Bungou Stray Dogs

Spring 2016 – Week 2 in Review

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Or week 2-3… I dunno. I’m confused as to when a week starts for this season of shows since there are some shows that have only just started on their second episode, while others are already on to their third. Anyway, I decided to just go with every Monday for a week in review once all shows have had their shows out.

The second week of any season is usually the weeding period. Shows that made their mark on their premier episodes pretty much nailed it again the following week, while those that were a little iffy remained their iffy selves… and then there were those that just bit the bullet and faded off into obscurity. But a couple shows remain wild cards, and probably for good reason. That said, let’s do this!

N.B. – Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was cancelled last week due to the Kumamoto quake. My condolences go out to the people of Japan, especially to some friends who live in the Kyuushu area. Continue reading →

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Spring 2016 – Initial Impressions

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So this is what it feels like.

I’ve been writing casual articles for Crunchyroll for a while now, but ever since I started this blog, I’ve come to realize how taxing this kind of work is. I have to watch shows I normally wouldn’t watch, but even then I probably only watched a fraction of what other seasoned writers had to go through. Plus the fact that for whatever shows I did watch, I had to go through them with a sharper eye for detail to actually piece together the thoughts I’d use in my articles.

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It’s been a very humbling experience to be honest. Writers may look like they’re simply watching anime and spewing out criticisms and whatnot, but it’s actually a very carefully calculated process of discerning the media we consume. To all the writers out there, I salute you.

Of course, it didn’t help that this season was just full of really great shows — shows that have a lot of potential, or have a strong premise — and for once, I went back on my promise to actually cut down on shows to watch. But that’s precisely what this post is for; this is the tl;dr of the past four entries. Though it’s only a smattering of what other writers probably had to dig through, I hope this helps in trimming down your own list of things to watch. I ranked them based on overall (personal) impression, not just the initial scores I gave in previous posts. Think of it as a sort of prospective list of hopefuls that is bound to change throughout the course of the season.

Anyway, enough talk. Let’s do this! Continue reading →

Spring 2016 – Episode Previews (Part 3)

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The shows keep coming! The bigger fish have come along, and things are certainly getting a lot more exciting. We’re talking spies, detectives, rebels, and zombies. Sound interesting? Then read on!

Joker Game

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The setting is compelling enough — a pre-world war II imperial Japan — but the concept of a national spy program is even more interesting. Of course, we aren’t blind to the atrocities that this budding national power was up to during this time period, and the show isn’t hesitant to bring up these topics in subtle ways. But Joker Game takes a smart approach to it by pitting its protagonist’s moral beliefs and sense of justice against a group of hardened spies who view their own nation’s eminent domain as a temporary dogma. Continue reading →

Spring 2016 Preview List

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Winter is coming to a close, and it’s about time for Spring! Yes, that means dusting out the closet and throwing out the remnants of a season that was, well, pretty okay when you think about it. Rakugo Shinjuu and ERASED were probably the highlights of last season, but there were still a couple other titles that were, if not memorable, enjoyable at the very least. After all of the shows of last season have finished their run, I’ll be compiling a recap post for Winter 2016. Look forward to it!

But yeah, we’re talking about Spring now. The line up is pretty so-so — a mix of hype and intrigue — and it’s pretty much a random bag of titles that are hard to anticipate. I haven’t read the source material for a majority of these titles, so who knows. But I’m not here to predict which title will succeed and which will flop — it’s all about what I want to watch!

You can check out my MyAnimeList for a summary of the titles I’ll be watching this Spring. So enough talk and let’s do this!

Continue reading →