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Murai in Love Anime Series Review
Murai in Love is a very strange show. Its premise is strange, its characters are strange, and its animation is strange. So strange that it practically begs to be watched.
― Murai in Love is a very strange show. Its premise is strange, its characters are strange, and its animation is strange. So strange that it practically begs to be watched. I admit that I was mildly non-plussed by Murai in Love at f...
Death Note Killer Within Game Review
From a technical standpoint, this isn't a terribly well-put-together game. It's not tearing at the seams, but its shortcomings are as numerous as they are apparent.
― If there was ever going to be an anime-flavored online social deduction game, Death Note was always the obvious choice for an IP to tie it to. Not only is it super popular, but what is Death Note if not one long social deduction game? ...
My Classmate Ren-kun is Kinda Scary Manga Review
My Classmate Ren-kun is Kinda Scary is, in a word, frothy.
― The narrator of this story isn't the romantic lead. That's probably the most interesting aspect of the book – it's narrated by a mostly nameless girl (we learn her name in the author's afterword, but never in the story proper) as she observes the boys on either side of her in class. It works fairly well as a framing device, particularly sin...
Who Made Me a Princess Volumes 4 - 6 K-Comics Review
Who Made Me a Princess was good in its first three books, but it's very good in its second. The final three volumes should be excellent if things continue on this trajectory.
― It's practically narrative law that if the villainess character turns out to be good, the heroine must be bad. We've seen that play out over a plethora of series, and while there are exceptions, it happens often enough to feel...
Our Aimless Nights Manga Review
By no means is this a deep, page-turning tale of love and lust, and it's not really meant to be.
― The risk in naming your manga Our Aimless Nights is that the adjective is already giving too much away. This two-volume manga has its narrative meandering around in certain areas, although this serves as a good thing. Teenage romances with all of their awkward tendencies are never exactly straightforwar...
Demons' Crest: Reality Erosion and Otherworld Engage Novels Review
Fans of both author and genre should be pleased, and even those who are neither will probably find something to keep them reading.
― Reki Kawahara is a one-trick pony. That sounds harsher than it ought because there are plenty of authors in all media forms who have one particular narrative that pops up frequently in their work; it's just more noticeable with Kawahara because of the fame surrounding h...
Trigun Stampede Limited Edition Blu-Ray/DVD
Trigun Stampede may well be the jewel in the crown of an anime studio seemingly addicted to producing incredible anime that pushes the entire medium forward.
― The original Trigun anime and manga managed to pass me by in my youth, despite the perfect timing and appeal of the property. I caught a stray episode or two when it aired on Toonami back in the day, but for whatever reason, Trigun never stuck...
Megazone 23 - The Complete Trilogy Anime Blu-ray Review
Megazone 23 is the kind of title that deserves a place on every serious fan's shelf. With all the versions and extras included, there's little doubt this is the definitive release.
― Megazone 23 is a strange thing to review. Although the three installments' stories make up a cohesive whole, they were produced under wildly varying circumstances with different directors and staff, so each has a differe...
Tomo-chan Is a Girl! Limited Edition Blu-ray Review
Tomo-chan Is a Girl! manages to balance its comedy and more poignant bits beautifully.
― It's not always easy to mix comedy with something sterner. Although it's absolutely possible – just look at Terry Pratchett, whose books regularly have messages that belie their comedic style – it takes a special kind of flair to pull it off. Tomo-chan is a Girl could easily have fumbled in trying to combine its ...
Make a Girl Anime Film Review
Make a Girl is, simply put, a film with some interesting ideas but poor execution.
― Three major problems hamper Make a Girl as a film. The first is its very premise. Akira offhandedly makes Zero, a literal living, breathing girl, from nothing. Born a teenager, his lab-grown girl already knows at birth all the information needed to live in human society (like language skills and critical thinking)—ev...
Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection Volume 1 Game Review
The first volume of Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection arrives on Steam. Is this groundbreaking series the stuff of classics or just a history lesson?
― What place does the Valis series have in the history of video games? Well, it didn't create a new field or become a worldwide phenomenon, but in 1986, the original Valis: The Fantasm Soldier indeed blazed a trail for games that sold themselves chi...
Ghost Cat Anzu Anime Movie Review
Ghost Cat Anzu is a deeply strange but entertaining film that, although it seems to start as a silly comedy, proves to be profoundly emotionally intelligent and interesting.
― On paper, Ghost Cat Anzu would seem to be this year's most family-friendly offering at the annual Scotland Loves Anime Film Festival, now in its 15th year. Compared to most other films, the audience was certainly composed of a ...
Look Back Anime Film Review
The struggle to answer what it means to draw defines Look Back, and despite its short runtime, it manages to encapsulate everything that’s both beautiful and ugly about that struggle.
― “So why is it that you draw?” That's the question that's pondered at the end of the film and ultimately lies at the heart of Tatsuki Fujimoto's original one-shot manga. It's a question that artists across just about a...
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Video Game Review
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake takes an already-seminal title and makes it one of the must-play games of 2024.
― Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation is already a seminal title among Japanese RPGs: a pillar of the genre whose influences run wide and deep across Japanese pop culture. Countless games have come in its wake, all inspired by that original game and its many creative decisions. The decis...
Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe Anime Movie Review
While I enjoyed the action aspects of Birth of Kitaro, I can't say it works that well as an entry point for new fans.
― Modern folklore-focused anime and manga owe a huge debt to the work of 1960s manga GeGeGe no Kitaro's artist and writer Shigeru Mizuki. A second world war veteran, the traumatic amputation of his left arm, due to an air raid explosion, never held back his pre-existing artistic ambit...
PreCure Max Heart Episodes 1-25 Anime Series Review
It may be early days for Pretty Cure, but the bones of what has made it such an enduring franchise are there.
― It feels obvious to say this, but Pretty Cure Max Heart, the second series in the franchise and a direct sequel to the first, is still finding its way in the greater scheme of things. While direct sequels aren't unheard of in the franchise (and indeed the fifth season is a direct sequel to ...
Kowloon Generic Romance Volumes 7-8 Manga Review
With both anime and live-action drama adaptations promised for 2025, now is unquestionably the right time to discover your Absolute Self and read the original first.
― Later volumes of After the Rain's Jun Mayuzuki's masterful sci-fi mystery romance are impossible to review without massively spoiling earlier volumes, so if you've not read the first few installments of Kowloon Generic Romance, be warn...
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom Anime Film Review
Now in U.S. theaters, this film shows why this is one of the series' most popular arcs—even if a bit too much was left on the cutting room floor.
― One of the most interesting choices that came from adapting Overlord IV is that the series skipped an entire arc—two entire light novels worth of story. This left an odd gap between episodes seven and eight of that series—where we go from Ainz dealing wit...
Otaku no Video Anime Blu-ray Review
Otaku no Video is an interesting cross-section of what otaku was into at that time.In a sense, that captures the essence of Otaku no Video: a product of its time that remains timeless.
― Otaku no Video is a work full of contrasts that remains an endearingly absurd classic. For the modern viewer, Otaku no Video must seem like the consummate product of its time. It is an original video animation or OVA...
Sonic X Shadow Generations Video Game Review
Sonic X Shadow Generations is a strong contender for one of the best 3D Sonic experiences
― Shadow is so damn cool, guys. There are a lot of positive things I'm going to say about this game, from the narrative to the replay value to the level design. But if there's one major thing I took away from this game, it's that Shadow The Hedgehog is one of the coolest characters ever to come out, and it's bee...
Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki Artbook Review
Although nominally an artbook, this might be just as easily described as a collection of folklore.
― “Shigeru Mizuki,” translator and scholar Zack Davisson says in his introductory essay, “lived in a vibrant fantasy world where every tree, every blade of grass was infused with spiritual energy.” If any one thing comes through in this collection of Mizuki's artwork, it is this – there's a deeply roote...
Punch Drunk Love Volumes 1-2 K-Comic Review
Seon-woo and Tae-moon’s relationship is almost entirely based on sex for most of these two volumes, so if you’re looking for something that puts the “without” in PWP, this is the series for you.
― Readers of BL manhwa and novels may recognize the name of the author of Punch Drunk Love: Moscareto is also the author of The New Recruit, another office romance. But the setting is the only thing these two...
Give It All Anime Film Review
Within its sports narrative, Give It All is a fantastically realistic depiction of how mental hang-ups stay with a person.
― At first glance, this seems like a story told in a billion anime before. A peppy transfer student arrives, joins a dead or dying club, and revitalizes it into a top-tier competitor with a real chance to win “the big competition.” What's different about Give It All is that the a...
Yakuza Kiwami - Switch Version Game Review
The Yakuza brand of stylish combat and badass special movies is just as fun today as it was nearly a decade ago.
― This review of the brand new Yakuza Kiwami port for the Nintendo Switch is going to basically be split in half to serve two different audiences. The first group that I'll be talking to are the folks who have never had the chance to dig into Sega's venerated crime-drama beat'-em'-up saga ...
Plus-Sized Elf Anime Series and OVA Review
It's good that the show isn't terribly toxic, but simultaneously, as a fan of tasteless comedy, it's disappointing to have nothing that makes me chuckle even slightly.
― I am in the fourth month of a complete relapse of my diet and exercise plan. Meaning that I've been off exercise for as long as I've been on it. And ladies and gents, you best believe it's been a glorious foodie renaissance. I'm talk...
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake Video Game Review
You can always find a new avenue to explore, new storyline to uncover, or new battle to be waged across the campaigns included, and the breadth of options makes summarizing the game somewhat challenging.
― Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a grand strategy game of overwhelming scope and possibility that makes a lasting impression. I have never played the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms...
SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky Game Review
If you enjoy a slow-burn visual novel, this is going to be right up your alley.
― The Memories Off series of visual novels first debuted in 1999, and it's only now in 2024 that we're finally getting one of them in English. In fact, SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky is the first new entry in the franchise since 2015, and while one or two characters from the earlier games pop in as bit players, this i...
One Piece Fan Letter Anime Special Review
We see major battles through their eyes – distant laser beams visible only from the sparks of light and titanic punches that can be felt miles away as they shake the earth – and realize what it means to be an average person in these times.
― One Piece Fan Letter is precisely what its title describes in the best possible way. What a breath of fresh air this was. It's hard to encapsulate all my feeling...
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Game Review
Like any great game with immersive sim elements, Echoes of Wisdom feels like you're getting away with something anytime you solve a problem with anything other than the most obvious solution.
― How do you even review a Zelda game? They're some of the most overtly influential video games in the medium's history and are directly responsible for the art form's growth several times over. It's impossible ...
My Sister Took My Fiance and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince Volumes 1 & 2 Manga Review
My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I'm Being Courted by a Beastly Prince is off to a solid start. It may not be wholly innovative, but Cordelia is a good heroine and nobody's fool, except when it comes to herself, and she's wholly cognizant of that.
― Life is not easy for Cordelia. The daughter of a noble in the kingdom of Liobern, Cordelia isn't so much unremarkable as she is less outwardly beautiful ...
Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town Game Review
More anime should have cozy tie-in games. We need more un-serious, Animal Crossing-esque fun. And that’s where Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town comes into the picture.
― More anime should have cozy tie-in games. If we could convert gachas and musou games into an energy source, they could single-handedly take care of the energy needs of the entire globe for years to come. What we need is more un-ser...
My Journey to Her Manga Review
Unlike a lot of similar narratives, this isn't about the anguish, coming out, or transphobia. That's not to say those things aren't present, but they aren't the point.
― There are so many falsehoods perpetrated about what it means to be transgender, so many scare tactics employed by people who fear those who are different, that it's important to highlight any authentic own-voices narratives that are ...
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Volumes 1-3 Manga Review
Author Saka Mikami 's main theme is the exploration of how uninformed judgments of others, especially when fuelled by humanity's innate tribalism, lead to unfair treatment and social ostracization.
― The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignityis one of those heart-warming romance manga where if you're not grinning with delight by the end of the first volume, there's probably something broken in your soul...
Gridman Universe Anime Film Review
Widely available in North America for the first time, Gridman Universe successfully ties up the loose ends of SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, while fan-favorite character Akane looms heavy over the film.
― Gridman Universe is a direct sequel to both SSSS.Gridman. and SSSS.Dynazenon. It continues the plotlines and character arcs of both series, tying up loose ends for some and giving epilogues to oth...
Fist of the North Star Volume 14 Manga Review
Can you recreate the magic of the relationship between Kenshiro, Raoh, Toki, and Jagi?
― Fist of the North Star Volume 14 provides Kenshiro with the most interesting set of villains of the post-Raoh era by digging into a familiar bag of tricks. This volume, almost more than any other, has me split on how to feel about the events. It is equal parts novel ideas and the same old, familiar, and unique. T...
Macross Delta Anime Streaming Review
While the central couple of Hayate and Freyja are easy to root for, Macross Delta's muddled, unfocused story hampers the overall viewing experience.
― At last, the frayed, exhausted patience of (non-US) English-speaking Macross franchise fans has been rewarded. Apart from the 1982 original Super Dimension Fortress Macross and 1984 movie Do You Remember Love (both still held to ransom by Harmony Gold ...
Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies Manga Review
The late Cocoa Fujiwara never got to finish this story. Even if you don’t love the series, that’s a tragedy, and for readers, it means knowing that you’re embarking on a journey without a finish.
― The late Cocoa Fujiwara never got to finish this story. Even if you don't love the series, that's a tragedy, and for readers, it means knowing that you're embarking on a journey without a finish – when the...
Wonderful Precure! Episodes 25-36 Anime Series Review
The Cures need Niko and their transformations to fight, but their true strength comes from themselves and their relationships.
― While this season of Pretty Cure is unique in several ways, there are two that stand out, at least among legally available series in the west. The first is the overt romantic subplot that truly gets off the ground in episode thirty-six; while Delicious Party Pretty Cure did...
Fist of the North Star Volume 13 Manga Review
Fist of the North Star Volume 13 is a strong package, but at the same time I wouldn't blame someone for feeling like there are diminishing returns in this latter era of the run.
― Volume 13 is an odd mixture of elements and novel concepts that dazzle visually while being all right otherwise. I hate to sound like a broken record, but many of the same strengths and weaknesses seen here have been with t...
See You in My 19th Life Volumes 1-3 K-Comic Review
The K-Comic series See You in My 19th Life is a love story that is as much about the tragic past as the hopeful present.
― Tragedy and romance have been linked almost since the dawn of literature. Why else would stories of doomed lovers like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet or historical tales of Cleopatra and her lovers be so lionized? For many readers, the fine line between the potential for a happy ...
BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- Anime Film Review
Now streaming on Crunchyroll, the BLUE LOCK movie makes Nagi an even more interesting and nuanced character, but the last 10 minutes almost upends the film's otherwise interesting plot.
― BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a retelling of the early events of BLUE LOCK through the eyes of Nagi and Mikage. However, that's not to say this is a recap or compilation film. Rather, a good 70% of the film ...
Silent Hill 2 (2024) Video Game Review
The Silent Hill 2 remake introduces a fun gameplay experience that pays proper respect to its iconic predecessor.
― The original Silent Hill 2 is a horror classic. In terms of aesthetic and psychological intrigue, not only was it groundbreaking when it came out, but you could argue that it inspired an entire generation of horror games. There's just one problem: it is tough to play the 2001 version at...
ATRI: My Dear Moments Anime Series Review
Because ATRI can't decide what sort of story it wants to be, it fails to excel at anything it attempts, ultimately becoming a lukewarm mishmash of genres.
― Anime based on visual novels must often take drastic measures to cram their frequently verbose, lengthy stories into digestible animated form. Sometimes, this works spectacularly well (Steins;Gate), conversely it can lead to disaster (Umineko, Ts...
Ys X: Nordics Game Review
Ys X: Nordics follows Adol Christin once again as he sets sail on a new adventure, but the game harkens back to older Ys games with a charming PS2 look.
― Ys X: Nordics is the latest entry in the action RPG series, Ys. Over the past several entries, the Ys series transitioned to featuring party-based combat like many other modern Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy VII Remake, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and ...
Red Cat Ramen Anime Series Review
If there's chicken soup for sick days, Ramen Akaneko is the anime version of that.
― If there's chicken soup for sick days, Ramen Akaneko is the anime version of that. It comforts like a warm blanket, asking nothing of the viewer, except maybe occasional sympathy and understanding. There's otherwise no critical thinking required, no sprawling storylines to detangle, no long list of characters to reme...
The Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies Anime Series Review
It's terrible that Cocoa Fujiwara couldn't see The Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant, but it's also a way for us to keep enjoying her work, even after she is gone.
― The worst thing about The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is that there won't be anymore. Or at least, no more based on the original manga by Cocoa Fujiwara; Fujiwara tragically passed away before completin...
My Hero Academia: You're Next Anime Film Review
Now playing in U.S. theaters! This movie is built around a villain who misinterpreted All Might's final words as a hero—and was inspired by them in all the wrong ways.
― My Hero Academia: You're Next is the fourth tie-in film to the wildly popular My Hero Academia TV anime. Taking place around the start of Season 7, this movie is built around a villain who misinterpreted All Might's final words as a ...
Macross Frontier Anime Series Review
Macross Frontier is a hell of a good time and a reminder of why anime is such a fantastic storytelling medium in the first place. What other media dares to mix fighter pilots exploding monstrous aliens with dainty teenage girls singing poppy show tunes?
― Until very recently, being an English-speaking Macross fan has been hard. Thankfully, with the resolution of a long-standing legal dispute regardin...
Hajime No Ippo Episode 26-50 Anime Review
Season two of Hajime no Ippo perfectly transitions from a boxer's humble beginning into the more intense world of professional boxing.
― Season two of Hajime no Ippo perfectly transitions from a boxer's humble beginning into the more intense world of professional boxing. After the rookie championship ends, Ippo interacts with more people who make up the world of professional boxing, such as other tra...
Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Season 2 Anime Series Review
In a genre that so commonly relies on asking, “Will they or won't they?” CTG makes no secret that they will—they all will.
― On paper, there's nothing terribly unique about The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses (henceforth CTG) that sets it apart from the bajillions of other ecchi harem anime. It may be set in a café, but it's still one guy and several girls breasting boobily. In many ways, CTG is very ...
Metaphor: ReFantazio Game Review
By building upon and reflecting on everything that Atlus' veteran developers have learned over the past twenty-five years, Metaphor: ReFantazio doesn't just stand tall and proud beside its forebears—it may very well surpass them.
― After bringing Atlus some of its greatest accolades and global impact ever with the release of Persona 5 in 2016, legendary Shin Megami Tensei and Persona director Katsura...
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO Game Review
After seventeen years, we finally have the long-awaited fourth installment in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series. One thing remains true after all these years: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
― It's here, guys! After seventeen years, we finally have the long-awaited fourth installment in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series. Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is one of the most hyped-up gam...
Dungeon People Anime Series Review
Dungeon People is a cute, cozy mash-up of the fantasy and workplace comedy genres that mostly succeeds at what it sets out to do.
― Dungeon People is a cute, cozy mash-up of the fantasy and workplace comedy genres that mostly succeeds at what it sets out to do. While not as relentlessly creative or compelling as this year's earlier Delicious in Dungeon, Dungeon People maintains a pleasant, gently ent...
Tonbo! Season 1 Anime Series Review
While Tonbo! isn’t an outright terrible show, it fails at making golf feel exciting and giving the audience much outside of that, both of which make for one of the dullest sports anime I’ve ever sat through.
― There are two things that I should probably mention here. The first is that I'm not much of a sports guy. I don't dislike sports per se, and I enjoy watching football and basketball games on oc...
Go! Princess Precure Episodes 26-50 Anime Series Review
Go! Princess Pretty Cure is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, seasons to be officially released in English.
― With this second half of Go! Princess Pretty Cure, one thing becomes obvious: Haruka is a pillar of strength. While she didn't necessarily demonstrate that concretely in the first half, we can now see that she was internalizing a lot of what she learned and is now ready to share it ...
The Fable Episodes 1-25 Anime Streaming Review
At turns utterly hilarious, before quickly becoming unbelievably tense and dramatic, I was never once bored by The Fable, even sometimes forgetting how ghastly the animation was.
― What is it about manga featuring ex-criminals attempting to go straight that attracts anime productions with such terrible animation quality? 2021's The Way of the Househusband became meme-worthy for its almost total absen...
Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz Manga Review
Big fan of the Peanuts gang? Discover how Snoopy’s creator, Charles M. Schulz’s love for art at a young age led to his career drawing a comic strip known by every American household.
― Despite growing up with the Peanuts comic strip and owning a minimum of five pieces of Snoopy merchandise, I admittedly knew very little about Charles M. Schulz prior to reading this manga biography. During San Diego C...
Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram Anime Film Review
If I had to sum up this movie in one word, it would be insanity.
― If I had to sum up this movie in one word, it would be insanity. The Million-dollar Pentagram is a film that hits almost every single beat you want to experience in a high-octane action film. We have explosions, cameos from characters throughout the franchise, unlikely alliances as well as fun twists and turns at every corner. This is...
Vampire Dormitory Anime Series Review
Vampire Dormitory is a mess of popular shōjo tropes put together in a way that defies all good storytelling sense. It's also hilarious.
― Nakayoshi magazine has been home to some of the most influential shōjo manga series of all time: Princess Knight. Sailor Moon. Magic Knight Rayearth. The list goes on. The name is synonymous with shōjo; indeed, it is one of the oldest shōjo publications in existenc...
MF Ghost Season 1 Anime Series Review
MF Ghost is the Initial D you have at home: it may also be a racing anime set to a Eurobeat soundtrack, but it lacks the over-the-top fun of Initial D.
― If you're reading this review, and especially if you're an anime fan who was running in the 90s (that is the closest I can get to gracefully incorporating that phrase—I'm sorry, I tried my best), there's a pretty good chance you remember the iconic ...
Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included Anime Series Review
If there is one succinct way to sum up Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included, it's this: comfortably mid.
― If there is one succinct way to sum up Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included, it's this: comfortably mid. The show doesn't bother to reinvent the wheel; there's nothing too intriguing about its rom-com premise, and it ends up being the mishmash of iyashikei and harem you'd e...
Go! Princess Precure Episodes 1-25 Anime Series Review
From a magical girl genre perspective, Go! Princess Pretty Cure has some fascinating elements.
― While all Pretty Cure series are tailored towards an audience of little girls, Go! Princess Pretty Cure is the one (of those legally available in English) that leans into that the most. With its themes of princesses and dreams and its double-layered transformations, it leans hard into ideas about what lit...
Fist of the North Star Volume 11-12 Manga Review
Fist of the North Star volumes 11 and 12 usher in a new era for the series, which is more divisive than previous arcs but still of incredibly high quality.
― Fist of the North Star volumes 11 and 12 usher in a new era for the series which is more divisive than previous arcs but still of incredibly high quality. As I said in the last review, we have been to the mountaintop of the series and are now be...
Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World Volumes 1-2 Manga Review
Sister and Giant has moments of being better than it ought to be, but on the whole, it is a bit schlocky.
― You all know the story: a Japanese schoolgirl is killed by some form of transportation and ends up getting to live out the rest of her life in a fantasy world, often with magical RPG-inspired power. Along the way, she finds love and friendship, and even though she's dead in one world, it's in t...
Anime First Impressions: Murai in Love
Murai in Love is leagues and leagues away from being one of the greats of the season. But for better or worse, it may end up being one of the more interesting ones.
― At first glance, Murai in Love seems like a romantic comedy without any of the comedy, or even the romance for that matter. Instead, what could have been the start of a bizarre comedy of errors turns into something that ends up just bei...
The Tyrant's Etiquette Tutor Korean Novels 1-3 Review
Livia is hypercompetent without feeling overdone, and that's a major strength of this trilogy.
― Unlike its Japanese light novel counterparts, Korean web/light novels tend to favor what they call "transmigration" rather than full-out reincarnation. This does sometimes involve the death of the heroine/villainess (book dependent), but more often, my reading experience has shown that characters aren't a...
Bye Bye, Earth Season 1 Anime Series Review
On the surface, Bye Bye, Earth depicts a vibrant and colorful fantasy world – unfortunately, its story is plain baffling.
― When it comes to intentionally complicated storytelling, there's "good confusing" and "bad confusing." Complex works like Gene Wolf's celebrated SF novel The Book of the New Sun, David Lynch's legendary TV show Twin Peaks, or Hideaki Anno's incomparable Neon Genesis Evangelion a...
KamiErabi GOD.app Season 1 Anime Series Review
Any potential KamiErabi possibly could've had has been thoroughly buried under heaps of atrocious writing, rigid CG, and underdeveloped characters.
― If I had a nickel for every death game series (that I've seen, at least) created by highly renowned creators with at least one other super famous/popular work, but then received abysmal reception, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird ...
Hookah Haze Game Review
I get it – the point isn't a challenge; it's vibes. And I must confess, Hookah Haze's vibes are impeccable.
― Not to sound judgmental, but some of y'all out there are really into the aesthetic of anime girls blowing clouds of smoke. If you number among them, I have good news! Hookah Haze is a game about watching anime girls exhale billowing clouds of smoke. Based on my social media feeds, that alone ...
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom Anime Film Review
There's a reason that this is one of the series' most popular arcs and the film captures the story's essence expertly—even if a bit too much was left on the cutting room floor.
― One of the most interesting choices that came from adapting Overlord IV is that the series skipped an entire arc—two entire light novels worth of story. This left an odd gap between episodes seven and eight of that series—wh...
Reynatis Game Review
Reynatis is a high-flying action RPG that stands on its own, but it has a rather shaky stance.
― Reynatis is a high-flying action RPG that, to its credit, has a solid identity and visual aesthetic. A lot of comparisons have been drawn between it and Kingdom Hearts, and while they're not uncalled for, it's worth pointing out that about all Reynatis has in common with Kingdom Hearts is a teenaged prota...
Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron Documentary Review
By the end, it’s hard to feel like you don’t have a more well-rounded—and certainly much more human—understanding of Miyazaki as both a creative and a person.
― Having previously directed Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki and 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (henceforth Heron) is far from the first time director Kaku Arakawa has gotten up close and personal with the legendary...
DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia Game Review
DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia doesn't serve as a good entry point to see whatever positives the series has to offer, and this title is best reserved for more dedicated fans and true believers.
― DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is one of the most difficult games I've had to review. Not in terms of actual difficulty but more in trying to sort out how best to quantify my experience playing it. I was walking into ...
Astro Note Anime Series Review
Astro Note is yet another argument for bringing back longer anime seasons, instead of twelve episodes being the norm.
― If you're an English-speaking anime or manga fan of a certain age, there's a good chance that you got into the medium through the work of Rumiko Takahashi. Most likely it was Ranma ½ or Inuyasha, but perhaps you stumbled on Urusei Yatsura or Maison Ikkoku floppies while trawling you...
Sunsoft is Back: Retro Game Selection Game Review
Sunsoft digs up three lesser-seen Famicom games for a Retro Game Selection. Are they classics or better left buried?
― The NES and Famicom era is a fascinating period, especially in terms of what was or wasn't released outside of Japan. The Nintendo Entertainment System was a 600-pound gorilla in North America during the late 1980s, and Japanese publishers and their American branches made it a curiou...
The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Anime Series Review
Tatsuya makes a plan to deal with it. The plan works without a hitch, and everything is resolved. This is the pattern for all three arcs of this season.
― This, the third season of The Irregular At Magic High School, faces one major challenge right off the bat: its setting. The high school setting (magical or otherwise) is commonly used in fiction because it is part of the universal modern experience...
Fate/Stay Night Remastered Game Review
This is a great way to experience one of the most iconic—and certainly long-awaited, in the case of the English-language market—visual novels of all time.
― It's very interesting that the Fate franchise has been so successful in the English language market without the official release of its source material: the 2004 visual novel by Type-Moon, Fate/stay night (FSN). I get that in this market, visual ...
Terminator Zero Anime Series Streaming Review
Terminator Zero rams a nuclear rocket up Skynet's shiny metal ass, explosively reinvigorating the franchise's flailing, half-dead cybernetic corpse.
― Once upon a time, it was safe to view anime versions of U.S. pop culture franchises as garbage at worst and disposable at best. Apart from the excellent Animatrix and a couple of lesser, clearly derivative anthology films (Batman: Gotham Knight and Hal...
Transformers One Animated Film Review
Top-notch animation and snappy character rapport almost save Transformers One's fractured narrative.
― Transformers has had a long and illustrious history with various movies and cartoons that have acted as advertisements for one of the most popular toy lines on the planet. I am a casual Transformers fan who grew up with the cartoon series in my kid years, the movies in my teenage years, and the comi...
The Concierge Anime Film Review
This light-hearted look at working in the service industry is now playing in theaters in the U.S. Are the unusual animals worth the ticket price?
― In many ways, this film is more a series of vignettes surrounding Akino and her experiences at the department store rather than a single, cohesive story. While everything does somewhat connect in the film's final act, this movie is more concerned with exp...
Riding Bean Anime OAV Blu-ray Review
Riding Bean feels like a labor of love on all fronts, from its reflection of the enthusiasm of its creator to the polished production for this release.
― Kenichi Sonoda is a creator whose stamp is well-known on the projects he's involved with, and Riding Bean was his first major one. It saw him contributing to the anime OVA to an unprecedentedly involved degree. Sonoda wrote the script, did almost al...
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Game Review
There’s room for improvement, but as a whole, this release feels like a win for both players and game preservation.
― Few fighting games have proven to have the staying power of the Marvel vs. Capcom series. And while it's easy to hear that and be reminded first and foremost of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (and for good reason), the popularity of the #FreeMVC2 movement is testament to how this applies to its ...
BAKERU Game Review
BAKERU is a fantastic game for kids and kids at heart.
― Late last year, BAKERU's initial Japanese release seemed to spark what could only be described as “pure, nostalgic joy” among those who played the 3D platformer. Particularly, a nostalgia for the Ganbare Goemon series and its Nintendo 64 installment, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Which makes a lot of sense when one considers that BAKERU's dev...
SPY×FAMILY Volumes 11-12 Manga Review
While most of Anya's schemes go hilariously sideways, now is her time to shine.
― It's hard to go wrong with an Anya-centric storyline. As wonderful as it's been to get Loid's difficult past and to see Yor steal the spotlight, Anya remains one of Spy x Family's most endearing characters, as well as the one it's easiest to get an entertaining plot out of. She's the ultimate wild card, a little kid who...
The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time Novels 1-2 Review
The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time is one of the better villainess light novel series to make it over.
― Villainess stories, whether in novel, manga, or anime format, all share a few basic truths, and one of them is that if the “villainess” turns out to be good, it must follow that the “heroine” is actually bad. Bakufu Narayama's The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time does use that genre ...
Shadow of the Ninja Reborn Game Review
Is Shadow of the Ninja Reborn a sharp remake of a semi-classic NES game? Or is it something much more?
― The original Shadow of the Ninja had its moment, but it wasn't very long. Critics and players rightly saw it as a well-crafted and harshly challenging side-scroller back in 1990, yet it arrived in the busiest time for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was rapidly swept aside without gaining se...
Case Closed: The Bride of Halloween Anime Film Review
The film feels a bit awkward for non-diehard fans—but if you can push through that awkwardness, there's quite an exhilarating movie here.
― They say only one truth prevails, but is that the case with the mystery of The Bride of Halloween? Case Closed is one of the longest ongoing franchises in Japan. It has a solid following here in the United States with a very…interesting English release history. ...
Pupposites Attract Volume 1 Manga Review
This is the dog-person equivalent to many of the cat-person manga out there.
― For whatever reason, there's much more of a history of cat manga in English translation than dog manga. That doesn't mean that there aren't any—Doomsday With My Dog and Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs both have English editions, and that's not even counting series like Yuzu the Pet Vet with its periphery focus on canines. (We perh...
Riviere and the Land of Prayer Manga Volume 1 Review
It feels like it's supposed to be an episodic series where our leads go out and solve problems—but it's hard to do that when the story doesn't establish the rules of its world.
― Despite being raised Catholic and going to a Catholic high school, I don't consider myself a very religious person. The idea of praying for a better life can be found throughout multiple religions and there is a certain leve...
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos Anime Films Review
This is a fitting way to end the reboot of one of the most influential magical girl series: with hope.
― The final arc of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has always been its darkest. It's the culmination of all of Usagi/Sailor Moon's fights up to this point, the answer to why enemies keep attacking and to why she and her friends have been able to continue to reincarnate in the first place. While this mak...
Gundam Breaker 4 Video Game Review
Even the mecha-on-mecha battles of Gundam Breaker 4 come second to the real core gameplay hook of collecting thousands of plastic parts to smash together to create the ultimate Gunpla figure.
― I love Mobile Suit Gundam, and I have relished the dozens upon dozens of hours I have spent learning to build my own Gunpla model kits over the last few years (it was the nerdy and time-consuming new hobby tha...
The Colors Within Anime Film Review
As is par for the course for Science SARU, the more surreal things get, the better this colorful film looks.
― The Colors Within is not your standard coming-of-age anime for one simple reason: the complete and total lack of melodrama. No dark secrets are hiding in the wings and no painful love triangles to get caught up in. There are no moments where the characters scream and cry as the music swells ...
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash Game Review
You're seriously telling me this franchise of all things doesn't include HORSE as an option for its basketball mini-game?
― Getting the foal-cal mobile game for Uma Musume Pretty Derby in English has oddly proved a pipe dream thus far for fans of the anthropomorphized racehorse girls. In the meantime, players are presented with a horse of a different color to hop onto with Party Dash: a sports-festiv...
Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp Anime Film Review
Despite the low-quality reputation that compilation films tend to have, I'd go so far as to say Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp is the best single compilation anime film I've ever seen.
― While anime compilation films are nothing new, Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp, isn't made up of footage from a TV show. Rather, it is the combination of three films: Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (2016), Kizumonogatari P...
Girls Band Cry Anime Series Review
Girls Band Cry is an emotionally exhilarating show with a fantastic cast, uniquely strong animation, and fist-pumping songs. Missing out on it means missing out on one of the best anime of the year.
― Looking at the credits, the most immediate connection to Girls Band Cry is the Love Live! franchise. Lead writer Jukki Hanada filled the same role for three of that franchise's four major anime projects...
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI CHRONICLES Game Review
Like Rimuru himself, the game pulls from a ton of other sources to combine them together in search of a greater goal. Unlike Rimuru, the parts don't always mesh together all that well.
― With all of the faux RPG mechanics in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, converting it into an RPG was a pretty safe choice. It might not be a game with a lot of bite to it, but That Time I Got Reincarnated as...
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