Browsed by
Author: Marquis

The Spring 2019 Anime Clusterfuck: How to Make One Punch Man S2 the Least Hyped Show

The Spring 2019 Anime Clusterfuck: How to Make One Punch Man S2 the Least Hyped Show

Carole & Tuesday I’ve been watching David Simon’s Treme recently, and while I liked it, it’s easy to agree with the consensus that it’s nowhere near as good as The Wire. Because where The Wire was a tense, calculating drama about the neverending War on Drugs, Treme was often too relaxed. There were crimes and life-threatening issues going on, but they were often placed on the backburner while Simon would prefer to focus on New Orleans music. That didn’t mean…

Read More Read More

The Winter 2019 Anime Clusterfuck: Sponsored by the SouljaGame

The Winter 2019 Anime Clusterfuck: Sponsored by the SouljaGame

Boogiepop Never Laughs Oh hey. Boogiepop. I recognize that name. Boogiepop Phantom’s one of those shows people have heard of and can sometimes recognize, but few have actually watched. And of course, that applies to me. I watched the first two episodes of the old series recently, and it made no sense. Something about a guy eating bugs and running like a madman. The kind of show that expects you to rewatch several times to get the cues, but doesn’t…

Read More Read More

The Validity of Orientalism: Carving Hiragana into Gargoyles

The Validity of Orientalism: Carving Hiragana into Gargoyles

As an Asian-American, Orientalism has been a difficult topic to grapple with. Because the word has been used in many different ways in recent internet discourse, inadvertently resulting in vague explanations. Literature professor Edward Said originally popularized the term to mean representations of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures that presented them as “the other”, something to fetishize or view as more an exotic theme park than its own society. But that leads to the question as to what problems there…

Read More Read More

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms: Aquafina Other M

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms: Aquafina Other M

(this article has spoilers) When I found out Mari Okada was going to not only write a movie but direct it, despite having no prior experience animating, I was interested by that on novelty alone. The writer who has almost defined melodrama in this decade of anime sculpting a story from a whole other angle. Even if I’ve found little genuine enjoyment in most of her work, there’s still something worth taking notes on a writer whose developed an obvious…

Read More Read More

Here Lies Robot Jones

Here Lies Robot Jones

So I was seeing all the hype for that Crossover Nexus short on Cartoon Network, and saw an interesting amount of fan attention to the titular character from Whatever Happened to Robot Jones pop up. And it was weird, because compared to the other Cartoon Network shows that aired in the early 00s, Robot Jones was like the stepchild. Only airing 13 half-hour episodes before disappearing into the void, as any fans the show could find desperately scrounged through their…

Read More Read More

Son of a Butch

Son of a Butch

Butch Hartman has made his mark as one of Nickelodeon’s most prolific creators, having produced over 300 episodes and several made for TV movies for that network. From Fairly Odd Parents to Bunsen is a Beast, he spent two decades crafting Nickelodeon’s animated content. If it weren’t for Spongebob, he potentially could have had a monopoly on the channel unseen since the Klasky-Csupo days. But as it stands, Butch mentions in interviews that he was never given the full freedom…

Read More Read More

Thundercats on the Yarn

Thundercats on the Yarn

So a new re-imagining of Thundercats has been announced, and the fire from it all has been intense. On the same time that a school shooting took place and a royal wedding was being prepared, the loudest thing I saw on social media was “Did you see the new Thundercats trailer? Look what they did to Thundercats! What the fuck did they do to Thundercats?! Damn you, CalArts! Aaaaaaaagh!” This cartoon that I haven’t thought about in years is now…

Read More Read More

Digimon Adventure Tri: Why, Oh Why?

Digimon Adventure Tri: Why, Oh Why?

After two and a half years, Digimon Adventure Tri, the third installment in the Digimon Adventure subseries, has finally ended. And instead of praise or satisfaction, I can only feel malaise. A delirious, yet somehow sobering malaise. What was meant to be a milestone series celebrating 15 years of the Digimon anime finished on a halfhearted slog. One that did not highlight the fine points of the franchise or add new moments of gold, but only a reminder of banality…

Read More Read More

Franxx Wanks – Retread of Eva 6.9: You Should (Not) Swallow

Franxx Wanks – Retread of Eva 6.9: You Should (Not) Swallow

As Trigger budded off from Gainax, the comparisons were inevitable from the very beginning. A two-cour mecha anime featuring heavy sexual imagery. A timid, teenage boy thrown into a cockpit and forced to fight giant monsters, while finding himself in a love triangle between a hot-blooded foreign girl in a red suit and a blue-haired girl whose feelings for said boy feel more familial than romantic. Even from the first episode, astute audiences took pictures, matched them up with screencaps…

Read More Read More

The Spring 2018 Anime Clusterfuck Part Two: Thump

The Spring 2018 Anime Clusterfuck Part Two: Thump

23 Slaves and Me A man walks into a studio. He asks to see the manager because he has a series to pitch. The manager comes out of his domain and asks, “What are you offerin’?” “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” the man says. “You can’t believe the kind of anime I have for you!” “Another one of them isekai whatchamacallits?” the manager inquires. “Don’t you shut the door in front of me, because my anime will shatter your…

Read More Read More