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.

Yata’s Top 25 OPs of 2012

Gotta give you a bit of backstory before we begin: Haru, L-K, and I founded For Great Justice in the late summer of 2014, but we had actually met each other online and started conversing about two and a half years prior. At the time, Haru and I in particular seemed to hit it off with similar taste, each of us just getting into the whole “watch a ton of shows as they air” trend, and the rest is more or less our site’s modest history. For that reason, 2012 (and its spring season in particular) has continued to hold a deep place in my heart, and lately I started getting nostalgic about those good ol’ days.

Then the epiphany hit me: that was five years ago.

My first thought was “Where the fuck did that time go?” My second was something to the effect of “You know, this would give me a reason to crank out another OPs list,” and that’s precisely what I’m gonna be doing here. If you’re familiar with my previous OP lists, the criteria and rules haven’t changed. If you aren’t, allow me to explain:

These ratings are by and large my own personal opinion (of which you are entitled to yours) and based on arbitrary factors including but not limited to melody, song composition, audio production, visual production, audiovisual sync, originality, relevance to the show (when I’m able to judge that), and my own miscellaneous personal enjoyment. Having seen a show isn’t a prerequisite for its OP to appear here, but OPs for shows I have seen are much more likely to be included and placed higher than those I haven’t, especially in this nostalgia-driven installment. The exact numerical rankings are pretty much irrelevant outside the top 10. OPs to shows which started airing before or finished airing after 2012 are eligible, but only if the OP itself first aired during that year.

Since 2012 marked the start of my anime-watching habits, this will also likely be my last retrospective Top OPs list going forward, so fasten those seat belts, plug in some headphones, and accompany me on this totally self-gratifying trip down memory lane.