Ask any Monogatari fan what the correct order to read or watch this series in is and you will receive a different answer. The first novel published (in two volumes) was Bakemonogatari (Monster Story), the animated adaptations I reviewed here and here. Next was Kizunomonogatari (Wound Story), a prequel that explained…
Let me start with a rant. What the hell is it about the medium of anime and its frequent total disregard of continuity and consistency? This pissed me off with Tenchi Muyo back in the late 90's/early 00's when none of the OAVs, TV series, movies or manga shared any of the same universes. Why bother starting from the…
Let’s get this part over and done with straight away then, shall we? I was warned about episode 8 of Nisemonogatari. Something about a toothbrush. A toothbrush? I thought. What can you do with a toothbrush that would be so objectionable? Does Araragi stick it up his sister’s butt or something? The show itself…
Just for fun, I had a look at the BBFC’s website to see why this and the next volume were rated “18”.
Now that the Spring 2019 season has established itself, general trends suggest that anime fans have already forgotten all of the previous season’s shows, right? Well I’m here to extricate you from Sarazanmai’s moist orifice to turn your gaze pastwards to what may have been the best season for anime in the past couple…
After narrowly surviving my first foray into the bizarre media maelstrom that is the Monogatari series (here), I have returned to relate my experiences from my brave plunge into the second half of the first segment. The Bakemonogatari Part 2 Blu-ray set contains 2 discs spanning episodes 9-15. There’s only 2 stories…
Despite being an anime fan since the age of 6, I have never watched a single episode of anything from the Monogatari series. In fact until recently I knew next to nothing about it, save it has a bizarre naming scheme that makes it difficult to find on alphabetised DVD store shelves, it was apparently broadcast out of…
Well, that woman sure has eyebrows, I thought as I saw the main character’s image on the box. And boy, she sure knows how to wield them, I thought after watching this thoroughly odd movie. Based on a historical manga by Hinako Sugiura, it relates a collection of disparate vignettes in the life of Katsushika Oi (O-Ei),…
Watching Grave of the Fireflies, Isao Takahata’s rightly lauded film about two sibling children’s wartime experiences is an emotionally draining experience. Giovanni’s Island, a 2014 anime movie from Production I.G. is in a similar vein, though in truth it is mostly a post-war tale, also seen through the eyes of two…
So many anime shows are about schoolkids at school, doing schoolkid things. I wonder if that’s a reflection of Japanese attitudes to adult life. Do they really believe that schooldays are the best days of your life? Once you graduate and become a wage-slave to some dark corporate overlord, then your life is…
WARNING: SIGNIFICANT, DETAILED SPOILERS AND GRUESOME IMAGERY AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Another family-friendly choice, this film makes an interesting complement/counterpoint to my recently reviewed A Letter to Momo in that this Chinese-produced animation also explores Eastern concepts of the afterlife from a young person’s perspective. When I picked it up, I didn’t even realise this wasn’t Japanese…
Part of a bundle of cheap DVDs from my local HMV store, I chose Momo as the first of them to watch (and also as it was one of the few child-friendly ones I could share with my son). This is a 2011 theatrical anime release directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, whose most prominent previous directorial work was the tonally…
I have just returned from my spring break visit to my family in the far north of Scotland, to Thurso - the town where I was born. On my last visit in October 2018 I was pleasantly surprised to find a new comic shop in the town centre. I was even more pleasantly surprised that the shop still existed on my return…
Right. Here’s where the struggle gets real. With so much great TV anime in 2018, how on earth to choose which is best? This is my best shot for 11-20. For the also-rans and not quites, see part one of this article here, the same caveats mentioned there still apply.
There’s nothing quite like good timing. A review of 2018 at the end of March 2019 probably isn’t the best example of this – but bear with me here. Some of 2018’s shows have only just finished airing their final episodes, so now I feel I’m in a good position to comment on what I thought was a great year for TV anime.…
I have come to the conclusion that my little darling 8-year-old son is a xenophobe. He begrudges his French lessons in school. He noisily demands that the European/African/Asian children in his class “Speak ENGLISH!” and he gets irritated when I’m watching subtitled anime on television and I tell him there’s no dub…
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