The Chuuni Corner

Anime reviews, Chuunibyou, and other writings

Tag: The Chuuni Corner

Review/discussion about: Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

Ao no Kanata no Rhythm / Episode 1 / Asuka arriving back to the Four-Islands Archipelagos after ten years away

A bumpy flight

When I was a kid, say five years old or so, I liked picking dandelions.

Specifically, I picked them whenever I played soccer on my uncles’ team. They were kind enough to help guide us youngsters to victory – at least, those who had such goals. For I, playing goalie and having zero interest in what was happening around me, happily took to weeding the ground. The ball rolled and the players ran, but I concerned myself only with the dirt and the dandelions before me.

I was bored; I wasn’t having fun. That element is key to any sport, any activity: fun. Because if you are not having fun, then what is the point?

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm answers this question, with goals on the ground and dreams in the sky, as a surprising yet slightly subpar anime.

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Review/discussion about: Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season / Episode 6 / Yao, Tuka, Lelei, and Rory looking on as Youji gets scolded

A worse war

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season, much like its predecessor, makes me think about the advancement of technology. Last time, it was weapons. This time, it is transportation.

We started with running on the ground. Then we tamed horses. Then we drove cars. Then we took subways. And then we piloted helicopters. We, as a people, have made advancements in movement at a rate that we (figuratively and ironically) cannot keep up with.

The citizens of the Empire within Gate (reducing the title at this point) are still stuck with just horses. And, sadly, they are still stuck with a mediocre anime.

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Review/discussion about: Heavy Object

Heavy Object / Episode 3 / Qwenthur and Havia about to receive their recognition for destroying the Object and saving Milinda with her and Frolaytia there to support the guys

Not heavy enough

The heaviest item I have ever picked up was a giant television in my parents’ basement.

Though, at the time, it felt like I was carrying a medium-sized engine rather than a piece of technology that I once played all of my video games on. I distinctly remember picking it up, but, I had so much trouble, my father had to help out. Even then, when it finally got stashed away, the muscles in my arms convulsed from the strain.

That either says a lot about the TV or a lot about me. Probably both.

Regardless, it weighs nothing compared to the monstrosities created within Heavy Object. I’m talking pounds versus tons. Hundreds of thousands of tons. But more than weight, it also has tons of problems, too.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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