My Love Story!! – Episode 8: “My Friend”

Are we sure this series isn’t listed as a bromantic comedy?

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This episode began with me squealing about Suna earning a spot on the cake, and it just went downhill (uphill?) from there. I can chat all calm and measured-like about what happened this week in terms of plot points and character growth and thematic development—and, I mean, I will—but at its heart, OreMono is a sitcom, which means it isn’t about movement as much as it is about getting you to like its characters and want to spend more time with them and root your heart out for their happiness. And if there was any doubt that OreMono had succeeded at that, boy howdy, this episode sealed it.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 7: “My Strength”

Turns out the phrase “flat as an ironing board” isn’t hyperbole after all.

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My Love Story!! took a week to be a sports anime—er, kinda—as the high school judo clubs begs Takeo (on hands and knees!) to join for a month and help them defeat long-time rival Bianka High School in the 19th Annual Shuu-Bi Match. Takeo responds like Takeo—with an immediate and resounding “OKAY!”—but his resolve wavers when Suna points out this means he won’t be able to see Yamato very much for a while.

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Utena Watch Party: Episode 34

In which our story comes full circle, and everything you know is wrong.

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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 analysis is here for your reading pleasure:

And my own newbie-friendly commentary is below the jump.

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Panning the Stream: Spring 2015 Midseason Review

Time to peek in on the Spring line-up and see how our new team’s holding up.

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The word for this season so far is “light,” and I don’t necessarily mean that in terms of the number of shows I’m watching (although there is that, too). Unlike this past winter, which was jam-packed with ambitious stories, social commentaries, and questions with no easy answers, Spring is more about kicking back and having fun, whether you’re engaging in rom-com shenanigans, trying to make it big in an anthropomorphic CG band, or swearing vengeance against those damn dirty vampires. And while I’ve grumbled about the weakness of this season, there’s something to be said for good old-fashioned escapism sometimes, too.

Lightness notwithstanding, there’s still one major standout, a couple solid sequels, and a few new series which are growing well and showing signs of real potential—including some that should have never worked for me and yet draw me in a little deeper each week. This is either proof that execution trumps premise, or that my taste is getting worse by the minute and it’s all cat girls and panty jokes from here on out. Remember me as I was, not as I am. Then hit the jump to get a rundown of our current roster.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 104-105

This may come as a surprise to you, but Sailor Moon takes place in Japan.

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Sailor Moon has its roots deep in the shoujo genre, which historically tends to draw on European fairy tales and romances, so most of the time there’s a universal (or at least “Euro-friendly”) quality to its characters and stories that makes it easily accessible to a western audience. But this week saw us diving deep into Japanese historical and cultural practices, to the point where I was half-tempted to turn my end-of-post bullet points into one big “Sensei Next Door” section.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 6: “My Wish”

Warning: Consuming My Love Story may increase your risk of diabetes.

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Have I mentioned that OreMono is really cute? Really funny? Really dorky and sweet and featuring one of the nicest central casts and one of the healthiest high school relationships I’ve seen in any media in a real long time? I have? Okay. Excellent.

Then instead of starting this post with all that, we’ll start it with this:

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Although that has more to do with Takeo rescuing a kitty-cat (I died, died, I tell you) than it does with Yamato’s secret. But, I mean, I totally called that one last week, too.

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Utena Watch Party: Episode 33

In which… Oh. It’s this one.

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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 analysis is here for your reading pleasure:

And my own newbie-friendly commentary is below the jump.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 5: “I’m Dense”

What’s eating Yamato Rinko?

I’m not sure if they added the little Yamato figure to the opening theme’s cake this week or last and I just didn’t notice, but it left me in Cute Overload Mode before the episode even began, which is always a good thing. It also helps highlight the amount of attention that’s gone into this adaptation. Regardless of what you think of the content, this is a director and animation staff who puts a lot of thought and affection into the production, and it shows from the myriad ways they convey our couple’s uncontainable love-love (sparkles! bubbles! stars! doilies!) to the endless array of expressions. Takeo Faces alone could have their own Tumblr.

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