Spring 2015, Week 3: Highlights of the Week

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015iblessall 30 Comments

To be entirely honest, it’s a minor miracle that this post is out on time this week, what with falling seven shows behind over the weekend thanks to Anime St. Louis. Despite that, though, I was treated to an excellent slate of episodes in the past week, with my “non-serious yet dearly beloved” crop of shows (Show by Rock!, Nisekoi:, etc.) continuing to be exactly what I need and want them to be: really enjoyable entertainment.

Note: Hoping to get the Blood Blockade Battlefront write-up out on Thursday. I’ve got all the ideas set, just need to pull it all together.

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Why Danmachi Works: Moe and Family Soften the Heart

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015iblessall 18 Comments

I’ve been thinking lately about the difference in my personal response to the first couple episode of Danmachi (aka Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) from the reaction of the wider anime-watching public. If you’ve been pretty much anywhere online where discussion (or, in this case “discussion”) about anime happens, you’ve probably seen the Hestia fanart craze that blew up pretty much from the moment the first episode of Danmachi finished airing. The reason? Her, uh, unconventional method of supporting her breasts—known around the fandom as the “boob string.” But, for me, the blue ribbon encircling Hestia’s torso was never something that really caught my attention before the fanart craze and meme running started and I found myself actually a bit peeved by the intense focus on a relatively inconsequential element of a show I liked for other reasons. But why should this be so?

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Spring 2015, Week 2: Highlights of the Week

April 14, 2015April 14, 2015iblessall 19 Comments

Whoa, highlights are on a different day this season! That’s right, they sure are! Due to Ore Monogatari!! being a blog show and airing on Wednesday, Wednesdays are going to be pretty tight for me schedule wise, so I’m bumping highlights back to Tuesday for Spring 2015. This actually works pretty well, as it means the majority of shows will be on the same episode number, with a few shows (Nisekoi:, Punchline, Pleiades, Ore Monogatari!!) being an episode back. For full disclosure, there’s also a matter of search rankings: the Ore Monogatari!! posts will rank better if there’s been posting on the blog in the days prior. So, that’s that! Hope it doesn’t bother anyone much! Let’s get to it!

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First Impressions: Spring 2015 Anime (Part 3)

April 10, 2015April 12, 2015iblessall 29 Comments

And, somehow, we’ve come to the end of the premieres for the Spring 2015 season! There really haven’t been too many surprises thus far, as nothing I was really looking forward to flopped and only a few shows surprised me. In terms of building a weekly schedule, that’s really something of a boon. In terms of being happy with my schedule, that’s really a boon. So, yeah, let’s finish this up and get into the season for real!

Still to Watch: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Ninja Slayer

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First Impressions: Spring 2015 Anime (Part 2)

April 8, 2015April 9, 2015iblessall 25 Comments

Thanks to Funimation holding a bunch of shows (okay, really just BBB and Mikagura) hostage with no release date or time in sight, this post is missing both of those shows, as I’d hoped to include both of them here. Well, oh well. It is what it is, I guess. Anyways, this batch of anime was chock full of deadly cute stuff—ships, ship, more ship, moe, moe, more moe—familiar faces, and a couple of unfortunate duds. The dread of knowing I’m going to have to cut more than I want is already setting in…

Still to Watch: Ore Monogatari!!, Mikagura Gakuen, Pleiades, Punchline, Urawa no Usagi-chan, Ninja Slayer, Kyoukai no Rinne, Yamada-kun, Nisekoi:

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First Impressions: Spring 2015 Anime (Part 1)

April 5, 2015April 5, 2015iblessall 54 Comments

It’s spring, the season of rebirth and new life and new anime! Due to the whole Easter weekend thing (HAPPY EASTER BY THE WAY!!! AND TO YOU HEATHENS YOU DON’T DO EASTER, I LOVE YOU ANYWAYS :D) this has been kind of a scattershot first impressions—I didn’t go in order and, in places, picked up either the show I was most excited for or the show I thought would fill out the post the best. In any case, I’ve generally been delighted by the season so far, primarily because my chosen shows—Danmachi, Show by Rock!, and Blood Blockade Battlefront—all had great premieres! You won’t find BBB in this post, though, because it is totally episodic post material, so look for that post soon!

Still to Watch: Re-Kan!, Owari no Seraph, Plastic Memories, The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Hello!! Kinmoza, Mikagura Gakuen, Euphonium, Pleiades, Ore Monogatari!!, Punchline, Urawa no Usagi-chan, Ninja Slayer, The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Kyoukai no Rinne, Yamada-kun, Nisekoi