12 Days of Anime #2 – Nine Great Anime Related Moments from 2014

Tomorrow I’m going to post the anime moment that had left the deepest impression upon me this past year. I’ve already written of 10 moments, but here are nine more moments that I thought merited a paragraph each, of an exciting, impactful or “other” moment in my anime-related life from the past year. Why nine? Because tomorrow is the tenth, the big one (Order of following moments is arbitrary).
Moments will be included for: Nobunagun, Mushishi, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Chihayafuru, Princess Tutu, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (and Stardust Crusaders), Log Horizon, Hunter x Hunter (2011), and Madoka Magica: Rebellion.

1. Princess Tutu is a Magical Show: Princess Tutu is hands down the best show I’ve watched this year, which makes me not finishing it even worse. I’ve listened to a lot of classic music and ballets as a child, and Princess Tutu using them all was splendid. The story is basically timeless, speaks to my love of narratives and meta-narratives (similar to The Witches’ sub-series in Terry Pratchett’s The Discworld series), and the more thought you put into the show, the more you get into it. Would be a great show to watch with one’s children, for the older readers of my blog.

Winter 2014 Weeks 8-9 Overview – (Anime Power Ranking)

Was tired last week, and didn’t feel like making that post, so this is a double-feature, for two weeks. Some shows will only have my thoughts for them stated in the second week, and a note in the first week noting so.

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. In parenthesis the score relative to last week’s placement.

(Shows Covered, in alphabetical order -Chuunibyou Ren (2nd Season), ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Kill la Kill, Log Horizon, Nagi no Asukara, Nisekoi, Nobunagun, The Pilot’s Love Song (Koiuta), Sekai Seifuku ( World Conquest Zvezda Plot), and Tokyo Ravens.)

Week 8:

1) Kill la Kill Episode 19 (+0) – The spectacle of the side-characters being badasses was nice, but this episode was a study in self-revulsion, in hating yourself, heck, it was pretty short, but it was great scaffolding for next episode.

Winter 2014 Week 7 Overview – (Anime Power Ranking)

This week I posted my Mid-season anime impressions. There’s only so much time I can spend on the currently airing shows without burning out about talking about currently airing shows, so I’m going to be succinct about every single entry this time.

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. In parenthesis the score relative to last week’s placement.

(Shows Covered – Gin no Saji (Silver Spoon 2nd Season, Nagi no Asukara, Sekai Seifuku (World Conquest Zvezda Plot), Nobunagun, Chuunibyou Ren, Kill la Kill, The Pilot’s Love Song, Log Horizon, ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Nisekoi, and Noragami)

1) Kill la Kill Episode 18 (+0)

Winter 2014 Anime Mid-Season Impressions

So, another season of anime reached its half-point and it’s time to watch my mid-season impressions, where I talk a bit of the show and rate it. Shows will be listed in order of my enjoyment of them. I’d summarize my thoughts on this season as “Shows just good enough to not drop, and Fall 2013 carry-overs”. There’s a lot of half-assed plot-progression, a lot of tired shows this season. There’s action, and there’s comedy, and there’s next to nothing else. It’s as if everyone is keeping their energies for Spring. Fall 2013 shows carrying over had more or less been saving this season, honestly.

I’ve decided to only cover shows I’ve watched at least 5 episodes of (with two exceptions), as I’ve given a whirl to plenty of shows I then dropped. This is aimed at helping people pick up shows, so continuing shows from Fall 2013 aren’t included, but for the record? Kill la Kill, Nagi no Asukara, and Log Horizon are all making very strong showings, and I’m a few episodes behind on Samurai Flamenco.

Shows covered, in Alphabetical order: Buddy Complex, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren, Gin no Saji S2, ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Nisekoi, Nobunagun, Noragami, Pilot’s Love Song, Pupa, Pupipo!, and Sekai Seifuku Bouryaku no Zvezda.

Got Me Hooked:

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren / Chuunibyou 2nd Season

Rikka, afraid of being left behind.

First of all, this show had been somewhat disappointing. I’ve hoped we’ll get a couple already in a relationship, but 8 months later Rikka and Yuuta had their first kiss, on the cheek. Well, the show is still endearing, and I really like the cast. We’ve had a couple of filler episodes, but it’s indeed better to shove them early so they won’t get in the way of the actual plot later on. Romantic advances? Facing your own self? One can only hope. Nibutani does serve to showcase how Rikka is accepted by others, for being herself, whereas Nibutani’s attempt to not show her true nature only backfire.

Episodes Watched: 6/?

Current Grade: A. One of the fillers bored me, but the other had me laughing and smiling.

Write-up Status: Short notes, longer thoughts now and then, moving to just watching and enjoying it.

Winter 2014 Week 6 Overview – (Anime Power Ranking)

The best way to describe this season is “Shows that are just good enough to not get dropped, and Fall 2013 carry-overs.” I enjoy these shows just enough to not drop them, but most are hardly exciting, or have me eagerly awaiting the next episode.

I predict multiple shows will be dropped next week. I’m also going to move to a new format, this will be the APR+ format, meaning I pick 1-4 shows I have a lot to say about, and say it all. The other shows are going to get like… one sentence.

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. In parenthesis the score relative to last week’s placement.

(Shows Covered – Nagi no Asukara, Sekai Seifuku (Zvezda), Nobunagun, Chuunibyou Ren, Kill la Kill, The Pilot’s Love Song, Log Horizon, ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Nisekoi, Tokyo Ravens, Noragami, and Pupipo!)

1) Kill la Kill Episode 17 (+0)

Winter 2014 Week 5 Overview – (Anime Power Ranking)

This week I actually wrote as close as you’ll get to editorials on several episodes, so just head to the main post to see my thoughts on the shows that interest you, and how they stacked up this past week.

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. Since I missed the post on Saturday, and all the shows from last Thursday to yesterday are in one post, there’s no relative placement this time around.

(Shows Covered – Nagi no Asukara, Sekai Seifuku (Zvezda), Nobunagun, Chuunibyou Ren, Kill la Kill, The Pilot’s Love Song, Log Horizon, ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Nisekoi, Tokyo Ravens, Noragami, Buddy Complex, Pupipo! and Pupa)

1) Kill la Kill Episode 16 (+4)

There’s tension, and then there’s Mako.

Winter 2014 Week 4 Overview – (Anime Power Ranking)

(Shows Covered -Nagi no Asukara, Sekai Seifuku, Nobunagun, Gin no Saji, Kill la Kill, The Pilot’s Love Song, Log Horizon, ‘Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha’, Nisekoi,  Tonari no Seki-kun, Tokyo Ravens, Noragami, Buddy Complex, and Pupa)

This week I actually wrote as close as you’ll get to editorials on several episodes, so just head to the main post to see my thoughts on the shows that interest you, and how they stacked up this past week.

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. Since I missed the post on Saturday, and all the shows from last Thursday to yesterday are in one post, there’s no relative placement this time around.

1) Nagi no Asukara Episode 16 

Winter 2014 Anime Week 3 – Sunday through Wednesday

(Shows Covered – Buddy Complex, Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (2nd season), “Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha”, Nobunagun, Noragami, The Pilot’s Love Song, Tokyo Ravens, Pupipo!, and Tonari no Seki-kun)

These are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. This week had been pretty weak, with various shows taking somewhat of a slump after we introduce the situation, and wait for things to pick up again. Hopefully the 2nd half of the week fares better.

1) Chuunibyou 2nd season Ren Episode 3

This show continues to be so very enjoyable for me. I laugh, I feel the “warmth” I associate with nice RomComs, and I like the cast. It’s sort of funny how we’re advancing and going back at the same time. This season Yuuta and Rikka are a “couple”, and as such they should be beyond the regular “I can’t tell them how I feel” sort of issues that plague all RomComs, right? Well, last season we had none of that, they dealt with their issues, they came together, and had just been there for one another, without needless chatter about how they feel not leading anywhere – they spent time together, they saw they need and care for one another, so they decided to be together. Simple and sweet, right?

Winter 2014 Anime Season Overview Week 2 – Sunday through Wednesday

(Shows Covered – Nobunagun, Buddy Complex, D-Frag, Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (2nd season), Noragami, Pupipo!, The Pilot’s Love Song,  Tokyo Ravens and Tonari no Seki-kun)

These are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. Now, I have too many shows, so I’m going to be dropping shows each and every week until I’m fine with the amount of shows I have left, so keep reading for summaries of new shows, how the shows stack up against one another, Saturday will have the other half of the week’s crop, and which shows are being dropped this week (2-3 shows, most likely)

1) Nobunagun Episode 2

This episode had been so much fun. It was glorious destruction, with a character who is self-assured and cocky, in control even while in the throes of berserker rage, or is she? The visual direction in this episode had once more been top-notch, and even though in this episode the colours are there merely for the spectacle rather than supporting any themes, seeing as it’s a mayhem-oriented episode, all the clashing colours and very distinctive visual design work wonders.

On the story-front, the show is relatively self-aware, as aside from referencing various movies, including Pacific Rim, and making mention of Spiderman’s “With great power comes great responsibility” line, things are pretty standard. Our heroine is emotionally pressured into joining the fight, and similarities to Madoka Magica keep appearing (at least as far as I am concerned). The show also makes use of a very annoying sequence where our heroine pulls the “I couldn’t save you that time, so I’m useless!” but at least the other character makes the logical response.

Is this show special in terms of plot? Hell no. Is it the most over the top show you’ve seen, or the one with the most distinctive flair? Probably not as well, but the way all these elements meet? It’s surely the most fun we’ve had this year, at the very least.

Nobunagun Episode 2 – Madness is Forever, Step on Up, Girl!

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but 0-2 episodes per week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)
I usually try to not post these here unless I think I said something that is non-obvious, but this episode had just been so much fun, that I hope this write-up will convince everyone to give this show a try!

Well, I’ve certainly been excited by last episode, and this one is going to start with us ass-kicking some alien scum, while soon we’ll meet with Newton and Gandhi, what could be more fun than some maniac action, and interesting direction? Let’s dive into this.

Thoughts and Notes:

1) A Study of (Visual) Motifs:

1. Red and blue are the stuff of nightmares.