The Chuuni Corner

Anime reviews, Chuunibyou, and other writings

Category: Review

Review/discussion about: Noragami Aragoto

Noragami Aragoto / Episode 7 / Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine standing on a rooftop amidst flying money

The next reincarnation

Noragami, the first season, was actually one of the very first anime that I started following as it aired. I was a newbie back then, wondering what this strange, foreign medium had in store for me. I remember seeing the main visual for the anime – all three of them sitting atop a red-shrine entrance with the city far below and a gloomy sky at their backs. That instantly caught my attention (still does), and the anime ended up being favorable to me.

Now, a few years later, with many more anime and hence more experience under my belt, Noragami Aragoto, the sequel to one of my starters, appears. And it’s nice to know that this one holds up about just as well.

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Review/discussion about: Is the Order a Rabbit??

Is the Order a Rabbit?? / Episode 4 / All of the girls walking home after having an outdoors tea party

A tiny treasure

In the final episode of the second season here of Is the Order a Rabbit?? (two question marks to signify the sequel), the girls go on what’s called a “Ciste.” Basically a treasure hunt. They use a map that contains clues that lead them through town until they discover a chest where goodies are had and traded.

When I was kid, one of my best friends had a birthday party where his mother set up a treasure hunt. I remember all of us peering over the map, running around the house looking for clue after clue. It was simple but fun, and, best of all, we found the chest tucked away in the closet by the entrance. Inside was enough candy to last a week, but, being boys, we finished it all before the night was up.

Rabbit?? may not be gold or jewels or even candy. But it’s still a tiny treasure worth seeking out.

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Review/discussion about: Owarimonogatari

Owarimonogatari / Episode 12 / Araragi looking back, both literally and figuratively, as the season concludes

Symmetry succeeds

(As supplementary material for this review, please refer to my essay on symmetry and asymmetry, Owarimonogatari, Symmetry, and Asymmetry.)

I’ve always grown up loving math; I’ve always grown up performing well in math. I’m still unsure if both of these are mutually exclusive or not, but I like to think that some connection exists.

The fun of mathematics comes from the complexity. Using variables, taking integrals, and memorizing formulae turn the field from crunching numbers into a brain-powered game. Of course, there are certain areas that can be tiresome – I’ve always had trouble with graphs and graphing – but it wouldn’t be math without a difficult derivative or two.

Owarimonogatari may not feature sines and cosines, but it does have math. And symmetry. And intrigue. All of this (and more) come together to equal one of the best entries the Monogatari series has seen so far.

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Review/discussion about: Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst

Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst / Episode 10 / The final shot of the season that showcases the whole gang

Definitely limited

Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst has an affinity for bathing. That makes sense. An ecchi anime without a bath scene or two is like an anime without animation – it is almost unheard of.

For myself, bathing has never generated any exceptional stories. Save for one.

Growing up, I’ve always liked minty snacks. But, as a young kid, I took it a few steps further. When I bathed, I had this plastic container that I would fill with both water and toothpaste because the toothpaste tasted like mint. And, as the weirdo I was, I ate my watery-tooth-pasty concoction. Not just once either. Every shower, be it Crest or Aquafresh, I would partake in my makeshift, minty mousse.

The outcome? I would get sick. Many a night I had tears in my eyes and a bucket in my lap as I vomited a mixture of water, toothpaste, and SpaghettiOs. I did not learn my lesson for quite a while, but, suffice it to say, the only toothpaste I “eat” nowadays is by accident when brushing my teeth.

I tell this tale because watching Burst is like eating toothpaste: Its pleasing at first, but the bile aftertaste cannot be avoided.

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Review/discussion about: Kekkai Sensen

Kekkai Sensen / Episode 12 / All of the members of Libra, including Leonardo

A weird and unpredictable eyeful

In Kekkai Sensen, a character goes by the name of White. She reminds me of my own sister since she also has a heart condition. Nothing serious, but it’s a condition she has had to deal with all her life.

I remember one night when my sister went out to eat with her friends. She came home eventually; nothing out of the ordinary. Except, before heading off to bed, my sister let my father know of a pain in her chest.

My father hesitated not, rushing her immediately to the hospital. So fast, in fact, that I did not realize where they went to until they got back. It turned out that my sister just had some heartburn, but it was still a scary moment for our family. I can only imagine how harrowing it was for her.

I admire my sister for always dancing, always traveling, always living, despite her condition. Her heart may be weak, but it’s stronger in ways that I will never truly understand. Kekkai Sensen has heart, too. Not as strong a heart as my sister’s, but, as she proves, a weak heart isn’t the end of the world.

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Review/discussion about: Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru

Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru / Episode 9 / Sakurako sits in sunlight after speaking with Shoutarou and his grandmother

Needs mending

The closest I have ever been to death is a moment that I don’t even remember.

Complications during childbirth are common. For me, at the (very) tender age of ten seconds old, there were two such complications: the umbilical cord and my size. The cord just so happened to wrap itself around my throat, cutting off oxygen to my body. As for my size, I was so huge (ten pounds, eight ounces) that I got stuck in the birthing canal.

The doctors, desperate to save both my mom and me, made the decision to add a third complication: bone breakage. To get me out in the world, they snapped my collar bone, stopping death and granting life. They got the umbilical cord situation sorted out, too, but, by that point, I looked like a massive, blue mess.

For me, bones technically mean everything. For Sakurako of Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, bones literally mean everything. As for the anime itself, well, it has a few broken bones of its own.

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Review/discussion about: Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou

Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou / Episode 12 / The last shot, featuring the entire cast

No attack can stop this parody

I want to save my nostalgic anecdote related to Attack on Titan for when the second season eventually rolls around. (It recently got pushed back to 2017, so we have a bit of time before I share the tale.)

In the meantime, I will say that, based on the contents of Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou, I would not consider myself a clean-freak. I like doing the dishes, taking out the garbage, and making sure my abode is relatively clean, but I have no qualms with keeping my room messy.

If I had the three-dimensional maneuver gear that Mikasa, Eren, and the rest of the gang use to clean the massive walls at their junior high, however, I am positive that I would do a lot more cleaning than I already do. Until I get that gear, I can bide my time with Chuugakkou, a more-than-solid anime based on its more-than-popular relative.

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Review/discussion about: Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen

Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen / Episode 3 / Yu and the gang decide to defend family

A broken family

A few weeks ago, I shared a meal with my grandparents, brother, and other cousins. During the dinner, we talked about all manner of topics. Our grandfather’s brother named Georgie. The notion that bigger teeth brings beauty later in life. How awesome that grand meatball tasted.

At one point, the topic turned to familial connections, the bonds we share with each other. I stated that I would die for them. They are my family, so this statement sounds obvious. At least, I hope it is obvious for most.

I sincerely believe it. Strangers pass by. Friends come and go. But family. Family is forever. Yu of Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen believes the same. Unfortunately for Yu, he does not get to have dinner-made conversations. Instead, he gets an almost abysmal anime.

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Review/discussion about: Shomin Sample

Shomin Sample / Episode 9 / Karen, Aika, Reiko, and Hakua as commoner maids

Somewhere between common and class

Unlike the girls of Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken (if you tried to say the title ten times fast, you would not get done for an entire year), I have never been a fancy person let alone a rich person. I do not buy expensive clothes. I do not own exquisite pieces of art. I do not seek out caviar taste-tasting parties.

The fanciest I have ever been treated is at Disney. More specifically, the Disney cruise. Like any cruise, the ocean, the boat, and the activities are abundant. However, what separates a Disney cruise from most other cruises are the unique restaurants they contain. But the restaurants were not the best part.

The best part was that each family got not one but two personal waiters or waitresses. I sadly cannot remember their names, but they were jovial and kind, waiting on our beck and call for food, drink, and anything else we needed. For just a few days, my family and I were not treated as guests – we were treated as royalty. At dinner anyways.

Shomin Sample (shortening the title because the official title is a little absurd), does not have waiters and waitresses, but it does have maids. A lot of maids. But still not enough maids to clean up what this one offered.

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Review/discussion about: Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!

Komori-san wa Kotowarenai / Episode 1 / Komori chatting with Megumi and Masako

Time to help

Recently, I was asked to visit a friend’s house to help setup some technology in his home. I accepted. Not because he offered me a going rate of ten dollars per hour (which was kind of him but unnecessary), but because he is a good friend of mine that I want to help.

Komori-san wa Kotowarenai! (or, in English, Komori-san Can’t Decline!) features, coincidentally enough, a girl named Komori. She never refuses to help others, providing a simple anime in the process.

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