Must-read Monthly Monday (February 2018 ed.)

Can you believe we’re already one sixth of the way through 2018?

If it’s not specified, the time period covered in this post is from the 22nd of January 2018 to today (19th February 2018).

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Other People’s Reads

It wouldn’t be a round-up post without them. However, since I scour people’s archives on a regular basis, these may not even be from the right time period…

• Species Spotlight on Houseki no Kuni: Gems by Hinode at Hinode Reviews – Houseki no Kuni strikes yet again with this post. Even if you’re just reading this stuff over for fanfiction material, this compilation of facts up to the anime’s end allows for contemplation from both the writer and the reader. It’s also extremely wordy, so make sure you have the time and ability to focus when reading this…
• A Halloween Anime Worth Its Salt by Scott Laroux at Minute Art – It may not be Halloween, but it’s about Black Butler. I don’t think I ever had words to describe why I liked this series, but why find words to describe something you like when someone else can do it for you?
• Review of Death Parade by the Otaku Judge – If you didn’t look at the archived lists when I put out my 2017 end-of-year rankings, Death Parade topped 2015’s ranking and it was for this reason that this review won out over the Ore Monogatari! one. Also, any chance to promote Flyers is a good one.
• The “A-1 Protagonist” by Perlem at Purposefully Lackluster – If you’re not afraid of spoilers (or you tackle way too much anime), Perlem has a post examining various self-insert characters and what makes one tick, with the linking thread of Darling in the Franxx‘s Hiro. (There’s also a subsequent post asking whether it’s fair to compare works from different studios.)
• Just for Fun: The Kyubey Translator by A World of Blue – This post is full of picture spam and spoilers, but if you’ve seen Madoka Magica, it’s pretty darn hilarious. It’s too bad A World of Blue never really covered anything after Madoka, though…
• Moriko’s Uniqueness: An Interview with MMO Junkie Voice Actor Mamiko Noto by akiba-souken (translated by Mikikazu Komatsu for Crunchyroll) – I had this article from the fall season sitting in my bookmarks, and it was interesting to read how Noto made “connections” with Suzuki (Ryota, Hayashi’s voice actor) as well as finding out the mentality behind how Moriko’s portrayal was achieved.
• Making Camping Cozy in Laid-Back Camp by Nick Creamer for Crunchyroll – Nick observes how visual techniques such as space and colour give that warm and fuzzy feel to YuruCamp.
• [Feature] Land of the Lustrous, Singular “They” and the Politics of Subtitles by Vrai Kaiser for Anime Feminist – Arguably, this choice is going to ruffle a few feathers. Not just because I’ve included something related to Houseki no Kuni for at least the 6th time, but because it’s pushing a certain political agenda. For this reason, feel free to avoid this link if you feel uncomfortable with this type of agenda. Should you choose to read it though, you’ll get an insight (albeit small) into the translation process of Houseki no Kuni, as well as a piece that encompasses localisation, journalism and preferred pronouns.
• Winter 2018 Anime – Early Thoughts by Tallon at 24 Frames Per Second – The WordPress reader gave me this random at-least-one-month-late impressions post, and aside from the mild profanity that comes with the territory of Pop Team Epic and occasional all-caps, it’s actually pretty fun to read…
• Where Was Each Haoliners Show Animated? by Frog-kun at Fantastic Memes – Surprisingly, this list of Haoliners shows includes Kenka Bancho Otome, one of the short series that took out the inaugural ranking of short-episode series in my end-of-year ranking. Therefore, your mileage may vary a lot more on those Chinese coproductions once you’ve read this…
• My Hero Academia’s Fun Sidekick by Urian Brown for Shonen Jump – Another plug for Vigilantes, and luckily(?) not from me this time. Also, I didn’t actually mention it in my post, but Vigilantes isn’t by Kohei Horikoshi – it’s by author Hideyuki Furuhashi and artist Betten Court, but neither Viz nor Shonen Jump ever seem to point this out (as opposed to the “by the creator of Medaka Box!” advertising used on Juuni Taisen‘s manga for the Nisio Isin/Akira Akatsuki duo).
• Reading Habits – Choosing Books or Manga? by Alex (123) at Tsukiyo no Hikari – This one’s for the visual novel, manga and book people out there. Not only is there some interesting discussion in the comments, you might also re-evaluate how and when you read these three types of media.
• Shoto Todoroki: Acceptance as a Form of Empowerment by Peregrine Princess from Crushing on the Moon – A thorough analysis of Boku no Hero Academia season 2 episode 8 and some moments within it, specifically That One Big Fight.
• Stronger Opponents Bring Out a Stronger You (OWLS Blog Tour) by Auri at Manga Toritsukaeru Koto – Even though I’ve never mentioned it on the Spellbook, I’ve been reading OWLS posts ever since I learnt about it fairly early on in its run. That being said, this one’s about Aoharu x Kikanjuu, a series I know enough about to not worry about spoilers for.
• The First (And Last) Creator Showcase – December 2017 by Nate at Jon Spencer Reviews – Jon Spencer’s idea for a “creator showcase” comes to fruition, and while submissions are closed for January’s showcase are closed, Auri’s (yes, Auri from the blog I linked above) going to host the next one. While you’re waiting for the next showcase though, you can read this batch of posts.

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Spellbook Offerings

• Why I Love Magical Girl Anime – In order to commemorate 10 weeks of new content coming out on Wednesday, I put into words why this genre works for me.
• Ode to Anime Studios – TROYCA – Finally, an Ode to Anime Studios post I can be proud of! It seems restricting the number of shows the studio has done and knowing most of what the studio has done makes these posts easier…
• SoL vs. CGDCT – After Irina posed the question “What’s the difference between SoL and CGDCT?” on a podcast, I decided to tackle it…and got carried away with the hypothetical opposite-gender counterpart to CGDCT in the process, especially because there appear to be a lot of cute boys in the winter 2018 lineup.
• Award Controversy – My 2 cents on the Crunchyroll Awards.
• Sticking Up For a Little Shinobi (and a Little Show) – My first of possibly many subtly-a-recommendation posts, focussing on Nobunaga no Shinobi.
• The Great (?) Light Novel Adaption Project (Part I) (Part II) (Part III) – A 3-parter put out over February 14th (because it’s Singles Awareness Day) to the 16th. Basically, I play bingo and try to see if light novel adaptions are worth a chance.
• Meaning of Life (An Important Announcement!) – Collabs are now open!

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Coming up next…

• I have some extremely long holidays, so my normal routine for 2018 will start next week. Hopefully future posts will stay at the same standard as the ones that are already here.
• If you didn’t notice it on the YuruCamp post, I had to switch Dame x Prince Anime Caravan out for Idolish7 because HiDive wants my money. Not that I’m complaining – I kind of knew it was going to happen eventually, and that’s why I make pre-seasonal rankings (and Idolish7 ranked higher than Dame x Pri in those).
• March will focus on manga, because alliteration rules. Not necessarily manga-exclusive titles, but titles that have manga. I have exactly two manga-related posts lined up so far, but we’ll see what we can do…
• I’m already planning for April and May. May 21st in particular is the half-year anniversary of the Spellbook, so please look forward to what I have planned for that day! (Hint: One of the links above is related to what I intend to do.)

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