Is this another in a long line of “Episode #0” shows or just a free form experiment? I can’t really tell, as so much was left out, that it operates no better than a recap show, rather than an origin episode or even an OVA. You have your ticket? Good, come sit next to me; I’ll get two dogs and two brews and we’ll watch “Tailenders” together. I got us some good seats. (more…)

Some tales and genres really lend themselves to be translated over to shows; others are not so friendly. I have found that 4-komas and video games can’t always make the jump to light speed, so to speak, and they betray their origins. This is never more so than in the offering “Gyakuten Saiban: Sono “Shinjitsu”, Igiari!” (“Turnabout Trial: I Object to That ‘Truth’!”), as the problem is, no matter what they call Naruhodō Ryūichi, we know him as ‘Phoenix Wright’ (and he is referred to as such on more than one occasion). (more…)

I lie to myself all the time. “The check’s in the mail.” “Yes, I took out the trash.” “I know I told you that.” After getting treated badly by the last JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, “Egypt Hen”, I swore I would never see it again. Well, guess what happened? Yup, yup and more yup. I found myself watching Installment Series Five or Six, “Diamond is Unbreakable”. (more…)

This is an odd series on a variety of levels. I feel that they could have done fuller episodes of this and really explored the unusual relationship between these two people. Or perhaps they wanted it that episodic, as their encounters are that episodic. In any case, “Tawawa on Monday” (“Getsuyōbi no Tawawa”) explores a caliber of casual meetings and greetings in the same vein as “Same Time, Next Year”. (more…)

I remarked that the Japanese will do an anime on anything. Although this is a caliber of romance, it is a more mature effort. This is no high school rom-com, but something more serious. However, it is packaged around the struggles to create a new dictionary. So, you are immediately thinking ‘How dull can that be?’ And, in a broad sense of thing, yes, it is rather dull. I mean, you are just doing research work to make this project fly, as you track down the real meaning of words. It’s the old Connotation vs. Denotation battle that my Freshman English teacher used to hammer into us as we dissected poetry…..but I have digressed again. It’s tough being an old man. (more…)

I once made the comment that it appears that anime companies will do a show on anything. Or so it seems. What initially appears to be an anime on shogi (Japanese chess) turns out to be far more than expected, but that is what you learn with “3 gatsu no Lion” (“March Comes in Like a Lion”). I was worried initially, as it authored by the same person who did “Honey and Clover” and I found that a truly turgid drama. Plus, the art style and approach is like “Your Lie in April”, but I decided to stick with it. It has a lot going for it; it has a lot working against it. But, let’s get down to the board, as it were. (more…)

Although I really enjoyed this show, there is a certain degree or caliber of sexism in it. I’ll explain that as we proceed. OK, so it’s another school-based rom-com. What are the odds of that!??! (more…)

Is it just me, or do the ladies seem to have more shows about them than the guys? Are ladies just that more intrinsically interesting or do we like to see how they overcome a plethora of problems designed to weed out the weaklings and we end up with a stronger, more empowered woman? Or is it just big boobies in tiny outfits? That seems a bit much to lay on a bunch of 15 and younger gals, but that’s the idea behind “ViVid Strike”, although the full and complete title is “Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid” (“ViVid Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha Vividdo”, and don’t ask why they spell it that way). Oh, and this is the second season of the show, not that it really mattered in how it all came to be. (more…)

Well, this certainly is a different approach to the horror genre. It’s potentially just as bloody as “Terra Formars” or “Blue Gender”, but it moves it in another direction, so it’s not as cut and dried as you may think, which kinds of frees it up from the standard conventions that bedevil horror shows. (more…)

I really, really thought that this series had reached its conclusion with the movie that tied it all up. Well, yes and no. It’s like the Chef’s Special; it’s never going away. What we did was bid farewell to THOSE people, then repopulated the restaurant with a new brand of misfits, out-of-sorts cranks and other weirdoes. Although it should have been called “Working!!!!” (as each exclamation point indicates the season of it), with a new crew, it’s a new approach; thus we get “www .working!!” (and don’t think that doesn’t cause troubles. You type it properly in and it turns blue, so you can click on it and get linked to somewhere….maybe. I ain’t gonna try that!) (more…)