Only Yesterday – The Tragedy of Childhood

Isao Takahata does not get as much credit as Miyazaki for his strong female characters, especially considering how, unlike Miyazaki’s characters, Takahata’s girls and women exist within the bounds of our society. His 1991 anime Only Yesterday revolves around a similarly strong female character, Taeko. She is a 27-year-old Tokyo ‘salary woman’ who is taking a summer vacation, and through a series of flashbacks, we get to alternate between her current situation and her perspective as a ten-year-old.

Continue reading →

Sonny Boy: The Deconstruction of a Trope

Isekai is a trope that has been gaining tremendous popularity in both manga and anime. This sub-genre entails MCs being transported to another world. This new world usually lies in another dimension where they have no option of going back home. What the other world contains – well the options are too many. It is generally a medieval world and is much simpler and less busy than our world. But that’s where the similarities of this genre end. The anime and manga can then go into the reverse harem, knights tale, a slice of life – anything goes.

The main appeal of this genre is pure escapism. At present, life just feels like a huge struggle to make ends meet for most people. So, who among us has not fantasized about leaving it all behind? This feels especially relevant in the workaholic culture of Japan, so no wonder it is so popular.

Continue reading →

Belle Review: Stylish but Unconvincing

I’ll admit it right away, I’m not the biggest fan of Mamoru Hosoda’s work. They’re really well-made movies with beautiful art and animation but I just don’t connect with them for one reason or another.

I almost feel bad because I usually don’t have any good reasons for that either.

Sure, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Your Name, but I can pinpoint a few things that I felt didn’t work well. With Hosoda’s movies, they’re generally pretty alright, but I just dislike them for reasons I can’t justify properly.

Continue reading →

Fall 2021 Anime I am Excited About

It’s fall and the new line-up for this season’s anime has been out for a while.

I’ve started some, I’ve dropped some and I don’t plan to watch many. Please note that I have not added summer delayed anime to this list. That is because I have already talked about them on another blog post linked here.

But based on what I’ve seen to date, these are the anime I am excited about this season:

Continue reading →

The Heroes That We Needed – Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Review

Unless you’re living under a rock (which I hope you’re not, wouldn’t be comfortable), you’ve heard of the Demon Slayer series. Adapted from the manga of the same name, the series has been the new glorious thing to come out of Japan. It had been popular enough on its own, but the Mugen Train movie seems to have helped it reach a new high.

Continue reading “The Heroes That We Needed – Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Review” →

Animes That Are Good for Your Soul

1. Barakamon

Synopsis: Calligrapher Seishuu Handa punches a judge of an art exposition who calls his work mediocre. His father then “exiles” him from Tokyo to a remote village, and hilarious antics ensue.

In a new environment, Handa works on his calligraphy and does some growing up with the help of eccentric and loveable locals of the island, including the loveable village rascal Naru. As the anime progresses, Handa learns to be less uptight and works to find his unique voice as a calligrapher.

Continue reading →

Tokyo Godfathers: The Most Underrated Christmas Movie Everyone Needs to Watch

If you are looking for something new for your to-watch list of Christmas Movies let me recommend the late Satoshi Kon’s most light-hearted and magical movie Tokyo Godfathers. This movie follows three “wise” men in the form of three homeless Japanese people who find a little bundle of miracle abandoned during Christmas Eve and spend the whole movie trying to unite the baby to its parents.

Continue reading →

Getting into the Fate Series for Fun and Profit [UPDATED]

(Okay, the profit part is a lie but hey, if a weird story about a crazy guy who really hates chairs can lead to one of the biggest media franchises in the world then anything is possible)

Usually, the first thing people know about the Fate series, is that there is a lot of it. The second thing is probably the female King Arthur with more alternate versions than there are Fate spinoffs but we’ll get to it later.

Fate has a reputation for being hard to get into, and it’s not completely unfounded. Between the nonsense titles, different routes within one work, multiple adaptations, and a ton of spin-offs that may or may not have anything to do with the main series, it’s easy to get lost.

Fortunately, it’s easier to get into the series than the memes might suggest. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘easy’ exactly, but its no Kingdom Hearts.

Continue reading →