Welcome to my favorite anime community posts, Other Posts to Crow About, for 2020 Week 36!
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 every week, and I can tell you that the ani-blogging community writes a ton of amazing posts. I hope this list helps you find some of them!
Here’s the list of the sites I check!
Review Order
This week, I reviewed the sites in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A).
My Favorite Anime Posts from 2020 Week 36
Starting Life from Zero
Re:Zero S2E9 – The Witches’ Tea Party!
Another edition of Other Posts to Crow About, another post about Re:ZERO Season 2! This week, the episode had a lot to do with witches, and not only Echidna — though to be honest, I wouldn’t mind a couple of episodes focusing on her and her backstory! In a cast of amazing characters, she stands out, at least for me. And it’s not only because of her choice of tea! But rather than me blather on about it, let me call your attention to Mari’s recent post on Starting Life from Zero. Mari talks about the introduction of Typhon, Minerva, and Daphne. Did episode 34 get it right? Did we get a good feel for the characters? Or did the episode botch it? This article knows — and so will you after you read it!
Random Curiosity
Sword Art Online Alicization: War of Underworld – 20
I’ve given my reasons for deciding to focus on celebrating anime instead of critiquing it. The TL;DR version is that the short term, bitter pleasure of ripping something apart is cancerous, at least for me. Cynicism is just too tempting, and if I’m to maintain any semblance of warmth, I need to work at it. 2020 has been one big reminder of that idea. A recent example has been my feelings as I watched the last two episodes of SAO Alicization: War of the Underworld. It was like I wanted to take my 2020 frustrations out on the show. That’s not only not fair, it’s dishonest. I forced myself to acknowledge the indisputable facts, like how well the show had been animated and how well it had leveraged its own lore. Yet, my own opinion remained a contradictory mess. That’s why I was relieved to find this post by Zaiden on Random Curiosity. Its adoration of the show is plain, and that was helpful. Most of all, though, the post just celebrated the episode and told why it should be celebrated. This post was a good reminder that whatever’s going on in the world, it’s important to love what you love.
Never Argue with a Fish
Anime Corner: Astra Lost in Space Review
I remember watching Astra Lost in Space for the first time. Even if I forget, I could re-read my reviews, but it’s not likely I’ll have to. I don’t get to watch very many science fiction anime series, or at least science fiction series that take place in space. There are some, of course, but Astra Lost in Space happened mostly onboard a starship or the planets it landed it. At the same time, there was so much about Astra Lost in Space that stood out. Since this isn’t my review, I don’t want to make you sit through my reasons for thinking highly of this series. instead, please let me point out this post by neverarguewithafish from the site Never Argue with a Fish. In just a handful of paragraphs, the post celebrates what made the series so much fun to watch — and so satisfying, too! See if it touched on the things that you enjoyed!
GEEKNABE
Spice and Wolf: The complicated matters of the heart
There’s a problem with running an anime blog. There is simply not enough time to talk about all the anime that deserves talking about. Reviewing seasonal anime helps a little. Every season, I get to recognize the wonderful moments in the series I watch. But what about the series I don’t watch? What about the series that came out years ago? I occasionally induct a series into the Caw of Fame, and I even review one older series per season. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever catch up. There is good news, though. I’m not in this alone. Other bloggers also talk about deserving series. Take this post by nabe-chan on GEEKNABE, for example. It about how beautiful Spice and Wolf is. The examples in this post are so compelling that it’s all I can do to keep reading blogs (it’s Friday night as I write this). I really, really want to rewatch Spice and Wolf right now! I’ll bet that if you read this article, you’ll have the same reaction!
Everything is Bad for You
ON THE USE OF PUBLIC OFFICE TO SUPPRESS THE DISPLAY AND SALE OF ARTISTIC WORKS
I’m a simple man. I have a very simple perception of the world. One of the very simple things I perceive is that it’s a very good idea to learn from our ancestors’ mistakes. Our ancestors learned, for example, that allowing a single individual to have too much power is a really bad idea. They learned that allowing others to control speech was a really bad idea, too. The cost of those lessons was often measured in blood. So back to simple me, I now look on a world where the Australian government has banned certain light novels because of reasons. The reasons don’t matter; our ancestors already learned that allowing anyone to have that kind of power is a bad idea. I guess we need to do a better job of teaching history, huh? Well, until we can do that, I’ve come across a succinct discussion of the topic by AK on Everything is Bad for You. The post is written from a perspective of authority, given that AK is a lawyer. After the beating my faith in humanity has taken in the last few years, it’s good to read something like this post. It reminds me that there are islands of sanity left in the world!
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!
I always love reading your posts 🙂 thanks for the mention and I’m excited to check out the other blogs too!
“I always love reading your posts ”
Thanks!
“thanks for the mention ”
You’re welcome. I really enjoy reading your take on Re:ZERO. The show’s so intricate, and I like your insights.
Thanks again for the shoutout, Crow! We just have to keep refusing to back down when those self-appointed censors try to force their will on all of us.
“Thanks again for the shoutout, Crow! ”
You’re welcome!
“We just have to keep refusing to back down when those self-appointed censors try to force their will on all of us.”
Maybe I’m just getting old and tired, but it seems to be getting harder and harder. Too few people seem to grasp the idea that giving a government the power to control expression is worse than any gains.
I am so tired of the “think of the children!” argument. It’s precisely on behalf of the children (and all the rest of us) that we need speech to be free. Trying to use them as an excuse to take away freedoms is so disingenuous.
But it works so often…
Yeah, that argument is ridiculous. Especially when we already have age-restriction ratings on all media. If they were concerned with the children, they’d be looking at how to effectively enforce those instead of preventing adults from reading what we like.
The narrative in western countries seems to have shifted more towards this idea of “ban what I don’t like” which is disturbing. I hope these vocal pro-censorship minorities can be pushed back to the fringes where they belong, but like you say, it seems to be getting harder. We just have to do our best.