Every week, I visit about 270 anime sites looking for posts that celebrate amazing moments in anime or otherwise blow me away with their wit and charm. These are my five favorite posts for the week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
You can see a list of the sites I check here: Massive List of Sites!
Beneath the Tangles
First Impression: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc
Do you want to hear a confession? I haven’t started watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc yet. Isn’t that scandalous? I’ve reviewed the previous seasons, and I’ve enjoyed each. And I will watch this, but I just flat out don’t have the time right now. It’s a shame, because based on this review by Twwk on the site Beneath the Tangles, it sounds like the the latest season has everything I liked from the previous. But that’s the cool thing about backlogs is that they give me something to look forward to. Until then, check out Twwk’s first impressions of the latest season!
The Con Artists
Train to the End of the World – Episode 02
Of the shows I’m not reviewing this season, Train to the End of the World seems to have the most absurdist potential. I like a good crazy comedy, and the brief scenes I’ve seen from the show suggest this might fit the bill. After reading this review by CONARTISTSUSHMA on the site The Con Artists, I’m even more convinced the show will appeal to me. But, well, you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about a lack of time. So instead, let’s talk about how personable and accessible CONARTISTSUSHMA’s post is — which is to way, a lot of both! Go see what I mean!
Japan Powered
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Facing Death and Memory
A series doesn’t have to offer a deep theme. It doesn’t have to touch on universal concepts or the human condition. Sometimes, it’s fun to just sit back and enjoy something funny or light. But other times, I crave something with more substances. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End had that substance. I’d find myself reflecting on an episode without meaning to, just because of the points it raised — and raised subtly. CHRIS KINCAID, on the site Japan Powered, talked about some of those ideas in Frieren. Turns out I don’t just enjoy a series that deals with those issues — I enjoy a thoughtful, nuanced post about those idea, too! Here’s a perfect example.
Merlin’s Musings
Anime Review: Helck
This seems to be “not enough time” week here on Crow’s World of Anime. Because there’s another show I wanted to watch from a few seasons back. It was called Helck. I liked the ascetic in the scenes I saw. I liked the humor, too. But I just ran out of time. Fortunately, I can live vicariously through posts like this one by Merlin on the site Merlin’s Musings. Apparently, I was right to regret not watching this show. Not only was I right about the humor — it looks like this series also had something a little more weighty to say. So, onto the backlog it goes! Go see if Merlin talked about what you liked about the series — or find reasons to watch it for the first time!
Shallow Dives in Anime
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom: A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
I love writing series. A long-running series offers opportunities for depth of character and mythology that single books or single seasons just can’t match. Among long-running anime series, Gundam is one that takes full advantage of its length to build a multi-layered and intricate world. On the site Shallow Dives in Anime, Dewbond just wrote about the movie Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom. Did it take advantage of the rich tapestry that came before it? Did it expand the world and characters? Dewbond, in his usual concise, clear way, lays it all out for you!
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, 8-14 May 2024: Aggretsuko’s Commodified Rage, Medical GoFundMe, and 50 Years of Hana to Yume
- LESLEY’S ANIME AND MANGA CORNER: Anime, Manga, and Light Novel Blog Posts That Caught My Eye This Week (May 17, 2024)
Thanks so much for the link to our post Crow! Train to the End of the World is so-so here at the half way point. I think I was hoping for something more thought provoking (or darker).
Thanks a ton for linking to our post Crow! I really appreciate it. So far Train to the End of the World is so-so. I think we were hoping it would be more exciting (and darker honestly).
You’re welcome!
For some reason, WordPress marked your first comment for moderation, and I didn’t see that you’d posted a second, which WordPress didn’t hold. WordPress is weird.
But given Train to the End of the World’s premise, I would have expected it to go darker, too. Well, it’s not over yet! It might still surprise us!
My main post on Re:zero about why I thought Priscilla initially fancied Subaru, to the point where she will have to use coping mechanisms the next time she meets him is so incredibly long that some of the content might’ve been lost on people who read it since I interweave so many points together. I’ll put out a simplified version here for one of my described routes Tappei could take the story.
I believe one of the reasons Priscilla might’ve been traumatized by Subaru’s outburst at the castle is Priscilla had in a sense claimed Subaru as hers in declaring to Marcos that Subaru is her appa handler and taunting Emilia about Subaru being her manservant in Episode 12 as she saw him as being a man of value after she contradicted him about appas and tried to protect her from the thugs.
The reason she could be traumatized by this is due to the perceived difference in status of herself, a high-ranking noble, and Emilia, who is the spitting image of the most feared being in the world, Satella, a half-devil, as she said. Given the prejudice against Emilia, that Subaru declared himself out in the open with no room for interpretation as Emilia’s knight showed that Subaru had completely rejected her (Priscilla) even though she had laid claim on him.
For someone with such a huge ego as Priscilla, Emilia being the object of Subaru’s affection instead of herself did some damage to her pride considering Subaru chose the girl who looks like the biggest monster in the world over her, who is rich, beautiful, and probably very influential. That Subaru chose someone who is reviled by many despite them not knowing Emilia’s character in a sense makes it that Priscilla lost Subaru’s affection to the most reviled being currently walking this Earth, which would make Priscilla the loser to end all losers. As such, this was shameful for Priscilla.
Couple that moment Subaru declared himself Emilia’s knight with everything that came after that with how he was humiliated in public with Emilia’s distress over him being there and the public beating from Julius, and it became both shameful and humiliating for Priscilla to have thought Subaru as being someone of special significance to her personally, to the point that she questioned her instincts as a woman since she had fancied Subaru due to perceiving him as a man of value. This could cause her to repress her memories of Subaru as a coping mechanism to deal with intrusive thoughts about Subaru’s fall from grace and how he chose Emilia over her when she thought it’d be a no-brainer for anyone to choose her over Emilia.
I personally experienced a very shameful moment that resulted in me repressing my memories of the woman I wanted to marry for most of my life for nearly 8 years with me forgetting her overnight, so I have firsthand experience with how great shame can cause one to experience what is called in psychology repression. That is why I am partial to my Subaru and Priscilla endgame couple theory. While I think it’s likely that Subaru currently finds Priscilla’s behaviour a turn-off, I believe she will receive character development toward the end of the story that smooths out some of her worst qualities.
That’s plausible. I think there was a point to Subaru meeting her early in the story, and in how she reacted. It’ll be interesting to see if that plays out in the coming seasons!