Mamoru heard I was looking for the plot, so he put it in a box and gift-wrapped it for me!
This week is all about the cents, from century marks to centurions, as we hit the 100-episode milestone and run into the nastiest Gladaimonator yet. Mina’s losing her motivation, Usagi’s losing her heart, and Mamoru is just… just losing. All the time. Always.
Hang on to your top hats, gang. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Ever wanted an inside look into the hows, whys, and wherefores of aniblogging? Well, Lauren Orsini of Otaku Journalist has just released a brand-spanking new book, Build Your Anime Blog, which explores the process from creation to maintenance to (hopefully) Interweb sensation. It also includes interviews with eleven hardworking, long-time anibloggers and one tenderfoot upstart.
And yes, the upstart is me.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the Otaku Journalist herself to give you the skinny:
Singles’ outing day is a very dangerous day.
The cast expands in a big way this time, although we’ve yet to see if those expansions were a one-time event or if we’ll see any of these characters again in the coming weeks. What this episode really does is give us a better picture of the world outside of our Trio of Ultimate Niceness, and it’s… well, not nearly as nice as they are. Although it does have 100% more afro, which is definitely a plus.
Well, this is unexpected.
I didn’t expect either of these shows to earn a full meet ‘n’ greet, never mind this Rule of Three Review. More surprising still, both are staying on the watch list for now, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing where they take their stories.
The “how” and “why” of it mostly boils down to solid writing, something that other shows which looked better on paper have struggled with this season. Likable characters and engaging (or at least bizarre) scenarios go a long way all on their own; throw in some energetic animation/direction, and you’ve got yourself the two most pleasant surprises of the season. Both could fall off a cliff at any moment, and I’m halfway expecting it to happen, but they’re still with me for now, and in a season this sparse I’ll take whatever I can get. Hit the jump for details, concerns, and early praise.
The wheels are spinning in more ways than one this week.
Okay, team. It’s no secret that I’ve been having a lot of fun watching Sailor Moon S. It’s no secret that I think it’s gone back to handling its characters and its adolescent themes with that same blend of silliness and insight that initially charmed me when I started this crazy blogging adventure. I am enjoying this show an awful, awful lot.
But. We’re ten episodes in and I gotta say, I’m getting a little antsy for some plot development. There was some solid movement this week in terms of Sailor Duo getting closer to accepting Usagi’s friend request, but Reused Animation Scientists are a broken record at this point, and I kinda need them to, like… do something soon. Or at least give us more information about this oncoming Silence so I can make my Doctor Who references properly. Protagonist and filler fun is through the roof, but we’re sadly lacking on the antagonist front right now (the scientist doesn’t even have a name, for heaven’s sake), and I’d like to see that addressed soon.
Young adult high school series can often fall flat, but so far this one is hitting all the right notes.
Best Dude Forever Status: Achieved.
My Love Story continues to gleefully ignore rom-com genre conventions, and I couldn’t be happier. A “Beauty and the Beast” style tale about a girl gradually coming to love someone for their “inner beauty”? Nah, screw that—Yamato thought Takeo was awesome from the start! A messy love triangle among friends? Been there, done that, and this show ain’t sellin’ those T-shirts. A long, drawn-out “will they won’t they” dance between Oblivious-san and Shy-kun? No, thank you, ma’am, we’ll just approach this relationship head-on, if you don’t mind.
Well, okay. OreMono does adhere to conventions in one way: It is ridiculously, unreasonably, and overwhelmingly adorable.
Sometimes execution just isn’t enough.
Studio Doga Kobo is trying their damnedest with both of these shows, filling them with expressive faces, lots of motion both in terms of animation and shot selection, and energetic vocal performances. And that would probably be enough to sell me on both these series—if only the writing were even a little bit better. One of these series fritters its fascinating premise away on cliche interactions, while the other juggles a large, likable cast but struggles with a generic premise and shallow conflicts. And man, are they both trying real hard to be funny and doing a realmediocre job at it.
So yeah, this digest post ain’t the most positive thing I’ve written, but you’re welcome to hit the jump for specifics on what worked, what didn’t, and whether either of these shows will get a chance to prove themselves next week.
The ending theme was right: I am indeed having a nice MUSIC!!
I described Show by Rock!! as “utter nonsense” in my premiere review, and remarked on Twitter that it was “so dumb and I loved it,” but after a couple extra episodes, I’m reevaluating my opinion somewhat. SbR isn’t dumb. It’s silly. “Dumb” implies a lack of intent; it suggests that something is amusing without that being the creators’ goal. “Silly,” on the other hand, means that the creators know exactly what they’re doing and are enjoying the heck out of themselves. And I’d say SbR firmly falls into the second category.
In which you almost have to admire the amount of effort and planning that goes into being a total raging bastard.
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.
The Josei Next Door 