Zetsuen no Tempest 16 — Abusing Shakespeare

Zetsuen no Tempest,

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Why does this show feel the need to heavy-handedly mention Shakespeare at every opportunity? Can’t their show stand on its own merits? I don’t get it.

Take the quote above. What the hell is that supposed to have to do with anything? Usually when you quote something you take a good quote that says something about the topic under discussion. “Seems, madam! Nay it is; I know not ‘seems.'” This is an awful quote. In context it means something, but out of context it’s completely useless. It doesn’t even sound particularly good. Zetsuen no Tempest appears to flip to a random page of Shakespeare and choose a line. “Oh, look, it’s Shakespeare, this is some brilliant writing!” No it’s not. Not when you just take a random not-particularly impressive line out of context. Continue reading Zetsuen no Tempest 16 — Abusing Shakespeare →

2012 Year in Review: TV Anime

Year in Review,

The final entry in my 2012 Year in Review. Previously we discussed music and characters. This time, I’ve gone ahead and ranked all the anime of 2012 from worst to best (loosely). This list only includes shows that have finished.

Dropped: Acchi Kocchi, Arashi no Yoru ni: Himitsu no Tomodachi, Brave 10, Busou Shinki, Code Breaker, Ebiten, Folktales from Japan, Gon, Hiiro no Kakera, Kuroko’s Basketball, Kuromajyo-san ga Touru!!, La storia della Arcana Famiglia, Gakkatsu, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Kill Me Baby, The Knight in the Area, Litchi DE Hikari Club, Naruto SD, Pabu and Mochizu, Recorder to Randsell,  Saint Seiya Omega, Shibainuko-san, Sukitte li na Yo, Teekyu, ToLoveRu Darkness, Zetman

Incomplete: AKB0048, Chihayafuru, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Natsuiro Kiseki, Natsuyuki Rendezevous, Sankarea, Shakugan no Shana III, Utakoi

Ongoing Series: GIRLS und PANZER, Hunter X Hunter, Ixion Saga DT, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Little Busters, Magi, Polar Bear Cafe, PSYCHO PASS, Robotics; Notes, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, Shin Sekai Yori, Space Bros, Zetsuen no Tempest

Continue reading 2012 Year in Review: TV Anime →

The Wheel of Time

Discussion,

You may have noticed I’ve been slacking off on blogging lately. That’s because I’ve been busy reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, as the last book came out this month. I read all fourteen books in a period of three weeks, so I was pretty busy.

I first came across these books around twelve(?) years ago. I got to around number ten over a period of a few years, and then they started coming out really slowly / the author died / I forgot about them. Since it had been about ten years since I touched one of these books, I forgot everything that happened except that the main character got the harem end, and I decided to re-read the entire series from the beginning.

What does this have to do with anime, you ask? Well, not much. I guess books and anime are both storytelling mediums, so you can extrapolate lessons from these books to anime. But I figure a lot of anime fans also like fantasy books anyway and I felt like writing something about this. I doubt anyone will actually read it, and it basically amounts to a random sequence of inane observations; hey, whatever.

I’ll start off without spoilers, and put a big warning once I get into spoiler territory. Continue reading The Wheel of Time →