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SMASH! 2009
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by Ryan Blackmore, Aug 12th 2009

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game review

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete Game Review

Jan 22, 12:00 games

Pocket Camp Complete is perfectly designed to be playable in bite-sized chunks, a relaxing experience when you just need a brief moment of escape. ― I am not, by and large, a mobile gamer. I'll play games on my clunky old Galaxy A03 every so often, but it's rarely my first choice of platform. That's important to mention because Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete was a game I found myself coming ba...

feature

47 comments

The State of Isekai Anime

Jan 22, 09:00

47 comments

anime

Miles Atherton Thomas crunched the data on one of anime's biggest sub-genres. What makes isekai anime popular, and what kinds of isekai are fans watching the most? ― The State of Isekai, 2025 If you wanted to characterize “the biggest trends in anime of the last decade,” you might be inclined to narrow in on anime's increasingly global presence or the exploding volume of new TV anime being produced....

review

34 comments

Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 Anime Streaming Review

Jan 21, 12:00

34 comments

anime

It may have taken a few tries, but with this second season of Nocturne, the animated Castlevania franchise has finally produced a true masterpiece. ― Castlevania is one of the series that I have been privileged to cover since the original Netflix animated project premiered back in 2017. It has certainly been a wild ride seeing one of gaming's most venerated (and most neglected) bloodlines get the big...

column

34 comments

This Week in Anime - Jigglefest 2025

Jan 21, 10:00

34 comments

anime

Steve and Coop explore the exciting and outlandish world of anime boob physics...or should that be "physics?" ― Steve and Coop explore the exciting and outlandish world of anime boob physics...or should that be "physics?" Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Momenta...

review

1 comment

Firefly Wedding Volume 1 Manga Review

Jan 20, 12:00

1 comment

manga

It isn’t a perfect way to phrase it, but Firefly Wedding’s first volume feels like it lands somewhere in between Yakuza Fiancé and Yakuza Lover. ― It isn't a perfect way to phrase it, but Firefly Wedding's first volume feels like it lands somewhere between Yakuza Fiancé and Yakuza Lover. That's not because there's a yakuza element to the story, at least not in those terms; set during what appears to ...

feature

21 comments

The Shōjo Anime Renaissance

Jan 20, 09:00

21 comments

anime manga

After a long dry spell, there's finally an increase in shōjo anime adaptations. Which ones are worth watching? ― Anime is not always there for shōjo fans. Not that there isn't any in a given season, but at times it can feel like every other show that comes out is either an adaptation of a Shonen Jump property, a male power fantasy light novel, or something else that isn't all that concerned with attr...

review

15 comments

RuriDragon Volume 1 Manga Review

Jan 19, 12:00

15 comments

manga

In spite, or perhaps because of how laid-back it is about Ruri’s seemingly bizarre circumstances, RuriDragon really feels like something special. ― Honestly, the fact that I'm even here reviewing RuriDragon at all is something of a minor miracle. While the manga debuted in Shonen Jump to pretty much immediate success, it quickly ran into trouble when its author, Masaoki Shindo, started suffering from...

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SMASH! 2009
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