Well, it wasn’t quite the ending I wanted for Akatsuki no Yona (ignoring the fact that I didn’t want any sort of ending), but it was still a nice comma in the longer sentence of the show, a catching of the breath, if you will, for a second season we tragically may never see. But let’s save the lamentations for later and simply enjoy what we have for now.
Absolute Duo Review
Decently executed trashy light novel adaptations is a genre I feel the anime industry has unjustly overlooked. Sure, there’s not much money to be made there if the sales of Absolute Duo [8-Bit, 2015] are to be judged and sure, there doesn’t really seem to be much of an audience or much appreciation for the genre, but someone still needs to give credit where credit is due. And director Atsushi Nakayama (in his first full directorial outing) and series composer Takamitsu Kouno deserve a lot of credit for making Absolute Duo a much better show than it had the right to be. As an almost consistently entertaining production, Absolute Duo gets a 4/10 (Ongoing Rankings).
Your Lie in April Review
1+1=2, but you don’t have much of an equation if the plus sign is missing and you certainly can’t get to a sum greater than the two addends that way. So it is with Your Lie in April [A-1 Pictures, 2014-2015], without question the most persistently frustrating, yet fascinating, show I have ever watched. Equally capable of presenting an etheral, emotional episode or an outright maddening one, KimiUso (an abbreviation for the show’s Japanese title, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) is a show of brilliant gems sadly lacking the links necessary to completely finish the equation. But, in the final review, those jewels are still worth something on their own, even if their settings can’t quite match their brilliance. So, my final verdict for Your Lie in April is a 7/10 (Ongoing Rankings). 
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Your Lie in April, Episode 22 [End]
Well, it’s been one heck of a wild, emotional, sometimes frustrating ride, but we’ve come to the end of Your Lie in April. Somethings have ended, but others stretch out for as long as we remember them. It took this episode a few minutes to get going, but when it kicked into high gear, it really kicked into high gear. As expected, the aesthetics truly took charge in this episode and, even if there was a little more digital work than I would’ve liked, the end results was something pretty special. So, now it’s time for one last look at Your Lie in April.
Winter 2015, Week 10: Highlights of the Week
Only two weeks until the end of season review pile is upon me (or, for KimiUso, like…2 days)! I didn’t do any end of season reviews last season due to the whole Toradora! project, but I’m planning on doing a few this season. I’m still trying to decide on which shows I want to review, but I’m not certain yet. KanColle and Maria the Virgin Witch (yes, I’m planning on picking it back up) are probably both going to be completed by the end of the season, so let me know if you guys have any shows you’d really like me to cover!
Akatsuki no Yona, Episode 23
I really, really, really don’t want this show to be over. If you take out the slower early stages of the Awa arc and the less-than-inspired feel of Su-won’s Earth Tribe tour, Akatsuki no Yona has basically been consistently excellent—and so the return to form in the last few episodes, but this episode specifically, has been glorious and joyful to watch. Last week’s episode was a quality offering in terms of an epic climax, but this week’s sort of cool down episode was emblematic of the elements of Akatsuki no Yona that made it my favorite show through most of Fall 2014.
February Physical Media Reviews
Due to the insanity that was my February (job applications, interviews, midterms, retreats), I didn’t do most of my February reviews until the first week or so of March, so I decided to consolidate all that content into a single post—and here it is!
Engaged to the Unidentified Review
A rom-com that’s only sometimes romantic and very rarely actually comedic, but amusing and fluffy with a few sparks of genuine creativity.
Your Lie in April, Episode 21
There were too many small visual details going on here for me to go with my normal essay format, so it’s time-stamps this week! As far as KimiUso episodes go, this one was pretty darn good, although I preferred the first half to the second half. Still, it’s nice to see everyone that’s shown up along Kousei’s journey—Nagi, Takeshi, Emi, Watari, Tsubaki—get small moments as we plunge towards the finale of this adventure.
The Eccentric Family BD Review
Beautifully envisioned in magical Kyoto, The Eccentric Family tells a masterfully wrought story of a family healing after the death of their father and learning to come to terms with the lives they’ve been given.
Mage in a Barrel 