Reviews & Reflections

White Album 2 Review

iblessall 7 Comments

EDIT: For anyone coming into this review, make sure that you read the edit at the end of the post first. It will give you a bit of an update on my more current thoughts on the series before you read through the entire review.

Consider this a sequel to “How Not to Do Endings.” Except, this is much, much worse. Spoilers ahead. Ranking undetermined at this time, as I decide how angry I am. When it’s up, you can find it here.

White Album 2 is based off a visual novel and, while set in the same town and referencing some of the characters from the first White Album, is basically not linked at all. For any hope White Album had of getting a potential watch from me, that’s a good thing.

White Album 2 Poster

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Gatchaman Crowds Review

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Today, we saw the ending of Gatchaman Crowds, which probably holds up the title for quirkiest anime of the Summer 2013 season. And yes, the very end was weird, but the ending was exceptional. So let’s get to it. If you want to see where Gatchaman Crowds ended up in my list of rankings, head on over here.

Hajime Icinose

Want an example of a character taking over a show? Hajime does just that.

Gatchaman Crowds, a reboot of the 1972 series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, is not your typical superhero TV show. Early on, it reminded me a lot of Teen Titans, but as the show went on it differentiated itself as something totally unique. Noted throughout the season for its deconstruction of many cliches of the genre, Gatchaman Crowds continually and deliberately avoids many tropes and dodges expectations time and time again. What we end up with is an intelligent, engaging and ultimately hopeful message on the inherent goodness of humanity and a clear message that violence isn’t always the answer. Continue reading →