Review | The Chuuni Corner

July 28, 2016

Review/discussion about: Oshiete! Galko-chan

Oshiete! Galko-chan / Episode 6 / Ojou, Galko, and Otako hanging out and eating lunch at the mall

Girl talk time

When people look at me, they cannot believe that I love to listen to heavy metal.

The most recent disbelief actually came from someone close: my brother-in-law. We were talking about bands and music in general when I brought up Metallica, both my favorite heavy-metal band and my favorite music group ever. I rattled off some of my favorite songs – “Disposable Heroes,” “Blackened,” and so on – and he was taken aback at my adoration.

I don’t blame him for his surprise because, as an unassuming nerdy white guy, I don’t “appear to be” a fan of that kind of music. But that’s why we talk and listen to others in order to really understand them. In other words, interests, personality, and actions mean more than some jeans and a polo ever could.

And Oshiete! Galko-chan agrees.

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July 23, 2016

Review/discussion about: Musaigen no Phantom World

Musaigen no Phantom World / Episode 13 / Koito, Mai, Kurumi, Ruru, Haruhiko, and Reina in the last shot of the season

More gray than colorful

My brother, while he was growing up, had an imaginary friend: Ghost Friend. Not so imaginative.

I never had one myself, but my brother always made sure Ghost Friend was around. Playing outside, eating at the dinner table, and sitting around the house. They were inseparable.

At some point, though, my brother no longer had Ghost Friend with him. I am not saying he stopped believing because that is not what happened. What happened was that Ghost Friend took a “permanent vacation” elsewhere. Nobody knows where. He just went away to live his own life (which is weird wording for the supernatural).

Musaigen no Phantom World (Phantom World for short) does not have Ghost Friend, but it does have a myriad of ghostly creatures. They come together to create quite the toss-up of an anime.

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July 20, 2016

Banjo’s Top 10 Fall 2015 Anime

One Punch Man / Episode 5 / Saitama waving goodbye to Genos

Who leads this Fall 2015?

Finally, Fall 2015 is done like dinner! For me, anyway.

Anime always gets me thinking (and I’ve had a lot of time this time). Obviously for my reviews and writings, but also about the medium in general. Like how I can take it for granted. I get to sit at home in my comfy chair while my computer streams animations created halfway across the globe.

Often times, I would never be able to experience the stories told. Like using bone-related knowledge to solve strange death-related cases or joining a school where the classy learn to become commoners. Going forward, I plan to be more grateful to the anime I watch — no matter how sweet or sour they may be.

To this end and on this day, I take a look back at the best of the best from Fall 2015. Eighteen anime showed up to fight for the title of “Best Anime of Fall 2015,” and, while ten have made a claim, only one walked away with it in its clutches.

Before diving into the list, it is important to know two ideas: what counts and the reasoning behind everything.

First, I am an advocate of an anime counting in the season in which it completed. Meaning, whether it is fantastic or not, something like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans has no place here despite starting in Fall 2015. On the opposite end, an anime like Kekkai Sensen does have a shot since it concluded in Fall 2015 despite starting many seasons prior.

So, if you do not see Kekkai Sensen here on my list, that means I either did not see it or it was simply not good enough. (It’s neither!)

Second, each anime has a personalized review that demonstrates why it deserves to be here in the first place. Simply click on an anime’s name to be linked to its review to read my complete thoughts on it. For every review that I wrote for this season, follow this link to my Fall 2015 Reviews page!

With all of the introductions, formalities, and rules out of the way, it is time to get to my Top 10 Fall 2015 Anime!

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July 16, 2016

Review/discussion about: One Punch Man

One Punch Man / Episode 6 / Saitama getting ready to look for hero work to meet his weekly quota as a Class C rank

Baldy to the rescue

I thank my father every day for strong hair genes.

Many of the men in my family, especially my father’s brothers (my uncles), have lost their hair quite early on. But not my father. He’s beginning to get streaks of grey, but it’s still (almost) all there.

I myself like to keep my hair short – “five on top, two on the sides” or some such hairdo lingo – but I also only get a haircut once every five months or so. It doesn’t get long, but it gets messy. Messy enough for my father to nickname me “Shaggy.”

I wait so long mostly out of laziness and partially to relish in my genetics. Saitama of One Punch Man does not have the same luxury, but what he does have is an anime that, like a fist hitting a face, leaves its mark.

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July 13, 2016

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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July 12, 2016

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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July 7, 2016

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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June 21, 2016

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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June 16, 2016

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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June 12, 2016

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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