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I’m not dead, the quality just isn’t here (yet).
So… I somehow failed to stick with my schedule. Granted this is a hobby blog, something I repeat to myself often, and have typed a lot recently so…
Another Brief Foray into Ultraman, Another Brief Foray into Comics: A Mishap
I have only recently, as in the past five years, really nurtured my love of Tokusatsu. You guys can probably tell from some of my posts and some…
The Seventh Anniversary Post
I think this is the first time since I started these posts, that I’m a bit stumped on what to write.
February 2025 Monthly Favorites
This month has been pretty intense in both good and bad ways. The intensity on concert going, which I’ve already recapped this month. I still catch myself replaying…
Phoenix Gramedia Indonesia focuses on light novels and niche comics
Joint venture between Japan's Kadokawa Corporation and Indonesia's Kompas Gramedia Group sets sights beyond publishing and into merchandising
Who was this actually for? Reviewing Osamu Tezuka’s “Don Dracula” Anime
For folks whose been around here for awhile, this particular post will surprise no one. I’m a huge Tezuka-Sensei (Osamu Tezuka) fanatic. I have been for many years…
Concluding Thoughts on Bakuage Sentai BoonBoomger
Well there’s been a lot of up’s and down’s with me watching my very first super sentai show from beginning to end. It’s been quite the journey, and…
Psychic Fever First U.S. Tour – Chicago Fan Repo
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are purely my own and should be interpreted as such. This is fan report, therefore it’s generally biased based off my…
Phantom Siita – Moth to a Flame First World Tour Chicago Fan Report
I think one or two folks anticipated this one! I’ve been following Phantom Siita since their debut. The era of successful soloists going on to produce female idol…
Breif thoughts on my more ‘mindful’ manga reading journey
Last year, I semi-promised myself that I wouldn’t start any on-going manga. When I refer to this as a semi-promise, I mean it more in the sense of…
January 2025 + December 2024 Monthly Favorites
Well I got very ambitious thinking I could pull off a last minute end of the year monthly favorites coming right off a vacation (pictured above). That did…
The Colors Within – Movie Review
I’ve been quietly anticipating this movie since GKids announced that they had acquired the rights to air it in the USA. Something between the whimsical imagery, softer palette…
Natsume’s Book of Friends – Season Seven End of Season Thoughts
So this post is coming out a bit later then I initially anticipated. I had faithfully followed Natsume on a weekly basis when it first started airing last…
Natsume's Book of Friends 4, Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7, Natsume's Book of Friends
Oshi no Ko’s Live Action: my take as a super fan
Last year was a pretty insane year for Oshi no Ko. The second season of the anime finished airing. The third season of anime was annouced already. The…
A New Blogger Milestone
This just happened within the week, and honestly both startled me a bit along with stroking my very small blogger ego so I figured I would share. Not…
534 – Manben Machinations 3 – Takao Saito, Shigeru Mizuki, Osamu Tezuka
This week we return to Naoki Urasawa's television show, Manben! We watch the episodes on Takao Saito, Shigeru Mizuki, and Osamu Tezuka! We also discuss Dragon Ball Daima,…
First Impression: Farmagia
A troll is farming with some strange creatures around him when suddenly the sky darkens and a flaming phoenix shape brings about the apocalypse. Fade to black. And…
Library Loot: My Androgynous Boyfriend – Concluding Thoughts
Welcome back to Library Loot! It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve properly done a dedicated entry. Maybe because I’m finishing up a series I first reviewed…
This Manga Changed Everything. (But Nobody Talks About It.)
Manga changed forever in 1954. Osamu Tezuka the godfather of manga mostly known for Astro Boy, but it was his other work Phoenix that opened the doors for…
Ameku MD Doctor Detective Episode 2 Review – A Night At The Museum
So Takao is just Maomao, Ron Kamonohashi and Phoenix Wright meshed into one.
Reviewing 2024 to start 2025
Welcome back to another mainstay of my blog: the beginning of the year review. I can’t believe I started doing this in 2021 on a whim and now……
Manifesting more Tezuka licenses in English for 2025
To be transparent, I’m actually away from my computer when this goes up. I had some travel planned so… I did prep some posts just to keep the…
Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi
As I wrote in my blog post on Kuro ga Ita Natsu , artists have grappled for more than a century with the problem of presenting massive trage...
Phoenix, Kuro ga Ita Natsu, Unico, Barefoot Gen, Barefoot Gen 2
Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas
Orphan doesn't often do holiday releases and has never done a Christmas show, as best I can remember, so here's a first: the 1991 shoujo OVA...
One Pound Gospel, Peter Pan & Wendy, Rebecca, Sazae-san, Cowboy Bebop
Rise’s Anime Awards 2024
Welcome back to the most important anime awards blog post you will read all year. Or ever for that matter because we know my super-special-didn’t-even-let-readers-vote blog means to…
Rise’s JMovie Awards
Welcome back to the most creatively named, super serious I have rules for this, awards post on the blog o’sphere! Unlike JDramas where I was scraping together a…
Rise’s JDramas Awards 2024
Welcome back to one of my assorted, super original and crazily clever titled mini-awards ceremony for the end of the year. Admittedly though this year is a bit…
Science Fiction Art in Anime
After the paperback and magazine covers, comic books, bubblegum cards and sci-fi films and TV shows I was exposed to in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, all of…
Chicago Japan Film Collective – Virtual Screenings Thoughts
I don’t think that the Chicago Japan Film Collective needs too much introduction on my blog. I’ve covered the two in person screening for Sayuri, and Qualia with…
Aster Phoenix Funko Pop! Coming ‘Soon,’ Says Yu-Gi-Oh! Voice Actor
Is an Aster Phoenix Funko Pop! figure in the works? According to Oliver Wyman, the actor who plays the character in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, ARC-V, and Duel Links, the…
November 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back one and all to my little monthly round-up. Keeping with the spirit of the past month, I just want to say I’m incredibly thankful for all…
Chicago Japan Film Collective – Qualia
This happened to be the closing night feature film for the fourth annual Chicago Japan Film Collective (CJFC). I had managed to snag a ticket, but couldn’t drag…
Natsume November – Manga Review
Beginning Note: This review covers Natsume’s Book of Friends to volume thirty, specifically up to chapter 123. While I intend to keep this review spoiler free, I will…
Chicago Japan Film Collective – House of Sayuri
I actually stumbled upon knowledge about the Chicago Japan Film Collective (CJFC) back in 2023. Due to moving and timing though I wasn’t able to attend the screenings,…
Library Loot Round-Up: What Would have been the Halloween Special
I make secret plans for the blog. They just don’t quite always come to full fruition. I found a good stash of manga at my library, as always…
Natsume November – Talking About Natsume’s Soundtrack over the years
I’m not going to pretend for a second that I know much about anime soundtracks. I have a higher then average understanding of how to read music, what…
Natsume November – Season Seven Mid-series Musings
Fair warning: this does contain light spoilers – comparison from manga to anime in this post. It does not spoil any actual narrative or character developments in the…
Natsume's Book of Friends, Natsume's Book of Friends 4, Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7
Chicago International Film Festival – Cloud
When I was getting in line for this film, I was genuinely surprised at how long the line was. This particular film probably had the biggest turn out…
Still Sticking with Action Toys: Mini Gokin Tetsujin 28 FX & 17 Phoenix
The Tetsujin 28 franchise has been getting merchandise attention recently. Good Smile Company released MODEROID versions while Sen-Ti-Nel is doing their high-end RIOBOT figures. As for me, I…
October 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome one and all, to the least creepy blog post of them all. I’m trying to be creative here folks, and I am floundering. Still, you guys know…
Chicago International Film Festival – Super Happy Forever
I headed out once again to Chicago, for the Chicago International Film Festival. With the Kore-eda retrospective finished, there were still three other Japanese films in the lineup…
OVA October: Ariel Visual and Deluxe
Somewhere along the lines of my internet browsing I saw a visual for the series Ariel. Which is a the light novel series from 1986 that only finished…
Nobody Knows with post-screening Question and Answer Commentary at the Chicago International Film Festival
Having just watched After the Storm, I had a bit of time to kill before attempting to rush for Nobody Knows. I got real food for dinner, puttered…
After the Storm Movie and Question and Answer Synopsis at the Chicago International Film Festival
I’m not someone who pays too much attention to big movie festivals, despite be relatively local to many. My twin was nice enough to tip me off that…
Library Loot: Claudine
In purusing the shelves of various bookstores, I come across series that slipped past my radar over the years. In particular, this being the rather slim volume of…
Did they learn finally learn how to adapt Ito Junji? Uzumaki (2024)
After having posted about this series over a year ago in “Animation studios have learned nothing – regarding Ito Junji adaptations”. I can’t NOT follow up on Uzumaki…
OVA October – Twilight Q
Many moons ago, I mentioned in passing that my favorite American TV program was The Twilight Zone. It was part of a post where I was recommending things…
SHY the Second Season – Anime Review
Once again, it appears that Shy now having finished it’s second season has slipped past many folks’ radar for new anime to watch. To be honest while I…
Look Back – Anime Movie Review
If I hadn’t gotten so many targeted ads for this film via social media and my online friend circle I don’t think I would have gone to it.…
OVA October – Kimera
Welcome one and all, back to a little feature I call OVA October. It’s pretty straightfoward but I feel like doing my tiny introduction spiel. OVA stands for…