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Made in Abyss on “The Return”
“You know, that girl simply left without ever turning to look back, but I could see her profile. And she was just like all of the cave raiders I’ve seen. That eye I saw was full of longing. And then,...
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The business of The Idolm@ster SideM, Episode of Jupiter
“We aren’t singing so we can be used by you!” -Touma Amagase to President Kuroi (flashback), The Idolm@ster: SideM, Episode 00 A minute into the pre-premiere episode of The Idolm@ster: SideM, I...
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Uraharajuku, fashion, and blogging for Crunchyroll (again)
It’s rare to find a series that focuses on fashion beyond a unified aesthetic and looks at current trends, especially when it comes to the ephemeral nature of Japanese street fashion. However,...
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The flower language of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Episode 1
The ink is still drying on Chise Hatori’s signature when the above line appears across the cityscape: April showers bring May flowers. Given Chise’s initial mental state in the opening moments of The...
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The poppy flower, death, and life in The Ancient Magus’ Bride
“So you like poppies, Chise?” -Elias Ainsworth to Chise Hatori, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Episode 2 It’s no coincidence that the flower most associated with Chise Hatori is the poppy. Last week, in...
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The physicality of Girls’ Last Tour
In sixth grade, I joined concert band. I was the only girl in the trombone section. There were only about five of us in total, including a kid from my elementary school, Ben. We were friendly...
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Snapdragons and flower language in Devilman Crybaby
Like most things in Devilman Crybaby, its use of flowers is not subtle. By nature, snapdragons are deceptive flowers. Their common name of snapdragon comes from the fact that the flowers look like...
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Victorian Flower Language and Violet Evergarden
Outside of the gift of a red rose — which has been commercialized and commodified extensively — there are few flowers today whose meanings are widely recognized outside of hobbyist circles or...
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“Parasites” in Darling in the Franxx (and robot name flower meanings)
Darling in the Franxx is not a subtle series. Child pilots take on the roles of either a pistil (female pilot) or stamen (male pilot) named after the reproductive parts of a flower. They are paired...
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The written word and more Victorian-era trappings in Violet Evergarden
The Victorian-era trappings of Violet Evergarden are no accident. Victorian Great Britain has, retroactively, become a divergence point in fiction where, if industry had advanced along this particular...
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Musings on After the Rain and Twin Peaks
On premise alone, After the Rain is a contentious series. Following a potential budding romance between 17 year-old former track star Akira Tachibana and her 45 year-old divorced boss, nearly every...
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A person worthy of that name: Violet Evergarden (and more Victorian flower...
From the Roman name, Aemilia, latin word aemulus meaning rival. Industrious, hard-working, stubborn, obstinate. When I first looked up my given name, I found something similar to the etymology and...
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The lines drawn between us — cinematography in After the Rain
The fourth episode of After the Rain ends with two movie pamphlets. They’re both from the same movie. They’re also from two different circumstances to Akira Tachibana. The first time, her attendance...
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“A paradise within thee, happier far”— Strelitzia in Darling in the Franxx
Despite Zero-two’s reputation, Darling in the Franxx drops a lot of hints that she generally plays by the rules. Dr. Franxx calls her “high maintenance” in the series’ first episode, yet the...
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The White Camellia Princess and the Red Rose Prince (and Violet Evergarden)
From Episode 1, Violet Evergarden has relished in Victorian-era trappings. Its concern with flower language, and Victorian floriography began in earnest during Episode 2 thanks to Haruka Fujita’s...
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Prunus cerasus and self-pollenization — more flower names in Darling in the...
The chrysanthemum and cherry blossom are both national flowers of Japan. They’re also the names of the two plantations that “kiss” in Episode 5 of Darling in the Franxx, bringing two teams of...
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The Melancholy of Dia: Change in Land of the Lustrous
Of all gems, Diamond (Dia) is the most visibly treasured by their peers. This is thanks, in large part, to Dia’s beauty, but Dia also has a sincere, genuinely nice personality that’s difficult to...
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Atsuko Ishizuka’s clever use of social media in A Place Further Than the...
#IFollowEveryoneWhoFollowsMe Child actress Yuzuki Shiraishi chooses this hashtag for her Instagram post that depicts a fairly candid shot of her stepping away from an older woman splashing water and...
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The Flower Language of the Darling in the Franxx Women
Whether working directly with the language of flowers through naming schemes of the series’ mechs or framing its narrative with floral genetics and reproduction, Darling in the Franxx has never hidden...
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The Visible Storm of Yuri Kuma Arashi
At Arashigaoka Academy, blending in is not only a way of live, it’s introduced as the only way to survive. While the body count rises in Yuri Kuma Arashi, so do the cries from various young women in...
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