Poco’s Udon World

Glancing Upstream: Fall 2016 Retrospective and Review

It’s the most overworked time of the year~

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In the next couple weeks I’ll be hitting you with final Flip Flappers commentary, my Top 10 Anime of 2016, maybe a short essay or two, and then we turn around and start all over again with the winter premieres, including the much-anticipated return of Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (and my lengthy commentary about it)! A blogger’s work is never done.

So you’d think that would mean I’d have kept my Fall retrospective thoughts short and sweet, right? Wrong! This season was a cornucopia of strong comedy, positive queer representation, diverse female leads, and geeky premises. And you know I can’t shut up about stuff like that. Hit the jump for too many words about too many shows.

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Panning the Stream: Fall 2016 Midseason Review

Peeking in on the autumn lineup.

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I’m writing this from a hotel room in New York, which both explains why it’s a bit late (some of these shows have already moved past their halfway point) and why this introduction is going to be brief. My Fall anime bloc continues to either hold steady or improve each week, depending on the show, which is always a promising sign at the halfway mark. There’s good variety too, so whether you’re looking for something to soothe or something to pump you up, you should be able to find a much-needed break from reality below.

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Rule of Three Review: Fall 2016 Anime Digest

I thought spring was the rainy season, so why am I drowning in shows in October?

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There are far too many shows on this list, but I can’t bear to cut any others at this point. It’s too early to say this is the strongest season of the year, but it sure is looking promising. Some are artistic marvels, some compelling character studies, some soothing balls of cuteness, some just plain fun, and some are…er, Keijo (look, I don’t feel great admitting that either, okay?). Hit the jump for both my pride and my shame.

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Panning the Stream: Fall 2016 Premieres, Round 2

Lions and udon and Motes, oh my!

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The deluge is more-or-less over and it’s left me swimming in a massive watch list. I’m excited for what looks to be a strong fall season, but also a bit overwhelmed. In order to keep myself from drowning in titles, there’s no “On the Fence” category this time–if I’m not actively excited for the next episode, then it’s almost certainly not getting a second look.

The wild part is this isn’t even everything! Girlish Number won’t air in the U.S. until Wednesday, and The Great Passage (Fune wo Amu) premieres Thursday. I didn’t want to sit on this post for that long, though, so we won’t worry about them for now. If either is worth mentioning (and I suspect at least The Great Passage will be), I’ll roll them into my “Rule of Three” digest. For now, hit the jump for a group of new series that I can’t wait to see more of.

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