hello all of my dear readers! it's been exactly a month since the last best of. apologies for not being very vigilant with the blog. i don't really have more foreword here so here we go.
anime of the month
may was kinda weird for anime. i didn't really watch a whole lot of great stuff. we started off the month "strong" with Black Clover, which was a fascinating experience of watching something that by all means should be good find new ways to shoot itself in the foot at every decision. i went on to watch Trinity Seven, which was, in a single word, ass. i did have a very positive experience with Nichijou, which i think is great comedy, but it can't hold a candle to what i'm giving the award to this month.
Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock is a work i first learned of when i watched the four-episode OVA, Queen Emeraldas, which was not very good. honestly, if that was the only work that referenced Harlock that i had seen, i probably would never have watched it. however, one of my favorite TV shows, Blue Blazes, also often referenced Harlock (and Ginga Tetsudou 999, which i am also very interested in watching). due to the power of Blue Blazes, i was utterly convinced to watch Harlock.
the TV anime adaptation of Harlock is different from the manga in almost every aspect. it loosely follows the plot points in the first half of the show (or really, more like first fifteen episodes), but then at some point it just says "okay fuck it we are going to do whatever we want." i adore when anime adaptations do this (and remain good) because it allows the director to breathe new life into the work. i feel like this doesn't happen enough in modern anime, but it's probably just because the age of long-running adaptations in a single season is over for the most part. where Harlock adheres to the manga, it is able to beautifully adapt the scenes into full-color masterpieces, and where it fucks off and does its own thing, it is perhaps more poignant than the original ever attempted to be. it's an amazing ride, but saying more would go into spoiler territory.
it's also worth mentioning that this is now the oldest TV anime i have watched (which was an honor previously belonging to Urusei Yatsura). its character animation can be a little stiff at times, but it more for makes up for that with its amazingly detailed backgrounds, strong art direction and dedication to Matsumoto Leiji's artstyle, and awesome space battles. this show was a spectacle to watch even almost fifty years later (though i am, admittedly, quite partial to older animation).
manga of the month
though i haven't finished it yet, i am going to give the award to basically the only good manga i read last month (you were so close, Peridot), MARS.
i barely read any shoujo manga or watch any shoujo anime. the most memorable thing in the demographic i can remember watching is NANA, which is incredible. MARS has a similar level of precision with its characters, and does a phenomenal job of having solid drama without it feeling like it's "too much" at any point (despite that, i've been reading it so slowly because it is very heavy).
i also really appreciate how clean the art is. though it isn't an action manga, it certainly has its moments, and they are very easy to follow. basically every panel is beautiful and drawn with an intense sense of purpose. the characters are truly brought to life despite the lack of color. i love when artists are able to get around the limitation of the greyscale medium and deliver an amazing work that takes your breath away with its emotion and grandeur.
i will refrain from speaking more about this manga because i still have four volumes left, and the drama is ramping up. i hope the end is executed well because my great score is contingent on that.
final thoughts
i didn't really do much else outside of this. i was originally planning on watching more in may but things had to get shifted around. look forward to a raving positive review of DELTARUNE in next month's review.
i'm really fucking sick right now so that is why it is not as long -lego jujutsu kaisen