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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…
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…
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…
Dungeon People, Mission: Yozakura Family, Plus-Sized Elf, Why Does Nobody Remember Me in This World?
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…
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…
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.…
2.5 Dimensional Seduction, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Quality Assurance in Another World
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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;…
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…
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…
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…
Summer 2024 Preview Guide
Commentary on most titles debuting in the Summer 2024 season as they debut.
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…
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…
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…
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 11
Rating: B+ Even if I hadn’t read the source novel or seen the original adaptation, I think I still would have seen all the major twists in this…
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 10
Rating: A- The end of last episode found Lawrence at his lowest point, knowing that he was in trouble both financially and with his companion. Left with nowhere…
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 9
Rating: B+ The original adaptation fell into a steady and familiar pattern throughout its two seasons: the first two episodes of each arc set up the circumstances as…