Alright, I need to get serious for a moment. I need to drop a bit of a harsh truth about the Anime Fandom.
We don’t know how to talk about Lolis.
Something that’s too ingrained in anime to ignore, too much a part of Japanese culture, and frankly it’s way too uncomfortable to discuss without getting into hyperbolic political point scoring. Whether you like it, dislike it, or are somewhere in the middle, it is just something I think that the majority in the anime fandom do not wish/or are able to talk about. I’ve mentioned this little quote from the anime youtuber Mother’s Basement several times, but it bears repeating again, for it almost perfectly sums up the community’s view of Lolis.
“It’s the part we squint and look past in order to enjoy the things we love.”
So when something like this show comes along, it becomes rather difficult to discuss. Either way, after the cut, let’s take a shallow dive into the 2018 anime series Uzamaid!
When you see one in the sky you are often filled with emotions and feelings. It’s powerful, beautiful, awe-inspiring, and almost all too fleeting. Once the lightning comes it is as gone as soon as it came and you don’t really think about it anymore. Still when you saw that lightning you were just blown away by how much it affected you, or just how great that experience was.
That is pretty much the series we are talking about today. Let’s waste no time and dive into 2018 series, the sharer of the Anime of the Year: Rascal Does not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.
The Fate Franchise continues to grow and it looks like 2019 will be a good year overall. With the second part of the Heaven’s Feeltrilogy coming out this month, Fate Grand Ordersomehow still making billions with anime adaptations on their way, and more and more merch. Fate Stay Night looks like it is entering 2019 strong and healthy and will continue to be.
One treat we got a few days ago was the preview episode for one of the more popular Fate spinoffs. My thoughts on Lord El-Melloi II Case Files is after the video.
After watching the preview episode, I am pretty excited about this. The Fate Spinoffs have always maintained a rather loose connection to the main Fate universe, and Case Files is no exception. While its connection is stronger than most, the show stars Waver Velvet, the only master who walked away from Fate/Zero in a better place, or you know…alive. The show is more about the now adult Waver solving cases involving the magic and politics of the Clocktower, complete with his own Saber looking partner. There doesn’t look to be any major references to the Holy Grail War or the events of either Fate/Zero or Fate Stay Night.
Honestly? I’m ok with that. Any chance to expand the world of Fate (yes I know there is the greater Nasuverse, but one thing at a time here) is welcome in my eyes. The world of mages and the Clocktower was always in the background of Fate Stay Night, so seeing how the rest of the world operates is going to be really fun to see. I don’t expect much on that front, but I love a good mystery as much as the next guy.
Besides, anime Severus Snape looks like he’s gonna wreck some shit. We’ll find out in Summer 2019, but the first episode makes things feel really promising.
2018 has all but ended, and a year of anime it has been. There have been many highs and several lows, many great series, and a few crappy ones. With the year over though, it is time for me to share my list for the best and worst of anime this year. So after the cut let’s get into it!
Goblin Slayer has a rape scene in the first episode. It’s disturbing, eyebrow-raising and extremely effective in showing the audience why someone might devote themselves to killing goblins. You either agree with that, or you don’t.
Ok! Now that I’ve ripped off that band-aid, let’s actually talk about this show. After the cut let’s take a dive into the anime Goblin Slayer.
The boobs, the butts, the midriffs, the thighs, the jiggles, the bullshit tropes, the comedy. Fanservice and Anime go together like PB and J, they are joined at the hip. Frankly, I do not believe the anime industry would be what it is today (good and bad), or successful as it has been if it didn’t have fanservice as one of the cornerstones.
Now that is not to say that Fanservice can’t be disruptive, or intrude on a story where it doesn’t belong. Anime is, can be and will always be successful it if doesn’t engage in fanservice. One of Fairy Tail’s problems is that it shoves in fanservice where it isn’t needed. Sometimes though, some extra fanservice can do a series some good, especially when the overall plot of the anime is rather dull. With that being said, let take a dive into Senran Kagura Shinovi Master Tokyo Youma-Hen.
Great Poster, Long Ass Title
I have not watched or knew any part of the Senran Kagura franchise before this, and since this is a sequel to the first series, I came into this without much knowledge. However, from what I have seen and looked into, Senran Kagurais a rather clear-cut series.
It is at its best when the fanservice is cranked up to eleven when the girls’ clothes are about as durable as tissue paper. The idea of all these female ninjas fighting demons, being able to do amazing feats, but unable to keep their clothes on is the type of absurdity that makes the ecchi genre work. However it is at it’s worst when the series has next to no fanservice and is forced to depend on the overall plot and characters, which is..less than satisfactory. That is not to say that it is a bad story, just that it is a basic story. Everything I saw in Senran Kagura I’ve seen a dozen times in a dozen other anime and manga. There just wasn’t anything that stood out that surprised me, and when that’s all Kagura has, and several episodes are notably light on the TnA, then the show is just really forgettable.
Overall Senran Kagura was a solid addition to this year’s menu of Ecchi animes. While nowhere near as well done as Demon Lord or High School DxD, it had some great moments when it fully embraced the absurdity of being a show about smoking hot ninja babes. I just wish it had a bit more to say when it decides to not be about busty beautiful babes bouncing bashfully.
