Today on ANN, I offer just a few more words on last season’s Kemono Friends. It’s been a fun show to discuss through the season, offering unique points of critique in both its strengths and weaknesses. Many shows are just generally polished or generally crummy, but Kemono Friends’ strange, imbalanced qualities kept it interesting all along the way. I hope you enjoy the review!
You can check out my piece over at ANN.
Penguindrum’s fifteenth episode begins with a young Yuri declaring that “I’ll never be free as long as that tower stands.” In the distance rises a giant, improbable skyscraper in the shape of Michelangelo’s David. It’s a testament to her sculptor father’s power and influence – wherever that tower can see, Yuri remains under his watchful eye. A metaphor made real, standing as the cruel arbitrator of Yuri’s life.
As the season winds to a close, it’s time once again for me to scramble for Why It works topics. Last season gave me the infinitely unpackable Flip Flappers, which made this easy, but winter’s selections were a little more thin on the ground. Fortunately, I still had plenty of scattered feelings on Kemono Friends, so that’s what you get today. TIME FOR KEMONO FEELINGS.
Why It Works: Five Pitches for Kemono Friends
Let’s get back to Ojamajo Doremi! When we left off, Doremi had just flunked her level 9 witch exam, though there were admittedly some extenuating circumstances – not only did Doremi need to help Pop all day, but the test questions were up to interpretation. Still, Doremi probably would have found a way to screw it up anyways, so I guess it’s all the same in the end.
I assume we’ll be learning more about fairies this time, since both of Doremi’s friends now have their own familiars. Outside of that, we’ll have to wait and see. Let’s get right to it!
And so we finally enter Bakemonogatari’s final arc. My review format’s gonna get shaken up pretty shortly by Crunchyroll’s lack of streaming, but hey, at least twelve is a reasonable end point by itself. Anyway, this episode was all about Hanekawa, and Hanekawa was great. I’ve certainly written enough words about it, so go read those, you big goofball!
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.
Kokoro Connect’s fourth episode is about: I D E N T I T Y.
The show’s always about identity to some extent, of course. The fundamental conceit plays directly into that topic, with body switching facilitating not just romantic drama, but also questions about “true” selfhood and perception of self. It’s one of the reasons I expect my readers picked this one for me to write about – many of my favorites obsess over how we define ourselves, and how we navigate the impossibility of conveying our truth to others. Kokoro Connect uses a classic conceit to facilitate those conversations, and this episode’s conversations center on two of its main characters: Iori and Inaba.
And so the winter season draws to a close. With the majority of my airing shows coming to an end this week, I’m ready to call the time of death for Winter 2017. This was far from a great season – Rakugo was pretty much the only unqualified recommendation, with my followup picks like Dragon Maid and Kemono Friends all coming with a variety of caveats. And even Rakugo seemed intent on tripping over itself a little at the end. Still, winter seasons are always pretty lean, and I certainly got through some powerful backlog – after all, I got to finish both Planetes and Nichijou this season. But let’s give this season’s airing contenders the round of applause they deserve, as I run down the winter season one last time!
This episode of Natsume’s Book of Friends is about, uh, friends!
Well, ostensibly, at least. The narrative frame certainly seems to imply that. Early on, we see Natsume’s two male acquaintances arguing in class over a completely trivial disagreement. They each ask for Natsume’s support, but end up wandering off still bickering. At the end, we see the two of them reunited, having apparently forgotten their decision never to talk again. We even get a “welp, guess that’s the moral of the story” look from Natsume, as Sasada looks on without a clue. All’s well that ends well, and all that.
Seiren’s third arc ended in typically Seiren fashion, leaving me once again scrambling to describe this show in some way more evocative than “okay, I guess.” I actually did chance on a pretty decent hook for this writeup, as the episode’s legitimately successful climax gave me a chance to talk about the pluses and minuses of its distinctive writing style. I’m taking my victories where I can find them!
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.
For this week’s Why It Works, I offered one more sendoff to what I feel has been an sadly underwatched anime. March’s adaptation has had some obvious issues of pacing and occasional points where the studio style hasn’t meshed with the material, but overall I’ve felt it’s been a very rewarding show. The awkward comedy that held down some of the early episodes largely disappeared after a while, and the more time its cast had to grow together, the stronger the drama became. Unless the rest of the year has far more highlights than I anticipate, it seems pretty likely March will slot into my top ten of the year.
Why It Works: March comes in like a lion’s Empty Seat
