I enjoy it when a series takes the time to make characters distinct, even when they're satellite to the main story. Read more
Oct 29, 2020 • Subscribe
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Weekly Digest 10/22/20 – Noblesse, Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Apart from fans of the source material ripping it, it seems as if almost no one is talking about Noblesse. Read more
Ikebukuro West Gate Park
The ingredients for a simple but effective crime thriller are here, which may make wonder why you have heard so little about it. The reasoning becomes apparent: despite…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park
In this review of the Ikebukuro West Gate Park anime series, I explain how MyAnimeList got everything about the series wrong.
Second Impressions Digest – Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Noblesse, Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko
Not the order I would have expected to rank these going in. Read more
Gate, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, By the Grace of the Gods, Noblesse
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 01
「北口スモークタワー」 (Kitaguchi sumoukutawaa) "North Exit Smoke Tower" I’d like to think there was something to this franchise that made it such a hit.
First Look: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro: where you will apparently never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. In this violent and crime-ridden district, where yazkuza and youth street gangs rule…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – Episode 1
It’s not a terrible premiere, but it felt like the series was more interested in throwing us into the chaotic world of Ikebukuro without establishing why we should…
First Impressions – Ikebukuro West Gate Park
I'd like to think there was something to this franchise that made it such a hit. Read more
First Impression: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a thriving commercial and entertainment district northwest of downtown Tokyo. But beneath the rich veneer lies a seedy underbelly of gangs and drugs. Makoto Majima, despite…
First Impression: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a thriving commercial and entertainment district northwest of downtown Tokyo. But beneath the rich veneer lies a seedy underbelly of gangs and drugs. Makoto Majima, despite…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 10 – Moving Past the Hate
You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you…
Anime Taste Testing: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
A PSA on Japan’s stance against drugs. Remember kids, weed is evil!
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 03 – Chasing Views
Like myself, Majima Makoto is the age where he missed out on the big YouTube content creation boom, and marvels how people can make so much money off…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – Sweet Summer Child
Ikebukuro West Gate Park looks like it might be fun to visit but I don't think I would want to live there.
Getting by in Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Gangs, drugs, underground life, immigration issues, shady deals, single mothers trying to stay afloat, and many more. For a title like Ikebukuro West Gate Park (shortened as IWGP),…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 08 – Soft Landings
The stinger for this week is only a few moments long: a toddler playing with a toy plane falls off a balcony and lands in a bush. He’s…
Anime Taste Testing: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
A PSA on Japan’s stance against drugs. Remember kids, weed is evil!
Ikebukuro West Gate Park #01 — Restaurant Tour
Betting it all on the boy band. Impressions: It's so culturally weird for a show to be totally embracing of organized crime, vigilante justice, literal public execution…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 09 – Trouble in Paradise
There is a lot to sift through this week, but I’ll give IWGP this: there’s no other current show that makes people sitting at tables and talking quite so…
Why You Should Watch Ikebukuro West Gate Park
We have been blessed with many great anime series this Fall 2020 season. With new thrillers such as Talentless Nana, fresh Shounen series like Studio Mappa’s beautifully animated…
When They Cry, Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, JUJUTSU KAISEN, Talentless Nana
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 06 – Knights and Shadows
Ikebukuro is a town of balance, and that balance ensures peace. But one otherwise ordinary night, a group from the G-Boys Hiroto Faction are pulled from their van…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 05 – The Golden Land
IWGP has done a great job mixing up Majima Makoto’s cases-of-the-week thus far, underlining how valuable someone with his skills and relationships can be to a diverse array…
Anime Series Like IWGP: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Ikebukuro is a haven for violent gangs, and also the home to Makoto Majima. In order to protect his friends, Makoto mediates different disputes. However, when things go…
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Heaven's Memo Pad, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Maji, No Guns Life
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 07 – Mars (Enterprises) Attacks!
“Everyone’s so worried about me…What am I, a little boy?” I doubt the people warning Makoto are doing so because they think he’s a kid, but because there is…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 04 – Knowing the Whole Story
Last week was a half-baked and tedious exploration of the online content culture featuring an unlikable YouTuber. But that was just one episode of a show that is…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 12 (Fin) – The Troublesome Troubleshooter
With Takashi out of commssion the G-Boys are rudderless and eager for revenge, and Kyouichi isn’t above acquiring guns from the yakuza in order to gain the advantage…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 11 – Nightmare on Sunshine Street
If I haven’t already, I’ll go on record now: Thus far I’ve always enjoyed the IWGP stories that aren’t directly related to the G-Boy/Red Angel dispute, like when…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park: The Tokyo Revengers I Wanted?
Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet! Hanime on Anime here, and welcome to another brand new review. And, believe it or not, today’s show has been on my…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – Denshi no Hoshi by Ishida Ira
Once again, I was looking for something interesting on Funamation’s streaming site and came across a new anime called Ikebukuro West Gate Park. I found at least one…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 02 – New Kids on the ‘Bukuro
It was just the G-Boys in Ikebukuro, until one night at the Global Ring a young lad with fiery red hair and angel wing tattoos captivated a crowd…
IKEBUKURO WEST GATE PARK REVIEW — WHAT IT IS AND ISN’T
The current anime season is coming to an end so this post might count as a recap, as well as my observations and general thoughts on the show.…
Ikebukuro West Gate Park – 01 (First Impressions) – Just a Simple Fruit Vendor
In an Ikebukuro full of rival gangs like the G-Boys, Majima Makoto is a neutral mediator to whom anyone can come with a problem to solve. Thus he…
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 162: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 5
The Herald Anime Club returns to the streets of Ikebukuro as they discuss IWGP episode 5. Is this episode a worthy follow-up to the Jazz Taxi?
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 160: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 2
The Herald Anime Club returns to Ikebukuro West Gate Park for its second episode. This time, they trade wacky weed for workers' rights.
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 164: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 7
The club returns to chat up Ikebukuro West Gate Park's seventh episode, which sees the G-Boys on the brink of an all-out gang war.
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 163: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 6
The club gets together to discuss Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 6, where a war within the G-Boys brews as tensions rise in the ward.
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 159: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 1
The Herald Anime Club opens a new season with Ikebukuro West Gate Park. The first episode is one to remember, as Reefer Madness sets in.
The Herald Anime Club Meeting 161: Ikebukuro West Gate Park Episode 4
The Herald Anime Club returns to Tokyo for Ikebukuro West Gate Park episode 4, which tells a sad story about loss, abuse, and jazz taxis.
Weekly Digest 12/17/20 – Osomatsu-san Season 3, Noblesse
I kind of knew this was how Noblesse the anime would probably end. Read more
Fall 2020 First Impressions: Golden Kamuy S3, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Golden Kamuy S3 Short Synopsis: Golden Kamuy resumes as Sugimoto sets out for Sakhalin in search of Asripa. Along the way they will hunt criminals, fight large mammals…
Gate, Golden Kamuy, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
Noblesse – 10
Every gothic fantasy school comedy needs a smarmy 400 year-old adolescent, I suppose. Read more
Weekly Digest 10/29/23 – Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2, Tokyo Revengers Tenjiku-hen
This Mahoutsukai arc has the feeling of a series that's inherently unconventional doing its best to try and be conventional.
Weekly Digest 10/31/20 – Haikyuu!! To the Top 2nd Season, Jujutsu Kaisen
Never have I missed crows so much. Read more
Weekly Digest 10/24/20 – Haikyuu!! To the Top 2nd Season, Jujutsu Kaisen
Might as well Jump. Read more
Weekly Digest 1/29/24 – Yubisaki to Renren, Meiji Gekken 1874
For some reason I can’t necessarily put my finger on, I found this episode of Yubisaki to Renren a bit more engaging than the first three.
NORA’S WEEKLY ANIME DIGEST — WINTER 2022, WEEK 10
*in Morgan Freeman voice* So we meet again. Hope everyone’s doing well. This week, apart from the weekly series, I finally started watching Part 2 of Attack on Titan’s…
Weekly Digest 6/16/20 – Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro, Fruits Basket 2nd Season
As Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro has gotten darker and darker it's gotten more and more compelling, and this episode was very dark indeed. Read more
Weekly Digest 6/02/20 – Fruits Basket 2nd Season, Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro
I seriously have no idea if literally anyone else in the English-speaking world is watching this series. Read more
Weekly Digest 5/12/20 – Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro, Fruits Basket 2nd Season
I'll say this for Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro, though whether it's a compliment or not I don't know - it sure doesn't try very hard to ingratiate itself. Read more
Weekly Digest 6/23/20 – Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro, Fruits Basket 2nd Season
Ishikawa Takuboku has become one of the most fascinating anime characters of 2020. Read more