Tag Archives: Why It Works

Why It Works: Let’s Explore the Fundamentals of a Great School Festival Arc!

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This week’s Why It Works column is pretty self-explanatory, as I use the convenient approach of My Hero Academia’s school festival arc to talk about why these festivals show up so often in anime, and what they offer to a narrative in a dramatic sense. To someone who’s watched far too much anime like me, school festival arcs are an inherently soothing experience, a comfort zone within the riling experiences of high school. But they serve more of a dramatic purpose than that, and, uh, that’s what this article is about. Here’s my piece!

Let’s Explore the Fundamentals of a Great School Festival Arc!

Why It Works: How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling (Part Two)

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Today on Crunchyroll, I conclude my early breakdown of how Eizouken explores the genuine fundamentals of creating stories generally, and producing anime specifically. The show’s progression actually ended up helping me a great deal here – I was already planning on centering much of this half on how essential people like Kanamori are, and then episode four came along and basically served as a direct celebration of her talents. It’s always a joy to write about this show, and I hope you enjoy my piece. Let’s get to it!

How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling (Part Two)

Why It Works: How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling!

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I am sure it could not be less surprising that I’m favoring Eizouken in this season’s Why It Works columns, but you only get so many chances to write about shows this good. I’ve still got more Eizouken writing to do today, but I hope you enjoy this piece about how Eizouken reveals the true messiness of constructing a narrative. Here’s the piece!

How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling!

Why It Works: Let’s Explore the Finer Points of Anime Power-Ups!

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I’ve got another fairly breezy Why It Works column for you all this week, though this one certainly plays into a fair number of storytelling and conflict-building fundamentals. When and how characters overcome their previous limitations is actually a pretty important part of shonen narrative design, particularly since audiences have been primed to assume “sweet power-ups” will always be a part of that genre’s narrative bargain. Today let’s highlight a few broader categories of character improvements, as well as what sort of narratives potentially suit them best. Let’s get to it!

Let’s Explore the Finer Points of Anime Power-Ups!

Why It Works: Chihayafuru and the Makings of a Great Tournament Arc

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I finally got to write about Chihayafuru for Why It Works this week, which I’m sure you all saw coming the moment season three was announced. Chihayafuru is awesome, its storytelling is satisfying in the sort of nuts-and-bolts craft sense that tends to lend itself to these columns, and I was more than happy to combine the two. Let’s get to it!

Chihayafuru and the Makings of a Great Tournament Arc

Why It Works: The Young Titans and Ailing Empires of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

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Today on Why It Works, I dove once more into Legend of the Galactic Heroes, to explore the fascinating contrast of Reinhard von Lohengram and Yang Wen-li. Each of them are rich characters who are simultaneously compelling both as individuals in their own right, and as representatives of their distinct philosophies on shaping human history. Legend of the Galactic Heroes consistently urges us to look beyond the assumptions of our immediate political moment, and I’m always happy to celebrate its far-seeing perspective. Here’s the piece!

The Young Titans and Ailing Empires of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Why It Works: Chihayafuru is Back! But Where Do Its Heroes Go From Here?

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Did you really think I wouldn’t also be rambling about Chihayafuru over on Crunchyroll? Considering it’s easily the platform’s strongest pickup of the season, I expect to be gushing plenty more about Chihayafuru over the course of the fall, and that starts right now. Today I break down the foreshadowing and returning threads of Chihayafuru’s third season, sussing out the finer points of season three’s recent premiere. Let’s get to it!

Chihayafuru is Back! But Where Do Its Heroes Go From Here?

Why It Works: The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter: Exam Arc and Lateral Thinking

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I hope you’re ready for a sturdy craft column this week! With all the promotional hullabaloo of the season premieres finally behind us, today I dove into some meaty storytelling nuts and bolts stuff, centered on one of my favorite shows to write about. I could write about Hunter x Hunter’s intelligence of narrative construction for days, and might actually end up doing that, as long as this article does well enough. Either way, I hope you enjoy the piece!

The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter: Exam Arc and Lateral Thinking

Why It Works: Nick’s Anime Picks for Fall 2019

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For this week’s Why It Works article, I ran through my usual process of sorting out Crunchyroll-specific recommendations for the coming anime season. This has felt like a truly unending preview week, likely because it actually stretched across two full weeks, but the end is finally in sight, and I’ll be posting my Virtually Every First Episode post on Wednesday. We’re back in action, folks!

Nick’s Anime Picks for Fall 2019

Why It Works: Given is One of the Best Anime Dramas of the Year

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No subterfuge or trickery in this title; Given has concluded, it’s absolutely one of the best shows of the year, and I felt duty-bound to sell it as hard as I possibly could. I say “one of” in the post title, but honestly, there’s not really any competition for that title; it just is the best character drama of the year, full stop. Incredibly convincing dialogue and rich, vulnerable characters, terrific layouts and bold, uplifting dramatic turns; Given was altogether stunning, and I’m thrilled it ended so well. By the last few episodes, I’d transitioned fully into “as long as they don’t fuck up, this will be a classic” viewing, and guess what, they didn’t fuck up. If you haven’t watched Given and you like the sort of stuff I tend to like, you should probably give it a try. If not, maybe one more article will convince you!

Given is One of the Best Anime Dramas of the Year