Tag: Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S

Posted on in anime, Weekly Writing Roundups

The Frontline Report [10/3/21]

The Frontline Report is a weekly column where I briefly summarize the past week of my personal journey through anime, manga, and the related spheres of pop culture. Expect some degree of spoilers for the covered shows.

One season ends and another begins, the world turns here on Magic Planet Anime.

The Heike Story

Japan races toward war. The third episode of The Heike Story only reinforces what we’ve known from day one, but it’s the method that really sticks out here. We know the character of Lord Saiko, for instance, for mere minutes. But he is the first to speak truth to power in opposing Shigemori’s father, Lord Kiyomori. For his defiance, he is beheaded, in a brilliant cut–in every sense of that word–that flickers from the falling of the sword to a flower landing in water. Elsewhere, archers fire at warrior monks and pierce portable shrines in the process, telling us that even already, nothing is truly sacred in the power struggle that’s about to ensue.

Biwa sees the bloodshed ahead, as Shigemori prepares to attack his own father to stop his power-hungry madness, but seems powerless to stop it. Only time will tell if that’s truly so. There is little in the way of embellishment to say about Heike Story, it simply is a gripping period piece drama.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S

In a meta sense, it’s not that strange that a show like this remains somewhat controversial. “Be yourself, ignore what society tells you” is about as close as Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid ever gets to a proper theme, and it certainly follows its own advice, for better or worse. But while it’s no philosophical treatise, the writing can be surprisingly characterful when it remembers to get out of its own way. Dragon Maid S actually ended a bit ago now, but I only watched the final two episodes this past week, and that’s definitely true of both of them, especially the actual finale with its festivals and faux wedding ceremony. It re-centers the focus on Kobayashi and Tohru themselves, making for the series’ strongest showing since, well, the last time I covered it on this column.

But Dragon Maid‘s thesis of ethical hedonism aside, the real story here in the long run remains the triumphant return of Kyoto Animation. I won’t drag the point out; all twelve episodes of the show look amazing, and while what they’ve been through will probably weigh heavy over the anime landscape for a long time, it’s just really good to have them back. See you all for 20th Century Electric Catalogue?

Elsewhere on MPA

I debuted my Seasonal First Impressions column this past week (which you’re going to be seeing more of literally today if everything goes as planned), but I’ve also put up a review, another episode of KeyFrames Forgotten I’m rather proud of, and just in general am keeping a decent clip of things. Remember to toss me some coins in the footer if you’ve liked anything I’ve written this week and are able to!

Seasonal First Impressions: SELECTION PROJECT – The season gets off to a truly “and the crowd goes mild”-style start with an idol anime that left me very, very nonplussed. It’s annoying to dislike something because it’s simply “not doing anything new”, and I wouldn’t even say I do dislike Selection Project per se, there’s just not much to it at the moment, which is unfortunate.

(REVIEW) The Far Side of Summer, SONNY BOY, and Me – Sonny Boy is one of those anime that’s going to be rolling around in my noggin for years. I don’t think I’m as huge as a fan as many of the show’s biggest defenders, but that’s splitting hairs. Immaculately produced, uncommonly nuanced, and contemplative to its core, Sonny Boy is a show we’re going to be hearing about for a long time.

KeyFrames Forgotten Episode 3 – WINDY TALES – Hey you, reading this right now, listen to our podcast about Windy Tales! The show is good and the podcast episode is also good! I don’t hear people discuss Windy Tales much anymore, and I’m not sure why? It’s a lovely little thing.

See you on the next, anime fans.

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All views expressed on Magic Planet Anime are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text is owned by Magic Planet Anime. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.

Posted on in anime, Weekly Writing Roundups

The Frontline Report [9/13/21]

The Frontline Report is a weekly column where I briefly summarize the past week of my personal journey through anime, manga, and the related spheres of pop culture. Expect some degree of spoilers for the covered shows.

Hey folks! I’ve been under the weather and generally low-energy this week so this writeup comes to you a day late. Hope y’all are doing well out there. Let’s jump right into things.

The Detective is Already Dead – Every time I try to talk about this series my breath is stolen from my mouth. Not because it’s Just That Bad and 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕝𝕪 not because it’s Just That Good. I don’t know what I’d say about it if I could. Props for having the balls to go the obvious route? For daring to be so completely ridiculous in such a headstrong-stupid way? Here’s a question for you; how many anime feature heart transplants as a motif? I can only think of this one. The detective may be dead, but my faith in anime as a medium remains. God help us all.

Magia Record – As usual, you can read my thoughts over here. Short version? I really love this show. As a side note, it does bother me that so many people still seem to think that Madoka Magica‘s great contribution to its genre is realistic violence. Violence in art is a tool. In PMMM it is used to tell you that the systems the girls are trapped in are fucked up and horrible. The intent here, in this week’s MagiReco, is much the same.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S – I’ve somehow managed to go the whole season without so much as even acknowledging that I’m watching Dragon Maid. But now that it’s nearing its conclusion I’m confident in saying at least this much; it’s a lot of fun. Kyoto Animation remain an absolute powerhouse here, even in light of the tragic arson attack on their studio two years ago. The production, as such, is untouchable, and visually speaking it’s arguably the best anime airing right now. Its fun, adventurous animation is capable of flipping from hijinks to truly impressive battle sequences to more adventurous and bizarre comedic stylings at the drop of a hat. It’s damn great, and the series deserves high marks for that alone. Its writing remains a bit patchy, if only because it’s trying to be so many things at once.

It’s at its best when it locks into a single swathe of the emotional spectrum, as with this past week’s episode, which sees Kanna on a journey to New York and back again as she makes a friend in the Big Apple. And of course, rescues her from Bad Guys ™. Her flight over the US is wonderful, being positively Ghibli-esque.

Beyond that, and despite its supernatural setting, Dragon Maid shines brightest in scenes that articulate the small joys of everyday life. A cut illustrating something as simple as pouring cold tea into a glass is given an opulence that magnifies its emotional impact. In these key moments, Dragon Maid is a magic spell. More real than our own world.

Sonny Boy – Is Sonny Boy losing people? I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was. I’m still definitely on-board with the series as purely a machine that pumps out bizarre, vaguely parable-esque vignettes. The background plot involving the fake teacher Ms. Aki and her schoolbus of cultists may or may not eventually resolve in interesting fashion. In the meantime, this week’s episode spotlights Mizuho’s cats and hands us a curious story of a boy and his clone that ends in as much a punchline as it does a moral lesson. Where does Sonny Boy go from here? I have no idea, and that’s exactly why I like it so much.

Manga

Puella Magi Homura Tamura – This past week I’ve been taking another read (it’s my second time through) of this obscure little corner of the Madoka Magica expanded universe. I think people have forgotten that said EU is, in fact, surprisingly large. Many have been mostly left behind by the passing of the initial Madoka hype wave, but there were actually quite a few interquels, spinoffs, and otherwise divergent-from-the-norm Madoka Stories. Most were fairly serious affairs, and perhaps predictably given the large number of hands involved, they varied pretty widely in quality. Homura Tamura is quite distinct from all that, though. It’s decidedly on the humorous side, though its offbeat sense of humor is more likely to remind readers of other entries in the comedy yonkoma genre than it is to provide any insight into what the girls of Madoka Magica act like “off-camera”.

Still, it’s a solid and fun read. It got licensed by Yen Press years ago so I’m sure you can find hard copies somewhere if you care to snoop around. There’s a lot of great genre parodies in here, and some truly out-there takes on some of Madoka’s core premises. Have you ever wanted to read a manga in which Homura travels through time so much that she eventually ends up at a café staffed and visited entirely by versions of herself from alternate timelines? Then friend, I’ve got a manga for you. Fun fact: This is illustrated by AFRO, who would soon become known as the artist behind YuruCamp. Second fun fact: if you google the name of this manga, the little Google Book Preview thing will claim it was illustrated by Italian painter Afro Basaldella. Close but no cigar, Google!

Wanna talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers? Consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter, supporting me on Ko-Fi, or checking out my other anime-related work on Anilist or for The Geek Girl Authority.

All views expressed on Magic Planet Anime are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text is owned by Magic Planet Anime. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.