Really That Bad?: Isuca

 

You voted. We watched. This is the fifth installment of a series of conversations between Artemis and myself about anime shows that have been deemed worthy contenders for the title of Worst Anime of All Time.

 

As with Mirage of Blaze, Hand Shakers, Vampire Holmes, and Diabolik Lovers, we’re not aiming just to poke fun at widely unpopular anime for our own amusement (though we certainly hope these articles are fun to read), but rather to have a frank discussion about what exactly makes these shows so bad in the first place. We’re also genuinely curious to find out whether or not these anime are indeed as bad as their reputations suggest.

 

So sit back, enjoy, and do let us know your own opinions in the comments.

2017 Stats

As is traditional, this is the time when we take a look at the statistics from the previous year to see what insights can be gleaned. Last year WordPress rather meanly stopped preparing summaries, but I can still look at the stats page myself and try to make sense of it all. It was relatively easy to sum up 2016 in one picture: so much of it was visual that it could all be combined in a single glorious image. 2017 was a bit more complicated, and in some ways oddly more banal. But I’m willing to take on a challenge.

 

Really That Bad?: Diabolik Lovers

You voted. We watched. This is the third installment of a series of conversations between Artemis and myself about anime that have, for whatever reason, been deemed as worthy contenders for the title of Worst Anime of All Time.

As with Mirage of Blaze, Hand Shakers, and Vampire Holmes, our goal is not simply to criticize unpopular anime for entertainment purposes (though we certainly hope these articles are fun to read), but rather to have an actual discussion about what makes any given show ‘work’ – or not, as the case may be. We’re both also genuinely interested in seeing whether or not these shows are actually deserving of their widespread condemnation by the anime community.

So please sit back, enjoy, and by all means let us know your own opinions in the comments.

 

Kouki and the Strong No

 

Gather round, everyone, it’s story time.  You might remember I used to teach English in Japan. Well, that brought me into contact with a wide variety of students, among them several dozen pre-schoolers. And it is here that our story takes place…

 

Really That Bad?: Vampire Holmes

You voted. We watched. This is the third instalment of a series of conversations between Artemis and myself about anime that have, for whatever reason, been deemed as worthy contenders for the title of Worst Anime of All Time.

As with Mirage of Blaze and Hand Shakers, our goal is not simply to criticise unpopular anime for our own amusement (though we do hope these articles are at least semi-entertaining), but rather to have an actual discussion about what makes any given show ‘work’ – or not, as the case may be. We’re both also genuinely curious to see whether or not these shows are truly deserving of their widespread condemnation by the anime community.

As always, sit back and enjoy, and feel free to let us know your own thoughts in the comments.

Bad and Wrong History Lessons: Pirates vs. Samurai

There’s nothing complicated about the system I have here: I write articles based on what I feel like talking about. If I’ve been thinking about writing, you get an article on that; if I’ve been watching anime that’s what I write about; if I come across something that inspires a laborious tirade then I produce a wandering 5,000 word essay on whatever it is that got my attention.

The problem is that I’m interested in history, but I’m not a trained historian. Sure, I know a bit, but that’s mainly because I’m a curious and resourceful amateur who reads a lot and has a good memory for semi-useless “facts”, not because I have any particular education about the subject. So, since I can’t share any knowledge with you, I’m going to share my ignorance. I’m going to tell you all the things that I think I know, but are most likely profoundly and dangerously wrong.

Today’s subject: the pirates of the Seto Inland Sea!

Really That Bad? Hand Shakers

You voted. We watched. This is the second instalment of a series of conversations between Artemis and myself about anime that have, for whatever reason, been deemed as worthy contenders for the title of Worst Anime of All Time.

As stated last time around with Mirage of Blaze, our goal is not to criticize unpopular anime just for the sake of it, but rather to have a real discussion (yet hopefully still an entertaining one) about what makes any given show work/not work, and whether or not it’s truly deserving of the widespread condemnation it’s received from viewers.

So sit back, enjoy, and feel free to chime in with your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

Adventures with Rice Cookers

One of the staples appliances in any Japanese kitchen is the humble rice cooker. At any traditional Japanese meal rice goes without saying and likely comes without asking; as a result every kitchen needs a way to produce it quickly and conveniently. Your standard configuration rice cooker is basically a bowl, a heat source, and a thermostat – the thermostat regulates the heat and turns the cooker off when the cooking is done. So far, so good. But throughout the ages, inquisitive minds have wondered if this humble appliance can be used for greater things…

Really That Bad? Mirage of Blaze

 

You voted, we watched. This is the first instalment of what will likely be a series of articles conversations between Artemis and I about anime that have, for whatever reason, been deemed as worthy contenders for the title of Worst Anime of All Time.

To be clear, the aim here isn’t simply to bash unpopular anime but instead to have a genuine (yet hopefully still entertaining) discussion about what makes any given show work/not work, and whether or not it’s deserving of such condemnation. For this reason, we’ll be striving to look at each anime on its own terms and not comparing it with any other title, regardless of any similarities or associations. So sit back, enjoy, and feel free to chime in with your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

 

Nanami and the Five Whys

One of the best things about teaching in Japan was that most of my students were quite young. Most of them hadn’t developed the reserve that Japanese people are known for, and once they got to know you they were often curious about the strange foreigner who looked and acted so differently. It was also amazing what you could learn from them, if you were paying attention: Honoka had beautiful manners, Rikuto taught me some useful phrases, and Koki-kun showed how to stand up for what was right. Nanami, on the other hand, taught me how to trouble-shoot procedures in business.