The Other Side of the Fourth Wall

 Justice For All is generally considered the weakest entry in the first Ace Attorney trilogy for a few reasons, particularly a lack of an overarching storyline and the cases (with the exception of "Farewell, My Turnabout,") being weak overall. The first case is no exception, since it comes off as a rather contrived introduction to the series that feels like an excuse for a tutorial. The Introduction Phoenix has a nightmare about facing a massive, shadowy version of the Judge, who declares that he's no longer fit to be a defense attorney and prepares to strike him down with a large gavel. This ends up foreshadowing events in "Farewell, My Turnabout," when the nightmare is repeated in a more dramatic context, but it feels rather strange at first glanc. Phoenix wakes up on a sofa in the court lobby, and hears his cell phone ringing. At that point, a man assaults him with a fire extinguisher. After regaining consciousness, Phoenix sees a female police officer named

Warning: This blog post will contain discussion of graphic violence and rape. Viewers who are sensitive to such matter should not read any further. You may or may not have heard about Goblin Slayer, a light novel series about a group of adventurers in a fantasy setting that has received an anime adaptation. You may also have heard about the rather infamous first episode, which shows an unprepared adventuring party suffering a grisly fate when they raid a goblin next. If you find discussion of graphic violence and rape to be too disturbing for you, or something that triggers past traumas, then the warning should speak for itself when it comes to explaining why this is not an ideal way to begin a series. If, however, you are willing to proceed, this blog entry will analyze the first episode. Incidentally, I'm well aware that the Goblin Slayer anime is an adaptation of a light novel, but since many people, myself included, became aware of it through the anime, I will focus on that ada

  This post will contain Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney spoilers When the second case of the first Ace Attorney game has the protagonist investigating his mentor's murder and eventually defending himself when he's accused of the crime, how do you top that? Surprisingly enough, while the series has managed to top that, it doesn't in this case. The third case is the only one to have nothing to do with the DL-6 Incident or the overarching theme of this game- Phoenix trying to redeem his old friend Edgeworth. That said, it's still a significant part of the game's storyline, and arguably more complex and enjoyable than the first two cases. Investigation Day 1 A month has passed since the trial for Mia's murder ended, and Phoenix realizes that he doesn't have much work. During their downtime, Maya watches a Toku show, known as Steel Samurai. Not long after, the office gets a phone call by Will Powers, the actor who plays the Steel Samurai, requesting Phoenix's h

 Girls und Panzer is a rather strange anime, about a world in which students go to school on massive carriers, and in which tank combat is a high school sport. Naturally, the first episode has to establish the concept fairly quickly, and Girls und Panzer's first episode a good example of how to do so in an efficient manner. The Prologue The series begins in medias res, with a flash forward to the exhibition match with St. Gloriana. The particulars of the match aren't important, but it does give a sample of the tankery combat in the series. The entire scene serves a crucial purpose, because otherwise, the first tank battle would happen at the end of the second episode. The first two episodes serve an important purpose in establishing the setting and the character, and for the team to do the necessary prep work to get the tankery team going again, but this prologue provides a necessary hook. Introducing Miho The series goes back some time and shows Miho frantically waking up, bef

One Piece spoilers will follow When writing a good story, it's important to limit exposure to what isn't important to the story. For example, when you're writing a romance story, you don't have to show the male lead driving over to pick up his girlfriend, or them cleaning up after a party. Shonen battle manga like One Piece are no exception, especially when they have to balance several story elements- battle, character development, plot development, worldbuilding and others- so there may be times when it's better not to show battles. Unfortunately, there are also times when not showing battles proves detrimental to the overall story. The basics The concept of offscreening fights is simple enough, but it can take on a few different variations. Not showing the end of the fight. The start of the battle is shown, but the ending is told to the reader after the fact. For example, when Sanji fights Page One in Wano, showing off his Raid Suit in the process, the end of the

Manga readers tend to have strong opinions about the works they consume, especially when they don't think the works' creators are doing a good enough job. They're entitled to those opinions, but they may not always understand the colossal amount of effort that goes into making a manga. Bakuman effectively helps shed light on the lives of manga artists, and shares some important lessons about how manga is made, lessons that also apply to many other types of professionally made works of fiction. Making Manga is Hard Work You might have seen the pie charts for how many hours manga artists work, and how desperately they struggle to complete their weekly chapters on deadline. This is best shown when Mashiro's attempts to draw Detective Trap while still attending high school catch up to him, and he ends up being hospitalized. The editor in chief puts him on hiatus, and while the main characters and their friends aren't happy about this, it's preferable to being cancel