Categories
Anime Reviews Reviews

A Little Respite with “Poketoons”

Recently, I posted an essay that I’d been working on for a while. I don’t blame you if you missed it; it didn’t really get the traction that I expected, and at such a length and dealing with the subject matter that it did I probably shouldn’t be surprised that it came and went without much fanfare. Often the writing you’re really proud of doesn’t hit the same way that some one-off “just for fun” type post does; It’s just the nature of posting your writing on the internet. In any case, after spending a lot of energy reliving some heavy material (and writing, editing, and re-editing it), I found myself in the mood for something a little bit lighter. Lucky for me that a very cute clip of animation happened to grace my Twitter timeline and I headed over to YouTube to chase after its source.

Categories
Anime Reviews Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – The Heike Story

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 11

Source: Novel

Episode Summary: Biwa witnesses the murder of her blind father at the hand of the powerful Heike clan, thus leaving her an orphan. Yet it’s a member of the Heike, the subdued, practical Shigemori, who apologizes for the crimes of his brethren and identifies a similarity between himself and Biwa. Both possess a heterochromic eye which has granted them psychic powers. Shigemori is cursed to see the spirits of the dead all around him, but Biwa’s eye allows her to see the future.

Shigemori chooses to adopt Biwa and raise her alongside his own sons; Biwa’s father had disguised her as a boy to help her survive, and she has no interest in living as a girl, so this arrangement is helpful. Yet, despite his kind overtures, Biwa refuses to tell Shigemori the one thing he’d truly love to know – what will finally bring downfall to the Heike clan, and can he help prevent it? As the clan begins to grow bloated with its overwhelming power and corruption creeps in, can either Shigemori or Biwa truly do anything to stop the Heike’s fall?

Categories
Anime Reviews Reviews

Playing in Another’s Sandbox – “Wonder Egg Priority” and Finding Personal Meaning in Messy Storytelling

As I sit here once again looking forward toward a new anime season (October is coming up faster than you think, friends), I find that more than anything about to show up on my streaming services in the coming weeks, I’d rather look backwards. Several weeks ago the long-awaited (and troubled) finale to the Winter 2021 season anime Wonder Egg Priority was released, and while I was looking forward to finally being able to watch the remainder of that story, my weak, indulgent nature exposed me to some of the internet blowback it was getting. On the whole it hasn’t been particularly complimentary to the work. I gave myself the luxury of a few days away to allow the furor to calm before I watched the episode myself.

I should really say “episodes,” because I’m perpetually behind and I heard about the delay of the finale before I’d gotten around to watching the 12th episode. I figured that it would be helpful to have a bit of a lead-in rather than attempting to go in cold after months of waiting. Whether that was a better choice or not I can’t say; at the very least it kept me from having to wait and hope for weeks on end without knowing the outcome. Needless to say, after watching the episode(s) I ended up on an emotional journey that I didn’t entirely expect.

Categories
Miscellaneous Reviews Reviews

Infrastructure Run Rampant – Yokohama Station SF

This essay contains spoilers for the novel Yokohama Station SF by Yuba Isukari

In Minnesota there’s a saying – there are only two seasons: Winter and road construction. The weather in our region does a real number on the quality of our roads; the freeze-thaw cycle leaves us with potholes the size of moon craters that are the first flowers to bloom once the snow melts. Soon after, the streets are dotted with orange traffic cones as machines dig and scrape and patch until our thoroughfares are passable again.

Sometimes these projects are more long-term. Every weekday I hop in my car, driving from South Minneapolis into downtown via interstate 35W, which has for months been a winding maze of diverted lanes, temporary partitions, and signs warning motorists to slow down and heed the construction workers. This has been ongoing for almost four years and will soon be completed; the rebar and concrete that for weeks could be seen just over the concrete barriers, as well as the shiny new bus station that will accommodate a new high speed bus line along that corridor, speak to the project’s imminent completion.

Categories
Anime Reviews Opinion Personal Reviews

Revisiting Shirobako – You Can’t Go Home Again

This essay contains spoilers for the Shirobako film.

As crazy as things have been over the past several months, my husband and I are finally at the point where we’re willing to go out and see the occasional movie again. As it was prior to the original lockdown, the majority of our moviegoing energy has been spent seeing limited-run anime showings on odd nights of the week. This pretty much guarantees both a small crowd (which has been helpful to settle my fears of being out in public again) and that we’ll enjoy what we’re there to see. Recently we ventured out to see a film we’ve been waiting to arrive stateside for a long time, the Shirobako movie. We both loved the anime series and really wanted to the witness the continuing adventures of the characters that we’d grown to love. That said, to expect the same of a beloved franchise (and in some sense, to receive it), can lead to some issues.

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Fena: Pirate Princess

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Fena Houtman drifted ashore on a certain island many years ago. Orphaned and alone, her prospects were limited. About to make her debut as a sex worker, her unusual looks mark her as a particularly prized conquest and the highest bidder is a man known to be particularly indulgent of his libido. But this is all a part of Fena’s not-particularly-well-thought-out escape plan; passage on a ship off the island costs money, and money is difficult to come by for people like her unless they’re willing to manipulate from the hands of those who have it.

What Fena doesn’t realize is that her hazy past is about to come into sharp focus. She’s intercepted by two elderly men who she eventually recognizes younger and more svelte attendants from her childhood. Though their sense of direction is flawed they eventually manage to leave the confines of the city and head through the woods toward a waiting ship. But when a group of bandits attacks and attempts to kidnap Fena, she’s saved by a mysterious armored man. Could this man, whose dark eyes shine in spite of his helmet, possibly be Fena’s long-lost friend?

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 11

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: 800 years ago, humanity was at the brink of extinction. The humans pleaded with the heavens to save them, and the Idaten battle gods arrived to defeat and seal the evil demons causing problems on Earth. Young Rin was left in charge of monitoring the integrity of the seal and training the next generation of deities, should things happen to go South again. Unfortunately the “next generation” is comprised of a few lay-abouts who don’t see much value in training to defeat an enemy they’ve never encountered. Ysley only really cares about studying, while Paula enjoys animals and nature. Only Hayato really has any fighting chops, but he’d rather goof off then get beat up on by Rin in the name of “learning.”

Unfortunately, laziness is quickly taken off the table when the gods catch wind of a contingent of soldiers poking around the Arctic. They seem to have uncovered some sort of ancient demon called Gyudo, and are working quickly to thaw it out of its icy prison. In particular, Dr. Obami, a scientist accompanying the exhibition, seems to know more than a typical human should about the workings of ancient gods and demons. When Hayato is finally able to trounce Gyudo he follows the Dr. as he attempts to escape, only to discover that the Dr. is nothing more than a robot body being operated remotely. Perhaps this twist on typical human mortality may explain Obami’s oddly-specific knowledge of the world’s gods and demons. Meanwhile, far away, civilization is beginning to deteriorate into abject savagery, where not even a prayer to god above can save the believers.

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Great Jahy Will Not be Defeated

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 20

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The Great Demon Jahy was once the demon lord’s second-in-command, but when a magical girl entered the demon realm and shattered its mana crystal, Jahy suddenly found herself banished to Earth. Even worse, without her powers she takes the form of a child, so she lacks the presence she needs to order folks around. With a tiny shard of the mana crystal left, she’s able to retain her adult form long enough to hold down a service job, but even so she has difficulty making ends meet. Jahy’s come up with ever manner of excuse to keep from paying rent; unfortunately her landlord is also her boss’s sister, so she can’t keep up her ruses for long.

But perhaps living among humans might not be such a bad thing, even though Jahy can’t quite see things that way. At the very least, her boss cares about her and wants to see her healthy and happy. It’s just that, when you’re used to wielding nearly unlimited power, having to deal with human rules and customs is a huge burden. Hopefully she can find the other shards of the mana crystal soon and return to her rightful position!

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Battle Game in 5 Seconds

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Akira Shiroyanagi has become bored with life. He excels in both school and gaming to the point that he no longer feels the thrill of being challenged. That all changes when, while on his way to school one morning, he’s randomly attacked by a rather frightening man with animal-like reflexes and strength. Using some clever manipulation, Akira lures the attacker to an environment that allows him to rig up a trap and defeat him. But his victory is short-lived, as he’s approached by a purple-haired cat girl named Mion and shot on sight.

Akira awakens in an unfamiliar location, where he several other people are informed by Mion that they’ve been randomly-selected to participate in an experiment. To society, they’re good as dead. Now they’re ordered to serve as a focus group to test the various special abilities that they’ve been granted. Akira is granted a particularly odd ability, where his power is whatever he can get his opponent to believe it is. It’s something that’s incredibly difficult to use, but if anyone can make use of it, Akira can.

Categories
Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2021 First Impressions – Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 10

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: After his family home was burned in a fire and his dad walked out on the family, rather than take advantage of any social program to get by Koushi decides the best course of action is to try to make his own way on the streets. Being a kid, however, it’s not easy to live independently, so when he’s offered a cushy job as the “dorm mother” of a problematic dormitory associated with the local women’s college, he thinks it may be a dream come true.

Unfortunately the residents are something of a handful. Mineru, the seemingly kind soul who invites Koushi to work at the dorm, is a mad scientist type who has an aversion to wearing clothes. On the other hand, Frey is a cosplayer who enjoys dressing other people up in costumes (whether they want to or not). Possibly the biggest hurdle is Atena, a young woman whose past living situations have left her with a fear of men (apparently even pre-adolescents). It takes a little time, but Atena tries to come to terms with her fears while also attempting to clean up the behavior of the other women for Koushi’s sake.