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ep. review

Mayonaka Punch ‒ Episodes 9-10

Masaki may be ready to get back on that horse again, but it has spent months eating fermented oats and poorly sealed energy drinks.
ep. review

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ‒ Episode 11

I want to like Alya as a character, but the writers needs to step up in showing what makes her appealing.
ep. review

Twilight Out of Focus ‒ Episode 11

I'll admit it: as a manga reader, I was curious how Twilight Out of Focus was going to handle its last two episodes.
ep. review

Oshi no Ko Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

Even as Oshi No Ko unearths the entertainment industry’s inherent darkness, a gorgeous expressionist sequence reminds us why we fall for the sweet lies of celebrities in the first place.
ep. review

My Deer Friend Nokotan ‒ Episode 11

The coming finale will be a television event on-par with some of the most memorable Super Bowls, like that one where the Giants beat the Patriots, or the other one where the Giants beat the Patriots.
ep. review

Shy Season 2 ‒ Episode 22

Shy is at its weakest when it relies on repetitive platitudes to get the point across, and it's at its strongest when it throws a giant enemy teddy bear at the problem.
ep. review

Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf ‒ Episode 23

I love that Holo and Lawrence both conclude the right move is to get the hell outta Dodge. It's cowardly, it's smart, and it's correct.
ep. review

Tower of God Season 2 ‒ Episode 10

This episode leaves me with a burning question: Was this a good episode or was it simply a good episode in comparison to the low standards the anime has set?
ep. review

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! ‒ Episodes 8-9

These situations involve people just trying to get a lot done and inadvertently hurting themselves through pushing well past their limits.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1118

Folks, this is the kind of week that reminds me just how great the lore and world-building in One Piece can be.
ep. review

My Hero Academia Season 7 ‒ Episode 154

The night is truly at its darkest.
So of course, that’s when a hero arrives.
ep. review

Pseudo Harem ‒ Episode 10

Visiting the home of a significant other is a major step in a relationship, especially when the guardians of the host are not present.
ep. review

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master ‒ Episode 18

It seems that some yatagarasu model more than just their appearances on humans, and how that plays out may ultimately decide the fate of Yamauchi.
ep. review

Narenare -Cheer for you!- ‒ Episode 10

My biggest gripe with the episode is learning the identity of the anonymous poster who called Kanata out.
ep. review

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ‒ Episode 10

To my surprise, the general ideas from the opening shorts actually do end up playing into a couple of the major fights this week, and the results are equal parts heartwarming, and hilarious.
ep. review

VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream ‒ Episode 10

If you've ever wanted to watch a full-length episode of anime girls playing Among Us, this week's episode of VTuber Legend has you covered.
ep. review

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 ‒ Episode 69

Cards on the table: This is my favorite tournament arc in recent times. Why? Because 90% of it is done in a single episode.
ep. review

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction ‒ Episode 15

The alien mothership is mere minutes away from exploding, Tokyo is in chaos, and our heroes… well, they're far away from Tokyo, playing on the beach.
ep. review

2.5 Dimensional Seduction ‒ Episode 10

Even though it provides some much-needed character development, the issue is we don't really know who many of these characters are.
ep. review

Wistoria: Wand and Sword ‒ Episode 9

The mix of desperate survival and meaty monster horror gives the distinct impression that manga author Fujino Mori played a bunch of Shin Megami Tensei while working on this arc.
ep. review

Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin ‒ Episode 10

There are still consequences to last week’s events—but some of that is bogged down by moments that don’t feel like they translated well from game to animation.
ep. review

SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary ‒ Episode 9

Osanai may not be as vicious as The Black Lizard, but she's certainly no less devious.
ep. review

Senpai is an Otokonoko ‒ Episode 9

No person is an island, and nobody, no matter how resolute they seem to be, can handle everything alone.
ep. review

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture ‒ SERIES FINALE

This was the finale of a much better series: tight and focused, finding the emotional thrust to contextualize and inform the action.
ep. review

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ‒ Episode 10

The theme of this entire episode was Kuze letting his guard down a lot more, and while that can lead to wholesome moments with Alya, it could also lead to unsavory moments with his mother.
ep. review

Quality Assurance in Another World ‒ Episode 10

I'd sure love if we got some kind of hint about what any of this is building up to before the season is over.
ep. review

NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

Fear and love have been driving the likes of A2, 2B, and 9S from the very beginning, and fear and love will be their shackles to the very end. How very fitting, and how very human.
ep. review

Twilight Out of Focus ‒ Episode 10

One of the features of romance fiction is that we'll oftentimes get the perspectives of both halves of a couple. This week, we finally get to see Rei's.
ep. review

My Deer Friend Nokotan ‒ Episode 10

As far as an episode of My Deer Friend Nokotan making me feel things goes, "hunger" has to count for something, right?
ep. review

Shy Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

She might not have been studying the blade in her spare time but Teru still swings a mean fire katana.
ep. review

Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf ‒ Episode 22

Lawrence had better hope that God doesn't exist, because otherwise he has a lot to answer for this week.
ep. review

Tower of God Season 2 ‒ Episode 9

This is the kind of episode we've needed for a while now. We're nine episodes in at this point and we know almost nothing about these characters.
ep. review

MONOGATARI Series: OFF & MONSTER Season ‒ Episode 8

This episode re-contextualizes more than a few key scenes across the entirety of Monogatari—making some all the more tragic and some all the more wonderful.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1117

Whenever we are introduced to a new group of fighters at a location, we’ll often get a round-robin sequence of cool moments.
ep. review

Wistoria: Wand and Sword ‒ Episode 8

I had a lot of fun with this episode of Wistoria, despite how much it continues to trade in familiar cliches.
ep. review

2.5 Dimensional Seduction ‒ Episode 9

Nothing in this episode is outright bad but there are so many missed opportunities that it left me deflated.
ep. review

Narenare -Cheer for you!- ‒ Episode 9

I’ll give the show credit that this is a much less aggravating conclusion than I was expecting, but the fact that I walked away not feeling much of anything just speaks to how badly it keeps fumbling when it comes to resolutions .
ep. review

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ‒ Episode 9

Unlikely as it is, I’m still hoping that this will be the fight where Lucy finally gets thrown a bone.
ep. review

VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream ‒ Episode 9

The combo of characters and concepts in this segment makes it different from the stuff VTuber Legend has done before, and it carries it extremely well.
ep. review

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools ‒ Episode 9

Congratulations, if you've ever wanted the fantasy equivalent of sitting through an industry trade show, you've got it.
ep. review

The Elusive Samurai ‒ Episode 9

This entire thing could have been twenty straight minutes of Tokiyuki and the gang standing in line at the DMV, and I would still be professionally obligated to award it an official rating of “All of the Stars.
ep. review

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 ‒ Episode 68

Hey Rimuru, maybe it's not the best idea to tell everyone how to mass produce your main export.
ep. review

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction ‒ Episode 14

While the relationship between Kadode and Ouran is the heart and soul of this show, I do still enjoy these episodes without them.
ep. review

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master ‒ Episode 17

The worst thing you can learn about someone you fear or hate is that they're just like you.
ep. review

SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary ‒ Episode 8

The resolution to the kidnapping plot shows why neither Kobato nor Osanai is likely to ever be ordinary.
ep. review

Pseudo Harem ‒ Episode 9

Despite the overall presentation, Pseudo Harem is trying to be something and I respect that.
ep. review

My Hero Academia Season 7 ‒ Episode 153

Before he knows it Spinner is back to being a directionless, angry kid who wants to achieve something he can’t put into words.
ep. review

Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin ‒ Episode 9

This probably played out better in the original game, but as is, my feelings toward the revelation of the show’s true villain are mostly indifference.
ep. review

Quality Assurance in Another World ‒ Episode 9

I could see the show developing a very cute parental unit thing between Haga, Akira, and Nikola—with Amano serving as the grumpy uncle who hangs around because he has nowhere better to be.
ep. review

NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

We need a little badassery in these war stories to keep from being crushed by the weight of unceasing existential despair!
ep. review

Senpai is an Otokonoko ‒ Episode 8

Saki's dad is chipper, friendly, and seems to genuinely enjoy spending time with Saki; about as far from the stereotype of an emotionally distant Anime Dad as you can get at first glance.
ep. review

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ‒ Episode 9

Sometimes it feels like I'm watching two different shows.
ep. review

Twilight Out of Focus ‒ Episode 9

Romantic leads are cute and maybe a little clumsy, and so that's what Yoshino strives to be.
ep. review

My Deer Friend Nokotan ‒ Episode 9

I'm getting this My Deer Friend Nokotan review a little later than usual. The U.S. showing of Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp was tonight only, and ya boy was not about to miss that.
ep. review

Oshi no Ko Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

Ai has never ceased to be a main character and has haunted Aqua, Ruby, and the audience ever since—but she has done so only through echoes. That changes this week.
ep. review

Shy Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

Stardust stares down Stigma and Ai crosses katanas with Mai during the dual duels in this week's chapter of Shy.
ep. review

Narenare -Cheer for you!- ‒ Episode 8

Finding a good balance between trying to keep your audience satisfied and not burning yourself is a lesson that any content creator has to learn—but it isn’t one that I’m sure this show understands.
ep. review

Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf ‒ Episode 21

It's a good sign when an episode begins with Holo chugging a tankard of beer.
ep. review

Mayonaka Punch ‒ Episode 8

What do you call a group of unaffiliated YouTubers meeting together? An impending lawsuit!
ep. review

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ‒ Episode 8

Of all the things I would have expected from the coincidence of the gang running into another group of doppelgangers, I sure wasn’t expecting the topic of romance.
ep. review

Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin ‒ Episode 8

For an episode called “The Rice Riots that Shook the Capital”, this ended up being really tame.
ep. review

Wistoria: Wand and Sword ‒ Episode 7

With just a few frames of animation, Wistoria does a great job of depicting the unbridled thirst that Elfaria has for the big, firm, and girthy longsword that Will uses to penetrate his targets.
ep. review

The Elusive Samurai ‒ Episode 8

What else can a warrior-in-training hope to do though than try to meet such an evil force with an equal and opposite power of their own? Kill 'em with kindness, indeed.
ep. review

Senpai is an Otokonoko ‒ Episode 7

There's a lot of awful garbage that comes with being queer in a heteronormative society, but perhaps the most pernicious is how it can push already isolated people to hide themselves even further.
ep. review

MONOGATARI Series: OFF & MONSTER Season ‒ Episode 7

The point of this episode is to answer this question: “Why, if Acerola is such a good person on the inside, does she continue to wander—killing tens of thousands in the process?”
ep. review

Tower of God Season 2 ‒ Episode 8

You know the phrase, “If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?” Yeah, if I followed that, the review of this week's episode would be a blank page.
ep. review

Pseudo Harem ‒ Episode 8

Props to Pseudo Haram; they are actually exploring territory that most romances dare not touch!
ep. review

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture ‒ Episode 10

For the whole series, they've wanted Norland to be enigmatic. Opaque. Inscrutable. A vague, menacing force.
ep. review

Twilight Out of Focus ‒ Episode 8

It's so easy to get poisoned by genre fiction.
ep. review

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ‒ Episode 8

This episode was probably my favorite of the series thus far, and it's also the episode where I've hated Alya the least.
ep. review

Oshi no Ko Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

Oshi no Ko Season 2 has been consistently creative, transforming into something fully apart from the manga.
ep. review

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 ‒ Episode 67

Narratively, this dinner party is akin to the action climax of this arc—only instead of some big fight, the “action” is a battle of words.
ep. review

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction ‒ Episode 13

This episode is designed to show the poetic relationship between our two heroines: Kadode wanted to be the hero who saved the world. Ouran wants to be the villain who saved one person.
ep. review

Quality Assurance in Another World ‒ Episode 8

I am not about to complain about getting a show that is “Mostly Good Enough, and Sometimes Almost Kind of Great, If You Squint Hard Enough!"
ep. review

NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

Both A2 and 9S are slowly becoming corrupted with thoughts and emotions they have no idea how to reckon with—though their corruption is leading them down two very different paths.
ep. review

VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream ‒ Episode 8

Lord knows I've felt the struggle of not being able to find my go-to drinks stocked locally.
ep. review

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools ‒ Episode 8

If you thought the last episode was sparse on conflict, this one makes last week feel like Speed (or at the very least Speed 2: Cruise Control).
ep. review

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! ‒ Episode 7

It’s nice seeing a lead who lives up to the expectations put on him by others in this regard, and that makes it plain why so many people trust and rely on him.
ep. review

2.5 Dimensional Seduction ‒ Episode 8

Nagomi challenges Ririsa to question whether her dedication is to cosplay as a hobby or career versus just being a Liliel superfan.
ep. review

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master ‒ Episode 16

We need to wonder if the blue flames are truly supernatural or not.
ep. review

My Hero Academia Season 7 ‒ Episode 152

It certainly would have helped if the show had started addressing this material earlier in its run.
ep. review

SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary ‒ Episode 7

Warning: this review will contain spoilers for a book from 1934.
ep. review

My Deer Friend Nokotan ‒ Episode 8

My Deer Friend Nokotan put out a unilateral winner this week—and all it had to do to get there was murder Santa Claus and bury his body in the cold, cold ground.
ep. review

Shy Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

I'm beginning to doubt Shy can be more than just plain “okay” at what it does.
ep. review

Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf ‒ Episode 20

Let loose some Holo hallelujahs, because it's the moment we've all been waiting for: Spice & Wolf's fourth volume in anime form.
ep. review

Mayonaka Punch ‒ Episode 7

Trying to appease the algorithm can and has led countless creators into the depths of Capital-C Content Hell—and that's where Masaki finds herself.
ep. review

Tower of God Season 2 ‒ Episode 7

I understand what the creators were hoping to accomplish. However, that's not enough to make me accept it on a logical or emotional level.
ep. review

MONOGATARI Series: OFF & MONSTER Season ‒ Episode 6.5

Don't let the .5 in the title fool you. This isn't a recap episode. Rather, it's Shinobu's origin story told as a fairy tale—one with a striking visual style.
ep. review

Narenare -Cheer for you!- ‒ Episode 7

It feels like we've come a long way from the promise of the first couple of episodes—and I'm no longer confident that it'll be able to turn things around.
ep. review

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! ‒ Episode 6

The actual events this week all feel appropriately mundane and reasonable, making the relationships and situations more palatable in terms of realism.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1116

I think I can count on one hand the number of people in the world who don't enjoy Buggy, Mihawk, or Crocodile in some capacity, so this was a huge win in my opinion.
ep. review

Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools ‒ Episode 7

Things happen – scenes occur, conversations are had and meals are eaten – but there’s no real conflict to speak of.
ep. review

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture ‒ Episode 9

I sigh, because the pacing just doesn't allow for any time to work through her feelings in any meaningful way.
ep. review

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 ‒ Episode 66

This episode is mostly about Rimuru's mistakes, either those he has already made or is currently making.
ep. review

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction ‒ Episode 12

This week's episode is all about one thing: how Kadode and Ouran deal with the impending end of the world.
ep. review

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest ‒ Episode 7

Despite a couple of minor letdowns, this episode made for a pretty good transition into the next arc as a whole.

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