We’re halfway!
…we’re…halfway?
Aniwords – Noragami Aragoto and the Failure of the Gods
After a couple of weeks of idols, I’m back on the Serious Anime Writing train with my analysis of the Bishamon Arc of Noragami Aragoto. The nature of Noragami‘s gods and the way they interface with the humans in the show has always been the most fascinating element of Noragami for me, so being able to find the material to write this article was quite a pleasure. This arc articulated a bunch of things I’d kind of half-said about the first season of the show, and as it happens having the second half of the show around to finish articulating what Yukine arc started helped a lot in that regard.
Hyouka, Episode 11
The official title of this episode was “Closing Credits of the Fool.”
But I think “The Scourging of Oreki Houtarou” works just as well.
Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 5
This is typically the point in the season when shows start to lose a bit of momentum. First arcs are ending, production might be suffering a bit, and the great pushes from the premieres are basically out of energy. This is the time when the truly great shows separate themselves from the rest of the seasonal offerings—and as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one of those this season.
Aniwords – IDOL WARS (Part 2)
Following up on last week’s post on the characters in idol anime, this week I lay out my thoughts on the Big Three Idol Anime—Love Live!, THE iDOLM@STER, and AKB0048. I had a lot of fun writing this one up, and it’s definitely up there among the posts for Aniwords that I’m most proud of. Let me know what you guys think about it! Kind of like that post about “anime that are important to you,” this is kind of a stepping stone post towards an inevitable huge post on a subject I’ve been thinking on for a while (aka AKB0048). Maybe if I write enough of these littler ones, someday I’ll actually write the big ones…
Hyouka, Episode 10
What kind of life does Houtarou Oreki want? Does he truly want the gray life he lives, or does he actually desire the kind of rose-colored life he see around him—the kind of marvelous life that comes from living fully, whatever that might mean for him? Oreki has never been wrong in his assumptions about his basic differences from those who are his inner circle, but than in itself is not a unique experience. Just as Oreki sees himself as different, so do others see themselves as different, too. The loneliness of individuality is vast, but it may not be so hard to find your way out of it as Oreki thinks.
Glasslip and Fragments of Meaning
If a tree falls alone in a forest, does it make a sound? If a story has meaning, but no one is able to understand it, does it truly have meaning? If we are all marbles rolling around on the floor amidst the marbles of many other stories, is there meaning before the moment when we collide and change courses? Is the meaning in the moment of impact, the moment of change? Or is it something more fundamental and tied up with the very act of existence? And, most importantly, is there anything of value to be gained from searching for this answer.
Knights of Sidonia – DVD Review
So, as I announced a fair bit back, I’ve started writing for The Fandom Post! I won’t really be reviewing a ton of stuff over there, but it’s nice to be writing outside of my normal wheelhouse on occasion. I kicked off my stint there with a review of Knights of Sidonia, which prior to watching I only knew as “that Attack on Titan show in space with CG.” Turns out, Sidonia is pretty good—overall, I’d rate it above Titan. The parts I enjoyed most, sadly, were the parts that were around the least, but it’s an engaging watch from start to finish and, with CG becoming more and more prevalent these days, it’s neat to see what Polygon Productions was able to accomplish.
Read the review here~ (I’m actually very happy with how it turned out.)
Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 4
I do apologize for my inconsistent responses to comments over the last week or so—I’m in the middle of a fairly serious job application process, so that’s consuming a lot of the time and mental energy I’d otherwise be directing at blogging. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my job or anything! I’m just pursuing a great opportunity. I’ll keep you guys updated as things happen. Onwards to the week!
Aniwords – IDOL WARS (Part 1)
Okay, so the title of this one’s a bit of a misnomer since this week’s column isn’t exactly about idol wars in the way something like THE IDOLM@STER‘s idol agency spats or AKB0048‘s literal wars are. In fact, it might be more accurate to say this is more about the war inside me. The war of loving idols. What it’s like to live with love. To love…and live…
Heheh.
Mage in a Barrel 