Mononogatari is growing into its premise, albeit slowly. Read more
Feb 14, 2023 • Subscribe
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Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 06
Doing the expected in an entertaining way seems to be the order of the day. Read more
Patron Pick Spring 2023: Jigokuraku – 06
That was pretty disturbing on multiple levels Read more
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 06
There were several interesting elements in this episode of Atarashii Joushi, along with the usual handful of guffaws.
Patron Pick Spring 2023: Jigokuraku – 09
Talk about flower power. Read more
Patron Pick Spring 2023: Jigokuraku – 12
Sooner or later the humans have to figure out that the entire premise of their presence here is a sham. Read more
Patron Pick Spring 2023: Jigokuraku – 11
That was certainly a dark turn. Read more
Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 04
Good choice, Patrons. Read more
Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 07
Wow, that was one hell of an infodump (no pun intended). Read more
Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 08
This was very much an expected return to form for Helck. Read more
Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 05
Pairing off Helck and Vermilio was pretty clearly fated to happen, and the possibilities here are obvious. Read more
Patron Pick Summer 2023: Helck – 13
At long last Helck takes us on a journey to the past - Helck's past, where so much of the foundation of the story takes place.
Patron Pick Winter 2025: Trillion Game – 24
Seriously, this guy is the nitrogen of Japanese actors.
Patron Pick Winter 2025: Trillion Game – 22
Trillion Game has a secret weapon - Haru and his balls of steel.
Patron Pick Winter 2025: Trillion Game – 20
Not for the first time I think Trillion Game is a pretty un-Japanese story in many ways.
Patron Pick Winter 2025: Trillion Game – 19
I kind of knew pretty early on that I should never have dropped Trillion Game.
Patron Pick Fall 2022: Koukyuu no Karasu – 06
The voters have spoken. Read more
Patron Pick Spring 2024: Bartender: Kami no Glass – 06
In spite of its resolutely realistic settings, Bartender is actually not a series that's trying to be realistic.
Winter 2023 Impressions: Mononogatari, Ayakashi Triangle, Nier:Automata
Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari Short Synopsis: an exorcist with a deep hatred for tsukumogami goes to a family of human-spirit hybrid and observes the dynamic. Amun: I’m very mixed…
Ayakashi, Ayakashi Triangle, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari, Tsugumomo, Possessions
Patron Pick Spring 2023: Jigokuraku – 13 (Season Finale)
There's definitely the core of something rather good here, and we managed to see a fair bit of it in the second half of this season. Read more
Patron Pick Winter 2024: Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi – 05
This is now a love triangle of sorts, undeniably. But it doesn't bother or even annoy me because of the way it's being handled.
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 04
Atarashii Joushi certainly doesn't beat around the bush. In that sense Kinjou, the new guy at the office, seems to fit right in.
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 10
On the whole this ep was more like a Blu-ray extra than a real episode of the series, with all that implies.
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 07
I think it's worth reiterating my view that the current plot twist is kind of messed up.
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 09
That the Japanese need series like these to reassure them that it doesn't have to be like that is sad as Hell, but it's nice to have one…
Patron Pick Fall 2024 – Negaposi Angler
We’re still solidly in slice of life mode here and ignoring elephants.
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 04
Was this interesting? I guess sort of, though that's very much in the eye of the beholder.
Patron Pick Spring 2025: Witch Watch – 05
Congratulations to Witch Watch for winning this season's Patron Pick poll.
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 05
Can you imagine "The Chinese Restaurant" or "The Parking Garage" with little or no humor? Do you want to?
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 09
Fun fact - the seiyuu playing Kawamata Sanae is named Osanai.
Patron Pick Fall 2022: Koukyuu no Karasu – 07
I confess that ending had me checking the calendar there for a second. Read more
Patron Pick Fall 2022: Koukyuu no Karasu – 09
Yet another big name in a small role. Read more
Patron Pick Fall 2022: Koukyuu no Karasu – 11
Koukyuu no Karasu gets the job done by doing a lot of big things poorly but doing all the little things incredibly well. Read more
Patron Pick Fall 2022: Koukyuu no Karasu – 10
It says something for how persuasive Koukyuu no Karasu's good points are that it keeps doing the things it does that annoy me and I'm still on-board. Read…
Patron Pick Fall 2023: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen – 12 (End) and Series Review
Anime has always been very good at delivering this sort of story, and I wish we got more examples of it than we do.
Patron Pick Winter 2024: Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi (Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!) – 11
When it comes to Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi, I don’t swim with the current to say the least.
Patron Pick Winter 2024: Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi (Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!) – 08
Dosanko Gal is another (in a long and august tradition) of anime on which I find my opinion diverging sharply from the general consensus.
Patron Pick Winter 2024: Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi (Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!) – 10
Well, I think we have our answer to the "four seasons" question I posed after Episode 6.
Mononogatari
Plot: Saenome are tasked with sealing spirits that possess objects and pose a threat to society. Known as tsukumogami, these spirits are generally non-violent, and saenome normally seal them…
Patron Pick Summer 2024: Shoushimin Series – 10 (Season Finale)
Ironically given the series' title and theoretically its central theme, Shoushimin suffered from nothing about it really being extraordinary.
Patron Pick Spring 2024: Bartender: Kami no Glass – 10
Anime don't get into philosophy too often and when they do, rarely rise above the level of a fortune cookie.
Patron Pick Spring 2024: Bartender: Kami no Glass – 08
There are times in this series where it straddles the line between entertainment and commercial.
Patron Pick Fall 2024: Negaposi Angler (Negative Positive Angler) – 10
It’s sort of ironic that an episode about a typhoon was the calm before the storm.
Patron Pick Fall 2024: Negaposi Angler (Negative Positive Angler) – 09
Sooner or later that wooly mammoth is going to have to be acknowledged.
Mononogatari – 14
I haven't seen it go quite this conventional romcom, but I suppose
Mononogatari – 13
You can never have too much Kyoto in anime. Read more
Mononogatari – 18
Kadamori-san is becoming an increasingly important figure as the series progresses. Read more
Mononogatari – 07
I get why everyone is so obsessed with Botan. Read more
Mononogatari – 17
Well, it's just about decision time with Mononogatari. Read more
Mononogatari – 15
You won't find much more of a split personality in an episode than that one. Read more