recaps

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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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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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 100-101

Mamoru heard I was looking for the plot, so he put it in a box and gift-wrapped it for me!

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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.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 4: “My Boyfriend”

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.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 98-99

The wheels are spinning in more ways than one this week.

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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.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 3: “My Blue Ogre”

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.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 96-97

If only all growing pains could be as entertaining as these.

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No one will be surprised to learn that I loved these two episodes, and not just because they featured my favorite characters (although that’s a huge plus, too). Sailor Moon is just really coming together as a full ensemble show again, using its new characters to help create new dynamics, explore new relationships, and develop new and old characters alike—and I ain’t just talkin’ about Sailor Duo, either. Yes, it may have taken them 90-odd episodes, but Sailor Moon has finally, finallyfigured out how to integrate Mamoru into the story as a natural (and likeable!) member of the group. I never thought I’d say it, but he’s winning me over, you guys. I may just ‘ship him and Usagi yet.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 2: “My Romance”

You know, Takeo, if you’re gonna be in a love triangle, you should probably make sure the other two people know they’re in it, too.

As expected, this is the week rom-com shenanigans and misunderstandings take center stage, as Takeo (almost willfully) misinterprets Yamato’s oh-so-obvious advances at every turn and does his ample best to give her a happy ending with Suna. As a result, Suna ends up taking more of a center stage this week, as Takeo tries to learn Suna’s “type” but doesn’t come up with much. Suna claims to be interested in girls, but says he finds the idea of a relationship tiring (I hear ya, buddy).

Oh, and just in case you forgot this was also a goofball comedy, all of this happens under Tina Belcher’s favorite tree.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 94-95

Moonlight and love shrimp, never out of date…

Love is in the air again this week on Sailor Moon, as our gals consider what makes a kiss “special” and one young couple tries to clumsily convey how they feel about each other. These episodes do a nice job of portraying many elements of early relationships, such as the amount of importance placed on a first kiss, the feeling that you need to PROVE your love (not just to your partner, but to the general public as well), and the insecurities and anxieties you feel when you reeeeally like someone and worry that they might not feel the same (or worse, that you might not be “good enough” for them). Sailor Moon captures the worries, the awkwardness, and the excitement of first love, and it’s good fun watching it play out (though you sure couldn’t pay to relive it).

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