A mixed bag as always from Okada-san, but a very different mix than last week’s. I confess to not being absolutely riveted through most of this episode, but in looking back on it I have a certain admiration for it.  Frankly, you just don’t see too many anime episodes that […] Read more

Classic Okada, that one – for better and for worse. Here’s what I said in my spirited defense of Nagi no Asukara after the third episode: I am aware that there’s a certain manipulative quality to the writing here, as there is in much of Okada’s work.  I’m not blind, […] Read more

I’ve just realized – we’re four episodes in and none of the male characters has cross-dressed yet.  But don’t worry – an episode like this proves we’re solidly in Okada’s hands. I’m still very much in Nagi no Asukara’s camp – I like the straightforward emotions at play here, which […] Read more

I give up, Okada-san – you’ve got me (for now, at least). There are a few things on my mind as regards Nagi no Asukara, apart from the simple fact that I like it very much and find it consistently entertaining.  There are elements to the show’s reception that have […] Read more

And so the madness continues.  I wouldn’t be anywhere else, for now at least. You have to hand it to Okada Mari – she really is the straw that stirs the drink.  There are few – maybe no – writers in anime today who can equal her ability to factionalize, […] Read more