Other Posts to Crow About – 2019 Week 22 Edition

Twenty-second week of 2019 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, moments of beauty, or amazing worlds.

There are only two rules:

1. 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 so I can add it to the list!
2. 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 blogosphere. I hope this article helps you find some of them!

Review Order

This week, I reviewed the sites in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A).

Umai Yomu Anime Blog

Anime A to Z: X – xxxHOLiC (Spoiler-Free Review)

The first post that caught my attention this week made me realize something: I haven’t talked to you about one of my all time favorite series! That series is xxxHOLiC. It was absolutely enchanting, and it seems that reviewers struggle to capture that. But I just found a reviewer who nailed it! Not only that, but Chris’ post on Umai Yomu Anime Blog speaks well of the Zashiki-warashi, who I think is even more dear and precious and wonderful than Tooru (and yes, I know how amazing Tooru is!). There. I said it! And I stand beside what I said! Ahem. This review captures many of the things I liked about the series, and one of the things that I almost didn’t like (almost!). My only complaint about the article? No mention of Ame-warashi! Well, no review is perfect, and this one was otherwise a blast to read. Now it’s your turn!

Check out the post here!

The Otaku Author

Fruits Basket (Episode 8) – See You When You Get Back

I know this might come as a shock, but please brace yourself: I found an interesting and insightful post about Fruits Basket this week! Okay, maybe it’s not a shock. Okay, okay, you expected it. Be that as it may, Lynn Sheridan’s post on The Otaku Author describes his experience of watching episode 8. The article contains a lot of interest tidbits about the show, plus one that I thought was absolutely fantastic and apropos for the character — but if I tell you which character, I’ll spoil the surprise! So, if you’re at all interested, I’m afraid there’s only one thing to do:

Check out the post here!

Lost in Anime

One-Punch Man Season 2 – 08

Apparently, there’s some controversy about the perceived quality of One Punch Man season 2. And every time I read one of those reviews, as much as I respect and enjoy them, I’m reminded of an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer says, “Can’t talk; eating.” I don’t have time to read the negative reviews; I’m too busy enjoying this season! What’s even more interesting to me is a post like this one by Guardian Enzo from Lost in Anime. It does more than just enjoy the episode. It engages in conjecture on what some of the major developments might mean for the series as a whole. That’s the kind of cool stuff that can happen when you focus on the potential of a series!

Check out the post here!

Anime as a Cup of Tea

Memories, they are not plastic

Have you seen Plastic Memories? It came out in April 2015 (which seems like just yesterday), and it had the potential to be sappy and shallow. One of the main characters, Isla, was a Giftia, an artificial person, with a finite lifespan, so going in, you knew was coming. Except that the series didn’t just play her relationship with Tsukasa Mizugaki as a tragedy. Instead, it portrayed an honest relationship between the two and explored some interesting concepts. What concepts? Well, you should really read this post by Ethan_07 from Anime as a Cup of Tea to find out more. Let’s just say that the article captured what I found surprisingly enjoyable about the series. 

Check out the post here!

Anime Articles

Attack on Titan Season 3-B Episode 5 Review

Is it Attack on Titan Season 3-B episode 5? Episode 54? Regardless of how we refer to it, did you really think we’d get through this week’s Other Posts to Crow About without talking about this episode? Last week, 100 Word Anime wrote about the power of episode 4/53. But that episode, as powerful as it was, paled in comparison to 5/54. This post by sirmeliodas from Anime Articles captures the hope and the glory and the horror and the heartbreaking despair that made up this episode. I’d have to write a book to describe my reaction to what happened; this post manages to capture most of that in a much more concise space. Please, watch the episode first; this article contains a spoiler warning, and given the nature of this episode, it’s warranted. This episode is part of an arc that’s really something special, so please do take a moment and celebrate it by reading this article.

Check out the post here!