Summer 2014 – Week 9 in Review

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A very convenient week in anime this time, since two shows didn’t actually air and oh wait that didn’t matter because I wrote three thousand goddamn words for Anime News Network anyway. Actually, that might be its own kind of “reprieve” – normally my writing motivation is “keep writing you goddamn word-monkey you’re wasting hours and drawing closer to death,” but my crazy output the last couple weeks (including writing a big friggin’ editorial that I’ll hopefully finish by this weekend) allowed me to briefly experience the feeling of not feeling guilty for relaxing. That’s actually a pretty rare thing for me, so I guess I got a mental vacation after all.

Incidentally, those ANN posts seem to have gone over very well over there, though I know you guys are understandably sad about the lack of timestamp SAO posts. It seems like ANN is more okay with some snark than I’d initially worried, so I’ll try to hit some kind of balance more of you can be happy with – I’ve only ever written for myself and my own audience before, so I’m still figuring out how to express my voice in a more official context. I hope you all stick with me as I figure this crap out! You’re an awesome, extremely supportive group of readers, and I want to be worthy of that support.

Alright, that’s enough blogging, I’m sure you’ve all got stuff to do. Let’s run down this week’s shows!

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Barakamon – Episodes 1-8 Overview

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And here is the last of my first wave of ANN posts, acting as more or less an overall review of the first two thirds of Barakamon. Look at that, I can put on a weird hat and almost pretend I’m a normal reviewer!

Barakamon

Shounen Hollywood – Episodes 1-8 Overview, Episode 9

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Aaand here’s my next piece, covering both the first eight episodes and then the newest one separately. I picked this show up out of necessity, but it’s actually been quite enjoyable, and much smarter than you’d expect from an idol show. I legitimately recommend it to anyone looking for a show about the cynical side of the entertainment business, or a more meditatively paced slice of life in general.

Shounen Hollywood

Sword Art Online II – Episodes 1-8 Overview, Episode 9

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My first posts over at Anime News Network have gone up, covering that venerable institution of anime, Sword Art Online. I’m actually starting off with two posts – one covering overall impressions of the first eight episodes, one specifically covering episode nine. I hope you enjoy them!

Announcement: I Am Now Working For The Man

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You may have already heard, but Anime News Network recently announced they’re going to be doing episodic posts on airing shows, and holy crap what is that name right there on the list. So yeah, I’ll be doing some writing for ANN! I’ll be covering Sword Art Online, Barakamon, and Shounen Hollywood (yes) every week, and my first posts will be going up this weekend. I’ll be starting with “season to date” posts covering episodes 1-8 of each, and then doing episodics from here on out. Very excited!

Pretty much the only thing this means for Wrong Every Time is that, sadly, I’m gonna be ending the weekly timestamp SAO posts. I’ll be linking my regular ANN posts here (meaning you guys will actually be getting more content overall), but they’re going to be in a format much closer to the one I used for Ping Pong – coherent full-episode reflections, similar to what ANN currently does for its preview guide. The Week in Review posts won’t be affected (outside of me primarily just linking the bigger posts on shows I’ve already written about, like I currently do), and essays and whatnot will all still be hosted here. I’ll still be rambling about the same old stuff, I’ll just sometimes be rambling on behalf of our friendly neighborhood overlords.

Anyway! I’m very excited to start being yelled at by vast new groups of people, and I hope you all enjoy the work. There’s a great crop of writers being highlighted here, some of whom I’m already good friends with, so I’d recommend giving the other writers a shot too and seeing if you like their styles. A new adventure begins!

Sword Art Online

Summer Podcast – Individual Details versus the Big Picture

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Hey guys! I was on Deadlight’s podcast a little while back, where we talked about the summer shows in the context of “individual details versus the big picture,” a theme that was kind of sidetracked by Zankyou no Terror deciding to become all about those individual details in its most recent episode. I guess I’d characterize the tone of the podcast as “everyone else thinks everything sucks, I kind of enjoy everything.” You can find more info and timestamps for the various shows discussed over at Deadlight’s blog.

Summer 2014 – Week 8 in Review

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A low week in anime, my friends. Barakamon, Aldnoah, and Zankyou all had lesser episodes, meaning it was pretty much up to JoJo and Hunter x Hunter to keep things together. Fortunately, JoJo rallied magnificently, and Hunter x Hunter is just always friggin’ good, so I guess I can’t really complain. But damn, I really, really hope Zankyou keeps it together. Anyway, let’s get to the shows!

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Sword Art Online II – Episode 8

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And we’re back! Last episode was kind of a breather/intermission piece, apparently matching the beginning of this arc’s second book, but hopefully this one will put us back in the action. I feel like the more the show dwells on slow Kirito drama scenes, the less it’ll hold together – the show’s production is solid, but its writing is still bad, meaning the more propulsive scenes are generally going to be the highlights. Which is a frustrating thing to admit, because Iwant this show to work on an emotional level, but I feel like that would require both better writing (though it has been improving!) and a legitimate acknowledgement of ALO’s existence. I dunno. Tough place to be, SAO, but you’ve dug yourself this hole. Let’s see you lightsaber your way out of it.

Incidentally, SAO posts are going to undergo a shift next week, as… well, you’ll see. So for this current series, I’d like to say it’s been a weird, weird pleasure to write these for all you guys. Like Kirito, I hope all of you continue to strive for the horizon… even if, unlike Kirito, you actually have to work for it.

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Zankyou no Terror – Episode 7

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And we’re back! It’s time for TERROR CHESS. I’m really hoping TERROR CHESS won’t dominate this episode, because it seems like a pretty silly idea, but I’m still excited to see where our various heroes end up. Okay, I lied, I’m mainly just excited to see what happens with Lisa and Shibazaki. Let’s go!

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Summer 2014 – Week 7 in Review

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A pretty consistent set of episodes this week, although Sword Art Online’s doubling down on its “We’re at war with PTSD, we were always at war with PTSD” new history is resulting in some serious growing pains. But Barakamon and JoJo both had stellar episodes, and Zankyou and Hunter x Hunter continue to be the great shows they are, so I can’t really complain about friggin’ Kirito having inconsistent motivations. Let’s run them down!

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