Halloween Means Precure!
I’ve come to realize that my favorite Halloween-themed episodes in anime come from the Precure franchise. This might be because it runs all year long (thus making holiday celebrations a common part of...
View ArticleLove Live! Sunshine!! and the Complexities of Anime Tourism
Love Live! Sunshine!! Real Escape Game in Numazu Love Live! Sunshine!! is a media-mix property whose purpose, apart from pushing its stars and profiting from a match of anime fandom and idol fandom, is...
View ArticleThe World is My Canvas, and Competition is my Art: Splatoon 2 Thoughts
The video game that has most occupied my attention lately is Splatoon 2. This comes as no personal surprise, seeing as I loved the hell out of the first one. The gameplay is mostly similar to its...
View Article[New York Comic Con 2017] Mashima Hiro Panel Thoughts
New York Comic Con 2017’s biggest manga and anime guest was, without a doubt, Mashima Hiro. Mashima came to NYCC after concluding his most famous series, the hit shounen manga Fairy Tail, and he sat...
View ArticleThe Fujoshi Files 174: Mejiro Juon
Name: Mejiro, Juon (目白樹音) Alias: N/A Relationship Status: Single Origin: Princess Jellyfish Information: A popular yaoi manga author, Mejiro Juon lives in Amamimizukan, a girls-only shared home...
View ArticleChouchou and Body Confidence in Boruto
I’ve been enjoying Boruto: Naruto Next Generations quite a bit, even to my own surprise. The series is quite different from Naruto, akin to how the transition from Avatar: The Last Airbender to...
View ArticleWhy the Term “Toxic Masculinity” is a Double-Edged Sword
“Toxic masculinity” is an extremely useful term. It describes a recurring problem with men and boys, which is that the societal pressure to appear and act “manly” can often harm not just others, but...
View Article[APT507] Doremi’s Unexpected Successor: Why You Should Watch Little Witch...
It’s likely you already know and love Little Witch Academia, but I went and wrote a post over at Apartment 507 about the positive similarities between it and Ojamajo Doremi. Check it out! Save
View ArticleThe Precarious Balance of Tradition and Progress: Sakura Quest
For years, the raison d’etre of the anime studio P.A. Works appeared to be creating intetesting settings as a pretense to showcase cute female characters. Whether it was True Tears, Hanasaku Iroha,...
View ArticleChangin’ My Life: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for October 2017
October is going to be a special month for me from this point forward. That’s because something big has happened, something I once thought impossible: I got married. Seriously. I won’t go into too...
View Article“Every Game Has to Be Entertaining”
I’m happy to live in a time where large numbers of people can watch competitive video game competitions. I love that fans can appreciate the skill, effort, and thought that is present in both the games...
View ArticleGattai Girls 7: Shinkon Gattai Godannar and Aoi Anna
Introduction: “Gattai Girls” is a series of posts dedicated to looking at giant robot anime featuring prominent female characters due to their relative rarity within that genre. Here, “prominent” is...
View ArticleThe Fujoshi Files 173: Kashiwagi Nao
Name: Kashiwagi, Nao (柏木奈緒) Alias: N/A Relationship Status: Single Origin: Your Lie in April Information: A good friend of middle school softball player Sawabe Tsubaki’s, Kashiwagi Nao provides...
View ArticleOtakon 2017 Interview: Tomoki Kyoda (EUREKA SEVEN)
At Otakon 2017, I had the opportunity to interview Tomoki Kyoda—director of one of my favorite anime series ever, Eureka Seven. He was at the convention to promote the world premiere of the film...
View ArticleMy Favorite Light Novel Anime
Light novel anime adaptations get something of a bad rap, but there are plenty of gems in that sea. If I were to list all of the light novel anime I thought were good, I’d have a pretty hefty list—big...
View ArticleReturn to Genshiken: Volume 5 – Pride and Fujo Justice
Volume 5 holds a very special place in my heart—it was my first ever manga purchase when I studied in Japan, and my first real exposure to the character of Ogiue. As such, it’s one of the volumes of...
View Article[APT507] School Idols vs. Pro Idols: The Hints of Sobering Reality in Love Live!
Something that’s stuck with me for a long time is the distinction that Love Live! makes between idols and school idols. I find that it hints at the harshness of the idol industry, though in a very,...
View ArticleA Belated Samurai Jack Season 5 Review
It’s been a long journey for fans of Samurai Jack. A cartoon that’s always been notable for its visual creativity, the original series ended abruptly, leaving viewers without any sort of resolution to...
View ArticleTomino Yoshiyuki’s “Big Picture”: Why the Gundam Creator Can Be So Hit or Miss
Director Tomino Yoshiyuki is a perplexing figure in the anime industry. He’s the creator of Gundam, which makes him a legend to a certain type and generation of anime fan. He’s been described as...
View ArticleThe Fujoshi Files 172: Fujo Wife
Name: N/A Alias: N/A Relationship Status: Married Origin: Happy Fujoshi: Oku-sama wa Fujo Information: The wife of a manga artist, she frequently watches children’s shows along with her daughter—only...
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