In Case You Missed It 2019 #9

Posted on by Karandi

Another week and you will have noticed that I did slow down the posting this week to two a day. Given the current in real life situation I’m going to continue on this slower schedule for at least another week as it is giving me some time to regroup. That said, I’ve continued to have a great time finding some really cool posts out there and as always if you would like me to give a shout out to a post send me a link via my contact or DM me on Twitter and I’ll check it out.

Posts from the Community

Irina and Crow continue their coverage of The Promised Neverland with a discussion on Episode 7. It is a bit spoiler heavy if you haven’t watched the episode yet but for those watching the anime it is a fun post dissecting what we saw and speculating about where it might be going. Well worth reading for those watching the anime.

But in case that’s not enough of The Promised Neverland (and what is really enough), Lynn Sheridan has a great write up on Episode 8. Again, spoiler warning, but episode 8 was fantastic and there are some pretty solid review posts coming out about it.

Dominic over on Little Anime Blog has a review of Land of the Lustrous that is very nicely written. This one is light on spoilers and more describes the experience rather than specific events so if you are curious about whether Land of the Lustrous might be something you should watch this is a review for you to check out.

Anime Motivation (a site I’ve somehow never found before but am glad I stumbled upon last week) had a great post giving us 11 Educational Anime or at least 11 anime that can give you a new perspective even if they don’t necessarily teach something specifically. It was a really fun list to read and I found a few other articles on the site I’m going to have to go and read at some point. Anyway, if you missed this post, be sure to go and check it out as it is definitely fun reading.

Blogging Almost has an interesting discussion about the hook of Darker Than Black. This post does discuss the overall downturn of the series as season 2 gets underway but mostly it is about how the first episode draws you into the characters and the world. And by the way, if you haven’t watched Darker Than Black, you probably should.

Wooderon shares some thoughts on That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and how Rimuru essentially being in easy mode makes for a less than compelling narrative. While some people will disagree, this is something that has been bothering me about the show for a fair while as there never does seem to be any tension or concern in any scenario making the anime feel a little lacking, despite being reasonable fun. Anyway, if you aren’t violently opposed to the idea of criticism of Slime this is an interesting post.

Xenodude has started covering School Live so if you’ve seen episode one and curious to see how someone who didn’t know what the twist was takes it, this post is a fun read. For those who’ve never seen it, unless you want to know the twist it is probably best to watch the episode first before checking out the post.

I kind of have to thank Irina for this one as she highlighted the blog in her blog discovery post, but I came across this post by Dirk about escapism in No Game No Life and it was such a fun read. It looks at the first episode and premise of No Game No Life and how it connects with an audience who may in fact be looking for an escape themselves. Really enjoyable read and well worth checking out.

One Punch Man Saitama Flying

Then because I was now following this blog, I had the pleasure of reading a comparison of the protagonists from One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 and while I haven’t finished even season one of Mob and One Punch Man was great for a once watch but I’m kind of done with it, I really enjoyed this post. It is nicely detailed, nicely written, and it is just interesting seeing how the author created characters who have superficial similarities but some fairly strong core differences.

Pick of the Week

Irina has to have it this week with her post of Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann. Now Yoko is an awesome character and Irina’s post here does a great job of capturing the reasons why, describing particularly a scene toward the end of Gurren that really just showcases everything amazing about Yoko. Of course, if you haven’t seen the anime, there are spoilers here, but for everyone who has seen the anime, this is a post well worth reading so be sure to hop on over if you missed it last week.

And as much as I loved Irina’s post on Yoko, I do have to throw this one in as a pick of the week. The Nerdy Girl News shares some valuable tips on how to gain followers and get traffic for your anime blog. Be sure to read it as it is well worth the time and really helpful in explaining what they have done and how it has worked.

Posts For Patrons

My Posts

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Three great ways you can support 100 Word Anime:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
TALES OF BERSERIA 1/8 SCALE PAINTED FIGURE: VELVET CROWE
TALES OF BERSERIA 1/8 SCALE PAINTED FIGURE: VELVET CROWE

Advertisements

In Case You Missed It 2019 #7

Posted on by Karandi
My Roommate is a Cat Episode 5 Haru

I decided this week to make a greater effort to include episodic content as even though I read and comment on plenty of episode reviews I’ve gone back through my round ups and realise I rarely link to them. As always if there is a post you think deserves some attention please flick me the link via my contact or DM me on Twitter.

Incidentally, this week I asked twitter who was cuter this season: Fuzzy from The Morose Mononokean or Haru from My Roommate is a Cat. Tragically, Fuzzy kind of got slaughtered in the individual votes but a lot of people did choose both so there’s clearly some love for him out there.

Posts from the Community

The Anime Alcove has a great write up of episode 5 of Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka that is as fun to read as the episode was to watch. It covers the main plot points with a bit of opinion about how they sat within the story and just as entertainment and it is nice and quick to read but gets the job done. Well worth checking out if you are following the show or even if you are curious about it (though a few plot spoilers if you haven’t seen it).

Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka Episode 5 Kurumi

Nerdgeist shares their top ten cosplays by Spiral Cats and honestly some of these costumes and photos are incredibly impressive. Loved scrolling through this post and seeing some of the great work they’ve done. I’m not massively into the cosplay scene but I do appreciate the effort some people put into this and these were amazing.

Kapodaco shares their list of ten trivial anime pet peeves. It is a fantastic list of tropes and recurring events in anime that really are both pointless and annoying and I think most anime fans will find a few things on this list that have them nodding along. And after reading this list I’ve seen about half of them within the next couple of days. If you can’t find your trivial anime pet peeve here why not add it to the comments.

Irina does an amazing job with her February OWLS post focusing on one specific episode of Natsume Yuujinchou and two characters who are well worth discussing. For anyone who has watched Natsume this post is a must read. If you haven’t watched Natsume (why not), this post may show you why this series is an absolute must watch – though you know it discusses two characters from season six.

Xenodude covers Domestic Girlfriend Episode 5 and like me remains pleasantly surprised by the series (the beauty of low expectations). This is a nice write up of the events and some speculation about where this may go and it is just fun to read so if you are following Domestic Girlfriend be sure to check it out.

MIB has a review of Vatican Miracle Examiner which is a title I haven’t thought about or heard about since it finished airing so this review kind of caught me by surprise. If you didn’t catch the series while it was airing this review will help you decide if this one is worth going back and checking out or whether you are better off just letting it go. Either way, a great read.

Hall of Elliot is looking back at Girls’ Last Tour with the English dub now coming out and this is an anime that made a splash when it first aired but doesn’t get a lot of discussion (and really should). If you happened to miss Girls’ Last Tour when it came out, check out this post and then maybe go check out the anime. It is great. (No spoilers in the post as it focuses on episode 1).

Pick of the Week

Atelier Emily discusses the dystopian setting within The Promised Neverland and looks closely at how Isabella in particular has been framed through the use of shot types. It’s a fun discussion post of The Promised Neverland that doesn’t reveal anything more beyond what the anime has shown so far so you don’t need to be wary of manga spoilers. Well worth reading if you are following the anime.

The Promised Neverland Episode 4 Mother and Sister Krone

Posts For Patrons

My Posts

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Three great ways you can support 100 Word Anime:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
Play Asia Exclusive
Play Asia Exclusive

Is There A Best Time To Post An Anime Review?

Posted on by Karandi
Friday's Feature Banner Image

As someone who writes fourteen episode reviews a week most weeks and also throws in whole series reviews and book reviews, the question of how and when to schedule is one I come to over and over again.

When I first started blogging I would literally just watch an episode write something, do a bit of an edit and post. But then a whole bunch of shows would come out on the same day and I ended up starting to schedule posts for following days or else I’d have some days with heaps of posts and then nothing for the next. Eventually that evolved into the process I have now where at the start of each season I work out a rough schedule of each day so I know which posts are going to go out and when. My schedule notebook has every post I’ve scheduled and then published written in it since the 7th of July 2016 and it has served me well with only a few hiccups in the schedule when I’ve miscalculated a time zone or the like.

The Morose Mononokean Episode 4 Kinoko
Careful scheduling ensures time saved – so more time to play (or work, but let’s not talk about that).

But that doesn’t stop me wondering if there is a best time to post an anime review. Whether we are talking episode review or a full season review you are left with a fairly big decision. Do you get your post out as soon as it is finished airing to be the start of the conversation? Do you wait a little bit to work through your thoughts and to give yourself and other viewers some time before posting? Or do you distance yourself entirely and let all the fuss die down so that your post isn’t coming out at the same time as about a dozen others on the same anime?

I don’t actually know which approach is best. I know I take the second one. With everything except Sword Art Online Alicization this season I’ve given myself at least a day if not more between when it airs and when I’ve scheduled my post of the episode review. For full series I schedule one a week so it takes me nearly two and a bit months to get through the previous season’s shows and then I review some older anime until the most recent season ends and I start the cycle over again. Is this the best option? Again, I don’t really know.

Sword Art online Alicization Episode 4
I remember how fun this seemed back then – it was only three months ago.

It works for me because I don’t like feeling rushed. The only reason I review SAO on the same day as I watch it is because I was excited for its return and didn’t want to wait longer to discuss it when it first started airing. A lot of the excitement has kind of fizzled for me since, but given it comes out Sunday morning I usually have plenty of time to watch it, write a draft post and come back to it later in the evening and edit before publishing. So I’m not really inclined to move it at this point. For my other posts I can watch the shows the day they come out, if I have the time, but if I don’t, I’m not worried. I’ve got space in the schedule. And my posts go out on time fairly reliably.

As a reader, I know that there are posts I actively avoid. Given time zone differences, a lot of anime comes out late at night or early morning so it isn’t until I wake up that I can possibly watch it, but I usually do a read through posts and comments first. Anything reviewing an episode I’m about to watch of a show I’m really invested in (such as The Promised Neverland), I don’t open. I’m not paranoid about spoilers but I’d rather not read someone’s full take on the show before I watch it. If I remember I try to go back after to find those posts I skipped in the reader but sometimes I just don’t get back to them.

The Promised Neverland Episode 1 Conny
Avoid looking at it – you don’t want to know.

Being first out for a review is good in that people who are wondering about it or waiting for news will appreciate the timeliness of the post. However, a lot of viewers don’t want to read a post until after they’ve seen it themselves so sometimes being first means your post gets lost.

In terms of posting later, timeliness is something that needs to be considered. Episode reviews lose relevance quickly unless you are talking about something super popular that people will pick up outside of seasonal viewing. That said, you’ve got people who subscribe and watch things the week of release, people who get access the week after release, people who wait for the dubbed version which is sometimes a couple of weeks behind, and people who wait until the whole show is finished before starting it. So you’ve got a few windows to hit in terms of relevance for an episode review.

Tokyo 3Meiji Renka Episode
If readers want what you are writing you hopefully won’t have to force feed them.

As I said before, I don’t actually know the answer to the question of whether there is a best time to post an anime review. All I know is that each blogger is going to find what works for them in terms of being able to watch, write, edit, and post, and readers are going to find what works for them in terms of content they want to read.

However, for other reviewers, I’d love to know how you decide when to post your reviews and what you consider when making those decisions. So please, share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Three great ways you can support 100 Word Anime:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, you can visit the bookshop and buy the ebook.
Karandi’s Bookshop
Karandi's Bookshop

In Case You Missed it 2019 #4

Posted on by Karandi
My Roommate is a Cat Episode 2 Cute Moment

Here we are at the end of week 4 and things couldn’t be hotter (both for the Winter anime season and the general weather in Australia). As always, here is my weekly round up of anime related content from the community and from my blog this week. Please send me a link if you find a post that you feel needs a shout out, I always love finding new content to read.

Posts from the Community

Ya Boy Jack has an interesting post this week about politics in anime. This one isn’t preaching but is more just looking at why everything is political and yet why that shouldn’t stop people from enjoying what they enjoy or being part of the anime community. Definitely one to check out this week.

LynLynSays takes a look at how Goblin Slayer addresses trauma, specifically in episode 9 with the Sword Maiden. There’s definitely spoilers for the episode if you haven’t watched it and are concerned about it, but it is a great look at one of the more grounded fears in Goblin Slayer and the idea of living with trauma.

Goblin Slayer Episode 9 Goblin Slayer and Sword Maiden

Sakura Sunrise has a review of the first couple in a series of short anime films by Bones that I’ve never even heard of but after reading this review I’m certainly going to try and find it to watch. Towa no Quon’s first two stories are reviewed here and while the review isn’t glowing this certainly made me interested in finding out more about these stories.

Arthifis is starting to run out his impressions posts for the season as episode 3’s are watched. Here we have his thoughts on Boogiepop wa Warawanai. If you are still picking a watch list or were waiting to see what was worth the effort, Arthifis is doing an excellent job of taste testing and I’m certain his season guide when he finishes it will be well worth the read.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai Episode 1 Boogiepop

LofZOdyssey reviewed Skeleton Bookseller Honda San from last season and looks at the context and pace of jokes as well as character designs and voice acting. For a brief review it hits the needed points and clearly they had fun with this anime. If you were curious about Honda San last season this one might be a post to check out.

Lyn Sheridan shares their thoughts on Conception with a series review. Conveniently this came out the same day as my own review of Conception and now I’m wondering who enjoyed the show less. If you want to know what went wrong with Conception check out the reviews.

Conception Episode 9 Itsuki mad at Mana

Irina gives us 5 life lessons learned from blogging. A fun little list of things to remember when blogging that can be applied to your everyday life. Who doesn’t like a post that makes them feel good about themselves and also potentially gives them a pointer they can use?

From Atelier Emily we have a nice breakdown of the use of camera in The Promised Neverland over the first three episodes. Yes there are some spoilers here if you’ve not started watching it, but for those who have it is a really great post to read to sink your teeth into just why it feels so nicely put together at times.

The Promised Neverland Episode 2 - Norman and Emma

PeregrinePrincess has another fantastic Natsume post, this week looking at Natori’s introduction and the relationship that forms between Natsume and Natori during Natori’s first appearance. It’s a really great discussion about the episode and the motives behind the characters though it does spoil the episode if you’ve never seen it and want to go in cold. Still, a definite read for Natsume fans and if you are just curious about what makes the show great this series of posts have been a pretty fantastic in highlighting why the series speaks to so many people.

Pick of the Week

There Goes My Kokoro managed to really get my attention this week when they revisited and finished Re:Zero but amazingly found Subaru still an unlikable idiot. The number of people who have told me I should go back and give that anime more time because it gets better is more or less uncountable at this point in time and yet no matter what the plot might do later, the main reason I’ve never made it beyond the double opening episode is a deep seated irritation with every single thing Subaru does. After reading this post I’m finally crossing Re:Zero off my watch list for good because clearly I will not like watching any more. This post does a great job of breaking down Subaru’s flaws as a character and even though I didn’t watch far this post really did speak to me.

My Posts

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Three great ways you can support 100 Word Anime:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
SEISHUN BUTA YAROU WA BUNNY GIRL-SENPAI NO YUME WO MINAI WALL SCROLL: BUNNY GIRL-SENPAI WATCHES OVER US
SEISHUN BUTA YAROU WA BUNNY GIRL-SENPAI NO YUME WO MINAI WALL SCROLL: BUNNY GIRL-SENPAI WATCHES OVER US

In Case You Missed It

Posted on by Karandi
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Episode 11 Sakuta

For those who may not check back until next week, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I’ll still be posting more or less as normal though Features and Reviews aren’t starting up again until the new year. Still, plenty of episode reviews, my Top 5, the 12 Days of Anime posts, and an OWLS post from last week so heaps of content coming out on the blog. For patrons there was also my second video review to check out which is linked to below and you can get the password from my patreon site. I’m definitely still learning the whole video editing thing and having to travel midway through putting it together didn’t really help, but I learned a lot and I’ve got quite a few ideas for the next one on Bloom Into You that should come out in the first few months of next year.

In the meantime, the ani-blogging community have been busy, busy, busy and there are some great posts to check out. Below I’ve linked to some of the great posts I found and as always feel free to give a shout out to a post you read last week that you think deserves some more attention in the comments. One more In Case You Missed It post for the year next week and then we’ll be into the new year. 

Posts from the Community

Ka-Chan has a great post as part of the 12 Days of Anime about Fruits Basket. They explore what drew them to the original anime, what they learned while checking out the manga, and why they are looking forward to the reboot. A great post for fans of Fruits Basket or those wanting to know why there’s a lot of anticipation around the new anime. Actually, Ka-Chan is on a roll with their 12 Days of Anime posts as their one about Free (an anime I can’t finish watching for reasons I’ve discussed previously) is pretty amazing in sharing their enthusiasm for this franchise and what it means to them.

OOCentral has a really fun post about Uchouten Kazoku (The Eccentric Family). This was an anime I loved but seems like it doesn’t get much discussion. However it is great fun and the sequel was pretty solid and I really enjoyed coming across this post last week. If you’ve never seen the anime, go check out this post.

On The Well Red Mage this week there was an excellent game review for Mario vs Donkey Kong. This little piece of nostalgia was a highly entertaining read and while a lot of people won’t be interested in reading a review of a game for an old system this one was a fun read and made me want to go back to these style of games (at least for a little bit).

Banana Fish Episode 21 Ash and Eiji

Ty-Chama looks at the different shapes and sizes romance has come in during 2018 and it was something I realised while putting together my best couple list for the year – there have been some awesome diverse couples in anime this year. This post celebrates some of the pairings that have confronted issues such as age, gender and even species differences, even while looking at issues that anyone in a relationship can relate to such as being lead on, codependency, etc. Really great post.

Floating Into Bliss looks at some of the really amazing Yuri anime out this season (and anime that may contain Yuri elements). When they line them all up like this it becomes fairly clear that Autumn 2018 has had a lot of same sex couples (and they weren’t even looking at the guys). So if you are interested in titles containing yuri, or anime that have potential yuri pairings, out this season, this is a video/transcript for you.

Bloom Into You Episode 11 Camp

Astral Gemini shares their top 5 favourite snowscapes from anime in a post that looks at different moods and ideas that are captured within snowscapes. It’s a really great post with some great images of snow scenes in anime and well worth checking out. 

Pick of the Week

Irina has a great post about Gurren Lagann this week and while she does do a fair amount of discussion about leadership within the anime, she really looks at why it is the emotional roller coaster it is and why it ends up resonating with so many viewers. It’s an excellent post looking at a series that despite initial impressions has quite a lot of depth to it (and is a lot of fun). This is one for all fans of the series to check out and if you haven’t watched it this may be the post that gives you the push to give it a go.

Gurren Lagann - Yoko

My Posts


Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Consider supporting the blog by:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
KIRBY STAR ALLIES – THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK [LIMITED EDITION]
KIRBY STAR ALLIES - THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK [LIMITED EDITION]

In Case You Missed It

Posted on by Karandi
Tsurune Episode 8 Minato

Last week I made the somewhat difficult decision to end my season overview posts. These posts took a long time to put together and on average received less views than my actual episode reviews. It just didn’t seem like it was a series that needed to continue given I want to put my time into creating content people actually want to read. It is a shame because I’ve been doing a weekly overview since I started the blog, but it was just time to retire the series.

That does mean I get to think about what should replace it in the schedule next year, if anything and I’m already considering a range of ideas such as a recommendation post or a character feature post. I’m not rushing to fill the space and will figure out what I want to do, but certainly if you have any suggestions I’d love to know.

In the meantime, here are some great blog posts from around the community. The ‘my post’ section is a little longer as I am linking to individual episode reviews now rather than the overview, but otherwise nothing is changing with this post. As much as ‘In Case You Missed It’ takes a lot of time to put together, it is one of my most viewed posts each week and I really like sharing great content from other bloggers, so no danger of this one disappearing anytime soon.

Posts from the Community

Ty shares a survival guide of what to do if someone you love has terrible taste in anime. Yep, it has caused more couch wars than you can poke a stick at but what do you do if your significant other just has ‘bad’ taste? Well, here’s some suggestions on how to learn to compromise and not insult the person you chose to watch anime with.

Irina has another Natsume Yuujinchou post, this time as part of the OWLS December blog tour on miracles. You already know I’m going to tell you to read this. It is written by Irina, who is amazing. It focuses on Natsume, who is a truly brilliant character and well worth talking about. And it looks at the small miracles that surround both the character and us every day in our lives. Definitely worth the read so go check it out if you missed it.

Natsume Yuujinchou

A Nerdy Perspective writes their reasons for loving Gintama. Now given the fan base for this anime, they aren’t alone, but it is always great to read why someone is enjoying something. After all, a shared love of anime is why most of us blog and read the blogs of others, so a positive post about why something has reached someone is always a pleasant read.

That Random Editor has a list of their top 5 anime endings for the year. List posts are always fun and list posts about openings and endings even more so. This one doesn’t link to the songs unfortunately, however if you’ve watched the anime on the list just reading about it is likely to get the song stuck in your head – so yes, number 2 is now completely trapped in my skull and I’m going to be humming it all day. Anyway, go check out this great list.

Banana Fish Episode 13 Eiji

Bossils reviews the My Hero Academia movie Two Heroes. This is another post that just screams love and enthusiasm for the subject matter and comes with some great images of the characters. Well worth checking out it you share a love for My Hero Academia.

LofZOdyssey has a fairly detailed review of Angolmois. Now this was an anime that flew under the radar while airing and a lot of people bailed on because of the ugly filter over it (I know I complained about it a lot). However, if you want to know what this series got right and what kind of fell apart, this review is definitely the one to check out as it is one of the best I’ve read on the series. 

Angolmois Episode 7

Drey from Soulcial Dreamin’ Ent started the 12 Days of Anime by discussing their love of Bulbusaur. It is always great when someone shares their passion for a particular character and in this case seeing how they grew to love the character was an absolutely wonderful read.

Atelier Emily takes a look at Rei Hino’s character in Sailor Moon (Sailor Mars) and how as a child she couldn’t appreciate the nuances of Rei’s character but as an adult she sees her differently. I will admit, Rei has never been one of my favourite characters in Sailor Moon, but I went through a similar experience in seeing Rei through different eyes when I watched the series as an adult. Really enjoyed reading this post.

Pick of the Week

Two Happy Cats shares a review of Magical Girl Raising Project. This is a more balanced review of this one than we usually see given most people either don’t like it and call it a rip-off of Madoka or claim it is just trying to be edgy for the sake of it, or you have people who like it trying to defend it against those claims. This review just kind of looks at Magical Girl Raising Project for what it is and what it does. Refreshing.

My Posts

No features or series reviews this week. Both will start up again in the new year (taking it easy for Christmas/New Years).

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Consider supporting the blog by:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY MAXIMA (MULTI-LANGUAGE)
WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY MAXIMA (MULTI-LANGUAGE)

In Case You Missed It

Posted on by Karandi
Erased

Another week where it felt like things were go, go, go. But then again, I guess the lead up to Christmas always feels like that as for some reason everyone decides the things that could wait all year suddenly need to be done right now. However, it is also a time where people start doing housekeeping and putting themselves in order. Last week some three bloggers that I followed announced an end to their blog. And while I know blogs come and go all the time, some without announcement, it is still sad to see people leaving the community here on WordPress because it is a community that is so much fun to be a part of.

So without further ramblings, let’s get to this week’s anime related blog posts that I came across while scuttling around in my corner of the internet. As usual, I didn’t have time to read as much as  I liked and there are probably some truly fantastic posts I missed, so please feel free to give a shout out to them in the comments below.

Erased

Posts from the Community

Who Am I has an interesting post about the source of Kirito’s strength in Sword Art Online Alicization. They avoid going into spoilers for the arc, which is great, because I’m enjoying being pleasantly surprised by what happens and don’t really want to be told, it would take all the fun out of speculating. Still, they make a good point about Kirito and why he is fundamentally able to break or overcome the rules and other characters based on the information we’ve been given in the first 8 episodes. A very nice post to read.

Cactus Matt takes some time to look at 10 typical complaints about harems and works at rebutting them, or agreeing with them but in a round-about way making it clear that it doesn’t matter that the complaint exists. Keep in mind that he isn’t actually telling people who dislike harems they are wrong or that they should like them, merely that their not liking the harem genre is no reason to spoil the fun for those who do enjoy it. It’s a fun post and written in Matt’s typical conversational and entertaining style.

Ty from Watash wa Bucho shares a summary of why various bloggers still love anime. It was fun thinking about it about this idea and great to read the responses of others. Seeing the common themes from responses put together here is a solid reminder that there are a lot of reasons to love anime. This one is a great read to make you smile.

Yomu follows up their excellent review of Jormungand last week with a character analysis/discussion of Koko Hekmatyar, a very dynamic and interesting character indeed. While there are a few spoilers in this post if you really want to keep the plot a secret, for those who have watched Jormungand, or are interested and don’t mind having a bit of foreknowledge, this post is a great read and a lot of fun.

Koko Hekmatyar - Jormungand

Irina has a discussion post about the technical vs creative merits of anime and asks why more people don’t look at the technical. Like so many of her posts it is a great conversation starter and well worth the read, as well as reading the comments to find out what others think. Of course, I’m pretty sure most of my readers have already found this one.

Atelier Emily has a truly beautiful post about creating otherworldly spaces through visuals in Tsurune. One of the big draws for the show early on was just how beautiful it was and how the visuals drew me into each and every scene, and reading this post really emphasised how well thought out and detailed the visual direction has really been in this anime. A really great post to read.

Tsurune Episode 2

From Ink and Image there’s a post that looks at Lupin the Third and how the show and characters have evolved over time. I’m not a huge Lupin fan but I was still curious about this franchise that continues to enthral audiences and seems to capture new viewers decade after decade and this post was an interesting read as to how the story has managed to not become too dated over time. Great post to read.

Artemis from Otaku Lounge has a great top 5 list of English OP’s performed by native English speakers. It is a companion piece to a previous top 5 list which is linked in the post, and also an awesome list, and I just love lists. This one is a great read, and you can listen to some great OP’s so be sure to go check it out.

Pick of the Week

L-zerb did a comparison piece on SAO (season 1) and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash this week and when I read the title of this post and the first paragraph I was a little worried that we were diving into another SAO bashing session. Instead, I found a thoughtful, reasonably balanced attempt at comparing how the two stories dealt with their premises and built up  their characters and the danger in the worlds. I really enjoyed reading this and it made think about all the things I loved about both anime as well as acknowledge the flaws they have. Absolutely great read, though clearly spoilers for both anime in the post so if you haven’t watched them and you are worried about that, probably give it a miss.

My Posts

Erased Title Image

Thanks for reading
Karandi James
avatar
Consider supporting the blog by:

Patreon2

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Or, use one of my product affiliate links.
KEI Art Book mikulife
KEI Art Book mikulife