Forty-second 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, like strong characters, intricate plots, or amazing worlds.
There are only two rules:
- I have to find the site to read it. I publish a list of the sites I review every week, so please do look for your site! If you don’t see it, I’d love for you to mention your site in the comments.
- Your post had to have been published during the last seven days (or so)
Remember, 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 article helps you find some of them!
Bloom Reviews
October Mythology Special: Homunculi and Alchemy
It’s getting close to Halloween, so what better time to explore Halloween-topical concepts in anime? If you’ve watched either Full Metal Alchemist or Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (both outstanding series!), you’ve probably heard of Homunculi. This post from Bloom Reviews takes a fascinating look at where the concept came from and how it developed over time. Not only does it touch on its relationship to alchemy, but it highlights some other series that included the concept — including one that I hadn’t even thought of despite it being one of my favorite shows! You’ll have to check out the article’s comments to see what I mean!
A Girl & Her Anime
The Cutest Monster Girls: Demi-chan wa Kataritai Review
You know how sometimes you watching a show and love it so much that you want to talk about it? And then you try to find sites that share your feelings? And while you find a lot of sites or forums or whatever that like the show, you find it difficult to find a place that got the show like you did? I just had an experience like that for Interviews with Monster Girls. Sure, a lot of folks liked it, but I haven’t found many that understood the show like A Girl & Her Anime understood it! This article captured almost exactly what I adored about this series. I’m not saying that folks who like other aspects are wrong, just that it’s a relief to know that someone else saw some of the more beautiful aspects of the show!
I Drink and Watch Anime
How I Deal With Unpleasant Anime Fandoms
If you’ve watched anime for more than a few weeks, you’ve probably encountered fans whose devotion is, let’s say, in excess of yours. Or, put another way, whose tolerance for views other than theirs is not great — and whose reactions against anyone who does not share their adoration for a given show can become less than pleasant. There are a lot of techniques to dealing with such encounters, but rarely have I encountered a post whose advice so gracefully combines understanding, finesse, and hard-earned real-world experience. I’m talking, of course, of this article from I Drink and Watch Anime. If you want to read a great approach to dealing with this kind of fan — or heck, with anyone who tries to takes things to an extreme (I’m looking at you, United States body politic!), do your yourself a favor and read this article.
Jon Spencer Reviews
Violet Evergarden & Special – A Letter From the Heart
Have you ever been talking to someone about an anime you loved and found they dismissed it? Or even dismissed the entire genre? Hold that thought in your left hand. Now, think about a time when an anime character absolutely nailed a state, or a condition, or a mentality that so closely captured your experience of life that it might as well been written just for you? And further, that the character’s very existence gave you a sense of peace that perhaps others might just be able to understand you? Now, put that thought in your right hand. Those two thoughts are absolutely incompatible, aren’t they? Tot he point where you need to throw one of them away — for health reasons! The point of that exercise (and apologies if it didn’t adequately communicate the concept) is that anime is important for many reasons. One of those reasons is that like all art, it holds a mirror up to life, and sometimes, we see ourselves in that mirror. It’s a validation that we’re not alone and that someone else shares our experience. This post from Jon Spencer Reviews is a courageous explanation of how the author saw that idea play out in Violet Evergarden. It just so happens that I saw a lot of myself in this article, too! But that’s not why I can recommend it. It’s just a great read!
Just a Whole Lot of Weird
Zombieland Saga Theory: The Managers True Plan For The Girls
Okay, I might be biased in favor of this article because Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime and I are are collaborating on reviews for Zombieland Saga. Or, I might just have great taste. (Actually, it’s the latter — this is a fun article!) Either way, I really enjoy the show. But like many other reviewers and folks who just share their opinion on social media, I wonder about the manager, Koutarou Tatsumi. There’s just something off about the guy. Well, turns out that Just a Whole Lot of Weird just wrote an article that presents a shocking theory — with evidence to support it! Dramatically, I think it fits the show’s universe — and it certainly fits the show’s subversive attitude! Want to know more? You know what to do!
Marshmellow Pastel
A fascist anime? Doing a post-mortem on Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria
Wait, the mild-mannered, fairly bland (with apologies to anyone who enjoyed it!) isekai anime The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar is actually a mouthpiece for fascism? What the what? I didn’t hate the show, but I certainly didn’t think it was so socially perverse! Before reading the post, I wasn’t sure I understood what this post from Marshmellow Pastel was all about! But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, as the saying goes, and boy does this article deliver! By the time I’d finished reading it and checking its references, the conclusion was staring me right in the face! And you might be surprised not only at the evidence, but at the author’s effort to make clear what the post was not saying. Sometimes that’s as important as the main point!
Thanks for the praise! I’m glad that I’m not just seeing the ghosts of a dead ideology. To have anyone enjoy the post makes me feel less crazy to have even written it.
I was honestly impressed by the high quality of the research and presentation. It’s not often that a post makes me stop and realized I’d missed something that significant!
The only think I’d say is crazy is that I’m afraid that ideology isn’t quite as dead as many of us thought it was…
WOW – you made me discover an awesome new blog. It’s been a while since that’s happened. Thank you! and of course for the mention as well!
Oh, cool! I’m glad! Thanks for letting me know.
And of course, you’re welcome for the mention — and thanks for another great read!