Why It Works: All Might Versus All For One

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For this week’s Crunchyroll article, I took a brief stab at articulating a few of the philosophies represented through the various factions and figures of My Hero Academia, with All Might’s spirit of supporting the public good contrasted against Stain’s fanaticism and All For One’s hedonistic self-interest. It’d frankly be nicer if My Hero Academia’s reductive positions were a little less true to life, but hey, this is the world we’ve got. Either way, there’s certainly more to dive into in the contrast between the various League of Villains members and whatnot, but this seemed like a reasonable starting point. Hope you enjoy the piece!

Why It Works: All Might Versus All For One

Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha – Episode 1

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Today we’re embarking on a brand-new journey with Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha! I’ll confess, my knowledge of this show and franchise is fairly limited, so I’ll start off by cataloging what I actually know. It’s my understanding that Nanoha was a pretty key show in merging classical magical girl storytelling fundamentals with more shounen-influenced fighting mechanics and concessions to other demographics, making it a clear forerunner for shows like Madoka and Symphogear (which I totally knew already, but am morally obligated to note was also mentioned by the person initially sending me on this journey). I suppose this also makes it a direct evolution of shows like Go Nagai’s Cutey Honey, but since I’m not really a Nagai scholar or fan, that’s pretty much all I can postulate there.

I also known Nanoha’s first season was a true Akiyuki Shinbo-directed show, not a “brought to you by Akiyuki Shinbo, The Man With The Plan” branding exercise by Studio SHAFT. In franchise terms, I know it’s a magical girl show that eventually spirals into sequels and spinoff properties of variable quality, and in narrative terms, I know Nanoha eventually marries one of her early foes and they apparently have a daughter, who also ends up with her own series. That all seems like a bunch of delightful madness to me, and I’m certainly very excited to see where Shinbo’s style was at just before his merging into the Shaftian megaesthetic, so I’m more than ready to get started on this one. Let’s check out the first episode of Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha!

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Chihayafuru S2 – Episode 14

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It’s time for some more Chihayafuru! And holy crap, look at that, we’re already into the second half of the second season. Normally, this would be the point where I start lamenting the approach of Chihayafuru’s end; fortunately, given we exist in the blessed timeline that somehow also features an upcoming Chihayafuru season three, I have very little to grumble about. As for this episode in particular, we’re currently right in the middle of what could be the closest match Chihaya’s ever participated in.

Chihaya was pretty much thrashed by Shinobu and eventually overrun by Yumin, but Megumu might well be the toughest opponent she can actually, currently overcome. Last episode focused closely on the tactical interplay of these two closely matched and similarly gifted players, building up both Megumu and her team around her all the while. With this match focusing so closely on Chihaya specifically, I’m guessing the upcoming finals match will be the true “ensemble performance” highlight, where teamwork is the main focus – in the meantime, I’m very much enjoying this bare-knuckle brawl between Chihaya and Megumu. Megumu’s lead has disappeared, but the support of her teammates has brought her passion back to life. Let’s see if that’s enough to take down Chihaya in one more thrilling episode of Chihayafuru!

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Moonlight, A Quiet Film

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Moonlight is a quiet film.

I actually had to turn up my speakers just to hear the dialogue, and had to turn them up even more when, after ten minutes, our protagonist resentfully speaks his first words. He doesn’t follow those words up with too many more. Whoever else he is, Little, or Chiron, or Black, is not one for big speeches. His feelings maintain an internal smolder, clear in his downturned eyes and inward-sloping shoulders and perpetual inability to stand in the middle of the frame. Our hero is a man of big feelings afforded minimal release. There is so much there, so much contained in all his unhappy, furtive glances, so much preserved across the astonishingly congruent performances of three brilliant actors.

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Spring 2018 – Week 11 in Review

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This week in anime was Holy shit did you see that My Hero Academia episode. I’m sure other stuff happened, but oh my god, All Might versus All For One, what an incredible event. Easily the best episode of the season, and possibly eclipsing the Deku-Todoroki fight as the best episode of the show altogether. Fortunately, while All Might’s battle cast a long shadow this week, everything else I was watching also turned in reasonably solid performances. The theme of this week seemed to be “strong execution of fundamentally iffy material,” as Hinamatsuri managed to turn a one-joke bit into a highlight, Megalo Box did its best to work around the Burroughs fight’s dramatic limitations, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes spun drama out of “our supply lines are getting overdrawn and everyone back at command is an idiot.” It’s frankly nice to not be watching anything whose wild, flailing fortunes could stress me out – there are no temperamental half-masterpieces here, it’s all sturdy productions by very consistent teams. But anyway, let’s get right back into the All Might gushing and RUN THIS WEEK DOWN!

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Why It Works: Kyoto Animation’s Masterpiece Has Arrived on Crunchyroll!

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Look, did you think I wasn’t going to write an article celebrating Hyouka’s move to Crunchyroll? Anyway, here is my contractually obligated squealing about Crunchyroll nabbing what could well be the best television anime of all time, along with some hopefully convincing illustrations of why I’m so damn excited. Hyouka is the best, and I am thrilled that so many new people will now get to experience it. Get to it!

Kyoto Animation’s Masterpiece Has Arrived on Crunchyroll!

My Hero Academia Season Two, Part One – Review

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Totally forgot to link it last week, but here’s my ANN review of the first half of My Hero Academia S2! I’ve covered it episodically and in larger pieces before, but never as a discreet collection of episodes unto itself, so this gave me the chance to reflect on this particular arc’s place in both MHA and shounen storytelling convention, which was nice. Here’s the review!

My Hero Academia Season Two, Part One

Flip Flappers – Episode 13

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The finale at last! With Papika having finally reached her beloved friend both physically and emotionally, the two stand together now, wearing new costumes that seem to fall halfway between wedding dresses and butterfly costumes. Even these costumes feel like a direct validation of their journey, with the bridal notes signaling their unified relationship, while the butterfly motif carries Cocona’s cocoon-inspired name to its logical conclusion. Having fought through terrible insecurities and even the stifling abuse of her long-absent parents, Cocona has emerged stronger than ever, standing proudly beside the girl she loves.

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Chihayafuru S2 – Episode 13

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Alright, let’s get back to work on our journey through Chihayafuru! Now that the last episode is out of earshot and we can be brutally honest, I’ll be frank: what the fuck was that. We started that episode concurrently with the beginning of the team tournament’s semifinals, and by the end of the episode, I’m pretty sure we’d only made it through four, possible five actual cards of that match. Yes, sure, the episode had other priorities (like building up Chihaya’s opponent Megumu as a Yumin-tier side character), but that’s such a glacial pace of conflict on its face that I can’t help but grumble a bit. Good fiction is able to make tiny moments feel like endless gaps of time, but Chihayafuru’s last episode wasn’t entirely able to keep its twenty minutes from feeling a whole lot like two minutes of actual action stretched into twenty minutes of episode.

That said, all the buildup that consumed Chihayafuru’s last episode should theoretically be paid off right here in this one. Megumu has now been sturdily established as an opponent who embodies many of Chihaya’s own skills, but who feels more comfortable executing on her overall range of abilities than Chihaya. With a full episode of arc-tending and character-establishing behind us, we could be diving into one of the most fully tactics-focused episodes of the show so far, and I’m thrilled to be here. Let’s get right back to Chihayafuru!

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Vinland Saga – Volume 1

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I’ll admit, looking at the color cover of Vinland Saga’s first volume did not inspire much confidence. The character art’s thick black lines, largely realistic proportions, and very stiff posing all brought to mind some kind of western comic anthology, or perhaps one of those “bringing history to life” educational comics designed to Make Learning Fun. The digital shading was just plain hideous, and there’s what, an actual lens flair pasted onto the subject’s dagger? All in all, the cover included enough misguided visual decisions that I was deeply uncertain whether I’d get much out of this volume at all.

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