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Food for the Soul Anime Series Review
This anime had me eating good in more ways than one.
― For moe junkies and slice of life fanatics everywhere, this spring season has exemplified all the reasons why we keep coming back to the genre in the first place. If mono tickled the more comedic side of slice of life through its sillier, at times hyperbolic gags, then Food for the Soul is all about the genre's calming, cozier side. This is a cha...
My Melody & Kuromi Anime Series Review
If you have a little Sanrio fan in your home who wants to watch this, I’d suggest watching it with them, because there are some genuinely scary elements to what at first looks sickly-sweet.
― Although Sanrio characters (and character goods) are popular among all age groups, there's an assumption that the animated features are for a younger audience. My Melody & Kuromi at first does nothing to challen...
Takopi's Original Sin Anime Series Review
How do you recommend media that is so soaked in tragedy, shock value, and inherently horrific subject matter?
― There are some shows out there that are just inherently difficult to recommend to people. This isn't because the media in particular is bad or poorly written, rather it's because the journey that the media puts you on is far from a happy one. How do you recommend media that is so soaked in...
Fermat no Ryōri Episodes 1-5 Anime Review
This show has all the tools it needs to be great; it just needs to find the best way to utilize and bring the most out of those tools.
― Cooking is something that many people take for granted. There are so many unique combinations and ideas that go into making a single dish. Even when a meal can be prepared by anybody due to its simplicity, there are so many little details that help elevate the overa...
Bullet/Bullet Episodes 9-12 Anime Series Review
Even if you fail in making the world a better place, someone who sees you fail may be inspired to continue in your stead.
― The first part of BULLET/BULLET ended on a climax that would have, in most stories, led to a lower-class uprising. After all, Gear gave the working-class people proof that not only was their daily hard work being exploited by the upper class (who lived in a beachside paradise) b...
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Anime Series Review
This anime is a failure on pretty much every conceivable level.
― This is an anime for only the most hardcore of Guilty Gear fans. Even if you've played the latest game in the series, Strive, and loved it, you're going to be lost when viewing this anime unless you're already fully acquainted with every other game in the series. While this anime will occasionally throw you a bone when it comes to som...
The Shiunji Family Children Anime Series Review
This show left me with a certain type of anger.
― This show left me with a certain type of anger. At first, I thought that I was just having a knee-jerk reaction to the overall premise of the show. Incest is a relatively taboo subject, and anime is no stranger to utilizing it in a variety of different ways. Most of the time, it's generally played up as a type of risque situation to generate drama. So...
You and Idol Precure♪ Episodes 13 - 24 Anime Series Review
It simply could be that it’s not meshing with me personally as much as nearly every other season of Precure, but something about this simply isn’t working as well as it ought to, and that’s a shame.
― Perhaps this is a “me” problem, but I had hoped for more from You and Idol Precure♪ in its second cour. Even recognizing that this is a lighter, fluffier season than those that preceded it, there's some...
Lupin the IIIrd: The Immortal Bloodline Anime Film Review
Thematically, this story asks the question: Does the world need the likes of Lupin III and the gang? Would things be better without them?
― The Lupin the IIIrd sub-series of Lupin the Third, first introduced in 2012's Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, has been sporadically getting new entries for a decade now—with Lupin the IIIrd: The Immortal Bloodline (Lupin the IIIrd The Movie: Fujimi...
I Left My A-Rank Party Season 1 Anime Review
This is a show where the first half definitely stands out more to me because of its found family theme and the fact that the character dynamics were put more front and center. But unfortunately, we began to lose steam by the second half.
― I will admit, sometimes I'll enjoy a good isekai or generic fantasy story because I need something to play in the background while I'm doing other work. My experie...
Maebashi Witches Anime Series Review
The real secret sauce of Maebashi Witches is that it fearlessly tackles thorny topics with an uncommon degree of sensitivity.
― Maebashi Witches is a “just trust me” anime. The premiere is much clumsier than I would like, and to be frank with you, I bounced off it when I first watched it. Among the chaotic mélange of a motormouth heroine, wisecracking mascot, local Maebashi landmarks, bizarre aesthet...
I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince Season 1 Anime Review
7th Prince has some cool ideas that I desperately wish it pursued to any meaningful extent. But instead, we got a royal snooze fest.
― I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (henceforth 7th Prince) is an anime that, on paper, sounds cool and, dare I say, relatable enough. I mean, if we were all fortunate enough to be reincarnated into wealth and power...
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray Season 1 Anime Review
The first season of the story of Oguri Cap stands apart from its previous Uma Musume brethren—and arguably stands above many of them.
― Every great hero deserves an origin story, and that even—especially!—includes the funny big-eating horse girl Oguri Cap from Uma Musume. This obviously isn't the only franchise where a comic-relief background character can undergo this kind of drastic promotion to pr...
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns Anime Film Review
The problem with this film is not the story being told but rather how that story is being told
― Akaza Returns is not a film without high points—especially to fans invested in every aspect of the story and world. Zenitsu and Shinobu both reach the climax of their arcs, and we finally learn the complete backstories of what drives them. We also get a rematch between Tanjiro and Akaza—now with Giyu work...
Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua Part 3 Anime Series Review
We need to find the remaining of Lucius' Pokémon, including the Black Rayquaza. All of that sounds really exciting, right? So why is half of this batch of episodes so boring?
― Training is over and it's time to leave Paldea. Liko, Roy and Dot are stronger than they ever have been before, but now it's time to resume the journey to find Laqua. But first we need to find the remaining of Lucius's Pokemon...
Dinner Table Detective Anime Series Review
If it’s a worthwhile mystery anime you’re hungry for and The Dinner Table Detective is what’s on the menu, you’re going to starve.
― First impressions are important. Titles are often a key part of an anime's first impression; ipso facto, an anime needs to have a good title that captures the essence of the show. But I'm not sure about “The Dinner Table Detective” as a title. It captures anything but m...
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved Anime Film Review
It is through the relationship between Kanna and her father that the film explores the concept that neglect is abuse.
― On its most basic level, this is a movie about family. In the lore of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, dragons don't have family units. They don't love their young and tend to see them only as battlefield companions or eventual rivals. However, thanks to her time in the human world, Ka...
Bullet/Bullet Episodes 1-8 Anime Series Review
On its most basic level, this first arc of episodes is a story of the rich exploiting the poor, and the poor accepting it.
― This first set of eight episodes is the story of a heist gone wrong—or one gone right, depending on your point of view. Gear, our starry-eyed youth, is a kid enraptured by the idea of an outlaw lifestyle who is being held back by his love for his sickly father figure. However, ...
Sword of the Demon Hunter Episodes 1-13 Anime Series Review
After an impressive start, this period supernatural show is hampered by terrible action scenes and squandered potential, but it's still watchable and interesting.
― We're midway through Sword of the Demon Hunter, with the two-cour series due to resume on July 15, and it's still tricky to evaluate as a whole. As the amusingly generic title suggests, it's a period supernatural drama, mostly set in 1850...
Detective Conan: The Black Iron Submarine Anime Film Review
I would put this in my top three Detective Conan movies.
― The Black Organization is the primary antagonist in the Detective Conan franchise. While the abundance of filler in the main anime series causes their presence to get buried, when even a single member makes an appearance, that's when you know that an episode is important. The organization ties all of the major plot points of the series togeth...
Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl Anime Film Review
Virgin Punk is the most gorgeously animated 35 minutes of ultraviolent anime I've ever seen.
― Virgin Punk is the most gorgeously animated 35 minutes of ultraviolent anime I've ever seen. Every frame has an unreal level of detail. The action itself is smooth, clear, and impressively choreographed. The direction is likewise a masterclass in visual storytelling, and more than a bit of rotoscoping has b...
SHIROHIYO - Reincarnated as a Neglected Noble Episodes 6-12 Anime Series Review
Shirohiyo manages to glide to a stop, like a sled on a hill that’s not quite steep enough for good sledding.
― The ending of Shirohiyo: Reincarnated as a Neglected Noble: Raising My Baby Brother With Memories From My Past Life isn't conclusive. I think many of us saw that coming; not only is it the norm for anime series based on long-running light novels, but it also couldn't have reached a solid fin...
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Season 2 Anime Series Review
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Season 2 is perfectly “fine” at what it sets out to do.
― I've been sitting here for ages racking my brain for the correct adjective with which to describe this series. “Mediocre” is too negative, as is “middling,” as both would suggest I didn't enjoy my time with it. I guess I'll stick with this one: it's “fine”. I've Been Killing Slimes ...
Leviathan Anime Series Review
Leviathan is a poignant and moving war story in a time when we need tales that shine bright through the darkness.
― Around this time last year, Netflix announced that it would be home to the next project from Studio Orange (Trigun Stampede, Beastars) and Qubic Pictures (Eden), Leviathan—an anime adaptation of the alternate history World War I novel trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated ...
Once Upon a Witch's Death Anime Series Review
This story about an improbably cheerful witch under a deadly curse is hampered by dull early episodes and a cliffhanger which may not be resolved, but it's still enjoyable and worthwhile.
― In Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service, the plucky title witch no sooner turned thirteen than she left home to make a living in a faraway town. Kiki, though, had it easy compared to Meg Raspberry, the heroine...
Unaware Atelier Meister Anime Series Review
The potential The Unaware Atelier Meister had makes it all the more disappointing that it turned out to be such a letdown.
― Overpowered anime protagonists are always in vogue and usually find themselves front and center of the anime zeitgeist. And yet, perhaps in part because of that, they've become dime-a-dozen, and it's a lot harder than it used to be for them to stand out, to say nothing of the e...
Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: The Movie Anime Review
In many ways, Macross II is a product of its time—for better and for worse.
― Often regarded by fans as the red-headed stepchild of the Macross franchise, 1992's six-episode Macross II OVA series was rights holder Big West's attempt to make a sequel to seminal 1984 movie Macross: Do You Remember Love (DYRL) without the involvement of original creators Studio Nue. As a result, this is the only Macross...
Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You Season 1 Anime Review
The anime's presentation lets down what is otherwise a good story.
― Even though I am a self-described (and other-described) Book Person, I try very hard not to get too caught up in the idea that the originating novel or manga is always going to be better than the TV adaptation. But sometimes it turns out to be true, and this is one of those cases. Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You does work bette...
Farmagia Anime Series Review
The original character designs of Farmagia are penned by Hiro Mashima, which results in Fairy Tail bleedover leaking all over the place.
― It's hard to resist calling Farmagia a “dumpster fire” when the show starts with a giant fiery monster wreaking havoc on the landscape. Granted, the anime does creep into that territory on more than several occasions, but it doesn't quite land there. For me, dumps...
Lupin the IIIrd: Zenigata and the Two Lupins ONA Review
Lupin the IIIrd: Zenigata and the Two Lupins is both a fantastically directed political spy thriller and an exploration of Zenigata and Lupin's odd-yet-enduring relationship.
― I'm a big fan of the adult-audience aimed Lupin the IIIrd series of shows and ONAs. Starting with The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, each of these has told the early adventures of our antiheroes with a large helping of ultraviolenc...
DAN DA DAN Season 1 Anime Blu-ray Review
DAN DA DAN’s first season is more than just a kooky and spooky teenage romance; it’s the best deal in anime right now.
― If you've been following the latest and greatest in anime, there's a good chance that you're well acquainted with the first season of Dan Da Dan. A quirky, and often spooky, action-romance comedy that landed with general audiences and critics when it aired last fall. With that in ...
All You Need Is Kill Anime Film Review
It’s a shame that a film making such idiosyncratic choices in its merging of 3D and 2D visual languages in animation keeps falling into rather predictable patterns
― It's appropriate that Hiroshi Sakurazaka's light novel All You Need is Kill, a story about trying something again and changing just a little bit each time, is getting a repeat adaptation. But it would be a disservice to the new film by K...
ChaO Anime Film Review
This Little Mermaid-inspired film just won at Annecy - come discover the charms that helped it to do so.
― There have been many stories – even just told with animation – about love going beyond cultural lines, appearance, even specifically love between man and mermaid. As the film settles in to its premise, ChaO has a lot of work to set itself apart from these other films. Director Yasuhiro Aoki buil...
Bye Bye, Earth Episode 11-20 Anime Series Review
Nonsensical as this twenty-episode fever-dream of a show is, I can’t deny the potency of its mad imagery.
― After finishing the second half of LIDEN FILMS utterly inscrutable anime adaptation of Tow Ubukata's Bye Bye, Earth novel series, I had to lie down for an hour so that my poor, confused brain could attempt to parse all that it had experienced. I don't know whether that helped, but the color-dre...
Puniru is a Kawaii Slime Season 1 Anime Series Review
Puniru Is a Kawaii Slime is throwback to the mid-late 2000s, when we had an abundance of slice of life comedies focusing on a tsundere boy and an overly hyperactive girl.
― In a lot of ways, you could consider Puniru Is a Cute Slime as a throwback to the mid-late 2000s when we had an abundance of slice of life comedies focusing on a tsundere boy and an overly hyperactive girl. We have a bunch of imma...
Manie Manie: Neo Tokyo Anime Film Review
This collection still stands tall as a time capsule for an essential era in the history of Japanese anime.
― It's always wonderful when classic, out-of-print anime make their way onto legal streaming services. While a full-blown restoration on a nice home-media format would obviously be ideal, the fact that we can sit here in the year 2025 and watch Manie Manie: Neo Tokyo at all is something to be th...
100 Meters Anime Movie Review
Debuting at Annecy, 100 Meters is a gorgeous work from the creative team behind On Gaku: Our Sound and the creator of Orb.
― If you were to map the film onto the circumstances of its making, Kenji Iwaisawa's feature debut ON-GAKU: Our Sound fit perfectly—a project made by self-taught animators about embracing your love of art despite your level of talent. His sophomore feature 100 Meters is less clea...
Jinsei Anime Film Review
There is an eclectic collection of influences at play in Jinsei, from acclaimed Norwegian comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey
― It's easy to reduce Jinsei, 30-year-old Ryuya Suzuki's feature directorial debut, to this year's On-Gaku: Our Sound. It's not like the two films have nothing in common, either. Both share a sheer sense of independent filmmaki...
The Last Blossom Anime Film Review
The first film from the creator of Odd Taxi makes it clear Baku Kinoshita loves to show the gradual cracks in the shell of a taciturn man.
― Alhough the debut feature film from Baku Kinoshita, The Last Blossom, is strikingly different from his series OddTaxi, it's clear the man loves to show the gradual cracks in the shell of a taciturn man. In this case, it's the stoic yakuza Minoru Akutsu, first sh...
Nobody's Boy Remi Anime Series BD Review
While Nobody’s Boy Remi doesn’t have the fidelity of other World Masterpiece Theater adaptations, it’s still historically important and a solid work in itself.
― Based on the 1878 novel by Hector Malot, Nobody's Boy Remi (originally called Sans Famille, meaning “without family") is part of what appears to be AnimEigo's “Ruined Childhood” collection. That tongue-in-cheek label (the series is famously ...
Princess Principal: Crown Handler - Chapter 4 Anime Film Review
Princess Principal: Crown Handler Chapter 4 feels like it squanders the tension it gained in the previous installment with a return to the status quo.
― The previous Princess Principal film ended on the mother of all cliffhangers. While Mary was saved, Prince Richard captured and all of our heroes were as well, with even Princess Charlotte revealed as a traitor to the crown. All this left us wonderin...
OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She's Saying Anime Series Review
The real star here is Okinawa and its language.
― In case you're not familiar with Okinawa's place in Japanese culture, the US has a convenient analog: Hawaii. Like Hawaii, Okinawa was an independent nation that was annexed by a larger and more militarized empire. Its geographical distance from its colonizer allowed it to maintain its distinct culture; however, it struggles to survive under the threa...
DAN DA DAN Evil Eye Anime Theatrical Cut Review
Fun as it is, Evil Eye isn't really a movie. You will find plenty of exposition, a rising action, and a falling action—but nothing resembling a satisfactory conclusion.
― Fans of DAN DA DAN have nothing to fear but the Evil Eye as we head into the second season of the supernatural action series. Evil Eye is the theatrical cut of the anime's first three episodes, a now tried-and-true promotional avenu...
Nasu: Summer in Andalusia Anime Film Blu-Ray Review
Nasu: Summer in Adalusia finally makes its way to English speaking audiences, and it was well worth the wait.
― Chances are, relatively few people reading this have heard of Nasu: Summer in Andalusia before. Despite being the first anime film ever accepted to Cannes and its stylistic resemblance to world-famous Ghibli films, which were finally receiving wider international recognition when it came ou...
I'm Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class Anime Series Reeview
This is a rom-com without any fancy frills, yet doesn’t come off as too cliche or trite for its own good either.
― I'm Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class gives you exactly what you expect, but honestly? What you get is something that for the most part delivers. Its premise is simple and to the point, and it's filled with rom-com tropes that are put to good use, even if they never amount to ...
SHIROHIYO - Reincarnated as a Neglected Noble Episodes 1-5 Anime Review
Shirohiyo has just enough charm to go down easily, a standard isekai showing that sometimes describing a series that way isn’t automatically an insult.
― In the crowded anime landscape, it's easy to forget that “standard” doesn't immediately equal “bad.” That's especially true of isekai titles, where the word is just as often used as shorthand for “creatively bankrupt.” I certainly am not exempt from...
Yes! Precure 5 Episodes 1-24 Anime Review
With a good first half to a seminal series, this is likely to appeal to classic magical girl fans in general, even if you’ve never watched a Precure series before.
― In the history of Precure, Yes! Precure 5 is particularly important. This fourth series, which introduces the third set of Cures, is the first to feature more than two officially-named Cures (Shiny Luminous doesn't have “Cure” in her tit...
I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic Anime Series Review
The plot is unoriginal, the characters forgettable, and the storytelling itself is bound and determined to keep things as void of narrative tension as possible.
― I'll be the first to admit that it's generally in bad taste to compare one work of fiction to another while reviewing it. After all, each is an individual work of art that has unique points, even if they use the same basic tropes or general...
Devil May Cry Animated Series Review
Rather than doing just the bare minimum with fun fights and explosive action, Devil May Cry also explores concepts like xenophobia, religious zealotry, and the difficulty of accepting when you are wrong.
― The Devil May Cry game series has built itself on over-the-top action, demonic invasions, and pithy one-liners. Netflix's Devil May Cry certainly does the same. However, unlike the 2007 anime serie...
Trillion Game Episodes 14-26 Anime Review
The story’s a freewheeling mess, rushing from one mad scheme to the next, with regular daft cliffhangers and last-minute plot twists.
― When last we left would-be trillionaires Haru and Gaku, it seemed an irreparable rift had formed between them. Having unilaterally decided to use all of their company Trillion Game's available cash to buy two billion yen in entertainment company God Promo's stock, Ha...
Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua Part 2 Anime Series Review
Now that we've gotten the training arc of the season over with, I'm very curious to see how the main plot will end up playing out moving forward.
― Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua is definitely shaping up to be one of the strongest arcs in the entire Pokémon franchise. I already sang the praises of part one and how it established its new characters. This part focuses on how some of th...
You and Idol Precure♪ Episodes 1-12 Anime Review
We’re still in the early stages of this series, and it has plenty of room to grow.
― Wonderful Precure was always going to be a tough act to follow. That's doubly true when you add Soaring Sky! Precure, the series that preceded it, into the mix – between those two and the previous year's Delicious Party Precure, we've had three very strong seasons in the long-running franchise in a row. None of this ...
Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World Anime Series Review
Forget exploring a new land and learning the customs of its people. No, the first order of business is flipping goods for profit in a world where you've been granted a silver spoon.
― What's the ultimate isekai fantasy? Is it slaying monsters? Obtaining magical powers? Knighted by a beautiful queen? Taking things easy, forego all that hard work and danger, and… relax in a new world? Meet hotties and ...
Ishura Season 2 Anime Series Review
The real genius of Ishura is that none of this is boring. By some stroke of demonic inspiration, every character’s backstory is compelling
― In my review of Ishura's first half last year, I wrote, “The one thing that frustrates me most about Ishura is that its promised tournament to decide the “True Hero" doesn't even begin during this season, which means the entire thing is but a prologue to the rea...
Moonrise Anime Series Review
Moonrise succeeds in being casual, accessible fare for anime fans new and old and anybody hungry enough for some high-octane popcorn.
― The first five minutes of Moonrise are enough to let you know how streamlined and accessible this series is. This show is anime through and through; longtime otaku can see traces of Full Metal Alchemist, Nausicaa, and Gurren Lagann if they squint their eyes hard enou...
The Rose of Versailles Anime Film Review
Now streaming on Netflix! How do you adapt a seminal classic that took 14 volumes of manga and 40 episodes of TV to tell into a feature film? You make it a musical.
― The Rose of Versailles is one of the seminal works of early shōjo manga. With over 23 million copies sold worldwide, it's no surprise that it still holds a place in popular culture over 50 years since its original release. This brings u...
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc Season 2 Anime Series Review
Few anime have mastered the art of absurdism quite as well as Kinnikuman. And for a wrestling anime, its love for the over-the-top makes total sense.
― Few anime have mastered the art of absurdism quite as well as Kinnikuman. And for a wrestling anime, its love for the over-the-top makes total sense. In many ways, it'd be weirder if it weren't as weird as it is. Watching this show feels like you're w...
Aquarion: Myth of Emotions Anime Series Review
Despite a strong start, Aquarion: Myth of Emotions falters early into its run.
― Back in early January, a friend and I decided that we'd sit down every Thursday to watch the latest entry in Shoji Kawamori's Aquarion series, Aquarion: Myth of Emotions. After a few weeks, we realized that we didn't know anyone else who was watching it. There wasn't exactly a ton of buzz or enthusiasm around Myth of Emo...
Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World Anime Series Review
Even if things get bogged down by some weird logic and a less-than-stellar second half, there’s still a bit of magical fun to be had here.
― Magic Maker: How To Make Magic In Another World follows Shion as he is given a chance to relive his adolescence in a fantasy world where he can tap into his passion for learning magic, which is almost non-existent in this world. Or so Shion initially thinks. On ...
Be Forever Yamato: Star Blazers: REBEL 3199 Episodes 7-10 Anime Review
I love this kind of dramatic storytelling, no matter how ridiculous it gets, with massive planet-destroying neon space lasers and missiles firing in all directions.
― Sometimes being a fan of the Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers remake series is suffering. On the one hand, it's a stunningly successful update of the 1970s/80s original, one of the most glossy modern sci-fi anime in existence; on th...
Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class, I'm Actually the Strongest Anime Series Review
With yet another RPG power fantasy at the helm, what you see is what you get, but what you’re getting ain’t half-bad either.
― Sometimes I feel like fantasy RPG anime was on the tape in Infinite Jest. With so many of these shows pumped out per year, it feels like an onslaught we're forced to watch until the point of collapse. It's so easy to become cynical and jaded by it all. So when the first bit o...
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger the Animation Anime Series Review
It’s almost impressive how simultaneously over- and under-explained this series can be.
― I'm unsure whether or not this applies to the visual novels they're based on, but as far as the anime goes, Phantom Trigger is something of a black sheep among the various Fruit of Grisaia titles. “Phantom Trigger just isn't as good,” you'll often hear Grisaia fans say some version of, “And I don't like the main...
Promise of Wizard Anime Series Review
It doesn’t take long to realize that there’s not a helluva lot of things promising about this wizard show.
― Promise of Wizard is an anime so sluggish that it robs itself of any opportunity to be enchanting. Not even the wizard's ball that happens halfway through has any sense of glittery whimsiness. With the plot and animation trudging along at a snail's pace, it feels like nothing is going on. Ther...
Jujutsu Kaisen Hidden Inventory, Shibuya Incident [Limited Edition] Blu-ray + DVD Anime Review
The biggest selling point of the limited edition set is the art book for season two, although calling it an art book feels misleading.
― Season two of Jujutsu Kaisen is broken up into two major arcs that act as definitive turning points for the overall series. The limited edition set itself only comes with the second half of season two, the Shibuya Incident arc, but we will also be reviewing the firs...
Unnamed Memory Act.2 Anime Series Review
A rushed plotline and frenetic pacing barely leave you with a memory of this show worth naming.
― Many great fairy tales treat love as something no magical curse, giant tower, or fire-breathing dragon can tear apart. In worlds occupied by fairies and magic, love is the most real part of any fantasy; a passionate force that conquers all. Unnamed Memory Act 2 follows that precedent by having its leadin...
Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! Anime Series Review
It’s almost frustrating how easily this series could've been a comedic subversion of all things isekai and salaryman life, but it just isn’t.
― Especially relative to many of the other titles in the deluge of isekai anime we've gotten in the past few years, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! (henceforth Headhunted), sounds on paper like it should be such a fun series. I mean, Ju...
Bogus Skill <<fruitmaster>> Anime Series Review
There could be an isekai out there where this series is a fantastic over-the-top comedy in the vein of Haven’t You Heard I’m Sakamoto? But instead, we got yet another generic adventure anime.
― There's no way you didn't notice it: even in a world full of anime with long titles that double as a basic plot synopsis, Bogus Skill <<fruitmaster>> ~About that time I became able to eat unlimited numbers of ...
Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms Anime Series Review
I won't say that I was disappointed watching Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, but I was expecting a little bit more than what was given.
― We've been spoiled on good slice-of-life and romantic comedy anime haven't we? As one of my favorite anime genres, I sometimes feel torn. I have been more forgiving of the tired and expected genre tropes, but I do genuinely love it when writers can take ...
A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! Anime Series Review
Protagonist Haruaki Abe is the worst thing about this series.
― Sometimes a series' greatest detriment is the very character meant to be our window into its world. That's one hundred percent the case with A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School. Protagonist Haruaki Abe is the worst thing about the twenty-four-episode show. Not only is he screechy and whiny, he's also got a uniform fetish that the plot tr...
Hajime no Ippo: Rising Anime Series Review
The show may not be perfect and we may not get another Hajime no Ippo anime but this is a great note to end it on.
― I was a little disappointed with the second season of Hajime no Ippo for taking the focus away from our main character and putting it almost exclusively on the messy, drawn-out nature of the larger boxing world. Hajime no Ippo: Rising scales back that scope, which initially sounds like...
Aldnoah.Zero [Re+] Anime Film Review
This film is worth watching for the new episode alone. As for the compilation film attached to it...
― When it comes to many mecha anime, the protagonist is the pilot of some special or powerful mobile suit and uses it to turn the tide in a war (often one between Earth and space). Aldoah.Zero is the reverse of this. Rather than the heroes, it is the villains who have Gundam-like mobile suits powered ...
Macross 7 the Movie: The Galaxy is Calling Me and Macross Dynamite 7 OVAs 1-4 Anime Streaming Review
Macross Dynamite 7’s aesthetic is of its time, and it looks great.
― In terms of sheer volume of content, Macross 7 easily beats any of its franchise stablemates. At 49 TV episodes, the three-part Encore OVAs (bundled with the TV show on Hulu/Disney+), a short 1995 theatrical movie – The Galaxy is Calling Me, and the four-part Dynamite 7 OVA, that's a lot of one particular Macross flavor. If you didn...
Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger Anime Series Review
I am so happy that they made a sequel to one of my favorite anime of all time…seven years later.
― I am so happy that they made a sequel to one of my favorite anime of all time…seven years later. OK, that's not technically true, considering that between the airing of the first season of Hajime no Ippo and New Challenger there was a movie, as well as a fairly popular OVA, that was released. While the ...
Macross Zero Anime Series Review
Zero relies heavily on CGI, not just for its mech battles, but also for some backgrounds and scene transitions. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it looks horribly dated.
― A five-episode OVA released over the space of almost two years (2002-2004), in
release order, Macross Zero sits between 1997's Macross Dynamite 7 and 2008's Macross
Frontier. Chronologically, its events occur before every other ...
Lazarus Anime Episodes 1-5 Review
These first five episodes are more than compelling in their own right and set the rest of Lazarus up to be the exact mirror that our global society needs at this moment.
― First and foremost, you should know that this ain't Cowboy Bebop, partner! While Lazarus is the most stylistically and tonally similar to Bebop out of all of director Shinichirō Watanabe's subsequent works, it's not trying to be Co...
Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 3 Anime Series Review
It all means that for an extra-special, extra-long helping of Arifureta, this season feels mostly obligatory. Perfunctory.
― Given the unenviable circumstances of its rocky start, it will always be generally impressive how far Arifureta has come. The anime has soldiered on for multiple seasons and extra ONAs, and even carved out a solid story identity for itself beyond the "dark vengeful power fantas...
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? 4K Remaster UHD & Blu-ray Review
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? is one of the most important films in anime history, but this new 4K restoration might not be the release it deserves.
― If you're around anime old heads for long enough, there's a good chance you'll eventually hear about the mythical year of 1984—a year that wowed audiences with now-timeless classics like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind ...
Demon Lord 2099 Anime Review
Hung around the skeleton of established genre tropes is an engaging cyberpunk mystery.
― The greatest praise I can come up with for Demon Lord 2099 is that it's solid. Every aspect of it is competently executed, without any one part that really stands out from the others for better or for worse. The peaks are more like gently sloping knolls, and the valleys are slight dips. It is, to be honest, like ...
Bubblegum Crisis Perfect Collection Anime Review
It's always the right time to discover, or rediscover Bubblegum Crisis, and this Perfect Collection from AnimEigo provides the ideal way to do so.
― A flagship title not just for AnimEigo, but for the anime medium itself, it's easy to see how Bubblegum Crisis caught on all those decades ago. It's arresting before you even know what it's about: a moody intro pans over grimy cyberpunk backdrops ripped ...
Mononoke The Movie: The Ashes of Rage Anime Film Review
All in all, Mononoke The Movie: The Ashes of Rage delivers another philosophical and emotional look into the lives of feudal Japanese women in the imperial harem.
― The first Mononoke film was focused on the lower rank of concubines in the imperial harem. Thematically, it was about giving up one's individuality to serve a role—and how doing so brought misery to the human soul. However, this was a fat...
PreCure Splash Star Episodes 24 - 49 Anime Review
Futari wa Pretty Cure may be where the franchise started, but this is where it starts to hit its stride.
― Each season of the greater Pretty Cure franchise typically brings something new to the table. That all begins with Pretty Cure Splash Star. The second team of Cures may have looked awfully similar to the first, but this latter half of their story cements them as not only very much their own team...
The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows - World Premiere Review
It won't be topping any “best of the season” lists but it should be enjoyable to anyone who likes the non-revenge-focused “kicked out of the heroes' party” stories.
― The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows is an upcoming spring 2025 anime series. It had a special premiere showing at a movie theater in Tokyo recently. However, unlike the many other premieres I have attended, this time we were ...
Loner Life in Another World Anime Series Review
Even a thrown-in novelty like a harem of moeblobs can’t save Loner Life from having all of the hang-ups you’d expect out of a generic isekai.
― Just one look at the trailer and the key visual and you can already tell that Loner Life is
going to be another run-of-the-mill isekai. I'd be willing to bet you can even tell where its
strengths and weaknesses lie as well. To be fair, the music isn't bad,...
Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Anime Streaming Review
Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and 2202 show how to handle a reboot with masterful precision.
― Certain series will always hold a special place in your heart because of the time when you watched them. Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 will always be one such work for me. Once upon a time, this was the show that brought me back from a decade-long hiatus from anime fandom. I had no...
Wonderful Precure! Episodes 37 - 50 Anime Review
At the end of the day, Wonderful Precure! is all about hope.
― It's an inevitability of children's media that deals with animals that, sooner or later, the topic of death comes up. Most animals people love as pets don't live as long as humans, and the loss of a pet is often one of the first encounters with death a child has. I was four when my cat Oliver passed, and the conversation my parents had wi...
Sound! Euphonium Season 1 Blu-ray Review
Nearly ten years after it first aired, Sound Euphonium’s first season comes back to us on Blu-Ray, and it’s as dazzling as ever.
― The release of this Blu-ray comes at a very timely moment. Its December release marked the six-month anniversary of Sound Euphonium's triumphant final act, and this upcoming April will mark an entire decade since the anime first aired on Japanese airwaves. To watch this B...
Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse Season Two Part One Anime Series Review
This may not be the best shounen fantasy series out there, but it's still good enough to get its hooks into you and keep them there.
― What is Camelot? Most lore will tell you that King Arthur's fabled court is a Medieval utopia, a land where equality rules and everything is just as it should be. Far be it from The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse to throw that out entirely; original...
Psycho-Pass Providence Limited Edition Blu-Ray Review
I guess you could sort of call this movie an action-packed political thriller. But while it’s definitely action-packed, there’s nothing thrilling about it.
― There's plenty of anime out there that are widely regarded as having gotten worse the longer they went on. But I struggle to think of an anime that's had a bigger and faster glow-down than Psycho-Pass. What began as a fascinating exploration int...
Pokémon Horizons: Season 2: The Search For Laqua Part 1 Anime Series Review
As probably the strongest batch of Pokémon episodes in a very long time, these eleven episodes will make a modern-day Pokémon fan happy.
― These eleven episodes made me happy to be a modern-day Pokémon fan. I will not mince words here, this is the strongest batch of Pokémon episodes that I have watched in a very long time. I was worried about the initial setup, considering they seemed to be stepping ...
The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 Part 1 BD Anime Review
With a good story, great characters, and spectacular animation, The Apothecary Diaries is one of those series that begs to be owned on disc and rewatched frequently.
― The recipe for The Apothecary Diaries is deceptively simple: take one acerbic young apothecary with a very sharp tongue, add a gorgeous young eunuch, put them both in the rear palace of a Chinese-adjacent emperor's court, and season wi...
Tokyo Ghoul - Complete Series - 10th Anniversary Box Set Anime Series Review
Like Kaneki, the Tokyo Ghoul anime is a messy hybrid, with one-half of its adaptation feeling like the product of unfulfilled ambition, while the other feels hollow.
― It's been over 10 years since Tokyo Ghoul first came onto the anime scene, and in that time, it has managed to leave a strong impression. Sui Ishida's original manga has been a critical and commercial success domestically and abroad. W...
Blue Miburo Episodes 1-12 Anime Series Review
The plot hasn’t developed in any particularly interesting ways, to the point it’s hard to write anything positive about the show.
― The Bakumatsu period, the final years of the Edo period, was an era of great social change and should be a fertile choice to set a historical drama. The mid-1800s brought an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate, a mode of government that had persisted over 250 years, while also...
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc Season 1 Anime Series Review
I think there are a lot of anime fans—a lot of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure fans, in particular—who would love Kinnikuman if they only gave it a try.
― A few months ago, when FLOW was on their world tour, I went to one of the shows. At one point, after having played several familiar hits, the band asked excitedly, “WHO HERE LIKES KINNIKUMAN!!” For the uninitiated, FLOW did the opening song to this first ...
Sengoku Youko: Thousandfold Chaos Arc Episodes 1-10 Anime Streaming Review
It’s a narratively and thematically rich show that rewards close attention to character development and dialogue in-between moments of larger-than-life characters beating seven kinds of hell out of one another.
― After the bitter disappointment that was The Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer's abysmal anime, Satoshi Mizukami fans were understandably wary about studio White Fox's subsequent adaptation of ...
Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions Season 2 Anime Series Review
This anime doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but what it does, it does well.
― By now, Sherlock Holmes has been reimagined through the anime filter more times than I can count and to mixed levels of success. Usually, it's done more through the lens of inspiration—which is to say, having a character who's Sherlock Holmes-inspired but isn't supposed to be Sherlock Holmes. As I sit here typing this, we have t...
Macross 7 Episodes 27-52 Anime Streaming Review
Say what you like about Macross 7, it sticks to its guns from beginning to end with a consistency of tone and intention that’s admirable.
― Compared to watching modern anime's shorter single-season lengths, completing a watch-through of Macross 7's fifty-two episodes feels like a real achievement. Forty-nine of those were broadcast on TV weekly, without a break, from October 2004 until September 2005...
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