Anime Thoughts and Analysis

Call me Lucy. I write reviews and analyses of anime. If you like to dig deep into your favorite stories, then stick around. Some of my favorites are Kill la Kill, Houseki no Kuni, Psycho-Pass, and everything by Studio Trigger. I'll also do currently airing shows too. Accepting asks/messages for topics to write about.

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Top 6 Spring 2020 Anime to Watch

I was going to make this a Top 10, but it got way too long, so I cut it to 6. (Also above pic is from BNA)

Anyway, these are the Top 6 Spring 2020 Anime that I personally think will be worth watching. For all of these included in the list, I have watched at least the first episode. But of course, this list will be very biased, because my beloved Studio Trigger finally has another show again.

I won’t be including sequels (but I’m watching Fruits Basket S2, Ascendance of a Bookworm S2, and I’m trying to catch up on Kaguya-sama and Tsugumomo)

Let’s start from Number 6. May contain vague spoilers for the first episodes of these shows. More below!

6. Gal to Kyouryuu

This one looks like trash. I know. I know, but give it a chance. Maybe all you’ll get out of it is its comedy and strangeness, and its wacky live action second half. But just let me tell you the best part of this show, and why it’s so high on my list.

First, a quick summary. A gyaru (gal) girl takes in a dinosaur that she found one day, and they spend their time just living life together. That’s it.

That is it, but I think there’s more to it than just that. This gal girl, Kaede, from what I can tell, has just been going through the motions in life. She felt bored and uninspired and unmotivated. Her life was just work, and whatever fun things she could find to fill up her free time.

But when she brings in the dinosaur, despite her many complaints, she still cares for him and thinks of him and is considerate towards him. And for her to have someone by her side, and looking to her as a companion to face life together, side by side, creates a little more fun and a little more motivation in her own life.

This isn’t a deep show or anything. I don’t think there’s some dark hidden message, unless you want to look at it that way. It’s a sweet little show about the relationship between two lost and lonely people, finding their way in life together. One of them just happens to be a cute dinosaur.

Which amazingly, no one seems to question. I think that’s great, because it just cuts out that whole obstacle of others coming to terms with the dinosaur’s existence, and goes straight to him as just an individual character, and his relationship with Kaede.

It’s just really sweet, I can’t say this enough. It might be a little subtle. But just watch out for the things that Kaede does for the dinosaur, like how she seriously thinks about what she can do to help him. I also think the dinosaur definitely helps Kaede let down her guard and be more relaxed about some things. Both their lives are just brighter with each other than without.

(Edit after seeing Episode 2, SPOILERS: Never mind about this not being deep or dark, the ending of Episode 2 has changed my mind!! Please watch it, and let’s discuss theories!!!)

5. Arte

If you’ve read any of my past essays, maybe you’ve found out by now that I live for the dynamic between really great and supportive partnerships. And maybe you’ve also found out by now that most of this list consists of said partnerships. Arte definitely has one too.

So Arte is about a noblewoman who wants to be an artist, but everyone is against that, because she’s a woman, and women at that time don’t become artists. And moreover, she’s a noble, and so she needs to be ladylike and get married so she can continue to live a comfy life.

Basically that’s the premise, and Arte goes about trying to find her path to becoming an artist. She eventually becomes the apprentice of someone we all know: Leonardo da Vinci.

If you like art, if you like history and historical figures (read: if you’re a Fate fan like me), or if you just like a cool and determined female MC, then this is for you. I would say this is comparable to Ascendance of a Bookworm, or the anime movie Miss Hokusai. It’ll probably have equal parts lighthearted comedy and darker seriousness, and plenty of coolness from Arte and Leo both.

4. Gleipnir

I read a good chunk of the manga a year or two before this came out, so I’ve been looking forward to this. The animation in this first episode was really good quality, and it’ll probably only get better from here. The story is basically, one day, our MC Shuichi suddenly gains powers to turn into a big stuffed animal suit. Everyone who has these powers to transform has entered into a big battle royale to the death to collect the most coins.

Shuichi just wants to live a normal life and get rid of this animal form, and Claire wants to find a certain someone (among other things). Shuichi doesn’t want to fight, doesn’t want to kill anyone — but he can’t do nothing because then he’d be killed. And he doesn’t even know yet why he was turned into this monster.

That’s where Claire comes in. She has a goal, but she doesn’t have powers like he does. She’d be killed instantly on her own, just as he would because of his hesitation. Just so you know, she gets it into her head that the best way for them both to live, and get what they both want, is for her to get inside his animal suit form, and control him from the inside.

They’d both die on their own, but together, they can survive.

I think the story is interesting and plenty mysterious. There’s a lot of good stuff to sink your teeth into. But like always, the core of the show, to me, is the dynamic between Shuichi and Claire, and how they both find purpose and motivation because of each other.

Also Shuichi’s VA is the same as Tanjirou. And Ikuto in Runway de Waratte. So that’s a plus.

3. Princess Connect! Re:Dive

So it might be easy to dismiss this as another fantasy adventure harem with the lackluster MC, but I’m going to argue for our mostly silent and robotic protagonist. We find out in the first episode when he wakes up that he lost his memory, so I would say that that’s the reason why he’s pretty emotionless. So as he interacts more with Kokkoro, and learns more about the world from her, he becomes more expressive.

I think the best example of this is his last line at the end of the first episode, which sounded a little more emotional and personal than any lines he’d said earlier.

On another note, the animation is top notch — way, way too excessively pretty and beautiful and detailed, but I ain’t complaining. The grass. The grass. Watch it, and you’ll see what I mean. And the lighting. The lighting.

The action animation and comedy both are pretty reminiscent of Konosuba. A certain character’s finishing move is pretty similar to Explosion. And like Konosuba, a lot of the appeal of this show will probably be the female characters, their wild personalities, and all the shenanigans they get into.

But also like Konosuba, there’s a small, hidden sweet side sprinkled throughout, in how their ragtag group finds friendship and companionship with each other, when they couldn’t find it elsewhere. If you look at it that way, I think this show can be sweet and deep in its own way.

2. Tower of God

This is a big one that I know lots of people have been looking forward to, as it’s an adaptation of a popular Webtoon. I haven’t read the webtoon yet, but I will eventually. I’ll just say that first, the art and animation here is really, really good. In particular, the scenery and background art is amazing, and really creates the whole atmosphere. A single change in background can change the mood in a second. You’ll see what I mean immediately in the first scene with the big door. Or a little later on with the blood splatter.

The animation of the movement in action scenes is smooth and fluid, no problems there. The art style may take some time to get used to for some people who may not like it, but it’s personally just the kind I like. Honestly it reminds me of a Shaft work. So if you like the Monogatari series, the use of art style and background art here gives a similar vibe, or at least I think so.

As for the story, it starts with Bam getting separated from Rachel, and he starts his journey to climb a tower so he can meet her again. We get pretty much no reason for why she left yet, but I think we’re in for something really good with this story.

(I’m planning on making a separate analysis essay entirely on a certain scene in the first episode, so look forward to that.)

1. BNA

Brand New Animal. Trigger’s latest work, the last few being SSSS Gridman and Darling in the Franxx, and their first movie, Promare. I am a huge Trigger fan, and I’ve been excited for this one for a while.

Our MC, Michiru, is a human, but she suddenly gets turned into a tanuki person. She seeks refuge in Anima City, because (surprise!) the humans don’t like the animal people. But not everything is as it seems in Anima City, and she teams up with the wolf person, Ogami Shiro, to find answers — thus getting caught up in something way bigger and stranger than she ever expected.

First off, if you’ve been missing the crazy and cartoonish animation from Trigger’s earlier stuff, then you’re in for a treat. This has an undeniable Kill la Kill vibe, but with Promare’s amazing popping colors and backgrounds.

If you want to say it’s another animal show, like Beastars and Zootopia, go ahead. Let’s just get that out of the way.

Moving on, Michiru escapes to Anima City, expecting it to be a place where all the animal people can live freely and be themselves. But it turned out to be a free-for-all, strongest wins type of society, where animal people are quick to betray their own kind for their own personal gain. And even side with the humans who discriminated them in the first place.

Michiru’s character will probably be a hit or miss for most people. Some might find her annoying, others charming and endearing. I like her, as I tend to like these types of characters.

But I think what’s great, is that she gets challenged. Her ideas and beliefs about both the animal people and humans are put to the test, and her suddenly becoming an animal person herself means that she’s in a unique position of being able to understand both sides. But she’s also still an outsider, and she finds that maybe neither side was really quite like what she once believed. And so, her place in either side of society will come into question for her. There’s a lot to dig into here, and I’ll probably make separate posts for BNA alone later on.

If you like Trigger, watch it. It’s probably more of a mix between Gridman and Promare than it is Kill la Kill, despite sharing many animation similarities (even a certain sports match that’s basically torn right out of Kill la Kill). If you want something that’s a little more different and subtle and intriguing than their usual works, then this is for you. If you liked Beastars, give this one a try too.

Some Extras

--that I wanted to add to this list, but I’ll just briefly put them here so this post doesn’t get any longer:

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle

Listeners

If there’s more you think I missed, feel free to put ‘em in the replies!

Upcoming Essays:

Analysis on Orb Scene in Tower of God Episode 1

Navigating the numerous Fantasy-Adventure genre anime of the Spring 2020 Season

Various BNA essays (I’ve seen episodes 1-6 already, will be tagged for spoilers)

Gal to Kyouryuu Theories

Maybe something Fate related, it’s my recent obsession

[lucyoftheabyss48]

On the U.S. International Affairs Budget

To add on to my last post about the Global Health Security Act, the International Affairs Budget is also important for many reasons, which you can read more about in the following infographic.  

[lucyoftheabyss48]

About Global Health

I’m currently an intern for an organization called The Borgen Project. We try to reduce global poverty and other issues all over the world through political advocacy. Right now, because of the coronavirus, one of the acts we want to focus on is the Global Health and Security Act. If passed, it would be a great support to increasing preparedness and response to infectious disease, and preventing future pandemic outbreaks. I think one of the easiest things we can do, is to just send an email to Congress leaders, and get them to consider this issue. Let them know that this is something their constituents care about. See the flyers below for more info.

Anyway, I don’t want to make too many personal posts on here, so I tried to keep this short. If you’d like to block these types of posts in the future, I’ll be tagging them as #personal so please feel free to do so if you need to. To my readers, I hope you all stay as safe and healthy as you can, and I wish you the best.

[marshmallowgoop]

I can’t get over Edward The Hazardous’s mashup of Kill la Kill’s “Till I Die” and NieR: Automata’s “The Weight of the World.”

It’s a seamless mix of Caramel Apple Sound Gadget’s vocals and Keiichi Okabe and MONACA’s instrumental at first, but when J’Nique Nicole’s vocals come through near the end, I teared up a bit…. 

I don’t know much about NieR, but I think those lyrics are rather fitting for Ryuko, too. Combined into one song, it’s like Senketsu and Ryuko are singing together. 

Some powerful stuff.

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Nier Automata is such a good game, the story is absolutely breathtaking. Thanks for sharing this mashup, it’s beautiful!

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Do you ever wonder what it would be like if they made a Viper anime?

It’s good to hear from you again, thanks for the ask once again! I unfortunately haven’t seen Viper, but I saw you’ve made quite a lot of juxtaposition posts on your blog about it. It looks super interesting; I might have to give it a try! What do you think a Viper anime would be like?

[rubylightx]

[where-is-major-gilbert]

Key Visual for upcoming Roadshow in Japan of new Violet Evergarden Movie!

[carefreejules]

OK I'M STILL CRYING BUT I NEED TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST

I loved this episode for so many reasons but mainly how it beautifully tied to Hop's motivation of wanting to be like Leon, but realizing there are things that only he and his Pokemon can do and he should work towards that instead of being a carbon copy of his brother!!!!!

Embrace your individuality and uniqueness!!!

I'm so emo now thanks Twilight Wings!!!!!! 😭❤️

[ask-the-apocalypse-kids]

Excuse me Ash who?

I only know Hop

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Thoughts on Pokemon Twilight Wings Episode 3

“Let’s go to the Pokemon League together.”

“Wooloo, it has to be with you.”

Hop and Wooloo were this close, but he STILL chose to take Wooloo off the team during his series of losses.

Having most of Hop’s development happen off-screen in the game was a missed opportunity, and we were robbed. I hereby petition for a full Pokemon anime series with Hop as the main character.

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Violet Evergarden: Of Course This is About Episode 10

The scene with Ann growing up and receiving her mother’s letters definitely is a tear-jerker. But you know what really got to me?

The scene at the very end when Violet cried.

A young girl was left behind forever by a loved one — Now, am I still talking about Ann? Or doesn’t this apply to Violet too?

You have to remember, just in the prior episode, she finally learned about Major’s death, and went through that whole ordeal of wondering whether she had the right to live and be a Doll. If her life had any meaning without him.

Up until then she’d believed him to be alive, and that hope drove her. How to go forward, without ever being able to see him again? How to live, when he is gone? These are the questions that plagued her.

She faced the hard truth of his death, and what that would mean for her. He was gone and she alone would live without him, for the rest of her life.

So for her first job immediately after that to be this one, to be one where Ann must face the same future as her — that must’ve hit way too close to home for Violet.

But she knows now, the letters she’d written had done good. She had made a positive, life-changing impact on so many people through her work. Her letters carried meaning. They conveyed love, between people who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to reach each other.

And that’s how she was able to understand the importance of the letters she wrote, as they were the one and only way for Ann’s mother to stay by her daughter’s side.

So it was only until after she learned of Gilbert’s death, after she came to terms with it and faced her own thoughts and emotions on it, that she could truly understand these things, and understand Ann, on a deeply personal level.

Now, she can finally understand the emotions of grief and loneliness and feelings that have no destination because the other person is dead. Because she felt it herself, first-hand. But that just makes it all the more bittersweet, because after all this time, she finally actually feels something —

Only to push it down and act like she doesn’t feel anything.

And that just kills me every time.

That’s why this final scene is so special, because it showed that she actually does. She always has.

It’s only now, that she is finally able to express those emotions freely. How even more bittersweet then, that it was the death of her most beloved person that brought her this far. But even so:

“No matter how far apart they may be.”

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Hello! I see your a fan of Runway de Waratte! I'm one too! Have you read the manga yet? If not, you should! The anime cuts a LOT of things out and sheds of light of Ikuto and Chiyuki's relationship! You can also find raws around the web too!

Hi there! No I haven’t read the manga yet! I really want to but I’m going to wait until this season of the anime finishes before I do that, simply because I want whatever happens next in the anime to still surprise me. But wow thanks so much for letting me know, you can bet I’ll be all over it and writing about it in deep, deep depth very soon!

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Would Seiya have been allowed to stay in Tiana's world tho?

I’m not sure if there was a rule saying he couldn’t. Only that if he died, he’d go back to his original world. Rista had to go back after Gaeabrande because she was a goddess. Someone correct me please if I’m wrong though.

I’d like to hope he’d be given the choice to stay, but that’s just my wishful thinking.

[lucyoftheabyss48]

Healin’ Good Precure: First Impressions

(Spoiler warning for episodes 1&2)

As each Precure season is a standalone, I’d definitely recommend getting into this one early, before it gets too long. I also want to point out that the animation is just as good, and maybe even better, than Precure’s ever been. I can vouch for the amazing animation, both in the fighting scenes, and out. The ending song is definitely the bomb, so give that a listen too. 

The theme this time is, as the title says, healing. The Precure will be fighting “Megapathogerms” to heal sick people. Now, let’s move on to my main point for this time’s essay: the partnership of Nodoka and Rabbirin.

As we learned in episode 2, our main character Nodoka was sick and spent most of her childhood hospitalized and bedridden. And even when she wasn’t bedridden, she was in a wheelchair. So I think for almost all of her life, she faced the very real truth that there are things in life that she just can’t do. There are things that are impossible for her.

It must have been frustrating. It must have been devastating. She must have felt so useless.

“There must be something I can do. I’ll do anything!”

In episode one, she said these words before becoming a Precure.

But in response, Rabbirin told her, “There’s nothing you can do.”

Then again in episode 2, when Nodoka tried facing the Megapathogerm on her own, Rabbirin said: “You know it’s pointless to try to fight it like that!”

Again and again, Rabbirin told Nodoka she couldn’t do something — it would be pointless to try because she couldn’t do anything except run.

But Nodoka is sick of hearing those words. Sick of being unable to do anything. So she doesn’t want to give up and run away. She decided she’d pay back all the kindness and effort the people around her have given her, by helping others who are sick and in pain.

But she knows. There’s nothing she can do.

Alone, that is. But with Rabbirin, she can be stronger. She can help people.

Likewise Rabbirin spent all of episode one searching for a human “doctor” to be partners with, because Rabbirin can’t do anything alone either. A Precure is needed. But after going to all that trouble, Rabbirin spent all of episode 2 rejecting Nodoka just because she just didn’t want someone that clumsy to get hurt in battle.

So what I’m getting at here, is that Nodoka and Rabbirin are indeed perfect partners. They’re in the same boat — powerless on their own. They’re constantly and consistently stopping dead in their tracks because of their inability to do anything. But they both have an undying inner strength that pushes them to help people.

That’s how they help each other.

Together, the “can’t” becomes “can.” And it’s this cooperation that, in turn, will help others. 

Just like they’ve always dreamed of.

[aquarterasian]

it seems that Rabirin doesn’t want Nodoka to be a precure not just because she doesn’t think she’s strong enough, but because she doesn’t want her to get hurt. its nice that its not just that shes ‘weak’

[niyarest]

I’m so hyped for tonight’s healpre episode I’m vibrating

[lucyoftheabyss48]

So do you think Seiya brought Tiana along to the final battle with Big Frogger Guy knowing she was pregnant with his child, or when Big Frogger Guy announced her pregnancy was it like a David Fincher Seven "Oh, he didn't know" thing?

In episode 11, when the Demon Lord revealed that Tiana was pregnant, it did look like Seiya seemed a little surprised, but his reaction might’ve just been because of how the Demon Lord so suddenly captured Tiana, and how the danger she was in so quickly escalated.

So based on reaction alone, it’s hard to tell if he knew or not that she was pregnant. I think the sudden rise in emotion in his voice as he cried and begged for the Demon Lord to stop was a hint that maybe he hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation until that moment.

And the reason for that is his catchphrase: “Gonna be okay. Something will work out.”

Tiana trusted in him and these words. There was nothing to fear with him around. And likewise, Seiya said, “Tiana, it’s because of your healing magic that I managed to make it this far.”

Their trust and belief in each other had them convinced that nothing bad would ever happen, but the devastating part was that, this time, they were wrong.

As for my personal opinion? I like to think he didn’t exactly know she was pregnant, but he certainly believed in the possibility of it, at least for in their future.

Seiya said he wanted to “defeat the demon lord as soon as possible,” and that as long as the Demon Lord is around, “the suffering of this world’s people goes on.”

To Seiya, the foreign hero summoned from another world, Tiana was one of “this world’s people.” Her suffering is included. That suffering, and his deep desire to relieve it, was the reason for why he can “keep moving forward.”

The Demon Lord was just a day away. He didn’t want to waste time taking a detour. This world could be free from suffering — as soon as tomorrow.

He could live a happy and peaceful life with Tiana as soon as tomorrow. And certainly included in that life, is their child. Their future family.

He could make that happen, so long as he kept moving forward.

Seiya may have been a hero and an overall good person who wanted to save everyone, but I also think that if he knew a life with Tiana and their child was waiting for him on the other side — that would have been the strongest motivation for his haste and recklessness.

But it also would have been the biggest reason for his unshakeable confidence too. After all, how could anything bad happen so long as they still had each other, and a future to fight for?

And that just makes it all the more regretful, because that was what got them killed.