There were a lot of lovely moments in anime this year, but my very favorite comes from my favorite new show. Ping Pong was already a tremendous show before episode five – its characters, storytelling, and aesthetics were just demolishing the competition, and Wenge himself was already its most poignant character. Cast out alone into Japan, he’d been forced to come to grips with the limits of his own talents, and his false pride could no longer make up for the fundamental loneliness of his situation. And yet Wenge rose above – instead of retreating into himself, he reached out to the teammates around him, and ended up making a new home of his exile.
Fall 2014 – Week 12 in Review
We’re nearing the end of the year, and I’ve got presents to wrap, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I keep this brief. Not many surprises to speak of this week, outside of SAO somehow ending on… uh, maybe the highest note it’s ever reached? Normally when SAO is okay, it’s because it leans totally on its fight animation – but this week didn’t even have a fight. Instead, it just ended the arc in a way that satisfyingly ties up the thematic lines and character journeys of this story. Huh. Funny thing. Maybe try that more often next time, SAO!
Anyway, enough praise for my nemesis. Let’s run ‘em all down!
12 Days of Anime, #2: Slaine Makes a Friend
Aldnoah.Zero was largely an exercise in continuously adjusting expectations. From “Urobuchi’s going to write an ambitious mecha war story!” to “Urobuchi will at least guide the writing of a mecha war story!” to “I guess Urobuchi had a week free, huh” to “jeez, this show is a sack of garbage,” it was a long, bumpy road to a point where Aldnoah would no longer offer less than it promised. Fortunately, the place Aldnoah ended up in was actually a pretty decent place to be – yeah, it’s a dumb show with a stupidly overpowered protagonist, no understanding of tone, and no actual focus, but watching Slaine get senselessly beaten on sure is funny.
Genshiken Second Season Vol. 1 – Review
Aw shit what’s all this I’m reviewing manga now too. Genshiken is one of my favorites, which makes it a kinda funny thing to review – it’s weird to be giving something you consider one of your favorite works a bunch of A-minuses and B-pluses and whatnot. But yeah, Genshiken’s great, the sequel starts strong, and reviewing manga is a lot of fun.
My full ANN review is available here. I also took a bunch of notes, which you can check out below!
12 Days of Anime, #3: Lisa Feels The Wind
There’s just something about that open road. Modern society is an inescapable monolith, and wherever you go will be just one more spot on the map, but when you’re young and hopeful and feel like freedom is a real thing, the road has a real power to it.
Log Horizon II – Episode 12
Largely an epilogue for the season’s first half this week, though Shiroe’s resolution to the money problem was very well-considered. I don’t really have any idea what they’re planning to do with the Tetra reveal, or if that’s just a thing that happened I guess. I am certainly looking forward to seeing Nureha’s empire return to relevance, though. Log Horizon II’s first half definitely ended on a strong note in this last arc, so hopefully that momentum carries through into our next adventure.
Full ANN post is here. Notes below!
12 Days of Anime, #4: Hunter x Hunter Breaks Me
I’m not really much of a crier. This used to be pretty much a hard rule – basically nothing would move me to cry, regardless of how personal or how tragic. This has started to change over the last few years, starting with Katawa Shoujo and my reintroduction back into anime. And I’m actually grateful for this – my favorite media is the stuff that makes me cry, and I wish I did it more often. It happens rarely enough that I can still easily say any show that makes me cry is among my favorite shows.
Well, Hunter x Hunter made me cry. God damn did it ever.
Sword Art Online II – Episode 24
It’s over. Dear lord, it is finally over. I know that it’s not actually over – I still have to review Extra Edition for ANN, and the looming threat of a third season always hangs overhead. But for what it’s worth, SAO ended on about as high of a note as the show has ever reached – not only was this episode sharp aesthetically, it actually legitimately tied this arc’s themes together in a graceful way. I’ve had problems with SAO, I am very sure you know, but even with a couple serious dud episodes, Mother’s Rosario has turned out to easily be the show’s best arc. Plenty of reasons for that – a lack of Kirito, an actual character focus, a new perspective on the show’s central ideas – but the sum total of it means I can’t really complain. It’s been quite a ride, Sword Art Online. Now get the fuck out of here, you little scamp.
My full ANN post is here. Notes below!
12 Days of Anime, #5: Alien Flamenco
Of course you’d introduce an alien villain, Samurai Flamenco. Of course his name would be Alien Flamenco.
12 Days of Anime, #6: Shounen Hollywood Goes For Broke
I am well aware of the fact that I am one of maybe seven people who watched this show. I am equally aware that I never would have watched it myself if I weren’t being literally paid to do so. Maybe Shounen Hollywood knew these things. Maybe it was aware it had no audience to impress, and thus no audience to disappoint. Maybe that’s why it decided to be one of the most secretly ambitious, balls-to-the-wall concept-happy productions of the year.