Fourteenth week of 2018 edition!
This is a Crow’s eye view of the posts that caught my attention this week. Typically, they’ll be posts that celebrate some aspect of anime, in particular strong characters, intricate plots, or amazing worlds.
There are only two rules:
- I have to find the site to read it. So, if you never see your site mentioned, it might be that I don’t know it’s there! Please feel free to mention your site in the comments.
- Your post had to have been published during the last seven days (or so)
You can find a list of the sites I check every week here.
There’re a lot of good posts in the anime space. I hope this post helps you find some of them!
100 Word Anime
Friday’s Feature: Strong Female Character?
I’m a big fan of strong female characters — strong referring not only to physical strength, but other characteristics as well. Need proof? Check out my 5 Female Characters I’d Fight Beside Any Day post (okay, that focuses on physical strength, but work with me here…). Shameless self-promotion aside, I really enjoyed the perspective in this post from 100 Word Anime. After invoking the spirit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the post discusses what strength means in a variety of contexts. It also uses Princess Principal as a positive — and I’ll use any opportunity to promote that show!
Anime Girls NYC
ANIME PET PEEVES!! WHAT ARE YOURS??
When I read a post like this one, I expect to see certain points. For example, I expect a pet peeve to be inappropriate fan service, because it’s pretty common and terribly distracting. What caught my attention in this post from Anime Girls NYC was that it included pet peeves that I have, but rarely see mentioned! I find numbers 2 and 4 (I don’t want to give them away here!) particularly annoying!
Anime Feminist
[Review] Devils’ Line – Episode 1
I both hate and love the time between seasons. I’m looking for a new show to review, and that’s exciting! But I’m worried that I’ll either miss a great show by choosing the wrong show too early, or I’ll miss reviewing a great show by misjudging a first episode. So it was with mixed feelings that I started watching Devils’ Line this week. I liked some of it, wasn’t sure about other parts, until… Well, let’s just say that Anime Feminist hit the proverbial nail on the head with their review.
Anime Q and A
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby! Episode 1 & 2 – Anime QandA Review (Collab with Irina!)
Remember what I just said about the time between seasons? I’m also afraid of missing a good show because I misjudge the title. I had absolutely no intention of watching this show until I read a tweet from @sliceofalfredo. So I watched it. And this post from Anime Q and A perfectly captures my reaction! I guess I shouldn’t judge a show by its title — and you think I would have learned my lesson rom Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, woudln’t you?
I Drink and Watch Anime
Lines in the Sand – My Fanservice Comfort Zone
Fan service seems to be a difficult topic to talk about. Well, talk about with any seriousness! Discussions can become polarizing and people can end up with hurt feelings. I’ve taken the hopelessly over-simplified position that I can enjoy the fan service if the character is in charge of the event. Miia from Monster Musume accidentally letting her shirt fall open to seduce Darling-kun? Good fan service! Ichigo’s position while in the FranXX in Darling in the FranXX? Not good fan service at all. I like it when I come across an essay that expands the discussion in helpful ways. This post from I Drink and Watch Anime is one of the best treatments of the topic that I’ve read. Great examples, lucid discussion, and a great comments section make it really easy to recommend this post.
Lethargic Ramblings
IN DEFENSE OF LIGHT NOVEL ADAPTATIONS
I’m not a big fan of negativity. For example, you won’t catch me bad-mouthing Sword Art Online, primarily because I really enjoyed it. But I’ve never understood why some folks seem so down on a show because of its origins! So when I read the title of this post from Lethargic Ramblings, I was really curious what direction it would take. Would it be a real defense? Would it be sarcastic? What examples would it use? By the time I read the article’s positive example of A Certain Magical Index, I was sold! I think this post shares an insightful and balanced perspective on the topic.
Railgunfan75’s Geek Blog
Why Sword Art Online is the Perfect Anime for Newcomers
Let’s keep the light novel theme going! I try to celebrate anime here at Crow’s World of Anime. But I don’t like to ignore weaknesses, even in the shows I like. This post from Railgunfan75’s Geek Blog attracted my attention because of the honesty it showed in discussing why Sword Art Online is perfect for newcomers. Far from ignoring the show’s weaker points, it showcases them and discusses why they might round out the experience for newcomers.
Nice collection, though the link to the Sword Art article is busted.
Well, that’s the second time you’ve caught an error I missed! That’s just embarrassing… Looks like I need to institute better QA! Thanks for catching it, and thanks for letting me know!