The Status of Things
While I’ve been lurking the site during my break and reading the odd comment here and there, I’ve been somewhat detached from the everyday happenings in the past month. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be able to take a break to begin with, so I’m curious as to what the sentiment is towards me doing so. I feel the other writers have done an admirable job filling in for me, but it’s hard to get a feel for what it’s like from a reader’s perspective when I’m in the “hot seat” so to speak. The poll I held about this initially was kind of split over the idea, where more than half of the voters were either a little concerned or flat-out didn’t like it, leaving me wondering if people still feel the same way.
If you’d like to leave more detailed feedback, you’re more than welcome to in the comments, but all I ask is that you word things in a constructive manner and don’t berate any of the writers for their efforts. There will be little to no tolerance for flaming, and I won’t even entertain the notion that it’s “funny”. Random Curiosity has built up a bit of a reputation with its timely posts (i.e. covering raws), insightful and objective content (arguably), and of course, plethora of high definition screen captures, so those are some areas that may be worth addressing to help this site continue to grow as (hopefully) one of your regular anime stops on the Internet.
As always, from one fan to another, thanks for reading.
Edit: Added the Retrospective Look poll for better visibility.
Edit #2: This post will be kept at the top for the next bit, since the feedback is veering toward a direction of personal interest. Please be sure to scroll past it or refer to the Recent Entries in the sidebar for new posts.
Naruto 539 – Planting the Seeds of Doubt
Note: I’ll be picking back up regular coverage of the Naruto manga. It’s not too time-consuming to cover and helps alleviate Kiiragi’s load a bit. I figured some people might like having me “around” too.
Retrospective Look – April 2011
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I wasn’t planning to take part in the monthly posts during my break, but I figured I should at least chime in for this April one since it coincides with the start of the new season. Whether or not I’ll be taking part in the later ones this season is up in the air at the moment.
That said, I should also point out that this Retrospective Look is being published later than we would’ve liked due to all the writers’ personal schedules, meaning there’s a bit of overlap with May. Most of us have already watched the latest episodes from this past week, but the impressions below only include episodes that aired up to and including Sunday, May 1st. The one exception is Moshidora, since it made more sense to talk about all ten episodes in one go. Please refer to the episode numbers if there’s any confusion as to which episodes are being discussed.
As per the updated season schedules, the included schedule now provides a quick overview of which writer is watching what series, in addition to the total number of shows being watched for each writer in the legend.
For this April edition in particular, other changes compared to last month are listed below.
Note: Once again, please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.
Amagami SS – 26 (Extra)
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「橘美也編 イモウト」 (Tachibana Miya-hen – Imouto)
“Tachibana Miya Chapter – Younger Sister”
The eagerly anticipated extra chapter centered around Junichi’s little sister is finally here, and it starts off strangely similar to Risa’s one that came before. The key difference is that when the progression verged on some dangerous incestuous territory, it held back just enough to remain innocently sweet.
Seitokai Yakuindomo – OAD
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「帰ってきた生徒会役員共」 (Kaettekita Seitokai Yakuindomo)
“The Student Council Staff Members Have Returned”
Half a year later and we have more of the perverted girls at Ousai Gakuen. Led by their fearless student council president Amakusa Shino (Hikasa Youko) and her wild imagination for all things sex-related, this OAD episode provided more of the same adult humor from last summer. For me, the jokes are still hit and miss, but there are some things this manga-bundled DVD episode touched upon (*cough*) that the television never did.
Yozakura Quartet: Hoshi no Umi – 02
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It’s been a good six months since the release of the first OAD episode, but the sight of the more blob-like character designs in Tatsunoko Production’s variation still draws me in the most about it. As mentioned in my episode one post, these manga-bundled episodes are a departure from author/artist Yasuda Suzuhito’s style that was more closely adhered to in Nomad’s television series adaptation.
Retrospective Look – March 2011
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After further health-related delays on top of the endless wave of new spring shows, the last monthly post of the winter 2011 season is finally here. Included are mostly final impressions, along with some quick thoughts on the episodes leading up to a given series’ conclusion.
Changes for each of the writers over the course of the season are listed below.
Note: Once again, please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.
Hidan no Aria – 01
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「La Bambina」
“The Girl”
J.C. Staff is back with the Toradora duo of Majima Junji and Kugimiya Rie in their latest light novel/manga adaptation, except this time we have a bunch of armed detectives in training known as “Butei” (Busou + Tantei). As I described in the Spring 2011 Preview, the attention to detail with the Butei specializations and the weaponry they use is one of the highlights of this series.
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi – 01
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「クマなら、ここで終わってた」 (Kuma nara, Koko de Owatteta)
“If It Were a Bear, It’d Be Over”
Despite the generic feel feng’s (pronounced “fon”) latest adult romance simulation gave off, its anime adaptation turned out much better than anticipated due to the seemingly generic characters themselves. The disparity between my initial impression coming in and the one I left with was quite surprising, because my research into the premise along with the promo video had already given a very good idea of what I was in store for.