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Showing posts from June, 2021

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko feels like more of a character study and a series of slice-of-life sketches than a feature-length film. Its depiction of the life of a girl on the cusp of adolescence is very on-point, although its story ultimately doesn't leave a strong impression beyond that. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Higehiro ā€’ Episode 13

If lame attempts at resolving years' worth of childhood trauma over the course of a single conversation aren't your bag, though, then don't worry, the show has you covered with another 10 minutes' worth of repeating old beats over again. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Goblin Slayer Novel 11

ā€œA problemā€ is, in some ways, a good way to define the storytelling here on the whole. It's not a bad book, and the development of the desert nation is interesting, as are the new races who are introduced. But the interlude chapters in the first person feel disjointed and detached from the rest of the novel. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Pompo: The CinƩphile

Pompo: The CinĆ©phile is the perfect showcase of anime cinema ā€“ with equal emphasis on both words. Every single frame is packed with vibrant colors and flavors, with snappy transitions between animation-like and cinematic expression. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Record of Ragnarok

Record of Ragnarok is a show of extremes. Both within the text and beyond it, this is an anime that rapidly oscillates between highs and lows in every respect. I feel that in so many ways it says a lot about the state of the industry. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

To Your Eternity ā€’ Episode 11

Okay. Now that I've finished my post-To Your Eternity routine of frantically pacing my office and screaming, ā€œMy boy! My precious lizard-faced boy!ā€ for ten minutes without interruption, I think I might be ready to tackle this review. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Tokyo Revengers ā€’ Episode 11

There is some short-lived tension over whether Draken will actually die, and it leads to probably my favorite scene when Mikey does the classic shonen leader speech ā€“ only to sneak off once Draken does pull through to quietly. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Higehiro ā€’ Episode 12

I maintain that Higehiro has done a pretty good job of telling an emotionally resonant story about believably damaged and likeable people, but in recent weeks the show just hasn't had the visual chops or the storytelling skill to handle high melodrama. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By the Grace of the Gods Season 1

This plainly isn't going to be a show for everyone. It's slow-moving and doesn't always use its plot points or characters as well as it might, and apart from their work ā€œtransferringā€ humans from earth to Seilfal, the gods are almost non-entities. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

86 ā€’ Episode 11

Two weeks ago, Episode 9 ended with our beloved cast of characters marching off into the unknown. Since then, it's been a series of constant surprises; I had absolutely no idea where they're going or what's going to happen. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

WAVE!! Let's Go Surfing

There's something fascinating about WAVE!! Let's Go Surfing, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the show. It is, in many ways, emblematic of a kind of content-farm approach to media that is driven entirely by profit. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

SSSS.Dynazenon ā€’ Episode 12

Going into SSSS.Dynazenon, my initial question was whether it would "live up" to SSSS.Gridman. But that's inapplicable to the series, because it's clear that it's not a sequel or a spiritual follow-up, but a companion to it. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Higehiro ā€’ Episode 11

I can absolutely empathize with Sayu not wanting to go back to the place where she lost her friend, and lost her own sense of self-worth on top of it all. In that way, it's really an unambiguously good thing that Yoshida is there with her. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Full Dive ā€’ Episode 11

Given that I'm clearly not in the audience that finds these odd sidebars all that funny, it really undercuts any strides I feel the series has made when it's taking up my time with violently repetitive poop jokes. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon GN 1

This book is a bit darker than your typical yuri manga. Hinako is desperately trying to figure out a way through life when we meet her ā€“ she's about to have a date with a man who is financially successful, nice, and good-looking, and she really, really doesn't want to go. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

MARS RED ā€’ Episode 10

MARS RED punked me good. Here I was brushing up on A Midsummer Night's Dream to prepare for this episode, based on its title, only for the events to turn around and reference the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice instead. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J