URAHARA – Episode 1
This is one of the most frustrating sorts of premieres: the kind that’s a slog until the last five minutes or so, at which point a promising hook tries to tempt you back in spite of the 15 miserable minutes prior.
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SENGOKU NIGHT BLOOD – Episode 1
Have sympathy for those tasked with visual novel adaptations, dear readers. And if ever you find yourself in a position to write the premiere for such an adaptation, think back to the first half of Sengoku Night Blood—and do exactly the opposite of what they did.
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JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR – Episode 1
Do you like guns? How about blood? How about murder poison and empowered bunny men in high heels? Then Grimdark Fruits Basket Royale is for you!
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Black Clover – Episode 1
In trying to come up with a pithy way to introduce Black Clover, all I could think was “It sure is a shounen.” And yep. It sure is.
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[Links] 27 September – 3 October 2017
Life after failure, female role models (and the lack thereof), and stereotypes on Fuji TV.
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Chatty AF 25: Summer 2017 wrap-up (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Dee, Vrai, and Peter look back on the summer 2017 season. Vatican LOLs, 18wtf, Abysscourse, Princess Principallin’ around, and more!
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Fire Balls & Ice Rinks: How My Hero Academia reflects inequality in competitive sports
When I watch these heroes-in-training attend U.A. High and compete in an elaborate sports competition, I’m much more impressed with its commentary on the inequality sports competitions breed, particularly in regard to gender.
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The Quiet Revolutions of Contemporary Japanese Queer Novels
As a Southeast Asian, there are days when I wonder if my feelings are real and worth caring about. Where I live, videos blare about what it means to have a family and to be proper husbands and wives. Heterosexual families are the default unit in Asian societies, and going against them is considered not just sexually deviant, but morally wrong.
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[Links] 20-25 September 2017
Historic feminist movements, LGBTQ resources, and Neo Yokio.
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Chatty AF 24: Neo Yokio Retrospective (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Amelia, Peter, and Vrai tap into their inner-ennui to navigate the interminable abyss of wackness that is Neo Yokio! One thing’s for sure: All three deserve a big Toblerone after this.
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Who’s the Hero, Anyway? Made in Abyss, gendered tropes, and damaging narratives
No media exists in a vacuum, and justifying a trope doesn’t stop it from playing into broader harmful trends.
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Agency & Allies: Kaze Hikaru and the fight to be a woman with a “man’s job”
Kaze Hikaru follows Sei, who disguises herself as a boy in order to become a warrior. Determined to prove she’s capable of a dangerous role that society said women were unfit to have, the fact that Sei both succeeds in this role and gains supportive allies implicitly conveys the narrative’s approval of her “unfeminine” lifestyle.
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[Links] 13-18 September 2017
Women in animation, voice actor activists, and Japan’s sex industry.
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Chatty AF 23: Netflix Death Note Drinkalong (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
And now for an exciting change of pace, Amelia, Dee, and Vrai sit back, throw down a few drinks, and provide their before and after impressions of the live-action Netflix Death Note movie!
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Adding Salt to Sweet Vanilla: The complex women of Toradora!
ToraDora! tells a story about the bizarre tangled intricacies of teenage love. It also tells a story about how everyone has issues, inner turmoil, and inner selves that they keep concealed, usually with the intention of preserving a certain image of themselves for the people around them.
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As Told by Saena: Skip Beat! and the infinite variety of women’s stories
By primarily telling events from Kyoko’s point of view, Skip Beat! has often conformed to the pattern of telling a “single story.” However, in Volumes 37 and 38, the manga’s perspective shifts in a big way, giving readers an unexpected glimpse of Kyoko’s mom Saena through her own eyes.
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[Links] 6-11 September 2017
Single mothers in Japan, Mari Okada’s career, and cultural appropriation.
