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Why I Can't Wait for
More Durarara!!
デュラララ!!
Anime Article by Ben Huber
In January, a second season of Durarara!! will begin. Yes, the 2010 madcap anime about gang violence, a headless Irish fairy, and the insane citizens of Ikebukuro will be returning with three cours. If you haven't seen the show before, we highly recommend you catch up as it has a great cast of characters that you'll fall in love with... or love to hate! Whether you've seen the series yet or not, we've got 15 reasons to get ready for more Durarara!! — in gif form! Read More...
Amagi Brilliant Park
甘城ブリリアントパーク
Anime Review by Ben Huber
Managing a theme park sounds exciting, right? Sure, it'd be tough, but it could be the opportunity of a lifetime! Seiya Kanie meets Isuzu Sento, a girl who invites him to take over the management of failing theme park Amagi Brilliant Park, in a last-ditch attempt to rejuvenate it. However, Kanie quickly discovers something: the park mascots are real, and this place is more than a little bit magic.
Actually, we may have said "invite" up there, but in actuality Sento is quite forceful, using her magic rifle to coerce Kanie into taking up the management job. It's not easy though, as Kanie, while an intelligent and sharp fellow, is also exceedingly narcissistic and prideful. He regards many people as beneath him, resulting in him not being very popular despite his good looks. Frankly, he's a bit of a jerk, but it makes him much more interesting than your typical protagonist. Read More...
Celestial Method
天体のメソッド
Anime Review by Ben Huber
A flying saucer hovers above a city ominously. It never moves, never changes — it just sits there, sparkling and glowing. That sounds like the start of a sci-fi action or horror film, right? What if we told you instead it was the opening of a slice-of-life show featuring middle-school girls and their daily lives? Yup: that's Celestial Method. Let's jump into this unique little show!
Celestial Method is based off of a premise by Naoki Hisaya (who also came up with Kanon), so it has the privilege of being one of the few original shows this season. It's produced by a new studio called Studio 3Hz. All of that combined could mean a lot of things (and greatly increases the risk of failure), but they've done a solid job on the first few episodes. Read More...
Mushishi: The Next Chapter
蟲師
Anime First Impressions by Ben Huber
Mushishi has returned! After the well-regarded first season in 2005, many didn't expect to see any more of Ginko's adventures, but we're glad to be wrong. Nearly 9 years later, we're getting to watch a second season of Mushishi, covering the rest of the manga. If you're already a fan, you probably don't need any encouragement to head over to Crunchyroll right now. If you haven't yet jumped into the world of Mushishi, let us tell you all about it.
Mushishi is set in a vague, imaginary time between the Edo and Mieji periods. You're never given a solid date or year, leaving the timeline as ethereal as the main character, Ginko. This traveling medicine man drifts from place to place, meeting people and curing them along the way. He's not into traditional medicine, though: he's into mushi. Mushi are creatures that exist between the real world and the realm of the spirits. Often unseen by the average person, but can have very real effects on them. Read More...
Why You Should Rewatch Samurai Champloo
サムライチャンプルー
Anime Article by Ben Huber
Hopefully by now you've seen Shinichiro Watanabe's fantastic 2004 anime series Samurai Champloo. If not -- go pick it up and watch it now! It has a slick combination of Edo-era Japan, hip hop, and stylized animation that'll have you glued to the TV and bopping in your seat to some amazing tunes. If you've already seen it: good job! Here's a number of reasons why you should pop the soundtrack back into your playlist and then rewatch the whole series again! Read More...
Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
神撃のバハムート GENESIS
Anime Review by Ben Huber
Who would've thought that one of the best new anime of the season would be based off of a generic-looking free-to-play mobile card game? Yes, Rage of Bahamut comes from a strange place, but barely resemble its source material anyway. While it pulls some character and monster designs from the game, the rest is almost entirely original content. And that original content is so, so good.
Rage of Bahamut: Genesis opens with not one, but two well-animated action sequences. After the all-important backstory segment, it barrels headlone into an uproarious chase scene, introducing us to two of the main characters, Favaro Leone and Kaisar Lidfard. They ride their horses across rooftops, send a water wheel tumbling through town, and accidentally interrupt some criminals in the process. It's mildly reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean, while also being just as ridiculous as you might expect an anime to be. Read More...
Parasyte
寄生獣
Anime Review by Ben Huber
A lot of movies and TV shows tell tales of kids and their alien companions. But while kids and friendly extraterrestrials might seem fun on the surface, Parasyte takes a decidedly darker turn because these aliens are parasites, living inside the human body. Sure, you might have a cool alien buddy -- but it's living inside you. How terrifying is that?
Parasyte is not a new series, but it's the first time we're seeing it animated, so this is a special treat indeed. Originally running as a seinen manga from 1988 to 1995, the series combines high school life with body horror, alien terror, and action. It's tense, gripping, and violent, making it a great candidate for an anime adaption. It's curious that it hadn't gotten one sooner, but with the recent live-action film adaptations, the iron is hot once again. Read More...
Gundam Reconguista in G
ガンダム Gのレコンギスタ
Anime Review by Ben Huber
A new Gundam series is always an event in the anime community. Seeing what Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino will come up with next is always entertaining, whether the show actually ends up good or not. Upon viewing the first three episodes of his latest, Gundam: Reconguista in G, there's definitely something enjoyable deep inside this pile of giant robot insanity.
Reconguista in G (abbreviated as G-Reco) is set in the Reguild Century, year 1014. We're thrown headlong into the story as it's happening; a cavalcade of buzzwords and techno-jargo are tossed at the viewer with little context. On one hand, that means we're avoiding the typical lengthy establishing episodes that plague many shows, explaining things ad nauseum -- on the other, we have little clue as to what is happening. Read More...
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