What a remarkable story this show is turning out to be. OP2: Zenryoku Batankyuu” by AŌP There’s not much I could say in criticism of this episode of Osomatsu-san, which kicks off the second of what I assume will be many, many cours of anime in spectacularly funny and disturbing […] Read more
I write about them all the time, but this is the first time I’ve ever written a whole article about tropes – the language anime speaks, even if it’s sometimes in code. Read more
I almost forgot the Top 10 contest, but while no one guessed every entry correctly, Melodic Thoughts came closest – congrats! I owe you a haiku on the subject of your choice – I await your commission… Read more
There’s no hiding the fact that 2015 wasn’t a great year for anime, but if you squint hard enough you can see signs of hope. As I take stock of what’s happened in anime, not just in the year just-ended but the last several years, a few things become clear. […] Read more
In assessing an anime year, this list is almost as important as that other one. In looking back at my Top 10 list, my original take that 2015 was a slightly below average anime year seems to hold true. Apart from Death Parade – which while not my all-time best […] Read more
What’s last shall be first – and truthfully, I never really doubted what series that would be. #1 – Death Parade The truth is, I knew as soon as I watched Death Parade that if it wasn’t going to take the top spot for 2015, something very special was going […] Read more
Is there safety in numbers? We’re about to find out. I don’t know what kind of season Winter 2016 will turn out to be, but at the very least there’s a decent pool of shows to draw from. I’m previewing 18 weekly series this season, which is definitely the most […] Read more
Is there such a thing as the 13-episode rule? It seems funny to think you’d still be unsure of what to make of a series when it’s half-over (especially if it’s a multi-cour) but that’s exactly where I am with Tekketsu no Orphans. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I almost […] Read more
Concrete Revolutio doesn’t seem to be the anime we wanted, but it might just be the anime we needed. I’ve had the increasing sense while watching Concrete Revolutio – and never more so than this week – that this is an anime that will be regarded as a classic say, […] Read more
That was everything I hoped it would be, and more. There’s only one thing wrong with a series finale as great as “Lord of the Takanashi”. Namely, it was so good that it makes the pain of knowing it was the finale that much more acute. if “always leave them […] Read more