No man is an island, as the saying goes, and this is true for evaluating art, as well.
Love Live! School Idol Project 2: First Impressions
Note: This piece was originally written for, and was later published in the Crunchyroll Newsletter for April 29, 2013. You will be able to check out this post, and much more by following the link above!
As someone who did not watch the first season of Love Live! and with only one other idol-based anime under his belt (last season’s Wake Up Girls!), I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into the second season of Love Live! Would I be able to understand the character dynamics? Would I be missing out on a bunch of inside jokes? Would I even like an idol anime at all?
Scrapped Princess Review
Which is more valuable, one person or the entire world? It all depends on how you value a single human life. If you’re like me, it’s not an easy question to answer. Nevertheless, this is the central question that the 2003 anime Scrapped Princess, from the studio BONES (they really do make great stuff), tackles as it chronicles the journey of a girl cursed from birth and her struggle to choose her destiny for herself.
Scrapped Princess is the oldest anime series I’ve ever watched, and the charm of the presentation (not to mention the polished story) won me over from the initial episode. As the show continued on, I was continually impressed by both its treatment of the characters and the important thematic questions it engages. Scrapped Princess is proof that there’s no substitute for good characters, good themes and a good story. I’m giving it a high 7/10, and its ranking can be found on the Ongoing Rankings Page.
Inadequate in Paris
So, as you may recall (or not, if you don’t remember inconsequential things like when anime bloggers go on vacation), I was on hiatus not long ago doing the Grand Tour around Europe. I’m sure you’ll all be glad to hear that I had a lovely time, and that, of course, I didn’t forget about the blog or about anime while I was contemplating life in the mountains of Switzerland. Before I was in Switzerland, I spent several days in Paris, where I encountered a number of shops with anime/otaku-related merchandise. And, through these experiences, I came to realize: I’m not very hardcore. At all. What follows are some pictures of anime related shops and items that I encountered during my travels. I hope you enjoy!
I’m just not otaku enough for this nonsense.
First Impressions: Spring 2014 Anime
I know I’m late with this post, as the Spring 2014 season is already well underway, but I’m going to do it anyways, including everything I’ve watched to this point. My hiatus is over and I’ve got some big things in the works, but I have to get caught up on the current season first!
Pet Show of the Season: Hitsugi no Chaika
This was my pet show even before it started airing. The title, synopsis, character designs and overall feel were right up my alley and it was coming out of my favorite studio of all time, BONES. After making my way through the first two episodes, I’m totally charmed by everything about this show: the color palate, the magic systems, Chaika’s adorable-funny way of talking, her simple motivation of wanting to bury her father, the siblings (even though the imouto is a brocon, ugh…) and the overall feel of the show. I’m not expecting brilliance from Chaika, just a pleasant fantasy adventure with a good story.
Hunter x Hunter: Episode 126
The title of this episode is “Zero x And x Rose.”
This will be a short post, because trying to applying simple language to this show, which I am more and more convinced is flirting with the purest incarnation of the glory of narrative fiction and the visual medium, is ultimately a futile and foolish exercise. And yet…there is no way that I can simply sit back and allow this moment to flow like water and be forgotten. It is true that the beauty of any point in time is that it passes on; we can never hold time still, for it ever marches forward, relegating the present to the past and bringing the future to the present. And yet…as a writer and as a person, I cannot help but try to hold time still for just a bit, to recall the memory of a moment which surpasses the limits of this time we face.
Blogging Hiatus
Hey all!
I just wanted to drop a quick note and let you all know that I will be taking a brief break from blogging. I am taking a two week trip around Europe, and I’m not bringing my laptop, so I won’t be watching anime or blogging about it while I’m away.
I have exciting projects in the works for when I come back, including my spring premiere reactions, an essay on the applying the critical process of media to watching anime and a review of Durarara!!
Stay well, and we’ll chat when I get back!
Best,
iblessall
Until later!
EDIT: Oh, and don’t worry. I promise this isn’t a Togashi-esque hiatus. Really.
Top Winter 2014 Anime: Final Ratings
The Winter 2014 season has come to a close, and so it’s time to assess the shows that I watched, rate them and rank them. What follows is are short reviews and rating on a scale of 1-10 of the shows that I watched during the winter 2014 season. Overall, the season was one of the least impressive I’ve seen, although it did has a few shows I genuinely enjoyed.
Here’s the format I’ll be following. I will be going through the list of shows I’ve been watching in ranked order. Each show will be given a rating out of 10, as well as a short review and any awards the show won (Best Animation, Best Comedy, etc.).
Tiered rankings will be found here, and full series reviews for the shows that need them can be found on the Reviewed Anime List, as well as on the front page of the blog as I post them.
Let’s get started!
selector infected WIXOSS: Episode 1
selector infected WIXOSS, out of J.C. Staff and written by Mari Okada, has been my most highly anticipated show this season that wasn’t based out of a preexisting franchise (Fairy Tail, Soul Eater NOT), and I’m glad to say I wasn’t let down by the first episode.
I still have yet to see a J.C. Staff show that I regretted (or even disliked) watching, so until something comes out that really lets me down, I have more faith in them than there seems to be out in there in the community at large. However, I’m not blind to their missteps (Golden Time could have been totally irredeemable if not for the content), and WIXOSS seems like it might be the type of show that needs everyone on their A-game the entire way through. Generally, I have liked Okada’s work, but I do fear a bit having seen the stumbles that Nagi no Asukara experienced during its second cour.
Essay: World Conquest, Imaginative Powers and Systematic Rejection
What is the nature of conquest? How does one become a conquerer? From where does the power to conquer come?
Following the conclusion of World Conquest: Zvezda Plot, these are questions that seem to follow from another: from where does Kate Hoshimiya get her powers of conquest? It’s not an answer explicitly given in the show itself; there’s no stated higher power that has blessed Kate with the ability to conquer using her shiny CGI fist. And there shouldn’t be, because Kate’s power isn’t a power that is granted from the outside. It’s a power that is inherent to her nature as a conquerer and a child.
Mage in a Barrel 