The Chuuni Corner

Anime reviews, Chuunibyou, and other writings

Category: Review

September 19, 2017

Review/discussion about: Gabriel DropOut

Gabriel DropOut / Episode 6 / Raphi, Gab, Satania, and Vigne trick-or-treating

A few prayers answered

My mother and father always had to drag me to church every Sunday when I was a kid.

I hated going. No video games. No running around. No talking. It was sit, stand, sit, and stand again for an hour or more. Singing songs that I never memorized and hearing yet another lady read an aside that I didn’t much care for. I loathed it all.

I was angelic in other ways, like how I would go to catechism and say prayers every now and then. But, when it came to church, I was practically a demon in human form.

Gabriel DropOut (remember to capitalize that second “o”) features characters of a similarly mixed good-and-bad nature – and more than enough comedy to offer.

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September 10, 2017

Review/discussion about: Seiren

Seiren / Episode 1 / Shouichi trying to hide his depravity

Corrective lenses needed

A woman in glasses really gets me going.

Part of it comes from the fact that I myself wear glasses; I can relate on some level with her bifocal style. Part of it comes from the subtext; an air of intelligence and maturity takes over. Part of it comes from instinct; I simply like the look itself.

I have other fetishes. Ones too private and too personal to share on a public forum. Seiren has its fair share of fetishes, too, but it hides nothing as it gives its audience an average romantic outing – in more ways than one.

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September 3, 2017

Review/discussion about: Demi-chan wa Kataritai

Demi-chan wa Kataritai / Episode 5 / Hikari, Yuki, and Machi laughing together as friends

Gotta respect ’em all

Another day, another anecdote that I must repeat (to some extent) because it just fits too well to pass up.

One of my favorite film quotes of all time also happens to be said by my favorite Pokémon of all time, Mewtwo. In Pokémon: The First Movie, Mewtwo delivers the following line.

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”

It’s a relevant quote and a relevant series given Demi-chan wa Kataritai. An anime that channels both “monsters” and self-worth in wonderful fashion.

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August 27, 2017

Review/discussion about: Masamune-kun no Revenge

Masamune-kun no Revenge / Episode 3 / Masamune-kun laying down on Aki's lap

No revenge, indeed

When I was a teenager, my mother and I would sometimes try to spook the other for fun.

I can’t remember who started it, but my mother was mad because it often happened near a dangerous area: the steps leading into the basement. The door would be closed, and someone would round the corner after reaching the top, only to find the spookster ready and waiting.

It was initially revenge on both ends. “She scared me, so I’m going to scare her back” and vice versa. But the petty revenge eventually waned and it became more of a “game” that kept us on our toes.

Nowadays, my spooking habits are over. No more revenge either. Yet Masamune-kun no Revenge reminds me of just how far some people are willing to go to exact the latter (minus the spookiness).

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August 20, 2017

Review/discussion about: Yuri!!! on ICE

Yuri!!! on ICE / Episode 4 / Yuri and Victor shaking hands

Melted away

On a hot summer day like today, almost nothing beats a cold, refreshing drink.

I have ice to thank for this coldness. Tiny cubes of solidified water turn down the temperature of my Coca-Cola and turn up the smile on my face. Of course, ice does a lot more than cool down my beverages. It preserves other items. It creates entire continents. It heals wounds.

I don’t always think about it, but ice does a lot out there. Ice also happens to give figure skaters the “stage” where they wear “armor” and cross “blades” on their way to gold medals and more.

Yuri!!! on ICE has a lot of skating and, perhaps obviously, a lot of ice.

But there’s no gold in sight.

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August 15, 2017

Review/discussion about: Gi(a)rlish Number

Gi(a)rlish Number / Episode 4 / Kazuha, Momoka, Chitose, Koto, and Yae after singing their song and saving their first-episode screening

(Insert cynical comment here)

Parenthetical asides (or those statements that are enclosed by parentheses) are awesome. They invite extra information within a sentence without impeding on the purpose of said sentence.

It’s not recommended to us them all the time since they can clutter a paragraph or even distract the reader from its meat. But, when a side comment or a small explanation for something written is required, the use of a parenthetical makes for a wise decision (or at least that’s what I believe).

Gi(a)rlish Number contains a parenthetical right in the middle of its title. And it’s less a phrase and more a single letter. My guess (and it’s really just a guess) is that it’s a metaphor for the show itself. That is, like anime, there are certain things that, while not always said or deemed “important,” are around and related all the same.

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August 10, 2017

Review/discussion about: Fune wo Amu

Fune wo Amu / Episode 8 / The Ferris wheel and the ship

Definition: A really good anime

I believe I have written this anecdote before, but it’s entirely too relevant to not bring up again.

In the fourth grade, I “read” the entire dictionary. “Read” is in quotes there because, while I technically read through it, I didn’t read all the definitions. I simply read each word. In order. From A to Z.

In my mind, doing so would make me “smarter.” I have always been prideful of my intelligence, of wanting to prove my brains to the world. Doubly so when I was a young kid who had everyone telling him I was overly smart for my age.

I don’t remember too much of my little adventure, for I was “reading” it so fast. I hadn’t realized there were so manywords, but, once I started, I knew I couldn’t stop.

At the minimum, when I finished the dictionary, I had a greater appreciation for words. Not just the amount but the variety, weirdness, and importance of them.

Fune wo Amu isn’t something one reads through quickly. Rather, it’s something that rewards patience with a wholly satisfying experience.

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August 5, 2017

Review/discussion about: Occultic;Nine

Occultic;Nine / Episode 1 / Gamon listening to his radio

Tuned fast; radioed out

The semicolon gets a bad rap.

Most day-to-day people never use them in today’s world of simplified, text-driven messages. They also look a little funky. (I mean, let’s be honest, a period on top of a comma? Get out of here.) Even Kurt Vonnegut, the beloved and creative author of stories such as Cat’s Cradle, is quoted as saying (with hyperbole and slightly out of context), “All they do is show you’ve been to college.”

He later goes on to say about his rule of never using them that “Rules only take us so far, even good ones.” With this thought in mind, I’ll provide the rule that I was taught which made me into a semicolon expert: Semicolons connect equal grammatical units. To go even simpler, think of the semicolon as an equals sign. That’s it. So long as one remembers this rule, the semicolon should be yet another tool in thy writer’s arsenal.

I like semicolons; they’re very fun to use. I don’t like Occultic;Nine; its semicolon doesn’t do it for me.

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July 24, 2017

Review/discussion about: Flip Flappers

Flip Flappers / Episode 1 / Cocona and Papika meet for the first time

Pure avant-garde

I rarely, if ever, flop over.

That’s thanks to my favorite chair at home. Its leather has frayed. The base squeaks oddly. I place a soft blanket on the seat because it hurts my bottom otherwise. For anyone else, this chair looks and feels like junk. But it has always kept me from flopping unnecessarily.

Flip Flappers contains a lot of flipping and a lot of flapping. And, while it doesn’t have its own chair to sit on, it likewise doesn’t flop.

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July 9, 2017

Review/discussion about: Hibike! Euphonium 2

Hibike! Euphonium 2 / Episode 10 / Kumiko contemplating

Hosts more excellence than awkwardness

Recently, I have started to learn how to play the guitar. Sort of.

I haven’t purchased the instrument yet; I’m still deciding on the brand and the amp. However, I know what I want to play: heavy metal. It’s my jam, and, after listening to so much of it now, I told myself, “I want to melt faces with my solos like the best of them.” Okay, I’ll probably never be that good, but I do like the idea of expanding my skillset.

But it’s tough. I have never officially played an instrument, so even the notes of the strings are confusing me. Then there’s palm muting. Power chords. Tab sheets. Tremolo picking. Finger placement. A lot to take in for a musical beginner like myself.

After finishing Hibike! Euphonium 2, it made me realize, even with my minimal foray thus far into the world of guitar, that there’s a whole lot more to playing an instrument than just hearing a couple of notes.

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