Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere – Blu-ray Review

It’s always an interesting experience revisiting shows that I watched relatively early on in my anime-watching career, and Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (somehow, probably because it was on Hulu at the time, which is where I started out watching anime after my free Netflix trial was over) is certainly one of those shows. While it didn’t have quite the same effect of being over the top ridiculous as it did back then, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Horizon remains fun and easy to watch. Watching things with my blogger/critic hat on rather than my uninhibited fan hat is always something of a risk, I feel, but things panned out pretty well!

Here’s the link!

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

 

My Hero Academia Volume 3 – Manga Review

I’m continuing my coverage of the My Hero Academia manga over at The Fandom Post, which means I’m not officially Relevant thanks to the anime airing this season. The anime’s reportedly only scheduled for 13 episodes, which is a bit weird for me as a manga reviewer—the manga, despite being fun, still doesn’t feel like it’s totally hit its stride yet in this third volume. Anyways, the manga is still good and I’m having a ball watch it get adapted into an anime.

Check out the full review here!

My Hero Academia

Hanayamata – DVD Review

As I promised, here’s my full review of Hanayamata. Or… a close to a full review as you’re going to get, because I honestly didn’t have a ton to say about the series. I have most definitely seen shows in this genre before (I was even thinking about how Love Live!‘s structures follow many of the same patterns), and I honestly don’t think Hanayamata does much to rise above the general motions of the genre. That doesn’t mean it’s bad; in fact, I quite enjoyed most of the show. But it did mean that the show was very reliant on the effectiveness of its characters within the larger superstructure—aka Yaya is good.

Here’s the link~

Hanayamata

The Boy and the Beast Review

Mamoru Hosoda’s (Summer WarsWolf Children) newest film is hitting US shores soon, and I had an opportunity to review a screening copy of the movie before release thanks to The Fandom Post.

I won’t spoil too much of the review here, but I will say that I wasn’t much impressed with Hosoda’s latest effort. It would be a stretch to say I disliked The Boy and the Beast, but the fact that it generally left me feeling apathetic and mildly disappointed perhaps says even more than a strong feeling of antipathy would have. The Boy and the Beast isn’t an awful film; but it’s not a very good one either.

Here’s the link~

The Boy and the Beast Promo Image

Glasslip – DVD Review

My latest review for the Fandom Post is live, and it’s on Glasslip, the show I recently wrote 3000 other words on. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Bless, we already read your thoughts on Glasslip, why do we care to read more of them?” The answer: between writing my essay and writing this review, I somehow stumbled onto the Japanese aesthetic concept of “mono no aware.” I won’t bore you with definitions here, but suffice it to say that it’s an exceptionally good way of thinking about both Glasslip‘s content and its execution. So, if you want to read me wax even more philosophical on Glasslip, head on over to the Fandom Post!

That…probably wasn’t a very good sales pitch, huh.

Here’s the review!

Glasslip

My Hero Academia Volume 2 – Manga Review

So, I’m pretty happy to announce that I’m now the official My Hero Academia reviewer for The Fandom Post, picking up from where I started with Otaku Review. I’m pretty happy about this, because MHA is a delightful little series filled with cute characters and a ton of energy. Are cute characters and energy all that’s required to get me to like things? Maybe, but MHA has a bit more going on. It’s also a series that very nearly crosses gender lines in its appeal—aside from a few throwaway moments (which is sad on its own) MHA generally does a really good job of balancing letting its guys and girls be awesome and cool. I’m starting to feel this manga might be, excepting those few moments, a great starter manga for kids of either gender—which is cool and neat all on its own.

Check out the full review here!

My Hero Academia