Author: Jessi Silver

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Sakugan

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Gagumber and Memempu are a father-daughter pair who are constantly at odds with one-another. Despite being a kid, Memempu is extremely precocious and a genius inventor; it’s her goal to become a Marker – an adventurer who explores the underground labyrinth connecting the various remaining human colonies that exist beneath the planet’s surface. Gagumber, despite being a bit of a goofball, still has his fatherly responsibilities to think about, and he doesn’t want his only child to run off and be needlessly killed by one of the terrifying kaiju roaming outside their city’s protective dome. The result of this is that the two consistently find themselves butting heads.

But Memempu has been seeing a mysterious place in her dreams, a white tower above the surface surrounded by beautiful fields. During a visit from Lynda and her father, both current Markers, Memempu receives a mysterious package that suggests her dream might be real. As she begs her father to let her go on a journey to find this place, the city is attacked by kaiju breaking in from outside. Despite the terror of the situation, Memempu still longs to explore. Gagumber decides that there’s only one thing for a father (and retired Marker) to do – go along on his daughter’s journey in order to protect her.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Sakugan”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Muv-Luv Alternative

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Game Series

Episode Summary: In 1973, aliens launched an offensive from the moon. The BETA as they came to be called, have since slowly spread out across the planet, killing humans and erecting hives in their wake in order to facilitate more destruction. Military units across the world have done what they can to try to hold back the BETA forces, but the aliens’ strength seems only to increase and the human population continues to diminish. The Western half of Japan has slowly been taken over by BETA, and in 1998 they are now in danger of taking over the rest of the country.

An evacuation order has already been issued as the Japanese military begins to detect movement at the bottom of the ocean near the city of Sadogashima. Because of their loss of life, they’re forced to use rookie pilots to man the Tactical Surface Fighters – mechanical armor that allows close-combat. Unfortunately, despite the passion of the soldiers, the sheer number of BETA, including several fortress-class entities with the power to break down the giant walls protecting the people inside, overwhelm them and they’re forced to evacuate. Sadogashima becomes the site of the 21st BETA hive.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Muv-Luv Alternative”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Platinum End

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 24

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Ever since the death of his family and his adoption by an unloving aunt and uncle, Mirai hasn’t felt happiness in his life. After his middle school graduation he walks to the roof of a tall building and leaps off its edge. However, before he hits the ground he’s rescued by an angel, glowing and clad in white, who claims to be his guardian angel. Her goal is to grant him happiness, and she provides him with the tools to do so – a red arrow that causes its targets to fall in love with him, and angel wings that grant him flight and super speed. Mirai doesn’t feel as though he’ll ever be happy, but his first flight is exhilarating and he begins to believe that his angel might be telling the truth.

The red arrow has the added benefit of its target doing whatever the caster asks, so Mirai uses it on his aunt to confirm a horrible truth – the accident that killed his other family members was actually a murder committed by his uncle and aunt. The magic of the arrow causes his aunt to atone for her sin through death and Mirai escapes into the night. Mirai’s guardian angel, called Nasse, fills him in on some other important details. There are 13 angel users around that are vying with one-another to become the next god – and now Mirai has become involved in this deadly quest.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Platinum End”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impression – Banished from the Hero’s Party…

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Red is a quiet man, well-liked among the citizens of Zoltan, but with a personality that leads many to believe he might be obscuring parts of his past. And in truth, he is; he was once among the hero’s party that was set to confront the demon lord, but though Red’s wide range of skills and blessings as a “guide” provided him with many valuable abilities as an adventurer, he was eventually convinced that his services were no longer needed. As his sister Ruti became well-known as a heroic leader, Red allowed himself to fade into the background.

Now Red lives a slow life in Zoltan, holding onto the modest dream of building an apothecary shop and putting his survivalist skills to good use. When he rescues a village child using his knowledge of medicine (despite the actions of some careless heroes who set fire to the forest), Red works out a deal to get his shop built. When Rit, a well-known loner adventurer stops into town, she seems curious about Red and about the life he’s chosen to lead.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impression – Banished from the Hero’s Party…”
Categories
Conventions Special Features

Anime Fusion 2021 – Convention Reactions

Although it would probably be the wiser choice to continue with my now-belated first episode impression, I thought I’d take a short breather and write about about my first convention experience back in person (as a panelist, at least), Anime Fusion. If I wait any longer I feel like I’ll start to forget the details, and as someone who feels like it’ll be important to know how things were during this Covid time I’d like to ensure I make my own contributions to that historical record.

Anime Fusion 2021 took place Friday through Sunday, October 22nd – 24th at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West (which is actually located in Plymouth, a suburb of Minneapolis). Like most anime conventions, it puts on a mix of programming, including fan-run panels, guest-run panels and events, games, shows, and a dance. There are also a couple of video rooms playing both classic and contemporary anime (the con’s stated mission is to fuse together the old and the new parts of anime fandom into a mix that appeals to all sorts of folks), as well as a dealers room and an artist alley. My primary drive for participating in any anime convention is to run programming – primarily discussion panels focused on specific shows or aspects of anime fandom, as well as presentation-style panels where I pretend like I’m some kind of instructor sharing knowledge and opinions. This year my spouse and I put on 5 panels, the materials for which are available in posts that went up over the course of last weekend.

Continue reading “Anime Fusion 2021 – Convention Reactions”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The World’s Finest Assassin

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: The world’s finest assassin completes his final mission with efficiency and the utmost effectiveness, providing a model for the protégé he’s been forced to drag along by his governing agency. But the mission doesn’t quite go off without a hitch – the duo is spotted by a military drone on their way from the job site and are forced to make other escape plans. It’s during the night that the assassin proves why he’s the best – he’s quieted his emotions and never trusts anyone.

As the day dawns, the two arrive back at base and are provided tickets to Japan; here the assassin will begin a new life training others like him within the organization. But betrayal is in the cards and the plane flight ends almost as quickly as it began, with all aboard being killed as part of the organization’s plot to silence their finest. But the assassin’s frustrated soul is grabbed by the goddess, who offers him a tantalizing deal in exchange for his help in a certain matter. He’ll be reborn in another world, one of fantasy and magic, with his memories and skills intact if he promises to use those skills to murder the world’s Hero.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The World’s Finest Assassin”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – PuraOre! ~Pride of Orange~

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Multimedia Project

Episode Summary: The members of the junior high embroidery club are used to turning their stitches one-by-one into small works of art. But when Manaka invites the other group members to attend an information session for the Dream Monkeys, the local ice hockey team, they start to discover a much different way of weaving together their various talents and skills.

The mastermind behind this beginner’s class is Coach Matsunaga, a former player and someone with high aspirations for the Dream Monkeys. Not only is she on the lookout for new team members, she hopes to incorporate a brand new form of entertainment into the games – having the team members perform a victory dance following their wins, thus turning each hockey match into a show. This goal seems questionable on its surface but it just might work; the members of the embroidery club, as well as a couple of students from a neighboring school, all seem interested in giving this new sport a try.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – PuraOre! ~Pride of Orange~”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Tesla Note

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: From a young age, Botan’s grandfather has trained her as a spy in the ways of the ninja in preparation for a greater purpose to come. Much to her surprise, this greater purpose actually manifests and she becomes involved in “Mission T,” a quest to recover a set of crystalline shards left behind by the famous inventor Nicola Tesla 70 years ago. Time is ticking, however, and she and her somewhat-unwilling new partner, a spy named Kuruma must find these shards before they’re assembled into a full crystal and used for nefarious purposes.

This time-sensitive quest brings Botan and Kuruma to Oslo, Norway, where a train appears to have mysteriously warped from one point to another within the city, causing destruction and bodily harm. As Botan infiltrates the walled-off research area, she discovers the horrifying aftermath of the accident, including mutilated bodies and even a survivor who’s lost his wits. This put their team on the radar of the authorities, so they must make a quick getaway. This helps Kuruma to gain a little bit of respect for Botan as a partner.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Tesla Note”
Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: With the midcentury space race in full swing, the communist UZSR seems to be in a winning position. Having completed the first space flight with a living being aboard (a dog named Daly), they’re again tasked with reaching for the stars – sending a human being into space during a live broadcast. Such a thing would cement the position of the Union as the world leader in space exploration, but it comes with some complications; namely, that with such prestige at stake, any error would likely spell shame and death to those who had failed their country.

Lev is a failed cosmonaut candidate assigned to the top secret Project Mechtat, which aims to skirt by on several technicalities – namely using a vampire as their cosmonaut test subject rather than a human soldier. Irina, codenamed N44 and the vampire in question, serves as a test subject in this program. Biologically similar to humans, she becomes the vehicle by which stresses on the human body during space flight are tested, and if she dies in the process, well, she was only considered a test object by the standards of the program. Lev is ordered to remain emotionally hands-off as her handler during this mission, but despite the many myths surrounding vampires, he already finds himself focused on her inherent humanity.

Continue reading “Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut”
Categories
Conventions Special Features

Madoka and Homura: The Trap of Selflessness

And here it is, our final panel from Anime Fusion 2021. This one was primarily J.C.’s work, so the format is slightly different. It’s also a re-versioning of a panel we presented several years ago directly after the release of Rebellion, so we’ve had some years to stew on that (spoiler: both of us liked it) and now with a new movie on the way it’s opened the door to further speculation.

I hope that these posts have been helpful and interesting to people reading. I also hope that they help to partly explain my delayed episode 1 impressions for the past week and some days; we work really hard to put this stuff together and it ends up taking priority over other things. I’ll definitely be back with more reviews and such now that our (very weird) convention season is effectively over for the year.

PowerPoint Presentation