Subdued Figures: Nendoroid Mikasa Ackerman Review

February 23, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Dropped: Saki: The Nationals--Lack of Investment

≪ Previous: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 54--Change is Coming

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Following the insane success of last year's anime adaptation, releases of Attack on Titan figures have started in the last couple months and will continue on into the forseeable future. GSC was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon with a Nendoroid version of the Colossal Titan, and the series line continues with Mikasa Ackerman!

   
Admittedly, this wasn't a figure that I immediately pounced on when pre-orders were first available. I ended up going back to order her once I had my Eren and Levi orders in, since I decided that I wanted the full set. Because of that, I feel a bit silly complaining about her since this version wasn't a high priority for me in the first place. However, after being really impressed by the quality of my lasttwo Nendoroids, I'm really surprised that GSC's first release of a major Attack on Titan character has so many problems.

 
First of all, the tail of her scarf is floating in the middle of her shirt for some reason. It doesn't look like it's attached to anything at all. If I didn't know that it was supposed to be a scarf, I'd be even more confused. I'm not sure how this even passed QC. I'd expect that something like that would be on the checklist, given that its an important part of the character's outfit. A quick look around the Internet shows that not all Mikasa Nendroids have this problem, but it's still a regular occurence.

As for the rest of her, the decals are clean and the sculpt (aside from the scarf) is simple but functional. I'm a huge fan of the swivel joints in her legs. Why don't all Nendoroids have these? However, the paint job on the straps of the 3DMG is sloppy, with the white paint bleeding over. Also, Mikasa's hair is the biggest dust magnet I've had since my Black Rock Shooter Figma. You can see some of the random stuff it attracted in the pictures for this post, and these were taken right out of the box!


Moving on, her simplest accessory is the salute pose, which feels half-hearted because there's no way to make it accurate. A separate arm was included just for this pose, yet apparently it was too difficult to also sculpt a bent wrist hand to go along with it. Making things a bit more frusrating is the fact that the back arm can't stay in the place it's meant to go thanks to the stand. You can't see it in my picture here, but ANN's recent Astro Toy column has a pretty good illustration of this problem.


But let's continue on to the main piece: the 3DMG and the swords! And yes, I know that she's holding the blades backwards. I didn't notice until a few days after I took the pictures. In my own defense, I was preoccupied with making them stay put in her hands. These things will find any reason to fall out, even from the lightest shake.


Much more impressive is the 3DMG itself. It's sculpted to be anime-accurate, and easily fits into the slot on Mikasa's back where the stand peg usually goes. The boxes on the side can't actually hold the swords, but they do have a slight bit of articulation to them so that you can move them out of the way of Mikasa's arms or outwards for the illusion of motion depending on what kind of pose you're going for. Once attached, the stand connects to the bottom of the 3DMG and is actually more secure than it is when it's connected to her back when fitted properly.

 
This is great, since it makes her aerial poses much less nerve-wracking. Despite the problems I mentioned above about her swords constantly falling out, this is the biggest strength that the Nendoroid has, since it's very easy to put her into action poses. Mikasa comes with an extra set of bent legs for just this reason. There's even an extra smoke plume accessory that attaches to the back. The gradient shading isn't as good as it could've been, but the quality of this accessory is very low on my list of complaints.

 
Being an Attack on Titan figure, her alternative expressions are Battle Rage Bloodlust and All-Consuming Despair. Those will be fun to swap out! For the action-oriented poses, there's also a pair of effect parts for the swords that simulate blood. They're very easy to put on and adjust without the risk of falling off or being too heavy for the figure to hold up. That's a pretty hardcore pose as far as Nendoroids go, though...

Finally, there's an extra scarf part for Mikasa's face. It attaches very easily to the bottom of the faceplate, and there's enough room that paint transfer shouldn't be a concern. I'm pretty sure that this pose was intended to be "cute," but I had other ideas...

No one touches the scarf

While I'm still happy to have my first Attack on Titan Nendoroid, the quality was much lower than what I'd expected, especially since GSC has been hyping their releases for this series for quite some time now. Hopefully they can get the quality issues under control before Eren and Levi's first releases. That said, I was impressed by the 3DMG and hope that future figures are just as stable in midair poses. Overall, I can only really recommend her to diehard fans and completionists. If you're still interested in her, most online figure stores still have her in stock.

Images by me. This post is also available on OASG.

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Dropped: Saki: The Nationals--Lack of Investment

March 6, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 55--Moral Gray

≪ Previous: Subdued Figures: Nendoroid Mikasa Ackerman Review

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I'm two weeks behind on Saki and have no desire to catch up, so I'm stopping here.

 
I can't exactly put my finger on it, but this season has removed any investment that I had in Saki. While I said in my first impressions post that I was only really watching for the crazy mahjong battles, that was really only half of the reason. I also wanted to see how the main characters overcame the ridiculous obstacles placed in front of them. It was fun to see the characters one-up each other in increasingly crazy ways. The first season of Saki also had the benefit of having a goal for the plot and character arcs to build upon. With this season, I'm not seeing much of either of those things. When was the last time we heard Saki mention her goal of reconciling with her sister?

 
Nationals unfortunately seems to have taken a page from Achiga's playbook, at least in the six episodes that I've seen. Instead of further developing and exploring the main group, a lot of the screentime has gone to completely new characters that we little to no background on, and I don't know why I should care about them. I've never really been bothered by Saki's brand of fanservice, but it seems like they're mistaking character designs that are generally appealing to otaku as a suitable replacement for actual personality. The several episodes spent retconning to fit Achiga's storyline didn't really help either.

Oh boy, another scene with the shrine maidens

While I'm glad that I watched the first season despite disliking Achiga, Nationals has made it clear that the franchise is more interested in creating endless quirky character templates than in actually finishing what it started. That's still fun in its own right, but it's not working for me here, so there's no reason for me to continue with it.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 55--Moral Gray

March 27, 2014, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Subdued Figures: Sentinel's BRAVE-ACT Levi Review

≪ Previous: Dropped: Saki: The Nationals--Lack of Investment

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Watch it, Armin, you might start quoting The Dark Knight if you keep going down that path...

(A/N: The post deals with spoilers for the entire manga. Please do not read unless you are caught up! Also, be warned that this post contains images from a graphic torture scene.)


And I'm absurdly late again! Sorry about that. My excuse this time is that I was completely blindsided by finals. And then I got Bravely Default for my birthday, and I underestimated how crazy addictive that game is. Which is why this chapter analysis is out only a little bit before the next chapter. Ha. Ahahahaha...

 
But enough excuses! We're finally addressing some of the bigger questions in this chapter, and there's a lot to cover, starting with Pixis' breakdown of the flaws in Erwin's revolution plan. Most people inside the walls (or as Eren put it at the beginning of the series, the "sheep") are content with how things are currently run, despite how screwed up it is. The monarchy is a symbol of life before the walls, before Titans, and of mankind's resiliency. Overthrowing the king would only turn the public's opinion against the revolutionaries, rendering whatever they'd tried to achieve pointless. However, Erwin insists that they could remove the king from power without a fight via the next plot point bombshell at the end of the chapter: Historia is from the real royal bloodline, and could rule as queen.

"Queen" seems more fitting than "Goddess" to me

While this explains a lot about Historia's past, a lot of the questions I had last time still apply here. If they're not looking to change the system of government itself, what is the Scouting Legion trying to change? The goal at the moment seems to be to bring all of the government's secrets out into the open (more on that later), but what happens after that? Will Historia end up acting as a puppet leader with the Scouting Legion as the real rulers? I can't imagine that she'd like that, but I'm just randomly guessing here. There still aren't many details about what Erwin's long term plans are, although I'm sure he has them. This chapter made it clear that he's been thinking about this for a long time.


I've mentioned before that Erwin's character has been getting some much-needed backstory over the last couple chapters, but this one blows the rest away. It turns out that the Scouting Legion are not the first ones to figure out some of the secrets of the walls and the Titans, or at least not the first ones to speculate on them. Erwin reveals that his father was a teacher who was aware of the truth, or had at least put together the missing pieces in their history to make a good guess. As a kid, Erwin accidentally told the Military Police about his father's theories, resulting in an "accident" that caused his father's death.

As we know from the beginning of the series when Armin found the book about the outside world, all of this stuff is restricted by the government. That little detail had been bothering me lately with all of these conspiracy reveals, since governments only tend to resort to mass censorship and "accidents" when they really have something to hide, and I'm glad that this is being addressed. Anyway, all the recent developments over the last five chapters have given Erwin the evidence he's been looking for to prove that his father's theories were true, which explains what was up with his creepy smile from a few chapters back. Everything is falling into place for his big plan, which has likely been decades in the making.


But even taking into account the beginning of the previous chapter, I did not see this one coming. And while I'm confused as to how the government was able to pull that off on such a large scale, it does make a lot of sense when you consider some of the inconsistencies in this series. Despite all the problems the public has been going through, the backlash seems to be directed at the soldiers, not the government and their excess, something that I just thought was a result of the perspective of the story up until this point.

 
Also, the implication that the government was able to do it using the power of Titan shifters is equally interesting. Does that mean that the mystery woman is confirmed as a Titan shifter? Are there more of them that we don't know about that go around enforcing the government's control, and Eren just didn't get the memo?


Not to mention that Sannes confesses in the torture scene that the government was suppressing technology as well. That explains why we have a world where 3DMG and basic handguns exist, but everything else seems stuck in another era. So my new question is...why? Was "there are giant naked beings out there that want to eat you alive" not a good enough reason for people to want to settle inside the walls? What is so threatening about developing technology? Or, which I guess is the bigger question, what do the people in power stand to lose--aside from their positions and wealth, obviously--if they did let technology take its natural course? There's definitely an element of maintaining the status quo because it works for them, but it feels like something even more sinister is going on here.

(Sidebar: On a writing level, this also gives Isayama a great get-out-of-jail-free card; past and future inconsistencies can now by handwaved with "it's part of the conspiracy/memory manipulation/technology suppression, no further questions.")

 
But in the meantime, the younger characters are still grappling with the change in their objective and what it means, especially Armin. Their enemies aren't Titans anymore, they're up against people. And despite the surprise that he gets from the others after presenting his idea, that's exactly the kind of thing that they'll need to consider from here on out. There was a lot of buzz after this chapter was released claiming that Armin had become "evil," but that misses a lot of the underlying meaning here, including blatantly ignoring the line at the top of this post. A "bad" person wouldn't be self-aware enough to realize that they're falling down a slippery slope... It's very obvious who the "good guys" are and who we're supposed to root for, but all of the major characters are walking a very fine line here. Also, there's the fact that they are fifteen, something that a lot of people seem to forget.


This is paralleled with the adults, since in the same moment that the kids are having their conversation Hanji and Levi start Sannes' torture by doing the same thing to him as he did to Nick. The Scouting Legion is essentially the same as the Military Police in terms of actions now. They only have the slight moral high ground because of their larger goal to find out the truth behind the Titans and end the war for good. This has been an ongoing theme in this series--"are you willing to sacrifice your humanity" and all that--and I'm glad that it's becoming a more important element. It's one thing to face monsters straight out of uncanny valley, but it's another to look at someone whose done horrible things for what they believed was for the good of all, and realize that you're the same.

And with that in mind, you have to ask yourself, who are the real monsters?

Are you guys sure you haven't done this before

Images from Crunchyroll.com. Please support the official simulpub.

Subdued Figures: Sentinel's BRAVE-ACT Levi Review

March 29, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Spring 2014 Preview

≪ Previous: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 55--Moral Gray

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Last year, figure company Sentinel was the first to capitalize on the popularity of Levi from Attack on Titan, unveiling a prototype scale figure at Summer WonFest 2013, and then made waves again when pre-orders for the figure sold out in seconds at most online shops. I got lucky about a month later and was able to grab a preorder for him at slightly below SRP. So, how does the first release of the BRAVE-ACT line hold up?


First of all, I have to say that this figure is the most difficult to photograph out of everything else in my collection so far. Nothing seems to do it justice. In person, this figure captures the personality of the character pretty well, but in photos if the angle isn't just right, then the face looks flat and odd. Part of this is caused by very heavy contouring applied along the jawline on one side of the face while the other side has none, making finding the correct lighting for photography more difficult than it needed to be. Not to mention the fact that Sentinel made a significant change to the detailing on his face just before release: the dark shadows around his eyes that were in the promo pictures, the prototype that went on tour, and even pictured in the instruction manual are missing from the final release. Personally, the lack of the shadows didn't bug me too much, but since it was a deciding factor for other collectors, it's a big enough change to mention.

  
As a whole though, the detailing on this figure is gorgeous. I have zero problems with the body sculpt, even though it's a static pose (look at the folds in the clothing!). The few problems it does have come down to the paint. There are blotches on the leg straps that are pretty obvious, and the work on the side and front patches looks smudged at best. The back patch is gorgeous, but there are some random blue lines running down one side. However, this only became obvious when I looked at it close-up. I also like the base a lot, since the rubble is very fitting for the Attack on Titan series, despite not being very detailed (and also more paint smudging).

  
The only accessories that Levi comes with are a second head (not pictured because the only difference between the two is the lack of a scowl), a cloak, and the 3DMG. The whole thing attaches pretty easily by following the very clear pictures in the instruction booklet. The only part that I had trouble with (and eventually gave up on) was trying to attach one of the boxes to the sliver line that's supposed to fit at the end. I couldn't figure out how to do it without potentially snapping it, so I left it as it was. (You can see it in the second image above.)


The wires attaching the blades to the rest of the gear are their own bendable plastic parts and are very fiddly. I spent nearly a half an hour trying to get them all attached, since there's no way to attach those first before putting the whole thing on the figure without them falling off. The end result is nice, but I can't help but wonder if there was another way.

 
Levi's head is connected on a ball joint, allowing for the head to turn any way you like (rendered slightly pointless by the contouring problem mentioned above) and also for easy removal to put the cloak on over the whole figure. I've seen pictures with the cloak sitting above the figure's shoulders for some reason, like the photographer was afraid to push it down all the way. However, it fits over the collar very easily, and the back flares out enough to accommodate the 3DMG wires without knocking them out of place. (If it had, I would've screamed.) The movement of the sculpt in the fabric is very nice. My only problem with it is that the seam lines are very obvious from the side, which is a shame, since this figure was designed to be viewed from exactly that angle. It's not so bad in certain lighting, but it does bug me a little bit.


Finally, the figure also has a second pair of hands so that he can hold the blades backwards. This was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever done with a figure, since it required me to shove the handle of the blade through the hand and then turn it until it fit over the fingers. The entire time I was sure I was going to break something, and I'm still amazed that I didn't. The overall effect is pretty nice though, and this is how I've chosen to display him.

Overall, as the first Levi figure I've gotten, I'm really pleased with him. The details are fantastic, the look really captures the character (in my opinion), and I've got a new challenge to improve my photography skills. However, I do not think that this figure is worth the $100+ markup that I saw after the first round of preorders sold out and after the official release. If you do want him, be careful to not pay too much! Also, there are a literal ton more Levi figures being released this year, so it doesn't hurt to wait around to see what else turns up. In the meantime, I'll be laughing at height differences.

Images by me. This post is also available on OASG.

Spring 2014 Preview

April 2, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Kamigami no Asobi First Impressions--Magical Boyfriends

≪ Previous: Subdued Figures: Sentinel's BRAVE-ACT Levi Review

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It's finally spring! The Spring season of anime, that is. This season, I'm going to try a couple different post styles in an effort to streamline things so that I can be more active on the blog and talk about everything that I want to discuss! The first thing is a slightly different format for the preview. Instead of covering everything (and I always missed things anyway), I'm just going to talk briefly about the shows I'm planning on picking up this season. So far, ten shows have made the list!


Atelier Escha and Logy
I've been playing the game that this is based on and am a little over halfway through the main storyline, but I still stand by the tweet I made a few days ago. I have no idea how this is going to work as an anime. The gameplay is centered around completing tasks, and the only plot (using the term very loosely here) is a vague plan to explore some floating ruins no one has ever been to. It's a cute enough game, but without the actual gameplay I don't know if it'll hold up. Basically, I'm watching to see if it'll crash and burn. (Too bad Ayesha isn't the game getting the adaptation...)


Akuma no Riddle
I put this on my to-watch list ages ago based solely on the premise, and I admit that I haven't looked up anything about it since. I just really want to believe that a show about lesbian assassins will not be a pandering, male-gaze directed show. Let me dream.


Haikyuu!
Apparently this is the obligatory fujoshi title of the season, which means I'm at least giving it a look. I would say something about it replacing the hole left behind by Kuroko, but I'm still not done with it yet because I don't want it to be over. Haha.


Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA--


Kamigami no Asobi
Brain's Base keeps adapting reverse harems. And I keep watching them despite knowing better. I will never learn. Please let this one be good


Kiniro no Corda: Blue Sky
I have much higher hopes for the other reverse harem airing this season. Before UtaPri, Kiniro no Corda was the only reverse harem show that I really liked. It followed a girl with a magic violin who tries to win a music contest while competing with her hot classmates. Admittedly, it's not super memorable, but it delivered exactly what it promised. This version has a completely new character, so I'm not sure how much resemblance it'll share with the first adaptation, but hopefully it'll still be fun.


Love Live! S2
I marathoned the first season a while back on a whim, and it was surprisingly fun and fluffy! As far as silly fictional idol shows go, this one's not too bad. I'm watching it mainly for the spontaneous musical numbers in the middle of the street.


Mushishi Zoku Shou
Mushishi is getting a second season, and fairy tales and Santa Claus are real. Seriously though, I never thought that I'd see another season of this. Can I time-travel to the premiere date? Please?


Ping Pong the Animation
I had no idea what to think of this when the adaptation was announced, but quite a few people on the anime side of Twitter were pretty enthusiastic about it, so now I'm pretty interested too! I still don't know what exactly to expect, but it looks like this might be the dark horse of the season.


Knights of Sidonia
At some point, somebody (I don't remember who) told me that Knights of Sidonia is like sci-fi Attack on Titan, which is all anyone needs to say to me to get me interested in something. I have pretty high expectations just from that comparison alone. It's also Netflix's first simulcast, which is great news for the wider streaming community.

And that's it! As always, this list is subject to change as I pick up/drop/fall behind on things, but I doubt that it'll change too much. What are you planning to watch this Spring?

Preview images from MAL. Top image by Arya032 on Deviantart.

Kamigami no Asobi First Impressions--Magical Boyfriends

April 7, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: La Corda d'Oro ~Blue Skies~ First Impressions--School Transfers in Japan Must Be Really Easy

≪ Previous: Spring 2014 Preview

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About a minute into this show, there is a magical boy transformation sequence where a guy's shirt buttons fly off with sparkly sound effects just before his pants get ripped off. He then flies off into battle with the heroine on a pegasus.

Your reaction to those two sentences will determine whether or not you should be watching this show.

 
The show follows Kusanagi Yui (I'm so glad she has a name this time, if this was going to be another Amnesia I would've flipped a table), a Japanese girl who lives with her family at a shrine. She has no ambitions other than being vaguely interested in swords. One day, an unexplained magic glowing sword in her shed transports her to another world where Zeus has decided to create a school where gods can learn about love--I mean, bridge the gap between humans and gods. The rest of the episode has Yui running around, meeting her potential boyfriends--I mean, the other gods.

 
Aside from the hilariously over the top opening, there's not much going on in Kamigami no Asobi. It's pretty standard as far as the first episode of a reverse harem series goes. The heroine is introduced with "as you know" exposition from her bland friends that we'll never see again, she briefly rebels against the premise to try to prove that she has a personality (I'll believe it when/if the show doesn't take away her agency), and the guys are introduced in quick succession and can easily be categorized by stereotype. There's the angry one, the quiet one, the emo brooding one, the energetic one, and the designated gay ship.

 
If it sounds like I'm being hard on Kamigami no Asobi, I don't mean to be. It's not exactly reinventing the wheel here, but on the other hand it's a surprisingly entertaining piece of fluff. While it's not as self-aware as something like UtaPri, it does feel like the show is not taking itself very seriously either, leaving it free to play up the cheese. I burst out laughing the first time one of the harem members showed up and flowers bloomed behind him like the show was a 70s shoujo manga. Surprisingly, the animation isn't quite as polished as the pervious opening episodes of reverse harem adaptations from Brains Base, but it still looks pretty good. If you like reverse harems, this one looks pretty harmless despite its leaps in logic. I can't wait to see the context for the magic transformations...

And we all know that it's not a harem until this happens

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

La Corda d'Oro ~Blue Skies~ First Impressions--School Transfers in Japan Must Be Really Easy

April 7, 2014, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Winter 2013/14 Final Thoughts: Kill La Kill, Chuunibyou Ren--DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAY

≪ Previous: Kamigami no Asobi First Impressions--Magical Boyfriends

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You know you're legit when you have tildes in your title.

 
The previous La Corda d'Oro followed a high school girl who was BSing her way through a music competition with the help of a magic violin given to her by a fairy, and gradually learned about the wonder of music from her attractive competition. Blue Skies follows a girl named Kanade who was a musical prodigy but has apparently fallen out of the competition scene. That changes when she and her childhood friend Kyoya visit another friend, Ritsu, who spontaneously moves them into the dorm at his school so that they can compete in a national music competition. And there may or may not be fairies. Overall, I was underwhelmed.

 
So far this version only shares the name and some storyline similarities with the first one, so new viewers can watch this without any problems. However, without the immediate ridiculous supernatural angle, Blue Skies is pretty bland. Everything is very obviously in service towards getting all the characters into the music competition, and it's pretty clunky with the way it goes about it. Most of the time in the episode is spent mooning over the abnormally large pretty boy cast ("He's playing an electric violin at a classical music competition, what a rebel"), which is honestly to be expected, but it comes at the expense of setting up the situation better.

 
Our lead character doesn't seem to be much more than an airhead at the moment, despite her love of the violin. It's implied by the opening and the constant reference to the "are you at your limit" card that Kanade has given up her prodigy status, but she seems perfectly happy otherwise, so I fail to see how this is a problem. It also doesn't make a lot of sense how Ritsu, despite being Kanade and Kyoya's childhood friend, acts kind of cold to them and then turns around and tells them that he's moved their stuff and had them transfer schools without their permission. "Your sky is too narrow" is also pretty cryptic as far as reasoning goes. Basically, Blue Skies comes off a little too heavy in the random anime logic department.


However, the La Corda d'Oro series consistently promises one thing--cute guys playing musical instruments. Blue Sky is definitely prepared to deliver on that. I'm hoping that it will fix the flat character issues in the weeks to come, but so far it's giving out exactly what it says on the tin, no more, no less.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

Winter 2013/14 Final Thoughts: Kill La Kill, Chuunibyou Ren--DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAY

April 16, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 56--*Tips Fedora* M'Lady

≪ Previous: La Corda d'Oro ~Blue Skies~ First Impressions--School Transfers in Japan Must Be Really Easy

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After a year of only being able to finish a few reviews each season before work/school/whatever else ended up taking time away from the shows I really wanted to talk about, a review revamp was in order. That's not to say that I won't do long-format reviews anymore, but I'm hoping that this style will fit better into my schedule.


Kill la Kill
Where do I even begin with this thing? When it started airing, I could only really enjoy it for it's crazy animation and references. While the outfit designs that leave nothing to the imagination didn't put me off, I do remember frowning at certain parts in earlier episodes. At one point, Ryuko is surrounded by shards of glass that act like mirrors so that you can see everything from every angle, clearly for the benefit of the male otaku audience. Aside from it's energetic animation style, not a lot gripped me in the first part aside from Mako (who is the best character of 2014, I'm calling it now). There were even weeks when I forgot that it was airing.

 
However, that changed in the second half when it all kicked into overdrive. The characters, the storyline, the power-ups, the plot twists, the animation, everything went up to levels of insanity that I haven't seen since Gurren Lagann. This was the only show that I ended up consistently following in the Winter season when I was two to three weeks behind on everything else simply because I wanted to know how the heck it was going to top itself next. This show has several episodes that were finale worthy by any other standard, yet it still kept going. Even the nudity stopped bothering me, since the characters got to a point that they were so strong in their personalities that it didn't matter what they were wearing (or not wearing, depending on the episode). I'm not on board with the whole "it's deep and symbolic" train--it's a show about alien vampire school uniforms, come on--but it still deserves a lot of credit for making me completely forget about those concerns in the final few episodes.

 
There's not much more I can say without spoiling it (just be aware that Ragyo has stolen the title of Worst Anime Parent from Gendo, and that's putting it lightly), but I'm glad that I came back to it despite the first several episodes not really working for me. I'm not sure if it'll end up as one of those big pillars of anime fandom (a "must see" show, that is), but it's definitely an experience that I don't regret if only for the sheer entertainment value of the whole thing.

Definitely my kind of nonsense

Chuunibyou Ren
And now for something completely different! I was a little concerned that this season wouldn't have a lot to cover after the solid finale from the first season, but the premiere episode was fun enough for me to stop worrying. That said, this season is a lot more meandering and unfocused than the first season was, taking over half the episodes to get to the main plot involving Shichimiya, Togashi's past as a chuunibyou, and his growing relationship with Rikka. I felt like Shichimiya in particular got the short end of the stick here, since I thought that she was a pretty interesting character that didn't get nearly enough screentime. She's a good foil to Rikka (or maybe the term I'm looking for here is alternate version?) in that they're very similar but have made different key decisions about how they want to move forward with their lives. I would've liked to have spent more time with her.

 
In addition, something that really confused me was how they treated the fantasy battles this time around. In the first season it was my favorite running gag; one second you'd be looking at a fantastically choreographed and animated fantasy fight sequence, and then it would cut to reality where their giant swords were actually brooms and their armor was cardboard or something. This season, they treat the fantasy battles as real for some reason. And this isn't just with the chuunibyou characters; Togashi and Nibutani get into it too. I couldn't really enjoy any of these fights anymore because I kept expecting the show to cut out to something else. Since it never did, I was left wondering what was really happening instead of just enjoying the scene. It was a great gag. Why did they decide to play it straight?

 
Overall, I can only recommend this season to people who liked the first one, and even then only to people who really enjoyed the character interactions and don't mind watching them do random stuff before the little bit of plot kicks in. But if you were happy enough with the first season, it might be better to pass on this one, since not a lot changes. It's a fun diversion, but lacks the emotional pull that the first season had.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

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Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 56--*Tips Fedora* M'Lady

April 21, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Subdued Figures: Figma Mikasa Ackerman Review

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I'm starting to think that Isayama is trying to go for some kind of world record with the number of plot twists in this series.

(A/N: The post deals with spoilers for the entire manga. Please do not read unless you are caught up!)


At the risk of repeating myself, this was a hell of a chapter. The implications for the wider story are really interesting, but I do wish that we could take a break from the plot twists for a little bit and deal with what is already happening in the story. That said though, this chapter does clarify the goal of the revolution. Finally. Took them long enough. In retrospect it was obviously because of the build-up to reveal Historia as royalty, but as usual Isayama kind of trips over himself narratively in how he decides to present all the relevant information.


Anyway, I'm glad that one of the things that's been bugging me for the past few chapters is finally all out in the open. Their current plan and the overall goal of the revolution is to ferret out Historia's father and hear the reasoning behind all of the government conspiracy stuff covered in the last chapter. Erwin believes that this could go one of two ways. The first would be ideal for the Scouting Legion, which would result in a bloodless transfer of power to Historia as the new Queen, leaving the way clear for them to go patch the hole in Wall Maria. The other possibility would be if Reiss' reasoning is sound (unlikely), which would result in all the character's deaths for treason.

However, this chapter makes it obvious that what will actually happen will be an unforeseen third possibility. As we all know by this point, whenever a well thought out plan is put into action in Attack on Titan, things are about to go horribly wrong.

I would like to take a moment to appreciate Levi's "goddammit I forgot to tell the teenagers about the key part of the plan" face

But we'll get to that a little later. There were two things in the chapter that caused the manga-reading side of the Attack on Titan fanbase to collapse in on itself for a few days (I'm now convinced that the Tumblr fanbase will spontaneously combust at some point before this series is over), and the first was Levi's perceived manhandling of Historia. Before I get into this, I'd like to say up front that I am not condoning his actions. He screwed up. He forgot to let them in on what is arguably the biggest part of the plan and then mistreated Historia for having a natural reaction. There were other, much calmer ways to go about this, but Levi did not chose to go that route.


However, much of the complaining that I see surrounding this scene ignores the worldbuilding and the characterization that Attack on Titan has set up so far in favor of painting it as a black-and-white "scary man takes advantage of innocent girl." That is far from what is happening here. As I've said in my last few chapter posts, for some reason people seem to forget that they may be kids, but they are also soldiers. They have given their lives in service to a cause. They have seen some screwed up stuff but still fought their way through it. They do not need to be coddled, and that goes for Historia as well. She is a soldier that was given a direct command by her superior, and she refused to do it. It's easy to read this scene as a response to insubordination. This isn't any worse that what they were put through in basic training--remember Connie being lifted off the ground by his head? Or does that not count because it was perceived as "funny"?


Stepping away from the violence of the act for a second, what was Levi supposed to do? Say, "okay, never mind" and let the plan fall apart? Unfortunately, they do not have the time to let Historia get used to the idea of being royalty. Everything has to go correctly, or they will all go down. Accommodating one person's hesitation could get them killed. Levi gives Historia two options. She can go along with the plan, or she can fight him. "Fight against your fate" has been a huge theme in Attack on Titan, and here we're seeing yet another version of it. Look at Historia's eyes in the panel above. She does have some fight left in her (refer to what I said above about her not needing to be coddled), yet for the last few chapters she's been lacking in any ambition. I thought that this was strange--you'd think that she'd be raring to go find Ymir--but the additional pages released recently shed a bit more light on that.

 
Historia has made leaps and bounds in defining herself, yet despite taking her real name she's still relying on other people to tell her who she really is. Without Ymir around, there's no one to remind her that she doesn't have to play a role if she doesn't want to. We see it in this scene. She doesn't fight back and decides to accept the "role" as Queen. Historia still doesn't have the internal strength or sense of self outside of what people want her to be. Maybe the failings in the plan will give her another chance to fight back, but for now Historia isn't that much different from Krista.

 
Speaking of roles to play, Levi gives some very interesting insights into his character in this scene as well. He calls everyone out on being complacent. Their enemy might have changed for the time being, but they're still at war with the Titans. Everything could go wrong at any time, which we've already seen happen several times in this series. The panel on the (right) is particularly telling; Levi lives every day expecting the absolute worst. Can we even say that about most of the characters in that room?


When I talked about last month's chapter, I mentioned one of the bigger questions of the series: "Would you be willing to sacrifice your humanity to save the world?" Levi has his answer. He'll do anything, literally anything, if it contributes to what he believes is the greater good. He does not care if one kid gets rattled a bit if it means that humanity as a whole is getting closer to an end to the war. The panel referencing last chapter's torture scene is key here. He may not like what he's doing, but he's accepted that role and what it entails.

 

Hanji is going through a similar internal conflict right now as well. Despite getting revenge for Pastor Nick, there's no proof that what Hanji did actually changed anything.

I think that was the basis behind his challenge to Historia to run away or fight him. Neither of them has the luxury to say no to the roles they've been given in this situation, and if Historia wants to go against it, she needs to have the strength to back it up. And as I said above, she doesn't have that right now. Again, does that excuse his actions? Hell no. But Levi has always been characterized as someone who will use any means necessary to get the outcome that he wants. If you've been reading for this long, this shouldn't be that surprising.

Never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Reeves

As for some of the people claiming that they're not upset at this scene because of gender, I didn't see many of you complaining when Levi beat the living crap out of Eren in the courtroom scene. And this is just a personal opinion, but if you're the kind of person who completely loses their mind over a fictional character being mistreated without even attempting to consider if it makes sense within the larger work, Attack on Titan might not be the series for you.


And moving right along to the other moment that caused certain parts of Tumblr to freak out, it looks like we've finally got a last name for Levi. I don't think anybody guessed that it would be "Ackerman" though. My first reaction was "Hey, cool, he's related to Mikasa," but after seeing a bunch of wild fan theories relating to the "clan" Mikasa's mom mentioned, once again I'd like to remind certain parts of the fandom to take a deep breath and remember how western naming conventions work. First of all, "Ackerman" would be the family name from Mikasa's father's side--we have no idea what her mother's clan name is. Also, I'm not a linguist, but "Ackerman" doesn't sound remotely Asian to me. If Levi and Mikasa are related, it would be through her father, not her mother.

Secondly, all of us are assuming a lot about Levi's relationship with this man from the above exchange, since that and another character calling the guy "Captain Ackerman" are all we have to go off of right now. It's possible that they're not biologically related at all. The way he talked about Levi wasn't like how a parent would mention their child. Despite all the inconsistency in Isayama's artwork, he has made it a point to make the children look like their parents when they do appear in the manga so that the family resemblance is obvious. I did not make that connection between Captain Ackerman and Levi (although admittedly, there's something similar in their expressions).


To me, it sounded like they had a student-teacher kind of relationship. He also didn't act like he was looking for a legitimate answer from Reeves. It seemed more like he was talking out loud to whoever might be watching. If he taught Levi "everything he knows," then he likely recognized his handiwork. He could tell it was a trap. I don't think that he realized that the entire thing was staged, but the Scouting Legion wasn't counting on him seeing through most of the trap either.

Hopefully this means that we'll be getting into Levi's backstory soon the way that we did with Erwin. The prequel manga--which the English localization is calling No Regrets--is enjoyable, but doesn't actually get into Levi's head in the way one would expect a prequel to do. He's the perfect soldier with little effort, with no insight into his personality. There's a very obvious gap of information from before he ended up in the underground, and that's where I think Captain Ackerman comes in. For whatever reason, Levi ditched his name and ran away. For a character as die-hard loyal as he is, that's a pretty big deal. Barring the possibility of more out-of-left field plot twists (of course we can't find out what Eren remembered, that would be logical writing!) this will probably be clarified soon, since Captain Ackerman has easily taken the place of the Military Police as the Scouting Legion's foremost threat.

Right now I'm more interested in what role Mikasa's family might have in all of this, which brings up some potential disturbing implications. What was her father's connection to this guy, if he had one? This is just speculation on my part, but maybe the attack by the child slavers wasn't as random as we were led to believe. They did mention that they only needed to kill Mikasa's father... But following potential foreshadowing in this series is like falling down a rabbit hole, so I'll just stop there.

Random shirtless Erwin to break up the tension. Thanks, Isayama!

Surely, this has to be enough for the plot to deal with now, right? The plan has gone wrong, Historia and Eren have been kidnapped (again), other translations reference something called an "anti-3DMG device," and slitting throats is apparently Captain Ackerman's hobby. Not to mention that Hanji and whoever went with them (hopefully someone did) have no clue that that things aren't working out. The last time things went south, Erwin lost an arm and Hannes died, so I'm bracing myself for the inevitable downswing in this arc. I just hope that I won't need tissues.

Images from Crunchyroll.com. Please support the official simulpub.

Subdued Figures: Figma Mikasa Ackerman Review

April 26, 2014, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: Kyousougiga Final Thoughts--Third Time's the Charm!

≪ Previous: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 56--*Tips Fedora* M'Lady

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Attack on Wallet continues! Get used to this, folks. I have a ton of Attack on Titan stuff on preorder and my obsession isn't stopping soon. This month I'm covering Max Factory's Figma release of Mikasa Ackerman!

   
Despite being underwhelmed by Mikasa's Nendoroid version, I had pretty high hopes for the Figma release and I'm happy to say that Max Factory really delivered on this one! The sculpt is great, the articulation easily allows for a lot of different action-oriented poses, and thanks to the slight joint in the toes, this is the third Figma I've had that can stand on its own with a minimum of fiddling.

 
My main complaint out of the box has to do with the paint. The decals are perfect, as usual, but for whatever reason it still seems like a tall order to expect straight lines on the harness paint. The white bleeds over constantly in the torso and on the upper legs and is pretty noticeable since it's a key part of the uniform. The rest of it looks great though. The jacket is made from softer plastic to accommodate the full range of the figure's articulation. There's a slight color difference between the sleeves and the rest of the jacket, but it's virtually indistinguishable in natural lighting.

The scarf is its own separate piece, which means the Figma doesn't have the same problem as the Nendoroid with the tail hanging out in space. It can be removed entirely and swapped out with a regular shirt collar. I'm not sure why someone would want to display Mikasa without her scarf, so the real point of the accessory seems to be so that you can swap her head out with other female Figmas for a crossover costume.


But while Mikasa is very easy to pose--to the point that I realized that I'm not that good at action poses while taking the pictures for this review--swapping out her hands was a huge problem for me. Figmas have switched from having preattached joints to each hand to just having the joint in the figure itself, yet the sizing wasn't consistent across all the hands. It took me the better part of a half an hour just to get one hand attached. This was my biggest problem with the entire figure. I doubt that others in this run have this problem since other hand pieces came on and off just fine, but I hope that the QC on future figures will make sure that all the sizes are correct.

  
But I'm willing to deal with that when the main accessory looks as god as this! Aside from the hands and alternative expressions (neutral, concerned, and angry yelling), Mikasa's other extra pieces revolve around the 3DMG, which is fantastic for its scale size. Once again, it's the anime version, but it nails the small details. It attaches very easily to the main figure and has a little bit of articulation and is held together by softer plastic similar to the jacket, which once again allows you to pose the figure however you want without worrying about breaking or ripping something.


Two pieces attach to the front to give the illusion that Mikasa is shooting forward in midair. It's a cool extra attachment, but it didn't stay on very well for me so I'm not sure if I'll use it again. There's also a separate smoke plume piece that attaches to the back to allow for arial poses. It attaches very securely onto the main base, making it unlikely that the figure will fall over on its own.

 
The last piece is the Scouting Legion cloak, which is sculpted to look like it's perpetually blowing in the wind. It slips on without any issues, and there's enough room for Mikasa's scarf in the front for it to still look good without worrying about paint transfer. Pickier fans will notice that the bottom part of the logo is blue, which is consistent across the entire figure. Fair warning if you really prefer the white.


Overall, I'm extremely happy with this Figma, as it's easily one of the nicer ones in my collection. The articulation is everything that I wanted in an Attack on Titan figure and I can't wait to practice my posing and photo skills with her. The paint and hand issues bug me, but everything else is so spot-on that I hardly mind. I highly recommend this Mikasa figure to collectors who like to play a bit more with their figures or want an Attack on Titan figure that can easily replicate scenes from the series.

The Figma in this review is the first release version that came out a few months ago and sold out pretty quickly. The second release officially came out on April 25th, and there are no differences between the two. The new wave should be welcome news to those who weren't able to get an order in the first time. Act fast though--Figmas of this quality and popularity command high resale values, so now is the time to get Mikasa if you want her!

Images by me.

Kyousougiga Final Thoughts--Third Time's the Charm!

April 28, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 57--Underdogs

≪ Previous: Subdued Figures: Figma Mikasa Ackerman Review

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If you were waiting for the definitive version of the craziness that is Kyousougiga, this is it.

 
Following Kyousougiga from it's first release has been an interesting experience, like watching the animated version of a writer's room going through several edits based around a core story idea. It started out as a visually interesting but overall confusing mess, then filled in some background detail, and finally the full-length 12 episode version hit all of the right notes in story, characterization, and animation. It pulled together the loose strings from the other releases to make something truly beautiful and heartwarming.

 
The story loosely follows Koto, a girl with a strange shapeshifting weapon who is searching for her mother. I say "loosely" because I was only aware that she was supposed to be the main character due to watching the other versions; the lion's share of the spotlight and story development goes to Myoue and his two siblings, who are still reeling from the being abandoned by their parents in a world that was supposed to be the family's personal paradise. The "Alice in Wonderland" focus that was promised from the initial release is now a distant motif in favor of focusing on the theme of family. Even with the heavy supernatural bent of the plot, the themes explores through the family members are very relatable despite most of them not even being human.

 
Most of the show deals with their relationship to each other, particularly focusing on Myoue. His character has a bit more baggage to deal with than the rest, to the point that I was convinced that the show belonged to him more than it did to Koto, despite her being the catalyst that moves the story forward. While it was amazing to see what was kept and what was changed from the two previous versions I've seen, there are still rough parts to the story that don't make a lot of sense. Some scenes felt like they were kept because they had amazing animation associated with them, not because it made sense alongside the plot (ex: the giant robot fight). Additionally, a lot of plot points end up resolving themselves with no real input from any of the characters in the final few episodes, making some things feel rushed and pointless. We're even treated to a long infodump with a scrolling animation reel in the second to last episode.


But despite the rockiness, the heart of the work really shines through. This is an amazing creative endeavor to come out of Toei, showing that they have an incredibly imaginative team on hand that can still put out great original work. I'm glad to see Kyousougiga grow beyond just being "that confusing OVA with the cool animation" into something the lives up to all of the potential it showed in that first random installment. I highly recommended watching it, since it is a must-see show for fans of animation and good storytelling.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 57--Underdogs

May 21, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Subdued Fangirling's Third Anniversary!

≪ Previous: Kyousougiga Final Thoughts--Third Time's the Charm!

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Before I get into this post, I want to talk specifically about this panel for a minute. This is why I love this series. This is why I keep following it from month to month, even with the weird pacing, the random plot twists, and the annoying tendency to not tell the readers vital information. This is why. Right here.

The characters in this series are constantly put into horrifying, messed up situations, but they never give up. They pick themselves up and keep fighting anyway. Nothing stops them for long. Fighting and dying for the chance at a better future is more important to them than rolling over and giving up simply for the sake of survival. And even though they're up against impossible odds, that kind of hope is truly inspiring, regardless of the shortcomings of the story it's taking place in. That's why this series has my love, and that's why I'll keep following it to the end. I want to know where that belief takes them, even if that means the characters will have to go through hell and back to accomplish their goal.

(A/N: This post deals with spoilers for the entire manga and contains graphic images. Please do not read unless you are caught up!)

I love how Erwin just casually pours a glass of water while Hanji flips out

Once again, I'm really sorry for the delay. I was working on this post during the little bit of time I had around polishing my thesis, but then I got hit by jury duty out of nowhere. Real life sucks. But I'd definitely take my current crazy schedule over what the Attack on Titan characters have been putting up with recently. I'm starting to want to call this the All Fan Theories Are True Arc, since Hanji wastes no time confirming what some people have speculated on for a while now: Titan shifter abilites are transferable, and they are gained by eating another shifter. I'm still a bit confused as to how Hanji made the leap from that to "REISS WANTS TO EAT EREN," but that's definitely one way to grab my attention at the start of a chapter.


Since it was established back in Chapter 51 that the Titans are actually human, this revelation could completely change how the series deals with Titans from here on out. Considering that Hanji found nothing in the napes of the experiment Titans' necks and that we also saw how Eren came very close to completely fusing with his Titan in Chapter 53, it's possible that Ymir's story is a hint about how to "cure" the Titans. Maybe the mindless consumption of humans is just an instinct born out of the desire to find a human with that ability so that they can change back. However, that's assuming that literally any Titan could eat a Shifter and become one themselves though. Would that have happened with the Titan that ate Eren at the beginning of the series, for instance? The Titan from the extra chapter about Ilse implies that Ymir is special, so it's not a guaranteed thing that this applies to all Titans.


Also, there's still a lot left unexplained about Titan Shifters in general--not even mentioning the "scream"--that it's hard to come to any conclusions. It does clarify one thing--Annie, Reiner, and Bertoldt were trying to keep Eren out of the government's hands. Assuming that their original plan was for all three of them to join the Military Police, was their actual objective to get closer to Reiss and stop whatever plans he had for the "scream?" That said, what does bringing Ymir back to their home accomplish?

It never ends with this series. One question gets answered, and another ten pop up.


Anyway, now that we've moved into accusations of potential cannibalism (there's a sentence I never thought I'd write), it's laughable to assume that Reiss will let Eren live, especially if he can transfer Eren's power to someone else. And once again Historia becomes the wildcard here, since she knew nothing about the craziness surrounding her bloodline yet she's being treated like she's just as big a threat as the guy with anger issues who can transform into a Titan. Why is that?

And yet again, there's a magic plot-explaining letter addressing this exact question that will probably not be discussed for another couple months. *bangs head on wall*

 
Shelving the theories about Titan Shifters for now, Erwin is tripping death flags left and right. Last time we got his backstory, and this time he's setting himself up to take the fall in order to protect the mission. He even names Hanji as his successor. In a series where almost every action results in someone dying, I'm a little surprised at how blatant the foreshadowing is here that Erwin is planning to sacrifice himself. I'll be more surprised if he doesn't bite the dust at this point.

But while I'm really concerned about Erwin, I do have to admit that I really like the idea of Commander Hanji.

If you don't think that Hanji is the best character, you are wrong

Additionally, does anybody want to complain about Hanji "manhandling" this guy like they did about the scene with Levi and Historia last month? Since "it's always wrong no matter what?" No? That's what I thought.

In any case, the Survey Corps has lost the upper hand and most of the element of surprise. Armin's idea from a couple chapters ago about how to turn the public's opinion against the Military Police has been used on them instead, painting the Survey Corps as dangerous criminals. Even if they do manage to foil Reiss' plans and get Eren and Historia back, they'd still be fugitives in the eyes of the rest of the population. The only thing that I can think of right now that would fix their reputation would be to fix Wall Maria, but with Reeves out of the picture, how would they get the supplies for something like that?

 
Not to mention that some of the teenagers are having second thoughts. I'm a little disappointed in Sasha and Connie here (they repeat almost word-for-word some of the sillier arguments that went around in the fanbase after the previous chapter update), but Jean's misgivings make a little more sense. Like I talked about a few chapters ago, fighting other humans was not what they signed up for. They joined the military to fight Titans and defend humanity, not to overthrow the government. Armin and Mikasa have already made up their minds, and the rest of them have to make a choice as well. Will they continue to believe in the Survey Corps, or is this where they abandon ship?

It's pretty obvious what their answer will be, but it's a good question to bring up nevertheless.

They never get his face right

  //shamelessly stolen from Tumblr//

 
And finally, the chapter sort-of addresses the cliffhanger from last month. Captain Ackerman is also known as "Kenny the Ripper," a famous serial killer who slits the throats of his victims. Lovely. Levi identifies him as someone he lived with when he was younger, but the impact that Kenny had on him is already clear. Levi brings up Kenny in the same way that Kenny brought up Levi before he killed Reeves in the previous chapter--not really looking for input, just musing out loud. We even get an inner monologue from Levi for the first time in the entire series, mentioning that Kenny affected his mindset and that the MPs are behaving the way that Kenny would, leading into a horrible realization.

 

Being a secondary character who is close to Levi for any period of time is like wearing a red shirt in Star Trek

HOLY SHIT

I was bracing myself for whatever the "Anti-3DMG" was, but I wasn't expecting portable hand cannons. Holy crap, the government gives their military swords to fight Titans, but they take out dissidents with goddamn hand cannons? I'm sorry, I'm not going to be over this surprise for a while. So not only are they suppressing technology, they're developing the medieval version of Iron Man behind everyone's backs. This series, man.

That is how you set up a reveal. You establish the technology suppression so that when you see the thing, you still get the holy shit reaction but it makes sense. Gradually building up to something without giving it away is the way to go. Not by waving plot-relevant letters under the readers noses and then refusing to discuss them.


But man am I hyped for the next chapter. And it's not just the Levi vs. Kenny cliffhanger (and also the possibility of finally getting some real backstory) either. How is Hanji going to react to their squad getting killed? We saw what Hanji did when Nick died, and he wasn't exactly their favorite person. Kenny might know how to predict Levi's movements, but Hanji isn't nearly as easy to read and can be scary as hell. Kenny's biggest problem might not be Levi.

Meanwhile, I think it's going to fall on the teenagers to rescue Eren and Historia. Or at least, I hope so since they've been pushed off to the side so much for the last couple chapters. We're in the "things completely go to hell" part of the arc now, maybe they'll finally see some action.

I'm not sure if I can wait two more weeks.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

Subdued Fangirling's Third Anniversary!

May 23, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Subdued Figures: Figma Eren Jaeger Review

≪ Previous: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 57--Underdogs

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Image by ピペ

I missed this one by a good margin this year (it was actually on the 4th), but better late than never! This blog has survived three years, and I can't let this anniversary go by without marking it in some way.

I have to admit, it feels weird to say "three years," since in some ways it feels a lot longer than that. When I started this blog, I was a bored college junior who'd just finished up finals and needed an outlet for all the anime nonsense running through my head. Now, I'm about to graduate with a Masters and wish I had more time to write down all the anime nonsense running through my head.

I think that last part is why this blog was able to make it to year three. I started this blog with a promise to myself that it would be an extension of my hobby, not my highest priority. If it ever felt like a hassle, I told myself that I would stop. That's been the basis for a lot of the changes in my blogging schedule and writing style over the last year as real life demanded more and more of my time. However, all this time I've been thinking, "I wish I had more than two spare minutes a day so that I could write more on the blog." I've still been getting ideas. I still have things I want to say. And that tells me that I'm in for the long haul, regardless of what real life throws at me. I proved to myself this last year that I can mold this blog to fit my needs, even if it means a decrease in content. This was never about being popular or timely in the first place anyway. It was about putting my thoughts out there and seeing if others felt the same.

All of that said, I'm really looking forward to being more active this summer. The first thing will be to freshen up the layout; it's gotten pretty outdated. After that, I'm hoping to get back into the habit of writing episodics. The Sailor Moon remakes' bi-weekly schedule sounds like a great place to start. And I'm definitely covering the new season of Free!, since that's the most popular thing on this blog in terms of hits and I had a blast writing them. They still even get comments! And the monthly figure reviews and Attack on Titan manga chapter posts will continue as usual.

So overall, despite the growing pains, I'm excited for the next year. A lot of things have changed in my life over the past three years, and I think it's nice to have a blog that's documented how I've changed as a fan as well. I don't know what year four will bring, but I've got my hopes up!

And now for stats:


I'm getting closer to that 10,000 hits a month mark! I actually broke it last September, with around 13,000 views. I'm not sure how less content made my hits skyrocket, but either way it's up several thousand from last year, so I guess it's all good?

Meanwhile, Blogger's broken Stats counter is much more dramatic:

LOL, look at that drop off from September. It's like the stats fell off a cliff.

Unfortunately, Google Analytics doesn't let you look at raw search terms anymore, so I have no idea what funny stuff people typed into Google to find my blog this year. It's a shame. I was wondering how many hits I'd gotten from "free anime" alone...

Finally, I'd like to thank my regular readers and commenters for sticking through my rambling posts and coming back to talk to me again and again. I know I said above that this is largely a selfish project to put my own ideas out there in the fandom, but it's nice to know that I'm not shouting into the void. I love you guys.

Here's to another great year!

Top image from Pixiv. All credit belongs to the original artist.

Subdued Figures: Figma Eren Jaeger Review

May 31, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Subdued Summer of Backlogging #1--Hiroshi Kamiya Continues to Ruin My Life

≪ Previous: Subdued Fangirling's Third Anniversary!

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The Attack on Titan figure releases continue! This month I'm covering the Figma version of the revenge-obsessed protagonist, Eren Jaeger!

   
I was really impressed by how Figma Mikasa turned out, so I was very excited to get Eren's Figma as well! Out of the box, he has a slightly nicer paint job that Mikasa did, although there is still some white paint bleeding on the leg straps. He's also able to stand on his own thanks to the articulated toes. The soft plastic on the jacket as well as the waist skirt allows for a wide range of movement, taking full advantage of the new Figma 2.0 skeleton for posing.


One strange thing I noticed right away was that the elbow joint on his left arm was pulled out a little bit while the one on his right was not. This made for some posing difficulty with the salute and also with my failed attempt with a hand-biting pose since the right arm would not bend far enough. This is easily fixed by pulling out the joint a little more, but I'm not sure why it wasn't matching the left arm in the first place.Overall though, Eren had the potential to be a slightly nicer Figma than Mikasa.

There was just one problem. About two seconds after I took him out of the blister packaging, his leg fell off.

I find this hilarious

I should probably be trying to contact Max Factory about a replacement leg, but considering that it snapped back onto the swivel joint with no problems (and also that Eren losing limbs is canon) I'm not as bothered by it as I would be on another figure. I just started laughing when it happened. I haven't heard of this happening to any other Eren Figma, but some comments on MFC mention some loose joints. It looks like I won the QC lottery thanks to the growing pains of the new Figma skeleton.

  
I'm actually not sure if I even reattached it correctly. Eren can still stand on his own, but he's a little pigeon toed. There's also a pretty big gap in his thigh just above the belts that you can see in the pictures above. It doesn't affect his articulation range too much though. I just have to baby the leg a little bit more than I normally do when posing.

  
Anyway, Eren has the same accessories as Mikasa, so I'm not going to go over them in big detail here. The 3DMG is still awesome, with great details and no problems to report. I had no problems with the hands this time. This time they’re slightly bigger and with different poses than Mikasa's that reflect Eren's personality a bit more, like hands with slightly bent fingers for a pre-transformation pose.

 
The cape, like the 3DMG and its effect parts, are identical to what came with Mikasa. However, this one doesn't like to sit straight on Eren's shoulders for whatever reason, and refuses to align with the hole on his back. While Mikasa's cape allowed for pretty good range with her arms even while wearing it, Eren's pops out of place with any movement. It gets frustrating easily if you're going for a specific look.

 
However, the best part of the figure is how expressive it is. Eren's default and alternate faceplates are very well done with his "shocked" look being easily exploitable. He also has the first Figma faceplates I've seen with distinct sculpting instead of the standard "flat face with tiny bump for anime nose" that they usually get. There are even ridges between his eyebrows on his shouting face! That nice extra attention to detail gives the figure a lot of personality.


Overall, while I really enjoy this figure there's not much aside from the sculpt and the faces to differentiate it from Mikasa's release. The accessories are literally exact copies of Mikasa's, and I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that there isn't anything character-specific, like a bloody hand or the basement key. At this point there's no reason to expect anything different from the upcoming Armin and Levi releases either, so unless you're a hardcore fan who feels the need to have all the characters, I'd say to just get your favorite.

If you want Eren, a second release of this Figma officially came out last week, so extra stock from online figure retailers should be showing up soon. In the meantime, don't cave to scalper's prices!

Images by me.

Subdued Summer of Backlogging #1--Hiroshi Kamiya Continues to Ruin My Life

June 2, 2014, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Subdued Summer of Backlogging #2--School's Out Edition

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While it's still not technically summer for me yet (I've still got finals week and a lecture to give to my school before I get my Masters), I've had some more free time lately so I've decided to start chipping away at my backlog. I've got 100+ titles in there, ranging from shows I fell behind on to stuff from years ago. There's not much of a plan of attack here; I just look at the list, decide what sounds interesting at the current moment in time, and watch that.

While I'd ideally like for this to be a weekly installment, I don't trust myself enough to pull that off. I'm also still following currently airing shows, so some weeks I might not touch the backlog at all. With that in mind, I've decided to make this a numbered series instead, in the hopes that writing little blurbs when I finish will keep me on track. Wish me luck!

Completed


Noragami - Episodes 1-12
I completely wrote this show off before it started airing because the preview images and synopsis didn't grab me at all; in fact, it sounded pretty boring and run-of-the-mill as far as supernatural shows go. But I heard increasingly good things about it as the season finished up, so I stuck it in my Hulu queue to give it a second chance. I'm really glad that I did. The show follows Yato, a unknown god with no shrine who takes on odd requests in exchange for 5-yen coins, and Hiyori, a girl who periodically looses her body after saving Yato from getting hit by a car. Yato also fights demons with the help of a ghost named Yukine that can transform into a sword.


The show kind of reminds me of Kamisama Kiss, albeit without the shoujo tone and presentation. I agree with some reviews that I read that complained about how long Yukine's arc took to resolve (seriously, why did no one pull the kid aside and tell him the problems his actions were creating?) but it was pretty tolerable in a marathon session. I probably would've been much more annoyed by it if I'd been following it from week to week. The way that it built up the relationships for the lead-in to the finale was well worth it in my opinion. I highly reccomend this show to any fans of anime that are character-driven with a supernatural bent. And also if you like Hiroshi Kamiya.

Caught Up


Rozen Maiden Zurückspulen - Episodes 11-12
(The screenshots are not from those episodes because I'm lazy.)

I put this on hold right before the last two episodes aired for reasons that I no longer remember, but I am happy with how everything was resolved. I stopped reading the manga a little bit after this point, and it was a fair adaptation from what I remember of it. But even with "the story goes on" tease at the very end, I'm glad that it ended where it did for the same reason that I stopped reading the manga.


In this version of the story, the Alice Game is surprisingly not the most interesting thing going on here. I was much more invested in Jun gradually learning to assert himself and not be ashamed of his hobbies. At the end of the show, he's in a much better place than he would've been without all of the universe hopping craziness. I really enjoyed how his character arc wrapped up, as well as that interesting bit at the end where Jun realized that his old self honestly wasn't that different from Kirakishou looking for a place to belong.


In contrast, everything else with the dolls felt increasingly ridiculous. In the first version of the manga, the worldbuilding and rules were pretty consistent, but here it felt like they were thrown out the window to accommodate the new plotline and were specifically contrived to make certain events happen. I mean, Suiseiseki and Souseseki can control time and space now? When did that happen? Original universe Jun is also used like a deus ex machina, showing up at the exact right moment to resolve the major problem with no further input from anyone else. Why couldn't he just do that in the first place? But regardless of my gripes, it was fun to see an adaptation that went closely along with the original plot and character designs. If you have any interest in the Rozen Maiden franchise, this one's not a bad watch.

And that's it for now! Hopefully I can continue this through the summer!

Images from Crunchyroll.com and Hulu.com.

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Subdued Summer of Backlogging #2--School's Out Edition

June 17, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 58--The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

≪ Previous: Subdued Summer of Backlogging #1--Hiroshi Kamiya Continues to Ruin My Life

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This was supposed to be up last week, but I made the wrong assumption that I could totally edit screencaps and publish this post while simultaneously going through my last week of grad school. But now that I have my shiny new Masters degree, I've got the whole summer ahead of me! To start things off, here are two more titles from my backlog I finished two weeks ago, both of which I really enjoyed.

Completed


Hozuki no Reitetsu - Episodes 9-13
This was another title that I don't quite remember why I put on hold. I think that this show was another victim of my schedule at the time, when I could only keep up with one show a week. That said, Hozuki no Reitetsu is one of my favorite titles from the Winter season. The show mostly follows its title character Hozuki at his job in the Japanese afterlife as chief of staff to King Enma, poking fun at popular myths and legends along the way. I've heard it described as the supernatural Japanese version of The Office, but I don't think that's completely accurate. (If it were, there would be a lot more shaky-cam close-ups on Hozuki's look of disdain.) That said, one of the main things that makes this show so amusing is the set-up of Hell being structured like any other business, and the demons treating their work like we would treat any other job.

It also made me realize that I know very little about Japanese mythology and history. A lot of the jokes depend on whether or not you know what they're referencing, which could be anything from ancient figures (who may or may not have really existed) to fairy tale heroes. Some of the more obscure references are in the translator's notes, but I could almost hear a lot of them going straight over my head. To the show's credit however, not being in the loop doesn't stop it from being enjoyable. Hozuki's deadpan sadistic reaction to whatever is going on around him combined with the humanizing of popular figures (King Enma is largely clueless, Momotaro starts out as a show-off) makes the show worth watching just to see these characters play off each other. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese mythology and/or a fresh take on the "working life" subgenre.

There's also giant sentient screaming goldfish plants that are learning how to love. Yes, you read that correctly.

The Princess and the Pilot
I've made no secret of my disappointment with the sister series to this movie, yet this title managed to stay on my backlog list because it looked like a better take on a similar story. It turned out that assumption was right, and the movie is the far more entertaining version of the two. The plot also follows a pilot and his love interest, a princess promised to marry a foreign prince, as they journey across the vast ocean in the center of their world. The two are separated by class and their respective situations are defined by the world of war in which they live, but a past connection and the shared experience of the journey brings them closer together.


The worldbuilding in this movie is tight and easy to follow, giving the impression that we're only seeing a sliver of a larger history and conflict without bogging down the pace with unnecessary exposition. Initially it's much less steampunk than The Pilot's Love Song, with planes more similar to the ones that we're used to in the opening acts, but the later battles with airships and dreadnoughts more than make up for it. While the animation is not as high-end as I would normally expect from a movie, the character designs are very well done (I could even easily tell the difference between the military ranks and branches with the secondary characters, despite their uniforms looking similar) and I can't think of any off-model moments. The CGI is very well done, feeling natural alongside the characters and detailed enough to be believable without any strange movements from the models.


But even with all that said, I feel like I would've been far more critical of this movie if I'd seen it before The Pilot's Love Song. The majority of the plotline strictly conforms to genre conventions, so it is very easy to predict the story beats. The voice acting felt flat to me sometimes, feeling like the actors weren't convinced by the obvious plot points and resulting dialogue either. Also, was it just me, or did Princess Juana's voice sound too young? That said, the cliches in this movie are general genre cliches, not anime cliches, and the ending more than makes up for it. I won't spoil it here, but its pretty hard to create a feeling of catharsis and hope for the world after showing that there's nothing that the characters can do to change their situation, but this movie pulled it off. Overall, this is a throughly entertaining movie that manages to not just be a decent anime movie, but a decent movie in general.

Tune in next week to find out if I actually make a post on time.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 58--The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

June 19, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Summer 2014 Preview

≪ Previous: Subdued Summer of Backlogging #2--School's Out Edition

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I've been laughing for days

This town isn't big enough for the both of them.

(A/N: This post deals with spoilers for the entire manga and contains graphic images. Please do not read unless you are caught up!)


There isn't that much to actually discuss this time, since this chapter was wall-to-wall action. This is probably my favorite chapter to date, not just because of the sheer insanity, but for how great it was to read after seeing the fake spoilers about Levi dying that were circulating in the fandom. And by fake, I mean photoshopped manga panels from previous chapters and a "leaked image" that didn't even try to emulate the style of the manga (although I imagine that Isayama's weird style is hard to mimic). After watching the more gullible members of the fandom lose their minds for a couple days, it was really cool to see Levi take on ten guys with hand cannons and still win.

Am I still in the right series

And now we know where Levi gets his sass from

 
And while the Western-style saloon shootout is pretty awesome, the conversation between Levi and Kenny still makes me hope that we'll still get some kind of flashback moment to cover their past. I would love to see how two people who came from the same place ended up on opposite sides of this conflict thanks to key differences in their ideologies. Kenny glorifies in hunting down people and killing them, while Levi refuses to kill people unless it's his last resort.

Of course, that doesn't stop him from blowing away Kenny with a shotgun blast at point-blank range.





And after he's been pushed to that point, all bets are off. He uses one guy as a human shield and slices through a couple more later with no hesitation. The situation they're in is kill or be killed, and Levi doesn't shy away from that even though he might not like it. "The only way to win is to fight" indeed.


I call BS on Kenny surviving, though. I don't care what kind of armor he was wearing, a shot like that would've left him with some broken ribs at the very least, not have him up within a few seconds. I guess "bulletproof vests that can withstand point-blank range shotgun blasts" also go on the list of technology that the government is keeping from the wider military. I get that the story needs him to be around for a little longer, but come on.

 
But right now, Levi's squad needs to get away from the ambush, and Jean's confronted with his declaration from the last chapter about not wanting to kill other humans. And the results of his hesitation don't look too good. However, I don't think Jean is dead. Attack on Titan does go for the shocking deaths, but not in such an obvious way. Also, the plot has a habit of making the reader feel like they should be concerned for one character and then kills off another. So right now, I think that there are two possibilities. One, that Mikasa took the hit for Jean based off of her trajectory in the above panel and the fact that she's missing from the reaction panels (where we also clearly see Jean). I hope that theory isn't true though, since I don't like to think about an injured--or dead, knock on wood--Mikasa.

The second theory, and the one I like much better, is that Armin shot the person before they could get to Jean. In the top panel, we can see Armin reaching into his cloak for something and then in the reaction panels that same arm is now pointing out. If this ends up being true, it'll mark an interesting progression for Armin's character arc--he has been getting a lot of attention recently. And it would make for a cool example of misdirection in manga panels. However, I'm not willing to buy into either of these theories just yet because they hinge on Isayama's inconsistent art--this is the guy who drew Erwin's right hand in the last chapter after all.


Cliffhangers aside, the ending brings up an idea I honestly hadn't considered before. What if Reiss was never pulling the strings, and didn't agree with any of this in the first place? What if the true royal family was forced into secrecy for another reason? Attack on Titan makes a point of establishing gray morality for all of its characters, even the villains, so it's possible that Reiss does have an understandable reason--I mean, look at Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt. They are traitors, but they also believe that they are doing the right thing. This could be true for Reiss as well, although I'm not trusting any declarations of remorse just yet. At the very least, it'll be interesting to hear his reasoning.

It feels like we're about to get some solid answers about what's going on in this arc, although I'm not holding my breath. Whenever I've gotten that feeling in the past, the story shifted to focus on something else. We still have no idea what's going on with Erwin, and now we also have the Jean cliffhanger to cover. I'm optimistic, but the characters still have a big mess to clean up before they can even think about going beyond the wall again.

But if the rest of the series is Levi kicking ass and taking names, you will hear no complaints from me

Images from Crunchyroll.com. Please support the official simulpub.

Summer 2014 Preview

June 23, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Subdued Figures: Nendoroid Eren Jaeger Review

≪ Previous: Musing Over Manga: Attack on Titan Chapter 58--The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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Summer's finally here, and the new season of anime is coming up fast. This season has a lot of hype surrounding it, thanks to some highly anticipated sequels and remakes as well as new adaptations for popular series as well! Alongside the carryovers from last season, I'm planning on picking up ten new titles from the Summer season.


Ao Haru Ride
I haven't watched a good shoujo in a while, and I've heard positive things about this manga. I do have some high hopes for this one, but I'm keeping it in check since the last time I got hyped over a shoujo adaptation I was burned bad by My Little Monster. There's no reason to expect that this will be another situation like that, though. I'm really liking the whole "reinvent myself" part of the premise. Will that mean opening her true self up for the whole world to see, or just hiding behind a different mask so that she'll be excepted? And in that case, will her suitors love the "real" her? I love character exploration stuff alongside my romance, so I'm hoping that this will be something like that.


Bakumatsu Rock
The synopsis reads: "The story is set in the Bakumatsu era, at the end of the shoguns' rule over Japan in the middle of the 19th century. The Tokugawa shogunate uses the brainwashing Heaven's Songs by the top idols in Shinsengumi to subjugate the country and its people. ...Sakamoto Ryouma and the other rockers rise up and change the world with rock 'n' roll for freedom and justice." Sounds stupid. I'M IN.


Sailor Moon Crystal
The highly anticipated remake is finally airing! It's been kinda funny watching the merchandise hit a little too early (read: when this show was supposed to be airing before the delays were announced), but Viz's license announcement was enough to get my excitement up again (even though that announcement was about the original). It'll be really interesting to see how Sailor Moon will work as a current anime adaptation. Will it be strictly faithful to the manga, or will it try to blend the original material along with some of the fan-favorite elements from the 90s TV series? Either way, this is the must-watch show of the season.


DRAMAtical Murder
I've gotten so close to making this game work on my computer, but I'm finally giving up. I'm just going to watch the anime instead. From the few spoilers I've heard, this should be...interesting. For those of you who have not been exposed to this yet, Dramatical Murder is based on a BL visual novel, so if that is not your jam, it might be best to skip this one. As for me, I can't wait to get context for all the stuff I've heard about the dog...


Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei!
This is on my list for the sole reason that the first season had the best fight scene that I watched last year. Otherwise, I'm setting the bar pretty low since the series makes it obvious that it's a doujin series directed towards a certain audience. In its defense, it's also pretty obvious that its creators never remotely expected it would turn into an anime. But hey, maybe the second season will change that impression.


Free! Eternal Summer
I did start to wonder if the "see you next summer" endcard was too optimistic, but KyoAni is delivering just as promised! I can hardly wait to blog about this series again. Time to refill my Fanboy Tears mug.


Black Butler: Book of Circus
I was surprised when this got announced, since I haven't heard much of anything about Black Butler in recent years. I noticed some excitement from the manga fans on Tumblr, but that was nowhere near the explosion of rage that the non-canon second anime season inspired (which is still my favorite example of troll advertising). Maybe this was approved from a marketing standpoint, to try to drum up the fanbase to its former glory again? Anyway, I'm pretty ambivalent on this series, but I enjoyed the first two seasons enough that I want to take a look at this. I can't deny that I like watching that hell of a butler.


Space Dandy 2
So, are we going to get more random stand-alone episodes showcasing some of the best talent in the industry or will there be a plot while still showcasing the best talent in the industry? I'm mainly in this for more autotuned robot, so I'm fine with either.


Tokyo Ghoul
Kind of a last-minute addition since I wasn't really sold on this until I saw the trailer. Looks like this will be the hyper-violent grimdark distopia of the season. Barring the possibility that the premise will go completely off the rails, this is my action pick for the summer.


Knights of Sidonia
I know I put this down last time, but I wasn't aware that the Netflix stream wouldn't start until July, so I'm adding it again. I'm really excited for this one. Do you know how hard it was for me to avoid breaking and watching fansubs? DO YOU?

And that's what my watchlist looks like so far! What titles are you excited about seeing from the new season?

Images from MAL and Google Image Search. Series information from Anichart.

Subdued Figures: Nendoroid Eren Jaeger Review

June 28, 2014, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Spring 2014 Final Thoughts: Mushishi Zoku Shou, Ping Pong--The Hero Appears

≪ Previous: Summer 2014 Preview

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As summer gets underway, figure releases are speeding up too! While I wait for another mountain of boxes in the mail, this month I'm covering the Nendoroid version of Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan!

   
After being a bit underwhelmed by Nendoroid Mikasa's release, I set my expectations for Eren a bit lower as well. However, his Nendoroid turned out quite nice! There aren't any glaring paint issues, the decals are nicely applied, and the sculpt isn't just a complete retread of Mikasa's base body. The legs still have the round joints to accommodate action poses, and the stand is a bit longer and sturdier than usual so that it can hold up the entire figure along with the 3DMG, which I'll cover later.

 
However, while the figure is pretty solid right out of the box, Eren falls into some of the same pitfalls that Mikasa's Nendoroid version did with the exact same accessories. It's still very difficult to get the salute pose to look accurate, and even following the pictures on the box I still had to fake it a bit. It looks almost okay from the front, but from the side, the problems are obvious. The stand is still in the way, the arm can't get close to the body, there's a completely separate arm just for this pose but no specific hand, etc., etc.

 
The good news is that the 3DMG is still much more impressive. These pieces are also identical to what Mikasa came with--one solid piece that snaps into the Nendoroid's back, two swords, and some optional blood pieces if you like your Nendoroids to be gory. Even the smoke plume is the same as the one that came with Mikasa, which must have saved a lot of production time. However, unlike last time, the swords don't fall out from the lightest shake anymore, but one still has a tendency to get knocked out of place pretty easily. Your mileage may vary.


But what gets this Nendoroid out of the "average" tier is the character-specific accessories. The first of these is a bloody hand to re-create the moment before Eren's transforms into a Titan. Unlike the salute pose, it is very easy to set this up however you like. I wish that the Figma had come with something like this!

 
The other accessory is a bit more involved. Using a separate torso and the pole that's included, this Nendoroid can also recreate the courtroom scene. The pegs on the sides of the hands attach to the pole, and most of the weight is held up by the bent legs so this pose is a lot more stable than I'd expected. The legs were a bit of a hassle to switch out though, since the ones on mine refused to slide into place without force. But while this pose is relatively simple to set up, it doesn't work very well for display. I had to get a very low angle to get the first shot, and since I'm not fond of this scene from the series, I can't see myself using these pieces again. Points for creativity, though.


What I like a lot more is the highly exploitable shocked faceplate, which makes Eren look like he's having an existential crisis. It's slightly different than the one that the Figma has as well, which just makes it all the more fun!

Eren meets Eren

So while this figure has some problems, Eren still makes for a fun Nendoroid by being a little ball of personality. The accessories do fit the character and the series well, and the faceplates are particularly well done. It's one of those figures that goes a little bit beyond being just merchandise and becomes a fun representation of the character as well. He's a great addition to my growing Attack on Titan collection.

A quick look around the Internet shows that Eren is still available at AmiAmi if you're interested in grabbing him for a decent price. Next time, I'll have my pick of Levi figures to cover...

Images by me.

Spring 2014 Final Thoughts: Mushishi Zoku Shou, Ping Pong--The Hero Appears

July 1, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: Bakumatsu Rock First Impressions--Are You Ready to Rock?

≪ Previous: Subdued Figures: Nendoroid Eren Jaeger Review

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Even though I didn't get far on my reviews for last season, I still liked the format, so I'm doing it again for the Spring shows! The first two up are the "artsy" shows, Mushishi Zoku Shou and Ping Pong the Animation!


Mushishi Zoku Shou
This was the show I was most excited about watching from the Spring season. I discovered Mushishi pretty early on when I started watching seasonal anime online, and its slow and sometimes creepy tone fascinated me. I loved that the show was about a thin line between the supernatural world and reality, telling cautionary stories about people who'd gotten on the wrong side of nature. It also carried an interesting sense of realism with it as well; I could believe in the existence of mushi and how they affected the lives of people in past Japan, even as only a fictional construct.


The second season and the OVA that precedes it have this feeling as well, so if you liked the first season you'll likely love the rest of it. However, as a whole I felt that Mushishi Zoku Shou is weaker than its predecessors overall. The previous installments worked very well as stand-alone episodes with some themes recurring throughout, but it was possible to watch the show in any order and not get confused. This season opens with a rambling side story about glowing wine called kouki that serves no purpose other than to introduce it into the Mushishi world and does not stand very well on its own. The very last episode falls prey to the production problems that caused the show to be delayed for a few weeks and spends an absurd amount of time lingering on still shots or black screens, not to mention that the episode's story itself clearly didn't have enough going on in it to fill the running time. This unintended finale (the other two episodes will be broadcast later) made me think of an adjective I never thought that I'd use with Mushishi--boring.


Which is not to say that I found the whole season boring--more than a few episodes still capture that feeling of a story about mankind and nature, the conflict between mistakes and the inevitable. The episode about the blind and deaf woman who didn't age was my favorite from this season, with the one about the woman who summoned rain as a close second. However, the last couple episodes slipped up a bit for me, and even being aware of the budget problems I couldn't regain my sense of disbelief when the series couldn't deliver on what I'd come to expect from it. It's still a solid show, but it's a shame that issues in real life ended up bringing it down.


Ping Pong the Animation
Ping Pong was a last-minute addition to my watchlist, so I came into this with zero expectations. For the first few episodes, I mainly just enjoyed the animation. Ping Pong obviously does not adopt the style we generally term as "anime," going for an interesting blend between realism and comic book panels, breaking up the screen into self-contained movements and words. But while watching Masaki Yuasa at work was great, I had very little investment in the first half.


The story followed a high school ping pong team, specifically focusing on two of its players--Smile, a cold and reserved player who is gradually being recognized as a prodigy, and Peco, an overconfident player who's always done well at the sport. The scope gradually includes a Chinese player named Wenge who's been kicked out of his home country until he can improve, and Kazama, the undefeated champion who's skill are being used by his uncle's company to sell more ping pong products. While I generally liked the characters and found interest in Smile's rise in the ranks while Peco cut out because the sport was no longer easy for him, it was hard to see any overall point to the story. That changed in the second half, when the pieces finally came together. I won't get into spoilers here, but while I feel that it was a clunky way of going about it--there's a lot of lead up time to the "oh, so that's where they're going with this" moment--but once the goal was revealed, I got very interested in how the show would get to that point.


The result was the best sports anime I've seen to date, and easily one of the best shows I've watched so far this year. I was on the edge of my seat with every match in the final act, which is really saying something for a show about a sport I never gave a second thought to before. It's a show that's more focused on the journey than the goal, although the cathartic payoff in the last episode is amazing. I imagine that the show lost more than a few viewers during its slow start, but if you are even a little bit interested in this show, I highly recommend watching the whole thing. While it's likely that this show will fly under the radar and be quickly forgotten, I'm glad that it aired, and I hope that more people take a chance on it.

Images from Crunchyroll and Hulu.com.