Dance Dance Danseur – 4 [I Can Do Ballet Now]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Dance Dance Danseur

Welcome back everyone, to another week of Dance Dance Danseur. This week we follow up with Luou on the bullying, Jumpei embraces ballet and the show becomes just a tad bit more Shounen. What does that mean? Read on to find out.

Right off the bat I want to, once again, praise Danseur for its visuals. The eyes still look off in wide shots sadly. I think the lines just do not look good without the proper tapering and details provided by the closeups. There was also an issue regarding Miyako’s tutu just being a static image moving across the screen rather than any kind of animation. But I find both of these to be ultimately small, almost irrelevant, issues. Neither of them changes how good the character movement is. Especially the legs! Oh how I love the legs in Danseur. The attention to detail on their form, the way the joints move, the careful way they must be posed and walk during a ballet… I find it beautiful. I haven’t been able to fill hunger for dance since the Princess Tutu Throwback Thursday series, so this has been a welcome find.

And as for the narrative? Well that was pretty damn good too.

Continue reading “Dance Dance Danseur – 4 [I Can Do Ballet Now]” →

Now and Then, Here and There – 11 [Eve of Destruction]- Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Now And Then, Here And There, Throwback Thursday

Welcome everyone, to what is inevitably going to be a late post about Now and Then, Here and There! How do I know it will be late? Because I’m off traveling for work all day Thursday and I haven’t started writing this until Wednesday. So if I somehow manage to get it up on time make sure to tell me I did a good job. No please, Pavlov really works. Enough with the intro though, lets dive into the episode!

This week is a strong one. To lay it out in plain terms, this week was all about children and whether or not it is just to bring them in to a dying world. Now and Then poses this question to us through two different sets of characters: Lala and Sis, as well as Sara and Shu. With the answer to both of those being an unequivocal “yes”. On the surface, I think this is a pretty interesting question for the series. Especially when you look at how Now and Then has treated children, the future, prior to this in the show. As you dig deeper into it and look at the situations surrounding how Now and Then answers this question… It’s starts to get a little bit concerning. Even, dare I say it, a tad political. That’s right everyone, strap in, it’s time to talk abortion politics in anime.

This is gonna suck.

Continue reading “Now and Then, Here and There – 11 [Eve of Destruction]- Throwback Thursday” →

Spy X Family – 3 [Prepare for the Interview]

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

Hello everyone and welcome to a (very late) episode of Spy X Family! Some of you might be wondering why this took so long. My answer? I actually struggled to write this post. The episode was just so milquetoast, I had very little positive, or negative, to say. Why? Well lets jump on in and see if I can explain.

The best way to explain it is this: I’m not a fan of slice of life. As a genre, I find it incredibly boring. Very little happens. And, regretfully, slice of life is kind of what Spy X Family gave us this week. It was just a normal day in their new lives. Yes, it was all very important. This episode established their family dynamic and overall relationships with each other. The whole thing was about them spending time with each other, that was the point. It’s necessary that this stuff is established now so that things to come make sense and flow naturally. To make a long story short: It has to happen. I acknowledge that. But it doesn’t change that I, by and large, found it boring. I’ve even prepared a few specifics after the break to help explain it.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 3 [Prepare for the Interview]” →

Spring 2022 Summary – Weeks 2-3

by SuperWooper, posted in Weekly Summary

Wooper: New season, new weekly recap column – except I doubt I’ll get around to writing one of these each week. As a matter of fact, this may be the only one I do all spring, but I figured I’d make a post since there were a couple shows that aired too late for our First Impressions. Plus, Lenlo wanted to express his approval of the new P.A. Works show, and who am I not to provide an outlet for anime appreciation? Read on to see what we’re watching this season!

Summertime Render 1-2

Wooper: It’s silly to pick a projected AOTS after two episodes (especially when the series in question is slated for 25), but my money is on Summertime Render nevertheless. Ayumu Watanabe has been stretched thin over the last few years, splitting his time between envelope-pushing features at Studio 4°C and TV projects at multiple studios, but he still found time to direct one of this spring’s best premieres – and followed it up with an equally strong second episode. The broad strokes story is engaging, of course: a murder mystery involving shadowy doppelgangers set in a small island town. The tone is eccentric, eerie and gruesome in equal measure, and protagonist Shinpei’s ability to return to July 22nd after death gives the show a big hook. Moreover, he makes smart choices about how to spend his limited time within each loop, which can’t be said for some other characters in similar situations. But the show gets a lot of little things right, as well, especially visual metaphors like water droplets on an air conditioner preceding a character’s tearful grief, or the town being framed within a spider web just before Shin finds himself in peril. (I also love the bespectacled Hizuru, whose peculiar demeanor and habit of recording voice memos put me in mind of Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks.) If Summertime Render weren’t so solidly put together, I might not have the patience for its central mystery, but it is, so I do. Bring on the next episode!

Paripi Koumei 1-4

Lenlo: Not checking out Kongming when it first aired was almost one of the greatest mistakes I’ve made this year. I thought it was just a stupid gag series, how can a show about throwing a general from the Three Kingdoms period into modern Shibuya be anything else? But there’s so much heart, both for music and history, character and legitimate history that it has quickly become one of my favorites for this season. You just don’t get scenes like episode 3’s “Soldiers and drink” without the creator being passionate about the subject, nor the references from the manager without the knowledge. My god, the manager. He might be my favorite character. Also it has a banger of an OP.

Continue reading “Spring 2022 Summary – Weeks 2-3” →

[Short] Shikimori-san 2-3

by Amunchet, posted in Special Articles, Weekly Summary

Amun’s Note: I’m going to be doing some “Short” reactions for various shows that aren’t getting seasonal coverage.  I’ll also give my verdict of “watch”, “skim”, or “skip”.  This will be sporadic but let me know if you want a particular series, and I’ll try to watch it if I haven’t already dropped it!  Hope you enjoy!

Shikimori-san came into the season with a surprising amount of hype for what looks like a generic rom-com….which after 2 episodes, it definitely is.  But by golly, there’s something about it that’s made me want to watch it first every time it’s come out.  Episode 2’s sports (and fame) experience were plenty fun (although I could have done without the sick bay scene).  Episode 3 is standard date-gone-wrong fair – although it ends at his house?!  Didn’t see that coming (or befriending his parents…5D chess move right there). 

I think the charm from this show comes from its simplicity.  Are we going to break any new ground?  Nope.  But it’s plenty soothing, and for that I give it: “Watch“

Dance Dance Danseur – 3 [What Does It Mean to Be Manly]

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Dance Dance Danseur

Welcome everyone to week 3 of Dance Dance Danseur! This one is simultaneously the most interesting, and concerning, episode yet. Why? Well lets jump in and find out!

Now normally I start these posts talking about the production, but you know what Danseur looks like. It looks good! So instead lets skip straight into what happened this week: Bullying. Conceptually I rather like it. This episode went all in on Jumpei struggling with being “cool”, being “masculine”, and that’s exactly what I wanted from Danseur. Not just some glossed over “I dance, everyone is cool with it”, but an actual full on look as to why Jumpei feels this way. Why he’s concerned and insecure about it and why there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. And I got that! By the end, Jumpei has started down that road. He has begun to figure out that being a “man” isn’t about being a fighter or whatever. It’s about being true to yourself and your beliefs. The only concerning thing about it is how Danseur got there.

Continue reading “Dance Dance Danseur – 3 [What Does It Mean to Be Manly]” →

Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These – 25-30

by AidanAK47, posted in Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These

I am uncertain as to who is so committed to LOTGH that they continue to remake it even four years after the debut of the first season but I am certainly grateful for their efforts and the efforts of the animation team. Jumping into it again reminds me just how different it is to any other anime with its pseudo documentary approach to storytelling. Watching it is like watching history and I find it funny how often it goes to the effort of naming every minor character on screen, as though these were people of note in their own right. But I think the show realizes that there is no possible way for anyone to remember the names of all these characters(Especially for Japanese people to remember all these foregn names, not even counting for the fact that this used to be a novel which would make that straight impossible) as it does the equivalent of a sizzle reel naming every member of Reinhard’s court. I find though LOTGH deals with fairly broad subject matter, it never truly leaves the viewer behind and often puts information clearly enough in bite size chunks for them to get the current situation. It’s the difference between convoluted and complex in like how Kingdom Hearts storyline is simpler than you would think but the problem lies in how utterly convoluted it’s presentation is. Where with LOTGH we have the story getting across the cost of the coup by talking about the free planets needing to gain new soldiers with the loss of so many experienced ones and tying it into Juilian getting inducted into the military. Through Juilian we see the training and first battle jitters, as well as the classroom setting to exposite about the importance of the Iserlohn corridor. On the surface you have a basic A plot of Juilian entering the military and within that is many small bits contributing to worldbuilding at large. LOTGH in general makes frequent use of a microplot to give a greater sense of the bigger picture. Unlike Game of thrones for example it doesn’t jump between three different ongoing plots but instead focuses each episode on one specific topic and rarely if ever deviates(Though to be fair that’s based on this season as my memory of previous seasons is misty due to it being literal years ago.) Look at the last of the episodes here on Fezzan where every scene is about Fezzan and characters within Fezzan. We never switch to Yang or Reinhard to see how their current stories are going, but stay laser focused on just the events of Fezzan. So we are never overloaded with information as the anime sticks to showing you the details you need to know for the current episode.
Continue reading “Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These – 25-30” →

Now and Then, Here and There – 10 [Prelude to Chaos]- Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Now And Then, Here And There, Throwback Thursday

Welcome back everybody, to another (late) week of Now and Then, Here and There! This week Hamdo starts to go on the offensive, Lala Ru gets found out and Sara finally returns to the screen. We have a lot to talk about so lets jump right in!

Off the bat, there were some cool set pieces this week. I was not prepared for Hellywood to take off into the air, not for the underground cave of water in the desert. Now and Then truly does have some great locations and scenery! On top of that, Hellywood also had some good animation behind its flight. A lot of work went into the detailing and selling us on the weight of the structure, plus the debris falling off of it. The weakest part was just the interior shots being largely stills with some shaking, but I don’t begrudge them those. Now and Then has never been a “sakuga” shown in my opinion, so it’s managed my expectations well there. All I ask is that it keep up this picturesque style of visuals for the last remaining episodes to come.

Continue reading “Now and Then, Here and There – 10 [Prelude to Chaos]- Throwback Thursday” →

Spy X Family – 2 [Secure a Wife]

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

Right away I want to apologize for the lateness of this, Easter Weekend played havoc with my schedule. Excuses out of the way though, welcome to my 2nd show of the season, Spy X Family! This week continues the adventures of Anya and Loid as the search for the perfect wife to round out their dysfunctional little family. So without further ado, lets dive into it!

Before we get into all the good stuff Spy X Family gave us this week, and there’s a lot, I want to mention my only real negatives with the episode: Production. The show doesn’t look bad by any stretch of the imagination. There are much blander, much less animated series airing right now. However this is a step down from the first episode in my opinion. Part of that has to do with with darkness in Loid’s harbor scene. I harp on this a lot with Now and Then, Here and There as well. You have to light these things properly! The other issue though is that a lot of the models this episode felt… off? Not massively so, I want to be very clear when I say these are not huge problems. It’s just in places like the party scene Yor and Loid’s overall designs felt a tad stiff.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 2 [Secure a Wife]” →

Spring 2022 Coverage & First Episode Awards

by SuperWooper, posted in Uncategorized

Lenlo: Welcome back everyone for another season of anime over here at Star Crossed! By now you’ve seen all of our impressions and have a good grasp of what’s good, what’s promising and what’s just a dumpster file. That leaves only one thing left to announce: Our weekly coverage! Or should I say my weekly coverage, since Aidan is the only one potentially joining me this season. Maybe if I poke at them enough here I can get one or two to join me beyond the weekly summaries, who knows. Without further ado though I present to you our Spring 2022 lineup as well as our First Episode Awards!

Fall 2021 Lineup

Lenlo
– Dance Dance Danseur
– Spy X Family
– Now and Then, Here and There (Throwback Thursday)

Amun
– Occasional Weekly Summary (DanMachi waiting room)

Aidan
– Potentially returning for summer’s “Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer”

Continue reading “Spring 2022 Coverage & First Episode Awards” →