Aniwords – A Moeblob is a Blob of Moe

You blog readers won’t know this, but this post actually caused a bit of a stir on Twitter among the Touken Ranbu fandom after it was published. My first real taste of controversy; curiously over a post I wrote in response to the dumb backlash certain groups have had over an anime populated completely by cute boys. So, needless to say, I was a bit surprised—although the reaction has certainly piqued my interest in the show. That all said, I think this is a pretty far assessment of the Touken Ranbu‘s opener in comparison to other moe shows. But we’ll see where things go from here.

Here’s the link~

Touken Ranbu

How New Game! Makes Moe Real

New Game! has kind of sneakily become one of my favorite shows of the Summer 2016 season, but it’s not just because of the great character designs or the pretty colors. Instead, I think there are some elements to the show that really ground it in a semi-reality and make it feel much more substantial (even if it’s only softly so) than your normal cute girls doing cute things anime.

New Game!

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Why Danmachi Works: Moe and Family Soften the Heart

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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Kiniro Mosaic (Kinmoza!) Review

Following the lead of Silver Spoon on Thursday, the second anime to pull across the finish line this season is Kiniro Mosaic, a delightful bit of moe girls doing cute things and having fun. I picked this one up late, and while it wasn’t the most-thought inspiring thing I watched over the season, it did provide a number of laughs and a generally bright, inoffensive story.

Kiniro Mosaic Karen Waitress

Kiniro Mosaic follows the high school adventures of Alice Cartalet, a blonde-haired English girl who comes to Japan to study with her friend Shinobu Omiya. They are joined by Shino’s classmates, Yoko and Aya, as well as Alice’s friend from England, Karen. As far as plot goes…well, I’d be hard pressed to distill an overall plot line from this compilation of 12 episodes, as each episode is really just a number of gags centering around a common theme. It’s not a bad way to do a show, especially when the main draw of the show is clearly riding on the cuteness of the characters and the overall silliness that occurs. Continue reading