Natsume’s thirteenth episode, the final episode of its first season, offers a beautiful culmination of all this season has accomplished. First off, it’s simply lovely in a visual sense. Natsume’s vision of rural Japan has always been one of its strongest features, and this episode is rife with beautiful shots of Natsume’s adopted home. Whether he’s trudging through the woods or gazing out across the open fields, shots here are framed to emphasize the rich colors and layered architecture of the world around him. With the trees alive in fall colors, Natsume’s world has never looked lovelier than this.
Tsuki ga Kirei – Episode 12
And so Tsuki ga Kirei comes to an end. Like the show itself, this episode was imperfect but unbelievably charming, a soothing balm in a very harsh world. Tsuki ga Kirei let its lovable heroes enjoy their happy ending, and even spoiled us with a charming credits sequence of their life down the road. I’m gonna miss these awkward kids.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.
Ojamajo Doremi – Episode 14
Let’s get back to Ojamajo Doremi! Last episode saw Doremi and the gang returning to the magical world, where they just barely passed their Level 8 exams and even ran into the queen of all witches. It was a surprisingly fantasy-focused episode for a series that generally just uses magic to illustrate pretty mundane personal problems. That’s certainly not a bad thing, though – the show’s premise is loose enough to facilitate episodes using as much or little magic as they need. Let’s see what Doremi’s latest adventure brings!
Spring 2017 – Week 12 in Review
Things stayed at a pretty even keel for this week in anime, with my precious surviving shows offering neither stunning highlights nor frustrating failures. In The Eccentric Family’s case, the fact that this episode wasn’t a standout was itself kind of a disappointment – this was the final episode, after all, and so if this season had any pretensions of matching the original, now was the time. But overall, this week mostly just demonstrated that shows like Sakura Quest or Re:Creators have become very adept at maintaining their good-but-not-great dramatic ratios. With The Eccentric Family suffering a pretty meaningful decline from the first season, there’s nothing here that seems likely to claim the top spot of the year. Alright Kemono Friends, you’ve still got a chance!
STARMYU – Review
Today I reviewed STARMYU, which turned out to be something of a hidden gem in the musical anime genre. STARMYU succeeds on solid character work and terrific musical sequences, fully embracing the possibilities of its genre to express dramatic turns in catchy and visually vivid song and dance segments. It’s a little rough around the edges in some ways, but still a very fine show.
You can check out my full review at ANN, or my episode notes below.
The Eccentric Family 2 – Episode 12
The Eccentric Family came to a relatively satisfying close this week. While this finale pretty much unavoidably lacked the perfectly threaded cohesion of the first season’s ending, it still offered fun individual scenes for almost the whole cast. Benten and Nidaime got to act like the bratty siblings they are, Yasaburo and Kaisei were adorable, and Yaichiro finally got the happiness he so richly deserves. Sail on, brave tanukis.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Aikatsu – Episode 6
Alright, let’s get back on that Aikatsu train. My most recent experiences with Aikatsu have been… well, less than spectacular. The fourth episode just wasn’t particularly interesting, and the fifth episode was actively aggravating, so our relationship is a little strained at the moment. The show’s aesthetics are just plainly not very good, and I’ve given up on expecting anything approaching Doremi’s thematic cohesion and character work, so it seems like I’m basically just here for whenever this show Gets Weird. Please get weird, Aikatsu. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do with you.
Alright, that’s enough moaning and groaning. LET’S GET THIS AIKATSU STARTED!
My Monster Secret, Volume 5 – Review
My Monster Secret finally gains some ambition in its fifth volume, offering two large-scale narratives that demonstrate this story actually has some legs, Having already read the sixth volume, I know this isn’t a permanent shift for the manga, but it’s still nice to see a story with generally episodic priorities demonstrate it can handle some more dramatically ambitious stuff well. And Mikan has very surprisingly turned out to be one of my favorite characters here, occupying the role of “girl who obviously should win” in a lesser harem. I say “lesser harem” because in this case, the two leads actually are great together, and I’d be happy to see them get together. My Monster Secret is just a positive time all around.
You can check out my full review over at ANN.
Why It Works: The Stunning Highlights of Anime’s Hero Renaissance
Today I took advantage of Crunchyroll’s Hero Week to rep some of the best goddamn shows of the last few years. Gatchaman Crowds, Samurai Flamenco, and Concrete Revolutio are all near and dear to my heart, so I was happy to get a chance to celebrate them, and hopefully turn a few more people on to some of the most compelling stories in recent memory. Everybody deserves a little Nice Justice in their life.
Why It Works: The Stunning Highlights of Anime’s Hero Renaissance
Casshern Sins – Episode 16
And we’re back with more Casshern Sins! Last episode saw Casshern reuniting with an old foe, while the overarching narrative pulled us ever close to the apparently still-living Luna. Casshern and Lyuze have settled into a solid traveling rapport, and things seem to actually be moving towards a conclusion now. I’m kinda missing the show’s episodic vignettes from the first half, and I feel the show can drag even by its own terms when it hangs too much on the mythic, basic variables of Casshern’s, er, sin, but there’s still plenty to enjoy in this very unique adventure. Let’s get right to it!