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
Bakuman is back on its home turf with episode, and it really shows. This is an arc that really shows off everything that Bakuman does so beautifully, yet it’s also a very interesting twist on old patterns. There have been few series over the last couple of years that have […] Read more
Here’s a short review of a short show. If you have two hours to spare, you could do far worse than spending them with the cast of Poyopoyo, DEEN’s wonderful little anime about a round yellow cat and the family who adopts him. Each episode is 2:50 long, and the […] Read more
Building on the one that came before, this episode of Little Busters felt very much like a part of the Key universe. I have no idea if this is how it was intended in the VNs – given the structure I don’t see how it possibly could be – but […] Read more
Minami-ke Tadaima is flexing its comic muscles in a big way after only two episodes. No question about it, Minami-ke is really back. This material in the hands of staff who really understand it – the timing, the tone, the balance of different elements – is one of the true […] Read more