There’s certainly no question in my mind that Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin is the best series of the season. Some of the reasons are obvious – writing, animation, casting – but others are coming into more clarity six episodes in. The first thing that strikes me in watching this week is […] Read more
It’s a pretty big statement, but that just might be the best build-up episode ever. With only six episodes left – tragic as that sounds – this could be the final match of the series. I hope not – or hope that at least we have a second season – […] Read more
Mitsudomoe continues its hot streak with another rock-solid episode, this week revolving around the “Sports Day” theme, and looping back in some earlier moments from the series. We start out with what must surely be the least subversive and cynical scene of the series so far, as Soujirou and Futaba […] Read more
Kuroshitsuji dispensed a little bit of exposition in episode 6, but doled out a lot more confusion in the process. This season is certainly doing a yeoman’s job of guarding its secrets. The episode beings with Sebastian about to devour Ciel’s soul (the ending of season 1). Only he can’t […] Read more
What a strange little series this is. Some recurring themes are starting to emerge – one of them being kisses to odd parts of the female anatomy, apparently. First it was the back of Haruka’s knee, now Kaoru’s navel. While the navel seems intrinsically a sexier place to kiss, I […] Read more
While things were looking pretty obvious last week, we get a bit more mystery injected back into Shiki with episode 5. It certainly looks like we’re still dealing with vampires here – but a couple of twists are thrown into the mix. Though Natsuno clearly saw Megumi chomp on Touru’s […] Read more
I enjoyed the 5th episode of Nurarihon a lot, but I especially enjoyed the scene-setting. Since I took my Japan trip in May, this ep as much as any really made me yearn to be back there. The trip to the mountain shrine was just fantastic – beautifully drawn in […] Read more
I’ve seen some carping about the current episode being a step-down from the first four, but I thought it was outstanding. The casual dialogue was excellent and funny in both a deadpan (“Phones? They do that, yeah.”) and absurd (“Sis, even in the afterlife I’ll never forgive you for what […] Read more
I hardly know where to begin with Asobi ni Ikuyo – it’s just gets more bizarre and inexplicable every week? So why should I bother to explain it – it’s not like AIC+ does. They just keep throwing more weirdness out there every episode with virtually no effort to make […] Read more
A pretty uneventful filler ep this week, as the focus is on the September roster expansion and minor-league callups. Several old friends from the Bats get the call, including Roy’s BFF Kelloge. But Kelloge has a family emergency, and decides to retire from baseball and help out the family toy […] Read more