Fittingly, a dark and depressing episode of Yumekui Merry this week – hardly a drop of humor and barely a glimpse of Merry’s navel. The overriding tone was one of impending tragedy that no one had any power to stop. I miss John Doe, the rakish and inscrutable muma we […] Read more
In a way, I’m glad this was the first series I reviewed after the news of today’s earthquake in Tohaku reached our shores. I’m not sure I would have been in any emotional condition to discuss, say, Madoka Magica – with all its death, despair and smoldering buildings. Fortunately that’s […] Read more
Obviously, I’ve been following the events of today with great interest. It’s hard to even imagine the destructive power of an 8.9 earthquake – had this been centered near Tokyo or another major city, the destruction would have been beyond comprehension. As it is, comprehension is difficult – though the […] Read more
The buzz for the last week was concerned with whether Phryne had been raped, based on her behavior in episode 7. I certainly wasn’t prepared to make that assumption based on the narrow evidence provided, but neither would I rule it out – clearly, something was amiss here. And based […] Read more
One of the early chapters of the Hourou Musuko manga is called “It Keeps Getting Weirder” – and that’s a fitting sentiment for this series, especially this week. As if adolescence weren’t stressful enough, the circumstances these characters find themselves in add a layer of tension that’s almost too much […] Read more
So – after all that’s happened – after all the Faust references and “Monkey’s Paw” allusions and Bokurano homages – this show apparently ends up being closer to Higurashi than anything else. It’s not entirely unexpected but still an interesting twist. So very much happened in that episode, it would […] Read more
The animated commentaries for this series continue to be some of the most fascinating DVD extras I’ve seen in ages. It’s a strange mix of inside humor, foreshadowing, and a kind of in-the-moment psychoanalysis for the characters both on-screen and off. Firs off, we had Kanako and Kyousuke. Kyou continues […] Read more
Another entertaining, stylish episode of Dragon Crisis this week. While this isn’t breaking much new ground, the show just has a certain something I find appealing – a sense of style and slightly offbeat wit. This week was a heavily Misaki focused episode. She was doing her best Makoto (Kanon) […] Read more
The twist this week – and there’s always a twist with this series – is that Prince Baka actually helps solve the problem rather than cause it. Sort of… For once, the cliffhanger at the end of the last episode wasn’t a troll – Mikihasa actually was a girl. In […] Read more
If the rotation held this would be a serious week on Kore Wa Zombie, and sure enough that’s exactly what we got. Though there were certainly a few moments of silliness the episode followed the pattern of alternating humorous and serious eps. As suspected the King of Night had in […] Read more