An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

Month: October 2020

Seasonal Selection – Warlords of Sigrdrifa Episode 5

After the bizarre out-of-body experience that was last episode, we get something very much different and, in my opinion, the show’s strongest episode so far in terms of character.

We start by introducing a new character, “Big Sis” Amatsuka, a senior Valkyrie who Miko seems to be very fond of. Azu and Sono, less so. Along with her fighter squad, she’s an ace who goes to wherever the fighting is the toughest… which makes her appearance at Tateyama base both odd and somewhat worrying.

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A Lesson in Stakes and Tension – The Promised Neverland Spoiler Review

This week, it bears reminding everyone that what I write are full spoiler reviews. I’m willing to go over every movement in the plot, in order to analyze what makes it good or bad. Usually I think putting the word “Spoiler” in the review title is enough, but when it comes to The Promised Neverland , I feel like there needs to be a more certain and bold message: If you aren’t sure you want spoilers for this show, you are in the wrong place. It’s worth watching and because of its nature it’s probably worth watching unspoiled if you are at all the kind of person who minds spoilers. The review and analysis will still be here when you get back.

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Seasonal Selection – Warlords of Sigrdrifa Episode 4

Well, I will give the show this – it did not do what I expected it to do here. With a title of “Tateyama Castle Swimsuit Skirmish!” you might be expecting a typical beach episode where we get some lame excuse to show off the girls in their bikins which will look nice but ultimately just make a select group of fan artists (and their fans) very happy or provide an alternate figure if the show takes off enough to get statuette merch. Simple, right? It’s pretty much just an obligatory thing that into every show a little beach episode must fall.

What we got from Warlords of Sigrdrifa was much stranger, a sudden dive into a surreal “what the hell am I even watching?” sequence that’s almost sure to be the show’s Big Lipped Alligator Moment.

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Magic and Mayhem – Witch Craft Works Spoiler Review

I love anime witches – Whether they’re in comfy stories like Kiki’s Delivery Service or Flying Witch or more adventurous affairs like Little Witch Academia, I just think they’re nifty, especially around this time of year. Usually cute girls (though you do get boy witches and older witches sometimes), and always with the mystical powers and big pointy hats, they show up most often in Urban Fantasy settings, whether out in the open or keeping their powers secret from the world. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches didn’t really live up to the “Witch” concept, which I don’t hold against it, but for a hefty serving of witchy goodness, I’m going to take a look at Witch Craft Works.

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Seasonal Selection – Warlords of Sigrdrifa Episode 3

So the expectation from last time was pretty much “Pillars show up, fight them off, character building on the side, if there’s time”. This time, though, we get a downtime episode, more or less, where we see more of these characters and how they fit into their world. This is one of the bit places where the show will determine whether it soars or stumbles, so how does our first outing go?

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Sealed with a Kiss – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Spoiler Review

What if I told you there was an anime where teenagers have to end up kissing each other to use magical powers, and that the first such power revealed was body swapping? You’d probably think, as I thought, that it would likely be awkward as heck, and even more likely neither funny nor charming. Well, that’s the premise of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, and I’m pleased to say that it’s at least a little bit funny and charming, and not as awkward as one would fear.

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Welcome to Chaos – Dorohedoro Spoiler Review

In the midst of a vicious battle, taking place in what looks to be the back alley of a dingy industrial/modern city, a big lizard man clamps his jaws down over the head of some kind of masked sorcerer. The man in the mystic space inside the lizard guy’s mouth appears before the dazed and confused magic-user and declares, dramatically, “You’re not the one.”

The lizard guy extracts his foe and asks what the man in his mouth says, which the magician reports. Since it seems that magician is useless, the lizard guy slices him to bloody ribbons. The sorcerer’s severed hand shoots a dart of black smoke which conjures a door through which his partner escapes and we then follow the lizard guy, Caiman, and his friend and helper in this endeavor, Nikaido, who appear to be our main characters.

You probably have quite a few questions at this point. But that’s the very first scene of Dorohedoro, and if you weren’t already familiar with that fact, I think I’m doing you a favor by throwing you into the deep end as suddenly as the show.

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Seasonal Selection – Warlords of Sigrdrifa Episode 1

In the interest of highlighting more Original anime, this season we’re going to be taking a look at Warlords of Sigrdrifa. The pitch that was given before I decided to sit down with the first episode was… not much. Something about Valkyries being chosen to defend humanity against some new random monster threat. It looked and sounded kind of like a mash-up of Evangelion-esque action and maybe some vague magical girl elements with a military theme. In short, even if it wasn’t based on anything, the show didn’t seem like it would have any easy stand-out elements.

And, after watching the double-length first episode, I do think that remains the challenge set to Warlords of Sigrdrifa: it looks like it could be kind of fun as is, but I want it to show me something unique and worthwhile. Is it going to?

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