Archive for April 2009

You are browsing the archives of 2009 April.

Spring 2009: First Thoughts

Spring 2009: First Thoughts

This is a lot later than I’d usually make a “First Thoughts” of the season article. I usually try to post them about half-way through the second week, such that I’ve seen up to ep 2 of about half the titles I’m following, and ep 1 of the other half. But even the [...]

Otaku Soul: An Interview with Yamamoto Yutaka

Otaku Soul: An Interview with Yamamoto Yutaka

A few days ago, as I was chatting idly with an Australian friend of mine on IRC, he pointed me to an interesting interview with Yamamoto Yutaka, acclaimed director of Kannagi and former member of Kyoto Animation. In the interview, he brings up several intriguing points about the anime industry and trends within the “otaku” [...]

NHRV Editor’s Choice Awards – April 2009

NHRV Editor's Choice Awards - April 2009

Today, a new tradition at The Nihon Review is starting: the NHRV Editor’s Choice Awards. Every six months from now on, in the months of April and October (to coincide approximately with the start of a new major season), each of the NHRV Editors will pick one anime that has recently aired and been [...]

An Ideologically Extreme Approach to Dropping Anime

An Ideologically Extreme Approach to Dropping Anime

And how it’s shaped my anime diet.
Dropping anime is a constant dilemma for every anime fan and there’s a variety of different philosophical approaches that people take when choosing to drop anime. Some people have a three episode test, some people have more, some less, some people will just stick around for as long [...]

Natural moe

Natural moe

In anime, moe is so rammed down our throats sometimes that it is easy to grow tired of it. It’s become a successful component in anime, to the point now that (to pull a number out of my ass) ~90% of anime use the moe art-style for character designs, but like all successful things, [...]