His and Her Circumstances Anime Review – 68/100 – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Romance, His and Her Circumstances, Reviews by Lenlo

Romance is a fickle thing, meaning something different to everyone. To some it’s a casual fling after a night on the town, while to others its a lifelong commitment. It’s this mercurial nature that so often makes Romance as a genre difficult to pin down. Some are looking for a wholesome, drama free experience like Ore Monogatari!!. Others want a show that burns hot, fast and steamy, like Domestic na Kanojo, while others still are looking for a tragedy. It goes on and on and on, with each kind of romance pulling a different audience. But sometimes… sometimes you want the purest, most distilled and focused kind of romance you can get. And that’s the kind of romance Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, AKA His and Her Circumstances, embodies. Created by Masami Tsuda, directed by the legendary Hideaki Anno and animated at Studio Gainax, This is what we’re examining today!

Be warned, this review contains minor unmarked spoilers for His and Her Circumstances. It also contains major spoilers in some sections however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents. Continue reading “His and Her Circumstances Anime Review – 68/100 – Throwback Thursday” →

Midseason Musings

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Some Quick First Impressions, Special Articles

Hello, and welcome to an unscheduled, random post from Amun!  As we reach the halfway point of one of the most hyped seasons in recent memory, I wanted to check in and see which shows have met expectations, which have disappointed, and if there are any gems in the crowded field.  Without further ado, here’s my take on the shows I’m watching this season!

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Spy X Family – 7 [Operation Revenge on Desmond]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Spy X Family

Welcome everyone, to a (very) late episode of SpyXFamily! Apologies for that, I had to finish the His and Her Circumstances review, checking it over until I was happy. Still, that’s done and ready to go up Thursday so it’s time for some good old family fun! So without further ado, lets dive into the episode.

Overall this was a pretty slow week for SpyXFamily, with neither episode really furthering anything plot wise. Instead they were just 2 cute, longform gag sequences. This is fine enough, it was certainly cute. But there was nothing really… noteworthy. Nothing particularly heartwarming nor narratively important enough to get invested in. I’m sure for most this is fine, I want to be painfully clear that this was still a fun episode. But I’ve heard some gripes from friends and colleagues about how they found it to be rather dull, and I can’t bring myself to disagree. Still, every now and then this kind of break from the serious stuff is good. You can’t keep your audience tense all of the time. So long as this doesn’t become the new status quo, I’m sure it’ll be alright.

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Chainsaw Man – 6 [Kill Denji]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

We hit the halfway mark of Chainsaw Man and I wonder if my exclamation of “No!” at the moment the credits show is a good sign or a bad one. It’s good that this show can engage me to a level where I don’t want it to end with me even knowing how the story will go. However I also find these cliffhangers to be aggravating and I had thought that we would have time to see the fight between Denji and the Eternity Devil. On that, yes devils are not just limited to objects and animals but even abstract concepts. So things like heights or thalassophobia can indeed have devil representatives which I am honestly curious as to how they would look. But back to the topic of these cliffhangers, I haven’t been this bothered by them since Code Geass about…16 years ago(Oh my god. It’s been that long) and I do kind of feel they are a double edged sword. Without doubt they do ensure viewers will stick around to the next episode and they become a non-issue once the series is out in full. But for weekly viewers it can be annoying to be promised something only to have it suddenly taken away. Like reading a good book only for it to be yanked out of your hands with someone saying you can continue it in a week. Though being a manga reader and knowing what’s coming next makes this all the worse as I really was looking forward to that fight.

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Mob Psycho 100 III – 6 [Divine Tree 3 ~Dimple Is~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to what is so far the best episode of the Fall 2022 anime season. You know how I was talking about hype, and how to much of it can hurt a season? Well this week is what happens when that promise of hype gets fulfilled. Mob Psycho absolutely nailed it this week, on every front. Now lets dive in and talk about how.

First up, the production. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. This looked gorgeous. Not just because of Dimple flying around shooting laser beams and beating the crap out of broccoli men, but also the facial expressions, body language and evocative storyboards. I’m talking stuff like the giant set of eyes looming behind Dimple as Mob leaves, or Dimple’s desperate cry as the battle rages on and on. There is an art to conveying emotion in a fight. Any Shounen, any anime at all really, can animate a fight well if they put their mind to it. It’s selling the audience on the conflict, on why the characters are fighting that makes it truly impactful. And that’s something I think Mob Psycho did incredibly well here. Dimple went from the arcs antagonist to it’s hero in the span of 8 minutes, and I loved every single one.

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His and Her Circumstances – 25/26 [A Story Different from Up to Now/14 Days, Part 6] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, His and Her Circumstances, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone, to the grand finale of His and Her Circumstances. Well, I say grand, but it’s not, is it? Closer to a grand disappointment if anything. I cannot think of a more messy, disappointing finale to a series I’ve actually enjoyed than this. It’s almost impressive, if I wasn’t so absolutely livid. Why? Well lets dive in and talk about the “why”.

First up, the production. To call these episodes a mess would be a disservice to messes everywhere, it was downright trash. Oh there were some bits that looked nice, I’ll grant. The stark coloring in episode 25 lent very well to the horror vibes, while the rainbow patterning on Arima’s face really sold the internal strife. Aside from that however, both episodes were veritable power points, with episode 26, the bloody finale, not even having that. It’s like the episode never made it out of the storyboarding phase, complete with text on the screen in place of spoken dialogue and simplistic, black and white sketches for the characters. Some might try to defend this as “Unique” and “Artistic” but I just call it “Mismanagement” and “incomplete”. As someone who loved His and Her Circumstances production early on, this was a massive disappointment.

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Chainsaw Man – 5 [Gun Devil]

by AidanAK47, posted in Chainsaw Man, Currently Watching:

Urge to binge, rising. Really not only wth the anime but the manga has been torture to wait for as well. Part 2 is ongoing and it’s interesting but a bit tortuous to have chapters supplied piecemeal. I have to end every Tuesday wanting more while also devoting the night to getting this post out.(I really have no idea how I did this on a regular basis) We have a calm episode this week with the focus being the start of a new arc, guns and boobs. Funny how juvenile that sounds out of context despite the events themselves holding an opposite tone. So has Chainsaw Man dropped the ball this week? No, but it’s likely the weakest episode to come out yet though more out of necessity. Things need to be set up and time needs to be devoted to that setup so no action scenes(Outside of a small encounter) and a good amount of exposition. I would say there was a slight downgrade on visuals for some scenes as well though with this content we don’t exactly need sakuga. I got more to say this week though than the past two so that’s something.
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Spy X Family – 6 [Uncle the Private Tutor]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Spy X Family

Welcome everyone, to a late episode of SpyXFamily! You may have noticed a few things being late recently, well that’s just because a lot of reviews are comin up at the same time. Should be clear for next week hopefully. Anyways, delays aside lets jump into the episode!

First up, lets talk about the midterms. This was a pretty standard “Cute Anya” kind of adventure. And I don’t mean that negatively! Cute Anya adventures, when spaced out or paired with something a bit more substantive, are a great time. You need look no further than this very episode for an example of that. The core premise? Anya needs to do well on her exams. The larger narrative conflict at stake? Peace between the East and West, as if Anya fails then she’s well on her way to getting kicked out. This gives a lot more gravitas to something that, lets be frank, really wouldn’t be all that important otherwise. I mean, since when are 6 y/o’s tests of any meaningful important? The other really cool thing it does is actually show the progression of time in the series, as Anya’s school year is halfway done.

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Mob Psycho 100 III – 5 [Divine Tree 2 ~Peace~]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100 III

Welcome everyone, to a very late episode of Mob Psycho 100! Apologies for the wait on this one, busy week of work and grad school has slowed me down and I prioritized Throwback Thursday going out on… well Thursday. Excuses aside though, let’s dive into this weeks episode!

As usual, lets start with the production. This is going to be a bit of a controversial statement, but I think Mob Psycho was rather subdued this week. It was good, obviously. I’m not saying it was bad, Mob Psycho’s baseline consistency is great and puts most shows highs to shame. It just hasn’t given us anything incredible yet. Nothing that has pushed or exceeded my expectations for the show. Maybe this is a consequence of hype though. How to much can lead to unattainable expectations, sort of like how the Chainsaw Man fandom is at war with itself right now over it’s own visual production (Which I’ve enjoyed so far, to be clear). For Mob Psycho, after 2 seasons of pushing that envelope I, and others, have come to expect that once again. Will we get it? Probably, eventually. But we haven’t yet, despite being beautiful otherwise.

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His and Her Circumstances – 22/23/24 [14 Days, Part 4/14 Days, Part 5/Recap] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, His and Her Circumstances, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone, to the penultimate week of His and Her Circumstances! That’s right, we only have one more week before this is done and you get a final review. So if you have a series you want covered in Throwback Thursday, make sure to leave a comment so I can put it on the poll. Now without further ado, lets dive into the episodes!

First up, episode 22, “14 Days, Part 4”. This episode is all about them prepping for the upcoming play. And you know what? I need to say it. I have no idea how this is going to transition into a satisfactory finale. Between the prep there are some small scenes about Arima’s jealousy and personal issues, despite Miyazawa’s previous affirmations about their relationship, but it’s not thing particularly notable. And even if it was, this play doesn’t seem like a good way to address them what with it’s sci-fi themed subject matter and how Arima isn’t involved in it at all. In fact, it seems like Asaba is doing more to notice and address Arima’s issues than anyone else. But even he disappoints in just silently being there rather than any kind of… cathartic discussion, and also not having any actual arc of his own.

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