Anime + Manga Titles

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 49-50

The pretty guardian in a keffiyeh appears!

I’m on the road, sans my usual computer (and therefore my animated gif collection), and completely burned out from my week-long Utena watch-n-blog marathon, so today’s recaps are going to be an exercise in brevity. Fortunately it’s also an exercise is mostly-filler, so this should be doable.

In terms of general impressions, I had two thoughts this week: (1) Wow, the animation saw one hell of a dive during Episode 49, and (2) It seems like Sailor Moon might be trying to inject some life lessons into its relationships, and not just of the “love conquers all” variety. It’s nice to finally see a close boy-girl relationship that’s an actual friendship instead of a romance (even if we really didn’t get to SEE much of it at all), and I very much hope we get more of that in the future.

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Utena Watch Party: Episodes 9-10

In which things begin to get very heavy and complicated and symbolic. Also, kitties!

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Click here for an explanation of the watch party, and an invitation to chime in with your own thoughts (Tumblr tag: #Utena Watch Party).

For Returning Viewers, Vrai’s episode analyses are here for your reading pleasure:

And my newbie-friendly ramblin’ is hanging out below the jump.

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Utena Watch Party: Episodes 6-8

In which the curry is out, the Jury is in, and someone really needs to put better locks on the school’s petting zoo.

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Click here for an explanation of the watch party, and an invitation to chime in with your own thoughts (Tumblr tag: #Utena Watch Party).

For Returning Viewers, Vrai’s episode analyses are here for your reading pleasure:

A Note on Episode Order: Why yes, I have listed those out of order! Ikuhara admits in his creator commentary that the current Episode 6 (“Take Care, Miss Nanami”) and Episode 8 (“Curried High Trip”) got flipped due to production issues. Vrai also points out that thematically it makes more sense to do the episodes in this order as well (as 6, then 9-12, gradually shift the focus to StuCo Prez Touga and the people around him). And, since we have the ability to fix these things via the power of home video, I say, let’s do it!

This won’t really affect my posts since I’m sort of discussing broad topics across episodes (and will focus mostly on “Unfulfilled Jury” anyway), but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up regardless. Newbie friendly ramblings below the jump.

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Utena Watch Party: Episodes 4-5

In which we are introduced to the lovely piano piece “The Sunlit Garden,” and spend time meeting the first member of the Student Council we don’t want to strangle with their own hair.

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Click here for an explanation of the watch party, and an invitation to chime in with your own thoughts (Tumblr tag: #Utena Watch Party).

For Returning Viewers, Vrai’s episode analyses are here for your reading pleasure:

And my newbie-friendly commentary is hanging out below the jump.

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Utena Watch Party: Episodes 1-3

Let’s get ready to d-d-d-d-duel!

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Click here for an explanation of the watch party, and an invitation to chime in with your own thoughts (Tumblr tag: #Utena Watch Party).

For newcomers still on the fence, Caitlin Donovan wrote a nice, long recommendation post for The Mary Sue about Utena, where she discusses some of the overarching themes and character arcs. If you’d rather go into a show completely blind, then obviously don’t read it, but if you’re curious for a little more insight into what Utena is all about, it’s a great read.

For Returning Viewers, Vrai’s episode-by-episode analyses are here for your reading pleasure:

And my far less organized newbie-friendly commentary is hanging out below the jump.

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Extra! Extra! Extra! It’s the Great “Utena” Watch Party!

Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?

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Inspired by Vrai’s series of Utena analyses, I’m trying to make Utena magic happen on the Interwebs, and I want each and every one of you to be a part of it. Hit the jump for the full story and how you can slip on your rose signet and join us in the arena.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 47-48

R you ready for a new season?

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A Note on Spoilers: I didn’t really mind spoilers previously, but we’re entering the part of SM of which I know almost nothing, and I now have some other readers who are watching SM for the first time as well. To keep the experience fresh and exciting for both them and me, please avoid posting any future plot points (related to either the anime or the manga) in the comments section. Thanks!

Well’p. The bad news is that everyone has amnesia. The good news is that Sailor Moon’s creative team looked at this whole Sailor Moon Reboot thing and went, “What? Spend a bunch of episodes having the girls slowly regain their memories and powers? PSSSH. Ain’t nobody got time for that! We have magic cats. We can fix this in, like, two episodes, TOPS.”

And so they did!

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Panning the Stream: Mushi-shi: The Next Passage (Part 2), Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru, Girlfriend BETA

The stream may have slowed to a trickle, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still find some gold.

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It always feels strange to do a premiere post after doing a Rule of Three Review, but due to licensing issues and delayed release schedules, sometimes it happens. This time we’ve got girls both magical and vanilla (in every since of the word), plus an old friend returns (again!) and I’m very happy to see him. Hit the jump to read what may very well be the last premiere post of the fall season.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 45-46 (Season 1 Finale)

Please keep your arms and legs inside the emotional roller coaster at all times.

It’s hard to feel tension when you know a show isn’t actually about to end, but I’ll give Sailor Moon full credit for giving its best-known side characters some truly memorable send-offs this week. From Ami’s brilliance to Rei’s toughness and even over to Mamoru’s surprisingly sweet “You are not alone” moment with Usagi, these characters died the way they lived – and died satisfactorily, too, true to themselves and their ideals to the very end.

Except, you know, that they didn’t.

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