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Bleach Volume 56-74 Manga Review
If, like me, you’re a longtime Bleach reader, you owe it to yourself to see this manga to its completion. You’re going to have a bad time, though, and the goodwill the series was already running low on will not carry you to its conclusion.
― Stop me if you've heard this one before, but when a mysterious figure from an otherworldly race/organization appears before Ichigo and pals, their peaceful lives...
Monster Eater: A Delicious in Dungeon Board Game Board Game Review
You don’t have to be a die-hard Delicious in Dungeon fan or a long-time tabletop game veteran to be smitten by this fun little game’s charm.
― The rules of the game are as follows: You and other players have to travel down two levels of a dungeon, slay some monsters along the way, and then, in true Delicious in Dungeon fashion, cook 'em up real nice, all for some victory points. You are dealt a hand ...
Star Detective Precure! Episodes 1-12 Anime Review
Star Detective PreCure is a welcome return to form for the franchise.
― It is an absolute delight to have a good season of Pretty Cure again. You and Idol Precure♪,
the previous entry in the franchise, was the weakest season since Tropical-Rouge Precure, and generally failed to live up to its direct predecessors, Soaring Sky! Precure and Wonderful Precure. But Star Detective Precure is a return to fo...
Tales of Wedding Rings II Anime Series Review
The story is as bland and unimaginative as they come, without much of anything to give it any much-needed oomph.
― Pretense is king in the realm of romance—especially harem anime. By Arceus, there must be an excuse, no matter how canned or flimsy, for love interests to, say, share an indirect kiss, fall on top of each other, or for one of them to need to give the other mouth-to-mouth. That's simply h...
Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None Season 1 Anime Series Review
Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is hampered by its own premise as much as it is helped.
― Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None is far from the first “banished from the heroes' party” fantasy story in recent years. In fact, it hits many of the key tropes of this sub-genre. Orhun is looked down upon by his party members for being weak—yet he's actually both the logistical linchpin and the strongest memb...
Summer Pockets Anime Series Review
For better or for worse, Summer Pockets is a quintessential Key anime.
― If you like your anime despair in “but surrounded by romanceable girls” flavor, there's a pretty good chance that you're already familiar with Key—or at least, familiar with their works, whether it's their visual novel source material or the anime adaptations that several of them have. But if you're not, Key is a visual novel st...
Glasses With a Chance of Delinquent Volumes 1-3 Manga Review
If there’s one thing that these volumes have going for them, it’s that both Ichikura and Momose earnestly want to change.
― The high school debut or glow-up has become a staple of shoujo and shounen romances in recent decades. You know the story: a kid who was bullied or ignored or perhaps bad in middle school decides that since high school is a chance to start over, they're going to make some seriou...
Tomodachi Life- Living the Dream Game Review
With its charming sense of humor and near endless amounts of well-constructed chaos, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is almost impossible to put down…I just wish that experience were easier to share with others
― The original Tomodachi Life on the 3DS was one of those games that completely flew under the radar for me, and while I remember being pretty impressed with some of the Miis I saw people sho...
Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Anime Series Review
Dark Moon: the Blood Altar, isn’t necessarily a good show, but it’s definitely a good time.
― It's impressive how much of the Dark Moon franchise has made it into English. Created by HYBE, the Korean boy band ENHYPEN, and the Japanese boy band &Team, the series originated as a Wattpad webnovel and a webtoon simultaneously, and then as an anime – all three of which are available as of this writing. (P...
Daily Life of a Part-time Torturer Anime Series Review
The title does not lie: this really is a torture to watch. Just not in the way you’d think it is.
― The problem with The Daily Life of a Part-Time Torturer is not that it's too dark to be funny. It's just not funny, period. The premise is half-baked, the characters aren't goonish enough, and there's nothing hyperbolic in the situations or the dialogue. The main joke of the show is that it juxtaposes ...
Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle Anime Series Review
As an author, it's only worthwhile inverting reader expectations of your protagonist if you intend to do something truly special with them eventually.
― I've been dreading writing about this series. Initially, I was really hyped for this light novel adaptation, which started airing back in Fall 2025. Several English-speaking friends had raved – repeatedly – to me about how great the translated novels...
Me & Roboco Anime Movie Review
I somewhat appreciate the shameless cribbing of more successful works, but Roboco the manga is more than just riding off the coattails of Gintama.
― For the longest time, Me & Roboco has been described by Jump fans as Shonen Jump's Family Guy. Often going viral for its volume covers lifting directly from other series like Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia, it's common to perceive it as riding off th...
King's Maker Volumes 1-2 K-Comic Review
In a landscape dominated by isekai and lighter fare, King’s Maker stands out for its unrelenting darkness.
― In a landscape dominated by isekai and lighter fare, King's Maker stands out for its unrelenting darkness. Not that it's fully grim, but even when the plot is touching on lighter topics or having a moment of humor, there's always an understanding that the underlying reality of its world is a s...
Iczer Girl Iczelion Anime Review
Schoolgirl Nagisa will be drawn into an intergalactic skirmish and have to find what she really cherishes before she can use the power of Iczelion.
― Iczer Girl Iczelion is a two-episode 1994 OVA in the Iczer franchise, although it occurs in an alternate timeline from Iczer-One, with which it shared direction from Toshihiro Hirano. This OVA is a self-contained story that does not require any knowledg...
Dangers in My Heart Volumes 9-12 Manga Review
Sakurai’s characters are so well-crafted, empathetic, and amusing, that I’d happily read a manga where they do nothing but watch paint dry.
― For fans of The Dangers in My Heart's excellent TV anime adaptation, we're into uncharted waters now. Although the recently released (mostly) recap movie features just under ten minutes of new material, it adapts at most a handful of short chapters from volume ...
Tune In to the Midnight Heart Anime Series Review
For something with “heart” in the title, this anime doesn’t express a whole lot of it.
― Tune in to the Midnight Heart is such a visual disasterpiece that I'm amazed my eyes could get through it all. And I knew what I was in for by the time the second episode rolled through. As if not being cursed with PowerPoint Presentation-styled animation wasn't bad enough, the anime pours more salt in the wound ...
How to Hold Someone in Your Heart Novel Review
Mizuki Tsujimura writes without turning emotions into gooey sentimentality, capturing humans’ inner lives in all of their bruised beauty.
― “It is a gift,” the last person Ayumi helps in this sequel to Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon tells him, “to live in the world at the same time as the person you have in your heart.” These words are a distillation of Mizuki Tsujimura's duology. Although everyon...
You Can't Be In a Rom-Com with Your Childhood Friends! Anime Series Review
I never felt entertained for more than one moment every five episodes, and the gimmick overstays its welcome quickly.
― I love romantic comedies, and I will always jump at the opportunity to watch or review the latest ones each season. Despite that, I was never super fond of the childhood friend trope. While it can sometimes play into speed-running relationship-building between two characters, since ...
Ariana and the Elder Codex Game Review
Ariana and the Elder Codex is a strong action-adventure platformer that plays great, though its presentation can't quite keep pace with battles.
― Ariana and the Elder Codex is a strong action-adventure platformer that plays great, though its presentation can't quite keep pace with battles. Ariana surprised me with its basic structure. I will admit, from the trailer, I assumed I was getting yet anoth...
Dagger of Kamui Anime Movie Review
From the snow-shrouded mountains to the desert of Western America, from samurai and shinobi to cowboys and Indians, Rintaro’s vision for this classic tale of a half-Ainu boy and a lost pirate treasure is epic.
― It's always interesting to finally see a masterwork by a master craftsman. Most Americans' first encounter with Rintaro was the theatrical release of CLAMP's X. With an uneven translation and...
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 3 Manga Review
This third volume of Dark Horse Comics' latest Gunsmith Cats re-release is arguably its most essential to long-term fans.
― This third volume of Dark Horse Comics' latest Gunsmith Cats re-release is arguably its most essential to long-term fans; it certainly is to me. Not only does it include the fantastic storyline “Mister V” which really acts as a de facto climax to the entire series (despite it co...
DIGIMON BEATBREAK Episode 13-24 Anime Series Review
While Beatbreak's early episodes had already shown it to be perfectly capable of operating as a good piece of cyberpunk media, the extent to which this arc successfully tackles all of the heavier themes attached to that elevates it into a great one.
― With its first dozen episodes, Digimon Beatbreak successfully proved to not only be a solid modernization of the Digimon franchise, but also one capabl...
Versus Volumes 2-4 Manga Review
ONE took all of his favorite game, movie, and book antagonists, altered them slightly to avoid copyright violations, and mashed them all together in one almighty smorgasbord of madness.
― Versus is another gleefully over-the-top action extravaganza from the pen of Mob Psycho 100 and One Punch Man author ONE. After the first volume's extended introduction to this complex world, the next three volumes ...
OPUS: Prism Peak Video Game Review
With talking anthropomorphic animals and a disappearing girl, this is a fantastic story-driven adventure that's sure to tug on your heartstrings by the time the credits roll.
― Developer Sigono creates emotionally moving story games through the OPUS series, a collection of standalone adventures that touch upon topics such as grief, love, and growing up. OPUS: Prism Peak starts off showcasing Eugene's...
Farming Life in Another World Season 1 Anime Series Review
This is a charming romp, and a mindless one, too.
― Here it is, y'all. Another fresh plate of mindless isekai fluff served al dente. It's got farming. It's got food. It's got Jojo's references. It's got vampires, ogres, and dragons taking on the form of cute anime girls. Cliche? Perhaps. Substantial? Not really. Boring? As a fellow once said, it's all a matter of perspective. You already know the dri...
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Film Review
Watching this movie felt like I was strapped into a Mario-themed roller coaster
― I should probably start with some positives first right? I already praised the first Super Mario Bros. movie for its amazing animation and attention to detail. Super Mario Galaxy somehow ups all of that to such a degree where I can confidently say that this isn't just one of the best looking Illumination movies ever pro...
Wandance Volumes 11-13 Manga Review
Dancing like no one is watching you is freeing, but it won’t win competitions.
― We all know that dance is a form of communication, and we know that dance is a form of storytelling. In Wandance Volumes 11-13, the club members at Ichirin learn an important lesson about telling the right story to the right people at the right time. Kabo is struggling more and more with trying to decide who he is, what ...
Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Season 1 Anime Series Review
The color beige has more flavor and personality than this anime.
― While it's generally a good rule of thumb that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is the kind of anime where the title pretty much tells you exactly what you're in for: An “I want a maid that works for free, but also, she lets me squish her cheeks, and rest my head on her lap, even though I h...
Pokémon FireRed Game Review
This port of Pokémon FireRed made me realize why I was destined to become a Pokémon kid, and why I’m going to be a Pokémon adult for the rest of my life.
― Do not spend twenty dollars to play 2004's Pokémon FireRed on the Nintendo Switch family of systems. I really hate having to bring up whether a piece of media is “worth the price” in a review, as this is one of the lowest forms of criticism imagin...
Tower Dungeon Volumes 2-4 Manga Review
What really sets Tower Dungeon apart is the ever-present sense of progression, of uncovering the unknown, of overcoming trials to progress further.
― Although manga creator Tsutomu Nihei is well-renowned for his sprawling sci-fi epics Blame! and Knights of Sidonia, with these further volumes of Tower Dungeon, he proves he's equally adept at creating fascinating, mysterious fantasy worlds. In place of...
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Volumes 11-16 Manga Review
Whether Iruma’s changing the Netherworld or the Netherworld was always more “human” than ours, the root of the story is the same: you don’t need to go it alone.
― Welcome to Iruma-kun's longest arc thus far – the Harvest Festival. Unlike the Battler arc and the upcoming Music Festival arc, this one doesn't really have an analogous real-world school event, although I suppose you could make an argument...
Drops of God: Mariage Volume 11-13 Manga Review
To truly be worthy of the Drops of God, Shizuku and Issei have traveled the world through cuisine. Now they will take on the complex and delicious Chinese table.
― We're heading into the last battle to determine if either Shizuku or Issei is worthy of even searching for “The Drops of God.” Volume 11 into 12 just hits it out of the park, with a perfect play of the best of this series. Also, that is a ...
Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior Anime Series Review
The villainess leanings of the anime’s story make for a charming watch, imperfect as it all is.
― A lot of fantasies and fairy tales treat their villains more as obstacles than real characters. They're generally vile beings whose sole purpose is to cast curses, poison apples, and eventually get thwacked by the good guys. The reverse, I think, is part of the appeal of villainess isekai. We want to see...
Devil's in the Lunch Deals Manga Review
This tale of an outcast goddess of death who makes delicious food and tries to do good deeds as penance for being, you know, a goddess of death, is prickly and weird, and I think I love it.
― Fairytales play a significant role in human society. They stand in as simplistic moral education, tales of punishment and reward. They are also expressions of psychological and philosophical experimentation. Fai...
Oshi no Ko Volumes 9-12 Manga Review
It’s painful to read this flawed yet sympathetic character slide further towards self-destruction, but that’s all part of the dark appeal of Oshi no Ko.
― For readers wanting to catch up on the manga story after the point where the anime adaptation's second season left off, volume nine is the place to start. Oshi no Ko's anime maintains close fidelity to its manga source, and the four volumes covered...
From a Knight to a Lady Volume 1 K-Comic Review
Luci's mission becomes greater than just her own situation; she's the woman who will take back what other women lost and rewrite the narrative.
― Estelle spent most of her life defying gender norms. As an orphaned girl, she wanted to be in a position to protect rather than be protected, and to that end, she became one of her country's first lady knights. She continued her rise to the top, proving all...
Pokémon Horizons Season 3 - Rising Hope Part 2 Anime Series Review
The show is still taking advantage of the timeskip to tell a slightly more mature story; most of the cast is given a lot more depth, the symbolism is stronger, and the animation has greatly improved.
― The status quo has shifted, the villains are in power, and the Rising Volt Tacklers are on the back foot. But now that they're finally back together, it's time to start launching a counterattack or at ...
McDonald's x Evangelion Transforming Toys Review
McCapitalistic Chaos.
― The time was a few weeks ago, and the place was the Naka-kon dealer's room. There I was, minding my own business so cartoonishly that I may as well have been whistling between licks of my oversized lollipop, as the wind blew through my propeller hat. I wasn't prepared, suffice to say, to have my life very suddenly changed—to be psychically assaulted by an aura so strong, power...
Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!! Anime Series Review
The Demon King’s Daughter is Too Kind!! is, in a word, harmless.
― Whether you find The Demon King's Daughter is Too Kind adorable or irritating is going to come down to your feelings about artificially cute kids. Doux, who appears to be somewhere between three and five years old, is a squeaky-voiced moppet with a tendency to shriek “waiii” at every opportunity. She lisps, she giggles, and she makes ...
Be Forever Yamato: Star Blazers: Rebel 3199 Episodes 15-18 Anime Review
Perhaps I’m at my happiest with “spaceship go shooty blam bang oooh pretty colors."
― Forget my concerns about REBEL 3199's relative lack of action in my review of the preceding four episodes. The first three episodes of this next release quartet (also titled The Incandescent Galactic War) comprise essentially wall-to-wall intense space battleship combat from beginning to end, and for those viewers w...
Gizmo Riser Volume 1 Manga Review
When the system is designed to keep you at the bottom, there is no other way to go but up.
― This series checks all the boxes for “shōnen bildungsroman/Hero's Journey tale built on a foundation of social inequity that is actually about the cool gear.” Kuro is a slave among slaves. He's beaten and mocked by a man who claims Kuro as property, with no hope in sight, except for the very brief glimpses he...
Kowloon Generic Romance Volumes 9-10 Manga Review
While everyone else around her remains prisoners of their own regret, pulled into Kowloon like insects by a pitcher plant, Kujirai deserves to fly free, away from this place.
― Being a Kowloon Generic Romance fan is suffering. Since I last reviewed volumes 7 and 8 back in November 2024, only two further volumes have been published in English, with the eleventh due at the end of May 2026. The only bri...
Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 4 Anime Series Review
This is probably the worst season of this show so far.
― It's very easy to clown on Rent-A-Girlfriend because it does a lot of things wrong as either comedy or drama. It's a story that follows a protagonist who doesn't really have likable qualities, and anytime those likable qualities are showcased, they are either immediately walked back, or they're not strong enough to compensate for the sheer amou...
GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! Manga Series Review
GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! is for the people who want to see a grown, tax-paying adult revel in petty revenge on everyday annoyances.
― Let's just be honest with ourselves: Broadly speaking, manga and anime are full of goody-two-shoes protagonists. They're usually teenagers. They tend to have selfless personalities or goals, and there's usually some element of needing to stop a superpowered bad guy for anyon...
Wandance Volumes 8-10 Manga Review
Kabo gets closer to the beat, but the distance between him and dance is growing.
― One of the most delightful things about Wandance is that it continues to buck narrative trends repeatedly. In other sports/club stories, the focus would be on the way the team seems to lack cohesion, while one character or another fails to live up to their promise. Here, people do well sometimes and not so well other t...
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection Review
This is the best these three games have ever been, and the features included ensure that these games remain enjoyable as intended for years to come.
― Capcom's trek through the Mega Man franchise continues with Mega Man Star Force! Originally released on the Nintendo DS, the Star Force games serve as a continuation of the setting from Mega Man Battle Network. And if you're too young to have enjoyed t...
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake Game Review
Despite its disappointing combat, the pitch-perfect aesthetics and classic folk-horror vibes make this journey back to the haunted grounds of Minakami Village one that is still well worth experiencing.
― With horror games of both the independent and blockbuster variety experiencing such a boom in recent years, it was only a matter of time before Koei Tecmo revived the Fatal Frame franchise, which has...
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku Box Set Manga Review
At times, Gabimaru’s surprisingly vulnerable, and even a little adorable – like a white-haired, fluffy murder-puppy.
― It's telling that the Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku manga is unavailable to read directly on the Shonen Jump app, at least not on Apple devices. It can only be read digitally via the Shonen Jump website. This is no doubt due to the manga's much higher-than-average (at least for Shonen ...
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Game Review
While it might require some trial and error, you’re sure to have plenty of fun experimenting with a wide array of playstyles and eventually find a fighting style that suits you perfectly.
― I wouldn't blame you for feeling skeptical that the mechanics of Monster Hunter—which either famously or infamously, depending on who you ask, can often go into granular levels of detail—would translate well as a ...
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Volumes 7-10 Manga Review
Building on earlier information and seemingly throwaway comments and characters, the story continues to delight as it pushes its characters to develop in meaningful ways.
― One of the strengths of Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun is that it rarely lets anything become a one-off joke. Ameri's surprisingly demure alternate self in volume six not only makes Ronové look even more ridiculous, but it als...
One Piece Live-Action Season 2 Review
This feels like the best version of a live-action One Piece that we ever could have dared to hope for. Hail to the King of the Pirates, baby.
― Netflix's live-action adaptation of One Piece should never have worked. We've already seen how hard Hollywood has struggled to adapt manga and anime that keep at least one foot in the realm of recognizable reality (or need I remind you all of Netflix's doome...
STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 1st STAGE Review
There were a wealth of reasons to go into Steel Ball Run with mitigated expectations, which is why I'm so thrilled to say that this extra-long premiere is incredible by any measure.
― After years of speculation and anticipation, David Production is finally animating STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the seventh part of Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga series and what's generally considered ...
Food Diary of Miss Maid Volumes 1-4 Manga Review
Despite it being about food, whether or not this manga will have you eating well is something up for debate.
― Oftentimes, my dinner is the biggest highlight of my day. I get so hungry that my appetite becomes insatiable, resulting in that moment mid-afternoon where I inevitably scroll through whatever food porn comes across my YouTube home feed (we're up to taking up a good third of the page). There...
Étrange Overlord Game Review
A charming musical RPG the likes of which we haven't had in too long, but is there enough substance to go with the sweetness?
― Shohei Niikawa is best known for the Disgaea games, and longtime fans can rest assured that his newest game, Étrange Overlord, continues his penchant for madcap humor, stunning dramatic twists, and charming characters. But while the charm and humor of the Marl Kingdom games ...
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria Volume 13 Novel Review
It feels like this is the moment author Fujino Omori has been striving for: when Lefiya and Bell are fully running parallel to each other.
― Although this side story started out being about Aiz, it's really about Lefiya. That has been increasingly apparent as the books progress. Still, volume thirteen really cements the idea, and it feels like this is the moment author Fujino Omori has been striving ...
Oshi no Ko Volumes 3-8 Manga Review
This is a dark, haunting revenge tale with a side order of unsettling insights into the murkier side of the Japanese entertainment industry.
― Oshi no Ko is what Kaguya-sama: Love is War's author Aka Akasaka did next, this time delegating artistic duties to Scum's Wish creator Mengo Yokoyari. Those expecting another light-hearted romcom are likely to be surprised: this is a dark, haunting revenge tal...
Kill Blue Volumes 3-5 Manga Review
Even if Fujimaki’s love of sports gets in the way at times, these three volumes of Kill Blue still make for a fun read.
― This trio of manga volumes rises and falls on its sportsy aesthetic. It's here where you can really, really tell Kill Blue was penned by the same mangaka who did Kuroko's Basketball (Tadatoshi Fujimaki), and he's definitely not gunshy about showing off his roots. He's got characte...
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea Anime Film Review
This film is not centered around Rimuru—and this ingenious choice is why the film works as well as it does.
― My favorite aspect of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime as a series is how much focus it puts on actions having consequences—most notably the unintended variety. Once again, this movie puts this idea front and center. With his immense magic powers and modern-day knowledge, it can be eas...
Ace of the Diamond Volumes 1-5 Manga Review
If there’s one thing that shines through in these first five volumes, it’s how much creator Yuji Terajima loves baseball.
― Do all sports manga about scrappy kids from tiny teams in the middle of nowhere start the same? It can certainly feel like it at times, and you could be forgiven for thinking that Ace of the Diamond is just Ao Ashi with baseball instead of soccer or [insert name here] with baseb...
Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest Anime Series Review
This is another “banished from the party” story that shows off the typical fantasy flair without giving too much thought to its substance.
― The biggest chip this anime has on its shoulder is its style. The Banished Court Magician Aims To Become The Strongest has moments of storytelling and lore that show their potential, had they not been buried underneath the usual bout of standard fantasy anime tr...
You Can't Be In a Rom-Com with Your Childhood Friends! Chapters 1-47 Manga Review
It's a miracle that I didn't hate MY childhood friends by the time I sat down to write this review.
― We're all familiar with the childhood friend trope, right? Often, this is an element or subtrope of a larger trope that a slice-of-life or romantic comedy series revolves around. For example, a childhood friend may be one of the girls in a harem or the main love interest in a slow-burn romance. Howev...
BEASTARS Final Season Part 2
While I still appreciate the juicy meal that was BEASTARS, the final bite was far from the most satisfying.
― Just like that, the anime that made a lot of people question whether or not they're actually furries has ended officially. But does it end on a high note? As someone who read and quite enjoyed the manga, it was interesting seeing exactly how things deviated. This is not a one-to-one adaptatio...
Dangers in My Heart Volumes 1-8 Manga Review
Where Kyotaro is prone to over-thinking and wrongly attributing negative motivations to others, Anna is almost pathologically open, and endearingly quirky.
― It's telling that author Norio Sakurai uses the German loanword “karte” instead of “chapter” for every installment of her most famous manga, The Dangers in My Heart. It's used in Japan to refer to a hospital inpatient's medical chart. Second-yea...
Baki The Grappler Volume 7-8 Manga Review
When beating the crap out of other people just isn’t enough, Baki turns to a giant ape for help getting stronger.
― Narrator Disclaimer: Baki The Grappler is not intended to illustrate martial arts in any meaningfully realistic way. Check with your doctor before continuing physical activity with broken bones and ruptured limbs. Baki The Grappler is a primer in unrealistic bloodsports. It's both amazi...
The Water Magician Anime Series Review
All in all, The Water Magician is proof that subverting clichés just for the sake of it does not make an entertaining story.
― *Note: This review contains major spoilers for The Water Magician. As someone who has seen more isekai anime than they can count, watching The Water Magician is a uniquely baffling experience. At its most basic, it's built on the premise of an isekai genre-savvy protagonist, ...
BEASTARS Volumes 5-22 Manga Review
This is not a series that will make it clear everything will be all right, as it doesn't offer solutions to its problems, even by the very end.
― BEASTARS is such a fascinating series on paper, with themes and setups that are beginning to seem more commonplace. Using anthropomorphic, furry characters as an allegory for real-world issues can have mixed results, especially when the separation between s...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7—Steel Ball Run Volumes 1-5 Manga Review
Steel Ball Run is easily Jojo’s most bizarre adventure yet.
― Even by Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (JJBA) standards—which, to be clear, is an absurdly high bar to clear—Steel Ball Run (SBR) is absolutely, positively, aggressively, relentlessly, and lovably capital-W Weird. As vast as it is, the world of manga simply doesn't get wilder than this. Dare I say, SBR is easily Jojo's most bizarre adventure yet...
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince Game Review
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a narrative platformer steeped in fairy tales.
― Once upon a time, there was a wolf. She lived in the dark forest and sang to the moon in a beautiful voice. A young prince snuck out of the castle to listen to her song, but when he tried to see her, her monstrous instincts forced her to react, scratching out his eyes. The wolf felt terrible about this because ...
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Volumes 2-6 Manga Review
Iruma’s early adventures fully coalesce in this set of volumes with its shorter arcs.
― It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that, since Ameri's father's name is Henri, her name is almost certainly meant to be Amélie. That's really neither here nor there, but it does add an interesting extra layer to one of the major plotlines in this set of volumes: Ameri is a closet shoujo manga fan. N...
MARRIAGETOXIN Volume 2-11 Manga Review
For a series with the word TOXIN in the title, this series is anything but TOXIC.
― When I reviewed the first volume of MARRIAGETOXIN, I wrote it off as a fairly solid action series with a very lovable lead. The idea of a socially awkward yet incredibly capable assassin willingly throwing himself into harm's way for the sake of protecting his sister was a solid setup, and I very much thought that the...
Dynasty Warriors Origins: Visions of Four Heroes Game DLC Review
Visions of Four Heroes is really good in unexpected ways, but fails to deliver what I really wanted.
― Dynasty Warriors Origins: Visions of Four Heroes is a conflicted DLC that somehow manages to overdeliver and miss the mark all at once. I'm going to be blunt: this DLC was not at all what I expected. I very much enjoyed the base game of Origins, which was a robust and modern take on a franchise that...
Cat's Eye Episode 7-12 Anime Series Review
What we got certainly wasn't bad, but it was also fairly forgettable, and for a new interpretation of an old classic, it's hard to think of a more disappointing outcome than that.
― I walked away from the first half of the Cat's Eye remake feeling mostly unimpressed, as the combination of its bland capers and even blander central romance didn't leave a whole lot to latch onto. To its credit, the seco...
Always a Catch! Volumes 2-5 Manga Review
At its heart, this is a romp of a story about an atypical young lady bulldozing her way through the world.
― If I had to sum Always a Catch up in the easiest way possible, I would say that it's May I Ask for One Final Thing? but with a heroine who is as goofy as possible. Like Scarlet, Maria “Mimi” Annovazzi is as strong as she can be and has an incredible skill for punching people, but she lacks Sca...
Mario Tennis Fever Game Review
Mario Tennis Fever won’t turn up the heat for everybody, but it could be sick as hell for the folks who play the game competitively.
― First and foremost, I should note that Nintendo and Camelot Software's Mario Tennis Fever is, for all intents and purposes, a fighting game. There's a story mode and various trial modes to help new players learn the controls. The many characters that make up this game...
Puniru is a Cute Slime Season 2 Anime Series Review
The show went out on a limb and took a big swing for some heavy subject matter.
― Season one of Puniru is a Kawaii Slime was pretty solid. In a lot of ways, the show felt very nostalgic from its setup, to its comedy, to its animation. Season two continues many of the elements I enjoyed about the show before. The animation is above average with very creative directing. There are throwbacks and referen...
MAO Volume 23 Manga Review
While Sana remains conspicuous in her absence, they now know where Daigo has been: in Natsuno’s eyes.
― Nine hundred years is a long time to go without answers. All of the former members of the Goko Clan have done their best with their unexpected time in the world, but none of them have had any true notion of why they continued to live – or even what truly caused the downfall of their group back in t...
My Awkward Senpai Anime Series Review
This is an adorkable anime in every way.
― My Awkward Senpai is a workplace anime that often denies its romantic comedy flavorings even when they are so obvious and in the audience's faces. I went into this series blind, so naive me expected a more grounded story about the 9-to-5 grind and the relationships that form between senpai and kohai. That proves foolhardy by the end of the first episode. The...
Resident Evil Requiem Game Review
It may not be the best of the Resident Evil adventures to come out these last few years, but Requiem probably represents most Resident Evil experience that this new generation has cooked up so far.
― We've been enjoying the fruits of Capcom's Resident Evil Renaissance (their REnaissance?) for several years now, and I feel like Resident Evil Requiem represents a fascinating culmination of everything t...
Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord Volumes 4-6 Manga Review
Wealth and magic can make life easier, but making friends can save the world.
― In Volume 1-3, we were presented with a kind of manga The Sims scenario, as Van gathered around him people willing to help him transform this “unnamed” village into a prosperous town. In Volume 4-6, the story continues to build on Van's blueprints, as the town builds defenses, weapons, and a military capable of wielding t...
Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Novel Review
Dark Moon: the Blood Altar is the literary equivalent of a Twinkie.
― You've read the manhwa and watched the anime – why not read the novel as well? Possibly because it's 888 pages long. Like the BTS novel 7 Fates Chakho, Dark Moon is an exercise in Wattpad madness – a story that ties in with a K-pop boy band and casts them all as various supernatural versions of themselves in a complicated story. Th...
Trigun Maximum Manga Review
The world Vash lives in is so well fleshed-out in its manga incarnation, and the stakes for survival of its populace much higher.
― You know when you've been overdoing something when aspects of it begin to bleed into your dreams. So it has been the past few weeks for me and Trigun. Not too long after closing my eyes, my mind is filled with images of spiky-haired red-trenchcoat-wearing gunslingers, cr...
Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter Anime Series Review
There's not much to Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter beyond girls crushing on Allen as he helps them overcome their issues.
― You can't talk about this series without addressing the elephant in the room. Much of this series' drama and humor revolves around our three female magic students and their crush on Allen. Tina, Ellie, and Lynne constantly get jealous of each other and pretty much every ot...
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Volumes 10-13 Manga Review
After the first-class mage examination, mighty demons take on Frieren and Denken in both the present and the past.
― Frieren: Beyond Journey's End continues to surprise and entertain and has established a process to do so. Every large arc will require Frieren and Fern to understand magic just that much better. They will come up against their own limitations and analyze their enemies' weaknesses. Star...
I Want Your Mother to be With Me! Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
This is ultimately a story about recognizing that you don't have to stubbornly tackle everything on your own.
― Being a single parent is never easy. Raising a child demands a lot of time, expenses, and responsibilities that most couples would find difficult to manage. But being a single parent means that you're trying to fill all of those responsibilities by yourself, which naturally comes with sacri...
April Showers Bring May Flowers Anime Series Review
With the deliberate pacing of the romance plot, there's plenty of room for character introspection.
― No one in April Showers Bring May Flowers is perfect. That might not sound important, but it truly is, particularly as the series goes on. There's a tendency in this style of high school romance to make a few people seem larger than life, as if their outer beauty reflects an inner saintliness that ma...
PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse Game Review
While its story elements come together in a snug, fantastical narrative, the first entry's gameplay shortcomings remain, and this new game's shift away from spookier, creepier plot beats left me wanting.
― Anime News Network was provided an advanced review copy of this game. Nearly three years since the release of PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, Square Enix and developer Xeen are back w...
Holy Boy Novel Review
I can already tell Holy Boy is one of those titles that is going to stay with me for a long time. When I first began reading it, I realized I’d need to close the covers or else I’d be up all night following its characters into the most unsettling recesses of their distorted minds.
― You don't need to look very far into real life events to see how idol singers bring out the worst in a select few of th...
There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless… ~Next Shine~ Episodes 13-17 Anime Review
Originally, the series was a bit unclear about why Renako was in denial or always quick to run away from the romantic advances of others. This arc makes it explicitly clear that she does not think she is a good person who is deserving of any of that love.
― There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless… was an interesting series that mixed funny comedic hijinx with solid character writing. While...
Drops of God: Mariage Volume 8-10 Manga Review
To find the perfect match of food and wine, we must travel the world and try new things, then come home and appreciate the familiar.
― Twice in Volume 9, someone rolled their eyes at someone else's melodrama during the big showdown, and I was 100% there for it. It actually made me like the whole story better. The first half of this arc is spent redeeming Chef Mikasa, the accomplished French chef whos...
Firefly Wedding Volumes 2-4 Manga Review
With richly detailed art and well-considered characters, Firefly Wedding is a traffic accident that you can’t look away from.
― If the first volume of Firefly Wedding set off warning bells in your head with its harsh story and themes of unwilling marriage and sexual predation, you may want to skip the rest of this series. It is hard to think of another ostensible romance that has as many flashing red...
Fureru. Anime Film Review
This is the kind of material that’s bread and butter for screenwriter Mari Okada, who as usual, brings a sharp eye for what makes human beings tick.
― The internet is awash with think-pieces discussing the “male friendship recession.” In our fast-moving, fragmented Western society, where once tightly-knit communities have been replaced by hyper-individualism, and face-to-face communication by digital...
Tougen Anki Episodes 13-24 Anime Series Review
This is hands-down, one of the worst shounen series I think I've ever seen.
― I was very harsh with the first half of this season of Tougen Anki. I thought this show was a by-the-numbers shounen that barely had anything new or inventive to bring to the table. Anything unique it did bring was vastly undercooked to the point where it barely mattered at all in the grand scheme of things. I thought the d...
Touring After the Apocalypse Volume 4-6 Manga Review
Everyone is dead, everything is destroyed, let’s go on a road trip!
― In the early volumes of Sakae Saito's post-apocalyptic landscape bike tour, we met Youko, a young human, and her companion Airi, an artificial humanoid of some kind, who are traveling around Japan on a Yamaha XT225, known as the Yamaha Serow. This small motorcycle allows for off-road and street riding. With no people to repair infr...
Scarlet Anime Film Review
Is Scarlet Mamoru Hosoda’s best film? No. But is it an above-average film worth watching? Absolutely.
― It's obvious from nearly the first scene of acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda's newest film that Scarlet draws from the Shakespearean play Hamlet. Character names and basic plot points are ripped straight out of the play—and Scarlet herself is an obvious female proxy to the titular prince. However, ...
Romeo is a Dead Man Video Game Review
A zany story and over-the-top characters, along with an avant-garde and polychromatic presentation, clash with somewhat simplistic combat mechanics and camera issues.
― Suda51 is a Japanese game developer who needs no introduction. Known for games like Lollipop Chainsaw, No More Heroes, and Shadows of the Damned, his studio Grasshopper Manufacturer continues to take the enigmatic approach in storytel...
Hana-Kimi Omnibus Volumes 4-6 Manga Review
It’s got its ups and downs for certain, but this omnibus of the beloved shoujo manga mostly remains a fun read.
― After a slow start, what better way to kick things up than with a school festival? Here we have arrived at one of the more exciting parts of Hana-Kimi's early phases. It approximates itself towards a tournament arc with the way it opens up; what better way to show off than by having the h...
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