Project Raildex – Worth a Watch for Modern Fans?

Mostly, I Just Wanted to Watch it

When it comes to what I choose to cover here on this website it’s easy to see that there are a few patterns for what I’m partial for. Among these are big retrospective pieces on large franchises, making today’s topic of conversation in the Index, Railgun and Accelerator series long overdue. In fact, I’ve wanted to cover this franchise for several years but always found excuses in watching other programs. Since my Funimation subscription was about to end, this made for an ideal last hurrah for that platform as Crunchyroll didn’t have the full series dubbed (for some reason). With this all out of the way, let’s get on with the main event:  is this franchise worth watching?

#Anitwitwatches Season 20 – Big Order

Welcome to the Twentieth #Anitwitwatches!

While Season 19’s Sound of the Sky has been a nice little revisit, I fell like we really need to shake things up with this watch. So when you voted for my “mystery pick”, I knew exactly what we were going to do! For me, this will be a two for one as I am getting around to a previous recommendation from one of my followers all while getting you to watch it with me. Enough build up, here’s the reveal:  Big Order!

This is not considered a good show. It is a descent into madness. However, there are no doubts in my mind that every single person will have an excellent time with the discussion whether they love or loath the show alike. That’s what you get for voting for me though!

What is #Anitwitwatches?

This is a weekly community event meant to bring folks together to revisit old favorites and discover new shows. It’s meant to be something you can get as involved in as you want, there is no pressure to participate every week or every watch, but we’d love to have you to share in the experience and discuss the shows we are watching all the same!

I was inspired to do this after seeing the “rewatches” that people do over at Reddit in the r/anime sub. Since I interact with a lot of you guys on Twitter, I thought it would be the perfect place to do something similar! That said, even if you do not have a Twitter you can still join in by posting any content via WordPress, YouTube, or whatever suits your fancy. If you do, be sure to send me an email at jonspencerreviews@gmail.com so I can share your wonderful creations!

For everyone else, simply watch the episodes for the week based on the schedule below. Make sure to use the hashtag, #anitwitwatches when you do, and that’s it! Discuss with the other folks participating, create content, and generally just have a fun time!

This next show was chosen based on YOUR votes, so let’s get to the watch schedule.

Big Order Schedule

As always, we have a short break before returning. The main reason for this is to give everybody a little time off between watches. If you have not done so, you can see where you can watch Sound of the Sky for free, and legally, by using justwatch.com. Unfortunately, I cannot realistically check all regions but I aimed to make this as accessible as possible. That said, I won’t stop you from doing what you need to in order to participate. The more the merrier!

Here are the dates (all Mondays) and the episodes for each, please keep in mind that Monday’s are the main days for discussion but you basically have the whole week to watch (if you need to miss a week or whatever, that’s all good too). Be sure to save a copy of the schedule for your use:

I wanted this watch to be on the shorter side so this will only be 6 weeks long. I isolated the first and last episode because I think that will make for an interesting “where we started, where we ended up” kind of deal. Looking forward to all the discussion and hope to see you there!

#Anitwitwatches Season 19 – Sound of the Sky

Welcome to the Nineteenth #Anitwitwatches!

I’m about to start a new job and right alongside it we are going to start Season 19 of ATW with Sound of the Sky. This is a title I’ve looked at previously and quite liked so I’m hoping you will too. As a result of my new job though, this watch may function slightly differently than normal. It is possible that I may not be as active in leading the discussion so be sure to interact with other posters on Twitter if you join in, plus it is just a lot more fun if you do that anyway. If you missed us last time we watched Terror in Resonance. Just because one of our group watches has ended doesn’t mean you can’t go back and take the journey yourself!

What is #Anitwitwatches?

This is a weekly community event meant to bring folks together to revisit old favorites and discover new shows. It’s meant to be something you can get as involved in as you want, there is no pressure to participate every week or every watch, but we’d love to have you to share in the experience and discuss the shows we are watching all the same!

I was inspired to do this after seeing the “rewatches” that people do over at Reddit in the r/anime sub. Since I interact with a lot of you guys on Twitter, I thought it would be the perfect place to do something similar! That said, even if you do not have a Twitter you can still join in by posting any content via WordPress, YouTube, or whatever suits your fancy. If you do, be sure to send me an email at jonspencerreviews@gmail.com so I can share your wonderful creations!

For everyone else, simply watch the episodes for the week based on the schedule below. Make sure to use the hashtag, #anitwitwatches when you do, and that’s it! Discuss with the other folks participating, create content, and generally just have a fun time!

This next show was chosen based on YOUR votes, so let’s get to the watch schedule.

Sound of the Sky Schedule

As always, we have a short break before returning. The main reason for this is to give everybody a little time off between watches. I also start my job, as mentioned, so I need a week off to properly adjust before trying to juggle this and everything else. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

If you have not done so, you can see where you can watch Sound of the Sky for free, and legally, by using justwatch.com. Unfortunately, I cannot realistically check all regions but I aimed to make this as accessible as possible. That said, I won’t stop you from doing what you need to in order to participate. The more the merrier!

Here are the dates (all Mondays) and the episodes for each, please keep in mind that Monday’s are the main days for discussion but you basically have the whole week to watch (if you need to miss a week or whatever, that’s all good too). Please note that episode 7.5 is optional as is episode 13, we also have a break on the 4th of July as I know that I will personally be busy at that time. Be sure to save a copy of the schedule for your use:

A pretty straightforward watch this time around. That means this is an 8 week watch if you count the break. I hope you’re excited to watch this one and I look forward to all the excellent discussion!

Fate/Zero Route 0 – Where it all Began…

What I Wanted from Fate

When I previously watched and reviewed Fate/Stay Night (2006), I made no secret of the fact that I enjoyed it but found the series to have multiple issues. I had guessed that watching something like Fate/Zero would have made going backwards a lot harder for myself, and I suspect newer fans would be of no exception. Now that I’ve watched Fate/Zero, I can safely say that the order I chose to view these titles in was indeed the correct one as this was easily the better of the two experiences. To put things simply, Fate/Zero was everything I wanted out of the Fate franchise the first time around, a polished version of what was first attempted in 2006.

#Anitwitwatches Season 18 – Terror in Resonance

Welcome to the Eighteenth #Anitwitwatches!

Our last watch sure went quick! We just finished up Girls und Panzer, which was a fun series I would encourage you to check out if you haven’t already. Since that is over though, we needed to decide what to watch next. There was a short time it looked like we might have a tight race, but Terror in Resonance held steady for a bulk of the voting period and ran all the way to the bank with your votes. I have previously reviewed and discussed this title as you can see in the link above, but as always, I’ll be there each week with you all to share in the conversation.

What is #Anitwitwatches?

This is a weekly community event meant to bring folks together to revisit old favorites and discover new shows. It’s meant to be something you can get as involved in as you want, there is no pressure to participate every week or every watch, but we’d love to have you to share in the experience and discuss the shows we are watching all the same!

I was inspired to do this after seeing the “rewatches” that people do over at Reddit in the r/anime sub. Since I interact with a lot of you guys on Twitter, I thought it would be the perfect place to do something similar! That said, even if you do not have a Twitter you can still join in by posting any content via WordPress, YouTube, or whatever suits your fancy. If you do, be sure to send me an email at jonspencerreviews@gmail.com so I can share your wonderful creations!

For everyone else, simply watch the episodes for the week based on the schedule below. Make sure to use the hashtag, #anitwitwatches when you do, and that’s it! Discuss with the other folks participating, create content, and generally just have a fun time!

This next show was chosen based on YOUR votes, so let’s get to the watch schedule.

Terror in Resonance Schedule

As always, we have a short break before returning. The main reason for this is to give everybody a little time off between watches. Beyond that, I’ve been slacking a bit on a few things so going to need that time to catch back up! Anyway, that means we’ll be starting on April 4, 2022.

If you have not done so, you can see where you can watch Terror in Resonance for free, and legally, by using justwatch.com. Unfortunately, I cannot realistically check all regions but I aimed to make this as accessible as possible. That said, I won’t stop you from doing what you need to in order to participate. The more the merrier!

Here are the dates (all Mondays) and the episodes for each, please keep in mind that Monday’s are the main days for discussion but you basically have the whole week to watch (if you need to miss a week or whatever, that’s all good too):

We’ve had some pretty long watches lately, so I made sure to keep this one on the shorter side. As a result, we only have 6 weeks for this series. I hope you’re excited to watch this one and I look forward to all the excellent discussion!

9 μ’sings about Love Live! School Idol Project

Finally, I Watched Love Live!

I’ve actually been quite interested in watching Love Live! School Idol Project for some time now. Unfortunately, the series only had the second season of the first series available for several years. That is, until recently when Funimation (now Crunchyroll) got the streaming rights to the first season. While it’s true I could have started with future entries, I wanted to start from the beginning and make my way slowly through the franchise as I’ve been doing with Fate and others. Today I’ll be sharing 9 thoughts, or “μ’sings” if you will, about my experience with Love Live! so far.

Found in Translation – A Discussion on Accessibility in Media

We’ve ALL Heard the Sub VS Dub Debate…

When it comes to anime, the conversation surrounding accessibility in the community is a weirdly contentious one. I don’t just mean the usual sub VS dub debate either, as the conversation goes well outside that but for several reasons, supposed “fans” of the medium are quick to dismiss these ideas all too often. The weird thing though, it’s not really an issue in live-action media. That’s why I’d like to take a moment to talk about two recent things I watched:  Amazon Prime’s Cinderella and Netflix’s Squid Game. What do these two experiences have in common when it comes to accessibility, and why anime licensors and distributors should be taking a page from their books? Well, you’ll have to read on to find that one out.

Worst in Season – Spring 2021

Still Too Much Anime!

Alright, the Spring 2021 season was stacked, and after taking a closer look, I realized I watched a pretty big chunk of the shows. Rather than do a bunch of individual reviews, I thought it’d be fun to do a best and worst of list featuring five shows for their respective categories. Today I’m looking at the shows that left a bad taste in my mouth or otherwise missed their mark, along with why I thought this was the case. You’ll likely disagree with some of these, and if you do, that’s fine! I’m glad some folks enjoyed some of these shows, even if I don’t agree. Of course, just like last time, let me know what would have made your list in the comments below.

Best in Season – Spring 2021

Too Much Anime!

Alright, the Spring 2021 season was stacked, and after taking a closer look, I realized I watched a pretty big chunk of the shows. Rather than do a bunch of individual reviews, I thought it’d be fun to do a best and worst of list featuring five shows for their respective categories. Today I’m looking at the cream of the crop, along with why I thought they were great. Keep in mind some stuff I didn’t watch on purpose (looking at you Fruits Basket finale) or it just may not have interested me, so if your favorite show is missing that’s likely why. Let me know at the end of the article what would have made your list.

#Animexchange – Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

A Decent Comedy

This is the fifth instalment of the “Anime X-Change Project” reviews. If you don’t know what that is, be sure to check out all the info here from an earlier post. A heads up, I’m putting a pause on these for a bit, possibly indefinitely, after this entry. The reason being my new computer is here and my content creation priorities have shifted. Today’s review is brought to you by @MechAnimeReview, or Scott. I held off on Nozaki-kun for awhile because comedy anime are pretty hit-or-miss for me. That begs the question, was this anime a “hit” or was it a “miss”?