Tag Archives: March comes in like a lion

March comes in like a lion – Episode 23

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March comes in like a lion returns more with a whimper than a bang, dutifully walking us through two low-key chapters at the newly founded shogi/science club. This material was charming enough, and was certainly executed with plenty of visual flair, but felt totally misplaced as the first episode of a new season. It’s unfortunate that the show’s grand return is kinda undercut by its long-term structural issues, but as far as execution goes, these were definitely some nicely animated chapters. I’m sure the show’s production will fall apart again soon, but I’ll savor this while it lasts!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode notes below.

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Fall 2017 Season Preview

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Holy crap everyone, it’s time for the season preview. Season previews are exciting to me even in the most mundane of times, and this is far from that. Personally, this summer season has been the least interesting batch of anime since I started watching seasonally (which was… three… five?… nevermind years ago). In contrast, the upcoming season is packed with returning favorites, unexpected revivals, intriguing adaptations, and promising anime originals. It would be very nearly impossible for this coming season to undercut my current 3.5 show roster, and it’s actually looking quite likely that I might have to sacrifice even some promising shows just for the sake of time. Summer may be ending, but a new anime dawn is approaching!

As usual, I won’t be running down every single upcoming show in this list. You can check a site like anichart if that’s what you’re looking for, and can also easily find all upcoming synopses there as well. What I will be focusing on are the shows I think are promising, along with laying out whatever reasons I might have for believing in them, be that solid source material or talented staff or just a great first season. Let’s start with my most anticipated prospects and run this season down!

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Why It Works: March comes in like a lion’s Empty Seat

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For this week’s Why It Works, I offered one more sendoff to what I feel has been an sadly underwatched anime. March’s adaptation has had some obvious issues of pacing and occasional points where the studio style hasn’t meshed with the material, but overall I’ve felt it’s been a very rewarding show. The awkward comedy that held down some of the early episodes largely disappeared after a while, and the more time its cast had to grow together, the stronger the drama became. Unless the rest of the year has far more highlights than I anticipate, it seems pretty likely March will slot into my top ten of the year.

Why It Works: March comes in like a lion’s Empty Seat

Winter 2017 – Week 11 in Review

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And so the winter season approaches its end. We’ve got one more rough week after this, but the season’s shows are already beginning to turn out the lights at this point, starting with the scrappy March comes in like a lion. Other shows have a bit more life left in them – Rakugo is certainly tidying up, but Tanya’s narrative shows no sign of ending, and Dragon Maid is as lively as ever. This was definitely a lesser season, but as always, there were odd pleasures to be found here and there. Watching anime on a seasonal schedule means you’ll probably end up watching a lot of crap, but that’s all part of the experience. Let’s take a look at this week’s contenders and RUN ‘EM DOWN!

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 22

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March comes in like a lion arrived at its first season ending this week, thought it really wasn’t much of a conclusion. If the show were actually finishing here I’d probably be kinda miffed, but as it’s only six months until the next season, this served as a fair enough stopping point. And this episode’s second half was actually a minor highlight, so I can’t really complain. Cya next time, March!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Winter 2017 – Week 10 in Review

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The anime was very cheery this week! I mean, I expect that from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, but even sadsack productions like Rakugo and March comes in like a lion turned in remarkably optimistic performances. I certainly didn’t mind that – frankly, it feels like all of us could use a little sunshine as the winter trudges to its end. And these were certainly well-earned strokes of positivity, given what the characters in both of those shows have recently suffered. With all that on top of this week’s wonderful episode of Dragon Maid, this was a pretty alright week in anime land. Let’s start with those reliable dragons and RUN THIS WEEK DOWN!

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 21

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At last, March comes in like a lion allowed its characters to be briefly happy. After the terrific but harrowing Shimada arc, it was a wonderful treat to see Rei and Shimada actually enjoy their visit to Shimada’s hometown, and also great to check in with the Kawamoto siblings again. There was even some charming character animation in the last act, a genuine rarity for this show. Thanks for being kind this week, March.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.

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Winter 2017 – Week 9 in Review

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The winter heavyweights were both firing on all cylinders this week. Fresh from directing what’s apparently the most perfect anime film ever, Yamada turned in what was likely Dragon Maid’s most technically accomplished episode yet. And over in Rakugo land, the final act continued in fierce fashion, as Bon struggled mightily against his own obsolescence. Seasons aren’t necessarily defined by only their best shows, but Winter ‘17’s top tier is making a strong argument in that favor. We only ever remember our favorites from any given year, anyway – even if nothing else stands out, as long as they shine bright, anime will keep. Let’s dive right into those and the other shows of the week!

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March comes in like a lion – Episode 20

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And so Shimada’s battle comes to an end. This episode wasn’t necessarily a full highlight, but the opening dream sequence was one of my favorite things the show’s pulled off yet, and there were plenty of other little highlights scattered throughout. I’m going to miss this focus on Shimada, but March doesn’t seem like a show that’d let a good character go to waste, so I’m sure we’ll see him again. You fought hard, Shimada. Now get some goddamn sleep.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Winter 2017 – Week 8 in Review

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Anime was perfectly alright this week! No ridiculous highlights to report, but also no dramatic failures, with pretty much all my trusted shows turning in reasonable performances. Tanya apparently spent its week off meditating on the true ugliness of war, which was nice to see, while Dragon Maid recovered from last week’s missteps with a perfectly satisfying beach episode. Seiren wasn’t great, but Seiren isn’t great, so that’s not really news. And most importantly, I caught up on all of Kemono Friends, and even wrote an article over at Crunchyroll about one of the show’s various strengths. It’s been a satisfying week over here in anime land. Let’s take a look!

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