Look, let me lay it out here: I don’t call this blog “The Overage Otaku” because I’m 19 and all my manga friends are like 16. I’m an actual, real-live grown-up closer to retirement than entry-level…
Aug 1, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
How To Cook a Series: Beastars
I’m taking a week off from shows going off the track, since even I don’t think it’s THAT interesting. I mean, you know, really. Problem: This is the…
How To Cook a Series: Nana
Nana is one of those things that’s actually easier to think about than a lot of anime, because it transcends the genre(s) in a specific way. Yeah, it’s…
How to Cook a Series: Domestic Girlfriend
Okay, let’s throw something on the floor here: You got this high school student named Natsuo. He’s got a heavy crush on this girl named Hina. In the…
How to Cook a Series: Demon Slayer
Everyone thinks writers start with a plot and write. I don’t. I think about what I want to write about, and then cook up whatever other pieces I…
How to Cook a Series: Silver Nina
Every once in a while I fall into a rabbit hole and can’t climb out. So I have a subscription to Crunchyroll, and there’s an app that gives…
How to Cook a Series: Kotaro Lives Alone
Isn’t Kotaro Lives Alone so cute you just can’t stand it? That brave little boy, living alone, living up the ideals of the noble knight, making all the…
How to Cook a Series: Wonder Egg Priority
You know what Wonder Egg Priority reminded me of? Interviews with Monster Girls. Let me tell you why. The deal with the demi-human girls of Interviews is that…
How to Cook a Series: The Orbital Children
The Orbital Children is one of those things that snuck up on me. I was like, yeah, kiddie sci-fi, I’m going to like that (sarcasm), but I was…
How Not to End a Series: School-Live!
I’m relatively new to anime/manga fandom, and School-Live! is the first series I’ve managed to follow “traditionally.” You know: waiting for weeks or months for the next issue,…
Michiko & Hatchin Anime Review – 62/100 – Throwback Thursday
Found Family is one of my favorite themes across media. From Bridge Four in Sanderon’s Stormlight Archive to Tokyo Godfathers, possibly my single favorite animated movie of all…
How Not to End a Series: Welcome to the NHK
Welcome to the NHK is one of those things that should remind you of how a medium people think is for children – I mean, it’s a CARTOON,…
How Not to Build a Series: Girls und Panzer
I REALLY REALLY wanted to like Girls und Panzer. Seriously, among other things I have been a World War II buff for years. My dad – Staff Sergeant…
How to Cook a Story: Komi Can’t Communicate
Somehow I keep saying that Komi Can’t Communicate was something whose premise didn’t appeal to me. I’m going to say it again: Shoko Komi doesn’t need a hundred…
How To Start a Series: Pleasure and Corruption
There’s a manga out there called Pleasure and Corruption. It is hard R-rated. Be warned. I’m going to be frank here. I’ve only read one volume of the…
Let’s Cook a Series: Princess Jellyfish
CONTENT WARNING: I haven’t seen the anime yet. On the flip side, I was able to pick up the Princess Jellyfish manga for a song (Mystery Girls by…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 3/4 [Like a Frantic Pinball/Stray Cat Milky Way] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221201/1669906210.47703.79071.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 3/4 [Like a Frantic Pinball/Stray Cat Milky Way] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to another week of Michiko & Hatchin! Last week was our introduction, so this week is our chance to see what the show is really like.…
How To Build a Series: Toradora
I always like a nice case of Stealth Storytelling. Look, in a lot of ways, when you have a really basic story what you’re really exploring is character…
How to Start a Series: Dragonball
And I do mean Dragonball, the original series, because it was the start of it all. If the first one doesn’t work, Z and Kai and whatever others…
This Anime Teaches You How to COOK
Dungeon meshi is a fantasy anime that is praised thanks to its amazing world-building, great characters and unique story. It quickly became one of my favorite anime in…
Let’s Cook a Series: Princess Jellyfish II
Princess Jellyfish was neat to see in that a lot of the characters were upside down in their construction; instead of having one key weakness, many of them…
How To Bring Characters Back To Life. ( And How To NOT )
With some of the recent events in JJK, I thought it would be fun to talk about writing characters back to life, when it works and when it…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 7/8 [The Rain that Falls in Monotone/Black Noise and a Dope Game] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221215/1671120610.49169.80950.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 7/8 [The Rain that Falls in Monotone/Black Noise and a Dope Game] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to another week of Michiko & Hatchin! This is going to be a weird week since I will be attending a wedding when this goes up.…
How to Not Sound Like A Weeb
How does a weeb sound? That depends on vocal cord size, lung capacity, language, and–okay, the question deals with the words and references people use. First, what is…
How To Build a Series: Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate is one of those things I saw a long time ago but never really had a chance to take a close look at until just recently. It’s…
How to Build a Series: Strike Witches
I’ll just say it: the neat thing about Strike Witches is that it’s like a good stew, a whole bunch of things thrown together that work together to…
How to Build a Series: Samurai Champloo
I don’t talk enough about Samurai Champloo. I guess that’s because it’s Shinichiro Watanabe’s second series, and let’s be honest: Once you’ve made Cowboy Bebop there’s only one…
How to Build a Series: TP Bon
Okay, I write science fiction, so I’m a sucker for stuff like time travel as long as the writers can convincingly deploy handwavium. You know handwavium: “We can…
How to Build a Series: Death Note
Death Note is one of those anime stories that tries to be deep by asking deep questions. There are others. Ghost in the Shell asks “What does it…
One-Punch Man, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Death Note, Ghost in the Shell
How to Build a Series: Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is one of those things that looks like a delightful piece of fluff but is actually a masterclass in story construction when you look at it…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 1/2 [Farewell, Cruel Paradise!/The Brown Sugar Outlaw] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221125/1669384810.47367.78662.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 1/2 [Farewell, Cruel Paradise!/The Brown Sugar Outlaw] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to the next season of Throwback Thursday, Michiko & Hatchin! I hope you’re all having a great Thanksgiving. I hope I am, I’m writing this a…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 11/12 [Starting Line Downpour/Purgatory 108°C Telepathy] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221229/1672309210.50033.81979.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 11/12 [Starting Line Downpour/Purgatory 108°C Telepathy] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to the halfway point of Michiko & Hatchin! This is… it’s an interesting week, not entirely good reasons. I have some concerns about what happens and…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 19/20 [Nettlesome Light-blocking Butterfly/Rendezvous of Extermination] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230126/1674735011.52151.84435.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 19/20 [Nettlesome Light-blocking Butterfly/Rendezvous of Extermination] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to the penultimate week of Michiko & Hatchin! Last week was solid, as for the first time in ages it felt like the show finally cared…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 15/16 [Graffiti in Vain/Etude of Crimson Inconstancy] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230114/1673695810.51166.83306.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 15/16 [Graffiti in Vain/Etude of Crimson Inconstancy] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome all, to another week of Michiko & Hatchin! This week sees us grow slightly closer to our finale, finally letting us meet Hiroshi in the present. Is…
How (Not) to End a Story: Love, Chunibiyo, and Other Delusions
There’s something so cute about Love, Chunibiyo, and Other Delusions that make it close to irresistible, isn’t there? Yuta is basically such a nice young man, so earnest…
Episode 582: How to Not Summon a Megalo
This week on Anime Pulse, Joseph talks about his plethora of Amazon purchases and Andrew is working himself to the bone. Afterwards the two go into industry news…
Attack on Titan, Cowboy Bebop, Megalobox, Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase
Books: How Not to Summon a Demon Lord
By Shelley Pallis. And we’re off again, sucked into the world of an online game, and forced to remain there, sorry-not-sorry to discover that we have all sorts…
How to Watch The Rascal Does Not Dream Series in Order
How to Watch the Rascal Does Not Dream Series in Order
How To Start a Series: Komi Can’t Communicate
I almost called this “How Not to Start a Series,” but as annoyed as I am with Komi Can’t Communicate, from the standpoint of financial success the author,…
How to Start a Series: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of those concoctions, like Neon Genesis, that is sometimes so deep it seems like the creators outsmarted themselves trying to show themselves how…
How to Build a Series: My Happy Marriage
Look, there are times when you can look at creating a story/series as being like cooking from a recipe. That doesn’t mean it’s going to work. You can…
How to Build a Series: Knights of Sidonia
There are some shows that are constructed so cleverly that I would give anything to be a fly on the wall during their development meetings. In fact, I…
How To Build a Series: Spy X Family
Okay, repeat after me: Stories don’t need conflict if you don’t want people to pay any attention to them. Of course, if you DO want people to like…
How to Build a Series: Thermae Romae Novae
WARNING: This discussion violates my rule on not talking about anime that are just out. It contains spoilers! Be warned. In a lot of ways Thermae Romae Novae…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 5/6 [The Saudade of Fools, Part 1/Part 2] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221209/1670600411.48191.79673.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 5/6 [The Saudade of Fools, Part 1/Part 2] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to another week of Michiko & Hatchin! This week is our first 2 parter, so we have a lot to talk about. From getting more of…
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 13/14 [Goldfish of the Marsh/The Daredevil Explosive Runner] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230109/1673263211.50820.82898.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 13/14 [Goldfish of the Marsh/The Daredevil Explosive Runner] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome everyone, to a late post about Michiko & Hatchin! Apologies for that, First Impressions is pretty busy at the start of a season. Still, the show must…
How NOT to Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese with Yuta: https://bit.ly/3jowd6P Support me on Patreon: https://goo.gl/aiWNd5 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatYuta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatyuta/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/381qpHS Blog: http://www.yutaaoki.com/blog/
![Featured image for Michiko & Hatchin – 9/10 [The Chocolate Girl in Love/The Carnival of Hyenas] – Throwback Thursday](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221223/1671789011.49685.81563.jpg)
Michiko & Hatchin – 9/10 [The Chocolate Girl in Love/The Carnival of Hyenas] – Throwback Thursday
Welcome to another week of Michiko & Hatchin! It’s been a busy week, between catching up on posts and starting up a Mob Psycho review. A bunch of…
How Not to Start a Story: Heaven’s Design Team
The manga Heaven’s Design Team gets itself hyped with the blurb, “Does for zoology what Cells at Work! does for human biology.” I know this for a fact.…
Episode 106 - How Not to Summon a Demon Lord
This week, it's back to ecchi harems for Remington when Shaun shows us 2018 jiggle-tastic How Not to Summon a Demon Lord in preparation for it's upcoming second…
How to Build a Series: Teasing Master Tagaki-san
I’ve been watching something utterly inane called Teasing Master Takagi-san on Netflix. To qualify, “Teasing Master” is a title, not a verb: Takagi does the teasing rather than…