anicrit

Utena Watch Party: Episodes 1-3

Let’s get ready to d-d-d-d-duel!

image

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 newcomers still on the fence, Caitlin Donovan wrote a nice, long recommendation post for The Mary Sue about Utena, where she discusses some of the overarching themes and character arcs. If you’d rather go into a show completely blind, then obviously don’t read it, but if you’re curious for a little more insight into what Utena is all about, it’s a great read.

For Returning Viewers, Vrai’s episode-by-episode analyses are here for your reading pleasure:

And my far less organized newbie-friendly commentary is hanging out below the jump.

Continue reading →

Extra! Extra! Extra! It’s the Great “Utena” Watch Party!

Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?

image

Inspired by Vrai’s series of Utena analyses, I’m trying to make Utena magic happen on the Interwebs, and I want each and every one of you to be a part of it. Hit the jump for the full story and how you can slip on your rose signet and join us in the arena.

Continue reading →

Heroine Boys and Princely Girls: How “Nozaki-kun” is Challenging Gender Roles in Fiction

Going all analytical on Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (“Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”), the funniest – and smartest – show of the summer anime season.

image

For those who haven’t seen Nozaki-kun yet, it’s a comedy about a high school girl who finds out her crush is secretly a popular shoujo mangaka (comic artist). She ends up working for him as one of his assistants, and the story follows the two of them and their friends/assistants as they navigate life at school and work.

Simultaneously very funny and sneakily brilliant, it’s one of those rare beasts that can provide smart satire without coming across as pretentious or bitter. While it does play with anime/manga tropes, I think there’s a universality to the humor and ideas that can work even if you’re only a casual anime viewer. In short: You should be watching this series.

Continue reading →

The Hero Appears! “Ping Pong” and the Asobi Spirit

In which the Josei betrays her English major background by writing a nice long essay about Ping Pong the Animation, the so-good-it-makes-me-angry anime based on the manga by Matsumoto Taiyou (Tekkonkinkreet) and directed by Yuasa Masaaki (The Tatami Galaxy).

Probably it goes without saying, but Here There Be Spoilers. I’m assuming anyone reading this has watched the entire series – so if you HAVEN’T seen it yet, you should go to Hulu or Funimation and watch it all right now, then come back when you’re finished.

The rest of you can hit the jump and read on. Go go ani-crit!

Continue reading →