Search results
353 results, page 1 of 8
Oshi no Ko 3 episode 10
Rating: A The foundational truth of Oshi no Ko is that, in an industry built on lies, Ai was the biggest liar of all. It’s the key to…
Crunchyroll Sneak Peek Previews – March ’26
On Monday 3/16, Crunchyroll offered a special Sneak Peek for four titles debuting and one returning for the Spring 2026 season. Here’s an overview of all five entries:…
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 2 episode 8
Rating: A- Last episode I mentioned that Methode was the one character present whose background hadn’t been established to some degree. While this episode only touches on it…
Oshi no Ko 3 episode 9
Rating: B+ Big shout-out goes to music director Takuro Iga this episode, because his expert choice of ominous electronic sounds in the scene where Aqua passes Ruby in…
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 2 episode 7
Rating: B+ Last episode, Frieren’s team, Genau, and Methode figured out that they were dealing with a demon who used four swords. This episode, that demon and his…
Oshi no Ko s3 episode 8
Rating: A This episode earns a top-tier rating primarily because of how much it accomplishes and how seamlessly it does so. With just a single episode, it explains…
Frieren: Byond Journey’s End 2 episode 6
Rating: B+ After taking a week off, Frieren is back, but it’s not back to what has been the status quo for the season – i.e., shorter vignettes…
Oshi no Ko 3 episode 7
Rating: A Most of the plot covered by this episode was covered in the last episode of the live-action TV series, so I mostly knew what to expect…
Winter’26 Mid-Season Report
We’re past the midway point of the series (with the earliest-starting series even looking at episode 8 now!), so it’s past time to take a look at how…
Oshi no Ko s3 episode 6
Rating: A- Much of the story territory covered by this episode was also dealt with in the last regular episode of the live-action TV version, but I infinitely…
Review: The Rose of Versailles (2025 movie)
No list of the most important and influential of all manga titles would be complete without including The Rose of Versailles. Its 1972-73 publication transformed the shojo genre…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 41
Rating: B+ The writing and pacing of The Apothecary Diaries have always been skillful at providing some answers while continuing to raise other questions, and episode 41, “Fox…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 40
Rating: A I expected the intrigue to ramp up a bit with the return of Loumen to the Rear Palace, as a person with his insight, expertise, and…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 39
Rating: B+ (first part), A (second part) More so than most episodes of this series, this one is a composition of two completely different parts, one which has…
Review: I May Be a Guild Receptionist,but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time
In Alina Clover’s fantasy world, adventuring is a real (if dangerous) profession and an Adventurers Guild exists to manage job requests and dungeons left behind by a lost,…
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 38
Rating: A- One of the neatest aspects of this series is the depth of its cast. Maomao and (to a lesser extent) Jinshi are clearly the stars, but…
The Apothecary Diaries episode 37
Rating: B+ Even The Apothecary Diaries isn’t free of the seemingly-ubiquitous bathing episode in anime titles, as this episode proves with Maomao, Xiaolin, and Shisui spending much of…
Winter 2025 Wrap-Up
Due to some production delays, not all Winter ’25 series that aren’t continuing into the Spring ’25 season have wrapped at this point; both My Happy Marriage and…
I'm Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class, ISHURA, My Happy Marriage, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, Unnamed Memory
Spring 2025 Preview Guide
A look at the titles debuting during the Spring 2025 anime season.
The Apothecary Diaries, episode 36
Rating: A- Since writing the review for episode 35, I’ve seen some discussion from those familiar with the source material which advocates that last episode would have been…
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…