Man, we are just racing through things at this point—and with only two episodes, for good reason. We have to deal with the fallout of Tsubaki’s confession, confront Kaori’s impending death, and get in one more concert for Kousei before we’re done. And, frankly, that’s like the minimum of what KimiUso needs to accomplish. Let me just say that I do not envy the task of whoever’s writing this thing.
Winter 2015, Week 8: Highlights of the Week
Hey, this was a pretty darn good week for my anime! Durarara!! x2, Rolling Girls, and Absolute Duo all had great episodes, Yona finally got back on track, and the old standbys of Shirobako and Your Lie in April were their normal selves. I’m so down with things being this way.
Akatsuki no Yona, Episode 21
Ah, good Akatsuki no Yona is back and it feel really great. The very, very, very slow-winding spool of the past few episodes is finally start to spin out, fast enough that the episode truly flew by, leaving me cursing when the ending credits rolled at the cliffhanger. Curse you, Akatsuki no Yona! You think you can slouch through three or four consecutive episodes and then suddenly ramp up your pace to the fastest it’s been all show & expect me to just go along with you? Well, I did, but I’m still a bit grouchy. But a good grouchy. Grrr.
Your Lie in April, Episode 19
Well, at this point you can pretty much safely assume that my issues with any given episode of KimiUso are the same ones I’ve had with past episodes. It’s certainly true this week, as I still don’t feel like the disparate stories we’re getting with Kaori, Tsubaki, and Takeshi really have anything to do with each other. Sure, they’re all connected to Kousei, but most of the time I feel like these scenes exist in entirely different worlds from each other. But whatever. I’ve spent enough time ranting about KimiUso‘s issues in past weeks. I’ll try not to do it again here.
Winter 2015 Midseason Report (Week 7)
But iblessall, you’re a week late! Hush, hush, I can do my midseason report whenever I feel like it! Also, shows are all over the place in terms of episode count this season, so this is as good a time as any (plus 13 doesn’t divide in half evenly anyways). Anyways, there are the anime I’m watching and what I think about them so far. Scores are a projected range for the final score of the show.
Akatsuki no Yona, Episode 20
Well, not my favorite episode of the show, following up an episode I also didn’t think was all that great. Akatsuki no Yona‘s had slow pacing throughout the show, but these recent episodes have slowed down the progression of events to a pace that is starting to work against my enjoyment of the show. I think I said this last week, but Yona‘s never been as good at externally motivated conflicts as it’s been at character-driven conflicts. We’re kind of in full plot mode right now, and the action is driving our characters, rather than the other way around.
Dead Monday Q&A—Sixth Edition: Shirobako & Dating
Hello and happy Monday, everyone! It’s been quite a while since I put up one of these, but my ask.fm has been increasingly active over the past few months, so I figured it was about time to put up some of those answers for your enlightenment/entertainment.
As always, if you wish to ask a question yourself, check out my ask.fm page or leave it in the comments! As you’ll see, I take questions on a pretty wide range of subjects, from my personal beliefs to thoughts on religion or various anime, so don’t be shy if you want to know something!
“ANSWERS!?!?”
Your Lie in April, Episode 18
And so concludes Nagi’s arc—complete with some truly touching revelations for her and her brother. To be entirely honest, I feel somewhat vindicated by the excellence of the emotional poignancy of the performance. I’ve been claiming all along that KimiUso is best when focused in on a single story, not splitting its attention in cursory reviews of each of its major characters. The stories still feel oddly disconnected from each other to me (Tsubaki at this particular performance is a great example), but everything we got from Nagi this episode was wonderful.
Winter 2015, Week 6: Highlights of the Week
Phew, it’s been a long, long week since last Wednesday. The retreat went really well last weekend, but now I’ve got a career fair coming up a week from today and then I’m hoping things will really have settled by the time that ends, hopefully leaving me with more time to knock out some of the blog posts I’m really itching to write.
Akatsuki no Yona, Episode 19
Well, maybe we won’t actually get to the final dragon before the end of the series. This episode stretched on a bit longer than I expected and, while I generally enjoyed it, Akatsuki no Yona‘s best moments don’t come from high stakes, life-threatening situations, but from the interpersonal relationships of its characters and their respective ways of seeing the world—and nowhere was this more evident than in the final scene between Hak and Yona.
Mage in a Barrel 