reviews

Panning the Stream: Spring 2015 Midseason Review

Time to peek in on the Spring line-up and see how our new team’s holding up.

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The word for this season so far is “light,” and I don’t necessarily mean that in terms of the number of shows I’m watching (although there is that, too). Unlike this past winter, which was jam-packed with ambitious stories, social commentaries, and questions with no easy answers, Spring is more about kicking back and having fun, whether you’re engaging in rom-com shenanigans, trying to make it big in an anthropomorphic CG band, or swearing vengeance against those damn dirty vampires. And while I’ve grumbled about the weakness of this season, there’s something to be said for good old-fashioned escapism sometimes, too.

Lightness notwithstanding, there’s still one major standout, a couple solid sequels, and a few new series which are growing well and showing signs of real potential—including some that should have never worked for me and yet draw me in a little deeper each week. This is either proof that execution trumps premise, or that my taste is getting worse by the minute and it’s all cat girls and panty jokes from here on out. Remember me as I was, not as I am. Then hit the jump to get a rundown of our current roster.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 104-105

This may come as a surprise to you, but Sailor Moon takes place in Japan.

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Sailor Moon has its roots deep in the shoujo genre, which historically tends to draw on European fairy tales and romances, so most of the time there’s a universal (or at least “Euro-friendly”) quality to its characters and stories that makes it easily accessible to a western audience. But this week saw us diving deep into Japanese historical and cultural practices, to the point where I was half-tempted to turn my end-of-post bullet points into one big “Sensei Next Door” section.

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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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Rule of Three Review, Dark Horse Digest: PUNCH LINE, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches – Episodes 2-3

Well, this is unexpected.

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I didn’t expect either of these shows to earn a full meet ‘n’ greet, never mind this Rule of Three Review. More surprising still, both are staying on the watch list for now, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing where they take their stories.

The “how” and “why” of it mostly boils down to solid writing, something that other shows which looked better on paper have struggled with this season. Likable characters and engaging (or at least bizarre) scenarios go a long way all on their own; throw in some energetic animation/direction, and you’ve got yourself the two most pleasant surprises of the season. Both could fall off a cliff at any moment, and I’m halfway expecting it to happen, but they’re still with me for now, and in a season this sparse I’ll take whatever I can get. Hit the jump for details, concerns, and early praise.

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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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