Yonezawa is one of those writers that can't help but be a little interesting even when they're writing about boring things.
Jul 22, 2024 • Subscribe
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Second Impressions – Shoushimin Series (How to Become Ordinary)
Where's Sherlock effing Holmes when you need him?
First Impressions – Shoushimin Series (How to Become Ordinary)
I have to remind myself that my initial response to Hyouka was pretty lukewarm.
SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary
SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
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.
Anime Like Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary
Jougorou Kobato has a bad habit of inserting himself into other people's problems, using excellent detective skills to unravel their small mysteries. However,
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Sagrada Reset, Bakemonogatari, Hyouka, Kobato
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.
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…
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…
Shoushimin Series #1 #2 – Episode Notes
It’s 2014, I’m a middle-school student and on my journey getting into anime I stumble across KyoAni’s adaptation of Hyouka. Aside from its contents, which I’m still deeply…
Shoushimin Series #3 #4 – Episode Notes
A one-week break between episodes 3 and 4, followed by the coming of August and thus my summer vacation that took me away from home for a couple…
Mamoru Kanbe – Interview on Shoushimin Series
Original interview from Newtype (September 2024 issue), original interviewer: Haruyo Igeta; genga corrections by Keisuke Hiroe. I hope it becomes something different from the usual ~…
Takahiro Obata – Interview on Shoushimin Series
Original interview from Newtype (September 2024 issue), original interviewer: Haruyo Igeta; genga corrections by Keisuke Hiroe. Since the music is used sparingly, the moment the main…
Toshiya Ohno – Interview on Shoushimin Series
Original interview from Newtype (September 2024 issue), original interviewer: Haruyo Igeta; genga corrections by Keisuke Hiroe. We have the visuals, so we should trust their power ~ …
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?
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.
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 09
Fun fact - the seiyuu playing Kawamata Sanae is named Osanai.
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 08
For me at least the ship has long since sailed on Shoushimin Series being remotely realistic.
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.
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 06
I almost expected him to light a cigarette.
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…
Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
YOUNG CAPTAIN NEMO Book Trilogy to Become Animated Series!
Welcome, all, again. Although I have again been away from my site for too long, I return this time with good news: Kinsane Entertainment (the dedicated kids’ division…
How To Cook a Series: Nana
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…
How To Build a Series: Toradora
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…
How to Start a Series: Dragonball
And I do mean Dragonball, the original series, because it was the start of it all. If the first one doesn’t work, Z and Kai and whatever others…
How To Cook a Series: Beastars
I’m taking a week off from shows going off the track, since even I don’t think it’s THAT interesting. I mean, you know, really. Problem: This is the…
How to improve the Shenmue Series
The Shenmue series, which was released in the 90s, is surely a series that we all should be thankful to, as it invented various aspects of the games…
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 10 (Season Finale)
Ironically given the series' title and theoretically its central theme, Shoushimin suffered from nothing about it really being extraordinary.
How to Build a Series: Death Note
Death Note is one of those anime stories that tries to be deep by asking deep questions. There are others. Ghost in the Shell asks “What does it…
One-Punch Man, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Death Note, Ghost in the Shell
How to Build a Series: Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is one of those things that looks like a delightful piece of fluff but is actually a masterclass in story construction when you look at it…
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…
How to Build a Series: TP Bon
Okay, I write science fiction, so I’m a sucker for stuff like time travel as long as the writers can convincingly deploy handwavium. You know handwavium: “We can…
How to Cook a Series: Domestic Girlfriend
Okay, let’s throw something on the floor here: You got this high school student named Natsuo. He’s got a heavy crush on this girl named Hina. In the…
How to Cook a Series: Demon Slayer
Everyone thinks writers start with a plot and write. I don’t. I think about what I want to write about, and then cook up whatever other pieces I…
How to Build a Series: Strike Witches
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…
How To Build a Series: Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate is one of those things I saw a long time ago but never really had a chance to take a close look at until just recently. It’s…
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…
How Did Shibuya and Shinjuku Stations Become So Hard to Navigate?
Why'd they have to go and make everything so complicated? A short history of how Shinjuku and Shibuya in Tokyo developed their bad reputations as Japan's most confusing…
How Did “Octopus” Become a Japanese Insult?
Did someone just call you an "octopus"? How "tako" became both a fish and an insult in Japanese (spoiler alert: it involves samurai).
How To Build a Series: Spy X Family
Okay, repeat after me: Stories don’t need conflict if you don’t want people to pay any attention to them. Of course, if you DO want people to like…
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,…
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…
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…
How to Cook a Series: Wonder Egg Priority
You know what Wonder Egg Priority reminded me of? Interviews with Monster Girls. Let me tell you why. The deal with the demi-human girls of Interviews is that…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
How To Start a Series: Pleasure and Corruption
There’s a manga out there called Pleasure and Corruption. It is hard R-rated. Be warned. I’m going to be frank here. I’ve only read one volume of the…
How to Cook a Series: The Orbital Children
The Orbital Children is one of those things that snuck up on me. I was like, yeah, kiddie sci-fi, I’m going to like that (sarcasm), but I was…