Never judge a book by its cover – or a series by its animation.
I’ve been playing catch-up all week (IRL and online) thanks to last week’s LeakyCon whirlwind, so this is coming out rather later than intended. Thankfully this pair works well together, as both are adaptations of well-regarded manga and both suffer from a serious case of the Not Very Good Animation Blues. Can story overcome animation? Hit the jump to find out.
I’m pretty sure that forcing us to wait a week for more Korra is now officially in violation of our eighth amendment rights. Cruel and unusual punishment indeed, Bryke.
Hey, look at that–I love this show again.
As anyone who’s been following these posts knows, I spent much of the last cour becoming progressively more annoyed at Nephrite, High Lord of Blandsylvania, and what often felt like stagnating character arcs and relationships. I didn’t HATE it (and there were some episodes I quite enjoyed), but I wasn’t having nearly as much fun as I’d had during the first cour.
Of course, then last week’s two-part Feelsplosion happened, throwing my emotions into all kinds of turmoil, because dammit if I didn’t feel bad for Naru and even a little for Nephy, boring old bastard that he was. I got so tangled up in the short-lived romance that I was actually pretty sad by the end of Episode 26, and had forgotten one vital fact: Nephrite wasn’t our bad guy anymore. Zoisite was, which meant the show was all but guaranteed to get fun again.
And boy, did it ever. This week SM burst from its cocoon like a lame Metapod transforming into a badass Butterfree, complete with a neat premise, a fabulous villain, ridiculous monsters, a shiny Lovely Item, and a rockin’ addition to the Sailor Squad. It’s campy, hilarious, and awesome, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
There are a lot of words you could use to describe this series, but “unambitious” should never be one of them.
In the interest of posting this on time (I had to pack last night and I’m taking a flight today), I’m going to skip the long recaps and just talk in broad strokes about this week’s two-part Nephrite Finale.
Ah-hem.
So.
What the SHIT, Sailor Moon?!
Pop goes the watchlist?
Both of these shows barely made the cut during Premiere Week, and they remained on my bubble after their second episode. This doesn’t usually bode well, and yet… well, I suppose there’s a reason we call it the “Three Episode Rule” and not the “Two Episode Rule,” after all. When all was said and done, one show jumped up my interest list while the other continued to hover in an uncertain gray area. Which is which, and how do we proceed from here? Your answers and more beneath the jump.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of LN adaptations, I shall fear no mediocrity, for Watanabe Shinichirou is still making anime.
Let’s hear it for the boys ♪ —Well, some of them, anyway…
I decided to blog these shows together before I’d actually watched the third episodes, because I figured I could come on here and write a pair of shiny reviews about two male-led series with great humor and likable characters, but… well, things got more than a little unpleasant over on the Love Stage this week, so make that one shiny review and one review with a lot of upset tarnish all over its edges. Ravings and rantings below the jump.
The Josei Next Door 