First off, before i start this next post, I have to apologize. In my post introducing the Circle of Friendz, I posted a link to a Google Doc that included a link that should have led to my list of albums that I was planning to review for the Circle of Friendz music project. As it turns out, I had left the link on private. I'm not exactly sure if I'm cut out for this whole blogging thing. But that link is fixed, and includes two more albums included thanks to recent news regarding the new Gorillaz album.
Check out the link here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0g9igOh1MBj9lQjmpnMLjpuxsBR25GJaP-mhgXGIb8/edit?usp=sharing
Onto some brighter news, it seems to be a busy day for Gorillaz fans. Let Me Out collaborator Pusha T dropped a pretty brutal diss track against Drake days after dropping his latest album, Daytona. This heightened an already longstanding feud between the two going back the past 5 years. A new group featuring two members of the Gorillaz live band, bassist Seye Adelekan and guitarist Jeff Wooton, is releasing a track with November Has Come collaborator MF DOOM later today. This new group, known as Youth of the Apocalypse, has been around for only a year and are already knocking it out of the park with their first feature being such a revered name like DOOM. Most importantly, a clip of a conversation between Damon Albarn and Zane Lowe have revealed some very tantalizing details about the upcoming Gorillaz album. Damon revealed that the new album only has two tracks with collaborators, as the track Hollywood features Jamie Principle and Snoop Dogg and opening track Humility features George Benson on guitar. Otherwise, it's all 2D. He also noted that James Ford produced the album, who also work on several Arctic monkeys LPs and the latest Little Dragon album. Humility is also getting released tomorrow before the album itself! I have heard the leak of the track, but I wanna wait on forming full opinions until I can get my hands on a studio version (and possibly accompanying music video.)
I wanna switch things up for this next review, since lord knows I don't exactly have a flood of things to say about this one compared to my last review, Squire for Hire. I decied to use the entirely original and honestly never before used 5W system (I'm copyrighting that), using Who made the album, What the artists did for Gorillaz, When the album was recorded and released, Where it was recorded, and Why you should or shouldn't give the album I am reviewing a spin or six.
With all of that out of the way, let's get into the next album on the Circle of Friendz project.
Who made this? Bashy, also known as Ashley Thomas
What did they do for Gorillaz? Rapped on White Light and on live versions of Clint Eastwood.
When did this album happen? November 17, 2008
Where was it recorded? somewhere in the UK, can't find a recording studio.
Why you should care? Well, the mixtape certainly has a sense of humor. Lines like "I'm gonna go vandalize a phone booth" on the track I See People are pretty good. Most of the beats and the production are decent. Not just that, but the majority of deliveries by Bashy here certainly got some power and energy to here, such as the live cut Rampage Set. Some highlights of the beats on this tape include the track Hype on the Road and the electronic beats of Mind Out. My favorite track on this album has to be Feelings, a song fast both in length and in its pounding drums. The beat here feels like it would have a home on an old school Toonami commercial. I honestly wish this track was a bit longer, so I can stick with that great beat and have more time for the horns. The track Superheroes is another favorite of mine, not really because of any impressive beats or standout production, but because it hits a soft spot with me with its fast flying verses about the superheroes of Marvel and DC. No surprise that a comic nerd would like a track like this. However, the tape as a whole doesn't exactly go beyond a 6.5 or maybe a light 7.
If you like Myspace references and late 2000's grime, you might love this. For others, you might be able to get a few laughs out of this thing. You'll still get annoyed by the constant repeated samples and sound effects.
This album gets a 6.5 out of 10.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Circle of Friendz: Nathan Haines - Squire for Hire
It's late at night. Rain is pouring onto the streets as you park your car and walk inside a dingy bar. Neon lights glare both outside the building and within, posters placed throughout advertising some free poetry jam. It even has a jazz band accompanying it! You walk inside, sit down, drenched in rain, as you get you drink and the lights dim. A woman comes upfront on the tiny stage. She's talking about some "squire for hire", telling people to run on down to see him if he's in their town. You’re not exactly sure what this girl is talking about, but you start to feel funny. From then on, you feel hypnotized. You're not sure if that's just drowsiness from your long day at work finally settling in, or something else entirely. In that moment, you aren't so much concerned with how and when you started feeling they way you did, but just the simple fact that you are feeling this way wraps up your thoughts alongside the soothing melodies being performed. Looking up at the dimly lit stage, it transforms into a revolving door of different acts, strolling on and off the set as the night wears on. The guests come from all walks of life, and you could even swear that one of those guests was some blue haired cartoon character. You chalk that sight up to the drowsiness, of course. No matter what you think you’re seeing, that doesn’t matter as much in your head as the wondrous sounds you’re hearing as they slowly drown out your thoughts. Then, as soon as you realize it, it’s over. You snap back to reality and leave the bar, having a much clearer head as you notice the rain has stopped.
This is the setting I had in mind while listening to the 2003 jazz album Squire for Hire by Nathan Haines. Nathan teams up with Phil Asher on production to bring with them on this musical journey an absolute smorgasbord of acts, hopping from Rich Medina to Vanessa Freeman. 2D shows up on this album on track six, FM. It’s not too surprising that 2D made it onto this record, as this album focuses heavily on collaborations just like his own project does. In addition to jazz, the album also dabbles into electronic beats and many a spoken word piece. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS. I am two albums into my project and I may have found one of my favorite albums ever. That’s pretty amazing by my standards! After a really fun intro, the album dives into several long easy listening pieces with multiple different guests, all of which pull out solid jobs here. The variety certainly works in the album’s favor here. My favorite performer on here was surprisingly not from everybody’s favorite animated singer (as good as FM is), but Rich Medina. He plays a part on two tracks, Springtime Rain and Let it Go, knocking it out of the park on both of them. On Springtime Rain, Medina plays as a narrator describing the seasons outside. The portraits he paints through his words are incredible, describing winter “like a jaded party girl, cold, short on trust and jaded for attention.” He then comes back later in the last fourth of the album in Let it Go, but transforms from narrator to almost father figure, giving tough love to the listener (maybe this so-called squire for hire?), asking if they “really got the brass between [their] legs to stand up and be counted as relevant..” Another favorite of mine is Doot Dude, as I love how the song comes to a gentle halt (can I live this day again?) before picking back up for its second half. Lyric L has a very nice performance here and the beat kinda reminds me of Garage palace some! The 2D feature, FM, covers a Steely Dan song and mixes things up by adding a more guitar focused track to the mix. I adore 2D’s performance here, hitting his falsetto heard before on tracks such as Man Research and Sound Check. If it’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s for a Damon Albarn falsetto.
This album really made me want to look in deeper into Nathan’s other albums, which I’ve heard also lean towards collaborations with a whirlwind of different artists. Every track felt smooth and cool, and I didn’t even notice the length thanks to the longer tracks of the bunch changing things up to keep the track interesting, such as the instrumental Folk Rock. So next time a squire for hire comes to your town, run and meet him! Be taken away by the music in the process.
I give Squire for Hire a 9/10.
Favorite tracks: Doot Dude, Springtime Rain, Let it Go
This is the setting I had in mind while listening to the 2003 jazz album Squire for Hire by Nathan Haines. Nathan teams up with Phil Asher on production to bring with them on this musical journey an absolute smorgasbord of acts, hopping from Rich Medina to Vanessa Freeman. 2D shows up on this album on track six, FM. It’s not too surprising that 2D made it onto this record, as this album focuses heavily on collaborations just like his own project does. In addition to jazz, the album also dabbles into electronic beats and many a spoken word piece. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS. I am two albums into my project and I may have found one of my favorite albums ever. That’s pretty amazing by my standards! After a really fun intro, the album dives into several long easy listening pieces with multiple different guests, all of which pull out solid jobs here. The variety certainly works in the album’s favor here. My favorite performer on here was surprisingly not from everybody’s favorite animated singer (as good as FM is), but Rich Medina. He plays a part on two tracks, Springtime Rain and Let it Go, knocking it out of the park on both of them. On Springtime Rain, Medina plays as a narrator describing the seasons outside. The portraits he paints through his words are incredible, describing winter “like a jaded party girl, cold, short on trust and jaded for attention.” He then comes back later in the last fourth of the album in Let it Go, but transforms from narrator to almost father figure, giving tough love to the listener (maybe this so-called squire for hire?), asking if they “really got the brass between [their] legs to stand up and be counted as relevant..” Another favorite of mine is Doot Dude, as I love how the song comes to a gentle halt (can I live this day again?) before picking back up for its second half. Lyric L has a very nice performance here and the beat kinda reminds me of Garage palace some! The 2D feature, FM, covers a Steely Dan song and mixes things up by adding a more guitar focused track to the mix. I adore 2D’s performance here, hitting his falsetto heard before on tracks such as Man Research and Sound Check. If it’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s for a Damon Albarn falsetto.
This album really made me want to look in deeper into Nathan’s other albums, which I’ve heard also lean towards collaborations with a whirlwind of different artists. Every track felt smooth and cool, and I didn’t even notice the length thanks to the longer tracks of the bunch changing things up to keep the track interesting, such as the instrumental Folk Rock. So next time a squire for hire comes to your town, run and meet him! Be taken away by the music in the process.
I give Squire for Hire a 9/10.
Favorite tracks: Doot Dude, Springtime Rain, Let it Go
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Circle of Friendz: Gruff Rhys - Yr Atal Genhedlaeth
Welcome to the first edition of the Circle of Friendz project, made possible by inspiration from ImNotAnEffigy on Reddit. As mentioned in my last post, I have (now 76) albums on a numbered list, those numbers put through a randomizer, and listening to the album attached to the number I land on. For my first attempt, I landed on number 33, the debut album from Gruff Rhys. Gruff Rhys, known to Gorillaz fans for his appearance next to De La Soul on Plastic Beach's Superfast Jellyfish. Before his appearance, Gruff Rhys had let his name out there through being involved in several different bands. First, Rhys had been the lead singer and guitarist in Welsh rock band Ffa Coffi Pawb during the mid-1980's, releasing three albums before the band broke up in 1993. From there, Rhys became a part of his most popular project, Super Furry Animals, the first album of which marked his first foray into singing in English. After the release of the subject of today's post, he also formed Neon Neon two years after the start of a side solo career.
So what of that solo career? If the first album from it is any indication, it went of to a pretty good start! His first solo release, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, released in 2005 to fairly quiet praise. I only wish that this release got more attention than it ended up getting, because it's a nice little release! The first thing that stuck out to me was the language, because the entire album is sung in Welsh. It was my first Welsh album, but that never felt like a challenge or a problem to me. It sounds sooo nice here, although part of that certainly could be contributed to the soft vocals provided by Rhys here. I'm loving the deliveries from him here, although I'm sure that's because his singing voice reminds me of 2D. I also noticed just how fast this album flies by, coming in and bowing out in just under a half hour. Not a second of this half hour feels wasted. It's a brisk ride of guitar driven tracks, with synths and keyboards added to the mix as well, coming to the forefront in tracks such as Caerffosiaeth, a track that could feel right at home on D-Sides. I also really loved the sunny Ni Yw Y Byd, the second to last track. The instrumental feels like it would be in the background of some kids slice of life cartoon. Honestly, I wasn't exactly flooding with notes and thoughts on Yr Atal Genhedlaeth. What I can say was that it was fun, light and I definitely wanna dive into the discography of both Rhys and his various bands. Not a bad way to start off my project, if I do say so myself. Next up, I dive into jazz album Squire for Hire, the 2003 album from Nathan Haines. I think I have more to say about that next album, and it's certainly a treat. See ya whenever.
I give Yr Atal Genhedlaeth a 7.5/10.
So what of that solo career? If the first album from it is any indication, it went of to a pretty good start! His first solo release, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, released in 2005 to fairly quiet praise. I only wish that this release got more attention than it ended up getting, because it's a nice little release! The first thing that stuck out to me was the language, because the entire album is sung in Welsh. It was my first Welsh album, but that never felt like a challenge or a problem to me. It sounds sooo nice here, although part of that certainly could be contributed to the soft vocals provided by Rhys here. I'm loving the deliveries from him here, although I'm sure that's because his singing voice reminds me of 2D. I also noticed just how fast this album flies by, coming in and bowing out in just under a half hour. Not a second of this half hour feels wasted. It's a brisk ride of guitar driven tracks, with synths and keyboards added to the mix as well, coming to the forefront in tracks such as Caerffosiaeth, a track that could feel right at home on D-Sides. I also really loved the sunny Ni Yw Y Byd, the second to last track. The instrumental feels like it would be in the background of some kids slice of life cartoon. Honestly, I wasn't exactly flooding with notes and thoughts on Yr Atal Genhedlaeth. What I can say was that it was fun, light and I definitely wanna dive into the discography of both Rhys and his various bands. Not a bad way to start off my project, if I do say so myself. Next up, I dive into jazz album Squire for Hire, the 2003 album from Nathan Haines. I think I have more to say about that next album, and it's certainly a treat. See ya whenever.
I give Yr Atal Genhedlaeth a 7.5/10.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
The Circle of Friendz Project: Or, Becoming One with Music
Before I begin to describe the project said above in the title, I have to be honest. I am musically dumb. Almost all of the many different musical artists and styles mentioned these days I have no real idea about. This could be blamed on the fact that until fairly recently, I haven't really cared much about music as a medium.
Going back to when I was super young, my family has been very tuned in musically. All of them had artists from a variety of different genres that they admired, as my brother started getting into rap during middle school alongside expanding into many different genres into high school, and my other family members seemed to love whatever came out of Fueled by Ramen in the mid 2000s, as well as a myriad of different artists from different time periods and genres. But whatever they listened to, they always seemed invested in the world of music. I seemed to be the odd man out. While I did have CDs of my own, they were of cartoon soundtracks, and unlike the other family members I wasn't really interested in searching for anything outside of that strict comfort zone. In middle school and into high school, that interest shifted towards anime music. My MP3 was flooded with opening and ending songs from the different shows I was watching, in whatever quality I could find on youtube. I could have stayed the course and only listened to anime singles had it not been for two bands in particular that would change the way that I listen to and consume music.
The first was Asian Kung Fu Generation. During the run of the anime Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, also known as Erased, I became addicted to the theme song to the show, known as Re;Re. I had some history with the artist before, with their tracks submitted for Naruto, Bleach, and the live-action adaptation of Solanin. This time, when seeking out the theme song for the show, I used a different source for finding an mp3 of the show's theme. Instead of finding lower quality uploads via Youtube, I instead used the site NyaaTorrents, a site I had heard of from imageboards used for files of anime, manga, visual novels and, most importantly for this post, Japanese music. I found there the album carrying the original version of Re;Re, Sol-fa. I downloaded the album, burned it onto a blank CD-R, and heard the whole thing through an old Sony Discman. I adored it. Every track was catchy, had great vocals, and great guitar work. It was an enchanting experience for me, and as I dove headfirst to the discography, my method of listening to music changed from individual tracks by certain artists, to going through an artist's body of work as a whole, staying content with full albums than just scattered singles. This also led me down a path of finding more j-rock and j-pop groups go in-depth to (although this could make up another post entirely.)
The next, possibly more massive change to my music habits was my introduction to Gorillaz. This was another band I had heard of before diving into their backcatalog, but was less attached to than with Asian Kung Fu Generation. Feel Good Inc was one of the first pop songs I remember constantly hearing played on radios around the house and on the computer my oldest sister used. I have faint memories of seeing its iconic music video as well, even if I had no idea where and how I saw it. As my older brother started getting deeper into music in middle school, Gorillaz was one of the bands he first found himself attracted towards, alongside artists like Daft Punk. It was around this time I remember him playing the music videos from their self-titled album, and I thought the idea of an animated band seemed cool, even if I never even bothered to go back and listen to the albums proper then. Flash forward 3 years, and I found myself cruising online and stumbling upon an old VHS recording of a Toonami special called the "Midnight Run Special Edition." The one hour special included music videos from Kenna, Daft Punk, and Gorillaz with Toonami music videos. Of the videos on display, I loved Gorillaz the most. The blend of hip hop and electronic music mixed with artwork and animation similar to the output from Cartoon Network in the early 2000's was mesmerizing to me. I watched the videos several more times and soon I heard the three main albums and two B-side albums throughout the summer of 2016. I noticed that there was an even deeper mix of genres then what I saw in those early videos, and this curiosity soon turned to obsession. The next year, I soon dug into the music of Damon Albarn, finding an appreciation in projects such as Blur and what I believe to be his finest work in the 2007 album The Good, the Bad and the Queen. I also within the last year been diving into the discographies of several of the artists who collaborated with Gorillaz, such as Miho Hatori and Del the Funkee Homosapien.
This brings me to the next subject, the so-called Circle of Friendz Project. So not too long ago, I came across a reddit post from user ImNotAnEffigy throwing out a list of recommended albums from Gorillaz collaborators for the people who want to dive in a little deeper into the people who make the magic happen, so to speak:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gorillaz/comments/8ipjwp/circle_of_friendz_recommended_works_from_gorillaz/
I took that list, added more collabs who only appeared in live shows or who saw Gorillaz collaborate on their own albums as opposed to the collabs appearing on the Gorillaz albums,then renumbering them. I also swapped out certain albums that I had already heard, as I wanted to place emphasis on albums I have not already heard, so no Deltron 3030 or any Blur albums or whatever. I then put the numbers into a generator and whatever pops out, I review first. This was inspired by Digibro videos on youtube where he numbers off anime to watch first after randomly generating a number. This method of randomization I found keeps me excited and on my toes as I never quite know what to expect next. After that I write down my thoughts on the album track-by-track in a notebook and post a cleaned up version of my findings to the internet. So far, it's actually gone very well, as I have listened to and scribbled down my thoughts on two very well done albums and will be working on a third in the next few days. Of course, these findings will be uploaded to this very blog soon enough. There's not a specific schedule for these posts, but the writings are easy to make, so expect them fairly often. And you can do it too! If you're just as insane as I am, and want to discover some newfound artists or reconnect with albums you haven't heard in a while, here's a link to the Google doc with every album I will be covering, updating it often to link to blog posts I have already made. The whole point of this little exercise is for me to learn more about music through my favorite band by far, a way for me to expand my horizons and for me to try things out that if it wasn't for Gorillaz, I never would've picked up or in many cases would have even heard of. Shoutout to ImNotAnEffigy again for providing me the inspiration to start this project.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0g9igOh1MBj9lQjmpnMLjpuxsBR25GJaP-mhgXGIb8/edit?usp=sharing
Going back to when I was super young, my family has been very tuned in musically. All of them had artists from a variety of different genres that they admired, as my brother started getting into rap during middle school alongside expanding into many different genres into high school, and my other family members seemed to love whatever came out of Fueled by Ramen in the mid 2000s, as well as a myriad of different artists from different time periods and genres. But whatever they listened to, they always seemed invested in the world of music. I seemed to be the odd man out. While I did have CDs of my own, they were of cartoon soundtracks, and unlike the other family members I wasn't really interested in searching for anything outside of that strict comfort zone. In middle school and into high school, that interest shifted towards anime music. My MP3 was flooded with opening and ending songs from the different shows I was watching, in whatever quality I could find on youtube. I could have stayed the course and only listened to anime singles had it not been for two bands in particular that would change the way that I listen to and consume music.
The first was Asian Kung Fu Generation. During the run of the anime Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, also known as Erased, I became addicted to the theme song to the show, known as Re;Re. I had some history with the artist before, with their tracks submitted for Naruto, Bleach, and the live-action adaptation of Solanin. This time, when seeking out the theme song for the show, I used a different source for finding an mp3 of the show's theme. Instead of finding lower quality uploads via Youtube, I instead used the site NyaaTorrents, a site I had heard of from imageboards used for files of anime, manga, visual novels and, most importantly for this post, Japanese music. I found there the album carrying the original version of Re;Re, Sol-fa. I downloaded the album, burned it onto a blank CD-R, and heard the whole thing through an old Sony Discman. I adored it. Every track was catchy, had great vocals, and great guitar work. It was an enchanting experience for me, and as I dove headfirst to the discography, my method of listening to music changed from individual tracks by certain artists, to going through an artist's body of work as a whole, staying content with full albums than just scattered singles. This also led me down a path of finding more j-rock and j-pop groups go in-depth to (although this could make up another post entirely.)
The next, possibly more massive change to my music habits was my introduction to Gorillaz. This was another band I had heard of before diving into their backcatalog, but was less attached to than with Asian Kung Fu Generation. Feel Good Inc was one of the first pop songs I remember constantly hearing played on radios around the house and on the computer my oldest sister used. I have faint memories of seeing its iconic music video as well, even if I had no idea where and how I saw it. As my older brother started getting deeper into music in middle school, Gorillaz was one of the bands he first found himself attracted towards, alongside artists like Daft Punk. It was around this time I remember him playing the music videos from their self-titled album, and I thought the idea of an animated band seemed cool, even if I never even bothered to go back and listen to the albums proper then. Flash forward 3 years, and I found myself cruising online and stumbling upon an old VHS recording of a Toonami special called the "Midnight Run Special Edition." The one hour special included music videos from Kenna, Daft Punk, and Gorillaz with Toonami music videos. Of the videos on display, I loved Gorillaz the most. The blend of hip hop and electronic music mixed with artwork and animation similar to the output from Cartoon Network in the early 2000's was mesmerizing to me. I watched the videos several more times and soon I heard the three main albums and two B-side albums throughout the summer of 2016. I noticed that there was an even deeper mix of genres then what I saw in those early videos, and this curiosity soon turned to obsession. The next year, I soon dug into the music of Damon Albarn, finding an appreciation in projects such as Blur and what I believe to be his finest work in the 2007 album The Good, the Bad and the Queen. I also within the last year been diving into the discographies of several of the artists who collaborated with Gorillaz, such as Miho Hatori and Del the Funkee Homosapien.
This brings me to the next subject, the so-called Circle of Friendz Project. So not too long ago, I came across a reddit post from user ImNotAnEffigy throwing out a list of recommended albums from Gorillaz collaborators for the people who want to dive in a little deeper into the people who make the magic happen, so to speak:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gorillaz/comments/8ipjwp/circle_of_friendz_recommended_works_from_gorillaz/
I took that list, added more collabs who only appeared in live shows or who saw Gorillaz collaborate on their own albums as opposed to the collabs appearing on the Gorillaz albums,then renumbering them. I also swapped out certain albums that I had already heard, as I wanted to place emphasis on albums I have not already heard, so no Deltron 3030 or any Blur albums or whatever. I then put the numbers into a generator and whatever pops out, I review first. This was inspired by Digibro videos on youtube where he numbers off anime to watch first after randomly generating a number. This method of randomization I found keeps me excited and on my toes as I never quite know what to expect next. After that I write down my thoughts on the album track-by-track in a notebook and post a cleaned up version of my findings to the internet. So far, it's actually gone very well, as I have listened to and scribbled down my thoughts on two very well done albums and will be working on a third in the next few days. Of course, these findings will be uploaded to this very blog soon enough. There's not a specific schedule for these posts, but the writings are easy to make, so expect them fairly often. And you can do it too! If you're just as insane as I am, and want to discover some newfound artists or reconnect with albums you haven't heard in a while, here's a link to the Google doc with every album I will be covering, updating it often to link to blog posts I have already made. The whole point of this little exercise is for me to learn more about music through my favorite band by far, a way for me to expand my horizons and for me to try things out that if it wasn't for Gorillaz, I never would've picked up or in many cases would have even heard of. Shoutout to ImNotAnEffigy again for providing me the inspiration to start this project.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0g9igOh1MBj9lQjmpnMLjpuxsBR25GJaP-mhgXGIb8/edit?usp=sharing
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Spring 2018 anime
At the time of this writing, the spring anime season is about halfway over. While this spring may not have been as amazing as absolute wonderland of slice of life anime that was this winter, I still, as I always do, find lots and lots to appreciate about this season.
For starters, there's been a decent bit of kids' anime starting up alongside the several shows continuing from past seasons. As I am sure readers will soon learn, I have a big soft spot for these anime, and this season knew just how to push my buttons. Both Aikatsu and the Pretty Rhythm franchise got new series this season and both are winners in my eyes. I particularly like how Kiratto Pri-chan, the Pretty Rhythm series, integrates its use of a youtube or nico nico style website as its main selling point. It really keeps things fresh without feeling forced or out of touch, going alongside the typical idol activities. Speaking of idol activities, Aikatsu Friends feels more in line with its predecessor in terms of plot than Pri-chan does to Pripara, but it still works anyway. I have always enjoyed what I have seen of Aikatsu in the past, and Friends looks like it's continuing that trend of breezy slice of life that makes your heart feel warm as you watch these girls develop together.
Youkai Watch got a surprising continuation in Yokai Watch Shadowside. Set 30 years after the original, the timeskip brings with it a sudden turn in genre. Yokai watch proper worked as a sort of sketch show, with a main plot taking up most of the time while several minutes get devoted to different sketches about Yokai totally unrelated to main character Keita's antics in the A plot. Instead, Shadowside is more focused, having only one plot throughout an episode, as well as becoming somewhat more serious. While the adventures in the original were always comedic romps, the tales here veer more towards horror and action than jokes. In some ways it reminds me of the standout new kids' show (and one of my seasonal favorites), GeGeGe no Kitaro. Kitaro comes back to stamp out yokai once again, but what wasn't expected was its sudden following with otaku who may not otherwise follow other kids anime. This could be credited to its strong episodic storytelling and sharp direction, functioning beautifully as a horror anime. The catgirl, Nekomusume, might also play a part in that attention. There's a new Layton anime this season too, focusing on Layton's daughter, Katrielle. Each case has been super fun to watch, with smooth animation and a very comfy setting.
What could be the most anticipated daytime anime on the air is My Hero Academia, back at it again for season 3. After an impressively strong season 2, season 3 does not disappoint. Season 3 is shaping out to be just as strong as 2. I could really feel the impact of Midoriya using One for All during the newest episodes, my heart racing as he faced off against a villain giving me just as much of an adrenaline rush as Midoriya did and it was all I needed to know that HeroAca will stand out as one of this season's absolute best.
Switching to late night anime, one immediate standout was the arrival of Megalobox. This Ashita no Joe spinoff OOZES style out of every possible corner. The soundtrack is great, from its roaring opening theme to the intense main theme. Its gritty sci-fi setting feels truly realized through the stunning background art to maintain its dark urban atmosphere. The fights are especially slick, and the directing makes your heart pounce as each blow connects. It feels like a no brainer as a potential pickup for Toonami on Adult Swim. It would fit in great. Several big franchises, like Steins;Gate, High school dxd and Full metal panic came back, and none of them disappoint. My favorite first episode of the bunch was the prologue for High school DxD, an attempt to retcon the ending of the previous season. It became one of my favorite first episodes of the season by showing off what High school DxD did best, cool fights and great comedy with some attractive women. Besides, what could top singing a song about a superhero named Oppai Dragon loving boobs to a group of kids?
This season wasn't just about meeting up with old friends, but seeing some promising new faces in the fold as well. Hinamatsuri makes for some delightfully funny anime with great animation and well done, likeable characters. Uma Musume is a suprisingly addictive sports anime with a strange premise, and Comic Girls is just plain cuteness, combining my love for cute anime girls and a dear hobby of mine, manga. The chuunibyou girl Tsubasa especially won my heart. Wotakoi is fantastic, a candidate for anime of the season based off its realistic relationships and somewhat calm conversations compared to other romcoms, not to mention its pleasing, colorful artwork.
All in all, spring is strong! Lots of promising newcomers, absolutely no shortage of promising sequels and reboots, and lots to sink your teeth into. Here's to hoping the rest of the year can hold a candle to this (although Zoids Wild next season points that to a yes.)
For starters, there's been a decent bit of kids' anime starting up alongside the several shows continuing from past seasons. As I am sure readers will soon learn, I have a big soft spot for these anime, and this season knew just how to push my buttons. Both Aikatsu and the Pretty Rhythm franchise got new series this season and both are winners in my eyes. I particularly like how Kiratto Pri-chan, the Pretty Rhythm series, integrates its use of a youtube or nico nico style website as its main selling point. It really keeps things fresh without feeling forced or out of touch, going alongside the typical idol activities. Speaking of idol activities, Aikatsu Friends feels more in line with its predecessor in terms of plot than Pri-chan does to Pripara, but it still works anyway. I have always enjoyed what I have seen of Aikatsu in the past, and Friends looks like it's continuing that trend of breezy slice of life that makes your heart feel warm as you watch these girls develop together.
Youkai Watch got a surprising continuation in Yokai Watch Shadowside. Set 30 years after the original, the timeskip brings with it a sudden turn in genre. Yokai watch proper worked as a sort of sketch show, with a main plot taking up most of the time while several minutes get devoted to different sketches about Yokai totally unrelated to main character Keita's antics in the A plot. Instead, Shadowside is more focused, having only one plot throughout an episode, as well as becoming somewhat more serious. While the adventures in the original were always comedic romps, the tales here veer more towards horror and action than jokes. In some ways it reminds me of the standout new kids' show (and one of my seasonal favorites), GeGeGe no Kitaro. Kitaro comes back to stamp out yokai once again, but what wasn't expected was its sudden following with otaku who may not otherwise follow other kids anime. This could be credited to its strong episodic storytelling and sharp direction, functioning beautifully as a horror anime. The catgirl, Nekomusume, might also play a part in that attention. There's a new Layton anime this season too, focusing on Layton's daughter, Katrielle. Each case has been super fun to watch, with smooth animation and a very comfy setting.
What could be the most anticipated daytime anime on the air is My Hero Academia, back at it again for season 3. After an impressively strong season 2, season 3 does not disappoint. Season 3 is shaping out to be just as strong as 2. I could really feel the impact of Midoriya using One for All during the newest episodes, my heart racing as he faced off against a villain giving me just as much of an adrenaline rush as Midoriya did and it was all I needed to know that HeroAca will stand out as one of this season's absolute best.
Switching to late night anime, one immediate standout was the arrival of Megalobox. This Ashita no Joe spinoff OOZES style out of every possible corner. The soundtrack is great, from its roaring opening theme to the intense main theme. Its gritty sci-fi setting feels truly realized through the stunning background art to maintain its dark urban atmosphere. The fights are especially slick, and the directing makes your heart pounce as each blow connects. It feels like a no brainer as a potential pickup for Toonami on Adult Swim. It would fit in great. Several big franchises, like Steins;Gate, High school dxd and Full metal panic came back, and none of them disappoint. My favorite first episode of the bunch was the prologue for High school DxD, an attempt to retcon the ending of the previous season. It became one of my favorite first episodes of the season by showing off what High school DxD did best, cool fights and great comedy with some attractive women. Besides, what could top singing a song about a superhero named Oppai Dragon loving boobs to a group of kids?
This season wasn't just about meeting up with old friends, but seeing some promising new faces in the fold as well. Hinamatsuri makes for some delightfully funny anime with great animation and well done, likeable characters. Uma Musume is a suprisingly addictive sports anime with a strange premise, and Comic Girls is just plain cuteness, combining my love for cute anime girls and a dear hobby of mine, manga. The chuunibyou girl Tsubasa especially won my heart. Wotakoi is fantastic, a candidate for anime of the season based off its realistic relationships and somewhat calm conversations compared to other romcoms, not to mention its pleasing, colorful artwork.
All in all, spring is strong! Lots of promising newcomers, absolutely no shortage of promising sequels and reboots, and lots to sink your teeth into. Here's to hoping the rest of the year can hold a candle to this (although Zoids Wild next season points that to a yes.)
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Welcome to my kingdom of doom
Just what the title says. This blog is mostly a way to talk about subjects and expand on thoughts I can't or won't otherwise online or in my day to day. So like a blog! There's gonna be music posts, anime ramblings, manga and novel talk, maybe even some comic books or cartoons or fun cool things for fun cool people such as myself. Having this blog stick but to only one theme feels restrictive in my eyes, so I'm going all over the place. Hopefully along the way I am still somewhat comprehensible. I'll try my best.
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