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The New Adolescence of Studio Trigger: Kiznaiver and Space Patrol Luluco
“I just wanted to live a normal life.” “Nothing amazing happens here. Everything is ordinary. ” These phrases summarize the two primary teen narratives found in anime — in addition to a myriad of...
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Crazy, Noisy, Bizarre Town: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure on a Smaller Scale
Full of gigantic hair, bulging muscles, and rapid-fire poses more grandiose and ridiculous than the next, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always been big. A single glance at both Dio Brando and Jonathan...
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The Flower Language of the Kiznaiver Women
In between “these look so pretty” and “this is a pointed message for a specific person” is the flower language of the Kiznaiver ending sequence. Tasked with closing out a series that identifies common...
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Freyja Wion the First: Walkure and AKB0048
In the wake of Macross Delta‘s spring debut a rush to identify its spiritual predecessor has cropped up. While a line of progression can be drawn from Super Dimension Fortress Macross‘s Lynn Minmay to...
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“Kids can’t choose the adults in their lives.” Luluco and FLCL’s Ninamori
“Kids can’t choose the adults in their lives, least of all their parents. Ninamori’s father is the mayor of our town. I don’t really get it, but it must be hard for her.” -Naota Nandaba, FLCL, Episode...
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Concrete Revolutio and Stating the Obvious
“He states the ordinary, the obvious. That is how he moves people.” -Emi Kino on Devilo, Concrete Revolutio, Episode 17 Sometimes, a simple statement is more powerful than the most eloquent of...
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Butterfly in Reverse: Kiznaiver’s Emotional Development
“You see us as you want to see us – in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain… …and an athlete… ..and a basket case… …a...
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It came from inside the house: JoJo’s and the 90s horror movie
“Good morning!” an affable voice blares from the boombox next to the kitchen table, following the trademark jingle of “Morning, morning, morning, mojo radio.” The voice belongs to disc jockey Kai...
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Kiznaiver Episodic Blogging for Crunchyroll
I’m not usually one for overt blog updates; however, this news is fairly big and I’m really excited about it. It also affects actual content here. Going forward I will be one of Crunchyroll’s weekly...
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Don’t Lose Your Way: Fanservice and Space Patrol Luluco
Let’s talk fanservice. Hiroyuki Imaishi’s Studio Trigger are no strangers to fanservice — their first major title, Kill la Kill, revolved around the traditional type of fanservice that immediately...
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Kyun, kyun, I am a pilot: Mirage Farina Jenius
“My grandfather was an Earthling, and my grandmother a Zentradi. They were the first such interspecies couple in history. Even worse, their species were at war with each other at the time....
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Space Patrol Luluco and my shitty first love
“And we realized that a reckless, ignorant middle schooler’s foolish first love was the most worthless, trashy garbage in the universe . . . The first love of a stupid middle schooler is a boy who is...
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Nothinglings: emotional connections in Space Patrol Luluco and Kiznaiver
Hiroyuki Imaishi’s Studio Trigger have made a large name for themselves with admittedly few series produced — Space Patrol Luluco as a five-year anniversary celebration seemed a bit excessive —...
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To All of You (Again) — In Defense of Concrete Revolutio’s Non-Linear Timeline
This wasn’t the post I was initially going to write. My original post dealt in more personal anecdotes, much like my first take on Concrete Revolutio Choujin Gensou. The series has always concerned...
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Revisiting Flower Language in Kiznaiver
After the first few episodes of Kiznaiver, I wrote a piece detailing the flower language used by the series’ ending sequence where each female cast member was paired up with a specific flower. These...
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‘Cause there’s no nicer witch than you: the visuals and magic of Flying Witch
“It’s such an ancient pitch. But one I wouldn’t switch, ‘Cause there’s no nicer witch than you.” -Frank Sinatra, “Witchcraft” It’s always easy to write about something emotionally resonant, something...
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Summer Stock: Love Live! Sunshine
“In this moment, I had the greatest epiphany!” -Honoka Kousaka, Love Live!, Episode 1 Unlike The Idolm@ster, which already had a legion of fans from the original arcade game prior to the anime’s 2011...
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Orange Episodic Blogging for Crunchyroll
A new season means a new series to cover over at Crunchyroll. Previously I blogged Kiznaiver, which was a series that caught my attention thanks to its subject matter, visual direction, and attention...
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The Visuals of Amanchu!’s Opening Sequence
“Million Clouds” sung in dulcet, relaxing tones by Maaya Sakamoto is the perfect opening song for Amanchu!. As Futaba Ooki looks out at the vastness of the ocean while waves lap at her feet in the...
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New Game! and My First “Real Job”
My first day at a real job — something in my field of study, journalism, and not a retail position — was actually a paid internship at a newspaper. The moment I walked in on my first day also marked...
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