My Love Story!!

My Love Story!! – Episode 17: “My Christmas”

Add another episode to your Anime Club’s Holiday Party Watch List!

17-4

I always find it kind of awkward when shows have holiday episodes nowhere near the actual holiday. Presumably the original manga for this one was first published around December as a nice little single-chapter seasonal story, but the anime doesn’t have that luxury, so here we are with August on the horizon and nary a Christmas tree in sight. Ah, well. It’s not as if Director Asaka could’ve skipped it, given that it features Actual Plot Points, so I’ll just have to shake off my sense of seasonal disconnect and do my best to talk about the episode as-is.

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 16: “My Disciple”

At this point, My Love Story isn’t just setting the bar for rom-com excellence—it’s beating its own darn records.

16-8

About halfway through this episode, when Takeo was agonizing over how he could get Yamato to understand she didn’t need to worry about him leaving her for someone else, I scribbled in my notes: “Takeo’s problem is he keeps talking about how people feel toward HIM rather than how HE feels toward Yamato.” It’s the kind of thought I’d usually have about a rom-com that would either never get addressed in-series, or get addressed indirectly 5-10 episodes down the line after Such Drama, Very Tears.

OreMono, though? OreMono tackles it head-on within 22 beautiful minutes.

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 15: “My Girlfriend”

The Takeo Fan Club really ought to have its own membership cards at this point.

Screenshot_2015-07-15-15-07-58

Yep, our protagonist gets a new admirer this week thanks to the school’s sports festival! After the 300m runner in the co-ed Swedish relay (which we learn all about thanks to Suna’s smart phone) sprains her ankle during practice, the class has to pick one of its less-than-stellar athletes to take her place, which is how we (and Takeo) get to know Saijou Mariya.

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 14: “My Jinx”

MM Land: The happiest place on earth?

14-11

Okay, maybe not, but it does have a certain magic to it, existing in a world slightly removed from our own—much like My Love Story itself, perhaps. That’s the theme running through this episode, from Oda’s encouragement that Ai try on a goofy hat because she’s taking a break from “reality” to Suna explaining that jinxes aren’t about magic but hard facts, as it’s “more common for relationships to not work out.”

Continue reading →

Glancing Upstream: Spring 2015 Retrospective and Review

Well, that was certainly a season of anime.

mika6-2

Okay, maybe I’m being too hard here. Winter 2015 was a nigh impossible act to follow in terms of sheer depth and breadth, and it’s not like Spring didn’t have its fair share of light, fun series. Plus there were a few clear standouts along the way as well, particularly if you enjoy more realistic YA-style fiction. Still, I’m finding that, while last season I was recommending just about everything to just about everyone, this season is a lot more about “Well, if you like {Genre}, you’ll probably enjoy {Title}.”

Weaker seasons tend to tell you more about your own tastes than the stronger ones, and now that I’ve officially blogged a full year’s worth of anime seasons, I think it’s safe to say that I have a wide range of genre and story interests and will watch just about anything so long as I can get halfway invested in the characters, whether that’s through humor or emotional drama. There are some definite clumsy and/or questionable shows on this list, but I stuck around largely because I liked hanging out with at least a portion of the cast and wanted to see what became of them. So, really, this season’s list is as much about who I liked as it is about what I liked.

Hit the jump for the best characters of the season (and their corresponding series).

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 13: “Today Is On Me”

A new challenger appears!

Screenshot_2015-07-02-10-26-28

There are really 2-3 stories this episode, which would make it feel disjointed if they hadn’t smartly tied them all together with a through-line: Takeo enjoying his newfound financial freedom by treating his friend and girlfriend to fun times. The first story is my favorite in terms of sheer enjoyment, as Takeo and Yamato giddily take Suna to the movies and up to the mountains, a day trip which turns into a surprise birthday party and naturally ends in a Yamato-baked cake.

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 12: “My Grades”

Takeo takes on his most formidable foe yet: Math I.

12-header3

As the title suggests, this is the week when Takeo’s poor grades threaten to catch up to him, but it’s less about Takeo’s school work and more about his future plans, and how those plans mesh (or clash) with those around him. As a result, it’s full of college talk, hilariously overbearing and eager-to-please parents practically proposing to Yamato, and a lingering question of where everyone sees themselves after high school. Oh, and it all basically turns out to be Suna trolling Takeo for a solid 20 minutes. Now that’s future planning for you!

Continue reading →

My Love(ish) Story: Anime, Aces, and Suna-min Rolls

Caution: This post contains, like, personal feelings and stuff. Also minor character relationship spoilers for My Love Story (Ore Monogatari). You have been warned.
3-8

As a Millennial growing up in Midwest America, I was fortunate to live in a community and among friends who were relatively sex-positive and accepting of different lifestyle choices, even at school. While our health teachers still pushed abstinence as the best form of birth control, they also covered the other “safe sex” options and made it clear that it was “perfectly normal” to have “those urges.” Which is great, and a damn sight better than shaming or ignoring adolescent sexuality entirely.

Looking back, though, I sorta wish they’d also mentioned that it was perfectly normal to not have those feelings, too.

Continue reading →

My Love Story!! – Episode 11: “My Ocean”

Beach Episode! Everyone mark your anime bingo cards!

11-17

It’s a week full of equal-opportunity fanservice, as the gang heads to the beach and both Takeo and Yamato get to ogle one another SO HARD they’re lusty teenage hearts nearly explode from the experience. Fun (and funny) times are had by all, Takeo’s more popular than he’s ever been (even with some of the ladies!), and our young couple very nearly level up their relationship under another trademark Madhouse sunset.

Yet for all the silly rom-com shenanigans, this week is once again filled with crossed signals and miscommunication, and the series itself at last acknowledges (via our beautiful, ever-observant Suna-min Roll) that trouble may be brewing in paradise.

Continue reading →