CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of a scene involving sexual abuse is included. It’s been clearly marked, in case you wish to skip it.
Sword Art Online continues to be an enigma. Its issues are varying and pronounced, but I can’t help but have a soft spot for it. Sword Art Online, for all its faults, is achingly sincere. It wants to be a good story, and despite its blunders I admire the spirit to keep trying to be better. Sword Art Online: Alicization is the beginning of its most ambitious story arc yet. It remains flawed, but it’s a fairly compelling effort.
![[Sephirotic] Evangelion - 09 [MULTI][BD 1080p 8bits 5.1 AAC][73B322AB].mkv_snapshot_17.08_[2018.01.14_02.13.27].jpg](https://bristlesbabbles.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/sephirotic-evangelion-09-multibd-1080p-8bits-5-1-aac73b322ab-mkv_snapshot_17-08_2018-01-14_02-13-27.jpg)
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a dense and messy thing. But even at its most troubled it still hits the powerful truth that we all want to love and be loved. It’s the consistent thread holding together all of its character journeys, the thing that guides the lives and goals and decisions of its cast. Episode 9 may not be the most conventional place to look at this, but it’s the first time we really see the vulnerability that fuels two of Evangelion‘s most prominent relationships: the one between Shinji and Asuka, and the one between Misato and Kaji. Humans desire intimacy, and these four characters each struggle with it in different ways.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming Top 10 New Anime of 2017 list.![[FFF] Sakura Quest - 02 [98B05E63].mkv_snapshot_14.49_[2017.04.20_03.16.34].jpg](https://bristlesbabbles.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/fff-sakura-quest-02-98b05e63-mkv_snapshot_14-49_2017-04-20_03-16-34.jpg)
This is an excerpt from my upcoming Top 10 New Anime of 2017 list.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming Top 10 New Anime of 2017 list.
Sometimes I find it hard to have faith in the world we’ve left ourselves. In a heartbeat we could lose it all because of the whims of a few people, so how could we trust that our best intentions will prevail? It seems impossible, it defies rationality. But we aren’t always rational. We’re willing to keep pushing on with only a moment of unconditional support and compassion. And when you distil us to our most primal selves you may find that we can be mean and selfish, but you’ll also find the power we have to care. To care for others, to care for our passions, to care for what we have. Girls’ Last Tour believes in the goodness of others.
Let’s talk about slice of life anime. Yes, that slice of life. The one allegedly responsible for the fiery death of the anime industry a few years back. It’s no secret that a lot of anime fans don’t really care for slice of life shows. Heck, some would go so far as to say it’s a genuine threat to Good Creators and their ability to make Good Anime. But what if I actually like these shows? This led me to think more about the reasons why I watch slice of life things, and after some soul searching I realised that I still like my cute stuff. A lot of these shows are a hard sell to anyone who hasn’t already sold their soul to the moe gods, but maybe just maybe there’s something to appreciate.
