Family

Aniwords – Brando, Now We Got Bad Blood: Family Heritage in Early JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure

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Ordinarily I wouldn’t recommend just watching the first two episodes of a show as a last ditch effort to try and come up with a post, but that’s what I did for Aniwords this week and I think it turned out okay! I’ve never watched any JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure before (its particular brand of craziness just never struck me as something I’d care a ton for), but I was surprised and pleased that I enjoyed the first two episodes as much as I did. A large part of that was the dynamic between Dio and JoJo and the unexpectedly rich texture of their rivalry. What exactly that texture is… well, you’ll have to read the post to find out!

Here’s the link~

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Aniwords – A Very Gundam Christmas, Sort of

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Every time Christmas season rolls around, I start to feel bad about not having any ideas for a good anime Christmas post. So I’m kind of glad I was able to halfway write something related to both anime and Christmas this year, even if it might be a little bit of a stretch. Gundam, Toradora!, Christmas, and family themes aren’t necessarily the most obvious bedfellows, but I think I mostly made it work.

I’m a few days early, but Merry Christmas to all my readers! It really is wonderful to have you all around, reading and commenting. May the season (whether your celebrate Christmas or not) fills your life with love, your heart with hope, and our world with peace. 🙂

Here’s the link~

Toradora!

Why Danmachi Works: Moe and Family Soften the Heart

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I’ve been thinking lately about the difference in my personal response to the first couple episode of Danmachi (aka Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) from the reaction of the wider anime-watching public. If you’ve been pretty much anywhere online where discussion (or, in this case “discussion”) about anime happens, you’ve probably seen the Hestia fanart craze that blew up pretty much from the moment the first episode of Danmachi finished airing. The reason? Her, uh, unconventional method of supporting her breasts—known around the fandom as the “boob string.” But, for me, the blue ribbon encircling Hestia’s torso was never something that really caught my attention before the fanart craze and meme running started and I found myself actually a bit peeved by the intense focus on a relatively inconsequential element of a show I liked for other reasons. But why should this be so?

Danmachi

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