Jormungand – 11

Within Koko’s team of bodyguards, interpersonal communication is a rarity.  Often minimal and infrequent or limited to the mission at hand, we hardly ever see the bodyguards converse with each other even during their times of peace and relaxation.  Rather, they fragment themselves to be alone or thereabouts and remain that way until they’re required to assimilate again for their next objective.  But when Koko is communicating with any of her bodyguards, they stand attentive and respond diligently.  The use of communication in Jormungand certainly reveals an interesting dynamic given the structure of Koko’s team and how they associate with each other.

Guilty Crown – 7

Why can’t more episodes of Guilty Crown be like this one?  No, I’m not talking about how this episode steadily improved from start to finish nor that it had introductions to new characters, some respectable action sequences, and a decent amount of information on the setting making it a detailed episode.  Those were all great but that’s not what I want to bring up today.  No, what made this episode one of the best was that it didn’t take itself as seriously as any of the previous ones, and that’s a major plus for Guilty Crown.

Summer 2011 – First Week Impressions (Part 1)

This post has my thoughts and impressions on Blood C, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée, and Sacred Seven.

The summer season is well underway and a half dozen shows have already aired.  Ah, a new anime season means a lot of swift and decisive action on a wide variety of shows based on our initial thoughts and tastes.  And this season is no different.

Dog Days – 11

A common miscalculation with many anime is that the ending is a disappointment.  Some end up being rushed, forgoing major details in storytelling in order to wrap up the show in the limited time given while others feel incomplete, leaving holes in the plot that could potentially be fatal to an anime.  Dog Days, however, allotted two full episodes to tell its conclusion, which is an intelligent move since it can now try to avoid these mistakes.  So how is this anime using its wisely budgeted time?

Softenni – 7

If you’re able to watch Softenni without being a demanding, harsh, and elitist critic, then this anime can actually be pretty relaxing.