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Hyouka, Episode 10
What kind of life does Houtarou Oreki want? Does he truly want the gray life he lives, or does he actually desire the kind of rose-colored life he see around him—the kind of marvelous life that comes...
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Aniwords – IDOL WARS (Part 2)
Following up on last week’s post on the characters in idol anime, this week I lay out my thoughts on the Big Three Idol Anime—Love Live!, THE iDOLM@STER, and AKB0048. I had a lot of fun writing this...
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Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 5
This is typically the point in the season when shows start to lose a bit of momentum. First arcs are ending, production might be suffering a bit, and the great pushes from the premieres are basically...
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Hyouka, Episode 11
The official title of this episode was “Closing Credits of the Fool.” But I think “The Scourging of Oreki Houtarou” works just as well. There are a lot of things to think about this episode as the...
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Aniwords – Noragami Aragoto and the Failure of the Gods
After a couple of weeks of idols, I’m back on the Serious Anime Writing train with my analysis of the Bishamon Arc of Noragami Aragoto. The nature of Noragami‘s gods and the way they interface with the...
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Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 6
We’re halfway! …we’re…halfway? Noragami Aragoto, Episode 6: And thus, I presume, concludes the Bishamon Arc. As generally good as last week’s episode was, it (in my opinion) doesn’t really hold a...
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I Could Never Stop Time, nor Could I Hold to Its Passing: Reflections on...
It’s never explicitly stated, but at the end of Glasslip, at the conclusion to a brief and fitful summer, Kakeru Okikua leaves town to continue accompanying his famous piano mother as she tours the...
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Hyouka, Episode 12
Oreki’s personal crisis is over and the culture festival is finally here, bringing with it a batch of new drama pins and one big problem for the Classics Club. After the weight of the last few...
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Aniwords – How Anime Avatars Explain Life
A little less than two weeks ago, a guy writing for New York Magazine threw out an article that ostensibly linked Twitter users who have anime avatars with a certain internet group, and there was a bit...
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Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 7
I’m just now realizing that—once again—I’ve found my way underneath 10 airing shows that I’m keeping up with (the count, as you’ll see, is 9). As I’m still only keeping up with the things I really want...
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Hyouka, Episode 13
Another lighthearted week with our characters all spread out across the campus of the school, which means another week lacking an overarching cinematographic code. Of course, when I say “overarching,”...
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Aniwords – I’m Driving a Giant Robot, & I Can’t Make it Stop
As you are all aware, I’ve been in the middle of a big mecha anime kick for a while. After Gundam Build Fighters paved the way and I cruised through Knights of Sidonia like a madman, I’ve been spending...
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Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 8
Thanksgiving’s tomorrow, so here’s an early Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Mage in a Barrel (that is, just me and my Nyarko nendroid)! For those of you in the states, I hope you have a nice...
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My Hero Academia Volume 2 – Manga Review
So, I’m pretty happy to announce that I’m now the official My Hero Academia reviewer for The Fandom Post, picking up from where I started with Otaku Review. I’m pretty happy about this, because MHA is...
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Aniwords – One Punch Man & the Nature of Heroism
I’ve kind of been waiting for One Punch Man to put some thematic muscle behind its animation chops, and this episode did it (albeit via the graceless inclusion of the random whiny dude). So, of course,...
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Anime Weekly: Fall 2015, Week 9
Greetings to you, fair readers of this blog. This week I am happy to greet you along with my new friends who now inhabit the top shelf of my anime bookcase. The genki power in my apartment is strong…...
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Glasslip – DVD Review
My latest review for the Fandom Post is live, and it’s on Glasslip, the show I recently wrote 3000 other words on. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Bless, we already read your thoughts on Glasslip,...
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Hyouka, Episode 14
A short list of extremely good things: 1. This episode of Hyouka. 2. Episode director Naoko Yamada. 3. Finally seeing payoff in Mayaka and Satoshi’s relationship. Note: list not exhaustive. I told...
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Hyouka, Episode 15
Ultimately, I think Hyouka is a show about what happens when people run into each other, meet each other, talk to each other, get in each others’ way, and—finally—change each other. It’s never a...
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Aniwords – Mean Girls, Anime Style
This topic’s been banging around in my head for a while since I started wondering what it was that attracted me to characters like Yuuko from AKB0048 and Miki from THE iDOLM@STER. As has been pointed...
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