Serial Experiments Lain: Loving the Wired and the Weird

Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams GN

Aug 7, 15:00

manga

Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams is the sort of bizarre story that only someone who has mastered his craft could really pull off, and it's a definite credit to Urasawa that he did ― Naoki Urasawa is only consistent in that all of his stories are good in both art and story – the settings of those stories, as well as their genres, vary widely across his bibliography. Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams is the s...

feature

Promare, BNA, and the Outrage of the Oppressed

Aug 7, 14:16

anime

Jaylon Martin articulates his frustrations with Trigger's handling of its themes of oppression and "correct" protest. ― What could a movie about fire spewing mutants and a show about Beastmen playing baseball have in common? Well, they're both made by Studio Trigger, are a lot of fun to watch, and get a little messy with their metaphors. In 2019, Studio Trigger gave the world Promare, the studio's f...

review

Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege

Aug 6, 15:00

anime

Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege series, the first in a promised trio of shows by Japanese animation studio Polygon Pictures, seeks to be the latest take on the war that brought the transforming alien bots to Earth. ― Once just a background element to the story of the Transformers winding up on Earth, the run-up of the war for their home planet of Cybertron has been gone back to and det...

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8 comments

This Week in Games - Back to Schools

Aug 6, 14:30

8 comments

games

It's fighting games and swimsuits as Street Fighter lays out its future plans. Also who asked for more Pikmin? ― Hey all! It's TWIG time again. Are you folks playing anything interesting? Right now, I've been sucked into gacha hell thanks to the Fate/Grand Order summer event. FGO always goes all-out with making its seasonal events exceptionally goofy, and this year's has been a lot of fun so far, wit...

column

This Week in Anime - Siege on Cybertron

Aug 6, 13:30

anime

Your beloved alien 'bot vehicle boys are back but this time the war is at home. Is this grittier entry in the kids' toy franchise a masterpiece in disguise? ― Netflix dropped the six-episode Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege!, the first part in a planned animated trilogy by Polygon Pictures. Your beloved alien 'bot vehicle boys are back but this time the war is at home. Is this grittier...

feature

Why You Should Watch Ride Your Wave With VA Merit Leighton

Aug 6, 10:15

anime

ANN's Jacki Jing talks to Merit Leighton about voicing Hinako, the protagonist of the Masaaki Yuasa's emotional movie Ride Your Wave. ― ANN's Jacki Jing talks to Merit Leighton about voicing Hinako, the protagonist of the Masaaki Yuasa's emotional movie Ride Your Wave. The film is now out on home video so we checked in with Merit to find out what it was like to bring Hinako to life in English. Want t...

news

Beastars Anime Season 2 Premieres in January 2021

Aug 5, 20:42

anime

Season 1 premiered in October 2019 ― The wraparound jacket band on Paru Itagaki's 20th BEASTARS manga volume revealed on Thursday that the second season of the manga's anime adaptation will premiere in January 2021. The anime will again air in Japan on Fuji TV's [+Ultra] programming block. The anime's second season casts Taiten Kusunoki as Ibuki and Subaru Kimura as Free. Viz Media is releasing the m...

interest

Sword Art Online to Hold Virtual Reality Event

Aug 5, 18:45

events

Anime's Rath console to be replicated at August 10, 12, 15 events ― The story of Sword Art Online has always focused on virtual reality, and now in this era of social distancing, the franchise will hold a series of events through virtual reality on August 10, 12, and 15. The events will be held on the VR social media service "Cluster" and can be accessed via VR headset, smartphone, or computer. Vario...

review

How Do We Relationship? Volume 1

Aug 5, 15:00

manga

How Do We Relationship? walks a careful balance for its entire first volume. It addresses queer issues without being preachy while staying joyful. ― In her author's notes at the end of the volume, Tamifull comments on how most romance stories end when the main couple gets together. It makes sense, if you think about it. The contentedness of two people who have realized their affection for one another...

interest

65 comments

Tadashi Sudo: Does Japanese Animation Suffer From the Galápagos Syndrome?

Aug 5, 14:45

65 comments

industry

Animation industry journalist and analyst Tadashi Sudo wrote an article published by ITMedia on Monday regarding the problems that potentially face the Japanese anime industry in the face of globalization. The central question behind the article was "Does Japanese animation suffer from the Galápagos Syndrome?" The Galápagos Syndrome is a term of Japanese origin which refers to products created in ...

column

15 comments

This Week in Anime - What Has Re:Zero's Subaru Learned?

Aug 4, 18:20

15 comments

anime

Subaru was a divisive character but as we follow his journey through season two, Subaru continues to grow into, dare I say, a good person? ― Subaru was a divisive character in the original Re:Zero and understandably grated on some viewers' nerves. As we follow his journey through season two, Subaru continues to grow into, dare I say, a good person? Micchy and Nick look at the jam-packed first four e...

game review

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris

Aug 4, 15:00

games

Myles takes off the kid gloves in his review, calling this Sword Art Online game installment a "thoroughly uninvolved experience." ― Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris attempts to translate the most recent season of Sword Art Online into a game, beat for beat. It promised engaging fantasy-action gameplay, a riveting plot taken straight from the show, and stunning anime-quality art. It fails to del...

Golden Kamuy Comes to GRAND SUMMONERS in New Crossover

Aug 4, 01:25