Nothing Urobuchi Gen does is ever less than fascinating, and Fate/Zero is no exception. But I find myself questioning whether there was any lasting meaning to the whole experience. In the end I think F/Z couldn’t escape the prison of Fate/Stay Night. Whatever else Urobuchi wanted to do with this […] Read more
“And they lived happily ever after…” So, in the end, all of the villains in Fate/Zero walked away pretty much in the pink – except Kiritsugu. Though to be honest, I wasn’t entirely thrilled he got off as easy as he did, given the amount of death and misery he […] Read more
“Unbalanced” There’s still a feeling of sadness and inevitable change in the air, but I’m damned if I can figure out where Takako-sensei is headed with the story. Takatsuki is dressing as a girl and auditioning to be a model. Ebina-san is going out on dates. And the ultimate transition, […] Read more
It’s been a mighty impressive week for action scenes in anime. Kingdom – 03 Kingdom continues to benefit from a very good storyline, and the animation is slowly improving as the over-reliance on CGI eases off (or else I’m just getting used to it. First, a few notes – apparently […] Read more
Out came the children running.All the little boys and girls,With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,Tripping and skipping, ran merrily afterThe wonderful music with shouting and laughter. – Robert Browning, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” As discussed in the last post on AO two […] Read more
Even by Sankarea standards that was a pretty weird episode. Certain things I’ve come to expect from Sankarea. First, it’s going to look great – the best-looking TV anime DEEN has ever done, in my view. And second, the unexpected – because this show is all over the map and […] Read more
Of all the episodes of Sakamichi so far, this one might be the most difficult to get a handle on. I mentioned last week that Sakamichi no Apollon and Tsuritama – and indeed, all great anime – were much more alike than different, no matter their superficial dissimilarities. But if […] Read more
Can there really be only one more week to go? As the best series of the best season in the last few years winds down, I find I want to say less and less about it. Or rather, I need to say less, because Tsuritama leaves so little to chance […] Read more
Was that a romance flag I saw proudly waving there at the end? There’s a definite trend here – Polar Bear’s Café seems to trending less ironic and more heartfelt as it races towards the end of its first cour. Whether you view that as a positive or not depends […] Read more
Jormungand will sometimes let you forget just how ugly and brutal a world it is, but never for too long. Season one looks like it will continue it’s note-faithful adaptation right up to the end, finishing with a two-part adaptation of Valmet’s arc (though curiously changing its name in the […] Read more