Advice to young girls not so interested in Karuta – don’t ask Harada-sensei “What’s so fun about Karuta?” I’ve found the experience of watching Chihayafuru 2 a slightly odd one – much more so this week than the premiere. It’s been such a rare occurrence for a series I love […] Read more
This series is the epitome of “under the radar”, but it just keeps delivering – and while the pacing may not be priority overnight, service is as reliable as it gets. It looks as if Robotics;Notes is on schedule to be a full-fledged bust on BD/DVD, which I’m sure will […] Read more
“The horror! The horror!” – Mr. Kurtz, Heart of Darkness As always, Urobuchi-sensei reveals his hand quite by bit in the choices of literature he chooses to reference – both as to the kind of writer he is, and to the specifics of the story he’s telling. Heart of Darkness […] Read more
While I might be able to nit-pick a flaw or two, episode 2 proves that the premiere was no fluke – Kotoura-san is the real deal. What an excellent start this series is off to. It’s definitely quite different than what I was expecting, but that’s perfectly fine. It appears […] Read more
I’ll be doing the usual check-in post in a couple of weeks, but here’s a quick update on a couple of shows: Magi and Sakurasou are on hold for now, though I may jump in again if I feel the impulse. Magi is solid but the current arc doesn’t leave […] Read more
It should be obvious but it really hits home this week – Panda-mama is a very hard woman… It almost goes without saying that there’s no other anime quite like Shirokuma Café, but the fact is I can’t imagine another one trying to pull off the first chapter this week. […] Read more
KyoAni, to thine own self be true. It’s interesting that the trend in the early reaction to Tamako Market seems to be that two camps have emerged – “I like the series because I love the bird” or “I hate the bird but everything else was cute”. Well, you can […] Read more
It’s “Oscar” season, once again time to look back and single out the best of the year in anime. And the winners are… Best Song: “”Above Your Hand” by Annabel – Sankarea ED I absolutely loved this ED, both for the song itself and the animation sequence. Honorable Mention: […] Read more
Update: Phantom Rouge opens with ¥457 million ($5 million) on 257 screens. That’s an outstanding opening – well below One Piece, of course, but trouncing the likes of Bleach and Naruto theatrical releases. It definitely beats projections, and provides a real boost for the H x H franchise. Not that we’ll […] Read more
I’m still not quite sure what we have with Amnesia, but it’s an intriguing mix of elements just the same. I don’t really think that Brains Base is capable of making an anime that isn’t pretty to look at, so it’s almost a given that Amnesia would be one of […] Read more