Steven Universe – Season 2
Steven Universe is a good show. It’s an important show. And, unfortunately, those two things don’t always play nicely together.
Triage X Can’t Even Decide What Kind of Bad Anime It Is
Triage X is irrefutably a bad anime series; it can’t even decide which kind of bad anime it is.
Death Parade
There’s a glimmer of a great idea in Death Parade, but it’s ultimately little more than a unique curio.
Adolescent Selfishness and Sexuality in Sailor Moon R
Sailor Moon R is a complex representation of teenage coming-of-age, satirising and celebrating the solipsistic tendencies of youth.
Terror in Resonance
Terror in Resonance frames itself as a contemporary reflection on Japanese politics, specifically considering issues like protest – and its proximity to terrorism – and the nation’s relationship with the United States.
How ‘Please Like Me’ Embraced The Sadness Of The Sitcom And Became The Best Show On TV
Over at Junkee, I explained how Please Like Me has established itself as the best television show of 2015 by exploiting the inherent sadness of sitcom stasis. Read the piece here.
Space Dandy – Season 2
Space Dandy’s second season keeps pretty well to the tone of season one – reviewed here – which means plenty of restlessly-creative, energetically-absurd space nonsense revolving around the most narcissistic, impressively-coiffed man in the universe. If you dug the silliness of season one, you’ll be equally appreciative of this, though it’s worth noting there’s slightly…
So I Can’t Play H! Amplifies the Sexism of Fanservice Anime
So I Can’t Play H! is a fanservice anime. Or maybe the fanservice anime, given how shamelessly it’s calibrated to accommodate animated depictions of the naked female form. Here’s its premise: a slender Grim Reaper named Lisara (Aya Endo) strikes a deal with perverted high-schooler Ryosuke (Hiro Shimono), wherein he will supply her with ‘energy’ that…
Adventure Time Season 5
Writing about Adventure Time’s fourth season last year, I described it as both “fantastic and slightly disappointing” due to its reluctance to continue to expand creatively. But if season four maintained the level of quality and creativity of its prior season, season five ups the game by embracing the show’s potential for melancholy and complexity…
Michiko & Hatchin Brings a Feminist Spin to Adventure Anime
I’m more of anime consumer than aficionado – or ‘otaku’, if you prefer – so I don’t pay a lot of attention to anime auteurs, the behind-the-scenes movers and shakers that shape the animation I enjoy (give or take a Miyazaki or Anno, naturally). So it wasn’t until about halfway through Michiko & Hatchin that…
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