Reviews

[Review] Sweetness & Lightning

© Gido Amagakure / Kodansha Ltd. Math teacher Kohei Inuzuka is a widower, raising his preschool-aged daughter Tsumugi alone ever since his wife died six months ago. While the wound of their loss slowly, slowly heals, he patiently tends to Tsumugi’s laundry, daycare, and feeding …Read more »

[Review] Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

April 20, 2016

Brittany Vincent

The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series have their roots in the Super Nintendo classic Super Mario RPG , and each entry has taken us on a bright and magical journey. I’ve always been fond of the two series as they stand in stark …Read more »

[Review] Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time

April 17, 2016

Paul Thomas Chapman

Rumi Yokoi is a diligent, hard-working high school student who wants nothing more than to buckle down and study during her scholastic career. Unfortunately for this serious-minded young lady, the young man seated at the desk adjacent to hers is Toshinari Seki. Seki doesn't seem …Read more »

[Review] Bodacious Space Pirates

April 16, 2016

Clarissa Graffeo

While the mania for them waxes and wanes, pirates are an indelible part of the international pop culture landscape. So, too, with the introduction of science fiction literature about space travel, began the tried and true technique of combining various genres, concepts, and story frameworks …Read more »

[Review] Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

April 16, 2016

Dave Riley

This is a quaint little game about climbing a cyclops like an oak tree and putting out its single eye with the stab of a fiery dagger. The added power of a PC cleans up the graphics a bit at the edges, and new hotkeys …Read more »

[Review] Final Fantasy Explorers

April 13, 2016

Brittany Vincent

Although in Japan Final Fantasy has always had to compete with other big name RPGs, until recently it was the JRPG in the West. However, lately we’ve been seeing other series from Japan getting the push that used to be reserved for only the biggest …Read more »

[Review] Pita-Ten

April 10, 2016

Brittany Vincent

Pita-Ten could possibly be one of the cutest anime series of all time if it weren't for creator Koge-Donbo's Digi Charat series. It's still in the running for a close second, however, with its innocent themes, sugary-sweet characters, and the unlikely friendship between a young …Read more »

[Review] Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi

April 10, 2016

Shaenon K. Garrity

Yue, a cute bishonen who wears a fox mask like a hat, has lived all his life in a mountain temple. One evening, he descends to the village below to sample its annual festival and finds himself drawn to two other teenage boys: standoffish cool …Read more »

[Review] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

April 9, 2016

Daryl Surat

The following phrase is not one I’ve bothered saying for the last decade: the new Mobile Suit Gundam TV series is actually rather enjoyable so far! Iron-Blooded Orphans is an “alternate-universe” Gundam series, which means it’s set completely stand-alone from any other anime with Gundam …Read more »

[Review] Tomodachi x Monster

April 9, 2016

Norbert Daniels Jr.

© Yoshihiko Inui 2014 The story of small children teamed up with monster companions is not exactly a new concept. Even ignoring the most famous two, Pokémon and Digimon , there are too many of these series to count, and most of them are not …Read more »

Ojisan and Marshmallow: A Cute, Satisfying Anime

April 8, 2016

Norbert Daniels Jr.

Ojiisan and Marshmallow is the cutest little anime to come out of last season. Based on the manga by Rekomaru Otoi, the show follows Iori Wakabayashi as she tries to get a date with her co-worker Habahiro Hige, an oblivious man in his thirties with …Read more »

[Review] Giganto Maxia

April 6, 2016

Jason Bradley Thompson

In the past or post-apocalyptic future, a world of swords and sandals, Giganto—giant monsters—are the ultimate weapons of war. Delos, a beefy ex-slave with a boyish face, wanders the wasteland with his companion Prome, a strange little girl who rides around on his shoulders and …Read more »

[Review] Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist

April 6, 2016

Brittany Vincent

What if we all lived in a world where lewd jokes could land you in prison? Shimoneta: A Boring World Where The Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist explores that reality, and while the idea is bleak on its own, the series is an engaging …Read more »

[Manga Review] Orange

April 5, 2016

Robert McCarthy

© Ichigo Takano 2014 Time travel is the ideal plot device to make readers care about a high school pairing. One day, 16-year-old Naho Takamiya gets a letter from her future self, asking her to befriend transfer student Naruse Kakeru. After quickly figuring that the …Read more »

Aldnoah.Zero Manga Delivers Decent Adaptation

April 4, 2016

Danica Davidson

Travel to Mars is an idea that’s spellbinding to writers and artists, and soon we’ll see what travel to the red planet is really like. In the meantime, we have Aldnoah.Zero to give us a new take on what could happen with us living on …Read more »