Hello, friends!
It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally recovered enough from the (what felt like to me) Herculean effort that was my Hyouka episodic posts and I’m ready to pick up something new. I’ve got a shortlist of things that you can vote on, but if you’d like to really make a cast for something on this list – or, better yet, recommend something not on here at all – leave me a comment!
Note that the upper limit here is 26 episodes. Maybe someday I’ll do episodics for Turn A Gundam, but I’m just not there yet.
Here’s the shortlist poll—and I’ve got more thoughts on why I’m interested in writing on these shows below. As always, I reserve the write to chuck all feedback out the window and do something else entirely (although I doubt that’ll happen in this case).
Earth Maiden Arjuna: It’s basically a given that I’ll do episodics for other Kawamori stuff (specifically, Macross) eventually, but Arjuna I haven’t seen yet and it has a Reputation. Considering Kawamori’s stuff gives me a boatload of ideas I want to think about constantly, even when I’m not watching any of his shows, I have no doubt that Arjuna would provide plenty of fodder for thought—and getting to boost awareness of one of my favorite creators’ lesser known works would be nice, too.
Giant Robo: Speaking of things that are not a secret, how about my current enthrallment with mecha anime? Giant Robo seems to be well liked among people whose opinions I value on these sorts of things, and even if it winds up not being the most episodic-friendly show, I think that could wind up stretching me in a good way (like figuring out how to describe why giant robots are cool using different language each episode).
Hanasaku Iroha: I watched the first episode of HanaIro on a whim a few months back and, shocker, I liked it a lot! Many people have told me I’d like this show (it’s written and directed by the same duo that worked on my all-time favorite anime, after all), and I also think I may have recently cracked the code of how to watch and think about P.A. Works shows in a way that lends itself to analytical writing. Also, I just need to watch this show to get people off my back about it.
The Tatami Galaxy: I know very little about Tatami other than the fact that it’s directed by Yuasa and is critically acclaimed. It’s short, too, which always makes me a little more interested in committing to extended writing on things.
Star Driver: Oh, yes, it’s another robot show. Fun fact—before I started work on Hyouka, I was just about to select Star Driver as my new episodic show. All in all, I think things worked out, but I’ve been meaning to get back to Star Driver ever since. As with HanaIro, I feel I’ve got a bit more of a feel about how I mentally tackle a show like this thanks to things I’ve watched since, so I think I could do a good job of it. Probably lower down on my personal list of priorities, though.
Kino’s Journey: A much-beloved episodic show from an era of anime that I’ve still barely scratched? Seems like a winner, right? Like Tatami, I don’t actually know much about Kino’s Journey, but it sort of feels like one of those choices that couldn’t lead me wrong.
In addition to these, people on Twitter have also suggested the following: Sora no Woto, Evangelion (sorry, not happening), The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Space Dandy, Kids on the Slope, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, and The iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls.
