Insights and obervations from someone who has been there and back again
As an anime fan settles into his hobby, it’s not uncommon for him to find a fairly consistent comfort zone. These are the genres and titles that will, with almost perfect certainty, be a match for the viewer’s taste, regardless of quality. They’re safe, they’re reliable and, given enough time, they’re boring. I don’t speak [...]
Over the years, I’ve reviewed a lot of anime. I’ve watched through hundreds of titles, thousands of episodes, and countless hours of content, only to pass judgment in a snarky smackdown or a few pages of gushing praise. For most shows, it’s become almost a second nature. In many cases, I’m already ranting (or gushing) [...]
Kei and Yuri are back and ready for more action, adventure, and indiscriminate property damage. A new mission and five misadventures await the damsels of destruction, as they’re hurled into an experience that truly is a blast from the past. This time, there are no saucy assassins, adorable cat mascots, or galaxy-threatening plots. With this [...]
Every so often, a series comes along that’s so terrible, one can only wonder why it ever left Japan. Everybody’s seen at least one series like this – anyone who claims otherwise is either very easy to please, or a filthy liar. Magikano, Gonzo’s clumsy attempt at a harem series, is the latest series to [...]
In the eighties, the Dirty Pair were a valued gem in Sunrise’s stable of content. The series’s combination of sci-fi action and oddball humor charmed viewers across twenty-six episodes TV, an assortment of OVAs, and a full-length feature film. For some, it was a shining example of golden-era extravagance. For others, it was an embodiment [...]
Time is the greatest, most deadly of all plagues in the universe. It’s the one force that will doom the rich and the poor, the young and the old alike. It marches ceaselessly forward, and plays host to a never-ending cycle of war, peace, and revolution. It cannot be resisted or fought, nor can it [...]
By their very nature, humans are creatures that lose things. Useless trifles, childhood treasures, and even the people we hold dearest will eventually be lost in the sands of time. As one gets older, he begins to wonder just where these lost memories go. Where did that keepsake wind up? What happened to those I [...]
The samurai drama has become a bit of a rarity in recent years, especially in anime. There have been creative “re-imaginings” of classics, such as Samurai 7 or Kaze no Yojimbo, as well as playful reinventions of the genre, like Samurai Champloo. However, it’s rare to see a serious epic on the scale of Lone [...]
In the modern anime market, the harem series is somewhat of a staple genre. Countless shows were produced over the years, from Love Hina to Rosario + Vampire and Angel Tales, each following the same base formula that’s served shows of their ilk for generations. They all revolve around the same cookie cutter plot of [...]
Over the years, anime fans reveled in hypotheticals about American properties. Questions of how Japan would handle shows like Dexter’s Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls became staples of conversations, regardless of the fact that Japanese productions of American cartoons were fairly common in the 1980s. In 2010, Gainax decided to indulge such a possibility with Panty [...]
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