Category Archives: Anime

Problem Children: Thoughts on Episode 8

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I am liking this series appreciation for myths and legends. The villains of the last arc were a group of Greek soldiers and had Medusa as a boss, and one of the villains here is a Will o’ Wisp. They even provide the scientific explanation for what is believed to cause the illusion (natural gas bubbling up and igniting from swamps). And then we get the main villains of this arc, who are based on the legend of the Pied Piper, and the show goes the extra mile once again by basing the villains on some natural disasters that are believed to have caused the incident. It’s a small touch, but I really enjoy it.

This episode was okay, with some great parts and some bad parts. The great parts were the designs and ideas; we got some really cool villains in the Pied Piper and Jack o’ Lantern characters and the ideas behind the challenges were cool. Izayoi was awesome as always, which is a plus. There was also a really funny scene at the beginning about skirts and why it’s better to never quite see the undergarments…

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…and the image of the scrolls landing all around the town was really cool.

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The kids were actually the bad part of the episode this time.  Yo appears to be starting an arc about having to rely on others, after making the stupid decision to not bring in a teammate to a match and ending up having to surrender, and Asuka is in the middle of an arc about how she feels weak compared to the others. These are both really generic plots, and it’s annoying to see them resurface here.

ImageJust a few episodes ago you were perfectly fine with being the distraction

Particularly exasparating is the unwillingness of Yo to bring a teammate in; there is no drawback to bringing a teammate in, and she should be smart enough to understand an advantage when there is one. Her blunder just seems out of character and makes her appear stupid.

ImageTHIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IDIOT

A minor complaint, but the way that Izayoi explained what they meant by “reveal the true legend” five minutes after that was introduced was baffling; the tension is gone, and if you were really going to go for any mystery, it’s all dried up.

The episode was still good, but not as great as earlier episodes. Hopefully this show gets back on track.

First Reactions: Psycho-Pass Episode 20

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No matter what happens in the ending of Psycho-Pass, Urobuchi Gen and his star power will get too much credit, and the director, Katsuyuki Motohiro, will get too little. Considering this episode was almost all dialogue, half of it internal, it’s easy to see how the things it’s doing visually right will be overlooked.

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First Reactions: Blast of Tempest Episode 21

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Blast of Tempest is a very entertaining show, but sometimes it makes odd choices that don’t really seem consistent with how good it’s capable of being. This was, by and large, a solid episode, but also a reminder of how peaks-and-valleys the show can occasionally be.

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Final Review: Blue Exorcist (8/10)

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When I saw the first couple episodes of Blue Exorcist, I got the impression of a show that would be right at home on adult swim. It had flashy priests vs. demons action, decent drama, and a somewhat over-the-top plot (satan’s son on a quest for revenge against dear ol’ dad). That is pretty much how it played out, and the result was a notable, if imperfect show in one of the greatest seasons in recent memory.

BE-1

Key art always looks like this, but A-1 makes the actual show look almost as smooth

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Final Review: Tenchi in Love (10/10)

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Recently, on an expedition through the netherworld of discount stores where old anime go to rust, I happened on a 2$ clearance copy of Tenchi in Love, i.e. the movie of the Tenchi Muyo franchise. I had enjoyed the anime on Toonami when it was on, and though I never made a serious effort to finish it, I was familiar enough with the characters. I also recently enjoyed the spin-off series, Isekai Seikishi Monogatari, and had heard recent scuttlebutt that this movie was a fairly solid piece of work. To boot, it was sporting labels from multiple clearance stores, something that plays on a fundamental portion of my nature as a regular customer of such stores. So I sunk eight gumballs’ worth of cash into the poor little Geneon dub, and popped it in my dvd player a week later. Before doing so, I got out one cookie to eat. 30 minutes later, that cookie lay untouched beside me, which is your first clue as to how I feel about this movie.

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Presenting a discount hunter’s wet dream

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First Reactions: The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke Episode 9

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Last week’s episode wrapped up a particularly fine retelling of an originally dull story arc. This week, it’s back to that massive cliffhanger Shishiou Igarashi left us with in episode 6. That’s right; it’s time to open… Pandora’s Box. … Anyway.

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Kotoura-san: Episode 8

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Remember how I said that part of the reason I like Manabe is that he doesn’t do the whole “I’m not in love with her, even though I obviously am” thing? Yeah, that’s what he did this episode. Image The first half involved Kotoura being sick, which led to an interesting plot point where it appears that she has lost her mind reading powers, at least for the moment. It hasn’t really gone anywhere except a few jokes where Manabe thinks perverted thoughts and is surprised when Kotoura doesn’t react, Image

Justifiable with thoughts like these (Queen’s Blade reference #1)

But it was a solid premise and we got some character development. The second half involved Kotoura and Manabe going on a date together and once again we get some okay jokes, but it was pretty solid overall. Image

Queen’s Blade Reference #2

Jeez, with all this happiness, we might finally see the characters getting better! Its so nice to see that they won’t have to deal with anymore drama Image

GODDAMNIT

Yes, the drama is coming back with a vengeance; the next episode preview makes it seem as though we’re going to see an investigation of a murder and the reappearance of Kotoura’s mother. I have to say, I was not expecting this; maybe a confrontation with the mother or something, but not a murder mystery. It will be interesting to see how Kotoura pulls it off. This episode seemed to be filler, but this is the good kind of filler: one where we get some good character moments and funny jokes as well as give a little break from the drama of the show.

First Reactions: Space Brothers Episode 47

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Episodes of Space Brothers generally fall into 3 categories. First, you have the ones detailing Mutta’s progress as an astronaut. Second, you have the ones dealing with Hibito’s career and missions. Lastly, you have the interlude episodes which serve to establish and build the series’ diverse, while introducing ideas that will become important later. This episode was of the latter variety, and raised some interesting specters lurking in the series’ future.

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First Reactions: Cuticle Detective Inaba Episode 9

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It was time to see how this show will resolve last week’s sudden dip into drama. Would it stay true to its comedy roots? Or would it delve still deeper into the abyss of Soumei’s past? I was prepared for it to take either tack, and I certainly found the one it chose entertaining.

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First Reactions: Psycho-Pass Episode 19

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This episode represented to the first real rest-stop in what has been a lightning chain of events stringing the past week of in-series time together. Which means it was a nice chance to more thoroughly examine some characters, and spread hints as to how exactly the finale will play out.

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