Fun With Numbers: July 2014 US Amazon Data (Initial Numbers)

Another month, another set of anime releases to track on amazon. Of particular note are Hetailia The Beautiful World (~5000th with 4 weeks to release, big US fan presence) and Deadman Wonderland (~3000th with 3 weeks to release). Those two have legitimate shots at the big charts, though any series should have to rank 500th or lower for multiple days to have a realistic chance.

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Sell Me in 20 Minutes: Dangan Ronpa, Go-Home Club, and Servant x Service

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.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 13 (End) and Quickie Scores (6/10)

Well, Devil Survivor 2 is over now. That was a very standard cookbook ending, and only a few things happened that were really worth commenting on.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 12

Early on in this episode, it seemed like Hibiki was inching a bit closer towards the position of “win by default” protagonist – one whose ideals are upheld because he happens to be the one not to die off. Systematically killing off the supporting cast (even more of them this week) has served to increase his chances of winning without him doing anything. Kind of like how Russel Westbrook’s season-ending injury cleared the Western Conference field for the Spurs this year. However, it’d be a lie to say that Hibiki’s done nothing, and that’s not the only narrative surrounding him heading into the finale.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 11

I typically haven’t been interested in the battles this show has had. And this episode wasn’t really an exception. Still, it was more enjoyable than previous ones because it toyed with my expectations a bit more.

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The Hung-over Results of Animetics’ Drunken Spring 2013 Preview

A few months ago, just before the spring 2013 season started, we did a rather odd preview of the shows coming out that season, one involving fake money and real bragging rights. To find out who won (and thus who makes the odds for our upcoming summer 2013 preview) read on!

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 10

Colossalcon 2013 was beyond awesome. Thanks to everyone who came to one of our panels. We had a blast and learned all about why Kamen Rider and Idolm@ster have the best fanbases. Now back to your regularly scheduled anime blog!

I feel like the entire staff of AIC Plus ate some infected raw cookie dough or something about midway through episode 6’s production and didn’t get better before making the second half of this episode, because it was *such* a return to form for the biggest trio of bros in anime production.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 9

The thing about a Kishi Seiji series is that each moment is like casting a die; it could be great or it could be garbage. This episode was a pretty good example of that principle in a nutshell, as it suddenly pulled competency out of nowhere and ended up being pretty fun to watch.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 8

I don’t want to make too much sport of a show that’s already been dragged through the mud a number of times, but I’ve been calling it Dull Survivor 2 to myself throughout the episode. Make of it what you will, or read on for a more detailed analysis.

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First Reactions: Devil Survivor 2 Episode 7

This week’s episode of Devil Survivor 2 was the blandest one of the show, and will probably end up skippable even if the later episodes end up being good (something I’m beginning to seriously doubt).

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