I have to remind myself that my initial response to Hyouka was pretty lukewarm.
Jul 7, 2024 • Subscribe
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Second Impressions – Shoushimin Series (How to Become Ordinary)
Where's Sherlock effing Holmes when you need him?
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Shoushimin Series (How to Become Ordinary) – 03
Yonezawa is one of those writers that can't help but be a little interesting even when they're writing about boring things.
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First Look: Shoshimin — How to Become Ordinary
He’s a genius at deduction. She’s really into confectionery. Together, they solve incredibly mundane mysteries and try to survive high school.
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First Impression: SHOSHIMIN: How to Become Ordinary
Kobato and Osanai have a deal. The socially awkward boy and quiet girl will help one another “become ordinary.” To do so, they will follow a series of…
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SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary
SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
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SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary – Episode 1
What do you mean, you’re on a mission to become ordinary? You seem pretty normal to me as you are, kiddo—dare I say bland.
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The Speakeasy #163: How to Become Ordinary, Makeine, The Elusive Samurai + More Summer 2024 Anime
This month we breakdown the new summer season of anime: SHOSHIMIN: How to Become Ordinary My Wife Has No Emotions Twilight Out of Focus Alya Sometimes Hides Her…
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Summer 2024 Impressions: Shoushimin Series, VTuber Legend, Dungeon no Naka no Hito
Shoushimin Series Short Synopsis: A girl who loves sweets and a boy who is really trying his best to be normal solve a mystery and (temporarily) get some…
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Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 06
I almost expected him to light a cigarette.
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Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 08
For me at least the ship has long since sailed on Shoushimin Series being remotely realistic.
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Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 04
Was this interesting? I guess sort of, though that's very much in the eye of the beholder.
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Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 07
It’s always a bit of a minefield when pure slice-of-life series get serious in their final episodes.
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Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 05
Can you imagine "The Chinese Restaurant" or "The Parking Garage" with little or no humor? Do you want to?
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How to Become a Wizard with Cherry Magic!
Oh, Cherry Magic, how I will miss you! Your angst and your miscommunications, your fluffy dreams and wishes. The show didn’t go quite as explicit as I’d been…
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Nana is one of those things that’s actually easier to think about than a lot of anime, because it transcends the genre(s) in a specific way. Yeah, it’s…
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How to improve the Shenmue Series
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I always like a nice case of Stealth Storytelling. Look, in a lot of ways, when you have a really basic story what you’re really exploring is character…
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How to Build a Series: Samurai Champloo
I don’t talk enough about Samurai Champloo. I guess that’s because it’s Shinichiro Watanabe’s second series, and let’s be honest: Once you’ve made Cowboy Bebop there’s only one…
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How to Cook a Series: Silver Nina
Every once in a while I fall into a rabbit hole and can’t climb out. So I have a subscription to Crunchyroll, and there’s an app that gives…
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How to Watch The Tenchi Muyo Series
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How to Cook a Series: Demon Slayer
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I’ll just say it: the neat thing about Strike Witches is that it’s like a good stew, a whole bunch of things thrown together that work together to…
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou 01 – How to pick up girls.
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How to play soccer without breaking anything indoors? Futsal Boys First Impressions.
Futsal Boys, with its traditional portrayal of soccer, seems to be trying to get a spot between Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and Ace Of Diamond…
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First Impressions – Yubisaki to Renren
There's a certain easy charm to this premiere that I found appealing, but to me events seemed a little forced at times.
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First Impressions – Migi to Dari
Migi to Dali is an adaptation with a sad story behind it. But it holds up as entertainment, with its author's signature offbeat humor.
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First Impressions – Skip to Loafer
Another day, another premiere of a show that would have been my top pick in a lot of seasons. Read more
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Today is “sleeper day” for Winter 2024.
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First Impressions: To Your Eternity
Hello and welcome back to Otaku Friday! To those of you thinking wait—“wait. Isn’t it Otaku Thursday?” : shhhh child. It is otaku Friday this week. Today we’re…
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First Impressions – Sasaki to Miyano
I'm not sure that title is coincidental. Read more
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How to Cook a Series: The Orbital Children
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How to Build a Series: Thermae Romae Novae
WARNING: This discussion violates my rule on not talking about anime that are just out. It contains spoilers! Be warned. In a lot of ways Thermae Romae Novae…
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How to Cook a Series: Kotaro Lives Alone
Isn’t Kotaro Lives Alone so cute you just can’t stand it? That brave little boy, living alone, living up the ideals of the noble knight, making all the…
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How Not to End a Series: School-Live!
I’m relatively new to anime/manga fandom, and School-Live! is the first series I’ve managed to follow “traditionally.” You know: waiting for weeks or months for the next issue,…
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How to Watch the Grisaia Series in Order
You, too, may have fallen prey to the Grisaia trap of cute anime girls and found yourself in a series of building complexity. It is the visual novel…
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How to Start a Series: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of those concoctions, like Neon Genesis, that is sometimes so deep it seems like the creators outsmarted themselves trying to show themselves how…
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How To Start a Series: Komi Can’t Communicate
I almost called this “How Not to Start a Series,” but as annoyed as I am with Komi Can’t Communicate, from the standpoint of financial success the author,…
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How to Build a Series: Knights of Sidonia
There are some shows that are constructed so cleverly that I would give anything to be a fly on the wall during their development meetings. In fact, I…
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How to Build a Series: My Happy Marriage
Look, there are times when you can look at creating a story/series as being like cooking from a recipe. That doesn’t mean it’s going to work. You can…