Summer 2015 – Week 3 Anime Review

This week: deliberating about the setting and what we’ve seen about the city of Ergastulum in Gangsta., curiosities about continuing delusions in Gakkou Gurashi!, noticing and appreciating the music in Rokka no Yuusha, and a statement about disposing drugs down the toilet with Durarara!!x2 Ten.

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 2 – Favorite Anime Episode of the Year

Every year, I make an attempt to determine what single episode of every anime that I watched that was my absolute favorite. For some years, the decision is easy, such as 2011 (Puella Magi Madoka Magica episode 10) and 2012 (Sengoku Collection episode 18). For other years, it’s a real challenge. It’s demanding when you’re trying to decide between a number of exceptional episodes with no clear choice. For me, 2014 is the latter with three candidates vying for the honor of my favorite episode of the year. And since I remain undecided on this evaluation, still mulling my opinions for each, I’ll present the three episodes here to illustrate what I am going through.

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 4 – 4x-ing Anime

Have you ever been conflicted with an anime, whether you want to drop it or keep it? Of course, the situation occurs with every new anime season and happens more often than we’d like. Sure, the anime is worthwhile – either due to its comedy or interesting characters or a new concept or design… but then there’s a lot of boring elements too, like a lot of downtime or parts that irritate us. Or maybe the reason is that we just can’t keep with shows due to our busy schedules, something that I have as a recurring theme in these 12 Days of Anime posts. So what can we do if we want to watch only the good parts of an anime without all the bad parts?

Summer 2014 – Week 3 Anime Review

Last week: why the third episode of Space Dandy Season 2 might be my favorite of the year, an analysis on the diversity of rural settings and how the specifics of this are impacting Barakamon, some egregious contradictions with the mecha in Aldnoah.Zero, and some serious questions about the structure and purpose of Night Raid in Akame ga Kill!

12 Days of Anime (2013) – Day 12 – Sakura-Con 2013

Sakura-Con, being one of my most cherished and treasured memories of 2012, earns a spot again as the first day of my 12 Days of Anime, the annual tradition among anime bloggers recounting their 12 fondest memories of the calendar year.  Although I attended Sakura-Con in the previous year, the first time I have ever been to an anime convention, my trip this past March proved to be an even greater experience than my first visit.  While I attended fewer panels, spent less money and even spent less time at the convention hall altogether, I certainly earned more from my trip this year, largely in part due to all the people in the anime community I meet.  Thanks to them and thanks to the wonderful anime convention that was Sakura-Con 2013, this special three-day weekend in Seattle earns the opening spot in my 12 Days of Anime.

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – 1

Already a charming blend of a near-apocalyptic dystopia calmly transitioning to a fantasy realm emphasizing enchantments and miracles, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita (Humanity Has Declined) claims a refreshingly distinctive setting for which to launch its story.  The plot is particularly unique, too, pertaining to mankind’s struggle to sustain itself in an environment of scarcity, disorder, and those adorable, little fairies.  But perhaps the most groundbreaking and uplifting aspect of this anime is the main character; a young, pink-haired, incredibly-moe maiden.  And while that sounds like another exhausted and overused stereotype for a character, it is her personality and behavior that prove to be innovative, encouraging, and delightful, helping create a mood, personality, and identity for which the anime to use as it continues on its remarkable journey.

50 Questions for Avvesione

Now that I’ve arrived back home from Japan, I can resume blogging about random tangential posts on the various anime I watch.  But before we dive into the finales for Nisemonogatari, Guilty Crown, and Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam is a post I intended to have published while I was on vacation but it wasn’t completed in time and left for when I returned.  Starting the trend of answering 50 questions was AceRailgun (I recommend you check out his blog) and quite a number of other anime bloggers have already done similar posts since.  I meant to have this up weeks ago but it kept getting delayed and was never completed until now.  So here are my answers to the 50 questions!