I was back to Flip Flappers again this week, discussing how so much of Flip Flappers’ larger storytelling beats are mostly relegated to imagery and background noise. While I enjoyed Flip Flappers from the start, I’ve only been feeling more impressed by its storytelling as the episodes pile up. If its second half is as strong as its first, it could easily stand as one of this year’s lasting anime highlights.
Why It Works: Flip Flappers’ Unspoken Stories
I took a few weeks away for the start of the fall season, but I couldn’t stay away from JoJo for long. This week I go into another of JoJo’s general-purpose strengths – the way it’s so genuinely invested in not-so-thrilling adventures that it drags the audience along as well. It’s pretty much a constant for JoJo, but I figured a week where Kira faced down a cat-plant was as good a time as any to discuss it!
Why It Works: JoJo’s Equal-Opportunity Drama
The nice thing about working for ANNÂ and Crunchyroll is that I get to be as greedy as I want when it comes to writing about shows. Sure, I’ve already got three great anime over at ANN, but why should Flip Flappers have to be left out? So this week I return to Flip Flappers, and talk about some of the neat details used to construct Cocona’s internal world. I hope you enjoy it!
Why It Works: FLIP FLAPPERS’ Lonely World of Windows and Doors
This week on Crunchyroll I gave a wave to a few of the less renowned premieres of the season, before we get into the period where I can only really discuss the shows I’m actually following. There’s just too many dang shows out there for me to watch everything, but I’m sure somebody could use the direction of these recommendations. It can become easy to forget that to most people, there’s really no way of knowing what new shows might actually appeal to you!
Why It Works: Rough Gems of the Fall Season
The new season has begun, meaning Why It Works has a whole new crop of shows to talk about! Today I started with Izetta, breaking down a bunch of the details that come together to make that opening train scene work so well. It’s nice to have such a broad selection of new things to discuss!
Why It Works: Izetta’s Great Train Escape
I finally got around to featuring Thunderbolt Fantasy over at Crunchyroll, just in time for the end of the season. With most of the new shows not yet airing, I figured this was a perfect time to catch up on a show that definitely deserves some recognition. Thunderbolt Fantasy was an excellent ride, and I’m happy to hear we’ve got another season on the way!
Why It Works: A Brief Plea for Thunderbolt Fantasy
I guess I just can’t help myself. I returned to the JoJo well once again this week, since Koichi and Kira’s fight offered such a handy demonstration of one more of the show’s myriad strengths. You could probably do some further writing on how JoJo manages the hues of its palette shifts to echo their emotional intent, but I stuck to the basics this time – most great comic/animation artists give their characters distinctive visual signatures, and JoJo is able to use those signatures combined with its own style tricks to create some profoundly impactful battles. Let’s get to it!
Why It Works: The Chromatic Battle of Koichi and Kira
The Ancient Magus’ Bride’s first prequel episode came out last week, so of course I had to dig in for Why It Works. This adaptation is definitely doing a strong job of capturing the offhand style of magic that makes the manga so charming, even if its story isn’t really focused on the relationship that keeps it strong. My only real complaint is the somewhat impersonal CG layouts – I briefly mention them in this article, but they were certainly at the back of my mind pretty consistently through my viewing. But aside from that, this was a beautiful and very atmospheric premiere!
Why It Works: The Living World of Ancient Magus’ Bride
And so my retrospective of the dogs of JoJo concludes with a tribute to JoJo’s most noble hero: Iggy the Fool, who gave up his life so an asshole Frenchman may live. Us stalwart dog lovers salute you, Iggy. You did the best you could in a game you weren’t meant to win.
I’ve enjoyed writing these very silly articles, so I’ll probably think up more nonsense to cover soon enough. I hope you enjoyed them too!
Why It Works: A Eulogy for the Dogs of JoJo, Part Two
JoJo has been terribly and consistently unkind to its dogs, and I for one have had enough of it. Part of being a critic is accepting that sometimes you have a moral responsibility to write a two part article in memory of fictional animals. I didn’t choose this duty, but I will not shirk my responsibilities. Dear dogs of JoJo, please accept this offering in memory of your sacrifice.
Why It Works: A Eulogy for the Dogs of JoJo, Part One
