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SERIES REVIEW: Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World
I was not originally planning to give a separate review for this series as a whole, but this is easily the most underrated and underappreciated series I saw…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 35
Note: My apologies for this being a bit late. Family plans interfered with getting this written in a more timley fashion. Rating: A- Jinshi has been contemplating for…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 34
Rating: B+ To this point the series has studiously eschewed mystical explanations for anything, always going with the approach of the level-headed Maomao finding the practical explanation for…
Special: A Look at Non-Japanese Isekai
Over the past several months I’ve started looking into current isekai stories from non-Japanese sources. That trends in this genre outside of Japan closely mirror what’s going on…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 33
Rating: A Many fans of the novels and manga are eagerly anticipating the upcoming episode explaining why a frog is featured in the OP. For me, though, the…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 15 (season finale)
Rating: A DanMachi may not always be the best-looking or most flawlessly-animated series, but it has rarely fallen short on dramatic presentation and does better than most when…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 32
Rating: B+ Last episode’s mystery with the shrine provide a glimpse into the setting’s broader history. This episode, by contrast, looks at the closer history of the setting…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 14
Rating: A- Appropriately titled “The Warriors of the Goddess,” episode 14 features a lot of dramatic action scenes involving said warriors, but despite the War Games winding down…
Winter 2025 Mid-Season Report, part 2
This half deals with titles which hit either their 6th or 7th episodes during the week of 2/17/25-2/23/25. It also includes the remainder of season 3 of Arifureta,…
ISHURA, Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World, My Happy Marriage, The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World, Unnamed Memory
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 31
Rating: B+ The episode titled “The Shrine of Choosing” primarily involves one mystery while also setting up another. Unlike many other mysteries in the series, though, these aren’…
Winter 2025 Mid-Season Report, part 1
The Winter 2025 season is wrapping up its seventh week, so it’s time to see how several of its series are doing. Like with the past few seasons,…
Shangri-La, Shangri-La Frontier, Solo Leveling, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
The Apothecary Diaries, episodes 29 and 30
Rating – Episode 29: A- Rating – Episode 30: A- Episodes 29 and 30 represent two different mysteries which may or may not be connected, though they do…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episodes 12 and 13
While both episodes are covered together here, I felt I had enough to say specifically about each to write each one up separately. Rating – Episode 12: A…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 28
Rating: B+ In one respect, The Apothecary Diaries can be a frustrating experience, as its mysteries operate on three different levels and it’s often not clear which level…
The Apothecary Diaries, Episode 27
Rating: A- Although the circumstances comprising this episode were set up at the end of last episode, this one is largely a self-contained “mystery of the week” style…
The Apothecary Diaries episode 26
Rating: A- This episode has a bit of everything that makes this series great: expanded world-building, exploration of rich detail, hints of bigger mysteries, behaviors just suspicious enough…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 25
Rating: B+ The Apothecary Diaries is back in animation, and all is right with the world! The latter part of the first season was rife with all manner…
2024 in Review: The Best and Strangest of the Year
As we say good-bye to 2024, it’s time to take a look at the highlights of the year as a whole, rather than just individual seasons. 2024 may…
Fall 2024 Wrap-Up
With the last handful of titles for the Fall 2024 season having now aired, let’s take a summative look at what did and didn’t work well this season.…
365 Days to the Wedding, Bleach, DAN DA DAN, Loner Life in Another World, Nina the Starry Bride
Winter 2025 Preview Guide
Last Update: Welcome to my seasonal Guide! (The debut schedule will be posted here, although it hasn’t been updated yet if you’re seeing this note.) This season has…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 11
Rating: B The saying “it’s always darkest before the dawn” is practically a writing guideline for shonen action shows, and it is one that has often applied to…
Review: Oshi no Ko (live-action)
Note: This review assumes the reader is familiar with the anime version and/or its equivalent content in the source manga. There will be spoilers for those who haven’t…
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Though written, produced, and given a musical score by non-Japanese individuals (including Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson from the live-action The Lord of the Rings movies as Executive…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 10
Rating: B+ As announced at the end of last episode, the trouble with Freya is going to be resolved the classic Orario way: with a War Game. Yes,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Shangri-La Frontier, Spheres, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor, Bleach, DEMON LORD 2099
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…
365 Days to the Wedding, DAN DA DAN, Let This Grieving Soul Retire, Loner Life in Another World, 2.5 Dimensional Seduction
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…
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…
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 6
A review of episode 6 of DanMachi season V.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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.…
Fall 2024 Preview Guide
REviews of the first episodes of most series in the Fall 2024 anime season, posted as they debut.
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…