It’s always disappointing to see potential go to waste. There are a few smart ideas in this premiere and some primo unintentional comedy, but it manages to shoot itself in the foot right before the credits roll. Which is a shame, because the central twist of the episode had me hooked at first.
Cute without being precious, somber without being grimdark, and refusing to take itself too seriously, Hinamatsuri is thus far a surprisingly fun take on an old (and frequently unpleasant) premise.
About a quarter of the way through this premiere the frail, put-upon protagonist stumbles upon a cute stray cat, which is her only friend. “I wonder how long it’ll be til that cat dies,” I thought idly, because that’s the kind of show this is.
Have you ever wanted to watch a sports story about financial anxieties and retirement plans? Then have I got a series for you!
Do not stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with telling a familiar story if you tell it well, and so far TadaKoi is telling it very well.
Dances with the Dragons is a high-concept fantasy anime with an element of political intrigue, which means about half of this first episode is basically impenetrable. That said, I’m interested in what looks like the core behind the initial nonsense.
Here’s the problem with being a longtime fan of something: you start to notice when things are getting phoned in.
Real Girl has… issues. A lot of them. So much so that it’s hard to figure out exactly where to start.
This week: Mari Okada’s biography, new anime studios, and feminist recommendations.
As the latest installment in a franchise that’s been a juggernaut since the 1980s, the new LOGH anime has big shoes to fill. As for how the premiere looks on its own, your opinion is likely to be determined by your patience for dialogue.
To understand Gundam Build Divers, you need to understand where it comes from.
The supernatural husband genre has deep folkloric roots all over the world, so it’s unsurprising that it’s a narrative that appears over and over again. There’s no getting around the fact that it’s pretty inherently problematic. And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed Kakuriyo -Bed and Breakfast for Spirits-.
What I know about Fist of the North Star after watching this premiere is that I feel the intense solidarity of knowing an old franchise you love has gotten an incredibly garbage update.
Any anime can have an outlandish concept that sounds ridiculous on its face, but it takes work to really sell those ideas beyond a single punchline. It’s not clear if Pretty Derby will get there or sink into being a plain old “cute girls do the sports” anime, but it’s certainly got style.
Amelia, Dee, and Peter look back on the Winter 2018 season! Highlights include: Ice and camp girl gushing, fantasy war lamentations, and a, er… mixed reception for some high-profile sequels and carryovers.
We included GeGeGe no Kitaro on our premiere list with the understanding that, if it was a kids’ show, we wouldn’t actually cover it. After watching it, I’d say it’s probably closer to “kids’ show” than “not a kids’ show”… but y’know what? It’s right on the edge, it’s pretty fun, and I’m trapped inside of my apartment because ice is falling from the sky in April. So screw it! Let’s do the dang thing!
The cozy winter season has come to a close, so now it’s time to take a look back at the shows the team most enjoyed snuggling up with. Grab your penguins, your mummies, and your Pompompurins and gather ’round the campfire, AniFam!
As someone who works in a mental health-adjacent field, the Flying Colors Foundation’s approach to mental health in the anime fandom seemed not only misguided, but also irresponsible and potentially dangerous.
