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.

Autumn 2014 – First Impressions (Part 4)

This post reviews: Parasyte (Kiseijuu), Garo: Honoo no Kokuin, Shirobako, Ore Twintail ni Narimasu and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.

Summer 2014 – First Impressions (Part 3)

This post reviews: Hanayamata, Ao Haru Ride, Persona 4 the Golden Animation, and Zankyou no Terror.

Summer 2013 – Week 7 Anime Review

This week: a refreshing and genuine semi-romance in Silver Spoon, understanding why Yura has always been alone and why she strains her friendships in Stella Jogakuin Koutouka C3-bu, why both the new and old characters are making Tamayura ~more aggressive~ much more fun, and frustration with the lack of character development in Gatchaman Crowds.

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – 3

The fairies of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita are arguably the most distinguished and memorable component of the anime.  Without them, the anime would suffer significant damage to its supposedly-dystopian fantasy realm, remove all instances of this overwhelming magic, and shift attention from these adorable, smiling creatures to the army of cute, moe girls that seemingly overpopulate the Earth as well.  So considering their impact on the anime and how they influence every aspect, we hardly know anything about these miniature beings.  Perhaps now is an ideal time to sort out what we know, and what we’d like to know, as see what new information we can draw from this mishmash of knowledge.

Sakamichi no Apollon – 7

The seventh episode of Sakamichi no Apollon presented enough evidence to materialize a subtle theme during the concert at the end.  No, it was not the latter musical performance, the one composed of equal parts outstanding, phenomenal, and influential, but the former one, the performance that proves that high schoolers have always had a terrible taste in music.  Upon learning that Seiji’s motivations to becoming a rock icon are grounded in his belief that it is a means to support his impoverished family, the ever-present but habitually disregarded theme of delusion revealed itself again and stronger than ever before.  While delusion is an unremarkable subject in anime, especially considering that Apollon deals with high schoolers, it is worth noting it’s ubiquitous throughout the main cast and to virtually every character in the series.  Though common and simple on its own, the sheer amount of delusion in this anime adds up to make it a rather noticeable theme.  But what, if any, does this really mean for Sakamichi no Apollon?

Kimi ni Todoke Season 2 – 10

Was Kimi ni Todoke supposed to be this fun?  After all the misunderstandings and drama and intrusion from the series’ lengthy but reasonable list of punchable characters (Joe, Kurumi, Kent, etc.), Kimi ni Todoke returned to its roots and provided some romantic progress between Sawako and Kazehaya, as well as an abundance of side-splitting laughs.  Gee, why couldn’t the whole season have been like this?