Show Notes: • You can reach us at Twitter @shonenflopcast or email us shonenflop@gmail.com • Help keep the show running by joining the Shonen Flop Patreon at patreon.com/shonenflop. Get perks like early access to episodes; picking series for us to cover; and exclusive episodes on manga like Undead Unluck, Magu-chan: God of Destruction, and Cypher Academy. • Become a member of our community by joining our Discord. You can hang out with us, submit your questions or six word summaries! Find it at https://discord.com/invite/4hC3SqRw8r • Get Shonen Flop merch, including this episode's cover art, on a shirt, mug, print, or whatever else might catch your eye https://www.teepublic.com/stores/shonen-flop?ref_id=22733 • Want to be a guest? You can ask to be on a future episode at bit.ly/shonen_flop_guest Credits: • Manga by Motomiya, Hiroshi • Shonen Flop is hosted by David Weinberger and Jordan Forbes • Additional editing assistance by Dylan Krider you can find his podcast, Anime Out of Context at animeoutofcontext.com • Assistance with pronunciation, translation, and other miscellaneous research done by Tucker Whatley and MaxyBee
Jul 7, 2025 • Subscribe
More like this
First Impressions – Megaton-kyuu Musashi
Enter Megaton-kyuu Musashi - though you might not have noticed. Read more
First Impressions: The Gymnastics Samurai
Jotaro was once a successful gymnasts who’s won a number of medals and was famous for his samurai-like hairstyle. However, he currently deals with an injured shoulder and…
Toho Yaro #4, "Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto"
The Toho Guys witness the humble beginnings of a legendary swordsman in SAMURAI I: MUSASHI MIYAMOTO! Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Starring Toshiro Mifune, Rentaro Mikuni, Kuroemon Onoe, and…
Toho Yaro #4, "Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto"
The Toho Guys witness the humble beginnings of a legendary swordsman in SAMURAI I: MUSASHI MIYAMOTO! Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Starring Toshiro Mifune, Rentaro Mikuni, Kuroemon Onoe, and…
Samurai Jack (Season 5) // First Impressions
In the fifth and final season of Samurai Jack, produced by Williams Street and Cartoon Network Studios, 50 years have passed since where we last left off. The…
Taiso Samurai – Episode 1 [First Impressions]
Visit the post for more.
Gibiate – 01 (First Impressions) – Samurai Pandemico
Okay, this might not seem like the best time for an anime about a goddamn pandemic, but there are times when battling literal monsters seems preferable to the current…
Who Said Being Friends Was Easy?
Dan Da Dan Ep 5 Review Looking back on my teen years, I am torn. On the one hand, I never had that many friends that I was…
Magical Girls: Not Easy Being Green
The fourth member of the Healin’ Good Precure team makes her debut this Sunday/Saturday! Her name is Asumi Fuurin, a.k.a. Cure Earth. Yep, she’s the Precure of Earth…
Ridiculous..ly good?! — First Impressions: Taiso Samurai!
Hello and welcome back to First Impression Friday (totally did not just make that up right now)! It’s like I just came at you with a first impression…
Horimiya – 11 – It’s Not Easy Being Green
Anyone expecting a segment or two focused on Kyouko and Izumi will be disappointed, but once I accepted that the show wanted to delve into other things, I…
First Impressions – Do It Yourself!!
I can’t reiterate enough, my opinion is completely irrelevant. Read more
Horimiya – 01 (First Impressions) – Not Just Being Nice
What if there was a rom-com airing concurrently with Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki that did away with game metaphors and meditations on the right way to live? But was instead just…
Rōnin: Why Being a “Masterless Samurai” in Modern Japan Sucks
Saying "rōnin" in English conjures up images of cool, lone-wolf samurai. But in modern Japan, being a rōnin kinda sucks.
Ashita no Joe | Say it Ain't So | [Remastered AMV]
This is an AMV I made back in 2018 that was taken down for copyright, but now that I got much better quality footage I decided to remake…
Age ain't nothing but a number
How is a "hyper-aged" country like Japan also a leader in youth culture?
#125.5 This might end up being a bad romance… Koisome Momiji first impressions
MAL Description: A girl asks Katsuragi Shouta to take a picture of her with Enoshima in the background. Embarrassed by her cuteness, he takes the picture…
#125.5 This might end up being a bad romance… Koisome Momiji first impressions
MAL Description: A girl asks Katsuragi Shouta to take a picture of her with Enoshima in the background. Embarrassed by her cuteness, he takes the picture…
First Impressions – Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi (The Elusive Samurai)
The vibes were good going in - but I didn't dare hope for anything this good.
WarioWare: Move It! Video Game First Impressions
I got to try a half-hour of the new WarioWare game at the 2023 Nintendo Holiday Tour. Once directed to the hidden area, I and other press members…
Rent-a-Girlfriend – 01 (First Impressions) – This Is How It Works
I’m not usually enthusiastic about scenarios involving “fake” boyfriends and girlfriends. They can really only go two ways: the “fake” relationship gradually becomes r…
The Gymnastics Samurai – Fall 2020 Anime First Impressions (Spoiler‑Free)
A surprising mashup of genres, "The Gymnastics Samurai" was the last of the three of our Fall 2020 First Impressions to air in English.
Lycoris Recoil (Episode 1) – Easy does it
Japan has had the highest public safety rating for eight years in a row and it’s all down to the Lycoris. This secret government organisation takes care of…
Yes, Another Robot Named “Musashi”: Gattai Musashi
I’ve been curious with Aoshima’s new Gattai line for the longest time ever since they announced Atlanger a couple of years back. And although I’m still holding off…
First Look: Taiso Samurai
Jotaro Aragaki is a 29-year-old widower and father who has devoted his life to gymnastics but is now staring down the barrel of retirement, having performed poorly over…
First impressions: Play it cool, guys- Sooooo embarrassing
I, Star, will start by saying that everyone I’ve of us know one of the main characters in this anime. If you think you don’t, then you are…
Winter 2020 First Impressions: Thanks, I Hate It
This order is subject to change since a lot of the anime was “wait and see what reviews are like” content if it wasn’t already on the…
That Ain't Bruce Faulconer
Vruce Faulkonr Edited/Written by: @TeeHallumsYT Stitching: @RayCasarezMusic SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@totallynotmark
Being Two Isn’t Easy (私は二歳, Kon Ichikawa, 1962)
A wise child critiques the post-war society in Kon Ichikawa’s charmingly surreal familial drama.
12 Moments In Anime 2023, #11: It's Not Easy Being Yoruichi
Okay...so this was a super wild ride. This year, the anime Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War aired, a sequel to one of the most popular shounen anime, Bleach…
I swim like a samurai (and didn’t even know it)
Not long ago, a member of my sports club noticed that I was swimming sidestroke in the pool. He was curious enough to ask how it was that…
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – 17 – Having It Easy
Lest last week’s episode make us too hard on Paul, we flash back to the same disaster that sent Rudy and Eris to the Demon Continent. Paul suddenly…
Deca-Dence – 11 – Being a Mistake is What Makes It Right
Spoilers: Natsume does not meet her maker by Hugin’s hand this week. Instead she’s saved by two things: Hugin’s momentary distraction with the new Gadoll bug, and Kabu managing…
Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? – 01 (First Impressions) – Not Above It All
On the heels of Blue Box comes a nifty little rom-com co-starring a girl with blue hair. She’s Inuzuka Himari, and back in eighth grade she helped shy, reserved,…
86 2nd Season | First Impressions: Could it be better?
The disappearance of the Spearhead Squadron beyond the horizon does little to hide the intensity of the Republic of San Magnolia’s endless propaganda. Vladilena Milizé continues to operate…
Hell’s Paradise – 01 (First Impressions) – Do It for Her
The ninja Gabimaru, known as “Gabimaru the Hollow”, is ready to die. He’s killed countless people and claims to have no attachments to life. Leaving his home village…
Easy come, easy go…
When a horrific airplane crash occurs, all the passengers are doomed to die. However, the plane just happens to have comes crashing down onto the mysterious “Mountain of…
Easy come, easy go…
When a horrific airplane crash occurs, all the passengers are doomed to die. However, the plane just happens to have comes crashing down onto the mysterious “Mountain of…
(#MechaMarch2025) Megaton Musashi
Based on a Video Game & Niche Mecha? Over the years, Mecha March is mainly focused on older anime. So that means it’s time to share some new…
Review: MUSASHI #9
We could always use more action-oriented heroines in shojo manga...maybe just not like this particular one. MUSASHI #9 ( Kyuban no Musashi )...
Taiso Samurai – Episode 11 [Final Impressions]
Visit the post for more.
First Impression: The Elusive Samurai
Young Tokiyuki Hojo is a consummate master at hide-and-seek, which wouldn’t be that strange if he wasn’t also the heir to the Kamakura Shogunate. The year is 1333,…
First Look: The Elusive Samurai
At the end of the Kamakura Shogunate, Hojo Tokiyuki flees the Siege of Kamakura, desperate to gather allies and take vengeance for his family’s death. Also he is…
First Impression: Yaiba: Samurai Legend
Yaiba Kurogane is one kooky wild child. Raised by his father, Kenjuro, in the jungles of Japan, Yaiba has one goal and one goal only: to be the…
I've got 99 Levels but a Maou ain't one
I have to assume Patrick's absence from this party means he's secretly the Demon Lord.
Even if Tempest Dawning Connections First Impressions Review – Happily Ever After Ain’t Always Easy
Voltage Inc.'s Even if Tempest Dawning Connections, is the sequel we've been waiting for! Romance, with just enough angst to make things spicy!
Four Easy Steps to SEO: Readers First!
Four Easy Steps to SEO. There are lots of anime blogs. How do you stand out? SEO? Yes, but only if you focus on your readers first!
While I’m at it - it being manga spoilerz? - I called this...
While I'm at it - it being manga spoilerz? - I called this last year. Ayane x Pin shit is getting real. You can tell whenever somebody gets…
Reincarnated as a Sword First Impressions
🤩 Man that story is so awesome! This anime has left a strong first impression on me. I was considering this anime during the Fall 2022 anime season,…
Let’s Watch LYCORIS RECOIL Episode 1 – Easy Does It
Lycoris Recoil gets off to an explosive start with a winding, conspiracy-laden first episode full of cute girls and violence.