Tag Archives: Anime

Why It Works: Reigen is Great, But There Are Other Great Anime Parents Too!

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After last week’s parental love letter to a remorseless conman and serial liar, I felt kinda obligated to celebrate some anime parents who don’t necessarily possess quite so much baggage. For this week’s Why It Works, I ran down a scattering of other great parents or parental figures, giving me a fine opportunity to rep shows like March and Eccentric Family once more. Look, if March didn’t want to show up on half of my recommendation lists, it shouldn’t have been so good at absolutely everything.

Reigen is Great, But There Are Other Great Anime Parents Too!

Scorching Ping Pong Girls – Episode 4

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Hell yeah folks, we’re watching Scorching Ping Pong Girls! It has been a ridiculously long time since we last explored an episode of this one – so long, in fact, that I no longer have any idea what our ongoing conflicts are, or what narrative/emotional/thematic threads I should be paying close attention to. BE RIGHT BACK, GOTTA REFRESH.
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ALRIGHT, I’m back! So from what I’m gathering, the last episode was pretty much the end of Scorching Ping Pong Girls’ first act, ending on Agari at last embracing ping pong because she genuinely loved it, instead of simply using it as a vehicle for personal praise. That character turn all came about because of Koyori’s earnest love of the sport, and her desire to use it not as a way to prove her dominance, but as a way simply to communicate with others.

That’s a twist I really like, partially because it seems like a truthful reflection of the ways personal anxiety can express itself, and also partly because “competition as communication” is one of the things I find most compelling about sports drama and competition in general. It’s essentially another way of articulating the tactical appeal of really good competitive games; from fighting games to sports to board games, great contests involve a continuous exchange of proposals and counter-offers, an argument held in a language of tactics. That stuff is all pretty much fundamental to tactical drama, but setting it as Koyori’s signature skill seems to imply this show will be even more focused on tactical repartee than most, like a Mizushima production. But anyway, last episode concluded on the partial introduction of a Mysterious Stranger, and we’ve got work to do. Let’s dive into the next episode of Scorching Ping Pong Girls!

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Simoun – Episode 17

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Simoun! It has been far too long since we explored this fascinating show, particularly since the last episode ended on the cruelest possible cliffhanger. Having at last successfully performed the Emerald Ri Maajon, it seemed very much like Simoun was going to spirit both of my favorite characters up into the sky. I’m not cool with that! Dominura is both the dramatic irritant and iron core that this team desperately needs, and Limoun is both adorable and one of the only genuine friends a good half of this cast still have. Their team is far weaker without them, even discounting the fact that they’re two of the most impressive pilots in Chor Tempest – and ultimately, that may well be the point. What will the team do if they both lose their center and discover the Ri Maajons are a form of self-destruction all at once?

Man, it feels nice just to type out this show’s wacky terminology again. It’s good to be back, Simoun. Let’s see what episode seventeen has in store!

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Bloom Into You – Episode 9

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Alright everyone, it’s time to dive right back in to Bloom Into You. With the series over halfway over at this point, we’ve gained a solid understanding of Yuu, Touko, and even Sayaka’s feelings, as each of them grapple with shifting desires and an inability to fully embrace their own identities. “I have to perform an artificial self in order to maintain my status in high school” is a very common sentiment, but it’s taken a different form for each of these girls. For Touko, denying her identity is something she does willingly, or even gladly – she’s happier acting as her sister’s replacement than being herself, and afraid of being rejected for performing anything less than perfection. For Yuu, what was initially a comforting relationship with Touko has begun to feel significantly less so, as her own desires grow beyond what Touko is willing to accept from her. And for Sayaka, the overarching social prejudice against same-sex relationships weighs down heavily, making her question if there’s something fundamentally wrong with her.

Though I initially felt more sympathetic to Yuu and Sayaka’s narratives than Touko’s, I’ve since learned that Sentai royally screwed up the translation of episode six’s big confession scene – Touko wasn’t threatening Yuu, she was expressing her own fear of being rejected if she embraced herself. Knowing that, I feel much better about the manipulation and backbiting and general angst all three of these girls are throwing at each other, as they all work to present a self they think the others could love. Teens just do shitty stuff to each other, it’s a fact – they’re not monsters for that, and growing out of the insecurity that causes you to be cruel is a big part of adolescence. Let’s see what our mixed-up kids do next in another episode of Bloom Into You!

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Winter 2019 – Week 7 in Review

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As we enter the second half of winter, this season’s diverse anime titans only continue to impress me. I actually don’t really know if there’s anything I’m missing – I normally desire a pretty balanced mix of fantasy/action, thematically rich stuff to dig into, and psychologically compelling character drama, and this season is offering all of that in spades. To be honest, even if nothing were airing but Mob Psycho 100, this season would still be filling out all those categories with ease. Basically the only category I care for that it doesn’t shine in is “goofy, warm-hearted palate cleanser,” and as it just so happens, this season also features a Tsutomu Mizushima show. The anime is fun, the anime is great, I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing me stretch for preamble. Let’s dispense with the formalities then, and get right to breaking down another week in anime!

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Why It Works: Reigen Arataka and the Ideal Anime Parent

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Today on Why It Works, we’re exploring the messy yet surprisingly thoughtful relationship between Mob and Reigen! Though Reigen isn’t truly Mob’s dad, his time spent teaching his young employee has felt more true-to-life and poignant than many overt parental anime relationships, and it’s been a thrill to watch this season expand on their bond. Let’s get to the piece!

Reigen Arataka and the Ideal Anime Parent

Princess Tutu – Episode 21

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Princess Tutu’s twenty-first opening monologue commences with a familiar line: “once upon a time, there was a man who died.” This is the same line it used to open its first monologue, before introducing the founding myth of the prince, raven, and Tutu herself. In that monologue, after describing the story, the narrator went on to speak of how the characters lived beyond their author’s death, and ultimately escaped their pages – only for the author to ultimately reappear and signal his approval. So how does this new version of the tale compare to that first story?

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Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha – Episode 13

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Time for the endgame, folks! With the assault on Precia’s fortress in full swing and Precia herself having fallen into some ominous dimensional crevice, it’s time at last to conclude the first season of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. This show has been a ride that shifted from intriguing but uneven to consistently thrilling, and at this point, it’s no surprise whatsoever that Nanoha inspired an entire franchise. So before we dive into this last episode, let’s do a brief overview of Nanoha’s strengths so far.

First off, there’s Nanoha herself, and her firm bond with Fate Testarossa. Nanoha has proven herself to be an exceptionally competent protagonist, which might feel a little odd in the abstract, but which works perfectly to build her up as a foil for Fate. And the situations surrounding these characters has felt unusually well-observed on both sides; Nanoha’s relationship with her family is illustrated through copious convincing incidental scenes, while Fate’s time with her “mother” contains some of the most brutal and immediate illustrations of both familial abuse and its psychological aftermath that I’ve seen in anime. And both of these situations have benefited from Nanoha’s signature stylistic trick, its tendency to extend certain scenes far beyond their theoretical “narrative necessity” in order to create a more convincing illustration of a genuine lived experience.

In aesthetic terms, Nanoha isn’t the most beautiful show out there, but it certainly has its strengths. Shinbo’s love of striking full block colors aligns very well with Nanoha’s focus on energy attacks over action choreography, and the show’s often surreal backgrounds and consistent fisheye shots do an excellent job of creating a sense of unease throughout. And finally, Nanoha’s underlying worldbuilding feels ripe for exploration and expansion – its techno-magical world has the key quality of feeling like it exists outside of Nanoha’s own story, full of wild tales we haven’t yet experienced. With all that said, let’s see how the first season of Nanoha comes to an end!

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The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Episode 5

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Alright folks, let’s check out another episode of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine! This show has been steadily winning me over all throughout its early episodes, with its unquestionable stylistic strengths, clear thematic aims, and general narrative polish giving each of its first four episodes a strong fundamental appeal. Along with Saya Yamamoto’s terrific aesthetic vision and contemplation of female power, the show’s most recent episodes have been further buoyed by a sense of humor and vulnerability that’s given it a clear emotional appeal. That’s been great news for me – while I certainly respected the craft of Fujiko Mine’s first two episodes, its heavy focus on ornamented style and hard-boiled noir storytelling didn’t really give me much to invest in emotionally. For me, character vulnerability is my avenue towards engagement, and both Fujiko and new friends like Goemon have given the most recent episodes a welcome emotional touch. Fujiko herself is a fascinating badass whose fatigued negotiation of an inherently male-oriented world feels more sadly relevant every day. Let’s see whose butts need kicking or jewels need stealing in episode five!

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Winter 2019 – First Half in Review

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Well folks, we’ve finally arrived at the winter season’s halfway point. Last year’s winter season turned out to be that year’s best by far, and though I don’t think this year is quite measuring up to that standard, it’s still been a terrific season by any metric. The crown jewel of the season is clearly Mob Psycho 100, which has actually improved substantially from its already-terrific first season, but we’ve got great continuing shows, great anime-originals, and a pretty diverse genre distribution on the whole. For better or for worse, the age of CG has arrived, and though shows like Kotobuki and Kemurikusa aren’t necessarily the most visually impressive, they’ve consistently demonstrated that fundamentally strong storytelling always shines through. I’ve personally fallen off The Promised Neverland for the moment, but that’s not really a knock on its quality – its production just seems pretty specifically aimed at new viewers, with its focus on cliffhangers over atmosphere making it a little slow for someone who’s already experienced this story. And with JoJo powering through one of its strongest segments altogether, I’m basically guaranteed that any given week in anime will at the very least not be boring. It’s a bumper crop this year, and I’m happy to take stock of the highlights so far. Let’s get to it!

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