Tag: Spring 2021

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Odd Taxi Episode 5 – Never Enough Money

Originally my goal with these posts was to catch up to the broadcast of this series, but I’m under the impression that I might not be capable of doing so before it finishes up. Timeliness has never really been my strong suit, so c’est la vie, I suppose. Despite my deep urge to watch ahead of my reviews and catch up with all the episodes of what’s turning out to be an extremely compelling series, I think the task of sitting down with each episode and examining it has been helpful for me to really take in all the details of what’s happening. There have been so many call-backs to previous episodes so far and so many seemingly random events that end up being connected to one-another that typing them out (in a form that I hope is slightly better than glorified notes) has helped me in my quest to keep track of everything.

I hope folks have been having a good time reading my episode analyses; no one’s really said anything, so I’m going to continue to forge ahead and assume the best. If you’re interested in catching-up with what I’ve had to say so far, be sure to check out my previous entries linked below:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Odd Taxi Episode 4 – Emptiness

Now that I’m pretty much done with the rush of reviews, my husband and I have been watching some of the shows he was interested in. I usually give him a run down of everything I’ve enjoyed from a season and show him some premiere episodes, then let him decide what we watch together. I re-watched episodes 2 and 3 with him the other day, and we were both sad that we had to stop there (if I’m writing about a show I prefer my first viewing to be when I’m actually trying to do a write-up, otherwise I feel like it taints the experience for me). Even though I’ve been taking a little bit of a break this past week, I made getting back to Odd Taxi my first priority.

I’ve got a couple of spoilery things to mention about the previous couple of episodes, so I’ll put that stuff below the cut. Before that, though, here are links to the previous entries on this series, in case you’d like to catch up prior to this one:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

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Anime Reviews Reviews

The Way of the Househusband – What Makes an Anime?

I tend to have issues remembering when Netflix releases their anime. I’m so used to the quarterly seasonal framework and the week-by-week single episode release schedule that most seasonal anime follows that when Netflix drops an entire cour’s worth of anime it’s almost always a surprise to me (even when I know it’s coming and have my Netflix notifications set up to remind me. Yeah, I know). I always think “oh, I’ll get around to it” and then in many cases I never do. I’ve been trying to remedy that lately by watching a little bit of (mostly) Netflix anime on my phone before I go to bed a few times a week. It’s been a fairly successful endeavor, even though I’ve realized I can get through maybe an episode-and-a-half of material before starting to feel sleepy. This shouldn’t be seen as a criticism of anything I’m watching – I fell asleep through the second half of Vivi -Fluorite Eye’s Song recently despite feeling very invested in it. My body just doesn’t seem to obey any “clean sleep” rules and gets settled into bedtime mode by watching videos or listening to the TV. Weird physical adaptation or ADHD side-effect? You decide.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Odd Taxi Episode 3 – Bubbling Below the Surface

Hello, friends. It’s time once again to check in with our animal(?) friends (more on that beneath the cut) with episode 3 of Odd Taxi. This episode seems to continue along with its blend of interesting, snappy dialog and slow-burn narrative movement, giving us some more insight into a few of the characters and adding a bit more intrigue along the way. If you haven’t been watching the series, I still highly recommend it. As you may expect, this post will contain spoilers for the series up to this point.

You can check out my previous blog entries about the series via the links below:
Episode 1
Episode 2

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Anime Reviews Reviews Simulcast Reviews

Odd Taxi Episode 2 – Musings on Luck in Its Various forms

So, I typically don’t write episode reviews of series as they’re airing. I’ve tried to do it a few times over the years and always encountered issues (such as not having enough free time) or lost interest part way through. But lately I’ve been trying to broaden my reach and my writing skill set a little bit, and I thought this might be one way to do that.

There are a ton of great series airing right now, but the one I just can’t seem to get off my mind is Odd Taxi. Compared to most other contemporary anime, its tone and subject matter feel very, well, odd; it has the feel of a live-action drama in every way aside from its animal characters. It looks very cute but feels unsettling, and I enjoy stories that play off of that kind of ambivalence. So I’m going to try to catch up with the show and post on it as episodes come out. I hope you’ll join me!

Note: This post contains spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of Odd Taxi.

You can check out my previous reviews of the series below:
Episode 1

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2021 – Premiere List

Well, friends, it’s been a long journey but here we are, having taken a peek at all of this series fresh premieres. Included below are links to all of my First Impressions from this season. This list does not include any sequels (aside from a couple of pseudo-sequels) nor any series that are obviously aimed at kids, but should be otherwise comprehensive. I’ll keep this post pinned to the top of the blog for the next couple of weeks, but be sure to follow the blog if you so desire to be notified of any updates in the meantime!

86Backflip!!Battle Athletes Victory RESTART!
Blue Reflection RayBurning KabaddiCestvs: The Roman Fighter
Combatants Will be Dispatched!Don’t Toy With Me, Miss NagatoroDragon Goes House-Hunting
Fairy RanmaruFarewell, My Dear CramerFull Dive
HigehiroI’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years…Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood
Kiyo in KyotoKoikimoLet’s Make a Mug Too
Mars RedOdd TaxiOsamake
Pretty Boy Detective ClubSeven Knights RevolutionShadows House
SSSS.DynazenonSuper CubThe Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent
The World Ends With YouThose Snow White NotesTo Your Eternity
Tokyo RevengersVivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song
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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2021 First Impressions – Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Story Summary: Kiyo and Sumire traveled to Kyoto after middle school to train as maiko, but Kiyo’s clumsiness meant that she wasn’t fit for the kind of graceful comportment required of the job. However, her talent for cooking has allowed her to stay on as the Maiko House’s live-in chef, where she still gets to support her friend Sumire as she furthers her training. Sumire’s talent and work ethic have caused people to start chattering – she may have the skills to become a once-a-century maiko. But Sumire’s work ethic has a downside – she’s been so busy with errands and practicing for her maiko debut that she hasn’t been eating well. Perhaps Kiyo’s squid mince, a dish from their days as natives of Aomori prefecture, will give Sumire the energy to keep up with her incredible drive to succeed.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2021 First Impressions – Combatants Will Be Dispatched!

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Story Summary: The evil organization Kisaragi has nearly fulfilled their goal of taking over the Earth, so they’ve set their sights on various other Earth-like planets next in order to keep their momentum going. With a literal roll of the dice, Kisaragi leadership chooses Agent Six as their representative for this important mission. He seems like an odd choice as he’s irredeemably horny with a lowly number of “evil points” (having spent them all on dubious purchases), but it seems some of the folks in the upper echelons may have a soft spot for him. Agent Six is transported to his destination alongside Alice, an android with the body of a young girl and a deadpan attitude. Almost immediately they get on good terms with a high-ranking local Knight named Snow and Princess Tillis, whom Snow serves, but it turns out that those two are both generally looking out for their own best interests in life and not expressing any sort of altruistic intent. However, Agent Six and Alice repair an artifact important to the country, and thus Tillis hires the two as her personal guard – making Agent Six Snow’s new supervisor.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2021 First Impressions – Super Cub

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Story Summary: Koguma lives alone and doesn’t have much money or any friends. Her hours pass by wordlessly as she spends the day at school and then rides her bike home. But she’d give almost anything not to have to huff and puff up the hill on a manual bike, and when she notices some classmates riding to and from school on scooters, she decides to check out the local bike shop. Almost every new scooter and motorbike for sale is way outside her meager price range, but the old shop owner shows her a refurbished model – an old Honda Super Cub he’s willing to sell her for 10,000 yen (around $100). She takes him up on the offer (once she’s gotten her license, of course), and suddenly a whole new world of freedom opens up to Koguma. Getting to school is no longer a chore, and she can ride to the convenience store without the same hassle of a bicycle. But she still has some lessons to learn about her new motorized companion; luckily the user manual can help with some of that.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Spring 2021 First Impressions – Cestvs: The Roman Fighter

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Story Summary: As young Emperor Nero ascends the throne, a young boy named Cestvs is enslaved and brought to Rome to enter the brutal world of slave boxing. Cestvs has a slight build and by all accounts he should be easily-defeated, but specialized training by Zafar, himself a former slave boxer, helps him to make the most out of his speed and reaction time. Cestvs’ master promises freedom to any of the slave boxers who win 100 fights, so Cestvs has a sharp uphill climb through the fists of some of the most brutal fighters to achieve his goal of escaping slavery. But his greatest challenge may be in Ruska, son of one of the Emperor’s military leaders, and a master of hybrid hand-to-hand combat.

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