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July 27 2015, 10:25 AM

The Lies, My Friend, Are Blowing in the Wind

For today's update, Allen tackles the popular classical music drama Your Lie in April. He finds the music and art to be compelling but the characters, much less so.

Meanwhile, I've got an obscurity: the all-but forgotten Windy Tales, which was miraculously just licensed by Sentai after languishing for years. And I'm glad, too; it doesn't have the je ne sais quoi of some other experimental shows, but it's a worthwhile watch.

We "roll" along next week with another review for me and hopefully some other reviews as well. Stay tuned.

-Nick Browne

 
July 20 2015, 1:16 PM

The Comical Psychosomatic Sixth Sense

Even M. Night Shyamalan saw that plot twist coming.

I mentioned "uncomfortable combinations" as being the unifying theme of today's shows. In the first of these, supernatural fantasy a la xxxHOLic or Natsume's Book of Friends meets a wish-fulfillment protagonist and her cohort of clueless highschool friends. According to Allen, Re-Kan! has cute moments, and it benefits from the spirits themselves (mostly) being pretty cool, but the weak cast makes it hard for him to recommend.

Our second review comes from me: Comical Psychosomatic Medicine, an oddity of "edutainment" manga that somehow snuck its way into crunchyroll's lineup and, duly, gets a review from me. It's amusing, but mostly just silly, and if you're (understandably) uncomfortable with the idea of mental health being made light of, then you aren't going to like this show.

It's Allen and I once more next week, where he neglects to tell the truth about T. S. Eliot's least favorite month and I tell tall tales about the wind. Stay tuned!

-Nick Browne

 
July 13 2015, 3:37 AM

The Society for the Study of Modern Visual SNAFUs

Back again this week, I have an overdue review of Genshiken, which works decently as an examination of otaku culture but is held back by its somewhat narrow, and rather male-specific, vision of it.

Allen, meanwhile, has good luck with the second season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, which he deems a surprisingly mature entry in the crowded field of teenage anime comedy-dramas. Given that said genre is beginning to look a bit like the 2016 US Presidential primaries (read: overcrowded and full of also-rans), that's no small feat.

It's the two of us again next week, with some uncomfortable combinations in tow: a show that tries very, very hard to make mental health funny, and a show that's basically "Natsume Yuujinchou meets the concept of the waifu." See you then.

-Nick

 
July 6 2015, 2:26 PM

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Zombie Robots

Needless to say, Stig would rather be reading Calvin and Hobbes than watching Plastic Memories. Comedy isn't its forte, nor is drama, for that matter. Its main strength might be in reminding Stig of how good the Time of Eve movie was, in comparison.

But...we've got some nicer "memories" to offset that with. There's also my review of Memories of Marnie, known in the U.S. as When Marnie Was There. It might be Studio Ghibli's last feature film, ever, and it's a damned good one.

Up next, SNAFUs and Otakus. Stay tuned!

-Nick

 
 
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