12 Days of Christmas – Day 11 – Importance of the Denouement

As this year comes to a close, I have been thinking about what shows or works top my “best of” list for 2010. Well, I didn’t think too long when it came to TV shows: The Tatami Galaxy took the title easily. It occurred to me that, in fact, The Tatami Galaxy was not only my pick for 2010, it was the first one to surpass in my eyes 2006′s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Other shows had come close, including 2007′s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and 2009/2010′s Bakemonogatari, but The Tatami Galaxy was the first both to match it and to surpass it.

Then it got me really thinking: what was it about these works that had made me hold them in such high regard? One thing that immediately popped out to me was that each one of them had a strong, focused denouement, one that not only provided satisfying closure to the events of the show but also provided a peek into the new beginning of the new beginning of the changed lives of the characters. That last part in particular is quite important; the denouement should not only close out the current story but also acknowledge that life goes on beyond what’s shown on screen. This holds true as well for the show that I see as being greater than any of those mentioned above, FLCL. And for (at least, a classic narrative based show) a show to join the ranks of the elites, to be considered one of the greats, it needs to have such a strong denouement.

(Please note that this post contains spoilers to the endings to Bakemonogatari, The Tatami Galaxy, Strike Witches 2, Angel Beats!, Gunbuster, and various arcs of Amagami SS)

New York Anime Festival 2010 – Friday

This past weekend was the New York Anime Festival, which was combined with New York Comic Convention. Being located about 4 hours away in Boston and hearing that The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya would be playing, I decided to make the trek down. Here is a chronicle of what I saw and experienced there. I originally intended to make one post, but the post on Friday alone was getting too long, so I’ll split this into two parts. Saturday and Sunday were much less eventful than Friday, so the second post may end up shorter than this one.

[Review] The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Here’s the short version: whatever you’ve heard about it is true; it’s really that good. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is an absolutely stunning film that succeeds on every level. It does not make up for the horrible second season, but if you liked the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and long for more of something of that caliber, this is a must-watch. You will not be disappointed.

If you actually want me to expand on those thoughts, proceed downward (note: like any proper review, this will contain no spoilers, although I will delve into story bits when necessary).

Anime Boston 2010 Wrap Up

As expected, day 2 saw more cosplayers than day 1. Day 3 had fewer, of course, and had a more relaxed, muted atmosphere as well.

Again, I’ve uploaded the photos I took onto Picasa: Day 2 and Day 3.

Maybe this will help him get over his depression

Anime Boston Day 1

Well, Boston was blessed enough to have a gaming convention then an anime convention on back to back weekends, both at Hynes Convention Center, conveniently enough. Naturally I took the day off work to attend day 1.

That's dedication!

Top Seven shows of the Summer Season

            I tried to write a part 3 of the awards, but it sounded either bullshity, or like I had no idea what I was talking about. Between voice acting, music, and art, I kinda have an appreciation of music, and a large appreciation of art, but those two just wasn’t enough to make a post. So I’ve skipped ahead to the top seven of the season.

 Without further to do…

 

Top picks Summer 2009 Part 1: Cast and Character Awards

Again, credit goes to The Null Set for the idea and the catagories. Check the blog out!

And without futher to do, the winners.

Tops Picks Summer 2009-Preaward, the everyone wins awards

Alright, I wanted to do an awards for the summer season, based on the awards that The Null Set always does. But I’m one of those people who wants to give everyone an award, and I thought this be a good way to introduce all the canidates for the catogories. So without further to do, let’s give out the awards.

Struggling with how I feel about the latest episode of Haruhi

  I’ve been struggling with how I feel with Kyon’s actions in the previous episode.

 

:(

 

Haruhi season 2 episode 11

I’ve decided something about Haruhi’s weird sense of logic…