March comes in like a lion – Episode 5

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We finally got a full expose on Rei’s childhood this week, which was about as horrifying and suffocating as imaginable. March’s execution is still a mixed bag, beyond stuff like its uneven animation – the show just doesn’t feel confident enough to discard the parts of either its source material or SHAFT quirks that don’t work in this format/narrative. It’s still a show I’m very much enjoying, but it’s frustratingly short of the show it could be.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Why It Works: SHELTER’s Animation Genius

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So yes, I technically may have used SHELTER as an excuse to ramble about Idolm@ster again. Those may ultimately be the facts as they are presented – but is that a crime you could convict me for? Could ANYONE fault me for using this clearly valid opportunity to talk about why Megumi Kouno is extremely good? I present myself to the people: let he among you who is without moe cast the first stone.

Why It Works: SHELTER’s Animation Genius

Idolmaster

Nichijou – Episode 14

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Is it time for more Nichijou?!? FUCK YES IT’S TIME FOR MORE NICHIJOU. In fact, to be totally honest, it is basically always time for more Nichijou – but this exact moment is a subset of Always, and so we have certainly arrived at an appropriate time for Nichijou shenanigans. The show’s last episode actually dipped the furthest into legitimate pathos the show has ever gone, offering some very endearing scenes between Nano and the professor and ending on Nano finally getting the okay to attend school. Will this merging of the show’s two main threads change its fundamental nature? All I know is I should stop writing, since writing is not watching Nichijou. LET’S DO THAT INSTEAD.

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G Gundam – Episode 1

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Hello and welcome! Today I’m starting on a new notes project – G Gundam, the most hot-blooded and over-the-top of all Gundam properties. G Gundam actually embraces the camp inherent in giant robots, and harkens back more to classic super robots than the variably serious scifi stylings that Gundam helped bring to the genre. I’m not really fond of super robots on the whole, but I can enjoy a robot show executed with great flair or personality (Giant Robo, Turn A Gundam), so I guess we’ll have to see where this one falls. Let’s get right into the action!

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Girlish Number – Episode 4

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Girlish Number’s going down a pretty interesting route at the moment. The central anime production is already crashing and burning, but it seems like the show isn’t particularly worried about that – instead, it’s going to follow this cast as they emerge from the ashes, leading their media mix enterprise regardless. Kuzu-P still feels like a monstrous caricature, but I’m finding it interesting how well his ideas are actually working out here. I’m not exactly sure where Girlish Number is going with all this, but we’ll find out soon enough!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Sound! Euphonium 2 – Episode 5

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Yeah, this episode was a triumph. After four relatively low-key episodes, Euphonium finally let loose with an episode whose energetic first half was still dwarfed by its titanic performance segment. I obviously love the subtle stuff, but it sure is impressive to see what only this studio can do when they really let loose. Glad to have you here, Euphonium.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Fall 2016 – Week 4 in Review

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This was a workhorse week in anime. We’re several weeks out from the premieres, meaning most of this season’s shows have more or less established their tone and structure, but we’re still also some distance from the sort of narrative shakeups that often mark the midpoint of one season productions. That point in the season means many shows are entering a bit of a lean period at the moment – demonstrating their fundamental quality, but not really dazzling with any new talents. Yuri on Ice and Flip Flappers have largely settled into their genre spaces, Girlish Number and Euphonium each hit some mid-sized dramatic turns, and JoJo just kept chugging along. Weeks like this put the onus on me to come up with new stuff to talk about, so thanks a fuckin’ lot, anime. Fortunately, after possibly more than a hundred of these Week in Reviews, I’ve learned how to spend a lot of time talking about basically nothing. So if that sounds like fun to you, pull up a chair and take a seat as we RUN THESE SHOWS DOWN!

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Planetes – Episode 15

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With Fee and Yuri both having earned a scattering of focus episodes, the only one-note characters remaining in the debris section were the buffoonish bosses and long-suffering temp worker Edel. Those bosses remained buffoons this week, but Edel finally got a chance to shine, pinning down a winding episode that broke from fourteen’s close focus to check in on basically all of the show’s minor characters. Things are stirring together now, even if anything approaching a focused narrative still seems very far away.

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 4

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March comes in like a lion spent an entire episode in its goofier, comedy-happy mode this week, which inevitably resulted in a weaker episode overall. I like these characters well enough that such episodes are still far from unpleasant, but the show has just not found graceful ways to integrate the comedy of the manga. The slice of life elements are clearly key to the structure of the whole, so hopefully the show eventually gets a better grasp on its own material!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Why It Works: JoJo’s Equal-Opportunity Drama

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I took a few weeks away for the start of the fall season, but I couldn’t stay away from JoJo for long. This week I go into another of JoJo’s general-purpose strengths – the way it’s so genuinely invested in not-so-thrilling adventures that it drags the audience along as well. It’s pretty much a constant for JoJo, but I figured a week where Kira faced down a cat-plant was as good a time as any to discuss it!

Why It Works: JoJo’s Equal-Opportunity Drama

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure