Panda loli – you knew it was coming. It was an odd week for Shirokuma Café. The manga went on indefinite hiatus, with the author, Higa Aloha, complaining that she “hadn’t received a single cent” from the anime adaptation. She also said she “only heard news about the adaptation through […] Read more
Don’t worry, Kouhei – I never made it to Hokkaido either. You know the drill by now. Simple, old-fashioned storytelling about basic human emotions and economic reality. Shouwa Monogatari isn’t going to set any records for breaking new ground, but it knows what it’s good at and sticks to it. […] Read more
If the OVA of Another conjures up anything in my mind’s eye, it’s the realization of just how tragically the final two episodes of the TV series missed the mark. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this “Episode 00”, but it’s fair to say I went in with pretty low […] Read more
Did you get all that? That was about as inside the beltway an episode of Jormungand as we’ve seen so far, and that’s saying something. In general I like the arcs from this series that are steeped in politics and the minutiae of the arms racket less than the ones that deal […] Read more
We’ve had our “Ginga”, and now we finally get our “kickoff”… You know a sports anime is good when you’re checking your watch like a soccer referee, and hoping the episode isn’t about to end and leave you hanging for another week (or until the sub comes out, anyway). That was really […] Read more
Zetman seems to really be hitting its stride, but damn – there sure is a lot going on. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Game of Thrones and Fate/Zero, but I find myself constantly wondering just who I’m supposed to root against with Zetman. Some characters seem obviously evil (Haitani […] Read more
“Growing up” What a change of pace this chapter was. After having been very little in the picture for most of the last 100 chapters, it’s Nitorin’s Mom who steps up with the biggest emotional moments this week. The chapter title – and the title page – certainly hints at […] Read more
I know this will come as a shock, but Zaeheart lost a battle. Mobile Suit Gundam AGE – 33 At least we’re starting to get some excuses for why Zaeheart continues to be owned by the generally incompetent Federation – some sort of mysterious plan whereby Ezelcant deliberately gives the […] Read more
“Blackwater” I suppose if you were that sort of person that does such things, you could say this was Game of Thrones’ “Helm’s Deep moment” – the long-awaited collision of Kings that the entire series has been building up to for two seasons. There’s a major different of course, in that this […] Read more
One thing I feel confident of is that mangaka will never run out of esoteric explanations for the weird stuff that happens in sports manga. OK, raise your hand if you’ve heard of “nanba walking”. OK, now put it down – I actually don’t want to hear how smart you […] Read more