12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 12 – Watching “Uncensored” Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works

**Warning: spoilers below**

Although I wasn’t able to spend much time at this year’s Sakura-Con, I am grateful that I was able to attend the Pacific Northwest’s largest anime convention for my fourth consecutive year. One of my lasting memories from this convention, as well as for 2015 as a whole, was watching the first three episodes of the second half of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV) before it even premiered in Japan. How awesome is that, getting to watch three episodes of one of the best anime of the year before anyone else? But… that’s not exactly the point of this post. Instead, one scene in particular from the fifteenth episode of FSN: UBW really stunned me… and it stunned me again when I realized it was omitted from TV broadcasts in Japan three weeks later. In fact, the event that’s reserved for the beginning of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015 is a rather strange tale of censorship, and of how the most emotional scene, to me, in all of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works went unseen to a majority of its anime fans.

Autumn 2015 – Season Preview

The way most people realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is that the days begin to grow shorter, the air begins to feel cooler, and the trees transition into a palette of warm yellows, oranges and reds. But for me, the only way I realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is when the autumn anime season begins! And yes, with the start of the Autumn 2015 anime season this week, it’s time again to look ahead to this new season of anime and project, speculate, and guesstimate which anime we should watch.

Spring 2015 – Week 3 Anime Review

This week: concerns over the content and direction of Plastic Memories, determining a time and place for Arslan Senki, censorship in Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, and the wonderful return of Kakyoin in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders – Egypt Arc.

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 5 – Shingeki no Kyojin Picture Drama

The anime specials that are included as bonus materials on BDs and DVDs are frequently overlooked and underappreciated as individual anime. Yes, these specials are certainly subpar compared to their respective parent anime, but considering their limited animation budget and restrained writing, it’s unfair to categorize these shorts in the same venue as we do with TV anime. In fact, quite a few of these BD/DVD specials succeed as genuinely entertaining in spite of these restrictions, supplementing these serious TV anime with lighthearted comedy and mild fanservice. And if you want an example of an effective and rewarding BD/DVD special anime, look no further than the Shingeki no Kyojin Picture Drama, a 9-episode series with the main cast as chibi characters enduring constant hardships during their days in the military training program.

Spring 2014 – Week 12 Anime Review

During the twelfth week of the season: my reflections on why Ping Pong the Animation had an excellent ending and why Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin had an appropriate ending but one that left me unsatisfied, an analysis on the finale of Akuma no Riddle with a focus on Tokaku’s and Haru’s relationship (*Spoilers*), and thoughts on the utilization of the setting and the background art in Mushishi Zoku Shou.

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – 12 (Finale)

Being alone is one thing; choosing to be alone is something else entirely.  But if it were up to Watashi, she’d be alone through any means possible, whether by default or by choice.  It wasn’t until a bit of maturity on Watashi’s behalf did she finally change her stance on solitude and reverse her antisocial behavior.  This occurred when Watashi learned the valuable and timeless lesson to accept others for who they are and not to exclude them for what you think they are.  And though she faced difficulties and challenges, Watashi overcame her fear of friendship and changed, nay, improved her life forever.

Softenni – 4

It’s just another dismal, overcast day for Nameless XEBEC Animator A.  Not only is he getting in arguments with his girlfriend, getting yelled at by his supervisor at work for substandard animation, and running into financial trouble due to his lowly wages, this modest employee is simply losing his motivation for drawing anime.  He arrives at the studio before the sun has peaked above the horizon, receives his assignment for the day, and sits at his desk in the same monotonous fashion that he’s been repeating these past few months.