Konata is one of my favorite characters ever. I like Lucky Star, as silly and pointless as it is, and watch it over and over, possibly because it’s silly and pointless, and Konata is a big reason that I like it. Now, why is that? Do you think we can unscrew the inscrutable here? Let’s […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Konata Izumi"Whoever dreamed up Beastars dreamed up something that is like the perfect storytelling cookbook. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “No conflict, no drama.” (George Bernard Shaw) AAH! AAAAHHHH! Back, dreaded cliché, back I say! But it’s a formula that’s worked from The Epic of Gilgamesh: find a character the audience likes and put […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Legoshi"Welcome to the NHK is a classic, and it’s a classic for a couple reasons, I suspect. One, I’d guess, is the love story between Tatsuhiro and Misaki, which is sweet and handled nicely as it develops. Another is that Tatsuhiro is an unusual character, his status as a hikkikomori – a person who is […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Misaki Nakahara"When you’re looking at the structural elements of an anime or manga, sometimes it gets really complex and you can get deep into insights. In The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Chise and Elias are a complementary couple along six separate dimensions. The metaplots of Black Lagoon and Cowboy Bebop are so well disguised you have to […]
Read more "Medium Matters: Mardock Scramble"I mean, I’m a professor. I’m on lockdown here so I’m teaching from home, but now it’s finals time and all I have to do is figure out the grades. Same old same old, in other words. Now, we haven’t heard from Yoko Kanno in a while. I thought fer shure she’d be involved with […]
Read more "What Have You Been Up To?"
Confessions of an Overage otaku 