Aniwords – Mean Girls, Anime Style

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This topic’s been banging around in my head for a while since I started wondering what it was that attracted me to characters like Yuuko from AKB0048 and Miki from THE iDOLM@STER. As has been pointed out to me multiple times with both, neither are particularly nice people or the kind of person you would want as a coworker (or even as a friend, maybe!). Yet, some how I still found them enchanting. Likewise with Maka Albarn from Soul Eater, who I touch on in the article—why was it that my favorite episode of the show was the one where she’s at her very worst? Well, I think I at least somewhat cracked the code—and this piece is the result.

Here’s the link~

Hanamonogatari

Hyouka, Episode 15

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Ultimately, I think Hyouka is a show about what happens when people run into each other, meet each other, talk to each other, get in each others’ way, and—finally—change each other. It’s never a graceful process and sometimes it can be annoying and hard, but so much of the people we become comes from the people with whom we have contact.

This episode of Hyouka is about that.

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Glasslip – DVD Review

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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.

Here’s the review!

Glasslip

Aniwords – One Punch Man & the Nature of Heroism

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I’ve kind of been waiting for One Punch Man to put some thematic muscle behind its animation chops, and this episode did it (albeit via the graceless inclusion of the random whiny dude). So, of course, I gave the show its due and spent a little bit of time breaking down how One Punch Man‘s commentary works at illuminating the nature of heroism. I suppose I should point out—and I didn’t really touch on this in the original article—that the Hero Associations brand of heroism isn’t wrong per se. It’s functional and practical. It emphasizes results, and directs heroes for the benefit of society the best it can (the point raised this episode that the Association is funded by donations from the public is extremely interesting). But this post is about heroes! Enjoy!

Here’s the link~

One Punch Man

 

My Hero Academia Volume 2 – Manga Review

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So, I’m pretty happy to announce that I’m now the official My Hero Academia reviewer for The Fandom Post, picking up from where I started with Otaku Review. I’m pretty happy about this, because MHA is a delightful little series filled with cute characters and a ton of energy. Are cute characters and energy all that’s required to get me to like things? Maybe, but MHA has a bit more going on. It’s also a series that very nearly crosses gender lines in its appeal—aside from a few throwaway moments (which is sad on its own) MHA generally does a really good job of balancing letting its guys and girls be awesome and cool. I’m starting to feel this manga might be, excepting those few moments, a great starter manga for kids of either gender—which is cool and neat all on its own.

Check out the full review here!

My Hero Academia

 

 

Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 8

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Thanksgiving’s tomorrow, so here’s an early Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Mage in a Barrel (that is, just me and my Nyarko nendroid)! For those of you in the states, I hope you have a nice holiday! For those of you not celebrating Thanksgiving, it never hurts to be thankful—at the least, take some time to remember that we can be grateful for the chance to watch good anime. That being said, let’s talk about them!

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Aniwords – I’m Driving a Giant Robot, & I Can’t Make it Stop

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As you are all aware, I’ve been in the middle of a big mecha anime kick for a while. After Gundam Build Fighters paved the way and I cruised through Knights of Sidonia like a madman, I’ve been spending most of my free anime watching time burning through what is probably anime’s most hallowed genre—that of the giant robot. So, in this week’s Aniwords, I spend a bit of time retracing my steps to this point (“someone tell me how I got here // from the city to this frontier”) and musing a bit on the overall experience of expanding the boxes of interest in which we dwell. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Here’s the link~

SDF Macross

Hyouka, Episode 13

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Another lighthearted week with our characters all spread out across the campus of the school, which means another week lacking an overarching cinematographic code. Of course, when I say “overarching,” I do mean in terms of the entire episode. On a case-by-case (that is, character-by-character) basis, there are definite visual trends that accompany each member of the Classics Club on their trek through the Kanya Festival. It’s… not as easy for everyone else as it is for Oreki.

Hyouka Continue reading →