Tag Archives: orange

Summer 2016 – Week 8 in Review

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Dear lord it’s week eight. We are almost three quarters of the way through the summer season. August is practically over. What the hell is going on.

Well, anime is going on. Outside of our communal existential dread at somehow being yet another week older, things haven’t changed much in anime land – Aqours are still doing their best, Urobuchi’s puppets are still being delightfully ridiculous, and Tsumugi is still hungry for new snacks. This was another placeholder week in anime, with its various low points being balanced out by some unexpected highs. So let’s start with the good news then, and get right into Love Live Sunshine’s big episode!

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Orange – Episode 8

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Orange has achieved new heights of “will they or won’t they” assholery, following up last episode’s mutual confession with the reveal that Kakeru doesn’t want to date Naho because he might eventually hurt her. As simultaneously infuriating and true to his character that was, it wasn’t really my big problem with this episode. The real issue here is that Orange’s production has at this point entirely sunk, meaning it’s shifted from occasionally attempting to portray the illusion of movement to just kinda sequencing still shots in a row. It’s a shame when a show that so desperately needs strong animation is so entirely bereft of it.

You can check out my full review over at ANN!

Orange

Summer 2016 – Week 7 in Review

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We’re in the settling now. Shows have established themselves and fallen into comfortable rhythms, massive narrative changeups are either far in the past or waiting in the last act, and most productions are just doing their best to pretend scheduling and creating twenty minutes of animation is just as easy the seventh time as it is the first or second. There are highs and lows, but they’re smaller bumps – Love Live has a somewhat weaker episode, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure tries on a new style hat, etcetera. These are the dog days of summer, where we’re all more concerned with the fact that global warming is now a lived reality than we are with which waifus most recently prevailed. But anime endures, and like a barnacle on that great cartoon vessel, so does the Week in Review. Let’s run ’em down.

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Orange – Episode 7

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Holy shit Suwa thank you for being you. Suwa’s presence in this episode basically knocked Naho’s poor little romance drama into hyperdrive, as he confidently steered her and Kakeru through what would surely have been five episodes of material without him. Cheers to you, Suwa. If anyone can fix these mixed-up kids, you can.

Anyway. You can check out my full episode review over at ANN!

Orange

Why It Works: Emotional Distance in Orange

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Today I discuss Orange’s somewhat unique framing device, and the interesting way it colors our relationship with Orange’s characters. Some mild philosophy of the viewer shenanigans for your Saturday afternoon.

Why It Works: Emotional Distance in Orange

Orange

Summer 2016 – First Half in Review

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It may be mid-August, but the summer anime season is convinced we still have half a summer to go. I appreciate that kind of optimism, and appreciate even more just how sunny this season has been in general. While this summer has lacked a character drama with the poignancy of Rakugo Shinju or a message show with the complexity and spirit of Concrete Revolutio, it’s made up for that by being stacked with shows that are just damn good entertainment. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Thunderbolt Fantasy are both excellent camp-action spectacles, Mob Psycho 100 is consistently elevated by solid writing and terrific execution, Love Live Sunshine is consolidating everything that is fun about Love Live, and Sweetness & Lightning is a consistent dose of heartwarming family moments. It seems silly to rank a set like that – they’re all so different, and all such positive experiences, that classifying them as “better or worse” than each other seems pointless and inherently jaded.

Of course, I’m gonna do it anyway. That’s what traditions are for! As usual, I’ll be ranking the summer’s shows for the first and only time here at the halfway point, where it should be inescapably obvious that any sort of ranking is an entirely meaningless gesture. Like a series that makes its point in the first season and then just sort of staggers on through mediocre renewals for a while, the halfway point season rankings will proudly continue. Let’s start at the top and RUN ‘EM DOWN!

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Orange – Episode 6

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Naho’s determination to “save” Kakeru led her to spend this episode’s climactic scene prodding a clearly vulnerable friend about his feelings on his mother’s death. That wasn’t really a high point as far as Naho’s emotional sensitivity goes, but it was certainly a compelling scene in a dramatic sense. There were some wobbly bits and pieces in this episode, but also a nice scattering of excellent character bits. Orange is far from a perfect show, but it’s still a compelling character drama.

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

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Summer 2016 – Week 5 in Review

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Oh god how are we already nearing the halfway point what the fuck. Soon enough we’ll be past that and entering the final stretch and I can’t even imagine how I’m gonna handle Why It Works and preview week at the same time what the fuck have I done to my life. It’s all out of my hands. I can’t hold onto it anymore. It’s slipping away and I can’t write fast enough and I need to sleep but when I sleep I fall behind and then I wake up and it’s all there again and what am I going to DOOOO.

Hey guys! Wednesday again. You know the drill. LET’S RUN ‘EM DOWN.

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Orange – Episode 5

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Orange continued to chart its steady course this week, although we did finally get to see the show somewhat engaging with its own time-travel conceit. I don’t have much interest in this show’s thoughts on time travel, but that interlude fortunately didn’t take up too much time, and the rest of this week was pure “oh my god Naho what are you doing oh no Naho don’t do that yes Naho more of that please NOOooo” goodness. This girl is going to kill me.

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

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Summer 2016 – Week 4 in Review

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This was a week of mild but pleasant surprises in anime land. Over in the Sunshine Islands, Love Live demonstrated that this season might actually have a better handle on its own drama than either of the first two, nailing Hanamaru’s introduction without giving up on the physical comedy that makes the show great. And down in Mob Psychoville, Mob proved himself to be just as strong a character as his show is a visual showcase. With everything else performing pretty much as hoped, this is looking to be another surprisingly sturdy season of anime. My preview chart was short, but nearly everything on that chart has ended up impressing, leaving me with a fine lineup all around. Let’s RUN ‘EM DOWN!

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