Today I’ve got a review of one of my favorite films, Naoko Yamada’s indescribably good Liz and the Blue Bird. It’s a little tough to describe things which are indescribably good, but I do my best over the course of this review, and am pretty proud of the overall piece. I hope you enjoy it, and GO WATCH LIZ AND THE BLUE BIRD! Here’s some screening info. Get to it!
Today we’re jumping back into Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha! The show crossed a very important milestone last episode: it was actually, genuinely good. Nanoha’s been a perfectly watchable show from the start, and has been interesting enough in terms of its design and execution to give me plenty to talk about, but its first few episodes were neither so narratively gripping nor so compellingly executed that I’d actively recommend it. Things like its unusually mundane conversations and unique backgrounds were interesting aesthetic tools, but they weren’t being used to truly elevate the overall production.
That all changed last time, fortunately. On the visual side, the show’s background art was stronger than ever, offering a mix of dramatically charged and just-plain-beautiful compositions that made for an inherently compelling viewing experience. And on the narrative side, the show’s idle, incidental conversations contributed directly to the episode’s emotional core, naturally humanizing Nanoha’s relationship with her friends. On top of that, it seems like the show’s overarching paradigm is about to be broken as well, as the destruction of Nanoha and Fate’s staffs promises at least some disruption to the status quo. Boasting a new paint job, a greater mastery of its own strengths, and an urgent cliffhanger hook, Nanoha is looking stronger than ever as we enter its seventh episode. Let’s get right to it!
Today we return to Ojamajo Doremi, in the grips of one more dramatic witch-on-witch arc! Last episode introduced Onpu, a child actress who absolutely made the most of her debut by dunking on Tamaki, grappling with Doremi, and ultimately using mind control powers to make sure she earned a romantic lead role. That episode was an utter joy in its own right, exemplifying Doremi’s more farcical material, and once again leaning heavily on the endearing rivalry between Doremi and Tamaki. Tamaki is a terrific antagonist, and framing an episode around “Tamaki is challenged by a new girl who’s EVEN MORE Tamaki” was a great idea, even before we got to the silly appeal of their various audition challenges.
Of course, once the battle was over and Onpu had claimed her prize, we swiftly learned that this was all the plan of an old foe – Rika’s long-time rival Majo Ruka. The last time Ruka appeared, we ended up running through an arc that saw the girls losing their shop altogether, a paradigm-shifting conflict that ultimately felt a little drawn out. Ruka’s material lacked the emotional thoughtfulness of Doremi’s classmate-focused episodes, and I felt it leaned into the show’s magical worldbuilding in a way all these vaguely defined spells couldn’t necessarily support. That said, Onpu has already proven herself to be a more compelling character than Ruka, and adding an antagonist who can interact with the girls on their own immediate level seems like a very good way to add some emotional bite to this conflict. In spite of her poise, I’m getting strong gremlin vibes from Onpu, and am eager to see how she continues to torment our heroes. Let’s dive right into another episode of Ojamajo Doremi!
Alright folks, it’s time at last to return to The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. The show’s first two episodes were each highly entertaining in their own ways, though I still find myself a little emotionally removed from its proceedings. Everything feels very ornate and beautiful and stylish, but it also strikes me as a little impersonal; the second episode’s narrative in particular, while theoretically centering on an intimate lovers’ betrayal, proceeded with all the majesty and emotional distance of a melodramatic stage production. It was an effective and very pretty story, but not an intimate one, and it’s not easy for me to immediately assign that to either Sayo Yamamoto’s general style, Fujiko Mine’s storybook affectation more specifically, or that episode’s even more specific tributes to Cowboy Bebop’s Ballad of Fallen Angels.
Of course, while Fujiko Mine might not yet be a star in an emotional sense, it’s still succeeding brilliantly as a series of ultra-stylish heist capers. The show’s visual direction is superb, its layouts are consistently brilliant, and Fujiko herself embodies the lusty, desperate tone of the entire production. Fujiko Mine possesses an instantly iconic and utterly story-appropriate style that feels like little else in anime, and since we’re still in episodic vignettes, the lack of an emotional punch isn’t really all that damaging. Let’s see what adventures await our master thief!
I’m starting to think there may actually be fewer ways to say “the anime was good again” than there are to say “anime was a mistake.” While Run with the Wind experienced a little roughness in its integration of various genre influences, it still offered a strong episode on the whole, and both our other character-focused dramas knocked it out of the park. Gridman did a phenomenal job of humanizing its heroine Rikka, while Tsurune carried us through a bevy of tiny, well-observed scenes that demonstrated exactly what Kyoto Animation does best. We are getting absolutely spoiled this season, and I’m doing my best to savor every moment. Let’s run down all these worthy cartoons as we explore another week in anime!
Today I finally got around to reviewing last season’s terrific Planet With, the easy seasonal standout and one of the best shows of the year. I’ve already gushed about this show plenty, but there’s always time for a little more blubbering about a story as poignant as this. You can check out my review below!
Today on Why It Works, I wrote a general exploration of SSSS.Gridman’s phenomenal ability to convey the suffocating atmosphere of its strange world. From its vast and alienating exterior scenes to its carefully detailed interiors, Gridman is thrilling me every week with its visual design, and I was happy to gush about it. I hope you enjoy the piece!
The Solemn Beauty of SSSS.Gridman
“You’re guilty of the crime of being you, and so, too, shall that be your punishment.”
– Jun Aikawa, the World’s Strongest Contractor
When I reviewed the first volume of the Zaregoto series, I was somewhat at a loss as to what to actually write about, as I’m not really a mystery fan. It’s clear that Nisio Isin himself started his writing career far more fascinated with mysteries for their own sake than he ended up – though shows like Monogatari are technically constructed around mysteries, they always ultimately reveal themselves to be about human psychology, instead. Who did what to who is never the actual point; it’s what drove a given story’s players to that point which is interesting, and “solutions” generally hinge not on figuring out who’s guilty, but on whether the guilty party can learn to embrace whatever truth they’re hiding from themselves.
Settle in folks, it is absolutely past time for another dash of Doremi. I’m currently sitting near the end of a long and stressful workday, but my spirits have legitimately been kept high all day by knowing I’ve got a new Doremi episode waiting at the end. This show’s world is so inviting, cast so charming, and stories so suffused with empathy that it’s hard not to smile while watching. Doremi is a genuinely thoughtful and often dramatically creative children’s show, but it’s also just the most inviting comfort food of all time, and I’m always happy to return.
The show wasn’t really in comfort food mode last week, though – in fact, Aiko’s failed reunion with her mother was another of Doremi’s signature tearjerkers, and its nuanced, dramatically somber finale felt like one of the most painfully real moments of the show so far. After having her trust betrayed by her father and finding herself incapable of greeting her mother, Aiko ended up simply reflecting on her childhood memories, her friends by her side. Life can be frustrating like that; we’re often burdened with feelings that demand some sort of cathartic, coherent resolution, but the real world rarely offers neat conclusions for our personal stories. We’re often forced to find solace much in the way Aiko did; by accepting that the past is the past, our stories are still being written, and we can always rely on the support of our friends.
Anyway! Last episode was a truly great one, but given we just passed a big dramatic highlight, I’m guessing we’re in for some also-welcome farcical nonsense this time. Let’s get right to it!
After a half-dozen episodes of escalating tension and epic climaxes and dramatic board-flipping, I’m almost relieved to announce that Princess Tutu’s sixteenth episode is a very normal episode of Princess Tutu. The aftermath of Ahiru and Fakir’s battle with Kraehe has been largely settled, and the show has established a new episodic mode centered on Kraehe’s efforts to find a sacrifice for her father. This episode embraces that focus while returning to the sturdy, predictable narrative arcs of the show’s first half, arriving at a subtly menacing tone that evokes something like Revolutionary Girl Utena’s black rose arc. “We won, but the substance of our world only continues to fray” is an evocative concept, and Princess Tutu’s second half is happy to embrace that tonal energy.