MyAnimeList.net

January 9th, 2024

Years that went crazy

Anime Relations: Steins;Gate

My favorite media from every year

1) 2011

Need I say more? Binding of Isaac, Umineko Chiru (PS3 version), Steins;Gate, and Ace Attorney Investigations II alone make this an insane year.

Posted by TheAceAttorney | Jan 9, 7:15 PM | 0 comments

May 22nd, 2023

Extended Favorite Characters #51-100

Anime Relations: High School DxD

ALWAYS BEING UPDATED

Listen to something longer maybe? PT 2

It's a doozy AGAIN

Extended Favorite Characters List #51-100

I actually hit the max limit on the other page when I was adding images for Kokichi, so here we are. Just like the other list, I'll update this one from time to time, when I want to add new characters to my list. I'll also put a link to this blog on my main page. I don't know why I didn't think of splitting the list in two earlier.

Same as last time: (Any urls in names, will lead to a character analysis video on that character; spoilers) (I also added a word or phrase beneath many of my characters, to sum up one aspect of that character, those SPECIFIC spoiler tags are mostly spoiler free, with maybe out of context spoilers, but view at your digression!)

MOVE THESE TO THE OTHER LIST

47. Revy (Rebecca Lee) [Black Lagoon]

48. Suruga Kanbaru [Monogatari Series]

46. Iskander/Alexander (Rider) [Fate/Zero]

47. Speed wagon [JJBA PB, BT]

48. Ryoko Shinonome [13 Sentinels Aegis Rim]

45. Tohru Adachi [Persona 4/Golden/Dancing/ArenaUltimax]

45. Homura Akemi [Madoka Magica]

46. Dahlia Hawthorne [Ace Attorney T&T]

Posted by TheAceAttorney | May 22, 2023 12:27 PM | 2 comments

March 15th, 2022

NANA OP2 Analysis

Anime Relations: Nana, Nana Recaps

For Reference

I won't be mentioning the lyrics in this Op, aside from one verse ("Everything is now beginning", which is also in quotes in the song, telling the audience that everything is about to start unraveling which is what happens during the period which this Op plays), since most of it is just Reira's song and it doesn't apply.

The Op opens with a shot of Hachi's bedroom, with the TRAPNEST poster noticeably cut out. This Op covers episodes 22-36, which is when the falling out between Hachi and Nana takes place. It's important to note that Op #1, Rose, foreshadows this event with the same imagery of the empty bedroom; we've come full circle, basically. This is followed up by the title card and an exceptionally powerful image of a stripped Nana drowning. The scene is heavily symbolic of the hyperventilation that Nana develops towards the end of the series (She is literally drowning = suffocating = shortness of breath = hyperventilating). Then Hachi is shown walking away from all the conflict, metaphorically turning her back on everyone else, before being staggered by the wind blowing in her face; this shows that her resolve is not as strong as she'd hoped it to be / she is thrown off balance by this conflict. Later in the Op, both Nana and Hachi are displayed, almost, as the screens for the respective other's cell phone. This is just my perspective, but notice how each image shown is somewhat idealistic to what the other person perceives the other person to be: For Hachi, an image of Nana performing since she admires her brash and abrasive, but confident personality; for Nana, an image of Hachi spinning with grace in an open field, portraying her innocence. This is deliberate. During the time between this Op airing, neither of them were shown to be acting in a positive light. Nana was possessive and insecure, Hachi was naïve (granted she's always shown like this) and self-loathing. The cell phones are just the surface personas of what they want from their relationship. What follows is one of my absolute favorite scenes in any Op, visually speaking. Nana holding on to barbed wire, with the backdrop of Hachi's room; every single time she tries to get close to her, she only ends up wounding herself emotionally; it is quite figuratively painful to be with her (Also the TRAPNEST poster being in the room suggests that Nana is latching on to simpler times, before everything came crashing down). And Hachi turning her back on a cobweb, with the backdrop of Nana's room; the turning of her back is representative of how she feels guilty for somewhat abandoning this web of relationships she's been tangled into by meeting Nana in the first place. The final scene of note is of Nana standing in the breeze, with her tattoo (keeping in mind the tattoo is a sign of her relationship / love with Ren) fading out, becoming transparent. The relationship is becoming see-through, as Nana starts feeling incomplete.

Hope you enjoyed this Op Analysis, this is one of my personal upper league of favorites, so I hope I communicated that!

It's not worth looking at the spoiler tab for this one, trust me, don't ruin this show for yourself

Posted by TheAceAttorney | Mar 15, 2022 8:11 AM | 2 comments

Higurashi no naku koro ni OP Analysis

Anime Relations: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

For Reference

I'll mention the lyrics after the visual analysis, since I believe that the visuals here outrank the lyrics.

Higurashi has a very intriguing Op to say the least. It's first 13 seconds or so are just outright mesmerizing to glance at. In fact, it's the initial reason why I took up analyzing this Op in the first place. They also serve as a means of setting the tone. The sheer psychedelic, but sort of psychological uneasiness of the flowers is perfect. You, as the viewer, are essentially being brainwashed into compliance; this fits into a major theme in Higurashi: the mind-altering disease. A butterfly is then shown, in a not-so-different light to what the cicadas are representative of in S;G: Fate and the butterfly effect (It should be no surprise as both series are tied to a time loop). Honestly, I have no clue what the image after that one is (I believe it is the sky opening, but I don't know if there's anything to write home about there). Rena then pops up and the title card contrasts with the somewhat peaceful imagery we've seen so far: a unnerving background etched in blood. Now we get into the really good stuff. Rika displayed amongst those same flowers (which we interpreted as a manifestation of the disease) is quite fitting as she is entirely unaffected by it. She is both inside the field of flowers, yet arguably detached from it. When she turns around, she is wearing a Kitsune "Fox" mask (Foxes are known to be quite crafty, clever, and more importantly for our deconstruction: sneaky / secretive). Rika has the most to hide out of ANY other core member of the club, which is why she's portrayed like this. The mask is also her metaphorically "masking her true intentions." Pretending to still be a naïve 8 year old, despite her mental age being at least around 110. It's a masquerade; a persona. Rena is then shown stepping on the broken glass from the windows she broke. What's noticeable here is that she licks her blood, which we know now to be her hallucinating maggots in her bloodstream, due to the virus. Shion and then Mion are both seen at the bottom of an ocean. The ocean imagery could be metaphorical for the cold and detached nature of the Sonozaki family. It's debatable whether or not it's Mion or Shion who's eyes are opening here, but I believe it's Shion, since it ties into the next segment. What's great about re-watching anything is noticing details that you didn't pick up before. For instance, on my first few viewings of this Op, until Eye Opener, I believed Mion to be the one who went crazy, yet this is undoubtedly Shion who is displayed here. Also think about it: Eye Opener? It doesn't get any more literal than that. Case in point, it's Shion's eyes who are opening here. Satoko's part is pretty grim, and this is something I only noticed in real time as I was writing this: look closely at the trees in the background. That's right. Those aren't trees. That's broccoli or cauliflower. Recall that both Satoshi and Satoko have color blindness towards the color Green (something that is caused by getting the Hinamizawa virus). It's mentioned several times that neither Satoshi nor Satoko can tell broccoli apart from cauliflower. They see both as white. What I'm getting at is that this scene is heavy foreshadowing to Higurashi Kai's massacre arc, where Miyo kills everyone in the middle of the night. Notice how the moon is ever-so-present and Satoko is crying, probably due to seeing her friends die one-by-one. Before she dies, she is asked a question by Miyo about which of the two (Cauliflower or Broccoli) is green. She answers broccoli and gets shot. Knowing this, this is a pretty bleak section of the Op. Lastly, Rena returns to give a half-hearted glance back, cleaver in hand (Atonement arc). The last shot of the Op is rather revealing, the sudden abrupt movement of the camera downwards towards the quaint town of Hinamizawa is rather menacing, in that of itself. Once again, with hindsight this is making an allusion to the virus that will be inflicted upon the town. Overall the opening is quite deceitful, which mirrors the nature of Hinamizawa: Seemingly welcoming, yet tearing its citizens apart. Alright time to dissect the lyrics.

"When you turn around to glance behind you (who do you see facing you?)" - Keeping in mind this is said during Rika's portion of the Op, it could be a reference to Hanyuu, who is always, in spirit, right behind her.

"Bury your claws in the darkness (and shred the night)" - Now this one is very very out there, but hear me out. During Atonement arc, Rena hides out in a van in the middle of her scrapyard. She is somewhat buried into the mess in the middle of the night. Hence, 'bury your claws and shred the night.'

"The raindrops turn to drops of blood and trickle down your cheek" - Shion's "raindrops" (tears or sorrow) turned her to go insane and go on a massive killing spree. Hence, raindrops turning into blood. She used her immense sadness as a catalyst of committing mass murder during Cotton Drifting/Eye Opener.

"If you have no place to return to…" -Shion is both an outcast and a resident of Hinamizawa at the same time. She can't be with her family (at least in most timelines) and ever since Satoshi disappeared (Although he was in Irie's clinic the whole time), she hasn't felt at home since.

The rest of the lyrics don't really amount to much in my eyes.

Hope you enjoyed this Opening Analysis!

Posted by TheAceAttorney | Mar 15, 2022 7:58 AM | 0 comments

Bakemonogatari OP5 - Sugar Sweet Nightmare Analysis

Anime Relations: Bakemonogatari, Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-hen, Nekomonogatari: Kuro, Monogatari Series: Second Season, Kizumonogatari II: Nekketsu-hen, Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen