91 Days

Rule of Three Review(ish): Summer 2016 Anime Digest

Guess I oughta call it a “Rule of Four Review” at this point…

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Between the two shows I’m covering for Evo this season, the standalone posts I still need to finish (I solemnly swear those last two Tanaka-kun mini-essays are gonna happen someday!), a potentially expanding load of freelance geek writing, and Moving Day Part Deux, getting a full Rule of Three post out this season just wasn’t in the cards. (Actually, if the other work stays steady, I may wind up retiring the Rule of Three Reviews entirely so I can focus on other posts, but if I hear a Great Outcry to keep them then I’ll reconsider.)

Still, I figured I owed it to you to pop in and at least let you know what my summer watchlist looked like. There isn’t a ton that I’m excited about, but I am really excited about a few of them, and given everything else that’s going on I’m more than happy to sacrifice quantity for quality. Hit the jump for a quick run-down.

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91 Days – Episode 4: “Losing to Win, and What Comes After”

The mob acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.

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I know I joked last week that 91 Days was going to turn into a road trip buddy comedy, but. I mean. I didn’t think it actually would. Our tense gangster drama lightens up this week, taking time off from crime family intrigue to meander across the lakes region of the U.S. and flesh out its two central characters along the way–and by “flesh out,” I of course mean:”make them endearing as heck.” Those felonious scamps.

Click here for the full post on Anime Evo!

91 Days – Episodes 2-3

♪ I’ll be spending Friday nights writing ’bout a gangster’s paradise… ♪

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91 Days had possibly the best premiere of the season, and two episodes later it continues to dig its hooks into me with twists, turns, mysteries, and conspiracies. You read or watch enough stories and you start to get a feel for where a narrative’s heading, but 91 Days has kept me on my toes with speedy escalation, a chessboard full of briefly glimpsed players, and a camera that just loves to build tension through canted angles and wide shots of empty rooms. I’m not sure where it’s all heading, and I love that about it.

Click here for the full post on Anime Evo!

Panning the Stream: Summer 2016 Premieres, Round 2

One final explosion of titles before we settle into the new season.

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I somehow managed to stop hunting Pokemon long enough to write my second and final batch of premiere reviews. With one exception (baseball anime BATTERY, which I’ll cover in my Rule of Three if it makes it that far), the summer rush has swept on by, leaving me to sort through the silt and see if I can find some gold. I wouldn’t call it a deep season, but there’s variety and potential, and one show that has me positively giddy.

Hit the jump to say hi (and goodbye) to the rest of the summer premieres.

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