This is a Crow’s eye view of the posts that caught my attention this week. I especially 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’m humbled by the quality and quantity of posts that the ani-blogging community creates. I hope this article helps you find some of those posts.
What sites do I check every week? You can see the list of the sites here!
Review Order
This week, I reviewed the sites in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A).
The Visualist’s Veranda
MERRY DAYS OF ANIME: ONE PUNCH MAN (SEASON TWO)
When I reviewed One Punch Man Season 2, I thanked my lucky stars (whatever they are — I can’t imagine some distant civilization looks on their sun and things, hey, glad this is Crow’s lucky star…) that I like what I like without considering the opinion of others. Otherwise, I might have felt quite out of place liking this series! I did like it, but there was one thing that barely dared to think, and certainly never said: I actually preferred it to the first season! Now, before y’all get out the pitchforks and torches, I have some arguments to consider. But they’re not mine. Kapodaco, on the site The Visualist’s Veranda, presented them far more clearly and succinctly than I could. My only complaint? I could stand more discussion of Blizzard…
Random Curiosity
Winter 2020 Preview!
There are a lot of really good seasonal preview posts out there. I mean, a lot. But every season, it seems that I settle on one in particular that I like the best. As with the last few seasons, Random Curiosity’s team of writers put together the most comprehensive, most clear, and most helpful preview guide I’ve found. It’s not only fun and easy to use, it’s ridiculously effective. Before reading this post, I had five or six series that I thought I just had to watch next season. Now, the list is 12 — and that’s only because I was quite stern with myself. It’s a great resource!
Mechanical Anime Reviews
Girls Und Panzer: Finding Your Own Tank Style
There are some show that you watch, feel good about finishing, and immediately forget. Those aren’t bad shows at all! But they’re not the ones I cherish. The ones I cherish are the ones I watch, feel good about finishing, and can’t stop thinking about. Obviously, the more shows I watch, the more crowded by brain gets, but that’s a good problem to have, isn’t it? One of the series I often find myself thinking about is Girls und Panzer. It was a blast to watch. I liked both the characters and the tank models, even if they were CGI. There was something else about the series that I really liked, but didn’t take the time to articulate. And now I don’t have to, because Scott from Mechanical Anime Reviews just did in this post! Actually, he did more than that, and it’s just best you head on over to see what I mean.
Crackerzheads
Sword Art Online Alicization – War of Underworld – Episode 11
Have you been watching Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld? I’m enjoying it a ton more than the precious season, as you can probably guess since I’ve given it one one but two Caw Out Awards! Well, the good moments keep coming, and I’m really happy to see other bloggers starting to acknowledge that the series is hitting stride. The eleventh episode showcased another great moment, and it had to do with my second (or third, or fourth — it really depends on the day) character, Lisbeth (Sinon, of course, is always my favorite). What made Lisbeth’s moment so amazing? Please let me direct you to Keni’s post on Crackerzheads for the answer. It’s on point, and it’s likely to resonate with you. See what you think!
CONFESSIONS OF AN OVERAGE OTAKU
THE OUTSIDER: ELIAS AINSWORTH
Do you know what show I miss? I miss The Ancient Magus’ Bride. I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing that series. The characters were wonderful, and that applied especially to the leads Chise Hatori and Elias Ainsworth. I chose to review that series for a number of reasons, starting with my interest in supernatural stories. But I knew at a glance that the show would stretch my emotional vocabulary. A challenge is almost always good! Speaking of a challenge, The Overage Otaku writing on CONFESSIONS OF AN OVERAGE OTAKU often writes about the craft of story telling using anime series as examples. This week, he describes Elias’ function from the perspective of plot. It’s one of those things that once pointed out, it makes perfect sense! And now I have another bit of knowledge I can apply to my own writing. See if it gives you a new appreciation for the series — and/or a new technique for you to use!
Thanks for the shout-out!
You’re welcome! You really know your stuff, so I look forward to your posts the one about Elias.
Blizzard was fine! …For the amount of time she appeared in. Thanks for the shout-out!
You’re welcome!
And I hope it was clear that I was joking about Blizzard. My running joke when the series aired was that I would have liked more episodes with her in it.
Thought your review of the series was spot on!