My one-line synopsis of Punchline: “You had to be there”. At the risk of sounding obsessed with the topic, my instant – and I mean instant – reaction to the beginning of Punchline was “Yay – another series trying to bottle Gainax”. And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one […] Read more
When I trial a show based solely on the studio behind it and nothing else, things rarely end well… Houkago no Pleiades – 01 Truth be told, it’s hard for me to watch Houkago no Pleiades without a heavy heart, and that’s because of what it isn’t rather than what […] Read more
No suspense here – I loved it. OP: “Miraikei Answer” (未来形Answer; Future-Tense Answer) by TRUSTRICK There are more premieres to come this season, including a couple of shows that seem to have outside sleeper possibilities, but this was the last big one for me. Like Arslan Senki, Ore Monogatari!! was […] Read more
Tastes vary, I know – but honestly, I think you people are kidding yourselves… At long last, we have an anime about girls in the performing arts that’s honest, free of tropes and pandering, and infectious in its love of the art (which it gets just right). It’s called “Aki […] Read more
There’s an awful lot that’s familiar here, for better or worse. For a while it seemed as if Kyoukai no Rinne was going to be orphaned altogether in the English-language market, which seems a bit of a travesty for a Takahashi Rumiko series – even second-tier Rumiko. But CR has […] Read more
I think the time has come for me to admit it – I’m a taikotaku. While the output it’s produced has understandably been inconsistent, I’m heartily glad Anime Mirai exists. Every year has produced a really good-to-great offering (Oji-san no Lamp, Death Billiards, Harmonie) and with Aki no Kanade, 2015 […] Read more
New cour, same Fate. I honestly didn’t expect a whole lot to change with UBW simply because three months have passed – this is very much one contiguous series, just as the split cours of Fate/Zero were. I like what I always liked – the production values are simply stunning, […] Read more
That was one fascinating mess. Kekkai Sensen has been one of the great unknowns of the Spring schedule for me, a series from a great studio (Bones) with a hugely promising young director (Matsumoto Rie, Kyousousgiga) from a legendary mangaka (Nightrow Yasuhiro, author of Trigun). The staff and cast are […] Read more
It’s just not possible to overstate how good it feels to have Baby Steps back. OP: “Believe in Yourself” by Mao Abe (阿部 真央 If you’re not aware of how much I love Baby Steps you must be new around here – I’ve been extolling its virtues since long before […] Read more
This is definitely not A-1’s finest day. Gunslinger Stratos – 01 My attachment to Gunslinger Stratos was always pretty tenuous – basically, Urobuchi Gen’s tangential involvement in drafting the scenario for the game the anime is based on. I went into this story about a future where Japan is split […] Read more