Jon’s Creator Showcase: April Edition Pt. 1 (Anime + Books)

Welcome to May. How’s everyone doing? I’m not sure if this has something to do with our global situation, but the month of March saw a remarkable influx of creative otaku and geek content. This showcase received an unprecedented total of 55 submissions from Twitter. As such, I decided to split the showcase it into two parts. Part 1 will feature anime, manga and book content!

I also must apologize for only putting up one post if somebody submitted multiple or had multiple posts nominated on their behalf.

If you aren’t familiar with Jon’s Creator Showcase, do check out its page on Jon Spencer Reviews. Even if you missed this month’s call for submissions, there’s always the upcoming one, hosted by ThatRandomEditor!

Anime/Manga Series Panel

Is Kengan Ashura worth watching? Explained!

Low on adrenaline? You must be in need of some well-animated CGI fight scenes. And no, this is not an oxymoron, according to YumDeku @ Anime, Manga, and Gaming Otaku Blog, who justifies the anime most convincingly.

Anime ABC’s V is for Versailles no Bara

Jon Spencer @ Jon Spencer Reviews brings us a balanced review on a shoujo classic that went on to influence several fundamental works in anime, including the celebrated Revolutionary Girl Utena. Old series may seem intimidating to a lot of us (apparently, my mom followed the manga in her teens), but Jon’s spoiler-free review will dispel any uncertainties with its breakdown of the series’ plot, historical accuracy, and legacy.

#MechaMarch : Cyborg 009 – The Cyborg Soldier: Fighting For Peace and Humanity

Mecha might be a bit of a niche in anime, but trust me, Scott @ Mechanical Anime Reviews will get you into that robot. Actually, this exciting anime is about cyborgs, but I believe I still have a point. Scott reminds us in his thoughtful review that the cyborg stories in the anime are simultaneously “human stories because of our cast that seek humanity wherever they go.”

The Rise of the Shield Hero Anime Review

Regardless of whether you’ve seen the anime, or whether you found it enjoyable, you will probably appreciate this sincere review by Will Sirius @ When Sirius Writes. Well-aware of the negative rap the series gets, Sirius breaks down its highs and lows from a respectful and relatable standpoint.

FINAL THOUGHTS: STEVEN UNIVERSE FUTURE

Jack Scheibelein @ Animated Observations brings us an insightful and personal review on the power of Steven Universe Future‘s storytelling and its statements on identity and mental health. A compelling read from start to finish!

416th G-View: Controversial Edition. Ishuzoku Reviewers (NSFW)

Ah, the infamous Ishuzoku Reviewers. OG-Man @ The Yuri Empire offers a holistic review of the series that covers how it tackles sex positivity in high spirits and delivers top tier comedy.

Anime Episode Reviews

Review: No Game No Life Episode 11: Hiding In Plain Sight And A Game Of Millimeters

tcrow @ Crow’s World of Anime offers us one of his nicely rounded episodic write-ups on a favourite episode from No Game No Life, zooming in on the character Izuna and capturing her psychological changes as the episode progresses.

Bonus Fall Season Review: Azur Lane Ep 12 – Alliance (Final)

Finale with the pretty fighting ship girls! As usual, Nick @ Anime Corps delivers a wholesome and laid-back review on a seasonal anime, while pointing out some of its major flaws. I wish I had your ability to appreciate and stick through with seasonals, Nick!!

Anime Movie Panel

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising

Drey @ Soulcial Dreamin’ Entertainment (SDE) delivers a cozy personal review of the recent My Hero Academia movie. Big screens never fail to intensify the shounen-ness of shounen, but I’ll let Drey tell you all about that instead!

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: PROMARE (MOTM 2020)

Maybe you tend to be selective about your consumption of shounen, in which case Kapodaco @ The Visualist’s Veranda provides a more cynical view on the other hyped firefighting anime of 2019–Promare. Kind of wish I saw this review sooner, because I wasted 20 minutes debating on whether to see this in the theatre before deciding that it’s probably not my cup of tea.

‘Chinese Anime Movies’ Starter Pack

Jervis Zeuldeick @ Yu Alexius Anime Portal compiled a beginner-friendly list of Chinese donghua (animation) films for us to check out. I’m a bit ashamed to say that I’ve heard of none of them, despite this being a “starter pack”! Seriously, people, time to watch more Chinese anime with me.

Your Name. & the Forgotten Fragments of Tradition – Anime Review

Yon Nyan @ BiblioNyan wins again with keen observations strung together by fluid writing. Your Name‘s supernatural romance plot often overshadows its other elements, but Yon Nyan picks up on intriguing threads on culture, and delivers a beautiful piece on how tradition and modernity juxtapose and interact with each other within the film.

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

Fred @ This is my place. walks us through the newest episode in Violet’s quest to understand love, this time informed by another young woman’s transition from poverty to royalty. Might be difficult seeing this in theatres now if you missed it earlier, but even without the big screen, I trust that the animation will still be breathtaking.

Jin-Roh (Jinrō)

ashleycapes @ The Review Heap reviews a buried classic directed by Mamoru Oshii. Based on the excellently captured screenshots of washed out frames with alarming splashes of red, I’m not surprised that the Little Red Riding Hood is a recurring motif in the film, and did not hesitate for a moment before putting this on my watch list.

Anime Topic Analysis Panel

Accelerator’s Quotes You Will Fall in Love With

Who doesn’t love a crazy white-haired boy who also happens to be a loli babysitter? Misaka @ 9 Tailed Kitsune highlights 12 favourite quotes from Accelerator from A Certain Magical Index/A Certain Scientific Railgun for you to conveniently print and frame on your wall.

Revy: Devotion To Destruction [OWLS Blog Tour]

mattdoylemedia @ Matt Doyle Media brings us an in-depth character analysis of Black Lagoon‘s charismatic female lead, Revy, for OWLS’ March theme of “devotion.” Read on for a fresh examination of the raisons d’etre of the dogged, vulnerable, and self-aware character, interspersed with philosophical references.

School Days: Talk to Me, Just Talk to Me.

School Days, the anime that heard our complaints about harem and addressed them in ways we never asked for. Dewbond @ Shallow Dives in Anime discusses the central characters and their relationships precisely, and analyzes how communication failure ruins some high school romances. If you can’t get enough of School Days from the recent Anitwitwatches series, this is definitely a write-up you should check out.

“Are you willing to die for me, then?” — on processing, expressing, and forgiving (inspired by anime “Given”)

Shoujo @ Shoujo Thoughts: Otaku Ramblings delivers an important personal post on processing guilt and grief, as well as eventually learning forgiveness, based on central events that take place in the anime Given. If you’ve blamed yourself at any point during a relationship, romantic or otherwise, this post will speak to you.

YUU IS THE MORAL CENTER OF GIRLS’ LAST TOUR — AN #ANITWITWATCHES POST

“Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It’s awful,” observes Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. iniksbane @ In Search of Number Nine–An Anime Blog draws compelling comparisons between Girls’ Last Tour and the existential works of Beckett and Camus, and analyzes how Yuu, rather than Chi, is ultimately the one with the ability to thrive from hopelessness.

Highlight Real – Kuroko’s Basketball Ep. 1-13 (Dude Sports Guy)

K Dude Sports Guy @ K at the Movies compares Kuroko’s Basketball characters with real-life basketball professionals in incredible depth. I’m sorry I thought Kuroko was too outrageous and quit after 4 episodes!!

Anime Funsies Panel

Fruits Basket (Saturday Spin-off) – Noir

What if Fruits Basket was a gritty supernatural detective story? What would a perceptive outsider say about an unassuming girl’s strange adventures with zodiac animals? Credits to Lynn Sheridan @ The Otaku Author for the pitch. Something fishy this way comes…

Challenge Accepted! Give it A Light Novel Title Challenge!

neverarguewithafish @ Never Argue with a Fish wrote a short and sweet post for the challenge of coming up with ridiculously long LN names for anime series, created by Dewbond. Don’t you just love over-descriptive titles that spoil half the show for you? (It’s okay, the Infallible Fish doesn’t quite do that.)

Girls’ Last Tour MV

https://twitter.com/InfiniteZenith/status/1239707721223393281

infinitezenith @ The Infinite Zenith did something a bit different this time by submitting an MV he made to celebrate moments from Girls’ Last Tour. The show may have one of the most depressing post-apocalyptic settings, but this MV captures all the fun it also happens to be full of.

Spring 2020 – Watch List

How many anime from this neat and sweet watch list put together by Keiko @ Keiko’s Anime Blog have you seen? This also begs the question: how many anime did Keiko herself even end up watching from this list? Many things have been put on delay, including some of the anime featured and Keiko’s own blog, but let’s look forward to the answer whenever she’s back with us.

Books & Manga Panel

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe: A Thrilling Ride Through Space || Review

After this pandemic, perhaps fewer people would idealize solitary life in space. Takuto @ Takuto’s Anime Cafe reviews a beautiful sci-fi novel about the internal journey taken by a teenage girl in command of a spaceship. Quoting Takuto here: “Intelligent, suspenseful, and deliberately cautious, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe is thrilling to the very end—even in its quietest moments.”

Sweat and Soap Vol 1 Review

A woman who sweats like crazy paired with a soap designer who likes to smell people? What in the world is this not-quite-hentai? I’ll stop spoiling the review by alsmangablog @ Al’s Manga Blog and let them tell you about the fabulous premise themselves.

Enter Your World | A Sign Of Affection Vol 1

First of all, can I say that this manga has one of the cutest covers ever? LitaKino @ Lita Kino Anime Corner gives her first impression on a comforting high school romance featuring a sweet girl with a hearing disability. Those who enjoyed A Silent Voice may find themselves appreciating this one.

SATURDAY AM: MANGA FOR A MULTICULTURAL WORLD

Racial representation in anime and manga can sometimes be iffy. Rai @ Rai’s Anime Blog advocates for the importance of multiculturalism and diversity in this post. Beyond this, Rai promotes a cool App that offers diverse manga on a budget!

The Importance of Reading

I’m sure anyone who is reading this post, or who reads blogs at all, is a reader, but in case you need more points to make about reading the next time someone tries telling you that libraries are going to be obsolete in the next few decades, Megan Peoples @ Nerd Rambles provides a few good ones in honour of World Book Day.

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And…that’s it for this part of the showcase! In another few days, I will post Pt. 2, so do keep an eye out for that if you found this one interesting. A heads-up: Pt. 2 of the showcase will feature gaming content as well as everything else. Until then!

*Due to the volume of submissions and the difficulty of tracking chain Tweets, some submissions (especially those without the hashtag) may have been lost. If you submitted something that you think fits this category, please let me know, and I will confirm so and add you immediately. Note: this is not an opportunity to submit a previously unsubmitted work.