My Favorite Anime Community Posts – 2020 Week 47 Edition

Welcome to my favorite anime community posts, Other Posts to Crow About, for 2020 Week 47!

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 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 alphabetical order (A to Z).

My Favorite Anime Posts from 2020 Week 47

BENEATH THE TANGLES

Review: Aria the Animation (Blu-Ray)

I rarely get involved with Kickstarter projects. It’s not because I have anything against them. It’s just that I have so much going on that it would take something special to attract my attention. Well, a few years ago (was it really 2017 — where does time go?), I heard of a Kickstarter program to produce a Blu Ray of Aria the Animation, and for the first time ever (and the only time since), I was in. Why? What was it about the series that convinced even time-stingy me to get involved? Well, I’d love to tell you — I really would! — but I found a post from Josh on BENEATH THE TANGLES that’s already written. It’s so close to what I would have said that I wondered briefly if I’d forgotten I’d written it. But no, this post is actually lucid, and it’s done — so there’re two more reasons you should go read it!

Check out the post here!

Fortress William

DARK FANTASY ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS

Maybe it’s 2020. Maybe it’s the election cycle in the USA. Maybe it’s the heroic attempt by some state election officials to throw off a would-be despot’s attempts to overthrow a legitimate election. Whatever the reason, I’ve been in the mood for more serious anime. I take courage from seeing characters stand up to unspeakable evil and prevail. Or not, as the case may be. That why I was really excited to come across this post by GEATSXSHOGUN on the site Fortress William. As I began to read it, I noticed the post talked about some of the strongest representatives of the genre. And the more I read, the more I liked it! It’s rare that I’ve seen all of the shows in a list; it’s even more rare when I enthusiastically endorse every entry! So, if you’d like to see what dark fantasies I would have recommended, look no farther!

Check out the post here!

I Drink and Watch Anime

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou was a Sweet but Uncomfortable Experience

You ever have this experience? You watch an anime series and remember it fondly. Occasionally, you’ll see a review or a post about it and smile in recognition. Then, you read another view and realize that the show came out almost a decade ago, and it seemed like just yesterday. Or maybe the day before. That happened to me this week when I read Irina’s review of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou on the site I Drink and Watch Anime. The series came out in 2012! Good Lord, how old am I? More to the point, this post really brought back my memories of how much I enjoyed the series. It even addressed a touchy subject, one of the few distractions I had with the show. What was it? I’ll only give you a hint taken from one of Irina’s captions: “Who gave her a knife?” It’ll make sense when you read the article!

Check out the post here!

The Illusion of Memories

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid – Delightfully Wholesome and Wonderfully Comfy

There’s a lot to like about Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. There’s the opening where Kobayashi, the main character, meets the dragon Tohru while she’s dragon form. Hilarious and dramatic at the same time! Then there’s the character themselves. I really identified with Kobayashi as a software developer myself (I actually do security now, but once a developer, always a developer — it’s a mind set thing). Then there’s all of the interesting and dynamic relationships. But the show is so multi-layered and well-written that there actually more. A lot more! And that’s why I’d like to celebrate this post by Daphnei on the site The Illusion of Memories. It’s the first post to deal with an aspect of the show that’s always impressed me — and reminded me of Hagrid of Harry Potter fame. What in the the world am I talking about? Well, the best way to find out is to read the article!

Check out the post here!

TakamakiJoker Anime Reviews

Anime Review 161 Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Part 1 out of 2

Do you find that some older anime series have a real appeal — an appeal beyond what nostalgia can explain? Sometimes, there’s a grandeur that’s hard to find nowadays (and was maybe hard to find back then, too!). Or maybe there’re some bigger than life themes. And then there are cases where there are both! The trouble with some older series is that some of them haven’t aged well. Fortunately, at least one of those old great series have seen a recent remake: Star Blazers 2199. Well, I say “recent.” It’s as old as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Where does the time go? Anyway, this week I was lucky enough to find this review of Star Blazers 2199 written by TakamakiJ on the site TakamakiJoker Anime Reviews. It lays out exactly what made the series so powerful, without overlooking some details that held it back. It’s probably the most complete treatment of the series that I’ve read — and the screen caps both showcase the show’s art and drive home the article’s points. See what you think!

Check out the post here!