This is the second of the three bottle sampler I picked up from Navarro – their “fire sale” offer that resulted from the wildfire-influenced 2008 vintage. As with the “Mendocino” Pinot I reviewed earlier, I found the much-discussed smoky influence more of a suggestion than a command with this one. […] Read more
Before we begin, here’s my track record with this property: I watched the first “Index” series and generally liked it. Tried watching “Railgun” and gave up after a few eps, finding it incredibly trivial. I know nothing about the source material except what I learned from following the first Index […] Read more
Amagami SS continues to make a pretty solid comeback with episode 14, the second of the Ai arc. What this arc has going for it so far it that Junichi is considerably more likable than he was in either the second or third. This is probably his most “normal” persona […] Read more
I have sort of a funny relationship with this series. I enjoyed the original series quite a lot at first – there were individual eps (usually involving Rito/Haruna advancement) that I almost loved. But it really seemed to lose steam towards the end of the first season, and the OVAs […] Read more
Annoying recap ep over with, the second cour of Nurarihyon no Mago begins and we continue what appears to be the major arc of the anime version, the coming war with the Seven Shadow Travelers clan. Grandpa is still missing this week – off to wherever he headed when he […] Read more
From a company relatively new to the role of lead production, Diomedea, comes manga adaptation Shinryaku Ika Musmume. And it’s a completely delightful and hilarious entry for best comedy of the fall season. The premise is absurd – more on that shortly – but what I love is that the […] Read more
After Oreimo started the fall incest season off, Yosuga no Sora brings us a twist on the new omnipresent (along with shota traps) anime incest craze – twincest. This one is based on an eroge (and later manga) and vibe-wise felt like equal parts Ef: A Tale of Memories, Clannad […] Read more
“Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai” is a long damn title – so I’m going to go with “Oreimo” which seems acceptable to the manga readers who probably realized they were wasting hours of their life using the full title. That was…weird. I will give the series […] Read more
Well, that was Bones through and through. Ridiculous budget, mecha, apparently a huge plot about to unfold. We have an all-star cast (Saori Hayami, Fukuyama Jun, Mamoru Miyano, for starters) and the director of Soul Eater, Takuya Igarashi. And on balance, the first ep didn’t disappoint. Bishounen were certainly everywhere […] Read more
Sunday in San Francisco and the final day of Warren Hellman’s amazing gift to the city and the music world, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. The first indelible image of the day was the cop climbing a hill with a box full of confiscated bongs. Today I bookended my visit (after an […] Read more