Martin Butler

📍 Leeds, UK

Looking back on the Kalafina Progressive single and the 2009 Closed Premium Live

Of all the singles in Kalafina’s back catalogue, Progressive is a particularly interesting one. It wasn’t a movie or TV tie-in, so I guess that the record label felt the need to include extra incentives to help boost sales. The regular edition features the title track, an instrumental

My thoughts on Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0, minus spoilers

I didn’t plan to write this. I didn’t plan to spend one of my rare weeks off work as yet another geek, out of doubtless many others, writing yet another a long blog post about the new Evangelion movie. But Thrice upon a Time is a good movie.

Natsuhiko Kyougoku and the tradition of Honkaku mystery fiction

“There’s no such thing in this world as an uninteresting book. Any book is interesting; and not just when it’s new. Even books you’ve already read can be quite fascinating. It just takes a little more effort to get there, that’s all.” So claims Akihiko “Kyougokudou”

A retrospective on Red Moon

Firstly, I’d like to thank all the people who responded to my previous article [https://www.spilledpixels.net/a-retrospective/] for your kind words. Writing on an old-fashioned style blog makes you wonder “is anyone reading this and getting anything positive out of it?”, and I have a compulsion to

A retrospective on Seventh Heaven

It’s strange to be commemorating the release of one of my favourite albums on its thirteenth anniversary when thirteen isn’t even a very round number, but it seems to be a pretty good time to sit back and look at where its contributors are today. Its tenth anniversary

The Queen’s Gambit may not be a commentary on neurodiversity after all, and why that’s okay

A lot has been said about how a surprise TV hit during a pandemic was a story about a board game that can be played indoors. Maybe the 1950s/60s setting and the rebellious hard-drinking protagonist with a drug problem have somehow managed to make a sedate and cerebral game

Thoughts on Rascal Does not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

I recall a fan review of the old SF classic Gunbuster on a now-vanished website that described it as something that “has no business being this good.” While some movies and TV shows fail to live up to our expectations, it’s a wonderful feeling to be pleasantly surprised when

Keiko First Live K001, “I’m Home”

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has hamstrung the entire live music and travel industries, it’s been a rough year for music fans and performers alike. Second only to time spent with family and friends, the experience of a good live show is the one thing that I miss

Getting your gambling freak on with Kaiji and Kakegurui

At the time of its original broadcast, the anime adaptation of Kaiji felt like a breath of fresh air…albeit air that carried a waft of sweat, cheap booze, cigarette smoke and desperation. During a time when, in the English-speaking fan community at least, there was a widespread acknowledgment of

Some belated thoughts on Wakana’s first solo album

The challenges faced by the former Kalafina and FictionJunction vocalist in releasing her solo debut