Kenji Nakamura‘s Kuuchuu Buranko is finally available to American viewers. If you thought Gatchaman Crowds was trippy, make an appointment to see Dr. Irabu.
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Yes, I am still writing best of the decade retrospectives. In fact I will soon be writing my first Best Anime of the 2010′s and then I plan on going back to the 1990s. I’ve decided there’s no point in restricting yourself to a “top ten”, sealing off a decade when you see something from [...] Related posts:Best Anime of the 00s: Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen (2009) Best Anime of the 00s – Kuruneko (2009) Best Anime of the 00s – Re: Cutie Honey (2004)
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Those of you that have kept up with this blog for a while should be no stranger to one Omo, or his blog Omonomono. Here is a post of what you could joke is “lighter fare” than that on his blog, and I’m grateful to him wanting to do this in the first place. – [...]
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I’ve been pretty busy recently (staying up late with my design team and checking out wonderful places in Seoul and all) but still managed to find some time to catch up on anime. In a desperate attempt to keep this blog alive, I would like to take this opportunity to explore a number of very [...]
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“Y’know, people who don’t have any problems are the biggest problem for me.” It’s been more than a week since Kuchu Buranko ended. And while each and everyone of us tried to make up for anything from the holidays, the show ended like that. Just like that. As if mocking us to be mental while being [...]
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…and it felt good. The distinct arthouse style got old quick. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this unique aesthetic is one of the show’s strengths. But you’ll get used to it in an episode or two. Trapeze is very straightforward (unlike its crazier older cousin, Mononoke), and the real meat of the show is [...]
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…and it was fun.  The show didn’t reach any sublime heights (far from it) nor did it plunge into the darkest depths either (even farther from this!) but the animation was good and the story was entertaining. If anything, the last episode (11) left Dr. Irabu an even more enigmatic persona than we had thought.  His [...]
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The title might seem a little nonchalant to those of you who read my earlier impressions of Trapeze/Kuuchuu Buranko, in which I all but drooled over the prospect of an anime with grown-up characters and themes (as opposed to highschool love triangle or magical crystal adventure (or magical high school crystal love triange)). But as [...]
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Trapeze (Kuuchuu Buranko) is an excellent show. It’s funny, educational, dramatic, deep and above all creative. In my personal listing I rate Trapeze as the second best anime of 2009 after SHAFT’s Bakemonogatari. But of course, you say, since Nova loves obscure shit for the sake of itself. However under the gimmicky appearance lies a [...]
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I really loved episode 7 of Trapeze, especially seeing the Yazuka guys turn into little dogs. I always liked how it wrapped, with him still struggling with the disorder, but acknowledging he’s going to work on it and get better. Episode 8, I didn’t like nearly as much. I can’t really put my finger on it, [...]
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I did not know that raccoons were associated with obsessive compulsive disorders, but as soon as I typed “compulsive raccoon” on the search engine I got lots of hits…  I guess they do keep cleaning their little paws! Things I liked about this episode: 1) Yoshi Iwamura’s RL facial gestures were just hilarious.  The actor really did [...]
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Resurrecion. Since I haven’t had much (bordering on any) contact with the anime blogging world in the past 2-3 months, I have no idea which shows are “hot” and which are “not”. Therefore, I went ahead  and decided on my own which shows to check out without the buffer of kneejerk criticism I normally get from [...]
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Yay, we find out why the Yakuza from episode 1 were acting so strange. The problem: Seiji Ino is afraid of sharp things. But he’s a Yakuza. Proposed treatment: Increased exposure to sharp things. What helps: Getting some goggles. What really helps: Realizing that the other Yakuza he keeps bumping heads with during the episode, Yasu, has an obsessive-compulsive [...]
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I’d love to be text buddies with Irabu. Kids these days… The problem: Tsuda Yuta can’t stop texting. The cause: Has no friends. The solution: Get friends. How-to of the solution: Becomes friends with Irabu. Animal head: Woodpecker
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I like different. Different is good. It’s refreshing. Granted, a production that’s out of the ordinary for its own sake is probably past the point where it becomes pretentious but in Trapeze’s case the love-it-or-hate-it approach works so well because the oddness has a clear sense of purpose. You can be forgiven for not digging [...]
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With the abrupt decision of dropping Railgun (because the manga is picking up the pace after the Level Upper arc, thanks to the scanlators that left it in limbo months ago), we continue on with just Kuchu Buranko for this season. I’m not exactly optimistic on watching this episode, since it tackles something that young [...]
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The resolution of this episode is probably the easiest yet, because it flows from the natural process of growing up.  A kid can be a loser and grow up to be the the man; once you’re in your twenties, though, it’s probably too late. It took Yuhta, the mobile-obsessed teen, quite a while to see Child [...]
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I think this series just gets better as it goes on. Episode 5 of Trapeze was utterly delightful, although a little rough on me. I really liked having him break like glass every time his OCD kicked him, that’s actually a really good metaphor for what it feels like. I also liked how he became a [...]
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animekritik and I talked about what’s in episode five of Kuchu Buranko/Trapeze, and we’re quite in high spirits that it will deliver something good, yet bad in a sinister kind of way, and it did. The episode’s theme is quite simple: It’s all about releasing the kid in us, the prankster in all of us, [...]
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Hiding never fixes problems. The problem: Tatsuro Ikeyama keeps having destructive impulses. The cause: He feels confined by his life with his father-in-law, Nomura. They do boring rich-people things like smoking cigars and watching opera while Ikeyama likes to have fun and watch baseball. The solution: Ikeyama should have fun and watch baseball. Animal head: Chameleon. Whenever he feels [...]
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