Given that it\u2019s currently 2014, one might reasonably ask why it\u2019ll be as long as two years before we get any new content. After all, the manga series is already far enough along to allow for another 20-something episodes of anime. If Naruto<\/em>, Bleach<\/em>, and friends can crank out episodes nonstop, why not Titan<\/em>?<\/p>\n I\u2019m as eager for new giant-killing goodness as anyone else, but part of me looks at the faraway release date as a good thing. Part of Attack on Titan<\/em>\u2019s appeal is that it looks damn good. Watching the anime, you get the sense that much more than a week of work went into each episode. If the production staff wants until 2016 to put a new season together, I\u2019m inclined to give it to them.<\/p>\n Part of my opinion comes from my other life as the owner of a next-gen game console. Lately, it feels like I\u2019ve been seeing more and more titles rushed out into the market before they\u2019re done. Multiple A-list games have been buggy, unbalanced, or suspiciously sparse on content. With one of my hobbies increasingly plagued by impossible deadlines, I\u2019m happy to see Titan<\/em> take its time. As long as the finished product kicks ass, I\u2019ll wait as long as I have to.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To heck with timeliness, let\u2019s talk about an old favorite this week. Based on a series of light novels, Toradora!<\/em> came out back in 2008. Yes, it\u2019s already six years old. A lot of folks, myself included, still use it as a starting point for judging shonen romantic comedies. (Kimi ni Todoke<\/em> makes a good yardstick on the shojo side of things.) It\u2019s not the outright best or most original, but it\u2019s a perfect example of how to make a good show in a tired old genre.<\/p>\n So what makes Toradora!<\/em> worth coming back to? For a start, the chemistry between the main characters is fantastic. Ryuji and Taiga play the \u201copposites attract\u201d scenario about as well as it\u2019s ever been played, and can hit the funny bone and the heartstrings with equal force. They\u2019re backed up by a supporting cast full of characters that could easily carry a series all by themselves. The five members of the core cast all have endearing quirks and believable flaws, and they help lend credibility to the show\u2019s twists and turns.<\/p>\n Toradora!<\/em> recently got an English dub after years of being available with subtitles. It\u2019s a damn good one, too. After watching the first few episodes out of curiosity, I ended up going back through the entire series. For bonus points, it\u2019s available streaming on Crunchyroll if you don\u2019t want to buy the latest collector\u2019s edition. If you\u2019ve got a friend or relative who\u2019s a sucker for a good rom-com, it could make a good introduction to anime. I\u2019ve yet to see anyone get through the first two episodes without wanting to see more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This Week in Anime\u00a0is hastily cobbled together by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime and manga on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>. Check back every Monday for new articles.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The holidays are coming. Across the Internet, anime and manga retailers are starting to roll out the big discounts. In a related phenomenon, anime and manga fans are starting to inflict horrible agony upon their wallets. Holiday gifts be damned, we\u2019ve got box sets to buy! While you sit and wait for your favorite series [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1587"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1587"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1591,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1587\/revisions\/1591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Weekly Spotlight: Toradora!<\/em><\/h3>\n
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