[Side B] Fall 2017 – Week 3 in Review

mpv-shot0001.jpg

I finally re-hooked up my streaming server at home, as well as my pre-amp setup connected to my headphone and box speaker setup… and it’s beautiful. I swear, nothing beats watching animu on a 40-inch HD-TV.

Anyway, side-projects aside, this is a little late because one title airs every Sunday, but I’m kinda wondering if it’s worth keeping it around given it isn’t really doing much for me, to be honest. Of course, I’m talking about a certain show that’s going up on Netflix next year, which seems to be a common theme with regard to western-sponsored anime projects. I don’t know if it’s because people have weird tastes, or if I’m just being a little too pretentious. Probably both.

Anyway, [Side B] is decidedly more jam-packed with heavy hitters, which seems to be the case with most of the seasons I’ve written about. There always seems to be one side that’s a bit more engaging than the other — and without a doubt, this season’s bias lies heavily towards [Side B]. So yeah, without further ado, let’s run down just what happened last week! Continue reading

Lost in Translation #18 – Just Because!

mpv-shot0001.jpg

Hey guys!

It’s been a really… REALLY long time since I last did a Lost in Translation bit, but here we are! This entry comes from the first two episodes of Just Because! and is a good example of how the use of Japanese accents helps broaden character dynamics — something that can’t be easily portrayed through translated dialogue, alone. Continue reading

Fall 2017 – First Impressions

mpv-shot0005.jpg

Whew, what an intense first two weeks for Fall 2017. There are many reasons to be excited for the offerings this time around, but as usual I tend to be a little cautious given this is a honeymoon period of sorts for all of these shows. On a different note, I’ve bumped up my viewing palette to whopping eleven titles — twelve if we include March comes in like a Lion, which will be premiering later this week. Long week-in-reviews, here I come…

Anyway, same ‘ole applies: shows are ranked in descending order of interest. So sit back and relax as we run ’em down! Continue reading

Fall 2017 – Previews (Part 1)

mpv-shot0001.jpg

It’s fall!

But it’s also hot as hell where I am now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually MISS the droll cold of a British winter. Guess you don’t really know what something means to you until it’s gone.

So yeah, we’re a week-and-a-half into Fall 2017 and I’ve only just sorta burned through a couple shows to preview for you all. I almost kinda got used to cherry picking certain titles to the point I forgot that I’m supposed to make myself suffer a bit for the sake of “broadening my horizons”… and what this means was testing my patience with more shônen battlers or whatever was generally dismissed my the majority as banal if not to see, for myself, what’s up.

Surprisingly, though, the shows have been quite impressive — as if no shows haven’t been impressive during their first “honeymoon” episodes. The art in general has been shockingly pleasing, but there are a couple odd balls mixed into the bunch. So sit back as I run down some of the shows I’ve been picking up this season. Hopefully, one or two of these picks might be to your liking, as well. Let’s do this! Continue reading