Well, this episode sure sucked. It was basically a steady parade of the laziest jokes available to anime, punctuated by occasional silly faces. But hey, at least that makes one show I’m watching easy to write about…
My extremely dry review is available here. Notes below!
We had another top tier episode this week, as the show’s focus honed in on what felt like one full 24-hour day in the life of Kumiko (I know there was a timeskip after the first half, but still). The show moved from midday gags to sweltering afternoon heat to melancholy goodbyes and all the way back to morning, capturing arrestingly lived-in moments all the while. I really can’t say enough good things about this show’s control of tone – we’ll have to see how that works through what I assume will be a more dramatic second half, but so far, the show is making all the right moves.
Here’s my oversized ANN review. Notes below!
Things have remained consistent this week – so consistent that I’m almost regretting dropping the wildcards. Not that I don’t have enough to watch, of course – a new review came out this week, and there should be more coming soon, so I’ve certainly been watching plenty of cartoons. But what is there to say about this season? The top three (Oregairu, BBB, Sound! Euphonium) remain incredibly stable, Ore Monogatari!! is as heartwarming as ever, and JoJo, UBW, and Yuki are all doing things you’d probably expect from them. I don’t want any of the great shows to fail, so I guess it’s up to the bottom half to surprise me – time to shape up, action shows and Yuki! Give me at least an opening paragraph’s worth of human interest story, so I don’t need to return to the “I’ve got nothing to talk about” well for two weeks straight.
Alright, filled my word quota. LET’S RUN ‘EM DOWN.
The student council arc resolved in an uneasy peace this week, with Hachiman convincing Isshiki to rescind her own club request. Of course, this solution isn’t actually great either for Hachiman’s group or for the school overall – once again, he chose a slash and burn solution that only solves the most immediate problem. Joining the student council probably would have been the best thing for all three of our protagonists, but that’s the kind of thing Hikki can only realize once he’s already been told. Life is tough for our brittle little teenagers!
My full episode review is here. Notes below!
Hoo boy was this show garbage. Hot, steaming garbage. This is actually the most negative review I’ve written for ANN, beating out even the Sword Art Online Swimsuit Episode. At least that had SAO’s usual solid aesthetics to create some interest – this was just a collection of terrible ingredients tossed together in a terrible stew. Do not watch Looking Up at the Half-Moon.
Feel free to check out my review, though. And you can look back on all my permanently exasperated, frequently disbelieving notes below!
I wasn’t as big of a fan of this episode as the last several, but this is still a very good show, and now I at least can actually see how this show might end within a single season. Kumiko remains great, Taki got another standout episode, and everything’s still pretty and well-written and at least reasonably composed. Sound! Euphonium continues apace.
Here’s my full ANN writeup. Notes below!
It was do or die time this week, and two shows ended up on the chopping block – both Plastic Memories and Punch Line won’t be joining us for the rest of the season. Punch Line was always a stretch, but I’m pretty sad to see Plastic Memories go. Fortunately, those drops are really just reflective of what I already knew about this season – the top tier is fantastic, everything else is kinda crap. BBB, Oregairu, Sound! Euphonium, and Ore Monogatari!! remain excellent, Unlimited Blade Works and JoJo are still perfectly entertaining, and Nagato Yuki is… well, Nagato Yuki. Keep doing your thing, Nagato.
Hey guys! I wrote another essay, and we’re doing a bit of an experiment this time – the folks at ANN asked if I could send some pieces their way, and so we’re going to see what the usual ANN readers make of my heart-on-sleeve thematic pieces. If this works out, I’ll likely be able to write more consistent essays in the future, so here’s hoping they give a damn. Like those poor souls in Shirobako, I’m basically doing anything I can here to keep writing, but it’s not easy! Feel free to comment there or right here, and let me know if you have any concerns about me shipping some of these to ANN – I was somewhat anxious about it, but this will ultimately hopefully allow for more writing altogether, which I’m guessing is what people want the most. So here’s one more set of lyrics, playing in my newest piece, on that most heartwarming of dramas.
“I keep my head up tight / I make my plans at night / And I don’t sleep, I don’t sleep, I don’t sleep til it’s light / Some folks float, some are buried alive.”
– Shine a Light, Wolf Parade
Yeah, Oregairu is brilliant. I’ve already written a couple thousand words about it today, so I don’t really have much left for this blurb besides: damn. This sequel is doing everything I could have hoped for, focusing on the show’s strengths, highlighting its strongest characters, and generally executing at a higher level than the original. We are very lucky to have it.
My full ANN post is here. Notes below!
Haruhi continued her invasion of Nagato’s show this week, almost accidentally stealing Kyon as Nagato derped about working on Valentine’s Day chocolate. I didn’t feel like this heightened drama was a great fit for this show, and said as much in the review, but it certainly is an interesting experience to see the assumptions of one show acting as the “villain” in another one. Still, I think cute scenes with Kyon and Nagato are basically this show at its best. We’ll see how this wacky misunderstanding plays out next time.
My full ANN review is available here. Notes below!