Month: July 2017

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 28

Tommy A. Phillips1 Comment

30 Day Anime Challenge

Day 28: Anime You Wish Never Ended

Can I say InuYasha again? Actually, the show pretty much is wrapped up nicely at the end of the Final Act, even though the Final Act itself is something of a monstrosity of mediocrity. (It just wasn’t at the level of the original series, even the filler.) So I’m going to do something different and read off a list of several anime I’ve seen, and tell you whether I liked where it ended or not (“Stay” or “Go on”).

  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Stay. It was the perfect ending, as you probably know if you’ve followed this blog for any period of time.
  • Akame ga Kill: Go on. I’d much rather see a reboot of this, with fewer main character deaths and much less Akame.
  • Kill la Kill: Stay. Kill la Kill ended perfectly as well. Even the OVA seemed like it was too tacked-on.
  • Spiral: Go on. This one is obvious if you’ve read my reviews of it. It ended way, way too early.
  • Bleach: Stay. IchiHime becoming canon was perfect.
  • Death Note: Stay. Please no more adding on to Death Note; the story went too long as it was. (The second live-action movie wrapped it up well.)
  • Evangelion: Stay. There is no more fitting ending for Evangelion than “Kimochi warui.”
  • Lucky Star: Go on. Obvious again. I can’t get enough of Konata and Kagami.
  • Samurai Champloo: Go on. A little surprise here, but when I reviewed Samurai Champloo for the previous blog, I was only okay with the ending. I’d like to see more Fuu, Jin and Mugen.
  • Parasyte: Go on. I’d like some resolution, please.
  • Madoka Magica: PLEASE PLEASE NO MORE!!! Rebellion ruined Madoka for me. Mess with the story anymore, and Madoka will drop into mediocrity.

So for this one I’m going with Spiral. A little obscure pick, but it wins this category for me.

Toonami Therapy Podcast: Episode 20

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toonami-therapy

http://toonamitherapy.podbean.com/e/episode-20-attack-on-hiatus/

I like to think of us as the “Battle of the Network Stars” of anime podcasting. We pretend to take ourselves seriously, even while we know there’s nothing serious about it. You should give us a listen; because even if you don’t, we can’t be stopped! (Also, looks like I stopped doing the Toonami Roundup by mistake. It’ll resume after the 30 Day Anime Challenge is over.)

BBII 4-6: Backwards Butler

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Black Butler II episodes 4-6 review

BBII 6

Something really strange is going on: I’m enjoying season 2 of Black Butler more than season 1. That’s not supposed to happen. I’m supposed to hate the second season, but instead it’s turning out to be much more interesting than the first one. Maybe it helps that I know all the characters already, so there’s no time to be wasted in developing those characters. But maybe it’s also because the plot has a clear and unambiguous villain who I know is the ultimate enemy.

In these episodes, Sebastian first avoids trouble on a train, then the real meat of the plot happens when Alois Trancy confronts Ciel. Now we have Trancy as the villain, a brat who treats his one butler Hannah like garbage and who wants to own Ciel. We also have some big-breasted women in these episodes; Hannah and Ran-Mao both have giant boobs, and both wear revealing outfits, including one scene where Hannah strips down naked. So just like Misato promised us in Evangelion, there’s lots of fanservice!

Overall, I like where this is headed. There’s no more of the meandering plots from season 1 that seemed to go nowhere. Instead, there’s a clear direction to the plot, and lots of great characters that make it fun to watch. I’m optimistic about the rest of this season!

Episode 4 rating (out of four stars): **1/2

Episode 5 rating: ***1/2

Episode 6 rating: ***1/2

30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 27

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30 Day Anime Challenge

Day 27: Favorite Anime Movie

I haven’t seen many anime movies, maybe only 6 or so, but there’s no question which one is number one: Wolf Children. That movie actually caused me to cry. Anytime a movie is able to do that, it definitely wins. It completely captured me from start to finish, getting me totally immersed in the experience and story. I won’t give away the plot, partially because I’m lazy but also partially because I want you to see it for yourself. It’s an amazing movie, but beware: bring the Kleenex.