Guilty Crown drew me in with the animation of the first episode. The little touches in the way the characters moved screamed Production I.G.. Unfortunately, the quality of the animation throughout the series wasn’t on par with other works by the anime studio. In any case, Guilty Crown has some interesting things going for it….
Tawara Toda, My Lord Bag of Rice
Long, long ago there lived, in Japan a brave warrior known to all as Tawara Toda, or “My Lord Bag of Rice.” His true name was Fujiwara Hidesato, and there is a very interesting story of how he came to change his name. One day he sallied forth in search of adventures, for he had…
The Mirror of Matsuyama
In ancient days there lived in a remote part of Japan a man and his wife, and they were blessed with a little girl, who was the pet and idol of her parents. On one occasion the man was called away on business in distant Kyoto. Before he went he told his daughter that if…
Okami-san and her Seven Companions
This romantic comedy centers around the antics of a high school club (of course, it take place in a high school!) called Otogi Bank. The club is hired to solve problems students have who pay back the club with favors. And no. The favors are not of that type. The bouncer of the club is…
Welcome to the NHK
Welcome to the NHK is one of the oddest anime series I’ve watched. This head trip follows Tatsuhiro Sato, a hikikomori, and Misaki Nakahara, a strange girl who decides to help cure Sato of his hikikomori. Sato is convinced that the NHK (which is a public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai) is actually a sinister…
Sake, Fire, and Mayhem: the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Matsuri
Nozawaonsen is a village of about five thousand people about an hours drive from Nagano City. It is famed for its hot springs, which according to legend were discovered when an injured bear led a hunter to them, its skiing, and for hosting part of the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998. It is also famous…