They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but misery’s one that could rival it.
Episode 2
Hyouka, Episode 2
Any worries that Hyouka‘s first episode was just a fluke of goodness have been dispelled (not that I was really much worried about that anyways). Episode 2 turned in an excellent new character with Ibara, continued to add nuance to Satoshi, Chitanda, and Oreki’s characters, and episode director Hiroko Utsumi’s focus on body language gave us one big new clue to unraveling the true mystery of Hyouka so far—Eru Chitanda.
Ore Monogatari!!, Episode 2
I suppose I can just betray my character bias right off the bat so no one accuses me of hiding it later: I think Makoto Sunakawa is being set up to enact one of the all-time great bro roles in anime history. I really do. Of course, that’s not all I came away with from this episode—which was delightful, by the way—but the relationship between Takeo and Suna has really been the big focus of these early episodes as Ore Monogatari!! works to build their characters. Rinko, I’m sure, will get her turn, but right now Ore Monogatari!! is all about the bromance.
Blood Blockade Battlefront, Episode 2
Before I launch into this post, I want to direct readers to something I wrote over on Tumblr last night, an abbreviated essay called “Blood Blockade Battlefront: Style vs Substance(?) and Cinematic Language.” This essay lays out the theoretical framework this post will be operating out of—simply, that visual language is a valid semiotic code [1] capable of expressing meaning, just as more traditional methods are. So, the point of today’s post is to essentially lay out an example of how this is true, breaking down the way director Rie Matsumoto and her team have constructed a cinematic code that conveys information, themes, and ideas to the audience through the images on the screen.
Toradora!, Episode 2
Alright, main character introductions are over, time to move the plot along a little bit! For me, this was the “Taiga’s such a jerk (or other words)” debunking episode. I don’t know if it’s just the her tsun-ing stands out more, but she has a ton of really vulnerable moments in this episode that I feel get overlooked. And then we just have Ryuuji being heartmeltingly kind and making me want to cry.
Zankyou no Terror, Episode 2
Well, Zankyou no Terror leaned a bit more on dialogue this week than it did last week, and it showed, because episode 2 was neither as intense or as interesting as the premiere. That being said, this is still an chilling piece of work and Watanabe and company are doing an excellent job of laying out their foundation. Even if parts of it feel a little unoriginal, Zankyou no Terror is still the best currently airing show right now (EXECTUTION, PEOPLE), and I don’t see that changing soon.
Summer 2014, Week 2: Highlights of the Week
When does the week start and when does the week end? I’m flummoxed. This is week two for most shows, but then we’ve got the rebellious Zankyou no Terror and Tokyo ESP that just started up this week. Whatever. I guess two shows can be behind or something. It just IRKS me that I can’t have all my shows at 2/whatever on Hummingbird at the same time. I mean, I could if I waited a week for some shows, but HA! like that’s going to happen. Anyways, let’s talk about some anime.
Free!, I may not be in your main target audience, but keep this up and we’ll get along just fine.
Mage in a Barrel 