“The System,” some kind of deeply hidden procedure or agency, makes a great antagonist. Tell you why in a sec. You see “The System” in a lot of places. Off the top of my head I can think of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Puella Magi Madoka Magika, and Wonder Egg Priority, and if I’ve got three […]
Read more "The Antagonist: The System"It seems a little odd to describe a locale or setting as a character. I mean, in college, it could get your paper marked “-5 Anthropomorphism” or something like that. If your professor was feeling nice, that is. And could spell “anthropomorphism,” which I couldn’t until I looked it up. But let’s stop to think […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Roanapur"Okay, not really medium, since there are two Fruits Basket anime, and anime is just one medium. But there ARE two Fruits Basket anime and you don’t have to look at either of them for very long to see that the two anime have chosen to tell the same story in two different ways. Okay, […]
Read more "Medium Matters: Fruits Basket"All right, you know who Marin Kitagawa is. She’s – depending on how you look at it – the Dress-up Darling of My Dress-up Darling. You can fight me on that one, if you want and you think about it. Wakana, the boy she’s sweet on in this rom-com, makes her cosplay costumes. So he […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Marin Kitagawa"You know it seems like in a lot anime you never really see the antagonist unless there’s big fight. Look at Sailor Moon, right? The antagonist appears in like scene two or three, giving orders to some underling, and then disappears for the rest of the episode while the underling is getting whupped in the […]
Read more "The Antagonist: Ragyo Kiryuin"It seems bizarre that one of the anime I write about a lot is Toradora. I mean, compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Cowboy Bebop or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya it’s a piece of lightweight fluff. Well, fluff it may be, but here we’re looking at writing (and sometimes animation, when I can think […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Ryuji Takusa"I normally post on Monday morning, in fact, generally about 12:01 AM since I’m so eager … well, no. It’s because if I do things the same way all the time I don’t forget them. Yeah, I was a little late this week for (dun dun dun) reasons. I usually talk about something to do […]
Read more "Happy Anniversary, Me"The manga Heaven’s Design Team gets itself hyped with the blurb, “Does for zoology what Cells at Work! does for human biology.” I know this for a fact. It says so right on the back cover. Except it doesn’t. A lot of people like Cells at Work! and I’m one of them. It’s a neat […]
Read more "How Not to Start a Story: Heaven’s Design Team"Haruko from FLCL is another character who is really easy to analyze. She’s a Look at Me woman. Boop. That’s it. That doesn’t make her a bad character, or, even worse, a forgettable character. One hundred percent the opposite! Haruko is without question the single most UNforgettable character from the entire FLCL franchise, and the […]
Read more "Character Analysis: Haruko Haruhara"The breakout success of My Dress-up Darling made the Powerz That Be say, “Hey, ya know what? There’s moniez to be made in this Cosplay stuff.” So I submit for your approval, in the manner of Rod Serling, a story about a female cosplayer (who happens, through sheer, raw, naked coincidence (See what I did […]
Read more "Same Stage, Different Show: My Dress-up Darling and 2.5-Dimensional Seduction"
Confessions of an Overage otaku 