Vanished away
The phrase “drawing a line in the sand” is used to represent the spot or the threshold that somebody should not cross for fear of consequences.
Garo: Vanishing Line, true to its name, brushes the sand away to pretend as if that line never existed. All so that it may go where it wishes and do as it pleases.
The anime was under the false pretense, though, that nobody would notice its transgressions.
Tacky fun and acidic woes
Citrus embodies its namesake; the ever-present sweet-and-sour fruitiness captures the title well.
But, like a theater troupe booed off stage, it must dodge the oranges and the limes hurled in its direction for the poor showing it offers.
Helga and Arnold from another universe
My uncle has a quote which not only has stuck with me my whole life ever since he first said it aloud but also perfectly captures the spirit of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san without any troubles.
“If we ain’t teasin’ ya, then we don’t like ya.”
It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. Most people are not comfortable being playful with complete strangers, and even more people avoid interacting with those whom they dislike. So, teasing is, in a way, another term for caring.
My family and I tease each other all the time whenever we have get-togethers, yet Nishikata and especially Takagi take the medal for teasing champions as their relationship plays out in kindhearted fashion.
An extraordinary rain
“It’s always calmest before the storm.”
This phrase is known and used for those situations when the good times must surely predate (or even predict) an encroaching ugliness. It’s succinct in usage, and it’s easy to understand. But it’s also rather pessimistic. A doom-and-gloom approach to what life brings on the horizon.
Because that which follows a storm can have a balanced sense of optimism. The warmth of sunshine. The colorful image of a rainbow. The smell of fresh nature. So, those ugly times may arrive without remorse, but goodness can prevail. If nothing else, Koi wa Ameagari no You ni adheres to this stance, promising a phenomenal anime containing a similar happiness.
Shipwrecked
Whales are intelligent, majestic creatures. Rulers of the sea by size and by power.
In comparison, Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau has no size. It has no power.
All it really rules over is the bottom of the ocean – right where it belongs.
A splendid “vacation”
Unlike the leading ladies of Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou, I probably would not survive the apocalypse.
It first assumes that I’d make it through whatever horrible catastrophe would befall humanity, and I would just-so-happen to be lucky enough to have a fighting chance. But then my prospects would reach zilch real quick when most everything else has disappeared: life’s pleasures, family, some semblance of health.
I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, and I’m sure my mental state would degrade as hopelessness sets in. However, after finishing this anime and seeing the ways in which these girls approach such a world, I’ve learned that there may yet be optimism left to cling onto.
Make way for CG stardom
(For a better fundamental understanding of characters, please check out my previous essay on this exact topic, “Houseki no Kuni, Toy Story, and Understanding Characters”.)
The geological timescale views singular months and years as unregistered blips on a radar.
To us regular folk, though, even just a tough few hours at work can seem like an eternity. We value our time greatly, thinking about that joke we heard the other day or looking forward to that cool party in the weeks to come. And, as the saying goes, “Time flies when you are having fun.”
That’s why the here and now is so precious; the present is a valuable existence we can almost never take for granted. In this time, a curious anime titled Houseki no Kuni emerged, and the fact that we’re lucky enough to have it around should not go unnoticed.
An average destiny
The online definition of “apocrypha” from Merriam-Webster states the following: “writings or statements of dubious authenticity”.
For those people in-universe who somehow got their hands on Shakespeare’s perspective of the trials and tribulations within Fate/Apocrypha, they would most likely agree that such a word fits his work all too well.
But for the Masters and Servants who underwent these troubles themselves, they would obviously disagree, stating that fate decreed it so.
Loudness begone
Like a couple of the characters in Just Because!, I too went through the grueling process of test taking in the hopes of earning high scores and favorable university-related invitations. They went to cram school, so they have a one-up on me in terms of drive, but, as someone who empathizes with their position, I don’t envy them one bit.
As for the tale told around them and their close friends, the results may just barely pass the mark.
The big screen for a big franchise
As technology advances, so do the ways in which we consume its generated content.
Two of the more intriguing concepts warp our very perceptions: virtual reality (called VR) and augmented reality (called AR). VR puts us, the player, into a computerized world as if it were all we have ever known. AR keeps us in our understood space but instead adds those computerized elements as if they were a natural extension.
Both have their cool points and oddities, their benefits and detriments. In Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale, AR becomes the prominent vehicle, and its usage leads down the next crazy path for this isekai-centric series.
The Chuuni Corner 