August 2012 | Lost in America: Anime & More

Friday, August 31, 2012

Binbougami Ga! - 09

I’d like to pretend last week’s episode of Binbougami never happened. Fortunately, that’s a lot easier to do after this one.

[HorribleSubs] Natsuyuki Rendezvous - 09 [720p].mkv_snapshot_16.56_[2012.08.30_15.34.46]

[HorribleSubs] Natsuyuki Rendezvous - 09 [720p].mkv_snapshot_20.19_[2012.08.30_15.38.09]

It’s probably too late for persuasion – either mine, or the series itself – to make any new converts to Natsuyuki Rendezvous. Either you’re emotionally invested by now or you’re not.

The moral of today’s episode: Penguins are hard to tell apart.

Nazo no Kanojo X – OVA

[SubDESU] Nazo no Kanojo X OVA (720x480 x264 AAC) [91326351].mkv_snapshot_24.50_[2012.08.28_20.56.03]

An OVA from a series you loved is always a little bittersweet.

For the first time we have an episode squarely focused on someone who, by his own admission, sucks at poetry.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE - 45

You know, Gundam AGE is a lot like (bear with me, here) playing golf.

Considering that was everything I like about Tari Tari and none of the things I hate, not to mention some long-overdue developments, it’s hardly surprising that this was my favorite episode of the series.

Ginga Keeps Kicking

I already knew Ginga e Kickoff was doing pretty well in Japan based on the TV ratings and my usual method of measurement (how many doujins are out there) but it's nice to see some confirmation: it placed third in a poll by BIGLOBE (an ISP) of "Best Spring Anime". It's not a scientific poll, of course, but it's still nice to see. Are you reading, Crunchyroll?

Hyouka - 19

Well, looks like Hyouka is back to proving it can squeeze 22 minutes out of anything, no matter how inconsequential. Needless to say, that’s definitely a comfort zone.

The social satire is strong with this one…

Omedetou gozaimasu to Tokyo Little League for bringing another world championship home to Japan, beating the US Squad from Tennessee 12-2 (stopped after 5 innings due to the 10-run rule) in the championship game.

Sword Art Online - 08

A very good episode of SAO for the most part, but my dominant feeling at the moment is relief that the series I thought I was getting has actually started.

For Kokoro Connect, this was an episode that gave off a very different vibe than any that came before.

Accel World - 20

It’s not as though this episode did anything especially wrong, but at this point more than anything else I just want this arc to be over.

This episode marks the point in KoiChoco where the most obvious main heroine climbs into the bath with the main character. I’m sure Chisato’s fans are hoping it turns out better for her than it did for the girl who last tried it in a VN adaptation.

When we write the book on Eureka Seven AO, I suspect we’ll look back on this episode as the one where all the pieces started to come together.

Hourou Musuko - 112

“Mako’s Adventure”

Wow – did Binbougami really just go there?

Natsuyuki Rendezvous has certainly evolved into a matter of life and death, but not in quite the same way as any other anime I’ve seen.

Nothing fancy here – just 22 minutes of pure Panda-kun idiocy.

Ginga e Kickoff - 16

I’ve really, really missed Ginga e Kickoff. Five weeks away is much too long.

I’ve been watching Princess Tutu (finally) lately, and marveling at what a great job Katou Nanae did as Ahiru (and wondering why we haven’t heard more from her in anime than we have). That prompted a Twitter conversation that got me musing on my favorite seiyuu performances of all-time.