I felt it was finally time to do my part to introduce sakuga to others and in this piece I make a case for why anybody can enjoy sakuga.
Idol Incubation: The Circumstances of Fledging Idols in Macross
The question is: are idols born, or are they made of the circumstances of their universe? In Macross, you might say it’s a little of both.
Aniwords – The Lost Village is the Best Comedy of the Season
I didn’t write that title just for the clickbait; I wrote it because I actually believe it’s true.
It takes a lot for a show like The Lost Village (Mayoiga) to succeed as well as it does, and analysis of things that are well-crafted in non-traditional ways is nearly always rewarding. Having a chance to spill out everything I’ve been thinking about why The Lost Village is as consistently funny as it is was almost as fun as watching the show itself, and I’m rather pleased with how my arguments for and analysis of it turned out. It’s not often I try to analyze things purely on a craft level, but Mizushima and Okada made it easy for me. Hope you guys enjoy (and maybe decide to check out the show if you haven’t)!
Guilty as Charged: Princess Tutu 7-11
We’re totally gearing up for a big midshow climax, and I am completely emotionally prepared (no I’m not).
My Boyfriend is an Immortal Pilot
It’s important to the thesis of this piece that I note I tried to write the entirety of this post while listening to “My Boyfriend is a Pilot” on repeat. I couldn’t do it. “My Boyfriend is a Pilot” is incredibly awful writing music.
Duck Gets Dunked in Princess Tutu 3-6
I took a break at the structural cliffhanger; turns out sad emotions make people sad.
Aniwords – Brando, Now We Got Bad Blood: Family Heritage in Early JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure
Ordinarily I wouldn’t recommend just watching the first two episodes of a show as a last ditch effort to try and come up with a post, but that’s what I did for Aniwords this week and I think it turned out okay! I’ve never watched any JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure before (its particular brand of craziness just never struck me as something I’d care a ton for), but I was surprised and pleased that I enjoyed the first two episodes as much as I did. A large part of that was the dynamic between Dio and JoJo and the unexpectedly rich texture of their rivalry. What exactly that texture is… well, you’ll have to read the post to find out!
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!
Ducking Good: Princess Tutu Episodes 1-2
People told me I would like this, nobody told me I would like it this much.
Aniwords – We Ain’t Swallowing No Buckets of Barium Here! Kiznaiver and the Sign of a Scar
You guys wouldn’t know this since I haven’t done a weekly round-up post in a while, but Kizaniver‘s probably my third or fourth favorite show this season—besides being the first Studio Trigger show I’ve actively liked. As such, I took my chance with this week’s Aniwords to explore one of the things that’s most fascinated me about the series so far: the use of scar imagery as a symbol for human connection.
Mage in a Barrel 