Rotten Chivalry: The Role of Women in Goblin Slayer

(note: this article is from an anime-only perspective, and is primarily aimed at anime-only viewers)

Medieval fantasies often have trouble with the agency they give to women in their worlds, from societies over-populated with passive princesses to ‘strong female characters’ that have little complexity beyond being, well, strong and female. These stories are always under the shadow of period of history that saw the height of a patriarchal social structure and the treatment of the ‘fairer sex’ as little more than property. Modern writers should feel encouraged to subvert tropes and cliches in order to find new room for characters other than knightly men to flourish. Yet, one show this season has stumbled when it comes to handling a large part of its cast.

Charlotte – 11

I was right when I said this show had effectively finished its major plotlines before this episode. This week we had a whole new baddie, a whole new struggle, and whole new load of ways to approach this series’ strengths and weaknesses.

Charlotte – 09

Did I say Yuu bounced back before? This week he bounced back in time, and I’m sure a lot of people’s interest in this show has bounced back too.

Charlotte – 07

Did I say this show outright collapsed before? This week it went one step further, the best animated example of ‘that escalated quickly’ yet.

Charlotte – 06

Did I say the structure of this show was disintegrating? Well, now it’s outright collapsed.

Gakkou Gurashi! – 05

Concluding a two-part flashback, the School Living Club gathers supplies, tries on clothes, and picks up a lonely girl and an over-excitable dog in the process.

Charlotte – 05

A hunt for a power user becomes an extended camping trip, which in turn becomes a great way for Charlotte to get back on track with making its cast engaging.

Charlotte – 04

It’s a baseball episode – what else is there to say?

Gakkou Gurashi! – 03

A dive into Megu-nee’s past becomes a crash course in how to nail a flashback episode.

Charlotte – 03

Another day, another pubescent power – or how about two? As the Student Council track down Yusarin, an idol occasionally inhabited with the spirit of her less-than-cheerful dead sister who also happens to be able to set things on fire, they end up not only protecting her future, but that of a friend as well.

Gakkou Gurashi! – 02

As stunning as last episode’s ending was, life goes on for Yuki and the School Living Society. A test of courage through the lower school leads our daydreaming heroine into moral danger, while Kurumi wrestles night and day with an unsettling past.

Why Angel Beats! Rocks (Even If It’s Too Short)

With the new Angel Beats! special episode released yesterday (I could drool all over it in a review, but I’d run out of saliva) and the VN having likely already come out by the time you’re reading this, I think it’s time I talked about my favourite anime that I’ve ever seen, in both sub and dub, on a laptop screen and on a TV. It may not be the ‘best’ anime – if you can somehow find a way to give something such a title – but I’ve always been one of those people who have done more than just love it. Yet, many people criticise it for one main ‘flaw’, which is usually phrased one way or another in any discussion on the show I encounter: it’s too short.

Has anyone considered that Angel Beats’ brevity may in fact be one of its most important features?

What China Missed (and Why It Matters)

Specific censorship is nothing new or strange when it comes to China – only a few years ago they were banning films with time-travel.

Shingeki no Originality (or Why I Gave Up With ‘Seraph of the End’)

I watched the first episode thinking it would be the new ride of my life; I left after the third.