Tag: Reviews, PAGE 28

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun Manga Keeps the Gags Coming

High schooler Chiyo Sakura is trying to find the words to ask out Umetarou Nozaki. In the end, she blurts out that she’s his fan. Misunderstanding this, he hands her an autograph. What? Confused and flustered, Sakura stutters, “I want to always be with you.” …Read more »

ERASED Live-Action Film [Review]

March 21, 2016

Matt Schley

Delve into the history of Japanese marketing and it won’t be long before you come across the phrase “media mix.” Simply put, it’s the practice of spreading content across multiple platforms. When Pokemon was released 20 years ago, for example, it was simultaneously a game …Read more »

Japan’s Lamest City Gets Indie RPG

March 14, 2016

Fernando Ramos

It always sucks to be second banana. Tokyo’s immediate neighbor, Saitama, hardly ever gets a break in the Japanese psyche, seemingly condemned to be a punchline – sometimes literally, as in the case of One Punch Man ’s comically bland protagonist. Some of our more …Read more »

[Review] Boys’ Love Anime Dōkyūsei Hits All The Right Notes

February 22, 2016

Matt Schley

As popular as the boys’ love genre is, BL stories don’t often get the big-screen treatment. But this past weekend saw the Japanese release of the A-1 Pictures-produced Dōkyūsei ( Classmates ), an anime film based on the manga by Asumiko Nakamura and directed by …Read more »

Kiss Him, Not Me Manga Lives the Fujoshi Life

February 16, 2016

Danica Davidson

Serinuma Kae doesn’t like stories with a prince and a princess—she likes stories with two princes. The unabashed fujoshi regularly spends her time imagining how she’d pair up boys in her school, even if they’re not gay, and then she’ll squeal about the pairings with …Read more »

[Review] Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

February 15, 2016

Paul Thomas Chapman

Before Panty & Stocking with Garter Belt pushed the boundaries of good taste, before Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann redefined struggle on a cosmic scale, even before Neon Genesis Evangelion rewrote the rules of the mecha subgenre, a studio of fans-turned-animators known as Gainax made waves …Read more »

[Review] Live-Action Lychee Light Club Not Light On Gore

February 15, 2016

Matt Schley

The film version of Lychee Light Club opens as a group of men in dark blue uniforms chase a helpless woman through the streets, shouting in German and firing at her with guns. But this isn’t a World War II film: as it turns out, …Read more »

[Review] Livingstone

February 13, 2016

Jason Bradley Thompson

Shozo Sakurai, the one in the business suit, is a sensitive man, sometimes conflicted about his job. Amano, his young, sloppily dressed partner, is much more blasé, often saying blunt things that leave their clients in tears. Their “clients” are people on the verge of …Read more »

[Review] Comet Lucifer

February 12, 2016

Paul Thomas Chapman

Strange things are afoot on the science fiction world of Gift, the setting for the original 2015 TV anime Comet Lucifer, which is directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi and Atsushi Nakayama and features animation from 8-bit. Set sometime in the indeterminate future, Comet Lucifer takes place …Read more »

[Review] Planetes Omnibus

February 11, 2016

Joseph Luster

The ragtag crew members aboard the debris cleanup vessel known as Toy Box all have their own varying tolerance for life in space. Yuri is still haunted by the death of his wife, Fee would strangle everyone within a 10-mile radius for a cigarette, and …Read more »

LDK Manga Explores Unexpected Romance

February 10, 2016

Danica Davidson

Shusei is the most popular boy in school, but Aoi still thinks he’s scum. That’s because he coldly rejected Aoi’s best friend Moe when she tried to ask him out. Aoi is so close to Moe that she lives in an apartment on her own …Read more »

BBK/BRNK is a Fairly Bland CG Anime

February 10, 2016

Norbert Daniels Jr.

BBK/BRNK (pronounced Bubuki Buranki) is one of those shows you can guess a surprising amount of information about just by looking at a promotional image like the one above. Frankly, it’s not that impressive of a feat if you’ve been casually keeping up with anime …Read more »

[Manga Review] Final Fantasy Type-0

February 8, 2016

Brittany Vincent

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD was a surprisingly violent and nuanced journey into the world of Final Fantasy and ended up converting a fleet of new fans to the seminal roleplaying series. The Collector’s Edition of the wildly popular game came with a miniature sample booklet …Read more »

[Review] Concrete Revolutio—Superhuman Phantasmagoria

February 7, 2016

Ink

Ranging from helpful to destructive, beings with capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans abound on Earth yet are seldom seen. Although society is at peace with this cloaked cohabitation, that status quo is sustained largely only through a law that bans the use of superhuman …Read more »

[Review] Puella Magi Homura Tamura

February 7, 2016

Brittany Vincent

The dark magical girl series Puella Magi Madoka Magica is famous (or infamous) for being heavy handed, extremely serious, and/or teeming with existential angst. That’s why Puella Magi Homura Tamura is such a fun and interesting riff on the popular series. Taking a page from …Read more »