2011
Noah’s Barks pages covering things relating to the year 2011.
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Shiki Specials
These two additional episodes/specials for the ‘Shiki’ anime series come highly recommended, as they make the emotional core of the story all the more devastating. (read more)
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Shino Can’t Say Her Name
One of Shūzō Oshimi’s finest works, this modest, one-volume manga covers the high school life of a girl with a debilitating stutter. Heartfelt and sincere, it appropriately wastes no words. (read more)
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Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters
Using the NES version cheapens this a bit to any ‘Tetris’ aficionado, but ‘Ecstasy of Order’ is sincere and features a diverse, likable cast. (read more)
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Fate/Zero
‘Fate/Zero’ completely botches the potentially interesting things about its own premise, and all it gets in return is weightless drama between poorly-defined characters and stakes. (read more)
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Puella Magi Madoka★Magica
While its production values are phenomenal, ‘Puella Magi Madoka★Magica’ can’t help itself from overindulging on its premise, making some would-be emotional moments overly-dramatic and silly. (read more)
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Chihayafull
‘Chihayafull’ is the best anime you could possibly make about a game with arguably less depth than Pogs… unfortunately, it’s still "about" that game. (read more)
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Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited
Disgaea 4 follows up a controversial third entry. Does it have hope of surpassing its predecessors? (read more)
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Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
Say what you will about ‘Conqueror of Shambala’—at least there was a point to its existence, unlike FMA: Milos. (read more)
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Hunter x Hunter
An informal, off-the-cuff review of Hunter x Hunter, a tour-de-force shonen series from Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho. (read more)
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A Dangerous Method
The subject of A Dangerous Method, the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, is too great and too interesting to compress under two hours, and it especially doesn’t deserve to have the Sabina Spielrein romance as the center-weight. The need to squeeze in so much exposition and to doll it out in scientific jargon… (read more)