The first issue of the new year covers the new yonige album, Yoko Oginome's "Dancing Hero" and one of my favorite TikToks of 2023
Jan 24, 2024 • Subscribe
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Iron Familiar
An abandoned homunculus boy wields fearsome power, but just wants a warm hug from a loving family in this recent serial that hits the right chords of action,…
Review: ZERO'S FAMILIAR
September is back-to-school time and we'll be doing the same here at The Manga Test Drive with a month of school-centric manga. I could ha...
Review: ZERO'S FAMILIAR
September is back-to-school time and we'll be doing the same here at The Manga Test Drive with a month of school-centric manga. I could ha...


Plan 75
On July 26, 2016, in Kanagawa, Japan, a man entered a residential care facility for persons with disabilities and proceeded from room to room, stabbing the sleeping residents…
Plan 75
by Jeremy Clarke. Chie Hayakawa‘s dystopian drama Plan 75 examines some of the social fallout of a government policy whereby Japanese people can voluntarily have themselves terminated after…


Issue #91: Moth to a Flame
Talking about the music in this winter's J-dramas, the Phantom Siita show in Anaheim and the original "Choo-Choo TRAIN"
Tearmoon Empire
Watching spring training games is this weird exercise in determining whether any given player will be anything,...
Tearmoon Empire
Tearmoon Empire is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
Tearmoon Empire
Watching spring training games is this weird exercise in determining whether any given player will be anything,...


High School DxD (Episode 7) – I Get a Familiar!
Issei and Asia are progressing well and are now ready to get a familiar to do all their grunt work. However, it would appear that Sona is ready…


Review #75- Akikan!
Greetings! Welcome to the next anime review. We will be covering the wholly unique (read “strange”) anime Akikan! The idea to review this anime actually came from the…


Cert Issue
Cert Issue Ugh. Looks like my website certificate failed to auto-update and so the site gets ultra scary warnings like this. I’m not selling anything on the site…


Issue 17, 2023 - A Farewell to Waifus
We discuss the recent ending of service for the English language release of Princess Connect Re:Dive, a gacha game that was near and dear to our hearts. We've…


Issue 20, 2023 - He's Not a Robot!?
We don't say yes, we say affirmative


The Unwanted Undead Adventurer Episode 9 review: A new familiar
Episode review. The unwanted undead adventurer episode 9. Rentt heads over to an orphanage that has him finding a new familiar
Books: Tearmoon Empire
By Jonathan Clements. Then she woke up, and it was all a dream. Or was it? The teenage princess Mia Luna Tearmoon vividly recalls being eight years older,…


Plan 75 (2022) review
Hayakawa hauntingly confronts the spectator with what would happen if the existence of the subject was radically reduced by the government to how much he/she financially contributes to…


Episode 75 – Candy Corn
We got more plot happening in this manga? Who knew? We cover more of the ongoing arc in the manga as we cover chapters 507-510. If you are…


Yawara – 75-78 (BD)
YES, WE ARE STILL ALIVE AND HERE'S SOME YAWARA FOR YOU ALL!*ahem*Enjoy. Joint with Live-eviL.


Episode 75 - The Children
Well, this episode would have been out a lot sooner if it wasn’t for St. Patrick’s Day. Actually, it would have been a lot shorter and more ...


r#75 – steins;gate
Now we’re echoing the veteran masterpiece from 2011, an anime tv which adapted from the critically acclaimed 5pb. and Nitroplus’ visual novel, Steins;Gate takes us through the depths…


Episode 75: Violence Voyager
In this episode; Shaun takes us on a journey like nothing we have ever seen before, the first feature-length film made in the style known as Gekimation, a…


EP 75: Cyberpunk Edgerunners
This week I am joined by Rome from Worst Generation Podcast as we talk about Cyberpunk Edgerunners, One Piece 1060 and lots more. Timestamps (00:00) Intro (01:45) Life…


Love Live! Nijigasaki 2.11: Familiar Dilemma
What started as a big announcement became thoughts about the past, future and present time as indicated in the actual title.


Issue #87: Liberation
Exploring the new JUBEE album, Elephant Kashimashi's breakthrough hit and the film Let's Go Karaoke!


Issue #68: Optics
Exploring the Koh-Gaku EPs, Naoko Kawai's number-one double A-side and Ano's viral hit "Chu, Tayousei"


Issue #72: Launchvox
Discussing the new Yuka Nagase album, ZONE's "secret base," and favorite songs from this year's summer J-dramas


Issue #81: Botanical
Discussing the new Plant cell album, Omega Tribe's big '80s hit with S. Kiyotaka and songs from this season's J-drama shows


Issue #92: Walls
Exploring the new Laura day romance album and Seiko Matsuda's "Rock'n Rouge," plus guest recommendations of new singles


Issue #90: Lux
The first issue of 2025 highlights the new Suichu Spica album, Saki Kubota's "Ihojin" and some footnotes regarding the '80s hit and the surrounding Silk Road boom


Issue #68 postponed
A quick update on the upcoming newsletter


Issue #70: Journey
Exploring the new Yurufuwa Gang album, X JAPAN's first number-one and favorite J-drama tie-ins of the year


Issue #77: Naive
Discussing the new rowbai and ZARD's "Makenaide," plus recommendations from friends of the newsletter


Issue #73: Remember
The year's last issue brings the newsletter's 50 best anime songs of 2023 and a hit from Sukeban Deka, along with the usual 3 singles


Issue 18, 2023 - Always a Tokyo Demon Bridesmaid
Never a Tokyo Demon Bride


Issue 4-5, 2023 - A Land of Sand
In our Jump segment, we cover combined Issue 4-5 of 2023, which was published on 26 December 2022.This week's show-and-tell is Sandland by the legendary Toriyama Akira.In this…


Issue #93: A Kindness Comparable to Nuclear Energy
Highlighting the new Tive album, an Evangelion classic, and buzzing songs from TikTok this quarter
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina – 05 – A Familiar Face in a New Place
The show’s commitment to depicting all the facets of Elaina’s world, not just the pleasant ones, is admirable, but after three straight unsettling or cautionary tales, I imagine…
A Look Back At Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”
Disney’s 41st animated feature, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, was born at a Mexican restaurant. During lunch in 1996, it was there that producer Don Hahn and directors Kirk…


First Impression: Tearmoon Empire
Revolution has come to the Empire of Tearmoon and Mia, its First Princess, is experiencing her worst nightmare. Stripped of her rank, jailed in a dark cell, and…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 10
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette. This volume…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 14
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette. One thing…


Tearmoon Empire – Episode 1
Off the bat, your interest in this show may depend on how you feel about the glamorization of royal figures like Marie Antoinette.


First Look: Tearmoon Empire
Tearmoon Empire tells the story of a selfish, rich princess who is jailed and executed by a revolution at the age of 20. She’s then sent back in…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 7
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng. The…


Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 14
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Madeleine Willette. One thing…


Tearmoon Empire First Impressions
Tearmoon Empire is my most anticipated anime of Fall 2023, and the first episode truly impressed me! I absolutely love the mix between cute moments, cute facial expressions,…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 4
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng. We’ve…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 5
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng. The…
Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 8
By Nozomu Mochitsuki and Gilse. Released in Japan as “Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari” by TO Books. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by David Teng. Tearmoon…