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Walking Away
Read More →: Walking AwaySomething has always bothered me about the ending of Samurai Champloo. It was an ending that haunted me for nearly a year after finishing the series, its memory resurfacing every time I thought about it. Midicronica’s “San Francisco” was in many ways a fitting ending for an anime which drew so heavily from hip-hop and…
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Gren's eternal smile
Read More →: Gren's eternal smileIf I had to condense my love for anime into one single moment, I’d choose the scene when `Space Lion` begins playing in the 13th episode of Cowboy Bebop (Jupiter Jazz.) It is one of the first times I can remember feeling a pang of bitter-sweetness whilst watching anime: the sadness of Gren’s passing tempered…
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“Next time, let me see a Matsuri Special.”
Read More →: “Next time, let me see a Matsuri Special.”Something about the transience of adolescence never fails to inspire. More often than not we wake up, 20, fully grown, and confused as to how we got there. For this reason, mangaka like Kamio Youko are a particularly rare breed. Time and time again, she manages to lushly recreate both the frame of mind and…
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Eden in name only
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/ MangaRead More →: Eden in name onlyHiroki Endo calling his manga ‘Eden‘ is a hint. Eden is supposed to be a paradise on Earth, but Endo‘s version is more like Hell. It’s sarcasm on his part, I think, because this is a contrary and brutal series, where anything that’s good is crushed and anything that’s innocent is (often literally) raped. For…
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The Transience of Anime
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Read More →: The Transience of AnimeI often analyze myself in terms of what I’m watching and why I’m more attracted to certain anime over others. I find it easy to forget just how niche a lot of what I’m watching really is, only to then realise I don’t know what’s popular any more, or understand why, or even care. I’m…
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Fast dialogue is fast for a reason
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Read More →: Fast dialogue is fast for a reasonI’m a follower of people in the anime industry, but mostly, it’s just the (good) directors I like to keep tabs on. I delve into their works and the more I find, the more I trust in those same people to deliver yet more good anime. Hayao Miyazaki is a popular example, and Masaaki Yuasa…
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Why you should care about The Tatami Galaxy
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Read More →: Why you should care about The Tatami GalaxyI’m totally hyped about seeing the first episode of The Tatami Galaxy (Yojohan Shinwa Taikei). It finally aired this evening in the beloved noitaminA block and is already streaming on Funimation‘s video site, but… I’m region blocked! It’s been a while since I’ve been excited enough about a series to feel as frustrated as this,…
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Ugly anime is not bad anime
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Read More →: Ugly anime is not bad animePretentious has long since become a word within fandom used by a person to express aghast that another could ever truly enjoy something that he/she doesn’t. It’s no longer a matter of taste, but of pretention, we’re all merely deluding ourselves by enjoying such ugly, complicated and confusing stories.
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People with cold hands have warm hearts (Air Doll review)
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Read More →: People with cold hands have warm hearts (Air Doll review)Two years is a long time. Just two years ago, I’d seen very few Japanese live-action films, only to eventually realise that my interest in anime was linked to a broader fascination with the whole spectrum of Japanese art; what I get from anime, I hear in Japanese music and see in Japanese film, too.…