We had Hunter X Hunter 101 last week, and this week it’s Cycling 101. This was a pretty simple episode of Yowamushi Pedal structurally, but it was pretty effective (as usual) in getting the job done. And it fits, because as clever and sneaky-subtle as this show is it really […] Read more
It’s nice to see than anime can still tell stories like the one Kingdom is telling. Kingdom 2 – 21 It’s not as if the field is crowded with nominees, but it’s pretty hard to think of an anime in the last several years that does better at depicting large […] Read more
There’s a decidedly retro look to Fall 2013 – if you ignore the avalanche of bad CGI, anyway. More so than in most seasons, Fall 2013 has played out largely as I expected – so far anyway. There are a lot of shows that fall into the broad “good” category, […] Read more
I placed a lot of expectations for my future interest in Gingitsune in this episode, and thankfully it delivered. Some series are love at first sight, some more of a slow build. It’s definitely been the latter for me with Gingitsune, which started out with a couple of episodes which […] Read more
“Rival” can have more than one meaning, as this episode proves. In Japanese high school baseball, things are a bit different than what fans of American pro ball might be used to – as fans of baseball manga know very well. While there are multiple pitchers, there are no rotations […] Read more
Now that’s lycanthropy with a capital “like”. Outbreak Company – 04 I’m still pretty much right on the fence with Outbreak Company. It’s just a little better than you expect it to be – a little smarter, a little more self-aware, a little funnier. Is it brilliant? No, but it […] Read more
This series has legs – and not just the ones the director is obsessed with. There are certain shows that exhibit a repeated tendency for me as a viewer: I end up being much more engaged in the second halves of episodes than the first. Generally speaking this is a […] Read more
Why can’t Sawashiro Miyuki do the flight announcements when I’m traveling?? I have some issues with the direction Space Brothers has gone over the last few months. I miss Mutta, though I think the decision to devote this arc entirely to Hibito was arguably the right one – his character […] Read more
For now, at least, the osananajimi fans are in the ascendancy. This is without question a nexus point for Little Busters!, one of those places where anime and visual novels must tearfully part and board separate trains. And no doubt the same applies to anime-only viewers like me and VN […] Read more
This episode was Valvrave unleashed – and given what it’s like in a normal week, you know that’s going to be crazy. Did he know, or didn’t he? That’s the question that this episode certainly hangs on, but the road leading up to that point was an interesting one indeed. […] Read more