I’ll be working on a full review (or maybe more of a reflection) of the show for later on, but I need to get my Haruhi reflection out of my head so I don’t end up just saying the same things all over again. But anyways, let’s talk about this explosive (sorry) finale to what I think I probably consider the finest show of the season. And Zankyou no Terror was a fine show—a thoughtful and sensitive show, realistic without being handcuffed by reality, a bit cynical without being hopeless.
“If you did find a dream, what would you do?
If you had told me at the beginning of the summer season that I’d be sitting here thirteen weeks later about to write a review of Free! Eternal Summer, one I knew it would be impossible to write without talking about its themes…well, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I came into this season of Free! expecting nothing less and nothing more than a slickly produced, super-shiny fanservice show featuring a bunch of muscular high school boys swimming half-naked in pools. And you know what? I was fine with that. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, the first season of the franchise, was more than enough fun for me to want to watch the second season. But Free! Eternal Summer felt, at times, like a completely different show. So, for a noticeable improvement, for being fun, and for looking decadently pretty, I’m giving Free! Eternal Summer a 6/10 (Ranking).
I’m not sure I can smile again. Goodbye, Hunter x Hunter.
Oh, were there other shows this week?
Kiyoko-san dodges like a boss.
So, I was going to try and write up an elegant, thoughtful, thankful, post about Hunter x Hunter ending today, but I just…can’t find the words right now. I’m too overwhelmed or bummed or depressed or whatever other emotions I’m feeling right now. But I had to do something.
So, for everyone like me who is feeling a bit down about Hunter x Hunter‘s end, and about the fact that episode 149 won’t come for years, here’s a short guide to help you identify the feelings you may experience in the wake of this great anime leaving us.
What an absolute breath of fresh air Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun [Dogakobo, 2014] was for this season of anime. From beginning to end, from Sakura’s confession to the finale’s fireworks, from the groovy first notes of the OP to the final line of dialogue, Nozaki-kun has been nothing but warm, relaxing, and hilarious. Whether it was engaging in parody, using character-driven comedy, cracking jokes about writers, or just being pleasant to watch, Nozaki-kun stands as one of the top anime comedies I’ve seen. I’m happy to give it an 8/10 (Ranking) and I can confidently say that it was my favorite show of the season.
I suppose I have to be honest going into this review: I don’t like Aldnoah.Zero [A-1 Pictures + TROYCA, 2014] very much and, aside from a few episodes in the middle of the show, I never did. So, although the finale had me spitting venom and wanting to blackball the show, that’s merely an enhanced version of my overall opinion of the show. So, for annoyance, misery, good graphics and soundtrack, Inko’s cool name, and everything else, I’m giving Aldnoah.Zero a 4/10 (Ranking).
Nope. Not really.
Hello all! This is a new, experimental recurring feature that I want to start up here on the blog. Inspired by Nate Ming’s Fanart Friday articles that happen over on Crunchyroll each Friday and by my love of pretty pictures (as I can’t create them myself) and by my newfound friend Pixiv, this is intended to be an opportunity for me to showcase some of the cool fanart that I find that otherwise might go unseen by the English-speaking, non-Pixiv-using anime fandom. Depending on how things go, I may reach out to some other platforms (DeviantArt, etc.), too. I’m no art critic, but I’ll at least try and explain what attracted my attention to each picture. For now, sit back and enjoy!
Well, this is pretty much the definition of putting all your eggs in one basket. If Zankyou no Terror can put out a fantastic episode next week, the show will have sold me. If next week ends up in the dumps, the whole show will suffer the repercussions. To be honest, I’m torn about this—endings are always critically important to me, but this almost seems to be a case where the ending is going to be disproportionately important to the other 10 episodes that came before.
I kind of wish things weren’t this way. But they are. Anyways, the episode.
It’s almost over, thank goodness. Oh, wait. End of the season means more work for me, because then it’s reviewing time. Here’s a quick look at the shows I’ll probably be doing reviews for. If something not on this list piques my interest or makes me angry in the next couple of weeks, you might find them added in, but for now, this is what I’m expecting to do:
Brace yourselves! The end of the season is coming!
So, I wasn’t planning on doing a Q&A last night, but it just sort of happened. Which is unusual. As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions! It was fun.
If you want to read more of the questions from last night or ask some yourself, check out my ask.fm page! And without further adieu, here are some of the highlights from last night.
How I felt answering some of the questions…particularly the ones about my internet love life. >.<
Mage in a Barrel 