Of all the full-length anime I’m following this season, AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue is my least favorite. I don’t have a good explanation for why I kept watching after the first two episodes. But the plot did become somewhat interesting by the seventh episode. And in the eighth, the characters hit on a universal theme: fear… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Aokana and Fearing Failure
The ninth episode of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu is marked by conflict that leads to separation. It’s also marked by beautiful animation, but I decided to focus on the conflict instead. [Spoilers ahead. If you haven’t watched the latest episode yet, I recommend you do, even though the big events in this episode were rather predictable.… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Rakugo Shinjuu’s Traditionalists and Rogues
Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) has quickly risen as a favorite, not only among this season’s anime, but among anime all-time. It’s currently at the #1 spot on Anime-Planet (knocking FMAB down a peg) and the #5 spot at MAL. Anime fans in general love it, while the more picky critics… well, I think… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Satoru’s Purposed Revival
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu may be the best anime airing this season. The art is beautiful. The characters grab your attention with extreme goofiness or coldness, but as the story unfolds, their complexities begin to show. The background music complements the art and screenplay wonderfully. Rakugo Shinjuu is art about art, story about storytelling, and I… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Starved for Entertainment
For a long time, I felt out of the loop whenever Pokémon came up. It seemed like half the anime fans in my generation watched or played Pokémon growing up. Meanwhile, I didn’t watch anime until I was sixteen. My family didn’t have Cartoon Network, so I didn’t even watch dubbed anime in ignorance, like many of my friends.… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Leave the Pokemon Village
In sports anime, characters have to learn that their failures don’t define them—or their place on the team. Once they learn they are unconditionally accepted, valued, and forgiven, they’re able to play without any more pressure than necessary. I’ve noticed this often on Haikyuu!!, but the most recent episode struck me in a slightly different way. For Ennoshita,… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Haikyuu!!, Grace, and Boldness
It’s easy to get in a rut with the kind of anime you consume. I entered the fandom in a pre-made rut, applying the same prejudices I had about live action movies and YA fiction to animation. If there weren’t explosions, sword fights, martial arts, or some similar form of excitement, I wouldn’t give the show a… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Giving Rakugo Shinjuu a Chance