The anime was dominated by titanic clashes this week, as all my shows galloped towards their endgames while offering some dramatic fireworks along the way. While My Hero Academia demonstrated that it had indeed been hoarding all its animation eggs in the Deku-Bakugo basket, Revue Starlight showed off with a two-on-two duel featuring some of its most convincing secondary character work so far. And over in Planet With land, this season’s most visually conservative star showed off in its own way, vividly demonstrating the richness of characterization and thoughtfulness of narrative structure that have elevated it all along the way. I had little to complain about and much to revel in this week, and I’m happy to share all my gushing with you folks. Let’s start with the showdown between everyone’s favorite rowdy boys as we run down one more week in anime!
Tag Archives: Anime
Why It Works: Monogatari Will Never Die
With a new season of Monogatari on the way, it felt like the right time to once again explore some unique facet of this singular series. This time, with Ougi Dark having essentially concluded Araragi’s personal arc, I focused on how Monogatari is a story and show that isn’t really beholden to traditional narrative structures and endings, and how it’s basically always been a show about the laborious, continuous work of persistently recommitting to becoming your best self. I personally wouldn’t mind if Monogatari continued forever because I just like to watch it, but it’s nice that the concept of endings runs thematically counter to the show altogether, as well!
Ojamajo Doremi – Episode 33
We’re watching more Doremi, folks! I only get one of these a month, so I know I should probably try and save them for a rainy day or something, but Doremi is too good and I am too impatient and so damnit I’m watching it right now. I made a serious commitment these past few months to dive into all the Current Projects that have been waiting too long, and having nearly caught up with all of them, I have earned myself some friggin’ Doremi.
Anyway. Doremi’s last episode was a terrific example of one of the show’s most satisfying modes: immature, farcical adventure. The entire plot of that episode was basically “screw Tamaki, she sucks,” turning an ostensibly Masaharu-focused episode into a referendum on how much our main crew hate Tamaki’s guts. At this point, I’m not really sure Tamaki will ever get a true “focus episode” of her own – those episodes are generally designed to humanize Doremi’s various classmates, and Tamaki works so well as a villain that that almost seems like it’d be a waste. Then again, Nanami from Utena is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and Tamaki is basically just Nanami in elementary school. Brats deserve depth too, but given Tamami stole the show last time, I’m guessing we’ve got an entirely new tale waiting for us today. Let’s dive right in to Ojamajo Doremi!
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha – Episode 3
Alright, let’s get back to Magical Lyrical Girl Nanoha! So far, my experience with the show has had its ups and downs, largely illustrated through the difference between the first and second episodes. In that first episode, Nanoha’s distinctive direction added lots of energy and visual appeal to a relatively familiar magical girl template. In the second, those directoral flourishes faded significantly, leaving me with a so-so genre piece notable mostly for its clear influence on future shows like Symphogear. That mix of positive and negative is a little troubling, frankly – “the production and visual energy plummet after a great first episode” is a problem shared by countless shows, whereas the show’s current narrative issues are the kind of problems that tend to persist throughout productions.
That said, there’s still a fair amount of novelty in the show’s “magical girl drama reimagined as heavy scifi shounen vehicle” premise, and some of my current complaints, like the show’s weirdly stilted pacing, are the kind of quirky issues that can often blossom into engaging elements of a show’s identity. Nanoha’s extended scenes with her family don’t carry that much emotional weight yet, but the show is clearly invested in building up her general home life, suggesting its emotional ambitions will soon move beyond “Nanoha zaps a monster and it’s awesome.” Either way, the show has established a narrative template and a wider world while also powering us through Nanoha’s first two assignments as a magical girl. Let’s see what episode three brings!
Summer 2018 – Week 10 in Review
With the summer season entering its twilight hour, everything I’m watching began clearing its throat this week, mostly by taking care of various dramatic minibosses in order to prep for the finale. That resulted in a collection of episodes that weren’t really all that thrilling for their own sake, but still necessary in various ways, and littered with occasional small pleasures. Having each pulled off a sequence of jaw-dropping episodes in their recent history, both Revue Starlight and Planet With unfortunately ended up faltering in their most common ways this week; Revue Starlight through its sometimes shaky characterization and storytelling, and Planet With through its so-so visual execution. Neither of this season’s highlights are perfect shows, but they’re both relentlessly interesting shows, and even their missteps leave me with plenty to talk about. Let’s break down those complaints and more as we run down one more week in anime!
Why It Works: Todoroki’s Personal Mountain
Today on Crunchyroll, I combined my appreciation for the subtle uniqueness of Todoroki’s most recent conflicts with My Hero Academia’s current reflections on how heroism demands more than just strength, and came up with an article that I’m pretty sure all fits together! My Hero Academia’s focus on heroes as sources of inspiration and hope has always been sorta assumed in the background, but with All Might retiring, the story’s adults are actually having to straight-up articulate their need for a societal symbol of peace. Todoroki could very well become that symbol, but you can’t inspire others when the only thing fueling you is your own anger. Todoroki failed at the license exams, but I’m pretty sure he still picked up that lesson, and is stronger for it. This kid is gonna be okay!
The Ideal Hero: Todoroki’s Personal Mountain
Precure Hugtto – Episode 2
Today I’m thrilled to return to Pretty Cure, as we check out the second episode of the ongoing Precure Hugtto! The show’s first episode was delightful in all sorts of ways, from its alternately silly and evocative visual design to its compelling character work and intriguing set of narrative motifs.
The show’s first and greatest strength so far is its heroine, Hana Nono. Not only is her energy and expressiveness generally charming and relatable, but her specific focus on attempting to live up to the person she wants to become felt like a particularly poignant and universal motivation. I really love stories about people who don’t think they’re strong, but essentially trick themselves into embodying a greater, aspirational strength – My Hero Academia is all about that, Madoka Magica hinges on a similar instinct, and here in Hugtto it’s being used to give us an immediate and sympathetic understanding of our beleaguered heroine.
Additionally, Hana’s focus on “who I want to grow up to be” seems to currently be mirrored by this show’s antagonists, who seem to literally represent “growing up to be an unhappy cog in some vast corporation.” I really don’t think Hugtto will be venturing into any scathing criticism of modern capitalism, but the fact that this show’s enemies are visually represented through skyscrapers and business suits and speak in phrases like “this’ll look terrible at my quarterly review” doesn’t mean nothing. The show is going somewhere with this very direct contrast of future-focused hope and despair, and I’m eager to see where it leads. Let’s see what comes next in Precure Hugtto!
Chihayafuru S2 – Episode 25
I don’t know if I can do it, you guys. I just don’t know if I have the strength in me. After roughly six straight months of always having more Chihayafuru waiting in the wings, we’ve finally arrived – season two, episode twenty-five, the final existing episode. Chihayafuru has been a genuine emotional rock for me in a very turbulent year, and watching this episode will mean it’s actually over. I’ll have to go back to a Chihayafuru-less existence.
It’s certainly been a wonderful journey. Over these fifty episodes we’ve met dozens of compelling characters, watched scores of thrilling matches, and seen our core team develop into a skilled and unified group strong enough to legitimately call themselves the best team in Japan. Chihaya herself has grown from a wildly imbalanced and emotionally fragile competitor to a thoughtful and well-rounded champion, consistently acknowledging her own weaknesses and working hard to balance her play. Taichi has gained self-confidence and finally risen to Class A, Tsutomu and Kana have proven themselves both indispensable resources and genuinely strong competitors, and even Hanano has… shown up to all her matches. And beyond our own team, we’ve come to know and care for coaches, players, and friendships from across Japan, a wide array of diversely skilled and personally charming karuta contenders.
I’m very sad to say goodbye to this crowd, but fortunately, it’s only temporary – Chihayafuru’s third season is already on the way, and so we’ll all be reunited soon. In the meantime, let’s send off this wonderful show with joy, and appreciate the time we still have left. It’s time to settle down for one more episode of Chihayafuru!
Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 1
It’s a little intimidating to begin writing about a series as titanic as Evangelion; after all, few shows have earned as much critical ink over the years, or prompted such heated fandom divisions. Its own intrinsic value as a narrative and art object aside, it is easy to say, without hyperbole, that Neon Genesis Evangelion is undoubtedly one of the most important anime of all time. Produced by a relatively fresh studio at a time of great uncertainty within the industry, the show fundamentally affected not just individual narrative trends, but the industry’s overall financial and production model. The fact that anime airs late at night and is largely aimed at a specific, insular young adult audience is in part because of Evangelion; the fact that so many productions are intended not to sell discs, but advertise a variety of tie-in products is also a piece of its legacy. These trends built off industry conditions that existed prior to Eva (giant robots had been selling toys for decades at this point), but it’s undoubtedly true that without Eva, the anime industry would be a very different place.
Summer 2018 – Week 9 in Review
As we move towards the final act of the summer season’s various performances, I’m happy to say that both Planet With and Revue Starlight seem squarely aimed at tremendously satisfying climaxes. Well, in Planet With’s case this will be its fourth or fifth tremendously satisfying climax, but I was worried about Starlight at least for a while there, and this week’s episode went a serious distance towards putting my fears to rest. The story’s “villain” is now clear, the show’s internal conflicts have both the immediate dramatic consequences and larger thematic relevance they needed, and the execution of each individual episode somehow seems to actually improve over time. Revue Starlight opened with infinite potential, but it’s only recently hammered down its dramatic solidity, and I couldn’t be happier. But anyway, starting with the old favorite that’s unfortunately turned out to be the runt of this seasonal litter, let’s work our way up and run this week down!