The soundtrack of our youth continues to influence us, long after youth is but a memory. In a sense, this was the perfect follow-up to last week’s tour de force episode of Space Dandy. There was no realistic chance any ep could compete with that one on its own terms, […] Read more
No shortcuts – period. Me, last week: “The problem for Maruo is that in looking at Nabae he’s not really seeing his reflection, but himself a year from now – someone who’s had a lot more time and experience to hone that style to its current fine sharpness.” Nabae, this […] Read more
Ace of Diamond has definitely found its big bad – and he’s a dumpy little blonde kid. Diamond no Ace – 46 This whole matchup between Ichidai and Sakurazawa had the air of an execution about it from the start, but it was still a little startling how quickly and […] Read more
If next week was the final episode, this one’s ending would have me worried. As is, not so much. The engaging if somewhat scattershot Captain Earth continues to steamroll towards the end, with the big players all showing their hands except for one, who’s keeping them very close to the […] Read more
“Throw a Pitch” This isn’t what I would call a supremely eventful chapter, devoting as it does more time to Punch being sick than anything else (and in the end, he’s not even sick). There are a few interesting developments, though, as Adachi-sensei continues to drop hints about the Touch […] Read more
All aboard the Slaine pain train… This was another fascinating mess of an episode that had the long reach of Urobuchi’s hand all over it, but as sometimes happens I think I really need to start at the end and work backwards, because this elephant pretty much takes up the […] Read more
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in… I was pretty defeated after the last chapter of Chihayafuru, which was really the first time I felt so acutely that the series was stagnating and that we were really being strung along as an audience. It’s not […] Read more
I guess it’s getting close to pot-committed time here… Jamie who? Seriously, I’ve seen a ton of bitching about Jamie not saying anything this week. Well, first of all this was an episode mostly about the “enemy” (though not really), Ingelmia. And guess what, Jamie isn’t the main character – […] Read more
“Shirin” I confess I’m still not especially caught up in the story for this arc, which I’m enjoying mostly for the fanservice and the cat. It’s certainly the weakest in the series dramatically, even if it is allowing Mori-sensei to express her artistic talents in truly breathtaking fashion, and I’d […] Read more
For a breather episode, there sure was a hell of a lot going on there. Author’s Note: Please avoid any and all manga spoilers in the comments, which I know is going to especially tempting given how much unexplained material the anime offered this week. I haven’t read much of […] Read more