Behind The Nihon Review

Spring 2013 First Thoughts

NHRV Staff — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:01:09 +0000

The spring season is upon us! Maybe my expectations are low, but it’s been a fun start so far. We’ve had controversy (my quota for reading the word “rotoscoping” has been filled for a decade), insanity (Valvrave throwing out every ridiculous twist under the sun), comedy, drama, tons of sequels and even the world’s first time capsule anime (Sparrow’s Hotel was clearly buried in 1993 and unearthed 20 years later). Are there any standouts among the pack? Do the best look extra good because they’re surrounded by mediocrity? Or are there some true gems gleaming in the rough?

Introduction by: Shinmaru

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Copyright © 2013 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By NHRV Staff | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Aku no Hana, Arata, Attack on Titan, Azazel-san Z, Date A Live, Devil Survivor 2, Haiyore! Hyaruko-san W, Hataraku Maou-sama!, Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties, Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko, Kakumeiki Valvrave, Majestic Prince, Mushibugyo, Ore no Imouta ga Konna ni Kawaii, Photo Kano, Red Data Girl, Suisei no Gargatia, The Severing Crime Edge, Toaru no Kagaku no Railgun, Toaru no Kagaku no Railgun S, Wake ga Nai, Yahiri Ore no Sheishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru, Yamato 2199, Yuyushiki, Zettai Boei Leviathan

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“Kami Kai Theater” Part 2: Overlooked or Snubbed “Divine Episodes”.

TypicalIdiotFan — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:14:47 +0000

Was this episode one of the selections? Maybe it should have been…

Earlier this week, I took a look at Anime Content Expo’s “Kami Kai Theater” feature, wherein fans and industry people voted on which special episodes of anime shows deserved the title of “kami kai”, or divinely good. In that article I promised that I would provide a top ten list of episodes of anime from days gone by that I felt were overlooked by the selection process. As I noticed while I was looking over the list, and others noted it as well, the selections are plagued with recency bias. Some of this was necessary, as the criteria limited the scope to anime that was created between 2000 and 2012. Despite having over a decade to work with, only three of the anime represented of all twenty-four was from the pre-Haruhi days (Fruits Basket, s-CRY-ed, GITS:SAC). Of the rest, some were barely a year or two old. While I couldn’t disagree with most of the selections, I do still feel that there were some overlooked episodes from some great anime that time has forgotten.

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Copyright © 2013 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By TypicalIdiotFan | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Chobits, Eureka Seven, FLCL, Full Metal Panic, Higurashi no Nako Koro Ni, Kure-nai, Mai-HiME, Paradise Kiss, RahXephon, Sora no Otoshimono

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“Kami Kai Theater”? Nobody Asked MY Opinion…

TypicalIdiotFan — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:33:02 +0000

Probably TOO recent to have any episodes considered. Not that any of them deserve it mind you.

Wow, I haven’t done one of these in a while! I apologize to both of my readers and the other BtNRV staff members who have been carrying this place while I’ve been slacking. I do not have an excuse, so I wont make one. I just have not been inspired to write anything. It’s not a simple matter of writers block as my own cynical view of the world making just about everything uninteresting to me. So, what immensely important event brought me back to make this update? Well, it was this article on Crunchyroll about the Anime Contents Expo’s “Kami Kai Theater” feature, wherein fans and industry people voted on which truly great episodes of anime deserved the title of “kami kai”; a divinely good episode.

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Copyright © 2013 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By TypicalIdiotFan | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: A Certain Scientific Railgun, Angel Beats!, Anohana, Bakemonogatari, Clannad, Code Geass, Fate/Zero, Fruits Basket, Idolm@ster, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, Shin Sekai Yori, Steins;Gate, Strike Witches, Tamako Market, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Toradora

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Winter 2013 Mid-season Impressions

NHRV Staff — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:01:50 +0000

We’re a bit late with this post, but that means we have all the more to say about this ongoing season’s shows. Although some of the most popular of currently airing anime are holdovers from last season, there remains an important question: How do they stack up part way into their second cour, and are the newer shows capable of keeping up? As we usually do with the Mid-season analysis, here’s our slightly more elaborately stated thoughts on a subset of the shows we chose to cover earlier in the season. Also, don’t forget that we’re currently in the midst of our annual Staff Contest!
Introduction by: Kylaran

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Copyright © 2013 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By NHRV Staff | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: AKB0048, Chihayafuru S2, Kotoura-san, Love Live!, Maoyu, Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuuraba Sugiru, Psycho-Pass, Robotics;Notes, Shin Sekai Yori, Tamako Market, Vivired Operation, Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited

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Be A Part of The Nihon Review: Staff Contest 2013

Kylaran — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:49:44 +0000

This year’s NHRV Staff Contest has now officially started! We’re looking for two new staff members to help us with writing anime and live action reviews and/or contributing to the Behind The Nihon Review blog. Applications will be open until Monday, 11 March, so if you’ve ever contemplated joining the NHRV staff, submit yours today! It will be the best opportunity you’ll have to get on board for the foreseeable future.

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The Sibyl System is Justice

Reckoner — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:49:47 +0000

Psycho-Pass spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

With the revelations in the latest episodes of Psycho-Pass, a lot of people now seem fully convinced that society under the Sibyl System is undeniably terrible for humanity. Makishima Shogo, despite being a sociopath, is just fighting a good battle with the wrong means. Perhaps Urobuchi Gen intended for the story he wrote here to be interpreted in such a straight forward manner, but at least from my experience, Gen has never been one to settle for black and white interpretations. The Sibyl System certainly has some flaws, but I am not convinced at all that it is broken.

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Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – Maou’s First Steps

zzeroparticle — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:04:34 +0000

This scene literally rotated its crops around. Clever!

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha’s portrayal of society is engrossing in that I’m having a blast just picking out historical analogues. Granted, it is a fantasy story at the core, what with the whole deal concerning the Human-Demon War, magic that allows people to teleport vast distances, and all manners of monsters from a giant walrus to kraken, so an analogy to history isn’t going to be perfect. But it’s fun to see where the creator drew inspiration for the events in the anime.

After all, what’s got me hooked is the setup they have created for human society, which places economies on a war footing, with all the ramifications of that system, both good and bad. Things like war casualties and the enslaving of the defeated are but some of the negative aspects of war, but one shouldn’t forget the positive aspects: lower population lowers the risk of famine and plague, consumption of goods and services is greater (especially in war materials), which, in turn, prop up economies, and war creates plenty of jobs to go around. Peace would bring its own problems; all things being equal, population increases would increase the risk of famine, consumption of war materials would decline, forcing production to shift to different sectors after a painful transition period, and there’s always the danger of discontent former soldiers with no skills turning to banditry. In essence, what we have here is the classic example of the Broken Windows Parable as applied to war.

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Robotic;Notes is Not Steins;Gate

Reckoner — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 08:22:42 +0000

It is hard not to sympathize with the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the anime of Robotic;Notes. As the spiritual successor of Steins;Gate, Robotic;Notes has been asked to follow up what is one of the most memorable titles of the last couple years. Indeed, the results of such comparisons have not been too favorable to Robotic;Notes, both critically and commercially. Of course, with greater success comes greater expectations and so some might say that the harsher criticism is perfectly valid. Sure, it is not incorrect to place greater expectations upon the creators of such a fabulous work, but the problem is that this case is more about misplaced expectations than anything else.

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Mission Complete: Form and Theme in Little Busters

Eternal — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:15:30 +0000

If you’re at all familiar with visual novel developer Key, Little Busters is both good and bad in exactly the way you expect it to be. Rather than dwelling on Key’s approach to storytelling, I’d like to draw attention to some of the game’s less obvious techniques. I was impressed by the way LB ties its presentation of its story to its themes, but elaborating on this will require the use of spoilers, so you’ve been warned.

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My Light Novel Anime Adaptions Are Too Complex

Kylaran — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:06:03 +0000

I could’ve also titled this post “My Light Novel Anime Adaptions Can’t Be This Complex”.

Of the anime currently airing this season, the most mindlessly entertaining one is Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi wa Shurabasugiru (My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend Fight Too Much). Considering how close its absurdly long name is to the infamous Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Sister Can’t Be This Cute), one can easily deduce that the currently airing OreShura has the same origins as OreImo: light novels. While it seems–to put it bluntly–pretty stupid to have names this long, it seems like this sort of has benefits. I mean, if I was going to go around touting my self-professed knowledge of an esoteric writing form such as the light novel, I’d probably want to remember all of the really long names just so I can be a proud consumer of subcultural works. Is this the only reason for stupidly long light novel names though?

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Copyright © 2013 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Kylaran | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Bakemonogatari, Buddhism, Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuuraba Sugiru

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