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After a momentous winter season to kick off 2012, we're at it again by releasing the spring simulcast lineup early with Hiiro no Kakera! There will be more announcements like this coming down the pipeline so you definitely want to stay tuned! We've also got the new site design up and rolling for many of you out there, and could really use your feedback as to what you think about it! Finally, The Live Show returns at a new time and day, but with the shenanigans as before! You can catch it now every THURSDAY at 7pm PST!!! |
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 Written by dai_loli
After debating with the idea for some time, I decided this wouldn't be a review. Why? Because the less you know about Puella Magi Madoka Magica's plot, the better. The anime takes such a sharp turn early on that there isn't even any point in describing the first episodes. No, this is going to be an article about the events that happened before, during and after its airing time, about why Madoka Magica was the most important anime release of 2011 and why it should be watched by anyone who's the least bit concerned about anime culture in general.
 Flashback to December 2010. Crunchy's own Managing Editor asked us reviewers to make up a wish list for the upcoming Winter 2011 season with our 5 most anticipated animes. I was the only one out of 7 reviewers to even mention Madoka Magica, here were my three arguments on why it made my list:
1: Not an adaptation. It's a completely original magical girl series.
2: It's a collaboration between Shaft and Aniplex, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo... A team up of legends, I tell you.
3: Character designs are incredibly cute, and from the same artist behind Hidamari Sketch. So moe it hurts.
 Back then, that's all anyone could guess. The trailers didn't help either as they mostly only showed us character art and short quotes from the voice actors, so when the show aired, we were completely in the dark. It was golden though: Being the magical girl fan that I am, I would have been fine with a run-of-the-mill mahou shoujo anime. The first few episodes delivered on those expectations, too, as I was blessed with a naked transformation scene in the OP, a super cute Madoka Kaname main character and all the clichés you could possibly ask for. Some early reviews were already shrugging it off as just another forgettable magical girl anime with great style and production values, but no substance.
Nothing could prepare us for the spiral into despair that was to come, but then I did say I wouldn't spoil the plot, so I'll leave it at that.
 As the episodes went on, fandom for the anime exploded, capturing the imagination of fans around the world. Fan arts abounded, memorable memes were born ( “Being meguca is suffering... ” ) and detractors to its brilliance were complaining that it should be taken off the air for its content. Every new episode became an event, a hotbed for new debates and theories about what was to come next. The excitement even spilled over into the real world as a slew of Akihabara stores became plastered with fan-made appearances of the anime's cute magical beast Kyubei, various collages and photo montages promoting the store's goods, as unrelated to the anime as they were. There was a feeling of complicity all around that simply shouted “I know, I'm watching it too, and it's freaking amazing!” That was also when, exactly one year ago ( true story, I just confirmed it, it's like destiny ), I sent an e-mail to Keith to make sure that, if Crunchy ever got the rights to the anime, I'd be the one to make the article for it.
 All of this culminating in episode 10, not only because it was arguably one of the best single anime episode of all time (not a hint of fanboyism here, folks), but because of what happened mere hours after it aired: The March 2011 massive earthquake that devastated Japan. Due to the damages themselves and the contents of the final episodes 11 and 12, the anime's finale was delayed for close to a month and a half. Being left at a critical point in the plot, it could be said the wait for the final episodes became more than just anticipation, but also motivation for all of Japan's anime fans to persevere in the wake of the destruction they faced. Fan activity for the anime soared to new heights during these few weeks as they had to express all that pent up adulation, either through art, speculation, stories, Anime Music Videos / MADs (guilty as charged) and more. In April, the last two episodes aired back to back to universal praise and ended the legend, or so we thought.
 Things were actually far from over as Puella Magi Madoka Magica went on to continue being part of Japan's culture with 3 movies planned, an exhibition dedicated entirely to it, a massive presence at the 15th Japan Media Arts Festival where it also won the Grand Prize for Animation (which probably just ended by the time you read this article) and even displaying some of the girls from the anime in an official ad campaign for the “Puppy Walker” program helping blind people get their own guide dog, distributed in 3500 schools and public buildings around the country.
 And now, well, it's finally here on Crunchyroll. You can watch it all again or see it for the first time. What's certain, though, is that not giving it a fair shot of at least 3 episodes will immediately discredit your opinion as “someone who saw it and didn't like it” since you won't even have experienced a hint of where the anime is really going! Of course, no matter how well-received it was, it won't please everyone, so if you get to that point and still don't see the magic, chances are it's not your thing. Otherwise I think it's great we're only airing one episode a week, so the newcomers can feel the unbearable pain of having to wait a week to see what happens next.
Oh? You say you can't wait? Hmm, well, this can be arranged, just sign this contract...
 
 Written by Nate Ming
It’s such a common sight in anime that we’ve become desensitized to it: the incredibly young-looking girl who’s actually a high-school student, or an adult, or a thousand-year-old vampire. Of course, slice-of-life comedy Recorder & Randsell does pull this old gag out for a few more laughs, and handles it well--but the real meat of this comedy comes from how it takes the joke and goes both ways with it.
Atsumi Miyagawa is a high-school student who looks more than a little young for her age. Her ten-year-old younger brother Atsushi, however, is a strapping lad who looks like a grown man and is three times the size of everybody in his class. This is what happens when you eat your vegetables, kids.
 This, of course, leads to problems--like how Atsushi’s buxom teacher is having problems dealing with a child who looks like a grown man in her class. Or how Atsumi’s best friend Sayo (voiced by Aya Hirano--y’know, Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucy from Fairy Tail) seems interested in Atsushi, because he sure doesn’t look like he’s ten.
 The best running gag among all the bite-sized three-minute episodes has to be Atsushi’s innocent crush on his classmate Hina, who he regularly walks home--and regularly gets arrested as some kind of kiddie-loving pervert. The poor kid just wants to walk his girl home, don’t mind the fact that he looks like he’s in his twenties!
With excellent animation, a catchy theme song, and amusingly awkward antics, Recorder & Randsell can be great fun for fans of slice-of-life anime. Take three minutes out of your day to check out an episode--you’ll probably end up marathoning the rest of the series like I did.
 Written by Eclipsed_Oblivion
There's a story that those at Yomiyama North Junior High know and fear; twenty-six years ago, Misaki was the most popular student in his class, but after he suddenly died, his class pretended he was still alive until the day they graduated. The rest of the story? That’s what Kouichi Sakakibara finds out in Another, Crunchyroll’s newest horror anime.
 Another is different from the typical Western horror story in that it doesn’t have crazy killers jumping out of closets or the like. Though there are occasionally gory scenes, nothing typically scary actually happens in Another. What makes Another so frightening is something underrated in horror anime: an unnerving atmosphere. The atmosphere in Another is so entirely suffocating and disturbing that even the smallest details are completely frightening. Though many elements help to create such a feeling of impending doom, it is most notably the sly storytelling, precise art direction, and the heart-pounding suspense that truly make Another eerily bone-chilling, yet completely engrossing.
The way a story is unveiled is immensely important in creating an anime’s atmosphere. Another begins by telling the infamous ghost story about Misaki, which leaves viewers much more informed than protagonist Kouichi Sakakibara. Kouichi, having just moved to Yomiyama, knows nothing about the story and its implications, and that causes him to make very poor decisions. Such dramatic irony is quite a useful tool, for the audience knows enough about the ghost story to fear things they wouldn't normally care about, and they can also curse the consequences of Kouichi's ignorance. At the same time, viewers don't know every detail about Misaki's story and why everyone truly fears it, and this maintains an extra layer of fear; for some, knowledge can be scarier than living in peaceful ignorance, and this automatically creates a tense mood. Enhancing this effect, the first episode of Another focuses a lot on setting.
 At first, Yomiyama is shown to be a small, beautiful town in the country, but this changes as the series goes on. Kouichi discovers places in Yomiyama that are awfully sinister, and places once lovely become foreboding after certain events. In essence, Yomiyama looses the sweet charm it had at the beginning of the series and becomes a place where there is no refuge. This aspect of storytelling intensifies the disturbing nature of Another, creating a dark pool of fear.
 Building upon the storytelling, the exactness of the art direction contributes greatly to the unnerving mood in Another. Another has gorgeous artwork that rivals that of shojo anime, and every character has an original design done by Noizi Ito of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya fame. As wonderful as this sounds, it is also off-putting; Another is a horror anime, yet it looks so beautiful. There’s such a strong contrast between the aestheticism of the artwork and the story's actual content that the atmosphere automatically feels more disturbing. Aside from the character designs, the artistic details also emphasize the fearful atmosphere in Another. It is strangely curious and foreboding how an old desk in the classroom corner is worn with age in comparison to everyone else’s pristine desks, and with details like this everywhere, it comes to the point that even the malicious twinkle of shattered glass is sickening. The technical codes don’t waver in their sinister style either; it’s disconcerting when scenes abruptly cut to images of nightmarish dolls for what feels like no reason, but intricacies in the art direction like this are what aid Another in being so hauntingly memorable.
 Part of what makes the horror genre scary is suspense, and Another pulls this off fantastically. Another only gives viewers enough information to understand the gravity of Kouichi's situation, but not enough to predict the outcome. It’s difficult to discern what will happen next, which generates much anticipation. Another’s beautifully orchestrated soundtrack also makes use of volume to underscore both horribly scary moments and quietly disturbing ones, which effectively builds suspense throughout the series, but Another also knows when silence is more suitable than music. Silence accents sound effects, dialogue, gasps, and strange sounds, which can create suspense through a sense of eeriness. Another emphasizes sound quite a bit, but does not leave visual elements out either. Character expressions are often highlighted with close ups, sometimes replacing dialogue completely. However, this doesn't affect communication with the viewers since the expressions convey more than words. Sometimes, just a look of pure horror can inspire fear and apprehension, and this uneasiness is definitely a factor in what makes Another so interestingly horrifying.
 Another's unnerving nature is more than enough to classify it as a horror anime. With it's sneaky storytelling, it easily sets up disaster and chaos, and this is only enhanced by the precise and beautiful art. All visual elements serve a purpose in Another and aren’t added in just to make things look pretty, but the suspense is what keeps viewers hooked. Through combining little details like sound and character expressions, the suspense is terribly suffocating, but also serves as a hook for the audience. Ultimately, these elements all come together to create an enthralling adventure of dread, distress, and despair. To put it simply, for those who watch Another, you might shield your eyes with your hands out of fear, but will likely continue to watch through the spaces between your fingers - at least I know I did.
Naruto Shippuden ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved., Soranowoto © Paradores/Aniplex/ 1121, Chu-Bra © Yumi NakataEFUTABASHA^CHU-BRA Partnership, Astro Boy, Dororo, Blackjack and Phoenix © Tezuka Productions All Rights Reserved, Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte Z © ADVFilms All Rights Reserved
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