The Chaotic Life of Adrien Melody

When I finished watching Nichijou: My Ordinary Life  a few weeks ago, I couldn’t let the series go. The silly slice-of-life scenarios were so delightful, and the characters so endearing, that I just had to have more. Sadly, the series only lasted for one season (although there are more stories in the manga, which I promptly added to my Wishlist). So it was unlikely that I’d get to experience any more of Mio, Yuuki, and Mai’s shenanigans anytime soon.   Out of a sheer obsession with the series, I began reading the detailed Wikipedia page, and looking at every official product ever made for the anime. During this investigation, I learned of a little-known limited-edition version of the show that had only been released in the United Kingdom. This release was on Blu-ray, comprised of the original Japanese audio and the spectacular English dub, and came with an exclusive art book. During my research, it had become painfully clear that there was never much in the way of merchandise ...

  We’ve dealt with some very heavy topics in my last two blog posts . So I think it’s time to return to something more fun… and it doesn’t get more fun than The Cat Returns , the least Ghibli-like Studio Ghibli movie ever! This movie about believing in and standing up for yourself may be Studio Ghibli’s simplest film. It’s just an hour and 15 minutes long, while most Ghibli movies approach (or exceed) two hours. It also has a very straightforward and satisfying story that, on the surface, really doesn’t seem to have much depth. This relative simplicity doesn’t extend to its presentation, however. Like most Studio Ghibli productions, The Cat Returns  is a masterpiece of animation, music, and sound design. It warrants a full review, and I’ll write one later. But for today, I just wanted to focus on three specific frames. Not three scenes. Not even three shots. Three frames . Ready? Here they are: DID YOU SEE THAT!? WHAT THEY DID WITH THE LIGHTING? No? Okay, here it is again. In...

  I’m not a very good artist, but once in a while I decide to draw something. This time, it was Konata Izumi from  Lucky☆Star . I had just finished watching  Nichijou: My Ordinary Life , and I had  really  enjoyed it. (In fact, I was so impressed with it that I splurged on a copy of the UK-only limited-edition Blu-ray —which I happened to find brand-new on eBay!) My only disappointment with Nichijou was that it had only one season. Thinking another one of Kyoto Animation’s earlier titles might give me that same feel-good slice-of-life energy, I decided to watch  Lucky☆Star . Although it’s really nothing like  Nichijou ,  Lucky☆Star  has been very enjoyable. It’s filled with references to Japanese culture and media (particularly  The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya , another of KyoAni’s earlier works). The characters—including the core cast of four high school girls—are fairly simple, but they’re enjoyable and endearing. There isn’t much ...