Cowboy Bepop: Sympathy for the Devil Review

"Do you understand?" - Wen

If I had to describe this episode in one word, it would be "enigmatic." The air of mystery about itself is far off more artistic than any episode prior, with little interest in reality. Admittedly, it plays within the confines of its own reality, as with all the best science fiction, Cowboy Bepop uses its artistry and bold ideas to tell a sad story. We can boil this episode down in logistical terms the episode presents for us (Spike stops an ageless mobster in a young boy's body) or further engulf ourself in the essence of mystery clearly intended.

Spectacular Spider-Man Series Review

DIEGO'S NOTE: The 7 year anniversary of The Spectacular Spider-Man was yesterday so I thought I should give my thoughts on this matter.

This is a SPOILER FREE  review/analysis of Spectacular Spider-Man. You can read this and then go buy the series later. Just trust me on this.

Cowboy Bepop: Gateway Shuffle Review

Sorry for the delay in AniMondays! Last week got a little busy with, ya know, LIFE. But have no fear! I've brought you no one, but TWO reviews of Cowboy Bepop this week. Click here to read about 'The Ballad of Fallen Angels' because we're talking about some serious monkey business that goes down in 'Gateway Shuffle'

Spoilers for this episode and whatnots below the cut:

Cowboy Bepop: Ballad of Fallen Angels Review

Love and loss seem to be the biggest motivators for Spike. I can't pin down what happened with him, but it's pretty clear he lost someone important in his life. 'Ballad of Fallen Angels' confirmed my suspicions even if I don't know the endgame yet. It also confirmed my suspicions that this Cowboy Bepop is very much a masterpiece. I haven't gone past the midway point of the series before starting this feature, but of the episodes I saw, I was most amazed by 'Ballad of Fallen Angels'

Cowboy Bepop Episode 3: Honky Tonk Women Review

A common noir trope is the idea of coincidence. Most stories mistake the use of coincidence with suitable plot progression (it isn't) unless there is a reason for character to A to head to location 1 and bump into character B. Quentin Tarantino uses coincidence as a device in all of his movies to astounding effect. The finale of Inglorious Basterds is a plan that was stripped down to a crazy-random-happenstance of character motivations and alternate history. It works beautifully among his tapestry of B-movie pleasures.

The heart of Session #3 in Cowboy Bepop is the extreme coincidence's perpetuated by misunderstandings and the Bepop crew just having the shittiest luck in the galaxy.

Psycho-Pass Series Review

I’m not as adverse to anime as my friend Diego is. As a matter of fact, I love anime. For every series that is overloaded with mindless fanservice and repetitive monologues of friendship, there is a series that is extremely well written and makes full use of the various elements that anime as a medium has to offer. Fortunately, Psycho-Pass is the latter type of series.  It’s not quite the perfect anime like Cowboy Bebop, but this is definitely one of the better animes to come out in recent years. I will break down the many pros that make this series great and the few cons that keep it from reaching those god tier anime series.