Ninth 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.
- The 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!
Anime Evo
No Game No Life: Zero
I can’t say enough good about the series No Game No Life, so this movie review from Anime Evo caught my attention. I haven’t seen the movie, but after reading this review, I really, really want to! That’s about the best praise I can give a review, don’t you think?
ANIME FEMINIST
[Feature] Hyouka’s poetic depictions of normalizing otherness
I need to write things down more often, because I’ve forgotten which blogger introduced me to Hyouka. The show’s characters are subtle and enjoyable masterpieces, and their interaction is an absolute joy to watch. This review from ANIME FEMINIST captures the show’s spirit, and it features an interesting discussion of how the show redefines its genre.
Anime Q and A
Elfen Lied – 20 Question Anime Review
There are a handful of shows I use as bellwethers to give me an idea of a reviewer’s depth and perception. I hope I’m not showing just how secretly judgemental I am, but it’s true. Elfen Lied is one of those series. And guess what? Anime Q and A did a great job capturing some of the subtleties and contradictions in the plot and characters! If you haven’t seen the series, this post is a good place to start. If you have seen it, give the post a read to see how close it comes to your impression of the show.
Humble Ace
Are Any of My Favourite Shows Really My ‘Favourites’?
I think those of us who write reviews sometimes ask ourselves this question. What’s it mean for a show to be a favorite? Is it something I have to watch over and over and over again? Did I binge it because I couldn’t stop — or did I have to force myself to finish it? I like how this article approaches the question. And no, I didn’t include this post from Humble Ace because it mentioned Log Horizon, which really is one of my favorites!
KAWAIIPAPERPANDAS
Violet Evergarden Episode 8: Harsh Reality
I measure a show’s success by how well it can blot out the real world around me and pull me into the character. In this case, episode 8 of Violet Evergarden so successful that I thought I’d… Well, why listen to me drone on when you can read about it in an elegant and insightful post from KAWAIIPAPERPANDAS? One minor warning: there’s some language that could be considered harsh, but in my estimation? It was a perfect reflection of my reaction to several scenes.
Mechanical Anime Reviews
The Big O: Negotiations with Giant Robots
Mechanical Anime Reviews is participating in a new series called Mecha March, where the poster is”going to have one review of an older mecha series posted every Friday.” What a cool idea! Some of us are old enough to actually remember some of those older shows, so seeing them reviewed is a treat. The site kicks off the series with The Big O. Mechanical Anime Reviews’ made it sound really interesting — might have to add it to my to do list!
The Only Shinyuu Site
My Top Ten Favorite Anime Openings
You may not know how I approach writing this weekly column, but it’s important to explain something so you know the impact of this post from The Only Shinyuu Site. I have a small window on Sunday morning where I can read posts from the more than 115 sites I follow. Basically, I’m at the reading equivalent of a dead run. So for a post to stop me in my tracks for 10 or 15 minutes means it had quite the impact! This post sounds like it has a simple premise, right? 10 favorite openings. Well, the author chose 10 really, really good openings! I had to stop and listen to most of them! I have to admit I’m a particular fan of numbers 1, 5, 7, and 9. The only reason I didn’t mention the rest? Well, it seems I have some gaps in my back catalog, so now I have some more anime to watch!
Random Curiosity
Darling in the Franxx – 08
Another week, another slow dribble of hints and world-building from Darling in the FranXX. Random Curiosity has a good breakdown of this week’s episode, including the ominous hints of the previous 13th squad and musings on the apparently unique event of current parasites all hitting puberty at once.
