Winter 2020’s stand-out anime is, without a doubt, Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! The manga-turned-anime traces a trio of high school girls as they set out to become anime creators. But since one is forbidden from joining the anime club, they form the “Eizouken” (video research club). There, the trio learn about teamwork, visual storytelling, and working to deadlines.
In the year 2020, it’s possible for fans of Doctor Who to have never known a world where the show was off the air for more than a year. Many fans remember watching Eccleston’s Ninth or Tennant’s Tenth Doctors as children, growing up with the show constantly in reach. If you’re one of those people — first off, I envy you so much.
In the Doctor Who spinoff City of the Saved, all of humanity that ever was and will be — real and fictional — is resurrected in a city the size of a galaxy in the far future. Historical figures rub shoulders with gods, and there’s a police department made up of every iteration of Sherlock Holmes ever conceived. Suffice to say, they’ve got a lot of minds at work.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and you know what that means: Christmas trees, mulled wine, presents, and . . . ghost stories? If certain songs are to be believed, they’re an integral part of the celebration. But we don’t seem to engage in them much (save for certain classics). It’s a shame, considering ghost stories are actually perfect for the holiday season in their own weird way. Fortunately, if that’s the sort of thing that tickles your fancy—which, if you’ll give me a moment of your time, I think it might—there’s an easy way to jump right into the tradition with a healthy backlog.
At the tail end of the 2010s, we’ve come into a mindset as a fandom where we analyze everything we watch extremely carefully — sometimes for the better, sometimes to a fault. One thing I’ve seen a lot of hangups on in the last handful of years is what the presence of a character type is assumed to mean about a creator. That is, if a character is present in a series as anything but an outright villain, the writer approves of anything they say or do. I could absolutely speak to some shows where this is the case, but more often than not . . . it just isn’t. And so much is being missed by making this assumption.
Surprise! There’s a whole new Black Mirror to ruin your sleep and make you question your entire existence. And this time, you steer.
If you have not experienced Bandersnatch, I suggest that you run back over to Netflix and do so. If you’ve not explored it to your satisfaction, I suggest you run and do so. But if you’re as done as you plan to be, read on. Because we’ve got a lot to cover today.
Bandersnatch is Black Mirror’s second stand-alone episode, the first being Jon Hamm starrer White Christmas. Granted, Black Mirror is an anthology series, so all episodes stand alone save for some world-building ties. But Bandersnatch is very much its own beast: more movie than episode, more game than movie.
I have two feelings on New Year’s resolutions. The first is that they shouldn’t be quantifiable or have a highly specific end goal. That’s a big way to disappoint yourself, and to negate any work you put in simply because it didn’t have the end result. Rather, I feel they should be habits to cultivate or ideas to pursue. Something that’s a small success every time you do it, rather than one big end result that either hits or misses.
For me, before the holidays are in full swing is often the best time. We’ve still got one foot in the year we’re still in, rather than looking completely ahead of us. For me, at least, right now tends to be the perfect time to start making my list.
It’s a Turkey Day miracle! Mystery Science Theater 3000 returned to Netflix this Thanksgiving with the six-episode series “The Gauntlet.” Challenged to a riffing marathon by the Mads at Moon 13, Jonah and the ‘bots take on six films. Mac & Me, Killer Fish, and more create the basis of a “binge made to be binge watched” spectacular.
As with last season, the tenants of the Satellite of Love mail it. Maybe it’s the firm, slightly silly hand of show creator Joel Hodgson. Maybe it’s the talented cast who themselves grew up on the unique series. But whatever the reason, MST3K retains a special honor: it is one of the few revivals to just plain get it right.
There’s one major point about me that my Crunchyroll readers and co-workers may know that others might not: I love collab cafés. I love them, I want to go to one, and I’m always slightly angry when I think about the fact that America doesn’t do them.
I’m sure someday I’ll go to Japan. And when I do, there will be at least six different collab cafés running at once. So I will get to do one . . . probably. In the meantime, my friend Ginger found me a very close second in Illinois. Not only did it scratch that very weird itch, it helped me isolate just why I love this ridiculous conceit and why I feel we need it over here.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Deltarune. Yes, real ones. All the way to the end of Chapter 1. If you don’t want spoilers, file this one away for later.
If you’re anything like me, you spent a significant portion of Halloween delving into the depths of Deltarune. The surprise game, released as a “survey” on the official game Twitter, introduces both familiar and familiar-looking characters. Along with a new story and more JRPG-esque game mechanics, it was… a lot to take in, to say the least.
Add to this the fact that it’s only Chapter 1, and we’re assured of a lot of weirdness ahead.