Sorry as always for the late first impression, but I’m almost caught up on the new Spring series. Not that they’ve done much for me, as a rule… I hope it isn’t the odd way I’ve gone about watching these shows – at airports, on trains, in between tourist activities […] Read more
Here’s some selected video from Japan: Calico Cat Cafe Inokashira Park Ueno Park Kanmanfaguchi Gorge, Nikko Read more
As I mentioned, Blogger wouldn’t let me post a pic or video for almost a week… So here’s a few of the best from that stretch of time. Thanks for checking in. Day 7: Fuji-san, from the Shinkansen Day 8: Sakura, Inokashira Park Ghibli Museum, Mitaka Cat Cafe, Kichijoji Sakura, […] Read more
Toshogu Shrine, Nikko Tokyo wasn’t about to let me check out without a last reminder of what it’s going through, it seems. 10 minutes after I arrived at Narita I was exchanging money when I felt a little something. The clerk kept counting so I shrugged it off, but […] Read more
It was a struggle to get through the first ep of Lotto no Omocha, to be honest. The lazy and contorted exposition, the lame premise, even the casting. This is so calculated it’s really discouraging. The bath scene to start the epiode offered not only a tortured explanation of the […] Read more
Wow – that was about as plain vanilla as a first episode can get. Of course, Shonen Jump adaptations are legendary for starting slowly – as indeed are their manga sources – so perhaps there’s hidden depths of entertainment value here. Nothing was especially offensive about that, but I would […] Read more
Maybe I’m being a little easier on Stein’s Gate than I should be, but I do love coincidences, especially those that involve me. With Hanasaku Iroha it was the obaa-san with the candy, here it’s the fact that much of the episode – including the critical moment of it – […] Read more
A quick story before my review… When I was riding the bus from Nakatsugawa Station to Magome up in the Kiso Valley in the Japan Alps, it was just me and an old obaa-san. She had glasses and looked just like the old lady on the train in this episode, […] Read more
Inconsistent is the best word I can use for this series. Inconsistent pacing. Inconsistent internal logic. Inconsistent behavior by the major characters. Inconsistent tone. you get the point – it really felt as if they were winging it a lot of the time. That’s too bad, because at its best […] Read more
Typing this from on board a Singapore Airlines 777, on the way to California from Narita. No doubt getting some strange looks from my fellow cattle as to my choice of viewing, but screw them. As always for this last two weeks, apologies for the delay in posting this. On […] Read more