Summer 2016 | The Chuuni Corner

June 6, 2017

Banjo’s Top 10 Summer 2016 Anime

91 Days / Episode 1 / Angelo looking down with a menacing grin dominating his face

Which earned attendance this Summer 2016?

Anime inspires me.

It’s one of the reasons why I love this medium so much. It doesn’t always happen with every show I watch, but there are those times when an anime connects with me, going beyond the fancy visuals or comedic asides on screen.

I had this connection happen in a tremendous manner with this season’s set of shows. After finishing the infamous Orange, it inspired me to approach my once-per-season mega essay differently. I made it less strict and more personal. I called my essay Orange and Learning Life Lessons, and it targets precisely what the title details.

Now, in the end, Orange messed up its execution quite a bit (and barely did not make my list), but I nonetheless found myself inspired by what it presented. I saw part of myself in Naho. I empathized with Kakeru. I found that its thoughts on life and living aligned with my own.

Yes, this prologue is an easy excuse to (shamelessly) self-promote that piece of mine once again. But it also serves to highlight something a lot more important. That is, from the top-tier diamonds to the bottom-of-the-barrel chaff, anime can inspire in ways not thought possible.

Maybe an ultra-grotesque show gets one thinking about religion. Maybe a complete life do-over makes one wonder what could have gone differently in their own. Or maybe it causes one to try out a new style of writing. It doesn’t matter if the show is “good” or “bad.” What does matter is that a strong connection has been made, inspiring like never before.

In keeping with the spirit of inspiration, this season inspired me to (yet again) compose a list of the best of the best. In total, nineteen different anime vied for a coveted spot. Ten tickets were handed out, and only one among them was given the title of Best Anime of Summer 2016.

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June 3, 2017

Review/discussion about: Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu / Episode 2 / Subaru naming his signature ability for the first time

Death isn’t the end

“What happens after I die?”

I ask myself this question from time to time. Morbid, I know. But I can’t help it. The infinite blackness, the fact that the world will continue turning without me. Death is a concept that I understand but don’t understand, so I quickly stop thinking about it. Frankly speaking, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu is no stranger to death. However, as opposed to me, it embraces death wholeheartedly – and presents an entertaining, meaningful anime in the process.

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May 30, 2017

Review/discussion about: Kuromukuro

Kuromukuro / Episode 11 / Ken and Yukina eating together on a mountain

Purposefully forgotten

In Kuromukuro, Yukina’s mother forgets about her phone which ends up being the catalyst for the entire anime.

I did something similar once. I used to own one of those dinky push-up cell phones that exposed a keyboard. I barely ever used it since I rarely reached out to anybody of my own volition, and it had no capacity for apps let alone the Internet.

One day, I plugged it into the charger I kept in my bathroom (for whatever reason), and, in my infinite wisdom, I left it there – for three whole days. When I finally remembered to get it, I had more messages in my inbox than I had ever seen. Texts of the “Where are you?” variety from my cousins, siblings, and grandmother, and multiple missed calls from my parents wondering why I wasn’t picking up.

I later learned that my mother was ready to phone both my apartment complex and even the police to make sure I was safe since I was responding to literally nobody who contacted me. I apologized for my stupidity, and I promised never to do something so careless with my phone ever again.

Kuromukuro doesn’t get to make any more promises since it has officially finished, but its mistakes were more and grander than mine ever was.

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May 24, 2017

Review/discussion about: Mob Psycho 100

Mob Psycho 100 / Episode 1 / Mob's introduction

Calculated

When I was in the fourth grade, I wanted to do what no other kid had done before: multiply together two really huge numbers.

My task was daunting, my obstacles numerous. For both my multiplier and multiplicand, I chose the number 777,777,777,777. My reasoning made sense: I wanted to practice writing out multiplication by hand and working on my sevens. I wasn’t doing this project for school, and I wasn’t getting any reward. I simply wanted to flex my mathematical skills as best as I could.

I failed many times along the way. Carrying the wrong remainder, adding up the totals incorrectly, not giving myself enough room on the paper. Eventually, though, I succeeded. The answer? 604,938,271,603,728,395,061,729. (I wish I had memorized it.) And the byproduct of my product? A tight grasp on my multiples of seven and a sincere appreciation for the existence of calculators.

Mob Psycho 100 does not deal with huge numbers, but that one hundred in the title signifies that it cares about digits to at least some extent.

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May 5, 2017

Review/discussion about: New Game!

New Game! / Episode 1 / Aoba with an infectious smile

Eekum bokum

While I never aspired to be a music composer, one of my favorite musical artists worked on my favorite video game of all-time. The game being (and as no surprise) Banjo-Kazooie, and the composer being Grant Kirkhope.

Mr. Kirkhope put his heart and soul into that game. He created melodic, catchy, and atmospheric pieces that are a staple in any video-game-music track list. His blending of the music as the player moves between different parts of Gruntilda’s Lair and the overworld entrances stands as a technical and innovative achievement. And he even voiced both Mumbo Jumbo the slightly incompetent shaman and the ghostly voices of the pots within Mad Monster Mansion, pots that may or may not say something rude after an egg or two is “thrown” their way.

Given his work on Banjo-Kazooie, I can only imagine that he is a hard worker and a good person to learn from. And, as New Game! shows, such people exist closer to us than we may think.

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April 24, 2017

Orange and Learning Life Lessons

Orange / Episode 1 / The group having fun together

A letter from me to you

Like many people, I have ideals. Tenets that I uphold and morals that I adhere to. One of my biggest is summed up as a singular phrase: no regrets.

I do my best to live a life that I can be proud of. Where I can get up, think about yesterday, and say to myself, “That was a good day; I have no regrets.” Often times, I will step back from what I am currently doing and make sure that it’s something worthwhile. Something that I won’t worry about later.

That’s not to say I don’t have regrets. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to avoid them. I regret staying up too late despite having work early in the morning. I regret not keeping my hobby of reading books going strong. I regret not visiting with my grandmother more as she lay lonely in hospice.

I do regret, I have regretted, a lot in my life. I have made small mistakes that have kept me up at night, and I have made royal screw-ups that impacted the very paths I would eventually walk.

However, as Orange claims — and as I reinforce — having regrets is not the end.

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April 20, 2017

Review/discussion about: Amaama to Inazuma

Amaama to Inazuma / Episode 12 / Kouhei and Tsumugi enjoying life and each other

Recipe for semi-success

Like Tsumugi of Amaama to Inazuma, I used to never eat one specific vegetable: onions.

I still don’t eat them as is, but I do love to get them as fried onion rings. Whenever my family and I go out to eat, we always order the tall stack of them with an extra side of dipping sauce. The brown, flaky casing, the slimy onion innards, and the cool, sweet sauce that I lather this dichotomy with make it one of my favorite foods to consume.

Amaama to Inazuma doesn’t taste as gross as regular onions, but it doesn’t taste as wonderful as the fried version. Instead, it roughly ends up somewhere in-between.

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April 15, 2017

Review/discussion about: 91 Days

91 Days / Episode 1 / Angelo receiving the letter that sparks the journey

Cannot refuse this offer

My mother’s favorite film is Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Her second favorite film (which needs no introduction) is The Godfather.

She always sits down to watch it whenever it pops up on the television, and she owns a special, autographed print of the movie that hangs in the basement of her home for every guest to admire. She tends to enjoy every film she watches, but she really likes this one.

The Godfather is often lauded as a cinematic masterpiece due to its superb acting, great direction, crisp score, memorable scenes, and mature plot. 91 Days is an anime that clearly got its inspiration from this juggernaut of a film. While the show does not reach the same historic status, it is by no means worth passing up.

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April 9, 2017

Review/discussion about: Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!

Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! / Episode 11 / The notable cast members of Konobi

Actually, not too problematic

Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! brings me back to when I was a teenager.

In middle school, I enrolled in an art class. I was (and still am) not an artist, and I had no huge drive to become one. So, I mainly saw the class as a free period or at least one where I didn’t have to worry about much at all.

Despite my low motivation, I learned a lot. Colors, shading, and perspective. I distinctly remember creating a two-faced jar and a rolled-up tube of toothpaste. Both were made from clay (then painted), and both were placed on the shelf in the basement for family and guests to see.

Konobi does not teach its audience anything about art on an educational level, but it certainly knows how to get its audience laughing.

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April 2, 2017

Review/discussion about: Masou Gakuen HxH

Masou Gakuen HxH / Episode 2 / Kizuna, Aine, Himekawa, Yurishia, and Reiri on stage

All sex, no heart

From “hubs” to “kings,” from “x’s” to “reds,” the Internet contains an array of pornographic possibilities.

In the old days, porn came from niche places: second-hand VHS tapes, the Sears catalog, and the occasional Polaroid picture. But with the advent of computers, all it takes is a quick Google search (after hitting CTRL+Shift+N of course) to find exactly what one’s libido desires.

Masou Gakuen HxH may not be smut, but it certainly doesn’t mind showing off some skin. As for how its shapely curves shape up the rest of the anime, though, it has a tough time getting its audience excited.

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Tag: Summer 2016