Winter 2013 – Week 10 Anime Review

This week: Being logical versus being theatrical in Zetsuen no Tempest, questioning the philosophical arguments in Psycho-Pass, why you can never make Kudryavka’s story sad in Little Busters!, and why Shinobu is the best character in Chihayafuru 2.

Winter 2013 – Week 9 Anime Review

This week: thoughts on why the antagonists of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are so brilliant, why the arrival of Juju has significantly improved Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, rationalizing that the Dark Faction in Senran Kagura is more kindhearted than the good guys, and the balanced use of success and failure in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo.

Winter 2013 – Week 7 Anime Review

This week: questions about who the real big bad in Psycho-Pass could be, some thoughts on why I continue to watch Little Busters!, social cliques in character pairings in Senran Kagura, and some earth-shattering omissions in Maoyuu Maou Yuusha.

Winter 2013 – Week 4 Anime Review

This week: Shiori’s social anxiety in Tamako Market, the non-existent character development in Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, how the Sibyl System has changed perception in Psycho-Pass, and questioning Hibito’s actions in Space Brothers.

Magi – 15

The flow of fate is a fascinating concept, a theory which dictates the existence of a predestined ‘proper’ direction for the world to follow.  As we’ve learned from Ugo, there are those who fight to maintain this path and work to keep the world in the vision of Solomon’s wisdom.  Others, however, are opposed to this path and fight against it, laboring against this flow of fate to improve their power and their lives at the expense of Solomon’s plan.  Because of this dichotomy, the conflicting sides fighting to improve their own personal goals, one has to wonder if there is a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ side to Magi or if the two are blurred and ambiguous with each sharing some positives and negatives alike.

Magi – 3

One concern moving forward with Magi is that of the antagonists.  Though Jamil proved to play the part according, his character fell surprisingly short of what we should expect a ‘good’ or even ‘decent’ villain to be.  His glaring lack of depth and uncomplicated personality made his character feel thin and one-dimensional.  Hopefully, he’s the last antagonist we see in this anime with such a simple and straightforward structure, because if not, the story and conflicts of Magi will undoubtedly suffer.

Needless – Chapter 105

There is a line that separates good and evil but, depending on your perception and your circumstances, the line may be displaced, blurred or somehow obscure and therefore indiscernible.  Within Needless, this line has shifted, slanted, curved and distorted to show that the characters are not accurately bound to the traditional labels of “good guys” or “bad guys”.  And because of this ambiguity regarding these ethics, it has allowed the characters to freely switch and flip side given their personality and the situations they find themselves in.  In fact, it’s rather difficult to tell who’s what anymore besides the few central characters at the heart of the story.  And because of this inability to distinguish good from evil and vice versa, it has accounted for numerous surprises, remarkable character growth, several entrancing fights and, perhaps greatest of all, even more unpredictable fun and amusement. **Warning: spoilers below**