OAD’s like this one are always a bittersweet experience. When I posted on then first Noragami OAD a few months back, I noted that there was no chance it would be the last we saw of the series in anime form – because, of course, of the presence of this […] Read more
I was half-expecting a panda to show up there at the end. A pretty self-explanatory double-episode OVA from Tonari no Seki-kun, a series which is always a cleansing experience when the excess of formula and derivative nonsense on the anime schedule have taken their toll on the soul. This one […] Read more
“The Wind Rises” If there’s one word that springs to mind when contemplating Miyazaki Hayao’s final film, it would be “difficult”. And I’ve contemplated it a lot. I saw it in Japanese soon after its theatrical premiere, and seeing it a second time with subtitles has done nothing to help […] Read more
Any episode that ends with Komari disappearing is A-OK in my book… Little Busters! is a series of many moods, no question about it. Starting with the last few eps of the first season, though, they’ve mostly been pretty serious – understandably so, and those were collectively the best run […] Read more
I have no idea what to call this episode of Tonari no Seki-kun, so I’ll just call it hilarious. Is this in actuality the 22nd episode if Tonari no Seki-kun the TV series? Is the show actually going to end up at 26 episodes as was originally reported, after having […] Read more
Dammit, Key – you have to make him look good in a skirt and give him Hochan’s voice? I suppose I should really have seen this coming – but in terms of the plot twist and the general tone. Saya’s arc in EX plays out a lot like Little Busters […] Read more
There’s great comfort in knowing some things don’t change. I wasn’t totally sure how I’d feel about returning to AnoHana, some three years after the completion of the TV series. I certainly loved it (I ranked it #2 on my list for 2011), but three years is a long time […] Read more
There’s just no substitutive for talent. Anime Mirai has been good for one really solid effort every tear – Oji-san no Lamp and Death Billiards from the last two – and while Harmonie is the first of the 2014 offerings that I’ve watched, if one of the other three tops […] Read more
Oh, God – back to Trost? It’s really not as bad as all that – in fact, this OVA was rather enjoyable in a lighthearted sort of way. It’s just that the word “Trost” sends shivers down my spine after the endless cycle of time-wasting the Shingeki no Kyoujin anime […] Read more
With Little Busters it always comes back to that, doesn’t it? There’s nothing in the third (of four, seemingly) episode of Saya’s mini-arc in EX that will blow you away on first viewing. It’s breezy, silly, briskly paced and mostly entertaining, just as the first two eps were, albeit it […] Read more