Arakawa Under the Bridge 10 – Electric Boogaloo

I wish… not to become one of those beads that sparkle 7 different colors but break when squeezed. But rather to become a black lump of dirt that gets stronger as it gets squeezed. It’s shaped like an oval. But that’s the shape of one’s own fingers. Not to one day become a beautiful jewel, but to become the most beautiful lump of dirt…

-Opening lines

So that’s why I felt so underwhelmed by last week’s episode: because, as this week’s episode proved, Arakawa Under the Bridge is capable of so much more. OK, actually, this episode wasn’t all that different from last week’s in format, with the 1st half being full-on absurd comedy and the 2nd half dealing with the plot in a greater sense, but everything was just executed so much better.

Summer 2010 Preview

Rakuen here, and it’s that time again.  Time to pretend we actually care about the new series for the Summer season.  Okay, the season really isn’t too bad, and all of us have found at least a few shows to watch.  Compared to the 34-show torrent introduced last season, we only have 18 new additions.  In some ways, I like a smaller season.  I felt overloaded during the Spring season with so many series I wanted to watch.   The horror genre has gotten some disproportionate representation, and we see the return of Digimon from a 3-year hiatus.  Three shows take place during the Sengoku period, including the titular Sengoku Basara.  In addition, AIC is going overboard this season with four new shows.  While we’re talking statistics, this post is 2635 words long!  So enough with the introduction, let’s get on with the series impressions!

Angel Beats! 10 – The Life and Times of Yui-nyan♥~ [Minor Spoilers]

I actually laughed out loud a couple of times during this episode of Angel Beats!, a feat because, despite considering the series extremely funny, these were some of the few times I have actually done so. The slapstick was well-timed and amusing, and TK’s grorious Engrish was in full swing, but the real comedic star of this episode for me was Kanade. I found her job on Otonashi’s plan totally hilarious (my favourite moments of the episode include “Because of your guitar, the band is dead.” and Kanade throwing said guitar far too high up into the air). Her social ineptness is quite funny to watch and also pretty charming, and I’m really loving her as a character. Of course, though, Kanade wasn’t the focus of this instalment… Spoilers ahead!

Yui-nyan♥ demands attention! And she will German Suplex you if you don't give it to her!

Durarara!! 21 – Control, and Letting Go of It

So I guess I’ve been designated as the Durarara!! blogger for episodes that are 0 mod 3. Anyway, I’ll be doing this week’s post again instead of Rakuen.

This was another pretty slow paced episode. Can’t really say that too much happened, with the episode mainly focusing on Mikado’s internal struggles with his responsibility as the Dollars’s leader. I’m eagerly awaiting the next episode, though; the preview shows that something interesting is going to come out of Anri being captured by the Yellow Scarves.

For the first time, Mikado realizes just how alone he is without his 2 real life friends.

We Want You to Write for Borderline Hikikomori

This new team of Raph, lvlln, and myself has worked out pretty well for the Spring season.  However, we’ve talked it over, and we’ve decided to look for another writer or two to beef up our ranks.  In addition, this Fall I will be starting an internship, in addition to school, so I’m suddenly going to lose much of my time.  It would be great to have a few other writers with experience from the Summer season under their belts to fill in the gaps, should I have to disappear for a while.

Now, I could give you some great speech to motivate you to write for Borderline Hikikomori, but in this case, it just isn’t my style.  If you like reading this blog, and you want to contribute more directly to its future, then you should apply.  If you have always wanted to write about Japanese culture, but starting a blog on your own felt too daunting, then you should apply.  If you feel like you have a distinct voice or opinion and you want to get it out there for others to read, then you should apply.  Everyone is welcome to try out, regardless of skill level or interests.  We play nice with new recruits, I swear.

What does a Recruit have to do to apply? Click past the break to find out!

Evangelion 2.22 – A Love Letter to Fans

In case you haven’t heard, a certain anime movie was released in Japan on Blu-ray and DVD on May 26, and it has made quite the splash. Thanks to Japan not having as good theatrical pirates as the US, it was only then that a proper direct feed to the movie became available to us outside of Japan. But it’s finally here, GAINAX’s 2nd entry into the remake of their show from 1995, Neon Genesis Evangelion, easily the most impactful anime ever released.

I myself only got to watch it last Friday, and it’s taken me this long to digest it enough to make a post (ok, I was also pretty busy during that time). And to be honest, I’m still digesting it. I’m going to have to watch it start to finish at least once more, but let me just say, I loved it. It was well worth the wait and was probably the best animated work I’ve seen in quite a few years.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 9 – Insert Fist of the North Star Joke Here

There isn’t a whole lot I feel I can write about this episode. It was a bit of a distraction after the way the plot seemed to be going in the previous episode. There was no further development on the Riku/Nino front. Rather than going forward, this episode looked back, as we were given glimpses into the pasts of Star, Maria, and Nino.

I have no caption fitting for this screenshot

Giant Killing 09 – Set the Stage

Nothing particularly exciting occurs in the most recent installment of Giant Killing.  Instead, it focuses on wrapping a few threads together in preparation for the match of Tatsumi’s life.  We have disgruntled fans, an uncertain player, and a determined reporter, all of them revolving around the ubiquitous manager.

Why's everybody always picking on me?