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Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 9Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 9

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 9

Rating: A- Given Hestia’s persistently undignified behavior, it can be easy to forget that she is actually a goddess. Even with her divine powers curtailed, she is still…

USA Anime

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Special Preview: Solo Leveling – ReAwakening

Rating (compilation part): 3 (of 5) Rating (new episodes): 3.5 (of 5) Solo Leveling is returning to TV for the Winter 2025 season, and this special theatrical presentation…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 8Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 8

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 8

Rating: A- In all heroic stories where things go bad, there is a turning point. In the case of this arc, that “point” is the entirety of episode…

USA Anime

Featured image for Fall ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2Background image for Fall ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2

Fall ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2

See here for part 1. This half of the report covers Orb (which I somehow overlooked in my first half) and all fall season series I have been…

USA Anime

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Fall 2024 Mid-Season Report, part 1

Week 7 of the Fall ’24 season marks the season’s official midway point, so let’s take a look at how some of the series airing this season are…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 7Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 7

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 7

Rating: Despite Freya Familia seeming to have nearly all-encompassing control of Orario, last episode still left the status quo with a few loose ends. This episode explores several…

USA Anime

Special Review: Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom

Unlike most other movies connected to anime series, The Sacred Kingdom is not a compilation, sequel, or original side story. It is, instead, an interstitial story, one that…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 6Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 6
Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episod 5Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episod 5

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episod 5

Rating: A- Hermes has not always been completely on top of situations, but he rolls with the punches better than anyone, so seeing Hermes look this alarmed is…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 4Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 4

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 4

Rating: A DanMachi has always tended to emphasize its action elements, character interactions, and dramatic presentations, so I may not actually be saying much by labeling this as…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3

Rating: B+ One point that often gets underemphasized in discussions and analyses about this franchise is how much the structure and nature of familias can vary. Some (like…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2

Rating: B+ I have seen some claims that this installment is only supposed to be 15 episodes long instead of two full cours. If true, that means a…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 24 (season finale)Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 24 (season finale)

Oshi no Ko episode 24 (season finale)

Rating: A The titles for episodes of this series are always carefully-chosen single words which pack layered meaning and significance, and the second season’s finale is no exception.…

USA Anime

Featured image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1Background image for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1

Rating: B+ NOTE: For anime-only readers, I strongly recommend either reading the novel Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya or watching the compilation of the Memoria Freese version of it…

USA Anime

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Summer 2024 Wrap-Up

With the last handful of titles for the Summer 2024 season having now aired, let’s take a summative look at what worked well and what didn’t this season.…

USA Anime

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Fall 2024 Preview Guide

REviews of the first episodes of most series in the Fall 2024 anime season, posted as they debut.

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 23Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 23

Oshi no Ko episode 23

Rating: A- Oshi no Ko can be brutally harsh at times, but rarely is it outright mean. The cliffhanger ending of this episode is one of those exceptions.…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf episode 25 (season finale)Background image for Spice & Wolf episode 25 (season finale)

Spice & Wolf episode 25 (season finale)

Rating: B+ Elsa is among the most popular supporting characters in the whole franchise, and this episode beautifully shows why. This may be Lawrence and Holo’s show, but…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 22Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 22

Oshi no Ko episode 22

Rating: B+ Looks like the trip to Miyazaki is being put off for one more episode because there are still some relationship issues to clear up (or muddy…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf episode 24Background image for Spice & Wolf episode 24

Spice & Wolf episode 24

Rating: A- Last episode ended with Lawrence, Holo, Elsa, and Evan all fleeing Tereo, which is unquestionably the smart and safe move for all of them. However, as…

USA Anime

Featured image for Series Review: Bye Bye, Earth part 1Background image for Series Review: Bye Bye, Earth part 1

Series Review: Bye Bye, Earth part 1

This adaptation of an early novel by the creator of Mardock Scramble can be a captivating fantasy story but sometimes tries too hard to be different.

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 21Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 21

Oshi no Ko episode 21

Rating: B+ Last episode ended with a bombshell declaration: genetic evidence that Taiki Himekawa is Aqua’s (and thus also Ruby’s) half-brother. It follows up with another revelation tha…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 23Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 23

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 23

Rating: B+ If I recall correctly, Lawrence has alluded before in the anime to how travelers are always a source of suspicion to locals, and thus the first…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf episode 22Background image for Spice & Wolf episode 22

Spice & Wolf episode 22

Rating: B+ What better way to prove to someone that you are not going to turn them into the Church for having a secret cache of pagan lore…

USA Anime

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Terminator Zero

Like its namesake cyborg, The Terminator is a franchise that just won’t die. The franchise’s seminal movie was originally envisioned as a standalone, but its unexpected success eventual…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 20Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 20

Oshi no Ko episode 20

Rating: A- The first episode of Oshi no Ko is rightfully famous for its numerous big twists, but since then its episode-ending cliffhangers have mostly followed an expected…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 21Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 21

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 21

Rating: B+ The previous three arcs have shown that Lawrence and Holo have a supreme talent for stumbling into the midst of complicated situations. Here they actually recognize…

USA Anime

Featured image for Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2Background image for Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2

Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2

This part of the report is for series which are hitting their seventh (or, in one case, sixth) episode during the week of 8/18. Plus, I’m adding in…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 19Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 19

Oshi no Ko episode 19

Rating: A- Shonen action series are renowned for being stocked with characters who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and the script for Tokyo Blade emphasizes emotional acting…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 20Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 20

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 20

Rating: A- For long-time franchise fans, this week is the most exciting of times: the debut of an arc completely new to anime form for the first time…

USA Anime

Featured image for Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 1Background image for Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 1

Summer ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 1

The week of 8/11 marked the official halfway point of the Summer 2024 season, so it’s time to take a look at how various series have been faring.…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 18Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 18

Oshi no Ko episode 18

Rating: A Last episode delivered a remarkably effective exploration of one of the series’ more minor regular characters, so it’s only fitting that the focus should now shift…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 19Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 19

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 19

Rating: B+ Original novelist Isuna Hasekura is most commonly lauded for the way he uses medieval (and sometimes modern) economics as foundational plot elements in his story arcs,…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 17Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 17

Oshi no Ko episode 17

Rating: A- Episode 16 cast its net wide, addressing all the subplots feeding into the debut of Tokyo Blade and even a few peripheral points, too. Episode 17,…

USA Anime

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Special: August Debuts

Date: August 7, 2024 Two late-starting anime series are debuting today, so let’s take a Preview Guide-style look at both of them. Delico’s Nursery Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 16Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 16

Oshi no Ko episode 16

Rating: A Oshi no Ko’s anime adaptation has never found itself shy on content, but this may be the most packed regular-length episode in the series to date.…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 18Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 18

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 18

Rating: B We’re in the fifth episode of the current arc, and as in the last two arcs, Lawrence is stressing out over the current financial crisis. This…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko Episode 15: “Emotional Acting”Background image for Oshi no Ko Episode 15: “Emotional Acting”

Oshi no Ko Episode 15: “Emotional Acting”

Rating: A In the days leading up to the airing of this episode, I engaged in a discussion on another site about whether or not this story actually…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 17Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 17

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 17

Rating: B Fundamentally, Spice & Wolf is the rare fantasy series where conversations, much more so than actions, carry the weight of the series. The only other episode…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 14Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 14

Oshi no Ko episode 14

Rating: B+ Oshi no Ko has never been a series that pulls its punches when it comes to commentating on the entertainment industry, and boy, this episodes hold…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 16Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 16

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 16

Rating: B+ Of all of the story arcs in Spice and Wolf, this arc is maybe my least favorite, and the content covered by this episode is a…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko episode 13Background image for Oshi no Ko episode 13

Oshi no Ko episode 13

Rating: A- Despite the regular cast mostly being relegated to supporting roles, the aptly-named episode “Game of Telephone” is, in its own way, nearly as searing an episode…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 15Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 15

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 15

Rating: B+ Things were a bit strained between Lawrence and Holo at the end of last episode, and clearly that still weighs on Lawrence as this episode starts;…

USA Anime

Featured image for Oshi no Ko season 2 (episode 12)Background image for Oshi no Ko season 2 (episode 12)

Oshi no Ko season 2 (episode 12)

Rating: A Oshi no Ko was, by any reasonable measure, one of the biggest titles of 2023, and one of the hardest-hitting as well for the content it…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 14Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 14

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 14

Rating: A- With “New Town and Nostalgic Feeling,” the series begins the adaptation of novel 3, thus following the exact path trod by episode 1 of season 2…

USA Anime

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Spring 2024 Wrap-Up

With the last handful of titles for the Spring 2024 season having now aired (except for the title whose last two episodes have been delayed), let’s take a…

USA Anime

Featured image for Summer 2024 Preview GuideBackground image for Summer 2024 Preview Guide

Summer 2024 Preview Guide

Commentary on most titles debuting in the Summer 2024 season as they debut.

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) Episode 13Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) Episode 13

Spice & Wolf (2024) Episode 13

Rating: B+ As I surmised last review, the episode “Supper of Three and Afternoon of Two” covers the exact same content as “Wolf and the Amber Melancholy,” the…

USA Anime

Featured image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 12Background image for Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 12

Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 12

Rating: B+ Last episode ended with Lawrence seemingly in deep trouble, though this time viewers don’t have to rely on meta knowledge to know that the worst for…

USA Anime

Featured image for An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How To Love Your Elf Bride episodes 10-12Background image for An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How To Love Your Elf Bride episodes 10-12

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How To Love Your Elf Bride episodes 10-12

Rating (episodes 10-12): B Rating (overall): B Episodes 10-12 conclude the adaptation of the second volume of the source light novels. That and the way episode 12 ends…

USA Anime