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ep. review

Turkey!-Time to Strike- ‒ Episode 9

This episode felt like a culmination of everything I love about this anime.
ep. review

Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra ‒ Episode 9

At its core, this week’s episode was nothing if not full of head pats.
ep. review

Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE ‒ Episode 21

The tension here comes not necessarily from “oh no, everyone is dead, how terrible,” but from “yeah, okay, despite all the murderings we know they're somehow going to get out of this, but how?”
ep. review

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 ‒ Episode 9

Wow, I felt almost nothing but irritation while watching this episode.
ep. review

Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube ‒ Episode 10

Any object loved and appreciated enough will develop its own sense of self.
ep. review

DAN DA DAN Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

As we all know by now, a slightly-below-incredible episode of this show that is mostly focused on introducing new characters and setting up future plot points is still going to be a hell of a time.
ep. review

New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT ‒ Episode 9

Instead of a neutral character combo, it seems the team stumbled into the most potent crack-ship possible in this show. It has to be healthier than Kneesocks hooking up with her sister.
ep. review

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2 ‒ Episode 10

All known immediate threats have been handled. So, what do our heroes decide to do? Take part in a beauty pageant, of course.
ep. review

Clevatess ‒ Episode 10

The general was a good man once, too, and his friendship with Margo was truly a prime source of their incredible strength.
ep. review

There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... ‒ Episode 9

Unlike previous plotlines, this has the potential to be a good arc for another potential love interest while also being a good arc for Renako herself.
ep. review
ep. review

Sword of the Demon Hunter ‒ Episode 21

Forget the technical issues with this episode's roll-out, I was annoyed with how much of a squib it was.
ep. review

Witch Watch ‒ Episode 22

There isn't really anything off about how this week's shorts have been adapted, but I do wish they'd picked some better ones to place together.
ep. review

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

Creating a situation where Marin is potentially forced to confront somebody who just straight up doesn't like her could be interesting.
ep. review

Sakamoto Days ‒ Episode 19

We'll have to see how well the show manages to deliver on all these looming threads, but there's at least enough here to work with to help this season go out with a bang
ep. review

Ruri Rocks ‒ Episode 9

The slideshow of saucy setups is punctuated with lovingly grounded animation of Nagi hammering apart rocks while wearing said maid outfit, as the Ruri Rocks crew are, above all, creators of culture.
ep. review

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

We just haven’t spent as much time with Ichikawa in the past, and in the present, there is no one in much immediate danger either.
ep. review

CITY The Animation ‒ Episode 9

You’d think by now CITY would be out of tricks, but no, it’s still finding new ways to impress both visually and emotionally nine episodes in.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1141

Here we get to see the joyful, destructive goofballery of that idea in action as Dorry and Brogy's giants rip apart the navy and marines without so much as a scratch.
ep. review

Secrets of the Silent Witch ‒ Episode 9

Casey wants to make her exile easier on Monica—tries to goad Monica into replacing her sadness with hate or apathy. But, unfortunately, that's not the kind of person Monica is.
ep. review

Gachiakuta ‒ Episodes 7-8

Rudo's first job is in the bag, he's an official member of the Cleaners, and he is beginning to reap the rewards of his new position, such as the crew of cool new friends and access to all of the decadent sweets he can eat.
ep. review

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus ‒ Episode 9

To Himeji, love is something others do to her—not something she does to others.
ep. review

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity ‒ SERIES PREMIERE

This is a situation that's just begging to be shaken up. Assumptions run rampant in this episode, and only two people are trying to see beyond them.
ep. review

To Be Hero X ‒ Episode 22

While Nice does the right thing, he does it in the wrong way. Deep down, part of him is still trying to accomplish Shand's original plan—if only half-heartedly.
ep. review

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 ‒ Episode 21

I did not put money down on Teru becoming the funniest character in the show, but I really should have.
ep. review

With You and the Rain ‒ Episode 9

At long last, an episode of With You and the Rain that will get my sister to shut up about how Kimi doesn’t have visible eyes!
ep. review

Bad Girl ‒ Episode 9

While this episode doesn't quite bring some of the simmering character dynamics to the surface of the show in the way I was hoping, episode 9 of Bad Girl gave me enough of a taste to stave off that appetite at least.
ep. review

Anne Shirley ‒ Episode 20

Even if Anne does change her heart later, that doesn't invalidate what she feels now, and very few people are hearing that.
ep. review

Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE ‒ Episode 20

In a rare nod to plausibility, it turns out no, actually three teenage fighters aren’t a match for an organized team of professional soldiers armed with semi-automatic firearms.
ep. review

Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube ‒ Episode 9

When humans no longer need to strive for what makes them happy, they become lazy.
ep. review

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 ‒ Episode 8

The irony about this arc is that the constant focus on Raphtalia really emphasizes how little her presence has become since season two.
ep. review

DAN DA DAN Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

The show can now pivot back to sitcom mode and let us bask in the glory that is 'Evil Eye Steals Jiji's Body to Go to School and Do Other Normal Stuff, Except Like an Insane Freak.' It is glorious.
ep. review

Turkey!-Time to Strike- ‒ Episode 8

Why did anime stop ending episodes on dramatic stills? It’s so cool. We should bring this back.
ep. review

New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT ‒ Episode 8

Seeking to answer the question of "What would a Panty & Stocking musical look and sound like?" yields…basically the precise answer you would expect, but it's no less stunning in its execution for that.
ep. review

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2 ‒ Episode 9

You don't burn a forest just because you're evil. You do it as part of a bigger plan.
ep. review

Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra ‒ Episode 8

For a series that’s trying so hard to be dark and brutal, it’s really been severely lacking in the gore department until now.
ep. review

Clevatess ‒ Episodes 8-9

With every passing week, Clevatess continues to up the ante and deliver one of the most consistently entertaining and considered adventures of the season.
ep. review

There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... ‒ Episode 8

If Mai was taken out of the show, then I think everything would be much better, but the problem is that if you take her out, then there wouldn't be a show because everything revolves around her actions.
ep. review

The Summer Hikaru Died ‒ Episode 8

The consequences of their actions (and inactions) haunt both Hikaru and Yoshiki in unsettlingly direct ways.
ep. review

Sword of the Demon Hunter ‒ Episode 20

It's not a visually impressive or varied episode, just a standard dark rainy night of the soul, yet it conveys its main idea well.
ep. review

Sakamoto Days ‒ Episode 18

Any proper exam arc in a battle shonen needs a wild card, and where Hunter x Hunter gave us Hisoka, this show gives us Kanaguri.
ep. review

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 ‒ Episode 18

Kafka hasn’t been in this season much at all, and with the way Reno’s musings are framed, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Kafka was straight up dead.
ep. review

With You and the Rain ‒ Episode 8

Although it's made up of the same short-segment format as the rest of the series, episode eight brings everything together.
ep. review

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

For as much as this is a show about the supernatural, its beating heart is the ties that bind us together—through family, friendship, and romantic love.
ep. review

CITY The Animation ‒ Episode 8

My partner once described this show as feeling like it was “made by someone who never had anything bad happen to them,” and I can't help but agree.
ep. review

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 ‒ Episode 20

The dialogue and reactions were definitely the highlights of this episode.
ep. review

Witch Watch ‒ Episode 21

This proves something that anime has exploited for years: you can sell any personality type, no matter how weird or terrible, so long as you put a cute girl in front of it.
ep. review

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus ‒ Episode 8

Sakuta is basically in panic mode after hearing about Mai being in danger.
ep. review

Call of the Night Season 2 ‒ Episode 8

Miyuki Sawashiro is the episode's MVP. She adapts her voice deftly to all of Kyoko's moods and gives a thoroughly affecting performance.
ep. review

Secrets of the Silent Witch ‒ Episode 8

This is not to say that Casey didn't like Monica—but you can absolutely both like a person and use them.
ep. review

Ruri Rocks ‒ Episode 8

Appropriate for a show about sedimentary studies, there are layers to the interactions going on, and it's fulfilling to just kick back and observe all of them.
ep. review

To Be Hero X ‒ Episode 21

Dragon Boy’s real fighting style is psychological. His whole persona—his personality and appearance—is designed to get the most out of his powers.
ep. review

Bad Girl ‒ Episode 8

This season of Bad Girl will have a very strong finish if the following episodes can keep up this caliber of grounded character writing and execution on the relationship drama.
ep. review

Anne Shirley ‒ Episode 19

Death has been on the periphery of Anne’s story from the start.
ep. review

Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE ‒ Episode 19

The doujins, as they say, write themselves.
ep. review

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2 ‒ Episode 8

It feels like a bit too much of the original novel was left on the cutting room floor in this episode.
ep. review

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 ‒ Episode 7

Wow, that was one of the fastest and most effective revolutions I've ever seen!
ep. review

New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT ‒ Episode 7

With the Angel Brothers now properly introduced, the show has the means to deliver a boys' night out. For the homies. Guys being dudes. Bros chilling in a car, five feet apart because they're not—
ep. review

Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra ‒ Episode 7

I love an anime where our protagonist(s) isn’t necessarily the good guy.
ep. review

Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube ‒ Episode 8

OpenAI may wish to take some pointers from this episode and start murdering a few of their engineers to harness the unlimited compute power of their souls.
ep. review

Turkey!-Time to Strike- ‒ Episode 7

If this episode is testament to anything, it’s that this is an anime where you should never take things at face value.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1140

Luffy bouncing around and turning the entirety of Egghead Island into a cartoon world is such a delight, from the sound design to the bounce-house-like texture that the buildings are made of.
ep. review

There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... ‒ Episode 7

Oh boy, there is a lot to unpack here and arguably a lot of it isn't good.
ep. review

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 ‒ Episode 17

Even if he wins and suffers no adverse effects in the short term, we as the audience are always wondering how much of that candle has burned down and whether the next transformation will be his last.
ep. review

Sakamoto Days ‒ Episode 17

It's hard not to laugh at how out of place a ditzy, blue-haired anime girl feels in this show.
ep. review

Sword of the Demon Hunter ‒ Episode 19

After last week's bust of an episode, this is one of the most satisfying of the series so far.
ep. review

The Summer Hikaru Died ‒ Episode 7

There's nothing outwardly untoward about Yoshiki and Hikaru playing hooky, but we feel a foreboding inevitability creeping up on them all the same.
ep. review

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

Marin walking in the park while Gojo takes pictures of her for ten minutes is enough to earn my perfect score.
ep. review

Secrets of the Silent Witch ‒ Episode 7

When it comes down to it, this episode is an exploration into the mindset of teenage bullies.
ep. review

Witch Watch ‒ Episode 20

As strange as it sounds, Cat Nemu cozying to Keigo might be the most romantic moment in this entire episode.
ep. review

CITY The Animation ‒ Episode 7

Episode 7 nearly feels like a reminder that, while the animation has been top-notch for most of the season, CITY is a multifaceted piece of media and excels at everything it attempts.
ep. review

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus ‒ Episode 7

Sakuta’s old classmates are not capable of atoning for what happened because their logical minds will inevitably conclude that they’re not in the wrong because the supernatural isn’t real.
ep. review

Ruri Rocks ‒ Episode 7

I'll stop positively appraising the show's ability to deliver the lesson of "Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way" when it stops being so earnestly good at it.
ep. review

Gachiakuta ‒ Episode 6

Jabber is the kind of drooling sadist that wandered in straight from the set of the latest Danganronpa game. The more Rudo wails on him, the more Jabber seems to be having the time of his freaky-ass little life.
ep. review

To Be Hero X ‒ Episode 20

Let's break down who the real winners and losers of this conflict between superheroes are.
ep. review

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

By the time I realized it was no longer a portrait of grief, but a spooky story about a haunted house, we were already in front of it.
ep. review

Bad Girl ‒ Episode 7

This episode of Bad Girl was fun, popcorn fare, and I think I’m going to start to enjoy the show more now that I’ve given up on it ever bringing its more subtextual ideas to the surface.
ep. review

Call of the Night Season 2 ‒ Episode 7

Kyoko, like Kabura, is a loner who feels estranged from her family and friends, yet finds companionship in a periwinkle-haired vampire who awakens her lesbian longing.
ep. review

With You and the Rain ‒ Episode 7

Although With You and the Rain is anything but ordinary, it does a beautiful job of presenting itself as utterly normal.
ep. review

Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE ‒ Episode 18

It’s a little disappointing that Senku’s application of the tech in the Stone World relies on blatant fantasy rather than real science.
ep. review

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 ‒ Episode 6

I'm never gonna see this Phoenix animated, am I?
ep. review

DAN DA DAN Season 2 ‒ Episode 19

DAN DA DAN's genius is that it would work just as perfectly if it were a straightforward romantic coming-of-age story without any of the golden testicles, alien probes, evil giant worms, or subterranean death cults.
ep. review

New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT ‒ Episode 6

This episode just needs to live up to its hype, blow the windows off the venue as everyone knows it can, and go home, leaving the audience with their world rocked, lying in their juices.
ep. review

Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube ‒ Episode 7

If this episode teaches us anything, it’s that yandere ice girls are hot.
ep. review

Turkey!-Time to Strike- ‒ Episode 6

This episode checked off every possible box I dreamed this show would have and more.
ep. review

Clevatess ‒ Episode 7

One of the chief appeals of dark fantasy is that ever-present sense of dread and danger lurking around every corner, and the more Clevatess can tap into that well of inspiration, the better.
ep. review

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2 ‒ Episode 7

As far as world-changing lore drops go, it’s hard to top what this episode gives us.
ep. review

Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra ‒ Episode 6

I really hope Mynoghra continues down this darker path it’s been going down for the past two episodes now.
ep. review

There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... ‒ Episode 6

I really liked this episode and no, I'm not just saying that because Mai wasn't in it at all.
ep. review

Sakamoto Days ‒ Episode 16

The first stretch of this episode is just a non-stop train of bloody action
ep. review

Ruri Rocks ‒ Episode 6

As the Mythbusters once said: "Remember kids, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down."
ep. review

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 ‒ Episode 16

We spent three weeks building up to Kafka being back in the game, only to have Kaiju No. 9 immediately peace out.
ep. review

Sword of the Demon Hunter ‒ Episode 18

Lots of foreshadowing and some cute daddy-daughter moments, but it's still a very dull episode.
ep. review

One Piece ‒ Episode 1139

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it initially while watching the episode, but I wasn’t really invested in the Buster Call scenes despite intellectually understanding how big of a deal it was.
ep. review

The Summer Hikaru Died ‒ Episode 6

Playing with fireworks is an apt visual metaphor for Yoshiki's relationship with Hikaru.
ep. review

With You and the Rain ‒ Episode 6

This episode of With You and the Rain depicts what’s been my typical experience with mixing the two species: cats will whip the dog into the shape they prefer.

For all articles, see the archives