What defines a magical girl show? In my mind, there’s not exactly one silver bullet element that is true of all Magical Girls and not of anything else, but there is a cluster of traits where a show should have at least a sizable chunk to be considered. Modern Magic Made Simple is a workContinue Reading... Ctrl-Alt-Conjure – Modern Magic Made Simple Spoiler ReviewContinue Reading...
May 15, 2023 • Subscribe
More like this
Isekai & Invention – Knights & Magic Spoiler Review
Without correcting for overall quality or removing material from the context of its genre, I can safely say that, in some ways, Knights & Magic is the most…
Mechs & Magic – The Vision of Escaflowne Spoiler Review
Escaflowne is an… interesting production. It’s a sprawling story spawned out of the lawless pre-2000s zeitgeist that didn’t require shows to inhabit particular genre boxes quite as insistently…
Shifting Themes – Magi: the Kingdom of Magic Spoiler Review
So, the first season of Magi had its own sort of charm. We followed characters on a grand adventure, with both harrowing journeys and deadly dungeons to be…
Pure TokyoScope PODCAST #55: The Japanese Movies That Made Me! - Matt Alt Edition!
In the latest episode of the PURE TOKYOSCOPE Podcast, author Matt Alt goes nuts and names the top five Japanese movies that blew his mind and opened his…
Pure TokyoScope PODCAST #59: The JAPANESE MUSIC That Made Me - Matt Alt Edition!
Matt Alt and Patrick Macias bring you pop culture info from Japan!
Simple Taste
This episode I talk on the subject of Simple Taste. Sometimes we know there are better things out there but there is a comfort to things are are…
Arabian Nights, Fantasy Days – Magi: the Labyrinth of Magic Spoiler Review
What do you think of when the Fantasy genre is mentioned? I suppose it probably depends on the context, but most people probably have a picture of something…
13 Contemporary Fantasy Anime With Magic in a Modern World
There is magic in a good chunk of anime these days. While there is certainly some charm to enjoying fantasy anime set in a fantasy land filled with…
A Certain Magical Index, Blood Blockade Battlefront, Flying Witch, The Irregular at Magic High School, Witch Hunter Robin
Cherry Magic! - A Modern BL Hit on Overcoming Rom-Trauma
“For the first time in my life, there’s someone I want to get to know better. -Male 30 Y/O” A delightfully charming BL manga has caught my attention due…
Magic Planet Monthly Movies: WORDS BUBBLE UP LIKE SODA POP is Simple Summer Sweetness
Sweet, simple, and summery, “Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop” hits all the right notes and goes down smooth.
'Simple, Clear and Appealing'
The trouble with (and magic of) cels.
Made in Abyss Review
I don't really watch adventure anime. In fact, I could count the number of adventure anime I've seen with my hands. But what really drew me to Made…
Magic☆Kyun Renaissance Review
Why do I keep doing this to myself? XD another week, another mediocre reverse harem anime. In my defence there are some great anime of this type! Ouran…
Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, Yona of the Dawn
Magic☆Kyun Renaissance Review
Why do I keep doing this to myself? XD another week, another mediocre reverse harem anime. In my defence there are some great anime of this type! Ouran…
Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, Yona of the Dawn
Nichijou Review (Spoiler Free)
Here we have my next review, covering the “comedy” genre of my genre review collection. It’s what I’d understand to be an absolute classic when it comes to…
Barakamon Review (Spoiler Free)
Getting into Slice of Life for my genre review collection, we have Barakamon. An anime that I tried watching once before but never got past the first episode,…
Akudama Drive Review (Spoiler)
There were so many animes in Fall 2020, but Akudama Drive was a spotlight for me. Akudama Drive Official Trailer The story begins in a place known as…
Id:Invaded Review (Spoiler Free)
This is it, the final series in my anime genre review collection, for the “Suspense” genre, and I’ve gone with Id:Invaded!
Island Review (Spoiler Free)
We’re at the “drama” instalment of my genre review collection, and for this one I went with Island, which I believe was recommended to me for a different…
Horimiya Review (Spoiler Free)
We’ve reached the “Romance” genre of my genre review collection, and I’ve gone with something pretty well reviewed in Horimiya. I’ve watched a lot of anime that of…
86 Review (Spoiler Free)
This is a series that was recommended to me back when it was still airing, so I knew all this time that this was going to be worth…
Ajin Review (Spoiler Free)
Coming up in my genre review collection is Ajin for the “Supernatural” genre! I went into this one blind, and ended up getting several surprises from this series!
Bustafellows Review (Spoiler‑Free)
Kaley's spoiler-free review of the visual novel "Bustafellows"!
Pigpen Webtoon Review (Spoiler)
Pigmen is a webtoon by Carnby Kim who also wrote Sweet Home and Bastard. Carnby Kim’s work never fails to attract me to the stories. Pigmen is a…
Ripples Review (Spoiler‑Free)
Olivia takes a stab a reviewing 'Ripples' by Hagiwara Rei, a beautifully poignant comic that explores existence. Bring a cup of tea and settle in for a cozy…
Review—Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku
Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku is a collection of roughly three hundred modern haiku by different poets, curated from Ozawa's commentary in the magazine Haiku Arufa over the…
Peak Modern Visuals
Starting this post, I want to make this clear. I really like the aesthetic from older anime and modern anime. I do love the look of peak cel…
The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made Review (Spoiler Free)
Getting back to the fantasy / isekai reviews, we’ve got The Fruit of Evolution. At a glance, unlike other long anime titles, this one doesn’t really function properly…
The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made
Analogfish fits the bill for my alt-rock fix.
Analogfish swam into focus for me this week as I was wading through oceans of J-music, listening for something a little different. おもいつくかぎりのすべて/Omoitsuku Kagiri no Subete (Everything You…
Thanksgiving Special: Rocko’s Modern Life – Turkey Time Review
Plot: Rocko celebrates his first ever Thanksgiving (As he’s originally from Australia) but is shocked to hear from Heffer that turkey is usually the main course during the…
(REVIEW) The Magic of ARTISWITCH
The unassuming Sunrise web series fits into a growing tradition of work that centers the stories of young women and themes of perseverance.
Review: Magic Users Club (OVA)
This is a neat little OVA directed by Junichi Sato (SatoJun) that was pretty enjoyable, with some great character designs and good direction. Magic Users Club is an…
Summertime Render Review (Spoiler Free)
We’ve come to the “Mystery” entry in my anime genre review collection. And I’ll be upfront here. Summertime Render is a wild and exciting ride!
Yuusha, Yamemasu Review (Spoiler Free)
This is the first Spring 2022 anime that I’ve watched, so it may as well be the first review I write from said season: Yuusha, Yamemasu (I’m Quitting…
Elfen Lied (Spoiler Free Review)
So the other day I ended up watching Elfen Lied over the span of one day.I just had nothing else going on at the time. So here’s my…
Samurai Champloo Review (Spoiler Free)
It’s time for the next instalment of my anime genre review collection, with Samurai Champloo representing the “Adventure” genre. I wanted to choose something that was longer than…
Blood-C Review (Spoiler Free)
Next up we’ve got Blood-C filling the “horror” genre spot in my genre review collection. Now this is a genre that I don’t normally seek out, like when…
Sakurada Reset Review (Spoiler Free)
Next on the list is A-Sketch. Once again we’ve reached a studio / producer (producer this time) that had several good looking options to choose from. Noragami, Yamada-kun…
Chainsaw Man Review (Spoiler Free)
This is the first review from my anime genre review collection, and will be representing the “Action” genre. After looking at the options available to me, I decided…
FrankenMech – Jinki: Extend Spoiler Review
Jinki: Extend is one of those situations where I’m going to go ahead and spoil the tone of the review right at the start: it’s a deeply flawed…
Angel Beats! Review (Spoiler Free)
Another re-watch finished. I swear I’ll get back to Monogatari soon, but I’ve really enjoyed revisiting some of these anime. There’s something nice about watching something that&#…
Yotsuiro Biyori Review (Spoiler‑Free)
Yotsuiro Biyori Review: A Relaxing Slice-of-Life that Examines How Food Uplifts the Heart
Radioactive Rescue – Coppelion Spoiler Review
Coppelion is the story of a trio of genetically engineered schoolgirls performing search and rescue in the post-apocalyptic wreckage of Tokyo. That should already be at least a…
Foxy Lady – Kanokon Spoiler Review
Well, here’s a little show you probably won’t find unless you’re looking for it. Kanokon is a very ecchi romance featuring, at its core, first-year high school student…
Cyber Extinction – Texhnolyze Spoiler Review
Ah, Texhnolyze – a show brought to you by some of the creative forces involved in the legendary Serial Experiments Lain. It has a style somewhat between that…
Psycho Pass Review (Spoiler Free)
Psycho Pass, an anime that I’ve known for a long time is very well liked, but I’d never given it the time it likely deserved. But now, I…
Café Enchanté Review (Spoiler‑Free)
Kaley's review of Café Enchanté on the Nintendo Switch.
Fractured Tale – Fractale Spoiler Review
Fractale is a science fiction show that takes place in a future Earth dominated by Augmented Reality technology. It’s a dive into a multi-layered blend of digital and…
Boogiepop Phantom Review (Spoiler Free)
And we’re back again with another review, this time it’s the original Boogiepop Phantom, which is also the next entry in my genre review collection: avant garde. I…
Dimension W Review (Spoiler Free)
Recently finished another anime, also a rewatch, which I’ve been doing a lot recently. Will move onto fresh anime soon, but still enjoying these rewatches for now! This…