Minami-ke Tadaima is flexing its comic muscles in a big way after only two episodes. No question about it, Minami-ke is really back. This material in the hands of staff who really understand it – the timing, the tone, the balance of different elements – is one of the true […] Read more
That cute little surprise snow has turned into an actual snowstorm. We’ve got around 15cm so far where I live, and they closed Kagurazaka-dori to traffic this afternoon. I haven’t checked, but I think it’s pretty rare for Tokyo to get this much snow – I consider myself very lucky […] Read more
At long last, snow in Tokyo. Never trust the weather forecast. “Rain all day” it said – and here we are, with gorgeous snow swirling everywhere and even starting to stick. I grew up with snow and missed it when I lived in California (as you know if you read […] Read more
OreShura may be many things, but it certainly isn’t boring. It’s interesting that Masuzu used the old saw “The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy” (which I happen to agree with for the most part) because it sums up a lot of what my thinking about this series is […] Read more
A full episode of Gon & Killua, and a Biscuit for gravy? Count me in. Although there were a few grisly moments courtesy of those most ruthless of the Phantom Troupe, Phinks and Feitan, in general this was probably the one episode of Hunter X Hunter since the middle of […] Read more
I’m definitely still in the undecided camp on this one. It’s quite admirable to set out to write a story that deals with interesting and difficult social issues, and it seems that Maoyuu Maou Yuusha definitely has that ideal. It’s quite another to have the chops to actually pull it […] Read more
That was an episode of Space Brothers quite unlike any other, for more reasons than one. I confess I had a certain suspicion of this episode, as I felt the path taken to get here was somewhat contrived by the admittedly lofty standards Uchuu Kyoudai has set. I’m not a […] Read more
In contrast to so many shows of late, Shin Sekai Yori continues to power ahead with the unstoppable momentum of a runaway train. Well, From the New World did it again – another of those 22-minute episodes that felt like it ended just as the opening credits would be finishing […] Read more
Apparently, you just can’t top Kanya Festa. Interesting results from the reader poll for 2012. The top 10 series were all on my personal Top 13, though in different order. I would call Hyouka coming out on top a mild surprise, but as I said on my list this was […] Read more
After waiting two extra weeks, it looked for a while as if all we were going to get in our Xmas stocking from BONES was a big, fat lump of coal. And no, I don’t mean the arrival on the scene of a certain seiyuu. It’s sad that recap episodes […] Read more