There’s an even more elemental quality than usual to Mushishi lately. If you’ve been an anime fan long enough to remember the first go-around for Mushishi, no one could blame you for feeling a little bit uneasy about the current state of affairs with the series. The final six episodes […] Read more
What defines us – what we are, or how we’re viewed by others? Ping Pong is certainly an interesting study in contrasts. It’s like no other sports anime in so many ways, but structurally it definitely follows the rules – in fact it’s more of a boxing series than anything […] Read more
Tom Watson. Turnberry. 2009. There was quite a bit of lingering doubt in my mind going into this chapter about how I’d feel when the moment of truth came – such is the brilliance of Suetsugu-sensei’s humanization of Suou-meijin. But when those final cards were being read, despite all that […] Read more
This decision isn’t getting any easier. It’s fair to say that I was probably one more mediocre episode away from dropping Hitsugi no Chaika or at least putting it on hiatus. It’s also fair to say that this episode wasn’t mediocre – it was a clear step up from the […] Read more
The end may be in sight, but its form remains expertly hidden. No question about it, this was a significant change of pace from last week’s emotional sledgehammer of an episode. The last two weeks, really, and that’s in an arc that’s already over a year old and has only […] Read more
Your move, Freak. Unless you’re Hunter X Hunter, following up a blockbuster crowd-pleaser like last week’s episode of Yowamushi Pedal is going to be a tall order. And for me least this follow-up was considerably less compelling, both in terms of weightiness and entertainment value. The focus was on an […] Read more
Damn, talk about a mood shift… Gaworare is certainly an interesting series. I’m hard-pressed to think of another show – not just this season but for a good many seasons going back – that’s capable of such extremes of mood. And it isn’t simply a matter of doing that for […] Read more
“The Mountain and the Viper” Even knowing what’s coming sometimes doesn’t do much to soften the blow. That’s about the only thing I can say about the final scene of this episode of Game of Thrones. Boy, that was a rough one. Harder for me than the Red Wedding for […] Read more
Genius comes in many forms, but in anime I doubt it’s come in many as strange as Gokukoku no Brynhildr. As unlikely as it might seem I’ve really come to love this show – for it’s absolute and complete fearlessness, irreverence, and full-bore embrace of the absurd. And it’s truly […] Read more
Sucker punch, check. I started off last week’s post by saying I was steeling myself for an emotional haymaker, but such was the mastery of this episode that it still packed a lot of wallop. I did indeed know it was coming (and not from having read this far in […] Read more