While anime is a medium which can be at its absolute best when telling ultra-compelling, complicated, dark, twisted tales; sometimes you just need to sit down and watch something wholesome. In previous reviews, I've pointed out that one of my least favourite genres tends to be Slice of Life. I didn't really like Nichijou , One Week Friends didn't do anything for me, K-On was actually pretty fun...
I have been a musician for over 20 years, and have performed at a professional level at many points in my life. I also hold two degrees in music (one in performance), so the idea of an anime about a prodigious pianist seems like it should be a perfect fit. Let's just say... Your Lie in April is one of the first anime I have dropped in a very, very long time (I got to Episode 9, and had the rest...
If you ignore the political climate and rash of popular culture folks being terrible, and choose to only look at the media that has come out this year, 2017 has been insanely good. That goes for Games, Movies, and shows; but in a year as good as this, to have something stand head and shoulders above everything else is really a testament to that work's quality. Anime, in particular, has had a re...
Hey all! Yesterday, 6 of us from the [Unofficial] Giant Bomb Facebook Group got together and held our own GOTY deliberations!!! They lasted for over six and a half hours, and we are all fairly happy with how the lists came out If you'd like to hear how we got to these decisions, please check out the links at the bottom of this post! Thanks for checking this out =) Video Deliberations Audio/Podc...
I have a soft spot for a good time travel story. Within the realm of anime, time travel comes up quite a bit. It's a really common plot device, and I think that a lot of shows/movies use it to great effect. One of the most excellent examples in recent years would be Steins;Gate. I've already reviewed a time travel anime with this series (Re:Zero), and I'm sure I'll be reviewing more in the futu...
If I were to look at a list of the most popular genres of anime, 'Sports Anime' is the one that I would avoid 95% of the time. I have severely disliked every sports anime I've previously watched. Kuroko no Basket (Kuroko's Basketball), for example - I absolutely hated it, and 'hate' is not a word I use frequently. I rarely identify with the characters, and I never really care about the outcome...
I could approach this as I have my previous anime reviews, and very easily craft a long, nuanced review on TTGL ; but I would rather boil it down to this: TTGL is an excellent show, and handles scale unlike anything that has come before it or since. It is silly, but it has depth. It is beautiful, but it is sad. It is ridiculous and absurd, but it plays by its own rules. You should watch Gurren...
Anime is weird. Often times, creators of anime like to come up with conceits that you would never encounter in Western shows, which is something I certainly appreciate! Durarara is a good example of this - it is a show about gang wars, teenagers, supernatural creatures/characters, and superhuman strength. It has an extremely broad cast of characters, and tells a fairly intricate story. It is th...
Who doesn't love a show about a bunch of innocent, well-meaning adolescent girls with magical powers?!? The shows are usually colourful, fun, there's cute little animal buddies - these shows are just the best, especially for kids! Sailor Moon , Cardcaptor Sakura , Madoka Magica - all peas in a pod... Right? Well... Despite their art styles all being pretty similar, one of these is very much not...
When I write reviews, I tend to give myself one golden rule - don't write a review immediately after having experienced something; but if you do, wait a few days before hitting "submit." By letting the sentiments you felt immediately after watching/experiencing something coagulate, you can avoid the trap of passion. It is very easy to misrepresent your feelings as being too strong in one way or...
A quick preface - This review encompasses the show until the end of the Kyoto arc in Season 2, as well as the 4-part OVA "Trust & Betrayal." Sometimes it can be fun to talk with people about their favourite shows from when they were kids. When it comes to anime, if you talk with people my age here in North America you will often hear people say they loved watching Pokemon , Dragonball Z , or Sa...
There may be times when you come into a show with no sense of where it came from, nor where it will go. Perhaps it is a show whose story has been established for years via Manga or Visual Novels; but you don't have any particular attachment to the source material. That is how I came into Re:Zero, a show which is an adaptation of the first 9 light novels (of the same name) created by Tappei Naga...
Hey all, Thanks to a very anime-friendly relationship with my SO, over the past several months I've found myself getting back into anime in a way I hadn't since high school. I've been an anime watcher for probably about ten years now, and would consider myself a fan of the genre. Though I previously had never felt the need to sit down and write about it (apart from lackadaisically maintaining a...
Hey all First and most importantly, I will - not - be linking to my Kickstarter page, nor will I be saying what the Product/Service was that got funded. I am not going to post an ad - I simply want to relay my experience from the side of a creator. The reason I'm writing this is for those of you in the GB community who either want to know what to expect when creating their own Kickstarter, or f...
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Hey again, Thanks to everyone for all of the great feedback and interest in Part One ! So far we have talked about what it's like to write a song, as well as some general ideas of how to arrange one. For this tutorial, I chose to do an arrangement of Darren Korb 's Setting Sail, Coming Home from the Bastion soundtrack. Rather than simply try to recreate the original, I opted to create an A Cape...
Hey all You guys have probably seen me posting around Giant Bomb for a few years now - posting about things like having depression , driving a zamboni , as well as posting some music I composed for the Global Game Jam and, more recently, posting a symphonic song I did. I adore the Giant Bomb community and wanted to give back to you guys by providing an interactive tutorial. I'll lift the curtai...
I'm a fairly frugal person, but this Holiday season I decided to go against my nature and spend a little of my hard-earned cash on Boxing Day sales. I purchased a new PS3 Slim to take the place of my PS3 fat that's on its way out (and is also across the continent while I'm back home from school) and figured, "well, the Playstation TV is on sale and I could use a new personal gaming monitor... A...
Hey guys, I thought I'd throw out a blog post that shows off some really, really awesome products out there that I'd personally love to try or at least have around. First off, never worry about jumping into the shower at the 'wrong time' again with the Temperature Controlled Color Changing LED Shower Head How awesome is that?! No more guessing about when the temperature is just right when you'r...
First off, I'd really like to thank everyone who read my previous blog post , it was incredibly interesting to read how many different people have been affected by depression in some way and the support was so very appreciated. Thank you. Anyways, more importantly. Zambonies. If you've been to any event that's taken place at an arena (save for Curling), you've likely seen one. (Or an Olympia ,...
Mental illness isn't a subject that many are incredibly candid about; nor is it something that many people feel comfortable talking about. I would like to be forthcoming with my own issues. I suffer from clinical depression, and refuse to take any medication to suppress any of the symptoms. When I was growing up, my free time was split as such at home: 20% sports, 40% Music, 40% gaming. As I gr...