Welcome to my 5 favorite anime blog posts from 2021 week 40!
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!
Confessions of an Overage Otaku
The Power of Three: Cowboy Beebop
When I said (in the first paragraph above) that the anime blogging community “constantly produces a ton of amazing posts,” I wasn’t just blowing sunshine… well, anywhere. I meant it. I think proof of that is never more apparent than in posts like this one that somehow find ways to say something new about classics like Cowboy Beebop. Just think for a moment about how many people have written about that show. Tons! And then tons more. And yet, amid all of that material, The Overage Otaku (on the site Confessions of an Overage Otaku) talked about that venerated series by applying concepts I’ve not seen applied to it before. How cool is that? Well, there’s only one way to find out!
Mechanical Anime Reviews
CHILDREN OF THE SEA – WHEN THE SEA AND STARS MEET
I’ve struggled to adequately describe some anime series, like The Ancient Magus’ Bride. In fact, I chose to review that series explicitly to expand my emotional vocabulary. But even after reviewing two cours of that show, there remain other series that are seem to be beyond my reach. Kyousougiga comes to mind, for example. Its imagery and story stirred my imagination, and I’d love to be able to share why in a post. But, I just don’t have the vocabulary or grammar! Also, it’s hard to know what cultural touch-points we share.
That’s why I really appreciate review like this by Scott on the site Mechanical Anime Reviews. He watched the movie Children of the Sea, and based solely on his description, I was able to tell that it would fall into the same category for me as Kyousougiga. Yet, Scott didn’t let that complexity stop him! He still wrote a compelling review that makes me really want to watch the movie — and that’s one of my major benchmarks for review goodness! See if you want to watch the movie after reading.
RABUJOI
Kageki Shoujo!! – 13 (Fin) – Stage of Dreams
You may have noticed that for the last several seasons, I’ve been reviewing non-current series along with airing series. I started that because of schedule constraints. If a series has already aired, I can watch it whenever I have a break! But there’s another reason. Not a season goes by that I miss watching a series that I really, really wanted to review. This season, Kageki Shojo!! was that series. I’m a sucker for series about bright, talented people. I’m also a sucker for series that warmly portray an outsider finding a home, or even better, making a home, for themselves. I can’t say enough good about the portrayals of the leads, Sarasa Watanabe and Ai Narata, who were both outsiders, but for very, very different reasons. It might even surprise you to know I considered Ai an outsider at all, given her history.
I didn’t chose to review this series, but fortunately, sesameacrylic, did. Their review of the final episode of season 1 on RABUJOI captured the spirit of the final episode in an insightful, fun to read way. Portraying complex emotion in a review is not easy to do, and it was cool how smoothly this review presented the conflicting and joyfully painful feelings of the cast in the aftermath of the auditions for Romeo and Juliet (which, by the way, I maintain is not a tragedy, but a dark comedy; I mean, think about it!). The review even had a fantastic insight about the 100th Kouka class photo! Having just watched the episode, I found reading this review was a great way to organize my thoughts about the series as a whole. See if the review helps you celebrate this amazing series!
Ramblings N’ Scribbles
ANIME SHORT: STAR WARS: VISIONS – THE DUEL
I feel like I’m about to stand up at Star Wars Anonymous meeting and announce, “I am a Star Wars fan. I haven’t enjoyed a Star Wars movie since May 1983…” Well, I did enjoy Rogue One, so my record isn’t spotless. But the fact remains: I loved Star Wars. Past tense. As proof, I offer a Crow Historical Fact: When the original move came out in 1977, I watched it 17 times in the theater. The movie was a revelation in wonder. I even loved the slightly mis-registered engine exhaust special effects on the X-Wings as they approached the original Death Star. The theater is now a bowling alley, but as you can see, the memories remain.
I haven’t had a chance to watch Star Wars: Visions yet. But I really want to, because I think one or more episodes just might be able to recapture my love of that universe and the stories it can contain. So when I came across this review by EMIKOTHEWRITER on the site Ramblings N’Scribbles, I wondered cautiously what I was about to get myself into. Two things immediately jumped out at me: First, it sounds like her dad is a very intelligent man. Second, it sounds like the odds of my watching Star Wars: Visions just jumped up by about 100%. EMIKOTHEWRITER described one of the episodes, “The Duel,” in such loving detail that I think I know what I’m going to watch tonight when my wife and I sit down for our weekend “eat dinner and watch something because we are too busy at other times to watch anything.” If you have any interest in Star Wars at all, do yourself a favor and see what EMIKOTHEWRITER has to say.
Umai Yomu Anime Blog
Darker than Black Review (Spoiler Free)
I like to reviews that challenge my conception of what reviews can do. Long ago (in a galaxy far, far… no, that’s Star Wars…), I decided that my reviews would contain spoilers. The reason that I gave myself was that I want to celebrate moments or characters within a show. To convey maximum emotion, I thought I would need to use the details, which could (I thought obviously) include spoilers. Over the years, I’ve read several writers who have made me question that conclusion. For what I’m trying to do, I’m still sticking with spoilers and warnings of spoilers. At least for now.
Because reviews like this one by YOMU on Umai Yomu Anime Blog keeping me on my toes. Just recently, I expressed amazement that YOMU could write so movingly about Chaika -The Coffin Princess back in 5 Favorite Blog Posts from 2021 Week 37. Now, he’s back again, this time with another no-spoiler review review, this time of Darker than Black! Once again, I went in wondering what the heck he could say without spoilers, and once again, he impressed me! But there is a danger of reading entertaining reviews like this one: They make me want to watch the series again! And my back log is already enormous! Well, that’s a small price to pay for quality entertainment. See if you come away with the same reaction!
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, 22-28 September 2021: Gay Weddings in Rune Factory, Kageki Shojo Interview, and Death Stranding Update
- Lesley’s Anime and Mange Corner: Anime and Manga Posts That Caught My Eye This Week (October 1, 2021)
Thanks again for the shout-out!
You’re welcome! I really enjoyed reading your post!