An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

Category: KagePro

Ending and Beginning – Kagerou Daze Manga (Spoilers)

So, here we come to, for the time being, the last entry in KagePro I have available to review: The Kagerou Daze Manga. This is the most different of the versions, with more twists and turns and surprises even if you know all the other components.

You’d be forgiven for not expecting that, though, since it starts out with a standard opening: Shintaro’s keyboard is once again banished to the shadow realm by a soda, and going out to get a new one, his first time leaving his room in years, lands him in the middle of a hostage situation. That gets defused by Shintaro, his digital buddy/tormentor Ene, and some new folks with freaky powers his sister has made friends with. Then we follow Momo’s side of the story – having a bad day thanks to her unrecognized and uncontrolled superpower of drawing attention, meeting up with the Mekakushi Dan, and ending up on the other side of that hostage situation. The next day the gang goes to an amusement park, and we also get an extended flashback to the school days of Takane (who becomes Ene) and Haruka where they run an awesome shooting gallery video game for the school festival, meet Shintaro and Ayano (among others) and don’t quite get around to having a romance before tragedy strikes.

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Avant Garde or Weird for Weird’s Sake? – Mekakucity Actors Spoiler Review

Mekakucity Actors is the anime adaptation of the Kagerou Project (though it may be novelized and there may be other anime outings in the future.), a topic that I’ve been covering in the Wednesday “random” reviews including the songs (Part 1 | Part 2), the Novel series and, upcoming, the manga. I’ll likely refer to the other KagePro elements a good deal, but since this is a Monday Anime Spoiler Review, I’ll do my best to keep it largely self-contained.

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Echoing Through the Haze: KagePro Songs Analysis (Part 2)

Here we are again! Last time we covered Kagerou Days, Yuukei Yesterday, Headphone Actor, Ayano’s Theory of Happiness, and Toumei Answer, roughly getting through the arcs of Takane/Ene and Shintaro and Ayano’s past. This time we’ll be following through with the Mekakushi-dan, Momo Kisaragi, and some big-time story in Lost Time Memory, Additional Memory, and Outer Science.

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Echoing Through the Haze: KagePro Songs Analysis (Part 1)

This is where it all started: The songs that make up the core of the Kagerou Project. Therefore, this is where I’m going to start with more detailed analysis of KagePro’s elements.

Now, I’m not a music person. I appreciate a carefully-arranged series of select air pressure waves as much as the next guy, but I’m going to admit I don’t have the background and vocabulary to talk about these songs in more advanced musical terms. I’m more of a story person, including visual storytelling, and that’s the direction I’m going to approach KagePro from, viewing these entries less as “songs with PVs” and more as 3-5 minute short films. Some elements might be shared with the music, like pacing, and I can talk about how the sound design fits together, but I am going to be mostly going through the story the songs tell.

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Overture – Kagerou Project Review and Analysis Introduction

With a new year, the time has come to talk about what’s probably become my favorite overall media franchise: The Kagerou Project, or KagePro for short. It’s a story that begins – or seems to begin – on a hot summer day, concerning a group of youngsters, tied together on multiple levels and embroiled in strange and supernatural events.

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