recaps

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 152-153

Shooting for the moon and landing among the… Mars?

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Yes, it’s that time of season again: Time for our scouts to get there level up on and try out some cool new abilities (and animation) so they can help Usagi win the day against the newest Big Bad. I always enjoy these episodes, not just because they force the series to spend time with the other Moonies (although there is that, especially given the heavy Bunny focus of SuperS), but because they often feature nice morals about self-confidence, individuality, and friendship.

And then sometimes, wedged in there, you get an episode about Usagi and Chibiusa going to the dentist. But, hey, nobody bats .1000. And at least there was a hefty amount of silliness and fun scenes (such as the one in the screenshot above) to pad both episodes in enjoyable interactions.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.05: “4,722 Hours”

It’s always darkest before the once-every-18-years dawn.

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After juggling multiple plot lines all season, SHIELD tries its hand at a single, streamlined story, going back in time to detail Jemma Simmons’ six months on the Desert Otherworld in one fell swoop. It’s a solid narrative decision all things considered, as an SF survival story is different enough from the rest of the season’s events that trying to intersperse it through episodes would likely have made it disjointed and tonally jarring. Telling it all at once keeps the pace from dragging, and Elizabeth Henstridge is talented enough to carry an episode more-or-less on her own. As for the decisions made within that narrative … well, your mileage may vary.

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Noragami Aragoto – Episode 4: “Wish”

Storm’s a-comin’. A-yup.

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We’ve been heading toward this godly showdown since season one, so it’s no surprise that last week’s kidnapping(s) serve as the spark that finally sets the whole thing ablaze. Yato’s on the warpath, Yukine is right there with him, and Bishamon is only too happy to cash in that Revenge Card she’s been carrying for centuries. Too bad they’re all pointing their weapons at entirely the wrong person.

Click here for the full post on Anime Evo!

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 150-151

Out with the old, in with the who?

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I’m on the road for the next couple weeks, so I was already planning on this post being on the short side, but, er, well… I may have left my notes on these two episodes at home (yes, I take notes on paper, like some kind of peasant). And, what with all the running around, I didn’t have time to rewatch the episodes. Meaning that all I have to remind me of what happened this week is a series of screenshots and whatever plot darts stuck to my brainspace. So today, we’ll be playing a new and exciting game: Josei Vs. Fallible, Faulty Memory! And a 3, 2, 1…!

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.04: “Devils You Know”

SHIELD faces their greatest challenge yet: playing well with others.

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A simple recruiting mission goes awry, two secret organizations make for uneasy bedfellows, personal priorities conflict with professional duties, and a character I liked may have exploded. Yep. Just another day at SHIELD HQ.

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Noragami Aragoto – Episode 3: “False Bond”

The characters’ worlds may be unraveling, but Noragami‘s narrative is as tightly woven as ever.

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Three episodes in and Noragami shows no signs of slowing down its full-steam-ahead plotting, yet there’s never a moment where things felt rushed or confusing. This is partly thanks to the wise inclusion of short lulls between the conflicts, moments that allow the cast (and audience) to digest and react to the conflict that just took place, but it’s also a testament to the show’s confident, character-driven storytelling style. Events don’t just happen because the plot needs them to—individuals make them happen, interacting with and affecting one another in ways true to their established strengths and flaws alike.

Simply put, this show’s firing on all cylinders right now, and it makes me groan every time the end credits roll and I have to wait another week to see how Bishamon and Yato’s rapidly accelerating crises are going to turn out.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 148-149

Forget Freytag pyramids—this dramatic structure is all about Amazon arcs.

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Redemption arcs, that is, and wouldn’t you know it, Sailor Moon pulled off another magnificent one. If I had to name the single, primary element of anime that got me to fall in love with it, it’d be its interest in telling stories like these: about sympathetic antagonists and all-too-human villains, and the underlying belief that even those of us who seem the most hateful or hopeless can and often do learn, grow, and improve.

It was just so different from the all-good and all-bad morality of the Disney films and most of the cartoons I watched growing up, and that interest in nuance for both heroes and villains struck a chord of truth in Preteen Me that’s resonated ever since. There’s value in creating ideal characters for audiences to seek to emulate, to be sure. But for my money, the stories about flawed, selfish people nevertheless learning how to move towards empathy and altruism are the really uplifting ones.

That was a long way of saying these episodes were great and I loved them. The even longer way of saying that is below the jump.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Episode 3.03: “A Wanted (Inhu)Man”

Sparks fly. It’s quite shocking.

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SHIELD has spent the past two seasons developing and solidifying its central cast into a group of people who, short-sighted and secretive though they can often be, are genuinely trying to do the right thing by both the world and one another. We’ve seen how much they care about each other (often to a fault), and it makes any tension between them feel like family members fighting, any downtime like hanging out on the couch with your own friends, and any awkwardness like you just stuck your own foot in your mouth.

And this is a very good thing, because it means even episodes like this one where the central story moves so fast it barely makes sense, never mind resonates, can still mostly work because of the interactions and emotional beats woven into the various plots. So while I’m still struggling to give anything remotely resembling a damn about Lincoln (I swear I’m trying, you guys, I really am!), I’m fully invested in our SHIELD family, and that holds the show together even when a few seams start to stretch like they did this week.

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Noragami Aragoto – Episode 2: “One of Her Memories”

We’re just diving right in this season, ain’t we?

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It’s another strong (albeit painful) outing for Noragami this week, as various relationships are strengthened, frayed, or shattered altogether, characters confront the tenuous bonds of memory, and a particularly nasty antagonist sets his plans into motion.

Oh, and speaking of that antagonist—well, I pretty much called it last week, but as soon as he started mustache-twirling I realized I story-predicted myself into a predicament. So to clarify something important: Yes, I did start reading the Noragami manga, but I stopped at the end of the Yukine arc, meaning that everything happening in Aragoto is new to me, too. So you don’t need to worry about me giving away any plot points. (And if you have read this part of the manga, no spoilers in the comments section either, please!)

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 146-147

{Insert witty subheading here}

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What do you get when you cross fall anime season premiere week with fall allergy week? A very fuzzy-headed blogger, turns out. I had a ton to say about Episode 147, but I blazed through 146 to make up for it, and I have exactly nothing of value to add in the opening remarks except “It was a good week and neither episode made me throw my tablet out the window, yay!”

And if you wanna read the SuperSubstance I managed to scratch out before the sinus meds wore off, hit that jump and dive right in!

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