It's difficult to call this an anime since it's full cg, but it's done in the anime style so good enough. I've loved Girls Band Cry from the very first episode. The speed and power of dialogue in this series is peerless. So much of such import is said every single episode. The characters are absolutely full of emotions and ideas and they express them immediately and forcefully. There's nothing like it in any previous anime. They have turned a simple concept, the formation of a new music band, into this incredible, insightful soul-search of the entire canvas of the psyche. And these complicated, troubled people are so relatable that you cheer for them not because they're perfect but because they're imperfect.
But they aren't imperfect in the stupid ways Americans like to 'complicate' their characters, by making them pigs who fall for any stupid vice like alcohol or gambling or sex or whatever. They're imperfect in that they can't control their runaway stampede of emotions and end up saying things they don't mean or didn't want to reveal, and then have to pick up the pieces afterwards. Real, human imperfections. Things admirable and sensible people have to fight with. Not subhuman beasts, the imperfections of divine vessels with souls.
The perfect avatar of the entire spirit of Girls Band Cry is Nina, the lead vocalist. Bullied in school, she gave up and dropped out, but she isn't so much sad about it as mad, so very mad. And that anger is channeled into her beautiful voice and brilliant melodies, creating a completely unique musical tone. I love the music of this anime so much I downloaded a whole cd of its music and am now screening it for my music hall of fame. This is a musical anime and it delivers on the music side, on its promise that these girls are a band worth checking out. Of course Nina has also been elevated to my fictional character hall of fame.
To make room in my top anime rankings I dropped Joukamachi no Dandelion. Joukamachi's anime only loosely follows the original manga source, and ultimately for that reason I couldn't forgive it. The anime is certainly gorgeous but it isn't true. The truth is the manga, so really all we need is the manga. There's no point honoring a lie. If there's one thing that Girls Band Cry stands for it's truth. They always tell the truth, straight from the heart, no matter how much it hurts. And it's an original work so it's impossible to not adapt honestly. For now Girls Band Cry will stick around at #200 in my rankings, but I'll eventually give it its true ranking, for instance once the whole series has aired.
Meanwhile, I also added Mayu from Wonderful Precure to my fictional character hall of fame. Over the course of many episodes she's been wonderfully characterized as a sensitive soul that is overflowing equally with anxiety and compassion. She's weak, but she sympathizes with the weak, and ultimately that makes her strong, because that sympathy always leads to her reaching out her hand to help. It helps that she's also beautiful with a great voice. And of course that she can transform into a powerful hero who saves the world. Factors like that always make a character more likable/admirable.
Russia has taken some more villages in Ukraine, but at the same time they've also lost some villages -- Krinky and Nevelske. It's hard to call that progress. If Russia really does launch a major offensive like everyone says they will I hope it bags something more impressive than the petty progress we've been watching. If they took Kharkov, for instance, that would make it very clear who's winning the war. Not this back and forth nonsense.
Eiyuuden Chronicles has been good so far, but nothing special. It's certainly a game worth playing, but 'must play' is a higher standard. Once I've actually beaten it I can give a better judgment on that question. It's fun collecting all the characters and building out your castle town. The music is pretty good. The plot is pretty simplistic but nothing objectionable. The combat is turn-based but awkward because you have to make all your decisions for all your characters at once, so they generally are out of date and bad decisions by the time their turn comes along. It's a rather dumb system that ruins the main appeal of having full control over your party. I dislike how there's basically no way to protect your back rank fighters, which means low defense is a critical flaw in a playable character. It makes you want to field six heavy knights as your party just to stop dying. I guess the best part of Eiyuuden is it looks to be a long game which will occupy me for a long time.
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