Review | The Chuuni Corner

May 13, 2015

Review/discussion about: Yoru no Yatterman

No dawn in sight

I love my mom. She’s the woman who not only raised me from child to adult but also provided me with the guidance necessary to look at life in a good way. “Something nice always follows something bad,” “what goes around, comes around,” and “karma works in mysterious ways” are some of the phrases she normally uses. Goodness is something that is always around no matter how bad something might be. It’s a simple idea that makes living life that much more enjoyable. Knowing that doing good deeds brings about good, and even if a bump in the road is encountered, said good is just around the corner. Yoru no Yatterman tries to focus on this motif, but is largely distracted by other venues, generating an anime that isn’t good but instead contains lots of wasted potential.

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May 12, 2015

Review/discussion about: Shinmai Maou no Testament

“Ecchi” to the extreme

The Testament of Sister New Devil seems like a rather generic anime. And for the most part, it is: there is no shortage of magic, nakedness, and harems within it. But it at least attempts to play with the theme of protection. Which is funny when you think about it; in an anime whose strongest aspect is the very “ecchi” it thrives on, you’d think that “protection” would be the furthest idea from its mind. Regardless, this is what the show hones in on. Protecting the things you love, especially those people dearest to you, is something that we all do whether we know it or not. And while this one tries its best to flaunt this motif, the majority is mediocrity that suppresses any sense of worth it may have.

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May 6, 2015

Review/discussion about: Death Parade

Lots of dolls, lots of games, but only minor execution

What does it mean to live? It’s a peculiar question because we all seemingly know the answer. For me, it’s hanging out with my family, writing anime reviews, and going to work. When it’s deconstructed into its base parts, my life really does sound “simple.” But in actuality, it’s complex, filled with events and happenings that shaped the very course I took. And it’s not just my life or anyone else’s, but the people within it that are complex, too. We’re an amalgamation of various emotions, ideals, and feelings that cannot be explained so easily. Death Parade demonstrates this very concept, providing the audience with a marginally successful outing.

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May 5, 2015

Review/discussion about: Isuca

This sums up how terrible Isuca is pretty darn well

Many people growing up, at one point or another, encounter a situation in which they have to “prove their worth.” Sometimes it’s small, like performing well on the job to earn a raise. Sometimes it’s huge, like saving someone from a fatal accident. But no matter the severity or the situation, accomplishing such a moment makes that guy or girl grow into an overall better person. And even if they don’t achieve their goal, the experience earned gives them the necessary tools to hopefully make that next opportunity one that’s more positive than the last. Isuca tries to work with this heartfelt message, but it turns out it can’t prove its worth since it’s worth nothing to begin with.

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May 3, 2015

Review/discussion about: Koufuku Graffiti

Only minimally tasty

A basic need for all humans is food. It gives us the calories to expend the energy required to move the muscles we have to do the activities that get us through our daily lives. And it doesn’t matter what it is; be it a platter of chicken tenders or a cold bowl of ice cream, it’s food that helps us to live. My own parents’ specialty is a pork-infused hamburger cooked to perfection. Eating it not only tastes amazing but also reminds me of something important: that sharing a meal with the people we care about adds its own kind of flavor. This is the very message that Koufuku Graffiti provides – with some good looking but rather bland eats along the way.

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May 1, 2015

Review/discussion about: Yuri Kuma Arashi

Gorgeous smell, indeed

(As supplementary material for this review, please refer to my writing on the symbolism for this anime, Yuri Kuma Arashi and the Effects of Symbolism)

Love is such a simple word. But when you think about it, there is a lot more to it than at first perceived. Love can be used to bring someone wonderful happiness or utter sadness. Love can make you extremely nervous or completely at ease. Love can even be used to bring about total beauty or despondent sin. This omnipresent feeling is incredibly complex, being something that everyone feels in one form or another. Ultimately, though, it is a good feeling. But much like the symbols that this anime thrives on, its meaning morphs depending on the context. In other words, love is like a symbol where all of its roads, all of its interpretations, lead to a solitary destination. Yuri Kuma Arashi is founded on both love and symbolism, creating what can only be coined a masterpiece.

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April 5, 2015

Review/discussion about: Log Horizon 2nd Season

No amount of glasses pushing would help here

Something that Log Horizon 2nd Season does that is somewhat strange is bring us into another world. Not just a new world in the sense that the anime represents such a fiction, but a world within another. The people of Elder Tales experience this world and discover what anyone would: that perhaps their place among it isn’t right. This feeling of not belonging is something that is found not only within our own lives but within the anime as well. Indeed, in more ways than one.

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April 3, 2015

Review/discussion about: GARO THE ANIMATION

Their destiny is written in the “stars” themselves

When you think about what you want most in life — be it a nice job, a wonderful family, or simply that shiny new smart phone — it’s often not an easy task to acquire whatever it is. Normally, it requires sacrifice, the loss of something to gain something else. This isn’t sacrificial in the sense of people; it may be giving up going to a party in order to focus on work to get that job or choosing to reduce food spending to save up for that next piece of technology. Sometimes, what we sacrifice is more ethereal: our time, our well-being, and our goals can be what are discarded. And as GARO THE ANIMATION shows, regardless of what it may be, such sacrifice almost always brings with it something greater.

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April 3, 2015

Review/discussion about: KanColle

Half ship, half girl, all cuteness

In an anime like KanColle, with all of its ships, all of its “moe,” and all of its torpedoes, there actually exists something that the audience can relate to. And that is the idea of support. Everyone needs help, from the student looking to get tutored for the next exam to the adult wanting to learn how to use the computer. We almost can’t get through our daily lives without someone, in some form, providing some kind of aid in our direction. And receiving such support can often times be both a rewarding and eye-opening experience.

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April 2, 2015

Review/discussion about: Tokyo Ghoul Root A

This ghoul is total garbage

Something that is inherent in all people is the need to protect the things you love. Doing whatever it takes to keep the stuff around you safe. Either by fighting or sacrificing, as long as what truly matters to you is unharmed, the rest doesn’t matter. It might be family, friends, or your dearest of objects; it’s not so much what it is but the act of protecting it that matters. But there are those times when, despite how hard one tries, such protection just isn’t possible. Such is the idea that Tokyo Ghoul Root A works with. But without being kept safe itself, it merely implodes.

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