This is one of those anime episodes that make me ask – if the medium is capable of such brilliance, why can’t we see it more often? I just have to scrape my jaw off the floor after that episode of White Album, to be honest. I’m floored by how […] Read more
When Uchuu Kyoudai is good, it’s very very good. And right now, it’s good. There’s an old saying – “Dance with the girl that brung ya”. In other words, stop screwing around and stick with what you’re good at. It’s not a code I would want to live by in […] Read more
At last, the cat is out of the bag. I won’t say there were a whole lot of surprises in this episode of Little Busters, starting with the fact that most (but not all) of the secret of this world was revealed. But that didn’t stop it from being […] Read more
“Shield at Your Back” So all that stuff I said a couple of days ago? That. Seriously, this is the problem with monthly manga (actually it’s even worse with Otoyomegatari, as Harta is only published 10 times a year) – the waits between chapters are brutal. And that’s under the […] Read more
The sheer number of hidden gems in Tokyo never ceases to amaze me. When people dismiss Tokyo as a soulless and grey modern megalopolis, they reveal their own ignorance more than anything else. It’s here more than anywhere else that the duality of Japan is most inescapable – the juxtaposition […] Read more
It’s probably never a good idea to let yourself believe there are things Kakumeiki Valvrave won’t do. I made mention that last week’s episode was a relatively low-key one by Kakumeiki Valvrave standards, choosing gravity and emotional reflection to a much greater degree than this series usually does. Well, anyone […] Read more
While it was another very good effort, this episode of Nagi no Asukara was full of foreboding in more ways than one. This is an awfully good series, easily strong enough in terms of story and character to withstand the occasional lapse into the manipulative side of Okada Mari’s oeuvre. […] Read more
“Azel”s Offensive” If the question was, “Could Mori Kaoru draw a battle manga?” I think the answer is a conclusive “yes”. It would hard to overstate just how much of a departure the last few chapters of Otoyomegatari have been from earlier chapters in the series, and indeed from anything […] Read more
Thursday has definitely become my anime WTF day this season. Between Samurai Flamenco and Golden Time I confess I’m thoroughly bewitched, bothered and bewildered – but I guess the first one of those three is the most important because it means I’m still watching. More than that, still invested in […] Read more
I’ll give Golden Time credit for this much – I still can’t wrap my around what’s really going on here. This is a very strange series, full of genuinely powerful moments as well as awkward and stilted ones. In a way I think GT and White Album 2 form bookends […] Read more