Alright! It’s time for round two of the Spring 2017 previews, and already I’m starting to lose patience for the shows. This second batch of misfits has been pretty much fifty-fifty, half of them being okay, and the other half just downright infuriating. So for this entry we’ve got gadgets and gears, goths and florists, time benders and forget-me-nots, and… puppy love?
Yeah, that last one came out of nowhere. Anyway, enough chit chat and let’s DO THIS! Continue reading
Wait, what year is it?
No seriously… This season is filled with sequels and re-calls from seasons long passed… it’s almost like looking at the cinemas and seeing Beauty and the Beast, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and Ghost in the Shell innocuously lined up like it’s no one’s business. That’s basically how the first few shows I watched this season made me feel. So yeah, for this part of the previews, we’ve got mystical girls falling from the sky, ultra-powered humans blasting from the earth, over-sized monsters tumbling across the plains, and tsundere little sisters drawing erotica behind closed doors.
Yeah, pretty descriptive, but let’s RUN EM’ DOWN! Continue reading
Whew, that was a hectic season.
The latter half had me leaving on a trip, and even these last few weeks had me rushing to clear up the backlog, only to find myself in Edinburgh for a week for yet another conference. That and the fact that the Nintendo Switch came out and basically ruined the lives of many a gamer with what could perhaps be regarded as “one of the best video games of all time”.
Regardless of whatever obstacles there were to be had for me this season, I was finally able to get it over and done with. Nine shows neatly tucked away — save for two that will be carried over to the next season — and for this season-ending post, I decided to go ahead and include on-going series to the listing.
Overall, I think this season was pretty ho-hum. It wasn’t really strong to begin with, and most of the shows pretty much stayed within the general spectrum of expectations. Nothing to flashy and nothing too dull, either. Just… mediocre, I guess. So sit back and relax as we run down the shows I watched this season! Continue reading
Yup, you read that right. It’s a double feature for this installment of Lost in Translation, where we look at all things New Year. I’m pretty sure many of these themes have been beaten to death in one-a-many slice-of-life anime, but hey — where else will we ever learn about Japanese culture and things to do come the new year? So sit back and relax as we explore more Japanese culture for Japanese in anime! These entries come from episodes 9 and 11 of Gabriel DropOut and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, respectively. Continue reading
Helloooo there!
Since I’ve decided to let the season finish itself before returning to weekly thoughts, I figured I spend the time returning to some of the unique articles that I had stashed away in the back of my head. In particular, it’s a return of the prodigal Anime and the Love of Headphones segment, where I talk about all things gloriously audiophile and anime. Indeed, I’ve noticed a small spike in viewers looking at the old posts — in particular, a comment from a certain Shawn Cayago requesting for more. Don’t worry buddy, your words have been heard.
For this entry, we take a look at none other than our headphone-clad digital princess, Hatsune Miku. Though she isn’t strictly an “anime character” per se, her origins in the self-published music and arts community earn her a special place in the hearts of anime fans, alike. So sit back and enjoy this short return to our introspection into animated figures gracing the frames of real-life audio equipment! Continue reading
Holy crap, it’s already been one year…
Anima & Anime is one year old. 😮
To be honest, I got into blogging as a sideline to my main article duties in CrunchyRoll before being ingloriously sacked thanks to restructuring within the Newsletter. But the word “restructuring” is probably a euphemism for something more unpleasant. The truth is that the Newsletter was a remnant of the website’s more user-centric days, given that I had been around since its conception as a site moderator.
But yeah, I kinda felt the whole need for the Newsletter was fading away, and probably that’s why I decided to pour out my anime frustrations into my own personal website. I know I don’t post as often as I should, but many people keep telling me that blogging really is a matter of your own personal capacity. Unless you’re seriously trying to monetize it, you don’t necessarily have to pull out content every single day.
And so I’m not really that surprised that my year-end stats aren’t exactly anything to brag about. But here they are, anyway: Continue reading
Hey guys! It’s been a while, but time for another Lost in Translation! This entry comes from episode 21 of March comes in like a Lion, where we see Rei reacting to a seemingly innocent jingle resounding through the passageways of an empty train station. Continue reading
First off, I’d like to apologize for the sudden change in format. I figured that given the huge backlog I have of things to watch, I might as well just watch all of the episodes of a particular show until I’m up to speed, and comment from there. If I can complete all of them before week 12 rolls in, then good for me. Otherwise — yeah, I’ll try to make the title of each post as brainless to follow as possible.
And with that out of the way, we finally come to the close of March comes in like a Lion. It’s a strange feeling, really, after having been so accustomed to its presence. Its composition and flow actually mirrored the seasons in which it aired in real-time throughout most of its run, granting it some sort of metaphysical companionship on top of its already wonderfully composed characters. It truly is something special; despite having ended, there’s still so much that can be said about its touching story. Continue reading
Quick update:
Wee.
Okay, I’m gonna be honest. You won’t see me posting anything for a while. The picture above is pretty much my excuse.
To be clear, I fell out of video gaming since the days of the Playstation 2, and I’ve only ever had casual fare with the PS Vita (yes, that’s kinda “casual” for me), and whatever fremium games there are on iOS (iDOLM@STER… curse you and your limited-time events!).
But as far as console gaming is concerned, the PS2 was the last one I purchased up front. I started with the NES and have been pretty much a low-key Nintendo fan up to the N64. I loved the Gamecube, but I skipped it in favor of the PS2, and even the Wii was just a “let me visit your house to play” kinda thing, since I wasn’t really sold on the whole motion-control concept.
But when it comes to Zelda, damn where do I begin. I first played Ocarina of time before trying out (but not finishing) Majora’s Mask (a bit meh), then A Link to the Past (epic), Windwaker (so much fun), and then the first two Zelda’s: the original Legend of Zelda and the Adventures of Link. I also remember playing Link’s awakening on the Gameboy Color (called Zelda DX in Japan), but don’t recall finishing it because I was playing a Japanese cart at the time (and I didn’t know that much Japanese apart from the occasional Kana). But suffice it to know that Breath of the Wild was enough reason to rekindle my interest in console gaming — and all the more since the Switch was marketed in a way to sort of “call back” the lost Nintendo kiddies. And Jesus Christ tap-dancing on a pogo stick, did it work.
So yeah, why am I talking about this? Well, I’m pretty much gonna lay low for a while, but I still hope to bring out some very concise “thoughts”, but very unlikely to be a side A/B thing like I’ve been doing for the Majority of this season. But don’t worry, this will only last for March, I believe. Thereafter, things will slowly get back to normal… if Zelda permits. Continue reading
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