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Last edit: 2021-12-27
I try to add enlightening commentary, but let's face it:
I'm far from perfect.

For cartoons that are not listed in the encyclopedia please click here.
    EDIT: 2020-12-31
    I have seen two three videos that examine the concept of "classics" from distinctly different perspectives:
  1. Gigguk | Garnt Maneetapho

  2. Mother's Basement | Geoff Thew

  3. Bonsai Pop | Mike ?
EDIT: 2020-04-11
In this video YouTube user Gigguk (Garnt Maneetapho) talks about SAO in the context of gateway anime.
    2 Videos That Share a Common Theme:
  1. "The Greatest Thing Anime Has Done"|Gigguk (Garnt Maneetapho)
  2. "A Love Letter to a Place Further than the Universe" | Isla McTear (Line/link added 2020-06-24)
EDIT: 2020-06-10
3 Different Perspectives On the Importance of The Ending EDIT: 2021-05-10
Geoff Thew ("Mother's Basement") has a fascinating video essay on the concept of "sakuga".
EDIT: 2021-12-27
10 Anime That Are Fantastic But Hard To Recommend
Anime only continues to get more and more mainstream, but these are 10 anime we wouldn't want to recommend even though they're great.
By Jacob Buchalter
(posted on cbr.com on 2020, Mar 30)
Seen/Read All (public list) Rating
Bloom Into You (TV) Excellent (dub), Masterpiece (sub)

  1. Ep.#1:
    • General setup. Nice OST.
    • I like the symbolism of the below image.



  2. Ep.#2:
    • The symbolism in the OP just begs the question of what the lyrics say!
    • The 8-9 minute mark: The OST is great!
    • The 10-11 minute mark: The silence is profound.
    • The change in graphics quality is remarkable.
    • The ED seemingly has its own share of symbolism.....
    • I think that I could end up falling in love with the ED song!
    • The graphics remind me ─ in a way ─ of the production values of Ufotable in Tales of Zesteria the X; but here the limited animation budget is used to create its own aesthetic.
  3. Ep.#3:
  4. Ep.#4:
    • I'll say this One-Last-Time: This series is heavy on symbolism.
    • Maki Seiji gets interesting character development.
Bloom into You is the Queer Yuri Anime we Needed, and Here's Why|Zeria
  1. Ep.#5: Tōko learns a little bit about Yū's family and Yū slowly reconsiders her feelings toward Tōko.
  2. Ep.#6:We learn (Some? All?) Tōko's backstory.
  3. Ep.#7:
    • My ability to identify people's voices has always been piss poor; so the conversation between Sayaka Saeki and Tōko Nanami is really difficult for me because those are internal monologues.
    • Subtitles are (finally!) given for the OP ("Yagate Kimi ni Naru Full Opening -「Kimi ni Furete」by Riko Azuna"|NattoChan ネル 2.0) & ED ("Bloom Into You Ending - hectopascal [ENG | Romaji | Color Coded]"|HungryLynn).
    • Everyone has secrets (think of Russian Nesting Dolls)
      Sayaka Saeki
  4. Ep.#8:
    • Toward the 10 minute mark I'm suddenly reminded of "Kare Kano".
      (manga) & (anime)
    • The usage of internal monologues is really quite impressive.....
  5. Ep.#9: During the sports festival Tōko presses Yū's limits; and in the process expands Yū's tolerances.
  6. Ep.#10: Plans/preparations for the study camp.
  7. Ep.#11: Must watch/read Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū (OAV).
  8. Ep.#12:
    • More backstory of Tōko's late sister Mio is revealed.
    • Yū decides that she wants to change Tōko and so asks Koyomi KANO to rewrite the ending.
    Koyomi KANO
  9. Ep.#13: The ending is paramount. Therefore, I won't even consider rating it at 11/11 (masterpiece) until a 2nd season has been greenlit. A 2nd season is quite unlikely; the manga ended some time ago. Therefore, I will relent and raise my rating by one notch to 11/11 ("Masterpiece").
    BUT! The manga needs to be supported; so read it!!!

Reviews/Commentaries

Music/AMVs
Blue Gender (TV) Very good (dub), Excellent (sub)
It's a good thing that there's a rather large ensemble cast -- because they drop like flies early on and continue dropping right 'till the end. Another thing -- Laura Bailey demonstrates her versatility both here (voicing Marlene Angel) and in Fruits Basket (voicing Tohru Honda).

Blue Gender: The Warrior (movie) So-so (dub), Decent (sub)
It's a compilation film that attempts to consolidate 26 episodes into 95 minutes.
Blue Submarine No.6 (OAV) Excellent
Bodacious Space Pirates (TV) Good (dub), Very good (sub)

  • Decent enough.....
  • Nice OST.
  • Yeah, I like the OST; but the ending is sorta' "meh".
  • It seems to me that there are lip-flap issues with the dub....
Bodacious Space Pirates The Movie: Abyss of Hyperspace Good (dub), Very good (sub)
Would have rated it at Good (8/11), but the CGI causes me to bump it up to Very Good (9/11).
Boku no Imōto wa "Ōsaka Okan" (TV) Good

  • Also saw "Special" (ep.#13)

  • Even at ~5 min.s, this was tedious!
  • Is Osakan culture really all that different from the rest of Japan?!
  • Mildly humorous.
  • Normally, I'd rate something like this at 10 or 11 out of 11 and urge people to just watch it and see if they like it; but this series was such a slog that I'm gonna rate it at 8/11 ("Good").
Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru: Secret Sweethearts - Kono Koi wa Himitsu (OAV) Excellent
Pros:
OST uses acoustic instrumentation
rain as tears / thunderstorm as metaphor
train crossing as metaphor
teen angst
love triangle

Cons:
incest
teen angst
There are too many unrealistic aspects for me to rate this 11/11.....

BONJOUR Sweet Love Patisserie (TV) Excellent
The humor is surprisingly effective.
These are 5 minute shorts (25 episodes) -- just watch it to see if you like it!
Boys Be... (TV) Very good
Brothers Conflict (TV) Excellent (dub & sub)
It's a reverse harem ─ check It out.
    • A talking squirrel? But of course.....
    • So right out of the gate it's a reverse harem. Does make sense, though; what with there being only 13 episodes ─ which excludes the two-episode OAV.
  1. "Top─of─the─line males"? Priceless, just priceless!
    The squirrel takes up an offer of an alliance.
  2. Wedding.
  3. Finally ─ the Big Kiss.
  4. Now the Basketball Player makes his big move ─ off the court, naturally!
This question has only now just occurred to me: How did the step-mother find time to give birth to 13 sons and have a career?
  1. All right, I'll admit it: the blackout at the 07:07 mark really was quite effective!
Is the talking squirrel meant to emphasize that this is a fantasy? I'm quite curious.....
Is basketball a thing in Japan?
  1. More step-brothers make their move, and then there's a medical emergency.
    • Azu has meningitis.
    • Yet another brother makes a move onto her.....
  2. Ema finds out about her biological parents.
  3. The family takes Ema to the grave site of her biological parents.
  4. Angst over college entrance examinations.
  5. All of the brothers vow to be the one.
I think that it would have been fun if she had set the ground rules and had sexual intercourse with a different brother every night!
Brothers Conflict (OAV) Excellent (dub & sub)
  1. Ski resort on X-mas Eve.
  2. Valentine's Day shenanigans ─ gotta admit, it's unexpectedly humorous!
Btooom! (TV) Weak
Pro: "Aozora" by May'n is nice!
Con: The series is a f---ing commercial for the manga!

Bubblegum Crisis (OAV) Very good (dub), Excellent (sub)
  • depicts strong women characters.
  • OST is quite enjoyable!
  • The dub is hit-and-miss.
Bungaku Shōjo (movie) Good
This movie is based on the 5th book of the "Book Girl" series by Mizuki Nomura. The creative team, however, would have been well advised to use the 1st book of the series instead. See also this page as well.
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