Welcome to my 5 favorite anime blog posts from 2021 week 50!
Every week I look for posts that celebrate amazing moments in anime or otherwise blow me away with their wit and charm. I check over 300 sites, and I can tell you that the ani-blogging community constantly produces a huge number of amazing posts. I hope this list helps you find some of them!
Here’s the list of the sites I check!
Anime Evo
Banished from the Hero’s Party – 10
Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside has delivered surprise after surprise this season. First, it gave us an adorable and wholesome romance between Rit and Red. Their relationship is right up Stella and Ikki from Chivalry of a Failed Knight as the superlative examples of what anime romance can be. Second, the show actually has a plot! Now, maybe I’m guilty of stereotyping, but when I first read that title, I thought the show might be good for a few laughs. But I didn’t expect to feel so engaged with the plot!
But that’s not all the show has going for it, as this review by Flareknight from Anime Evo shows. One of the show’s arcs deals with Ruti, Red’s sister. She’s a hero in a world where being a hero kind of sucks. Well, not kind of — it’s actually subject to major suckage. What I like about Flareknight’s post is the lens he applied to Ruti’s situation. Not only did I enjoy reading what he had to say. I marveled once again that a show with such a title could support a marvelously complex character analysis! I guess I shouldn’t judge an anime by its title. See if Flareknight talks about your favorite parts of this episode!
Couch and Chill
[Review] Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba-Mugen Train Arc Episode 7
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how emotionally invested some of us can get in the anime series we watch. Sometimes a show can un-invest us, too, and I’ll talk about that in a moment. Right now, I want to focus on how a series like Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc can make us feel. Though maybe that’s the wrong way to put it. Maybe I should say instead that I wonder how Demon Slayer can invite us to feel a certain way. There’s no doubt that our wiling suspension of disbelief is part of the equation. On the artist’s side, is it merely technique? For most of my writing career, that’s where I’ve focused my attention.
I’m not saying that I was necessarily wrong. However, when I read Ang’s review of episode 7 of Mugen Train Arc on the site Couch and Chill, I noticed two things. First, she described watching an episode that strongly moved her in way that was itself strongly moving. Second, she did not mention techniques like foreshadowing or character traits. It’s what she did mention that is so interesting. Certainly, technique’s involved. I mean, it’s impossible to present any kind of story without solid technique. But I think my focus on technique alone was too narrow. If I want my writing to affect people like Demon Slayer affected Ang (and, to be honest, me, too!), then I need to widen my perception. See what kind of insights this article can give you!
The Magic Planet
Let’s Watch TAKT OP.DESTINY: Episode 10
Demon Slayer can make a grown man cry. I’ve seen it happen! It’s because the show found a way to emotionally connect to at least some of its viewers. The opposite can also happen. A show can start out looking like it’s a good emotional investment, and then it can come apart. All of us can list series that did that to us. But do you know what fascinates me even more? A series that can strike deep emotional chords with some people, and for apparently the same reasons, violently repel others. This season, I think takt op.Destiny is that kind of show.
I’m still heavily invested in this show. But I should hate it! In my review of the most recent episode, I confessed that the technique-oriented section of my brain practically walked out on me! What caused such a division in myself was that part of me who adores this show. I can articulate why, partly, but I’m not satisfied by the answer. I think the problem’s not only that I lack the vocabulary. It’s that I don’t even have the conceptual framework to understand it! I think that’s why Jane the Anime Witch’s posts like this one on The Magic Planet have captured my imagination. In each post about this series, she not only demonstrates that she gets what this show is saying. She explains it! And bit by bit, I’m beginning to see an outline of ideas that might help me get it, too. See if you find this post as delightful as I did!
The Raving Otaku
Soul Eater vs Fire Force: is one better than the other?
If you’ve watched both Soul Eater and Fire Force, then I think you probably saw the similarities in art style. Character design looked similar in some cases, too! A couple of shots in Fire Force actually got me to wondering: Did the two series actually have more in common than just that? When I came across this post by Leshy on the site Raving Otaku, I thought it would just be a fun comparison. But it was much more than that! It explored the similarities between the two shows and came up with some really cool conclusions! See how they mesh with your impressions of the shows!
Shallow Dives in Anime
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night: I got 99 floors, but Mito’s only on one.
I almost feel like I’m taking sides by saying that I liked Sword Art Online. Some shows just seem to divide people into tribes, and this is one of them! It’s not that I have a problem with someone not liking the show. But there’s a difference between not liking a show and attacking people who do like it, simply because they do. That just seems odd to me.
But that’s one of the reasons I like reviews like this one by Dewbond on the site Shallow Dives in Anime. Is it because he liked the show? Or didn’t like the show? Nope. It’s because when I read one of his reviews, like this review of Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, I’m can tell I’m getting his honest, individually-driven opinion. He’s not signaling membership in this or that social group. He’s not attacking people who disagree with him. Instead, he’s telling us his honest opinion. And in this world? That’s pure gold. See what you think!
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, 1-7 December 2021: Trans VTuber Love, Cupid Parasite, and Lack of Women at Nintendo
- Lesley’s Anime and Manga Corner: Anime Blog Posts That Caught My Eye This Week (December 10, 2021)
