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Review: The Boy and the Heron

Despite some flaws, this is still a movie well worth seeing.

The Eminence in Shadow, episode 30

Rating: B+ As I watched this week’s episode, I was struck by the thought that I have been overlooking one big inherent irony: Shadow Garden’s behavior is itself very cult-like, especially in the way it idolizes and even (in some cases) outright worships Shadow. That comes through clearly in the different reactions of 559 andContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 30”

The Eminence in Shadow, episode 29

Rating: B The prostitute Marie was shown too prominently back in episode 21 for her to not pop up again later, so it’s little surprise that her reappearance comes as the story shifts to what Cid was doing after he stepped out of the picture for a while at the end of episode 27. Unfortunately,Continue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 29”

Fall ’23 Mid-Season Round-Up

For the last two seasons, I have done a mid-season round of of isekai titles. While there are certainly enough of them this season (eight total, if you include reverse-isekai) to do a piece on just them, We also have a bevy of series about characters displaced within their own timelines (four in all!) andContinue reading “Fall ’23 Mid-Season Round-Up”

The Eminence in Shadow, episode 27

Rating: A- Confirmation bias is a psychological characteristic whereby people tend to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in ways that align with their pre-existing beliefs or values. It lies at the heart of many of the ironies in this series, and it is very much on display in this episode, where the ShadowContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 27”

Movie Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

Posted: 11/13/2023 Note: This review is based on the subtitled version. A dubbed version is apparently also circulating, but that was not shown in my area. The Tunnel to Summer is a late 2022 movie which has only recently had a U.S. theatrical run, courtesy of HIDIVE. It adapts a 2019 light novel and isContinue reading “Movie Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes”

The Eminence in Shadow episode 26

Rating: B+ The series has been cycling through members of the Seven Shades for feature treatment this season, and this episode is Alpha’s turn. What we learn about her here is quite interesting and, honestly, a little heartbreaking. It’s hard not to sympathize with her given how Cid/Shadow/John Smith handles the situation. To this point,Continue reading “The Eminence in Shadow episode 26”

The Apothecary Diaries episode 5

My apologies; the (rather long) content of this post seems to have vanished on me. Unfortunately, I didn’t back this one up, so I’ll see if I can reconstruct it.

The Eminence in Shadow episode 25

Rating: A- It’s now official: Gamma is an absolute terror on the battlefield, and not necessarily for any good reason. My sympathies go nearly as much to the two unfortunates escorting/assisting her as to the Clover members trying to infiltrate Mitsuoghi. From the reactions of the former to being assigned as her support, they hadContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow episode 25”

The Apothecary Diaries episode 4

Rating: B+ Despite the ominous episode title (“The Threat”), this episode focuses almost entirely on dealing with the consequences of a previous mystery rather than initiating a new one. This provides a welcome rounding-out to a matter which felt like it got dealt with too quickly given that it was literally a life-or-death situation. ThisContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries episode 4”