Summer 2019 – Week 11 in Review

We’re arriving at the season’s endgame now, as all of our summer contenders marshal their forces for their assorted finales. As misunderstandings are cleared up and final stakes are clarified, shows often reveal their most fundamental natures here – the conflict, relationship, or central idea they hold most closely, and are willing to stake their last and most consequential episodes on resolving. Given has turned out to be most fundamentally a romance, surprising no one, while Carole & Tuesday continues to use its efficiently sketched human characters to reflect on modern society in general. And Granbelm, well…

I guess we should start with that one.

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Summer 2019 – Week 6 in Review

I’ve been dealing with some close personal tragedy this week, but hey, I’m still here. I thought about maybe taking this week off from the Week in Review, and really couldn’t have imagined watching and enjoying seasonal anime a few days ago, but returning to cartoon normalcy has actually been a big emotional help. And it’s nice that this season’s anime are themselves so emotionally generous, from the rich tonal sympathy of Given to the tangled dramatic knots of O Maidens. I’m still feeling pretty hollow and distant at the moment, but I appreciate the company of all of you, and the comfort of returning to the things I love. Let’s talk about some cartoons.

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