Rule of Three Review: Spring 2016 Anime Digest

Don’t mind me, I just fell over under the weight of my watch list.

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I hemmed and hawed about exactly when I should post this sucker. Due to a combination of already offset premiere dates and delays caused by the Kumamoto Earthquake (a list of ways you can help here, if you’re interested), some of these are into their fourth episode while a couple have only aired two. So consider this more a rule of three-ish review, I s’pose.

The number of shows that made it this far is, uh… not insignificant, with a good mix of comedy and drama (or at least loud glorious trashy action) to offer a little something for everyone. Even the stuff on the bubble is pretty solid, and would have been a lock during last season’s sparser schedule. I’m going to try to be brief here so as not to overload you on word count, but let’s see if I can’t praise some favorites and maybe point you towards your next favorite along the way.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.18: “The Singularity”

Past the point of no return?

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Hive’s endgame is revealed, his army grows, and the gang find themselves with a major victory totally eclipsed by their more recent failures. Oh, and a ‘ship long in the building sails with a flourish out of SHIELD harbor. Why does that make me even more nervous?

You can click here to join the conversation on TMS, or hit the jump to read on.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episode 200 (Stars Finale)

My God, it’s full of Sailor Stars!

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And so we come at last to the end of things. As is tradition, I’ve got a Stars retrospective after the recap, with general commentary on the season as a whole. As for any overarching thoughts about the entire series and my two-year trip through the Mooniverse, I’ve decided to save those for another post tentatively scheduled to go up the first week of May.

For now, though, we’ve got a finale to tackle!

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.17: “The Team”

Did somebody order the red herring?

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After a few weeks of table-setting, Agents of SHIELD promptly flips that table, leaving silverware and glasses scattered all over the floor as we head into our final season arc. In the process it gives us one of its tensest and most entertaining episodes to date, packed with intrigue, false leads, and enough twists to fill a 1960s dance hall.

You can click here to join the conversation at TMS or hit the jump to read on.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.16: “Paradise Lost”

Screenshot_2016-04-13-07-40-48We have a tendency to go into a bit of a mid-season slump with AoS in terms of story fluidity and general writing, a trend that began last episode and continues into this one. I wouldn’t call it bad so much as uneven, as there’s some last-minute backstory insertion and lazy character writing happening in Hydra, but then some really good (and much-needed) character work going on around Team SHIELD. Throw in the promise of a Secret Warrior mission, and while I might not be terribly high on this one, I’m already bouncing in my seat for next week.

You can click here to join the conversation at TMS or hit the jump to read on.

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Panning the Stream: Spring 2016 Premieres, Round 2

Be careful what you wish for?

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On Monday, shortly after watching four lackluster premieres in a row, I shot out a grumpy tweet hoping that the spring season had gotten all the boring anime out of the way in one go. The anime gods heard my prayer, cackled madly, and then proceeded to drop nine shows in my lap, eight of which were, at the very least, pretty good, even if they weren’t all my thing.

Some of the stuff in my “on the fence” pile is there simply because I had to draw a line somewhere or the season was going to crush me under titles. Granted, it could all fall apart pretty quickly, but staring at a potential watch list of 12+ shows for the first time since last summer is–well, daunting, but pretty exciting, too. Maybe this anime thing ain’t so bad after all.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 198-199

When you wish upon a star seed…

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The plot is everywhere, and its devices are right there with it. My ongoing struggles with Stars continue into its penultimate episode, alas, but overall I was far more invested this week than I thought I’d be, thanks to some heart-wrenching character beats and a surprisingly layered backstory for our previously 2-D antagonist. Compelling antiheroes and sympathetic villains? Yep. Some of the magic might be missing, but it’s still Sailor Moon, all right.

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Panning the Stream: Spring 2016 Premieres, Round 1

So many shows, so little time!

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It’s a little late out the gate, but here’s the first batch of panning posts. I’m doing my premieres a little differently this season: I still watch every new, licensed full-length show and talk about ’em, but I’m rolling them up into just 2-3 “digest” posts and forgoing my usual extended meet ‘n’ greets for shorter blurbs divided into three basic categories: “Guaranteed three episodes,” “On the fence,” and “Probably dropped.” Not sure if I’ll stick with this in future seasons or not, but it’s how I needed to do it this time around.

If a title catches your eye, you can find out where the show is streaming by using this handy search engine. Now hit the jump to ding the bell for Round 1—FIGHT!

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.15: “Spacetime”

Now in eye-popping 4-D!

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Because spending last week commenting on hate groups and the fine line between protecting the peace and abusing one’s power was just a little too simple (pfft), AoS spends this one debating the nature of time, determinism, and the limitations of (In)human perspective. The results are mixed thanks to some rushed, transparent plot-moving coincidences, but I’ll give ’em full marks for effort, at least.

You can click here to join the conversation at TMS or hit the jump to read on.

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Glancing Upstream: Winter 2016 Retrospective and Review

Something something “the winter of our discontent.”

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This is my shortest retrospective to date, thanks to a pretty dismal season in terms of incoming series. Some of that had to do with my own time constraints and self-imposed ranking rules (there are four shows in the “unranked” category this season, three of which I’d happily recommend to others), but some of it had to do with there just not being a lot that caught my eye this time around. Still, the top two were pretty special, and if an anime season can give you even one incredible series, then it’s hard to call it a true disappointment, I s’pose.

If there’s one positive trend to take from this season, it’s that we’ve got some good artists and directors in the business: people able to take into account all elements of a production and elevate the source material, whether that’s from “meh” to “good” or “good” to “great.” So take heart! The blueprints may be rough at times, but at least they’re in the hands of skilled builders.

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