Movie Review: Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade

Wow sorry folks, a perfect storm of other obligations and impossible to predict events that dominated my time (who would've expected the post office to lose/steal THREE of my packages in one month?!). Which is almost fitting since I also got around to watching this special a year after it came out, I'm sure someone announced when it went up on Netflix and I just missed it. I also didn't see it earlier since I didn't back the kickstarter, I could see it was going to be funded just fine and I was still a cash-strapped college student at that point (which seems weird to write since I graduated a couple of years ago now!). 

Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade

Anime Review: My Hero Academia

Back when the spring anime season was getting underway, I talked on the OASG podcast about how I still wasn't sure what shows I would end up liking but I was sure Concrete Revolutio and Flying Witch would be among them. I was right but imagine my surprise when I also really ended up liking the "populist" hits My Hero Academia and Kiznaiver! My tastes usually don't like up that way but this time they did and I hope that Funimation found a whole slew of fans for MHA since I can't remember the last time I saw this much pre-airing hype for a new anime (as in, Funimation was even making dubbed character spots to advertise for the show even before the first episode, that takes money!). I have seen a lot of buzz for it online and I have to say folks, I've considered getting a Weekly Shounen Jump subscription before but held back (not enough series I like/the series I like are monthly) but if I can figure out a way to catch up with this series (ie, library please hurry up with my holds!) this might be the manga that makes me do it.

My Hero Academia

Multiweek Round-UP: July 4th - 24th + Robin Ha's Cook Korean book launch

I can't explain why sometimes posts don't happen, usually I fall behind early on in the week and then things pile up and sometimes I don't even fall behind for a good reason, it's just "the world is too overwhelming". Totally not just a blog thing either, my Otakon to-sew list hasn't changed much since early June, I think I need to come up with some new coping mechanisms.

But I have gotten some posts out recently, I actually even did get one out this week over at OASG where I talked about the first volume of the cosplaying manga Complex Age. I'd heard good things about the manga, saw it at Fantom Comics when I was there a few weeks ago for Robin Ha's book launch (I'll talk about that at the end!) and I practically bought it on the spot (I didn't, and spent the entire time in line for the signing thinking about it and went back for it at the very end, certain folks know that they are to blame). I also published a review on the first volume of Wandering Island and I don't think this was up in time for my last round-up but I also published my first editorial, The Social Life of Jellyfish: How to be Stylish and Nerdy. I've never really considered editorials since I don't have enough to publish on a regular basis (and if the fact that being behind on one post for the week throws me off majorly doesn't tip you off that I like having a schedule, well then) but OASG is a pretty good place for it since Justin seems to have plans to try and make me write more of them. We'll see which other ideas flesh out well enough though.....

As for here, well there's been a lot of anime-manga stuff reviewed as well. I talk about seeing When Marnie Was There, the summer season of anime, the new Voltron show (which all of my friends and I agree totally counts as a fujoshi show, very anime, although I feel like true fujoshi anime have way less vitrolic shipping wars than this show does), and the honestly-not-anime-inspired-but-putting-it-here-anyway, Cleopatra in Space's first two volumes (a reboot of the webcomic I know I reviewed before, Cleopatra in Spaaaace). 

Oh and I also reviewed two disappointing romances in a row, Inherit the Stars and The Game of Love and Death. Since romances usually bore me (in multiple ways, I just don't get anything out of a romance-first book) I do try to stay away from them but I didn't realize it when I was requesting these books, although I really should have for the book that has "love" in the title (didn't even mention in my review but that book even included one of my very specific, disliked tropes where Helen of Troy is mentioned only with regardless to her "epic, failed romance", should have been another sign that this wasn't going to be the book for me).

Okay, onto the book signing! 

Book Review: The Game of Love and Death

Well, I'm honestly not sure why this book was on my to-read list. Clearly I put it on since I heard good recommendations about it but honestly Helen, this is obviously going be a romance and those aren't your thing! I tried to trust my past self and hope that whatever they had read about the book was amazing but, there were a few problems here.

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough 

Comic Review: Cleopatra in Space (volumes one and two)

It's a little surprising I haven't blogged about this series before, I read the original webcomic Celopatra in Spaaaace! (there's a review for it somewhere) but it totally slipped my mind to check and see if the local library had any of the graphic novels for it. The third volume was recently released but my library did not in fact have it yet so I'm only covering the first two volumes here!

Cleopatra in Space by Mike Maihack

Summer 2016 Anime Round-UP

For what is I believe the third season in a row, I don't have any continuing shows (currently my plan is to catch up with PreCure in time for the 2017 series, ehehehe), but I have read the manga for quite a few of the shows here so very little of this season feels new to me. Honestly my favorite "new" show is Kuromukuro which just popped up on Netflix and that I've been watching in chunks. I'm not sure when I'll review it (since they only have half of the show up now and probably won't have the second half until it ends in September) but I do want to mention that yes I'm enjoying it really well so far both for the characters and the fight scenes are actually really cool since all of the different mechs have very different, fitting fighting methods. 

I usually also note what's missing from this list (not available legally etc) but honestly I don't think I skipped anything that I'll be trying out later. I haven't tried out Gen Urobuchi's puppet show, Thunder Fantasy, and everything I've seen about ReWrite is either a one star or five star review so I'm avoiding that title right now as well so honestly guys this may be it, another small season for me (but it's more spread out than spring at least, five shows in three days was way too much for me!). And it's been too many years since I read or watched any of D. Gray Man, I remember I read a tiny bit after the long hiatus and I think D. Gray Man Hallow picks up even after that, so unless I find the time to marathon a heck of a lot of episodes (looking at lists, out of the 103 original episodes only about 25 are filler) I'm not sure when I'll ever get to that show.

Oh, I do still want to watch Macross Delta, once I finish Kuromukuro and I'm back to having no mecha in my life it's going to be even harder to not give into fansubs for that one.

Book Review: Inherit the Stars

As I was writing this review I learned there is an older series that starts with the same title and nope, this is not a review of the Giant Series by James P Hogan. Totally different premise, still science fiction, but a young adult book instead of an adult novel. So, with that clarification out of the way, onto what felt like a rather short book!

Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood

Movie Review: When Marnie Was There

This is yet another film I was able to see thanks to the JICC and this showing was almost exactly one year after the theatrical run (the DVD came out in October) so I am now expecting a year wait between these showings. Which is fine by me, if I want to see one of GKIDS films in the interim there are certainly (legal) ways to do so, but the reviews for this Studio Ghibli film made me wonder if I wanted to pay full, big city ticket prices for it. I also had a friend warn me not to ship the two female leads together which was good advice. I mean, it's a mainstream film, of course it wasn't going to happen in the first place, but this would have been a rather awkward ship anyway so I'm glad I avoided that....

When Marnie Was There

TV Series Review: Voltron: Legendary Defender

As long time readers know, I like my giant robot shows and I haven't had any to watch the past spring season. Sure Kumukuro is airing, but since Netflix licensed the show I couldn't legally watch it week to week. Likewise, Macross Delta is airing this season but since the entire Macross franchise is tied up (I could've sworn I saw an excerpt from the contact on ANN and, as someone who has actually worked with licensing materials etc, holy cow what I thought I saw was baaaaaad) that's also off the table.

Enter the remake of a show I thought I was too young for (I have since been corrected, apparently the original Voltron reruns were showing in the US up to 1997 at least). Everyone else was hyped so I expected to try out an episode and go eh, not for me. Unfortunately if you put an entire season of a show in front of me at once I will binge (now that half of Kumukuro is out I've had to hold back from binging on that as well) and, whelp, I'm a fan now guys!

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Weekly Round-UP: June 27th - July 3rd

Well, let's see if I can get this and a review out in the same day, with today's rain keeping me from fireworks (boo) it might happen???

Since I updated so erratically last week I'd like to first point out that I get three reviews out and they were all of things I liked! I talked about the ambitious second half of Concrete Revolutio: Superhuman Phantasmagoria: The Last Song (and avoided accidentally titling it "the last son"), I made my final pleas for people to check out Satoshi Mizukami's (he of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer fame) latest work Spirit Circle,  and hopefully explained why Rachel Hartman's Shadow Scale feel a bit short of it's predecessor, Seraphina, but was still an excellent work.

Book Review: Shadow Scale

Eeek, between the last week and family visiting I seem to have fallen behind again. BUT I'm getting this post out before tomorrow's is supposed to be up so there's still hope! So sit tight, I'll be getting back on track shortly, and in the meantime you should really read about these dragons.

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Manga Review: Spirit Circle

This review is a bit later than I hoped, both in the context of this week and in general since Crunchyroll was a bit slow getting the final chapter up. I'm not sure why, they were fairly up to date with the rest of the chapters, but I have noticed that there are some, less popular CR series that don't update quite as regularly as others (by that I mean, not consistently same day, two days later etc than the Japanese magazine release). I don't think that contributed to the manga's relative unpopularity however, I have just had the hardest time convincing people to try this series so, once more with feeling! This is one of my favorite series from the last few years and dammit if it's never gonna get a physical release you should at least read this digital release since who knows how long CR will hold this release.

Spirit Circle by Satoshi Mizukami