Tag: Drama

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Ranking of Kings

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 23

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kings are ranked by their physical prowess and the number of knights and followers they have. Prince Bojji, heir to the his father’s kingdom, has none of those things. Deaf and unable to speak, he also bears the burden of bullying, snide remarks of the people he encounters. Many people think Daida, the second prince and son of the King’s remarriage, is much more fit to be the next king.

One day while Bojji is playing outside, he encounters a strange shadow creature named Kage who manages to talk him out of giving up his clothing for Kage to sell. But Kage and the Prince seem to be able to understand one-another. Though Kage’s past marks him as someone potentially dangerous, he follows Bojji back to the palace and witnesses his true inner strength begin to show itself. When Bojji challenges Daida to a sparring duel, very few actually anticipate the outcome.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Visual Prison

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Ange Yuki enjoys the singing and visual stylings of an old visual kei band called “Eclipse,” which has been away from the scene for quite a while. This makes their sudden return (leaping from a helicopter) a very welcome surprise. However, the band seems to have a different, much more sinister air, and with only two of the original members, it’s definitely not the same. They also seem to be competing with another band called “Lost Eden,” whose members do much less to hide their disdain for the captive audience around them. Ange becomes overwhelmed during the performance and nearly passes out, before being rescued by a passer-by.

That random interloper turns out to be Guil, former front man for Eclipse, now seemingly retired from his life of performance. He sees something interesting in Ange, and when Ange begins to sing this confirms his power within. Ange is acknowledged by the scarlet moon, something which can only be seen by vampires. This allows him to compete for a special prize – a power known as “Visual Prison.” But Ange is even more special – as a Dhampir (a half-vampire), he piques the interest of both Eclipse and Lost Eden. But Guil seems intent on protecting this young man.

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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.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Takt op. Destiny

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Part of a multimedia project which includes a game.

Episode Summary: One fateful day a black meteorite fell to Earth and unleashed the D2, creatures who hate the sounds that humans make, especially the beautiful harmonies to be found in music. Now, playing any sort of music runs the risk of attracting swarms of D2, so there are many people who no longer even remember what music sounds like. But just as humanity began to lose all hope the Conductors and Musicarts appeared, using the power of music to defeat the D2.

Takt and Cosette are a partnered Conductor and Musicart, although their ability to work well together is somewhat lacking. Their de facto handler, Anna, does her best to wrangle their disparate personalities in service of a shared goal – to reach New York so that Cosette can be “repaired” by the Symphonica there. Their journey eastward is bound to be dotted with challenges, not the least of which is their ability to effectively combine their powers and achieve their goals as one.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2021 First Impressions – Selection Project

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Multimedia project

Episode Summary: Ever since she was young and bedridden in the hospital, Suzune Miyama has admired the Selection Project idol Akari Amazawa. Years later, Suzune has the opportunity to compete as one of her region’s representatives during the 7th season of Selection Project. However, Suzune isn’t alone; she’s joined by talented girls from around the country who are all vying for the same distinction.

As the regional finals near their conclusion, the competitors are all asked to sing a final song – Akari Amazawa’s debut single, as a tribute to her after her untimely death in an accident a few years prior. Suzune’s pure voice is striking, but as the song nears its climax, she nearly passes out on stage. Whether this is what prevents her from winning her group is debatable, but she leaves the competition to walk home, defeated. But is this truly the end of Suzune’s quest to follow in Akari’s footsteps?

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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