[WARNING: Brisk language]

OK, there are a lot of animes that I couldn’t fucking WAIT for the next episode to show up (or two episodes, in my case, as that is how I like it). They include “Attack on Titan” (until it got stupid), “Black Clover” (until IT got stupid), “Erased” (until the last two episodes, when it got stupid), and “Spice and Wolf” (until they decided NOT to have a third season, the fuckers; please excuse the salty language, as I have had to endure a lot of fucking stupidity from the fucking parent companies).

We can also argue as to whether “Spy X Family” is either having a ‘Second Season’ or ‘Season One, Part Two’ (but I JUST found out it is the latter). You know, marketing and whether or not you have the gumption to wait for a combined disk and not piecemeal it, right? It’s all corporate greed. Who the fuck cares on that part of it? I mean, this is one goddam fabulous show. (more…)

So, the third season of this show is out, but it poses more questions than it answers and whatever charm was in the first two season has gotten washed away, as the show moves in a different direction for “Ascendance of a Bookworm” (“Honzuki no Gekokujō: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan o Erandeiraremasen”, or “Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Stop at Nothing to Become a Librarian”). So, onto the story. (more…)

Historical drama in anime is few and far between, as there is always some kind of twist to it. You want real history? Go to the History Channel, OK? “Samurai Champloo” certainly is the king of AUHD (Alternative Universe Historical Drama) in that it takes modern sensibilities and imposes it on, in their case, the samurai era. The same thing goes on with the dramedy “Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys” (“Bucchigire!”) (more…)

The thing about this show is that it slid right into the second season with nary an introduction to it. Well, in a sense, but there was the two OVA side stories, but it really is more of a second season than a mere extension of the first season (more on that later), so we are continuing with the isekai of “Ascendance of a Bookworm”, (“Honzuki no Gekokujō: Shisho ni Naru Tame niwa Shudan o Erandeiraremasen” or “Ascendence of a Bookworm: I’ll Stop at Nothing to Become a Librarian”). (more…)

So, we have run into another isekai. They are everywhere, like flies and cockroaches. And they seem to be just as difficult to get rid of. I’m not against them per se, but it feels like every other anime series release IS an isekai. Can’t we have something else? No? I have to wait for the craze to die out, like with food shows? OK, I guess. So, the latest offering is the oddly worded “Parallel World Pharmacy” (“Isekai Yakkyoku”, or “Alternate World Pharmacy”). (more…)

There are some absolutely brutal animes out there: “Berserk”, “Elfin Lied”, “Gantz”, “Deadman Wonderland” and “Redo of Healer”, to name a few. But the artwork supported the notion that it was going to be a bumpy ride. But what if you have an anime that is equally as brutal, but the artwork lulls you into a false notion as to what is lurking out there? Such is the case with “Made in Abyss” (“Meido in Abisu”). And after the first season and the three-movie arc, we now have the second season, with the multi-worded title “The Golden City of the Scorching Sun” (“Retsujitsu no Ougonkyou”).
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Romantic comedy covers a huge amount of territory, but it usually is the same thought process: a guy really, really likes a girl, but doesn’t know how to say it or express it or convey it without looking like a fool doing so and, thus, tarnishing his image in her eyes (OK, I will be speaking from a guy-to-gal approach; I know it can happen in the opposite direction as well). Meanwhile, the object of their affection is (usually) well aware of their feelings, but they do not want to make it easy for them and saying it for them. YOU have to convey it, OK, as it commits you to the relationship. But what if death is part of the equation? That brings us to “The Duke of Death and His Maid” (“Shinigami Botchan to Kuro Meido”).

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OK, as you know, sports anime are my second least-liked genre (Giant Fighting Robots still have a commanding lead). It’s just the arc traveled in these shows is always the same: a person either a) loved the game and left it for a variety of reasons or b) want to make a name for themseves IN the sport. Through a series of events and happenstance, they are able to c) forge a comeback or d) establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with. And unless it is an unusual sport not normally covered in anime (tank battles, sumo wrestling, cornholing, whatever), I’ll take a pass. The object of our scrutiny for this one is sometimes not even considered a sport, golf, but I ended up on the green with “Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story.” (more…)

It’s hard enough to tell an anime story. You may have a manga to act as a guide, but then comes the hard decisions as to what stays and what goes. I mean, I can take as many pages as I want to tell my story, but 24 minutes is 24 minutes and that CAN’T be argued with. It gets even harder when you try to tell two anime stories at the same time, but that is what you get with “Plunderer” (“Purandara”). (more…)

The first season of this show was fraught with peril and genuine danger. I mean, you could really lose an eye (as evidenced by our maiden up there) or even your life. For the second season, not only are the stakes even higher and more challenging, the rewards are equally advantageous. This is “Kakegurui xx” (“Compulsive Gambler”). (more…)