All posts by Gerald Rathkolb

Nothing in the world is edgier than an angry middle schooler—at least that’s what every edgy middle schooler thinks about themselves and Kyotaro, the protagonist of The Dangers in My Heart, is no exception. Kyotaro, Mr. Edge-Case himself wants nothing more than to see all …Read more »

Buddy Daddies [Review]

October 19, 2023

Gerald Rathkolb

So what if I told you there’s an anime series out there that features a found family of sorts, two adults who are assassins who are raising a kid. I know this show kind of sounds very familiar but I assure you it’s probably not …Read more »

Sunday Without God [Anime Review]

Gerald Rathkolb

Would you rather live a beautiful lie or a painful truth? This is one of the questions that is asked in the 2013 series Sunday Without God, one of the most interesting series that you probably never saw. Sunday Without God, based on the light …Read more »

Africa Salaryman [Anime Review]

August 21, 2020

Gerald Rathkolb

A field day in the office Anime is no stranger to animating the working lives of regular people. Shows like Aggretsuko have shown that anime is willing to jump into our boring office lives and try to find entertainment in people sitting around a desk …Read more »

Somali and the Forest Spirit [Anime Review]

August 17, 2020

Gerald Rathkolb

A rarity of a show When it comes to fantasy anime, we are mostly treated to two distinct types. 1) A generic JRPG-style world complete with “classes” and enemies having “levels” (do they realize that levels are just a way of quantifying the concept of …Read more »

Vinland Saga [Anime Revew]

August 9, 2020

Gerald Rathkolb

Unless you’ve been under a rock (kind of like me) you’ve probably come across some sort of article or radio show that keeps talking about how we are in some “golden age” and eventually you’ll hear the much-bandied about “prestige television” phrase that’s been thrown …Read more »

[Review] Hakumei and Mikochi Complete Collection

August 29, 2019

Gerald Rathkolb

Totally chill There is a Spanish animated show that has aired in English-speaking countries around the world called David the Gnome, which some of you may have heard of. It is mostly famous for its heart-wrenching ending (the show was made for literal six-year-olds) and …Read more »

Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network [Review]

December 21, 2018

Gerald Rathkolb

With Ghost in the Shell, it’s hard to find a more enduring franchise in anime that’s not made for children. Originally a manga created by Masamune Shirow in 1989, it’s been continuously adapted into anime and manga since its inception. Ghost in the Shell: Global …Read more »

Magical Girl Ore [Review]

September 1, 2018

Gerald Rathkolb

The most ridiculous of shows Few genres have changed so much over time as the magical girl genre. In the early days shows like Magical Girl Sally were unquestionably targeted toward young girls, but very quickly that demographic expanded. As soon as the early 70s …Read more »

[Review] The Flying Witch—Complete Collection

October 15, 2017

Gerald Rathkolb

In anime and manga there’s a subgenre that we only have a passing familiarity with over here, that of iyashikei or “healing” series. These are series may be part of the slice-of-life genre and offer a more atmospheric and relaxing tone for their audience. With …Read more »

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul [Review] – Superhuman Strength AND Thirst!

September 16, 2017

Gerald Rathkolb

The animation by MAPPA isn’t the only worthwhile aspect of the show, Nina and her co-stars are a delightful group that play off of each other very well. If you watched the first series, Genesis. there’s no reason not to continue with Virgin Soul. If …Read more »

Alice & Zoroku [Review]

September 13, 2017

Gerald Rathkolb

I recently heard about an anime-style novel contest that was held in Japan. While this by itself isn’t significant, the stipulations on the contest were. The first, “no alternate realities,” and the second, “the protagonist cannot be a teenage male.” The hopes were to eventually …Read more »

Horror Anime Movie Classics

January 28, 2017

Gerald Rathkolb

There’s little doubt that horror anime is dominated by TV series. However, horror films were one of the early driving forces of the growing popularity of anime in the West. Here are some recommendations for those that want a more manageable single dose of horror. …Read more »

[Review] Cobra: The Animation

October 12, 2016

Gerald Rathkolb

Sometimes, it’s refreshing to find something that has little concern with following any current trends or popular motifs. This is occasionally the ingredient that leads to success and other times it makes something seem like it’s from another time. Cobra: The Animation, while most definitely …Read more »