Animetics

Shine On Till Dawn

Fun With Numbers: Critical/Casual Slants

Posted on July 17, 2013 by torisunanohokori

It’s one of the oldest conundrums in the anime fandom that the shows that get the most attention are often not the best-made shows, the ones that blow people’s minds when they see them. In a vaccum, that’s pretty confusing; shouldn’t we be giving the most attention to the shows we’ll enjoy the most? Why do some shows get high ratings and languish in the proverbial basement popularity-wise while others get abyssmal scores but receive tons of attention? I found a quick and dirty way to dig into this problem using my set of seasonal anime data and got a set of results that was equal parts depressingly predictable and pleasantly surprising.

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Summer 2013 Slaparound: Uchoten Kazoku Week 2

Posted on July 17, 2013 by torisunanohokori

Drew: Uchoten Kazoku might seem to some to be a far-out series. For me, it’s attacking fairly familiar territory, just doing it using tanuki stuck in frog-shaped polymorphs instead of humans in mundane lifestyles. I think it’s less artsy fare with a message and more much closer to a character-driven slice-of-life drama that happens to involve smooth, fancy animation. And I’m loving it so far. It’s obviously still got places to go and things to develop, but I think it’s a 7/10 if the two episodes that came out so far were a stand-alone ova series, which is pretty good in my book.

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First Reactions: WataMote Episode 2

Posted on July 15, 2013 by torisunanohokori

The biggest potential pitfall for WataMote as a show is that it is essentially one joke retold countless numbers of times. However, the series’ greatest strength is that it’s made by people who understand exactly what that means for a comedy.

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First Reactions: Space Brothers Episode 65

Posted on July 14, 2013 by torisunanohokori

Space Brothers is back again to make a joy-crowded summer even better. It’s packing a new opener and the return of a old acquaintance, so you know it’s gonna be good.

Just like that pancake

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Summer 2013 Slaparound: C3-bu Week 2

Posted on July 14, 2013 by samuel2323

Sam: So this might just be my favorite of the season so far, of what little I have watched. I went in expecting little, but the way that the airsoft battles are staged are everything that I have ever wanted in these kinds of things: interesting, varied, and awesome. So far I haven’t been liking the drama though. It brought up the idea that Yukochan is lonely and wants friends, but the way that it presents it makes me feel less like the group is destined friends and more like Yukochan is slightly emotionally damaged and C3-bu is just there at the right time. Still, when the airsoft battles start, everything just clicks.

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Sell Me in 20 Minutes: Hyperdimension Neptunia and Gatchaman Crowds

Posted on July 13, 2013 by torisunanohokori

With this Friday’s two new shows (and the only full-length Friday shows on the season), the flow of first episodes for this summer season has come to a close. Fortunately, the day went 1 for 2, and added another show to the slate of things I’m gladly continuing.

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Sell Me in 20 Minutes: Silver Spoon

Posted on July 12, 2013 by torisunanohokori

The noitaminA block’s been out of commission for a few months now, and it’s not coming back as strongly as it could be. One timeslot is being taken up by Ano Hana, a move that’s good advertising for A-1 Pictures but means one less new show this season. Still, the new show we do get comes from strong source material; Hiromu Arakawa’s Shonen Sunday hit Silver Spoon.

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First Reactions: Dangan Ronpa Episode 2

Posted on July 12, 2013 by torisunanohokori

I’m covering Dangan Ronpa for 3 reasons. First, the Lerche power trio is involved. Second, C3-bu is a show we decided to do together as a slaparound on weekends. Third, it’s a mystery and I have no clue how it goes, so it should be fun to react to in real time.

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First Reactions: Free! Episode 2 (Plus Too-Long Footnotes on Why Summer 2013 Will End Up Being a Better Season Than Spring 2013)

Posted on July 11, 2013 by torisunanohokori

Based on what I’ve seen of reactions to Free on the internet, it seems like a large quantity of people are ruling it out with one glance at the promo material rather than 20 minutes of episode time. It’s becoming increasingly obvious how much of a shame that is, because this show is complete in ways it didn’t even have to be to be an enjoyable ride.

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Anime ONA Slaparound: Kyousogiga 2012

Posted on July 9, 2013 by torisunanohokori

In 2011, Toei Animation and Banpresto collaborated to fund a mediocre 20-minute ONA based on an awesome trailer. In 2012, Director Rie Matsumoto returned to the fray to do it right, cranking out a new five-episode ONA. We watched the latter, and are ready to dish in the latest “us-doing-whatever-we-want” feature!

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