I enjoy Free Comic Book Day. I live close to one of the last remaining comic book stores in the US, and it is a big, big event. It also gives me a chance to check out the latest in comics. I remember when they were 12 cents an issue, so you know how old I am. One of the free issues they had contained a chapter from the manga for “My Hero Academia”. Well, I could not tell where it was in the whole story line, so it was a bit of a bust. It also had a chapter from “RWBY”. Well, that was a bust as well. This chapter was so deep into the narrative, they were a well-oiled machine at that point, so I hadn’t a clue as to who’s who. (more…)

What is Japanese Culture enamored with? Certainly robots. Certainly figurines. Certainly flirty girls in flirty outfits. Well, what if you could combine all three into a trifecta of perfection? They have, with the release of “Frame Arms Girl” (“Frēmu Āmuzu Gāru”), a series based on a model kit line. Don’t laugh. “Mars Attacks!” was based on trading cards, so it’s not all that weird…..ish. (more…)

If you have ever caught an episode of Robot Wars or BattleBots, or even seen the opening of “Big Hero 6”, there is something exciting about metal-on-metal competitions, as they proceed to rip each other apart. And, to a larger extent, isn’t that what ALL mecha anime is about? However, in this case, this is more of a school vs school approach, seeing which team has the wherewithal to best the other in a more specific competition than merely doing 137 picks at your enemy. This is “Robomasters – The Animated Series”. (more…)

I honestly did not expect a second season of “Mr. Osomatsu” (“Osomatsu-san”) and, to some degree, they might not have, either. But they decided to take it in a pointedly slapstick direction, so they are more unhinged, more worthless and more destructive than ever before. (more…)

Sometimes, you do not honestly know what you are getting into when you dial up any given anime. For many, the capsule description is either intentionally vague or underwhelmingly written, so you could miss something. So, when I ran into “Killing Bites” (“Kiringu Baitsu”), I really got a genre-busting show. (more…)

This is one seriously deranged offering. This is a very binary show: either you like it a lot or you hate it a lot. You also need to understand how it works BEFORE you go in (Wait! How can I understand what I am seeing before I see it? That’s what I’m here for!) Greeting from “Pop Team Epic” (“Poputepipikku”). (more…)

Horror is a genre that is down the list for me of what I wish to see in anime. I want something psychological that doesn’t involve severed limbs and blunt instruments and buckets of gore stored around the house, as it’s the maid’s day off and there is just so much to clean up. However, when I was presented with an anthology of tales derived from the disturbed pen of manga horror artist Junji Ito, since it was going to me more like “Night Gallery” or “Tales from the Crypt”, I decided to take in the “Junji Ito Collection” (“Itō Junji Korekushon”). (more…)

I often talk about what I don’t enjoy in anime. This is done more than to allow me to rant and rave about ‘slights’ foisted against me and more to let you know that even with this issues, I will not dismiss most anime out of hand (except “Initial D”; it would take divine intervention to plunk me down in front of that.) So when horror raises its head, I am wary. (more…)

Well, it came around faster than I imagined, but I realized why. So, we have had the second season of “Gin no Guardian” (or “The Silver Guardian”), which really upped the stakes, but also really left you hanging in the balance. (more…)

I was greatly relieved when the series, “The Ancient Magus’ Bride” (“Mahō Tsukai no Yome”), came to fruition and actually explained the proper position of the apostrophe. (more…)