The Perfect Insider – Episode 6

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Screw you, Perfect Insider! I go to bat for you for half the damn season and this is how you repay me? A recap episode?! A RECAP EPISODE IN AN ELEVEN EPISODE SERIES?!?

Yeah, this week was some hot garbage in pretentious professorville. Not only was this episode dominated by a big ol’ recap segment, it also hung basically all its emotional weight on a scene between Moe and Souhei that I can’t even physically conceive of caring about. Who cares about Souhei? Is there a single person watching this show who actually likes Souhei? I cheer whenever Moe yells at him, and groan whenever any character takes him seriously. Souhei is bullshit.

Anyway. That’s that. If you want an actual non-rambling critique of this week’s episode, you can check out my review at ANN, or maybe my notes below. GOD DAMN.

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Beautiful Bones – Episode 6

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Well I liked half of this episode! This one definitely had some strong things going for it, with chief among them oddly being the fact that Shoutarou and Sakurako were barely in it. Kougami really hasn’t had much time to develop a character so far, but the pacing of an episode with her, along with her back-and-forth with her teacher, made for a much stronger base dynamic than the usual stuff. There was even a conversation that made use of what we know about her as a person! Additionally, this episode was also just very pretty – better direction than usual, and some very nice backgrounds. The actual plot was bad, but hey, this is Beautiful Bones, of course the plot’s going to be bad.

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

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Freelance Commission Info!

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Heyo! If you’re looking for rates on my media writeups, you’ve come to write the right place. Here’s a breakdown of what you can commission for a variety of reasonable prices!

$30 per episode of notes-style show writeups (informal structure, taken as I’m watching)

$75 per episode of full essay-style show writeups.

$450 for a whole 1-cours season of notes plus a writeup of some kind (likely a review-shaped piece, since I can actually produce those reliably regardless of my feelings on the work, but this can always be discussed).

$150 for an essay-style movie writeup.

Here’s info on more potential purchases.

If you can think of anything else you’d like me to do for money, I’d be happy to negotiate! I’ll also be looking to integrate some of this with Patreon, as well as set up ways people can contribute smaller amounts towards a larger communal request (like through this page!). I feel like I’m getting into the swing of freelance work at this point, and am excited to see whatever else you all might want to throw at me! You can contact me with any requests at nicreamer42 at gmail dot com. LET’S WRITE SOME STUFF.

Kyoukai no Kanata

K-On!! – Review

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I have returned back from the land of moe moe kyun, replete with riches and wonders from that distant place. Though most of these treasures come in the form of silly gifs.

Yep, I watched K-On!!, the double-length sequel to the original KyoAni blockbuster. And as many people hinted, the show definitely did improve in its second season – both the atmosphere and jokes were leaned into more completely and effectively, and the show’s final peaks had some startling emotional weight. The show is light viewing through most of its run, but very consistently funny, and its articulation of the melancholy of graduation beats out basically any other show I’ve seen. It feels like I experienced life at the pace these characters did, which was clearly the intent, and definitely not an easy feat to pull off. K-On!! feels effortless, but its craft is remarkable. Easy to enjoy, and also easy to appreciate as a high-quality production.

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

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Fall 2015 – First Half in Review

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Holy crap we’re already at the halfway point. It doesn’t really feel like a halfway point – Owarimonogatari’s just finished its first larger arc-sequence, and Okada Gundam is still basically in its preamble, so it kinda feels like we’re just getting started. But apparently everything else is already half over, and the halfway point ranking thing has become one of this site’s many random traditions (look, routines help with my insecurities), so here we are again. As usual, this will be the one and only time I rank this season’s overall shows. Ranking shows when they’re only halfway done may seem like an inherently useless gesture, but I assure you, that is definitely the point. “But Bobduh,” you might respond, “you rank your favorite shows of the year anyway, so how can you say you’re making a point about the futility of rankings when you then proceed to buy into them in the same exact way everyone else does?” “Shut up,” I say to this. “Shut up, stop talking, your face is bad.”

With all that cleared up, let’s get right to the listing! What has risen, what has fallen, and what is just sort of staggering on? ALL WILL BE REVEALED.

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Owarimonogatari – Episode 6

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And so Sodachi Lost comes to an end. This episode couldn’t match the cathartic peaks of last week’s stunner, but it was still a fine conclusion to a solid arc. Ougi’s villainy got some time to shine, and then was directly countered by Hanekawa whipping out her tiger hair powers. It seems like Isin’s haircuts aren’t just thematically important, they actually dictate the power levels of his characters – equipped with her self-actualization tiger stripes, it only takes Hanekawa roughly three seconds to figure out the truth behind Oikura’s mother. That answer didn’t really add or subtract anything from the story, but I certainly liked Araragi’s further thoughts on happiness near the end of this episode. Araragi’s certainly no Hanekawa or Kaiki, but he’s figuring stuff out one step at a time.

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

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The Perfect Insider – Episode 5

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Perfect Insider was back in top form this week, with an episode that mixed the compelling personal contrasts of the first couple episodes with the more plot-centric mystery focus of the last couple. The show is charting a very tricky course, and could probably topple into self-indulgence at any moment, but for now it’s nicely demonstrating how mysteries and character stories can work together if you make the mystery into the character story. The mysteries here are not just related to Magata’s death, but also Magata’s past and overall identity – and the show’s framing and dialogue is making sure to consistently tie Magata’s identity to Moe’s, meaning all the pieces fit together very gracefully so far. I don’t know if the show can pull it off for another six episodes, but it’s been walking this tightrope for half a season now, so it’s certainly got a chance.

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

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Anthem of the Heart – Review

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So yep, I went to see the new Okada movie. It was good! There were a couple loose dramatic choices here and there, but overall it was a very satisfying adolescent drama with some strong emotional peaks and a great soundtrack. The cast was likable and each got some nicely understated character moments, the animation did a great job of characterizing a protagonist who couldn’t actually speak, and the story landed well without slipping into any too-easy solutions. It wasn’t groundbreaking or heartrending or anything, but it was a solid story told well. I don’t want to dip into spoilers, but it also made for a weirdly appropriate accompaniment to last week’s Owarimonogatari – some of the lines from either could easily have been transposed from the other. And I also absolutely love this character designer’s style, so that was nice too.

You can check out my full review over ANN-a-way!

Anthem of the Heart

Beautiful Bones – Episode 5

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Welp, the cursed man arc ended this week, and it was… fine. Not really much to say about it. The show’s doing better than it was in the first few episodes, but it’s still not really something that excites me – it’s boilerplate mystery procedural stuff, the same kind of show that airs for 25 out of every 24 hours here in the states. Making the protagonist a chuunibyou woman with a dead brother doesn’t really do much to up the excitement voltage.

But hey, at least this episode introduced an Evil Painter. That’s kinda funny!

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

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Fall 2015 – Week 5 in Review

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One more week of anime has come and gone, meaning it’s time once more to sift through the embers and see what riches have been left behind. This was another reasonable week of anime in what is turning out to be a reliable but not particularly dramatic season. The only top tier show I’m watching is Owarimonogatari, and that’s been a known product for years – aside from that, it’s really just One Punch Man as the production powerhouse and Iron-Blooded Orphans as the stable narrative. If things continue at this pace, it’s looking like my top ten shows of the year will be 80% consumed by the year’s first two seasons – not exactly the most impressive finish to a year that started off coasting from Shirobako into Oregairu S2 and Euphonium.

That said, there’s still plenty to talk about in what shows we have left. And I’ve also heard Concrete Revolutio has been doing some noteworthy things – I wish I had a bit more love for pop art, but if you’re less put off by the aesthetic than I am, it’s probably worth a look. There’s always something worth talking about out there, so let’s take a break from the naysaying and run down some fresh new cartoons!

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