For those interested, my entry in Random Curiosity’s “12 Days of Anime” series has been posted. Read more
Anime
Kamisma Hajimemashita – 12
Be careful – this is a series that will crawl inside your consciousness and build a nest before you realize it. If I’d done a second “Honorable Mention” post for 2012 this show would have been it. In my psyche it fills a very similar role to the one Nekogami […] Read more
Shirokuma Café – 38
Without question, no other anime has gotten so much mileage out of the soujiki. I was planning on writing about Shirokuma later tonight under a separate heading, and since so much of what I planned to say about this episode dovetails with what I planned to say in the first […] Read more
Chuunibyou – 12 (End) and Series Review
While Chuunibyou never achieved real profundity in its final episode, I think it crafted a finale that was true to itself. In a sense, I think this series had written itself into a corner going into the last episode, but not necessarily in a bad way. The fact is that […] Read more
Weekly Digest: 12/19/12 – Kamisama Hajimemashita, Sakurasou
These two series are a textbook example of extremely different approaches to storytelling. Kamisama Hajimemashita – 11 Kamisama Kiss continues to be a marvel of consistency, providing solid entertainment every week while maintaining a near-perfect balance between humor and emotional depth. It’s easy to see that this is the work […] Read more
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun – 12
Damn you, Brains Base – why must you torture us with masterful adaptations that stop in the middle? It won’t be spoiling much suspense when I say that Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a lock for my 2012 Top Ten list, and the reasons are manifold. In fact, one interesting thing […] Read more
Weekly Digest: 12/18/12 – Btooom!, Magi
While Btooom was unable to carry over its momentum from last week, Magi sails along without missing a beat. Btooom! – 11 I have to tell myself that Madhouse is getting all the Btooom out of their system before Chihayafuru starts up – kind of like a karmic colon cleanse. […] Read more
Bakuman 3 – 10-11
I confess to feeling a bit troubled after these episodes of Bakuman. Bakuman has been on a pretty nice run for a long time. In fact, starting with the final arc of S1 I’d say it’s been remarkably consistent – and consistently good – for almost two full seasons worth […] Read more
Sukitte Iia na yo – 11
Ultimately, I think this is a series that wants to go in predictable directions. There’s nothing wrong with formula that’s executed well, but I confess the last couple of episodes of Sukitte have frustrated me quite a bit. There wasn’t a whole lot that happened this week that wasn’t by […] Read more
Little Busters – 11
I can only imagine what the tenor of the discussion is going to be like this week. Let me state up front that I enjoyed this episode, as I’ve enjoyed all of them so far to some extent. But I’m also not going to offer up an extended rebuttal against […] Read more