Saturday saw the rollout of 4 more anime, and a depressing lack of Space Brothers. I’m opening up with the magical girls before getting to the certain sequel I’m really excited for.
After sampling a bunch of try-hard comedies, it’s time to get to the real meat of Thursday’s crop. Or at least the stuff that was top-3 on himawari douga when I kicked up the streams.
Woop, it’s Thursday, the day of massive-impact airing!* We’ll have to wait a week for Silver Spoon, but there’s a six-shooter’s worth of ammo to chew on in the meantime.
Recently, I’ve been taking on a major item that’s been on my checklist of must-read manga, Adachi Mitsuru’s Touch.* Though it’s not as popular in the States, it’s widely regarded as a classic in Japan. As usual, the conventional wisdom was dead-on and this classic has been a joy to read, bursting with old-timey summer atmosphere, gradually-blooming romance, and dust-covered baseball. I also noticed that several newer works I’ve read before this draw heavy inspiration from it.** Picking just one chapter from the thirty I’ve blazed through so far was difficult. I ultimately settled on this one because, among other things, it rolls out a musical montage to no music.
Much has been made of the fact that the buzz-heavy Free represented Kyoto Animation/KyoAni in a departure from their typical character styles. Personally, I couldn’t give two bits about what other people had been hyping this show for. I was honestly just into it for the dynamic photography showcased in the trailer. And what do you know? It didn’t disappoint.
In any given anime season, Tuesday is usually a day to have low expectations for. This one was no exception, and I had fairly little hope for both of the shows I watched. Typically, I got surprised by both; one was an unexpected treat, the other was a more basic failure than I had anticipated.
This ending wasn’t exactly the stuff of legends, as it packed in a sequel hook and cut things a bit short. Still, it was a microcosm of the show and an enjoyable watch.
I’ve mentioned before how I often I see misconceptions about shojo manga in my group of anime-fan friends. The most common misconception that pops up is that shojo is a one-note genre (rather than a demographic, which it is by definition), but a close second is the assumption that female fans are a small minority among those that follow anime. While that’s somewhat true in Japan, it couldn’t be further from the truth in America. Indeed, female fans may make up the majority of manga buyers in the United States. So why so few shojo anime? I’ve got a take on that.
Since declaring bankruptcy, Studio Gonzo’s spent years in the proverbial doghouse. What better way to celebrate that status than to produce an anime about dogs and sadism?
Smarter people than myself have pointed out that anime marketing usually gives a fairly accurate picture of that core product. That goes double when the salesman is an actual episode of the show. Fantasista Doll and Sunday Without God made the bold first steps into July with a pair of early-air episodes, and I’m definitely excited to meet them at the doorstep.
Animetics 