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The perfect fake out for tokusatsu and anime fans – Dragon’s Heaven
At some point I stumbled across this OVA shifting through the vast amount of content (legal or not) on Youtube. I didn’t think much of it other than…
Chicago Mentioned – Anime, Manga and More!
Ever since the featured picture above which is Hirasawa Yui of K-On!, edited to have a Cubs hat, Malort in one hand and an Italian Beef Sandwich in…
Armitage III, Armitage III: Dual Matrix, Baccano!, Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean
Joujin Kamen Controversy – from the perspective of someone who actually read part of the manga
Before we get in deep: Ichiro Hajime, and Soichi Yamamoto are two pseudonyms for the actual criminal Kazuaki Kurita. I will be, for ease of understanding be referring…
The Eighth Anniversary Post
I was reflecting on my blogging year, mid-December/early January, plus putting together my cobbled together blogging schedule and… holy shit? Eight years? My blog would be in elementary…
February 2026 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back one and all to your favorite blogging mainstay, the monthly favorites. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump into it all. Blog Related…
Beautiful, Cruel and so much more Kokuho (movie review)
It’s rare for me to say this, but I’ve been waiting for this movie for literal MONTHS. When even my friends who don’t care for movies where making…
What manga do I even purchase these days?
2/27/26 Update: I’m aware of the crimes committed by Ichiro Hajime, author of Ordinary Mask/Jyoshi Kamen. I do not condone his actions and would not directly support him…
Where Style and Substance make the Story – Nineteen OVA
Again, this one’s a little bit from the archives but I still think it’ll hold up. This also bubbled up from the depths of the Youtube algorithm, no…
I Knew You Rider – Kamen Rider Gavv Final Impressions
Wow. Looking back on just the dates when I posted about Kamen Rider Gavv (Gavv), are pretty spaced out. I knew it had taken me longer then most…
January 2026 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back one and all to the best featurette section in the blog-o-sphere (self proclaimed), my Monthly Favorites! This month being the start of a new year, is…
Manga May: I Think Our Son Is Gay
Welcome back to the yearly spotlight known as Manga May. It’s pretty straight forward. I pick a few manga titles to highlight during this month, and post these…
April 2025 Monthly Favorites
The month of April has come and gone – where does the time really go?! It’s been a whirlwind for me between all the movies I got to…
Manga, Book Banning, Censorship and You
Today I’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring at the incredibly odd intersection of politics, and manga. I will be the first to admit I’m not…
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live – Chicago fan report!
There’s a few positives to being chronically online, one of those being able to catch each and every update regarding anything and everything anime-adjacent in the news. In…
Brush of the God – Movie Review
Pre-show, and as the last screening of Asian Pop-Up Cinema this season, I had no idea how crowded this particular showing would be. I figured between the die-hard…
Over the Half Way Mark with Kamen Rider Gavv
A note before starting: This post roughly covers my opinions and feelings on episodes one through twenty-eight. I wanted to make sure I didn’t push it too much…
Asian Pop-Up Cinema Viewing : A Samurai in Time with Q&A Session with Director Yasuda Junichi and lead actress Yuno Sakura
This particular showing certainly had me on my toes. With a 2PM showtime, and being introduced by both the director Yasuda Junichi and lead actress Yuno Sakura, at…
March 2025 Monthly Favorites
Despite March being the anniversary of my blog: I fell off! I talked about it briefly in an update post. I just genuinely lost track of time, and…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Chicago International Film Festival – My Sunshine
Another beautiful day in Chicago, and it was another film in theaters due to the Chicago International Film Festival. I was really lucky that I snagged a ticket,…
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…