Anime Ventilation 37 Bungo Stray Dogs Season 2

There's just something so beautiful about gang/mafia anime. I don't know what it is about them, but they're absolutely addicting. I think they're really high up there as far as specific subgenres (?) go.

{Spoilers}

Already the first season of Bungo Stray Dogs was bomb af. I mean this both literally and figuratively because that guy with lemon shaped bombs deserves a mention. There's something so amazing how all of these people have different gifts. Some of them seem absolutely useless but the fun part is how the creators use these gifts and match them up with certain scenarios in order to create ingenious solutions. For example when they're taking down the Guild's home base/ship and they use the guy that is immune to lemon shaped bombs in order to destroy the ship. That was pretty ingenious. It's things like these that reinvigorate my hope in humanity. If there are people that can think of things like this, solutions like this, the world must not all that bad.

The way all the people fit together is like some sort of intricate puzzle. The mystery of it all really took me for a wild ride. Multiple times I was left thinking "There's no way they could get out of this one" or "No way! How did they plan that far ahead?" This makes me extremely appreciative of the planning and care that went into this series. It's just breath-taking quite honestly. There is no predictability here. It's all about slowly unraveling the mysteries and not really knowing what is at the end of the solution. It's almost like magic.

Honestly I was hooked by the first part. When it was about a younger Dazai and his two friends Ango and Odasaku I assumed the whole season would be about this younger Dazai. But oh boy it was even better. It gave a lot of insight into how Dazai was when he was part of the Port Mafia. He was just as ruthless and almost casual about death. Everything about this life was violent and volatile. The backstory it gave which shed light on the organization Ango was double/triple agenting for was also amazing at giving insight into why Dazai left the mafia. Odasaku's story was emotionally compelling. When those orphans he took in died it broke something inside of him and at the same time it kind of showed how great these creators are at giving genuine motivations. This guy was motivated not to kill people because he wondered how he could write about living if he had taken a life which is a rather original way to think about life. And in a way he imparted the same sort of advice onto Dazai when he died. Because of him Dazai decided to become something more beautiful: to save the people of Yokohama instead of killing them. The whole backstory that goes along with Dazai's transformation into basically a civil servant is critical in his whole character. Because if you look at him and Chuuya for example you'd wonder why he ever left. Though they have a friendly rivalry you can see the camaraderie that goes along with knowing someone for that long and with such intimacy that you can literally stake your life on the fact that the other has your back. That kind of teamwork and trust is rare in someone you could say is your 'mortal enemy'.

There's something so beautiful in the layers and intricacy that goes into all of this. Even if you look at the individual parts it's hard to see where the plot is going. It's one wild ride that's for sure. Each of the characters is so eclectic that it's hard to see how they all fit together or are even distantly relevant to one another. But I suppose that's the beauty of it. Seeing their individual development like Kyouka and her mastering her demon and Atsushi being able to become a super epic weretiger is amazing. Seeing everyone using their gifts is actually one of the best parts of the anime. You never really know what's going to be useful and when. Like with the Guild's powers. Those are actually some of the more amusing ones. Like the guy that can control Moby Dick; did you see the end when the soul of the whale still followed him? So cute. And Poe with his raccoom Karl? His novel was actually so genius. (I just wonder why it was a raccoon and not like a raven.) And Mark with little chibi Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer helping him shoot and launch missiles was a nice touch. Honestly seeing all of them and their references to classical novels and such was amusing. It's just little details like that that make everything so much more interesting.

The plot itself was totally unpredictable. It took twists and turns. Like when the Port Mafia turned out to be the reason that Mimic was allowed into Yokohama just so they could get a gifted license was crazy manipulative but also amazingly genius. And then when the Port Mafia and Agency came to somewhat of a truce and blessed us with a Chuuya x Dazai tag team?!!!! That was amazing! And again with the Double Black in the form of Atsushi and Akutagawa. That was actually amazing.

And the denouement/foreshadowing at the end! It's kind of a happy ending, but not. Because Akutagawa finally got the validation from his hero Dazai after so many years of yearning for praise. And Kyouka was finally able to control her demon and become an official part of the Agency. But at the same time there's a new organization threatening to destroy the peace. Rest assured though...I think we were promised a third season. IT'S TIME TO GET HYPED! 

Anyways if my fangirling hasn't already convinced you that this is an amazing anime to watch, let me share with you my many, many screenshots. (I tried to hold back, I really did but--)

If I didn't already mention, this season was visually stunning.

There's something about the neon sign aesthetic that's really great. 

(Also I might or might not have rewound the first episode while they were playing the OP like 5 times trying to screenshot this.)

You might hate Ango at first, but he's a pretty decent guy.

Odasaku is great.

Aren't they so cool???

Look at that coloring and tell me that they didn't plan this whole season out brilliantly. Just try me. 

I may or may not have teared up TT^TT

*chokes* Gin is so cute

Q is actually so cute and ironically/paradoxically pure.

The whale was unexpected, but cool at the same time. Kind of reminds me of K.

I don't really know why, but Poe and Karl are an iconic duo all the same. Poe is so pure, even though he was on the wrong side of the fight.

For some reason, when there's mention of the title in the actual body of work it excites me irrationally. (Also it bothers me that I can't hate him after hearing his backstory. Ugh.)

LOOK AT THIS DUO AND BASK IN ITS EPICNESS

I bet Akutagawa went home and wrote about this in his journal

What a happy family

I hold them accountable for promising me this. This is actual proof of a promise.

Also, just as an ending note...THE OP AND ED ARE ACTUALLY BOMB AND YOU SHOULD WATCH THEM AND IT'LL MAKE YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY COMPELLED TO WATCH THE ANIME IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY SOLD.

Anime Ventilation 36 Kokoro Connect

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought it would be some romance/comedy/heartwarming/slice of life/school life anime. And I got a tragedy filled with screwed up in the head children and too much drama for me to handle. Okay, have I got your attention now? (JK you need people to look at your blog first in order to grab someone’s attention)

{Spoilers}

Where should I even start? Maybe I’ll start with how this was like Kiznaivers except with more screwed up people. It was a whole bunch of basket cases pushed together to solve each of their problems. The concept itself was quite genius because all of them were placed through trials that brought them closer together. But at the same time it was almost exactly like Kiznaivers except the people bringing them together weren’t scientists...I’m pretty sure they were aliens. Because Heartseed didn’t act like a human being and there’s no other real way to describe the possessions and the fact that there was more than one Heartseed. Although, this is assuming that this takes place in this current time period of the 21st century. If not, then I guess science is up for grabs as a plausible explanation.

Honestly I don’t have much of an opinion on this one? It’s like an older Kiznaivers (I’m sorry for this constant comparison, but I can’t stop) and therefore it’s just okay. The whole motivation for Heartseed to start messing with them and then stop messing with them was kind of lacking and one dimensional. Like, really? Just because they’re interesting you’ll mess with them and then once you’ve had enough soap opera material to last like 5 seasons you end it? It doesn’t really make sense. Unless of course it’s the aliens wanting more data on human emotions and interactions in which case this would all make sense. Omg is this post turning into alien conspiracies?

The characters themselves were quite interesting. I liked how they all had problems, but they were all problems of varying degrees. It was good in respect to varying degrees in that Yui went through messed up sh*t which led to the natural progression of her phobia of men and Iori went through a similar messed up past because of men, not because of abuse though. And then some of them just had intrinsic problems like Inaba not being able to trust people. And then others had pasts that were hindered by the past *cough* Aoki and Nana *cough*. But, Taichi didn’t really have a tragic past. He had more hamartia (a hero’s fatal flaw) because he wanted to save everyone. How the plot progressed was a very natural extension of how each of their character dynamics worked together. In each of the scenarios they all acted in such a way that moved the story along at a very comfortable pace. It didn’t seem like any of the phenomenon went on for too long either. Although I would say that perhaps the transition between each was a bit weird. Some of them would be like “It’s been a couple of days since this has started” which I suppose keeps the plot moving along and not being dragged out too long, but at times it felt a bit too abrupt.

Ah, and the romance. I’ve gotta say that I saw where this was going towards the middle but it didn’t stop me from being upset. Okay, so Aoki and Yui we could get out of the way because that was a clear cut ship from the beginning. But damn that love triangle between Inaba, Iori and Taichi was almost too much. I could see the natural progression of all their relationships and I could see how Iori’s problems with her personality and identity could get in the way, but at the same time I was rooting for their relationship. Iori needs someone to be there for her and Taichi could’ve been the one there for her. But I guess Inaba deserved her relationship with Taichi because she was so selfless in the beginning and was willing to sacrifice her chance with Taichi in order for them to all stay together. But I can’t help but feel a little sad. Any way you slice it I’d be a little bit sad. Love triangles are a little like folding a paper into thirds, usually you can’t get it into perfectly symmetrical sections and that makes you a little sad.

Overall I’d say that this is a pretty good watch if you want some more evidence for your newest alien conspiracy theory. Jokes! (Or is it really? You can decide.) It’s really great character wise and the way in which they interact with one another is actually quite inspiring if you strive to maybe world build or need some inspiration in the character development field. I would say that I could find a few maybe plot holes in this (like their emotion telepathy that was oddly convenient at times in transmitting people’s thoughts to certain people. But hey, aliens *shrug*) It’s a good 17 episode watch (especially if you’re having Kiznaivers withdrawals).

I thought it would be pure. I MEAN LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT THIS PURITY! (I was deceived. It was the aliens.)

When Yui really starts overcoming her fear of men it really hit me *clenches fist* She's an inspiration

I'M NOT CRYING OVER MY SUNKEN SHIP. YOU'RE CRYING.

*snaps* This is a pretty great show for inspirational quotes

Heartseed is one sick person...but strangely deep and philosophical all the same

Gotou-sensei is so hip :')

Honestly him trying to cover for Iori was one of the single most awkward yet hilarious things I've ever seen

Yeah...I kinda wish she had, but again these characters are great and multidimensional and to do a sappy ending like that would be too convenient so it goes on...for like another episode so your feelings can be drawn out for a longer time 

I will leave you all with this in hopes that the colors will heal your soul (Even though this shows all of them isolated and that makes me very sad)

Picture Source: all my obsessive screenshots 

Anime Ventilation 35 I can Friday by day!

What even is this? It's 6 minutes of weird that's what. (LOL this is why no one notices my blog)

How do I even describe this? It's like a comedic reinterpretation of the cliche shoujo trope. Yeah. Because it's follows the plot of a regular romance anime in that it's the girl waking up and eating toast, going to school and being klutzy, fighting with a girl over a boy, and eventually getting the boy. What's really interesting though is that the girl is a robot controlled by various rodents(?).

It was kind of funny how the rodents were actually the stars in this military esque happening. Even though it looks like slice of life at the surface, it's really about a military battle. It's really amusing to watch actually.

I feel like you could get really deep in the meta for this like people did for the Me!Me!Me! thing and the sequel to that, but I don't feel like delving too deep into that.

It's actually a very neat concept. I wasn't too good at describing it, but it's very entertaining. It's actually really REALLY pretty to look at. It kind of reminds me of Space Patrol Luluco with the bright colors and also the fact that it's like not stark black lines around everything (LOL can you tell I'm uneducated in art things?). And the music is super good. When you watch it your head will nod along with the beat because it's great.

I decided that pictures really are worth a thousand words (at least in this case) so I leave you with a bunch of screenshots I took.

Anime Ventilation 34 Ojisan no Lamp

You know, I really appreciate these ~25 minute long anime short films. They're really great for what they are. They give you a story, follow through, give you a resolution and a denouement. There's nothing more I can really ask for.

This one in particular was about the gradual industrialization of Japan from fire to oil lamps to lightbulbs.

It follows the life of a young orphan who struggles to provide for himself. As he grows up he builds his fortune on selling oil lamps as the bringer of technology to his village from the big city. However because he grew up being the bringer of technology, when he sees a new technology trying to overtake him he becomes blinded. He forgot about how he felt when he sold everyone light and was too stubborn to move forward. The visual representation of how the electric versus oil lamps are shown is also very powerful in how they convey so much with just the shade of light they cast. The oil lamps seem to emit a more orange and warm light while the electric lights shine with a greenish sort of light. While this color choice could be because maybe the first lights did have a greenish tinge, I'd like to think that to the protagonist, oil lamps shine with a certain warmth that brings together families.

The most beautiful part was when he finally realized that progress would never stop and he said goodbye to his lamps. And the main character is so pure. When he first got that lamp it was like seeing a child looking at a puppy or something.

Visually, it's stunning. It gives kind of those old, vintage vibes from anime of the past which mesh well with the whole historical progress theme going on.

Honestly I don't see why you wouldn't want to watch this one. It's not that long and it's very soothing to watch. It's almost like your grandfather telling you a story, which I guess is the main point. It's really good if you're wanting a sort of nostalgic walk down memory lane.

See what I mean by nostalgic feels? Like that art style, man it's classic

Image Sources: http://pm1.narvii.com/6283/9bc0f87c4ba56d88df4c84d22b4fdb19b0a06079_hq.jpg, http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x136/Ultima_Tricksta/gg_2010_Young_Animator_Training_Project_-_Ojisan_no_Lamp_BE3356EEmkv_snapshot_0021_20110403_230726.png

Manga Review 13 SHADOW

It's after finals (LOL I just write these when I can and schedule them a week apart because that's the only way I can keep a consistent schedule and my sanity hehe) so now it's time for my reviewssss YAYYYYYY *cricket sounds* Right, this is just me talking to me (LOL @ those Kermit memes)

Also I baked a cake...but it was more experimentation than anything so I didn't want to blog about something I wasn't completely happy with which is why I'm coming at you with another manga review rather than a airy chocolate and peppermint cake.

So a lot of mainstream media is centered around heroes, whether they be community heroes that help out at the library or superheroes in movies and books. But this manhwa is different. Instead of focusing on superheroes in a world filled with superheroes, it's a story about the people that clean up after them. Because if you really think about it, it makes sense that there has to be someone cleaning up after the mess the villian vs superhero showdowns create. And that's where SHADOW comes in to rebuild the city.

I think the best part of this is actually how not all of them have powers or especially useful powers. Instead they use technology to fix things, making the best of their situation and all that.

And even though this series was only 12 episodes it's something to be remembered. It gives a different spin on the superhero universe and that's pretty important. It's important to give everyone the chance to tell their story.