but it’s done an excellent job of conveying the felt, sensory experience of Chi and Yuu’s journey. I’ve been particularly impressed by how well the lighting and sound design convey the sensation of traveling through heavy snowfall, from the muffled crunch of footsteps through snow, to the way snow can either steal your voice away or filter it through an alienating echo, as if there’s always someone just out of sight, shadowing your path and your voice.

Atmosphere-centric strengths like that have given Girls’ Last Tour an alternating sense of solemnity and quiet menace, which in turn serves to counterbalance the girls’ seemingly carefree adventures. Whether this show will continue to excel as a muted, contemplative tone piece or embrace more narrative structure remains to be seen, but I was happy to see the quest for high ground give us at least a general goal last episode. I mean, you kinda need something to hope for in a world like this, right? Regardless, wherever their journeys take them, I’m happy to spend some more time traveling with these blobby companions. On to episode three!

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Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 1

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I hope you folks are ready. Today we’re embarking on a journey both new and familiar, as we begin the second season of the ambitious, heartwarming, and stunningly executed Ojamajo Doremi.

As I’ve already rambled my way through fifty episodes of this acclaimed children’s show, I’m sure you know my general feelings on it by now. Ojamajo Doremi demonstrates that great children’s entertainment need not be dramatically or emotionally simplistic – in fact, it reveals that children’s anime that doesn’t talk down to its audience can actually broach a wider array of topics and emotions than many shows aimed at more general audiences. There is no artifice or bravado in terms of Doremi’s presentation – the show is honest, perceptive, and brimming with sympathy for its young cast. Over the course of the first season, Doremi has explored topics as sensitive and wide-ranging as love, divorce, bullying, family, creative passion, professional ambition, and even death, elevating its nuanced dramas through its strong visual sensibilities and plenty of fantastical flourishes.

Not only are Doremi’s various adventures all funny and heartwarming in their own right, but the show’s strength is also cumulative. Within our main crew, Doremi has grown from being a perpetual screwup to a genuine leader, and though she’s still unreliable in many ways, her growing confidence, strength, and compassion are clear as day. Having admitted her own fundamental loneliness, Onpu has learned to look outside of herself, and found both friends and a greater sense of purpose through helping others. Aiko has taken great strides in coming to terms with her parents’ separation, and Pop has become a formidable witch in her own right. And outside that crew, we’ve come to know and love dozens of Doremi’s classmates and teachers, making each new episode a testament to the power of ensemble storytelling.

All that, and I’m told Ojamajo Doremi actually improves as it continues, with the contributions of anime titans like Mamoru Hosoda still to come. Ojamajo Doremi has been both an aesthetically rewarding experience and a genuine source of comfort to me, and I hope all of you are enjoying this winding journey as well. Let’s see what awaits us in the first episode of Ojamajo Doremi Sharp!

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Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 9

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While Neon Genesis Evangelion’s eighth episode served as Shinji and Asuka’s formal introduction, any camaraderie they might have developed during that adventure was more or less necessitated by circumstance. In the wake of that explosive field trip, their initial impressions seem stable: Shinji finds Asuka mean and terrifying, while Asuka considers Shinji weak and childish. Their ability to work as a team outside of any but the most desperate of circumstances is basically negligible; thus we enter Evangelion’s ninth episode, an episode famous for being the most ridiculous, farcical, and unabashedly Super Robot-influenced episode of all Evangelion. Get ready folks, it’s time to dance like you want to win.

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Spring 2019 – Week 9 in Review

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Holy hell folks, we’re at the three quarters mark of the season. One of the sad truths of aging is that each week, season, and year somehow passes even faster than the last, but fortunately, at least this week’s cartoons were really excellent. Every single show I’m watching offered a fine episode this time; the combination of Carole & Tuesday having a slightly weaker episode and everything else excelling meant this week was pretty much an even line of solid entertainment from start to finish. They weren’t even the kind of straightforward “well that was competently executed” good that leaves me without much to talk about – they were good in exactly the convoluted, context-dependent ways that make for plenty of meaty critical interrogation. Let’s dive into the spoils then, as we break down another impressive week in anime!

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