Chihayafuru is an amazing anime with (soon-to-be) three two-cour-long seasons under its belt. It ought to come as no surprise, then, that it has a huge and varied cast of characters. You’ve got your three main characters, Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata, whose passion for karuta is nigh on contagious, their teammates, whose encouragement propels them […]
Dec 31, 2019 • Subscribe
More like this
Character Spotlight: Touko Nanami
Bloom Into You is an anime about two young, high school girls, Yuu and Touko, who find themselves kind of, sort of dating. This ill-defined relationship spurs them…
Least favorite character spotlight: Doukurou Marube
Hi friends, I hope you’re all doing well! If you’re familiar with my blog, whenever I do my anime season reflections and sometimes during reviews, I’ll spotlight my…
An extended favorite character spotlight: Ojousama no Untenshu
Hi friends, hope you’re doing well! This time, it’s not a fully-fledged manga review, but rather I wanted to touch on a character that has stayed with me…
Haruka Shiraishi - Michi no Kanata
Rating : 74/100 As of today, Ive gotten through quite a few Fire Emblem games, with varying degrees of completion. Ive played the NES Switch port of Fire…
Haruka Pt. 1 (with Asher Sofman)
Covers volumes 1–9 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time by Tohko Mizuno.Haruka (perhaps more widely known as Harukanaru Toki no Naka de) was one of the first-ever…
Haruka Pt. 2 (with Asher Sofman)
Covers volumes 10–17 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time by Tohko Mizuno.We’re back to discuss the second half of Haruka, a manga series based on one of…
Haruka Takachiho vs. Yoshinobu Nishizaki: FIGHT!
By now, every Yamato fan should know the name Studio Nue by heart. It was the pre-eminent SF “concept shop” in the 1970s, staffed by writers and designers…
Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de 2
Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de ( In a Distant Time ) is an otome game franchise developed by Ruby Party. It spans at least a dozen…
Ah My Buddha!!, The Story of Saiunkoku, Waza no Tabibito, Ai no Kusabi, Batman: Gotham Knight
Bi-Weekly Booty: Rail Wars’ Haruka Koumi
I’ve never watched this show, but now I just might! The bi-weekly booty is Haruka Koumi from Rail Wars!
I may just get you Haruka Shitow
Do you ever have relationships with characters? I don’t mean the “this is my waifu or husbando” kind of relationship, or the “that guy/gal is super cool and…
Director Spotlight #11:
Dir. SATO Yoshinori (Shinjuku Tiger) Yoshinori Sato was born in Aichi, Japan on February 1975. After graduating high school, he went to the…
Indie Spotlight: Speakeasy
Speakeasy is a steamy 1920's romp that takes players on a whirlwind of forbidden, decadent romances in the depths of an exclusive jazz club.
Indie Spotlight: Dreambound
Indie dev, Two and a Half Studios recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming mystery boys love visual novel, Dreambound! I played the demo for this game…
Director Spotlight #12:
Dir. NISHIKORI Yoshinari (The Takatsu River) Film director and screenwriter. Born in January 1962 in Izumo, the birthplace of Kabuki, Sake and Sumo…
News - Chicago Japan Film Collective
Izumo, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
Spotlight: Kumota Haruko
For #BLush801, I focus my spotlight on Kumota Haruko’s works and the different reasons why her adorable works are worth the journey.
Vendor Spotlight: Colorworld
It’s only natural that at some point I was going to put Colorworld on the list of vendors that I acknowledge in my vendor spotlight. Colorworld is a…
Takashi Nakamura spotlight
Yoshinori Kanada might be the most influential Japanese animator, but he isn’t the only one whose work revolutionized anime. Almost as important as him is Takashi Nakamura. Nakamura…
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Shashinkan, The Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors, Catnapped, Fantastic Children
Director Spotlight #13:
Dir. SHIOTA Akihiko (The World of You) Born in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture in 1961, Shiota has been a regular participant in the…
VTuber Spotlight: Ecotone
We had the pleasure of interviewing Ecotone. Learn how they introduced themselves, and what they had to say about their streams.
Gattai Girls 12: “Idolmaster Xenoglossia” and Amami Haruka
Introduction: “Gattai Girls” is a series of posts dedicated to looking at giant robot anime featuring prominent female characters due to their relative rarity within that genre. Here,…
Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Owarinaki Unmei
And now the other shoe drops; Orphan presents a new version of the 2010 TV special, Haruka Naru Toki no Nake de 3: Owarinaki Unmei ( In…
To Heart, Yowamushi Pedal, Gintama, Gravitation TV, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (2010)
Artist spotlight: Kôji Itô
I’ve mentioned that the sudden wave of Kanada-style animators in the first half of the 80s is as much due to Kanada as to one of his most…
Indie Spotlight: Error 143
Indie dev, Jenny Vi Pham recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their Otome Jam 2022 chatroom romance visual novel, Error 143!
Director Spotlight: Takayuki Hirao
One of the most promising young anime directors that has come on the scene during the last decade is Takayuki Hirao [平尾隆之], who first came into my…
Indie Spotlight: Infinite Blue
Indie studio, Velvet Fox Games recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their real-time instant messenger romance game, Infinite Blue!
Artist spotlight: Yoshimichi Kameda
Yoshimichi Kameda is undoubtedly one of the most important animators of the last 15 years. He is also one of the last really major animators today whose style…
Artist spotlight: Masami Obari
Among all the members of the Kanada school, one of the most important and original ones is probably Masami Obari. Along with Masahito Yamashita and Hiroyuki Imaishi, he…
Director Spotlight #10: “Underdogs”
Dir. KUMETA Tsuyoshi (Underdogs) Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1969. Graduated from the Department of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology at…
Director Spotlight #3: “Cafune”
Dir. KINEMURA Haruki (New Director) (Cafune) Born in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in 2001, Japan. After enrolling in Osaka University…
Artist Spotlight: Iggy Starpup
Ghibli Blog is the home for fans of Studio Ghibli, animation and the movies. We feature the latest news, reviews, essays and more.
Artist spotlight: Kazuhiro Ochi
I decided to start this series on the development of the Kanada school with Urusei Yatsura, arguably the moment when its members really became prominent and their style…
Indie Spotlight: Twin Coves
Hey Blerdy Tribe!! There’s a brand new Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming paranormal mystery visual novel Twin Coves from newbie indie team Wisteria Games, that I just had…
Artist spotlight: Shôichi Masuo
With this third artist spotlight dedicated to Shôichi Masuo, I’ll start analyzing the works of some animators who are not prominently affiliated with the Kanada school or style.…
Indie Spotlight: Untold Atlas
Indie dev, Nochi Studios recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming mobile romance game, Untold Atlas!
Indie Spotlight: Salty Hounds
Hey Blerdy Tribe! I recently discovered a new Kickstarter campaign for Salty Hounds a bodyguard indie otome game being developed by Korean game studio, Topping Palette. This looks to…
Indie Spotlight – Salvus: Aries
Indie dev, Rosemilk Studio recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming indie otome game, Salvus: Aries. Salvus Aries is a mature slice of death and adventure fantasy otome visual novel…
Protected: VTuber Spotlight: Ecotone
We had the pleasure of interviewing Ecotone. Learn how they introduced themselves, and what they had to say about their streams.
Artist spotlight: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Hiroyuki Imaishi is no doubt the most important artist to rise out of the Kanada school in the last 25 years: the renewal he contributed to trigger with…
Director Spotlight #7: “Resonance”
Dir. TANAKA Toshinori (Resonance) Born in 1981 in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan, Tanaka is a Filmmaker, a Lecturer at Fukuyama University, and the…
Indie Spotlight: Heart Fragment
Heart Fragments follows Xani Green, a young woman whose world is turned upside-down when she discovers that strange supernatural powers.
Indie Spotlight: Guilded Hearts
Indie studio, Gallium Games, a subsidiary of Argent Games just dropped the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming slice-of-life boys love game, Guilded Hearts. I’ve found love on a…
Animator Spotlight: Pomu Rainpuff
Character animation has long been considered a weakness of web animators, but there is no proof more conclusive that the world has changed than the greatest, most important…
Vendor Spotlight: Luna Chai
I need to do these more often but I often get so caught up in conventions and anime I get really focused on them and forget. However, recently…
Indie Spotlight: Belle Automata
Hey Blerdy Tribe!! There’s a brand new Kickstarter campaign for the Jellyfish Parade’s latest title, Belle Automata that needs our support! Belle Automata is an upcoming sci-fi fantasy visual novel developed by Jellyfish…
Spotlight: My March Break
I took a month off from working on the website, but here's a bit of what I did on my break. Yes, there's still Unico-related stuff! Enjoy!
Vendor Spotlight: Otaku Joe’s
So far on the vendor spotlight, I’ve highlighted great sources for anime merch; however, today let’s talk about a vendor who excels at providing the animes the merch…
Unlicensed Spotlight – Kingyo Chuuihou!
Kingyo Chuuihou! Kingyo Chuiho! Goldfish Warning! Goldfish Alert! きんぎょ注意報! NEKOBE Neko Shoujo – Gag, comedy, fantasy 8 Volumes (original) / 7 Volumes (shinsouban) (complete) Kodansha (Nakayos…
Artist spotlight: Shin’ya Ohira
This is just my personal opinion on the matter, but I don’t think many animators ever reached the same level of genius as Yoshinori Kanada in terms of…
The Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors, Urusei Yatsura, Bubblegum Crisis, Junkers Come Here, Megazone 23
VTuber Spotlight: Aruri (アルリ)
We had the pleasure of interviewing Aruri. Learn what exciting facts she had to share about herself with her fans!
Shorts Spotlight: Primitive Flame
Credit: 猴houge on YouTube / @nian4111 on Twitter I wanted to talk about this a week ago, but I didn’t have time until today. In fact, I still…