It’s been quite a while since I first wrote about the orange manga about two-thirds of the way through its publication run on Crunchyroll. Now, an improbable anime adaptation has aired and I am compelled to, at last, put words to the feelings I have about the show. While I probably will continue to regard the manga as the superior version of the story, the merits of the anime adaptation are substantial—and, as you’ll read, ultimately none of that matters when it comes to orange anyways.
Reviews & Reflections
Assorted Reflections on Eureka 7
Much like Eureka 7 itself, my thoughts on the show are scattered, wide-ranging, and affectionate—so in lieu of anything resembling a traditional review or reflection, I present you with a series of mini-essays on various aspects of the show.
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere – Blu-ray Review
It’s always an interesting experience revisiting shows that I watched relatively early on in my anime-watching career, and Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (somehow, probably because it was on Hulu at the time, which is where I started out watching anime after my free Netflix trial was over) is certainly one of those shows. While it didn’t have quite the same effect of being over the top ridiculous as it did back then, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Horizon remains fun and easy to watch. Watching things with my blogger/critic hat on rather than my uninhibited fan hat is always something of a risk, I feel, but things panned out pretty well!
No False Idol Shows Before Me: The Theology of Idols in AKB0048
The point upon which all of this hinges is: humans are not built to be idols.
My Hero Academia Volume 3 – Manga Review
I’m continuing my coverage of the My Hero Academia manga over at The Fandom Post, which means I’m not officially Relevant thanks to the anime airing this season. The anime’s reportedly only scheduled for 13 episodes, which is a bit weird for me as a manga reviewer—the manga, despite being fun, still doesn’t feel like it’s totally hit its stride yet in this third volume. Anyways, the manga is still good and I’m having a ball watch it get adapted into an anime.
Check out the full review here!
Hanayamata – DVD Review
As I promised, here’s my full review of Hanayamata. Or… a close to a full review as you’re going to get, because I honestly didn’t have a ton to say about the series. I have most definitely seen shows in this genre before (I was even thinking about how Love Live!‘s structures follow many of the same patterns), and I honestly don’t think Hanayamata does much to rise above the general motions of the genre. That doesn’t mean it’s bad; in fact, I quite enjoyed most of the show. But it did mean that the show was very reliant on the effectiveness of its characters within the larger superstructure—aka Yaya is good.
The Boy and the Beast Review
Mamoru Hosoda’s (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) newest film is hitting US shores soon, and I had an opportunity to review a screening copy of the movie before release thanks to The Fandom Post.
I won’t spoil too much of the review here, but I will say that I wasn’t much impressed with Hosoda’s latest effort. It would be a stretch to say I disliked The Boy and the Beast, but the fact that it generally left me feeling apathetic and mildly disappointed perhaps says even more than a strong feeling of antipathy would have. The Boy and the Beast isn’t an awful film; but it’s not a very good one either.
Owarimonogatari & the Courage of Choice
We are always starting down our pasts when we look to our futures. There is no past that vanishes once it becomes a memory—stories last forever until forgotten, and the stories we don’t forget will last forever. Swallow down your memory, reject a past. An end, a beginning.
All you can do is make the choice to move forward.
Un-Go Review: An Ode to Kazamori
Un-Go purports to be a show about truth—about finding, unveiling, and understanding truth in a world where truth is distorted, manipulated, created, and abused. The main character, Shinjurou Yuuki, is accompanied by a spirit with the power to demand a single truth from any human being.
Yet, it is perhaps the artificial intelligence, Kazamori, who becomes the most elegant image of truth in the world of Un-Go.
Glasslip – DVD Review
My latest review for the Fandom Post is live, and it’s on Glasslip, the show I recently wrote 3000 other words on. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Bless, we already read your thoughts on Glasslip, why do we care to read more of them?” The answer: between writing my essay and writing this review, I somehow stumbled onto the Japanese aesthetic concept of “mono no aware.” I won’t bore you with definitions here, but suffice it to say that it’s an exceptionally good way of thinking about both Glasslip‘s content and its execution. So, if you want to read me wax even more philosophical on Glasslip, head on over to the Fandom Post!
That…probably wasn’t a very good sales pitch, huh.
Mage in a Barrel 