GANGSTA. – Episode 9: “Siblings”

“Sibling rivalry” is about to take on a whole new meaning.

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The season’s building tensions and anti-Twilight violence come to a proper head, as leaders leave the shadows, lines are drawn in the sand, and our protagonists come face-to-face with their next big challenge. While last week’s battle was a covert one, taking place in the alleyways of Ergastulum and thus relegated to a few quick scenes within the show itself, this week brings everything out into the open, and front and center on our screens.

In other words, TWIFIIIIIGHT!

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 134-135

Home is where the art is.

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Given the rumored kerfuffle going on behind the scenes during this season (the studio pushing for one kind of show, Ikuhara for another), a part of me wonders if these two episodes didn’t have their basis in some real-life frustrations. It’s artists’ week here on SuperS, and it’s all about finding the courage to create and share those works with others—and to do what feels right to you, The Artist, regardless of what The Authority says you “can” or “can’t” do with your landscape paintings.

So suck on that, Toei Animation.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 21: “The Letter and Me”

That “my” in the title is shifting again.

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A new character joins the cast, possibly permanently (or as “permanent” as we can get with four episodes left, anyway), and she is… not boring, that’s for damn sure. As with most of OreMono’s story arcs, this one sets us up with a seemingly familiar character and story—the shy student watching their crush from afar—with a few key twists and acknowledgments along the way. I learned my lesson during the Mariya arc, so I’ll withhold any major judgments until we see more of this story play out. For now, though, let’s meet the new kid in town, and see how she interacts with and affects our (love) story.

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Snow White with the Red Hair – Episode 8: “Memories Draw Spirals”

It’s hard out here for a prince.

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Snow White continues its recent trend of following two chronologies, keeping us up to speed on current palace events as well as fleshing out Zen’s history, giving us more insight into not just our resident prince, but the people around him. At its core, though, both stories are about the same thing: How a person finds a balance between being a public, political figure, and a plain ol’ human being.

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GANGSTA. – Episode 8: “Evening Dress”

Well, even the best teams have off nights, I suppose…

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As I mentioned before, I’m reading the corresponding GANGSTA manga chapter after watching the anime episodes to help solidify all the names, factions, and plot nuggets, and while the two are identical (so far) in terms of basic story, there are small cuts and line changes that dramatically affect the overall tone. The manga’s more graphic with its violence, more direct in its world-building, less tasteful in the way characters (especially Worick) treat women and marginalized groups, and sillier in its content, utilizing comically deformed faces and asides.

In other words, the manga looks a lot more like the anime episode we got this week.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 132-133

True to its circus motifs, SuperS is performing a delicate balancing act.

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There is something decidedly odd about the tone of this season. It’s not bad, it’s just sort of… dissonant, I guess? There’s a lightheartedness to it that’s tremendously entertaining, an immaturity to the characters that doesn’t quite gel with the big strides they made last season, a beauty that shades its best moments in wistfulness, and a darkness to the overtones and imagery that’s at times downright uncomfortable. Put simply, the mood is all over the map, fluctuating as much as its main character’s mental state.

And when I say “main character,” I’m not talking about Usagi. No, SuperS has shifted its focus to Chibiusa, a notion that would’ve sent me running for the hills 60 episodes ago but doesn’t much bother me right now. (Although I sure hope we get some decent Moonie episodes along the way, too.) So what we’re seeing, I think, is a world reflecting its character’s psychology.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 20: “My Chocolate”

I’m not sure which of us is going to die of sugar overdose first: Me, or Takeo.

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It’s Valentine’s Day, which means love and loneliness are out in full force this week. As with Christmas, Japan imported this holiday from the west and then put their own spin on it, so I’ve included a super-sized Sensei Next Door at the end of this post to give everyone some cultural context. For now, though, let’s just focus on the main event: CHOCOLATE. Sweet, delicious chocolate.

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Snow White with the Red Hair – Episode 7: “Let Me Hear”

Facing your fears is hard. Facing your idols is darn near impossible.

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We pick up right where we left off both in terms of story and visuals, as Shirayuki pretty literally climbs a barrier to reach Zen, and the two renew their promise to stick by each other regardless of what others (even the crown prince himself) may think about it. I’m glad last week’s “cliffhanger” ending turned out to be a big tease, because anything less than direct communication would’ve seemed just plain out of character for these two.

Their relationship continues to be wonderfully comfortable, almost casual, filled with little gestures of physical affection and defined by their honesty with one another. Snow White‘s romance doesn’t have the high “squee” factor that a lot of shoujo do, but that just makes it feel all the more solid and real, a bedrock upon which both characters can plant their feet even when the world around them is fraught with tremors.

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GANGSTA. – Episode 7: “Birth”

It’s not just the lighting that’s dark and murky around here.

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I hope you watched this one with your blinds drawn, ’cause otherwise you may not have had the faintest clue what was going on half the time. Don’t get me wrong: GANGSTA has some very good reasons both thematically and practically to place its characters in lots of lightless rooms covered in long shadows with only the occasional faint ray of moonlight passing through barred windows, but man, was my tablet unhappy about it. In addition to those “work of fiction” and “subtitles” notes at the start of each episode, they really oughta add a “best viewed in a closet” notification, too.

Okay, lighthearted snarking over. Let’s get to the serious stuff.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 130-131

Cirque du Ombre: It’s fun for the whole family!

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SuperS feels strangely like a throwback to the most entertaining episodes of the first season, and while I suppose that could be considered jarring or even a step back in terms of plot/maturity level, I’m apparently having a lot of fun with it given the sheer amount of words I’ve written, snickered, and snarked about it below. So in the interest of keeping everyone’s eyes from glazing over, I’ll skip out on any in-depth opening chatter and let the recaps do the talking this week.

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