Summer 2017 Mid-Season Thoughts

Hey, everybody, and welcome back to a somewhat special mid-season update from For Great Justice. It’s not only time to run down what we’ve thought about many of the summer’s most popular shows since first impressions, it’s also mid-August, which means it’s time to celebrate the site’s third birthday! From the bottom of our hearts, whether you’re stumbling upon us now for the first time or go back as far as our clunky early days, thank you for your continued support and readership. It means so much.

Not gonna lie, all of us are a bit antsy lately, so this may be a quicker than usual batch. Yata and Catche are gearing up to head back to college in a week and Haru has been busy alley-crawling at Anime-Fest the last few days, so we’ve all got a bit on our plates, but that’s rarely stopped us from getting something out there before, and it sure isn’t going to now. What titles held up from earlier in the season? Which have let us down? And where are we drawing the drop line? Find out all this and more below!

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Summer 2017 First Impressions

It’s too hot.
Antarctica is peeling apart.
Don Jr. inherited more than just a name and spare Franklins to wipe his ass with.

And yet here we are complaining about anime, because if the world’s gonna end one way or another, we might as well appreciate some rapidly moving pictures in the meantime. There’s just one problem: this season’s not produced quite as many worthwhile ones as the last handful have. For Yata, that means a ton of bubble entries with few clear standouts. For Haru and Catche, that means virtually no standouts whatsoever and a lot of trash. But it’s not our job to remark about the industry as a whole right now. If you’re here, there’s a good chance that what you’re really looking for are our thoughts about each new production on its own merit, and we’re happy to provide! Which titles appear to be at least somewhat watchable? Which ones do we recommend never speaking of again? And can American democracy be salvaged? The answers to at least those first two questions lay in our summer 2017 season first impressions below. Jump on in!

Recalling Thrills of Our Love: Thoughts on Michiko & Hatchin

“We kissed and clung together / Then tomorrow was another day / The morning found me miles away / With still a million things to say / Now when twilight dims the sky above / Recalling thrills of our love / There’s one thing that I’m certain of / Return I will to old Brazil”
– “Brazil” – English adaptation by Bob Russell

I’ve linked Cornelius’ take on “Brazil” there because his version of it is a personal favorite of mine, though that’s far from the song’s only rendition. Originally composed by Ary Barroso in 1939 as “Aquarela do Brasil,” it’s since become one of the most-covered songs in the world, with names as notable as Frank Sinatra, Santana, João Gilberto, Arcade Fire and many many more lending their take to this timeless classic about timeless feelings. Love and longing are cornerstones of art because they’re cornerstones of the human experience, and even the tritest of concepts can become enthralling when delivered with heart. The right ambiance and a couple of curveballs don’t hurt either.

And let’s get one thing straight, Michiko & Hatchin, coincidentally set in some sort of pseudo-Brazil, is enthralling, and yet, much like that song, it’s not anything you’ve haven’t seen before. Sure, there are gang fights and hokey drama and all that good ol’ pulp action stuff which makes it a versatile tale that fans of several genres can find something to enjoy in, but it’s not about shootouts or revenge or any of that.

It’s about running. More accurately, it’s about running to a phony destination to try prolonging the inevitable.

Harubruh Goes to A-Kon 28

Hello folks, it’s Harubruh here.

Well, it’s been a little while since I’ve done a solo writeup on here, like nearly two years. I’ve been thinking for a while that this issue needed to be addressed. I had started on a review of Your Name back when it first hit theaters, but that poor thing went up in smoke after some drama both online and off. However, I have another topic worth writing about, a lot of spare time, and a fair bit of motivation, so let’s do this!

Spring 2017 Final Thoughts

Well, we’re a day behind deadline, but it’s been a hectic seasonal transition here at For Great Justice. Catche had to persevere through a laptop falling apart on him, Haru is drowning in A-Kon merch with no oxygen tank (expect an article on that later this week), and Yata is desperately trying to ignore the fact that there exist people in this world who have already seen the first episode of Violet Evergarden. But we’re not here today to talk to you about shows still around the bend, nor is it yet time to cover what new offerings this summer has started to give us. No, today we’re offering our opinions on the hits and misses of the past three months. Which sequels remained strong? Which titles flew under most people’s radar but deserve more recognition? And was completing Eromanga-Sensei worth it, like, at all? The answers to these questions and more in our spring final thoughts below:

Teeth Cry Salty: Thoughts on The Dragon Dentist

TW/DISCLAIMERS: This piece is mostly centered around The Dragon Dentist’s discourse on death and refers to suicide. Some of the image links contain war imagery as well. Use your best judgment if you think either of these things will affect you.

Obviously this also contains spoilers for The Dragon Dentist, so if you haven’t seen it yet, consider spending your next 90 minutes doing that, then coming back to this. And of course, this is my (Yatahaze’s) own personal reflection on the series and not necessarily reflective of everyone else here at For Great Justice.

Spring 2017 Mid-Season Thoughts

Hey, everybody, and welcome back to For Great Justice! The world may be continuing to go to shit, but the Anime Gods have been benevolent this year, and as we approach the halfway point of the spring season, Yata and Haru strapped down to make their positions clear on some of the season’s biggest shows. Which sequels have held up their hype? Which new entries appear to be the cream of the crop? And the most important question of all: is alcohol poisoning actually preferable to watching Eromanga-Sensei? The answers to all these questions and more lie below. Let’s jump on in.

Spring 2017 First Impressions

Greetings, everybody, and welcome to our first impressions on the Spring 2017 anime season, which we somehow managed to finish in between Easter obligations, seasonal allergy fits, and nearly dying in Mad Max-tier traffic. Coming into the season, we noted that there looked to be a swath of potentially decent speculative picks but very few new standouts, especially compared to the somewhat stacked set of sequels. That prediction was more or less accurate, and between Yata, Catche, and Haru, we managed to check out 21 shows, just under half of the total airing this season. What did we love? What did we trash on? And which underdogs scraped by first impressions week this time? Read on to find out!

Finally, A Happy Ending: Thoughts from Your Name.

DISCLAIMER: This piece contains major spoilers to Your Name. and potential minor spoilers to two of Shinkai’s earlier films, 5 Centimeters Per Second and The Garden of Words. If you’ve not yet seen Your Name., you should frankly leave now. I don’t want that kind of blood on my hands. Regarding the other two works, continue at your own risk, though I don’t think I discuss anything that can’t be inferred from their synopses and opening minutes.

Also this piece is my (Yatahaze’s) own personal reflection and not necessarily indicative of all of us at For Great Justice, though we did all enjoy the film, so take that as you will.

Winter 2017 Final Thoughts

Welcome back, everybody! Spring’s already encroaching on the end of the winter season, but when it comes to jotting down some thoughts about anime, we’re better late than never. It also couldn’t be helped that Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid didn’t wrap up until a couple hours ago, so while we’re kinda down to the wire here with the seasonal overlap, what would be the point if we didn’t include all that we enjoyed? And what a surprising season it was, with several speculative picks taking off strongly, a couple solid sequels under its belt (2017 truly does look to be sequel heaven), and even our first 10/10 rating in about 2 years. What took that crowned spot? Where did everything else we watched stack up? And most importantly, what’s already contending for the most ridiculous surprise of the year? Kick back and read on as Yatahaze, Catche, and Harubruh run down their winter 2017 final thoughts.