All in all Madhouse does a pretty good job here, delivering a non-ending that serves the purpose with few surprises. Certainly, there were multiple challenges facing the anime staff in crafting this episode. Not only is this a one-cour anime adapting a manga that covers nine volumes, but it’s an […] Read more
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
Hey – 12/12/12! How about that. Last one of the Century, Kids – seize the day. Most of you have a lot more of it left than we do here in Japan. Sakurasou no Pet no Kanoujou – 10 I don’t think there’s any doubt that this episode is another […] Read more
I think Btooom! can be summed up pretty well in one perfect line of dialogue: “Nice work, Cripple.” There’s a sort of purity in the way Btooom! views the human race with almost perfect disgust that makes it fascinating to watch. From the evisceration of whole groups of people (doctors, […] Read more
I finally found a more mismatched show to pair with Btooom! Kamisama Hajimemashita – 08 Even when Kamisama Hajimemashita is being serious, it can’t help being funny. This week every scene involving Mikage and his sidekick Otohiko (Takahashi Hiroki) was a riot. Otohiko is yet another in a line of […] Read more
I’m beginning to see a kind of sick wish-fulfillment at the center of Btooom!. Btooom! – 07 I really wish I had time to keep up with JoJo, because in a way it would be a natural show to blog alongside this one. Both are marvels of excess and bombast, […] Read more
Any week that marks the return of Evangeline Yammamoto is off to a good start. Btooom! – 06 Btooom is a classic dilemma – I really want to dislike it, but I’m fairly engrossed every time I watch it (when I’m not just grossed, anyway). It’s a well-made action thriller, […] Read more
When it comes to these two shows it’s, Yin, meet Yang. Btooom! – 05 I’m right on the edge with Btooom at the moment. I get that the whole piece is something of an unqualified condemnation of human nature, and the broader feeling in watching is still that it’s compelling […] Read more
These two series present a marked contrast – one lyrical and almost graceful, and the other a display of narrative brute force. Zetsuen no Tempest – 04 This was certainly a change of pace episode for Zetsuen, a look back at the meeting of Yoshino and Mahiro. It comes at […] Read more
Too many shows, too little time… Btooom! – 03 Btooom! is preposterous, but in an entertaining way. It’s one of those shows where a lot of suspension of disbelief is necessary, because the plot is effectively an elaborate 2 AM bar conversation between a bunch of smart geeks with too […] Read more