Welcome to my favorite anime community posts from 2021 week 16!
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!
My Favorite Anime Community Posts from 2021 Week 16
Alo’s Watchlist
Why Mawaru Penguindrum makes sense – when it shouldn’t
You know how there are some series that you watched, are intensely glad that you watched, but could not possibly bear to watch again? That’s Mawaru Penguindrum for me. Every character in that series broke a different piece of my heart. By the end, my desire to quit was second only to my desire to finish it and tough out the pain with the characters I’d come to care so much about.
Notice what I didn’t say: I didn’t say it was bad. And to be even more clear: It wasn’t. It was magnificent. But it resonated on a frequency to close to the creeping despair that I keep at bay only by constant vigilance. If you don’t have that particular problem, you’ll probably want to watch the series. It’s not only because of the amazing characters. That’s the point of this post by aloveyoutoo on the site Alo’s Watchlist. This post presents amazing insights into what makes Penguindrum tick. In doing so, it describes exactly what makes the show so powerful. See if the post talked about your favorite parts of the show!
Curiously Dead Cat
Best Date Ever! (Combatants Will Be Dispatched! ep 2)
There are a number of reasons I’ve chosen to celebrate anime. You probably remember me talking about how if I let myself get too negative, it’s not so much a slippery slop as a sheer cliff. So I try to focus on the positive while not lying about the negative. But there’s another benefit (beyond the obvious one of me not morphing into a vicious troll). The other benefit? I can celebrate moments in an anime I might otherwise stay away from.
Here’s an example: Combatants Will Be Dispatched! I watched the first episode, and though Alice Kisaragi with a pump shotgun is awesome, the main character, Sentouin Roku-gou, annoyed the daylights out of me. I don’t even know what daylights are, but I could feel them leave my body as I watched. Fortunately, though, I don’t have to let something like an annoying/reprehensible character prevent me from acknowledging a wonderful moment. That’s where this post from NegativePrimes on Curiously Dead Cat comes in. There was a moment in episode 2 that was simply beautiful, and that’s what this post is about. It sounds like it was more than beautiful — it borders on astonishing. Did you see it? Did you have the same impression that NegativePrimes did?
I Drink and Watch Anime
Shadows House episode 1 – Emilico
Sometimes, a series comes seemingly out of nowhere. That seems to be the case with Shadows House. Not only did it come out of nowhere: It seems to be based on an unusual concept. I’ll be honest: I have so little time to dedicate to fiction that if I can’t see the appeal of a show in under, like, 5 seconds, I might end up skipping it. Yes, that’s a problem, because I miss out on lots of good stuff. But everything I choose to watch means I chose something else not to watch. That’s just how it works. Fortunately, there are writers like Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime who can convey the spirit and contents of a series in a very brief space. After reading Irina’s post, I’m now going to find some way to make time to watch Shadows House. What do you think? Is it something you want to watch, too?
Matt Doyle Media
Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defence [Anime Review]
Some series are able to take an idea that should fall on its face and make it work. The Misfit of Demon King Academy was one recent example. The ridiculously overpowered (OP) character Anos Voldigoad should not have worked, but it did — hilariously well, in fact. That’s not the only show in which an OP character worked, and it might not even have been the most enjoyable. That honor might belong to BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense and its main character, Maple. That’s exactly the idea that this post by mattdoylemedia on the site Matt Doyle Media talks about in delightful detail. Why did Maple being OPed work? What helped the show succeed where others failed? You know what you need to do to find out!
Shallow Dives in Anime
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions Season 1: Like a Laser
There are so many powerful series out there, with many more coming out each year, that it’s easy to lose track of even the most enjoyable series. We just talked about Matt Doyle Media’s review of Bofuri, which reminded me I hadn’t bought it yet. Fortunately, the iTunes store had the original Japanese version, so I was able to fix that oversight. But a lot of times, it takes reading a review to remind me of these awesome older series. That happened twice this week. The first was Bofuri (see above), and the second was triggered by Dewbond’s post on Shallow Dives in Anime. This time, the series was Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!, and that reminded me of much fun the show was to watch. Dewbond, in his typical non-nonsense fashion, clearly lays out what made the show that way. See if he touches on your favorite elements1
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!
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions is so much fun. I watched that one on a sim and did not regret it.
On a whim, rather. My phone has a weird autocorrect.
I had this image of you somehow being able to watch Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions within The Sims! That would be quite a feat!
I bet there are mods! People seem to be able to do anything with that game.