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Yuri Kuma Arashi: A Lily By Any Other Name is a Bear
Did you know that “yuri” means lily? Did you also know that “yuri” is used on Japan to denote a girls-love story? You did? Good. Shall we continue? The first episode of Yuri Kuma Arashi introduced us...
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A Room With a View: Yuri Kuma Arashi’s Lulu Yurigasaki
Yuri Kuma Arashi‘s fourth episode reintroduces us to Lulu Yurigasaki as a princess trapped by her inability to accept the love of her brother. When unoccupied with nefarious activities like boxing up...
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On Beginnings, Endings, and Yuri Kuma Arashi
“You really don’t know what happened, do you? It doesn’t matter. By all means, stay in this cozy coffin of yours and continue to play prince.” -Anthy Himemiya to Akio Ohtori, Revolutionary Girl Utena,...
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Finding Cinderella in The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls
“In the arms of my love I am flying Over mountain and meadow and glen And I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again. I may never come down to Earth again.” -From “Ten...
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Not So Plastic Memories
“Sometimes, I think my students believe that I eat and sleep in the school, never leaving.” -my mother, on being a teacher There is likely no other profession that exemplifies the difficulty of seeing...
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Scattered Thoughts on Nagato Yuki-chan and Constructing Fanservice
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan begins peacefully. In its carefully constructed opening sequence, Nagato Yuki-chan shows that it knows exactly who its target audience is: existing fans of the...
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Words and Emotions and Music
When Reina Kousaka needs to express her emotions, she plays her trumpet. When that doesn’t work, she screams. The battle lines, so to speak, of Sound! Euphonium have been drawn. As Aoi Saitou had...
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Madoka, Madoka, Madoka, and Me
When Puella Magi Madoka Magica initially aired in 2011, watching it was an experience. Following up on my experience with Star Driver, Madoka was the second water cooler series that I participated in,...
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Through the Eyes of God (And Leonardo Watch)
“Life, which is hard enough as it is, is even harder here. Even more so for a small timer like me, whose only redeeming feature is that I’m normal.” – Leonardo Watch, Blood Blockade Battlefront,...
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Plastic Memories’ Isla as the Beautiful Premium Girl
“Her character was locked in as translucent — like a shadow, or the air. The kind of girl you can’t touch. The girl you long for, but there is nothing about her that you can hold.” – Yoshiyuki...
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Sound! Euphonium on Fresh Starts and Asuka Tanaka
In showing and developing various narratives, Sound! Euphonium invites character comparison. The most obvious example is of Reina Kousaka and Kumiko Oumae. Both struggle with verbal communication –...
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Avant Garde, Kitsch, and a Return to Gatchaman Crowds
No sooner had she muttered, “Man, I’m hungry,” as the camera lingered on her mostly uneaten lunch than I loved Hajime Ichinose. She was colorful and quirky, but had trouble expressing herself clearly...
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The Children of Rie Matsumoto: Mary Macbeth and Koto
When children tell stories, they’re often stymied by an inability to communicate. Adults are frequently too far removed from their own childhood to understand, or the child is unable to make adults...
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Sound! Euphonium and Those Left Behind
One of Sound! Euphonium‘s more remarkable traits is that, within its captivating world, not everyone is equally talented. Where other series use those left behind – by their lack of skill, practice,...
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Gel Sadra’s #Brand: Gatchaman Crowds insight Episode 1
While the people of Gatchaman Crowds are well aware of the existence of extraterrestrial life, it’s still a frightening experience when a UFO crashes into sleepy Niigata. Fortunately, Hajime Ichinose...
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Little Witch Academia and Shiny Chariot the Publicist
Professor Ursula carries with her many lessons from when she was Shiny Chariot. A few of the more important ones are how to draw a crowd, and how keep their attention. After all, advertising is it’s...
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Not So Mean Girls: On Hanekawa, Senjougahara, and the Shower Scene
Relatively early in the movie Mean Girls, Regina George claims that she will help the then-hapless Cady Heron snag her dream date: Regina’s former boyfriend Aaron Samuels. At a Halloween party, Cady...
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The Red Ranger: Tsubasa Misudachi vs. Hajime Ichinose
The new heroine of Gatchaman Crowds insight is energetic above all else. She springs out of bed in the morning, bounces down the stairs, and never seems to walk anywhere, choosing to run instead. She...
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VAPE’s Marketing Penetration: Gatchaman Crowds insight Episode 2
In the first season of Gatchaman Crowds, Rui Ninomiya had the market cornered on using social media networks as a tool for social improvement. However, it’s a new season now, and Rui must rebrand...
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Opening the Social Media Pandora’s Box: Rui Ninomiya and Rhythm Suzuki
“I did give them power, a hundred capable GALAXters I chose. But we’ll update the world without relying on that power!” – Rui Ninomiya, Gatchaman Crowds, Episode 3 For someone who is now labelled an...
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