Welcome to my 5 favorite anime blog posts from 2021 week 39!
Every week I look for posts that celebrate amazing moments in anime or otherwise blow me away with their wit and charm. I check hundreds of sites, and I can tell you that the ani-blogging community constantly produces a ton of amazing posts. I hope this list helps you find some of them!
Here’s the list of the sites I check!
Beneath the Tangles
Tangles Writers Do Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Arc 1: Acknowledging Who You Are
It’s a tough time to be alive. Now, I say that full awareness that there have been many worse times to be alive. Most of them, in fact. Come to think of it, there has never been a better time to be alive! But the thing about being alive now is that it’s hard to know how to communicate within certain segments of the population. I think it’s because we’re in a bit of a period of transition.
For example. In fifth grade, I was talking to a friend of mine before class. I made some comment about how girls looked pretty in dresses. My friend happened to be a girl. I wasn’t trying to be lewd or anything. At that age, I only vaguely being aware of what lewd meant! But one thing I remember clearly: I remember how that girl read me the riot act. By the time she was done with me, I don’t think I gave anyone any kind of compliment until I hit college. It just didn’t seem to be worth the risk!
I tell that story to highlight a clash of cultural assumptions. As a young “traditional” (whatever the heck that means!) farm boy, I had been taught that girls liked to be called pretty. The reality was more complex. That incident, and other similar situations I observed among my friends, raised my awareness to the point that by the time I watched Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, I had to wonder: Should I even like this show? It’s about a guy helping the women around him. Is that “okay?” Should I object to any show that hints that women need to be saved?
I’m not asking this to be sardonic. I’m going to like what I like regardless. But one thing I do not want to do is praise a show in such a way that I hurt anyone’s feeling. That would suck. And it would suck because I decided it would suck, not because of any external consideration. See? Dang, it’s hard to communicate some concepts!
That’s why I enjoy reading posts that successfully (in my not-so-humble opinion!) tackle topics like this. In this case, I came across a post Twwk on the site Beneath the Tangles that talked about Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. It dealt in particular with the relationship between Sakuta Azusagawa, the main (male) character, and Mai Sakurajima, one of the women he helps. Does the post resolve that difficulty in communication that I mentioned? Well, it’s concerned with another aspect of the show, but I think it does shed some light on the topic. I also like the insights the post shared about Azusagawa! See what you think!
Harper Anime Reviews
Antihero Testament – A Certain Scientific Accelerator Spoiler Review
I think my twin interests in anything scientific and anything theological explains my interest in the shows A Certain Scientific Railgun, A Certain Magical Index, and, most recently, A Certain Scientific Accelerator. But in addition to the topics, another thing I really appreciated about all three series were its characters. In particular, the villain turned protagonist (I hesitate to call him an actual hero!) Accelerator. In particular, as a writer, I thought it was interesting how Accelerator changed roles, while at the same time maintaining complete fidelity to his original character.
Austin Harper in a recent post on his site Harper Anime Reviews talks about Accelerator’s transition through the prism of Accelerator as an anti-hero. The post also discusses the entire season, which included one of my favorite scenes where Accelerator encountered Rita Iizumi and her band of hapless villain wannabes. Did you watch the series? What did you like about it? See if Austin Harper mentions the things you enjoyed!
Jonah’s Daily Rants
Zenitsu Agatsuma: Annoying or Relatable?
I really enjoyed watching Demon Slayer’s first season with Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime. The situations and characters really spoke to me. One of those characters, though, routinely spoke too much — not to me in particular, but to everyone in general. In fact, the character would not shut up! And an unfortunately percentage of his words came out as shrieks. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m talking about Zenitsu Agatsuma. Now, by episode 17, he’d gotten himself into such dire circumstances that I didn’t blame him for yelling a lot. But in other times, it felt grating.
This post by jernahblunt on Jonah’s Daily Rants gave me a better appreciation for the character. The post did that by directly confronting the one thing that so often annoyed me, and framed it in such a way that I saw it in a different light. I don’t want to come out and say what jernahblunt said — I think you should read the post to find out! — but I will say that he brought up one of those things that’s obvious only in hindsight. That made me appreciate it even more! See if you agree!
The Magic Planet
(REVIEW) I Would’ve Written a Review, But THE DETECTIVE IS ALREADY DEAD
Most of the time, if I enjoy the first episode of a series, I enjoy the rest of the series. There have been a couple of series that turned around to bite me. The example I usually use is Taboo Tattoo. The summer 2021 season introduced me to a new contender: The Detective is Already Dead. I’m going to think about it for a while, because the feeling of betrayal is still pretty fresh. It might degrade over time. But one thing’s for sure: I liked the last episode a whole lot less than the first.
This site celebrates great moments in anime. But celebration isn’t blind. If a series turns out not to be something I can’t celebrate, it’s good to salvage something from the effort of watching and understand why the show did not work out.
That’s a vague statement, and intentionally so, because I found a very clear, detailed explanation for what happened to Dead Detective. This post by The Dreadmoon Wizard on the site The Magic Planet might be the best post mortem for a failed show that I’ve read. It has none of the empty vitriol that’s so often present in negative reviews. What it offers instead are keen insights and apt comparisons to other shows that did not fail. I came away from this post with a better understanding of why I didn’t like the series. In a sense, it gave me some closure! See if the post helps you, too!
Random Curiosity
Fall 2021 Preview
Summer 2021’s anime season has almost ended. So, you know what that means! It’s time for the Fall 2021 anime season! Every season, I look for the best seasonal preview guide. I check the big commercial sites and all of the sites on my Massive List of Anime Sites. And though I find a lot of really good previews, I keep coming back to one that lists the most new series and the most accurate and comprehensive discussion of what those series have to offer. That preview is, of course, from Random Curiosity! The post credits Choya, FJ Freeman, Gabie, Guardian Enzo, Pancakes, Princess Usagi, Miss Simplice, Takaii, Yaseen Hijazi, Zaiden, and Zephyr for the effort. I can easily see how it took that many writers to bring forth such a complete preview. See how many new shows you can find to watch!
Want to Read More of My Favorite Anime Post Lists?
Want to explore more amazing anime blog posts? Check out the previous editions of My Favorite Anime Community Posts!
Want to Read Favorite Posts from Other Sites?
- Anime Feminist: Weekly Round-Up, 15-21 September 2021: Shojo Beat’s Anniversary, Yuri Game Publishing, and Prime Minister Candidates
- Leslie’s Anime and Manga Corner: Anime and Manga Blog Posts That Caught My Eye This Week (September 24, 2021)
