Anime Reviews

Sekko Boys Anime Rocks in Short Bursts

Sekko Boys is a new anime this season about a different type of rock star. The literal kind. Miki Ishimoto is the new manager for a talent agency, and her job is to manage the hottest new idol group. Its members are four stone busts …Read more »

[Film Review] The Case of Hana and Alice

January 28, 2016

Matt Schley

Whereas the practice of adapting popular anime series into live-action films seems to be an ever-increasing phenomenon , less common is the reverse – films that start out in live-action and later make the move to animation. But that’s the case with The Case of …Read more »

Miss Hokusai Review

January 26, 2016

Matt Schley

Japan’s Edo Period marked the unification of the country, the moving of the capital from Kyoto to Edo (modern day Tokyo) and most importantly, the end of a long period of internal warfare. This all led to a new level of prosperity for the merchant …Read more »

ERASED is an Early Contender for Anime of the Season

January 26, 2016

Norbert Daniels Jr.

Revival: a phenomenon in Satoru Fujinuma’s life where he is involuntarily sent a few minutes back in time to prevent life-threatening tragedies. After coming home to find that his mother has been murdered and he’s the prime suspect, Satoru wakes up 18 years in the …Read more »

[Review] hack//SIGN: The Complete Collection

January 25, 2016

Brittany Vincent

Before there was Sword Art Online , there was the quintessential "virtual world" anime, .hack//SIGN . It enchanted MMO players and casual anime fans alike with its tale of player Tsukasa, who finds himself inexplicably stuck within the confines of The World, an online game …Read more »

The Boy and the Beast Film Review

January 24, 2016

Matt Schley

Mamoru Hosoda is back. The director of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time , Summer Wars and Wolf Children ’s first film in three years, The Boy and the Beast ( Bakemono no Ko ), premiered this past weekend in Japan and proceeded to take …Read more »

When Marnie Was There Review

January 23, 2016

Matt Schley

When Marnie Was There is an important test for Studio Ghibli. It’s the first film of the post-Miyazaki (and ostensibly post-Takahata) era, in which a new generation of directors, writers and producers will attempt to continue what Miyazaki, Takahata and Suzuki created. I went in …Read more »

[Review] DNA2

January 14, 2016

Mike Dent

I’ve always had an unspoken respect and admiration for the work of Masakazu Katsura. The author of works like Video Girl Ai , Ai’s , and Zetman , Katsura’s manga never fails to deliver with great artwork and stories that are almost always uniquely intimate …Read more »

[Review] Knights of Sidonia: Season 2

January 13, 2016

Paul Thomas Chapman

Tired of drifting aimlessly through deep space while being pursued by unrelenting foes, the generational seed-ship Sidonia decides to take the fight to the alien creatures known as the Gauna. The ship plots a course for the Lem Star System, in the process committing to …Read more »

[Review] Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma

January 12, 2016

Brittany Vincent

Have you ever eaten food so delicious you thought you might just keel over and die? It's happened to all of us once or twice, though likely never to the point where our eyes have rolled back in our heads. That's exactly what happens nearly …Read more »

The Perfect Insider Anime Eventually Wears Out Its Welcome

January 11, 2016

Norbert Daniels Jr.

Subete Ga F Ni Naru: The Perfect Insider is an adaptation of the 1996 light novel of the same name by Hiroshi Mori. The series has had a good amount of popularity in the past, having already been made into manga, live-action and video game …Read more »

[Review] Kizumonogatari Part I: Tekketsu

January 11, 2016

Matt Schley

© Nisio Isin/Kodansha Aniplex/Shaft There’s a fundamental problem with prequels. Whatever unique twists and turns they take, we know the ultimate outcome can only go one way. Just as we know Anakin eventually betrays the Jedi and turns into Darth Vader, fans of Bakemonogatari know Araragi-kun …Read more »

[Review] Noragami

January 9, 2016

Evan Minto

Depicting Japanese “kami” or “gods” as relatable modern characters is so common in anime that it’s hardly surprising anymore, but there’s something novel about Noragami’s take on the trope: a once powerful god of calamity who’s so unknown in the modern day that he relies …Read more »

[Review] Sakura Trick

January 1, 2016

Kristina Potts

As an old song muses, one you must remember, "a kiss is just a kiss" and "a sigh is just a sigh," but, as time goes by you come to learn that perhaps these assertions aren't so fundamental. After all, if said sigh contentedly passes …Read more »

Akame ga Kill: Collection 1

December 31, 2015

Brittany Vincent

Akame ga Kill is an interesting series in that it combines elements that you wouldn't immediately think to bring together: ultraviolent, gory fights with humor sprinkled in that actually manages to be funny. Many anime series are often rarely actually humorous, so the fact that …Read more »