18 Dec 23
We're going to start the reviews with an unexpected choice, the 1976 BBC drama I, Claudius. And because it's easier to review series that I've been watching that have come to an end rather than going back and watching some six or so eps of a series that I left hanging, we're going to dive right into some Fall 2023 anime. We've got Berserk of Gluttony, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy and The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch. For manga, we have Volume 2 of Oshi no Ko. I might be skipping next weekend due to Christmas festivities, but if not, I might try to get you something thematic. Also, I'd very much like to get some TWH out. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 17:46:48
17 Dec 23
Updating the site yesterday totally didn't slip my mind. Why would you think that? Anyway, we pick up with our favorite scanning crew in Chapter 20 of EM3. I was at a loss for reviews last week, but I'll try to have stuff together by tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 07:53:15
09 De 23
If you've been following my progress on the blog, you know how I've been stumbling my way to the finish line, but we've made it at last and now it's time for the epilogue of NagaTen. We also have the character glossary, the map of Bellator, Bellator military ranks, and New Earth Empire military ranks. With that done, I've got three weeks to figure out what's going to take its timeslot. I have much less time to figure out what to do for tomorrow's reviews as my original plans have fallen through. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:14:37
04 Dec 23
As you can see, I missed another story update, but thanks to having taken a day off, I'm able to deliver some slightly delayed reviews. We start with a recently concluded series with an odd number of episodes, Reign of the Seven Spellblades. Next is the OAV Azur Lane: Queen's Orders. After that is summer's theatrical entry in the Seibuta franchise, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out. Last but not least, we finally have some manga reviews in the form of Volume 15 of Yofukashi no Uta and Volume 1 of Oshi no Ko, a series I finished marathoning this week and am on the edge of my seat waiting for Volume 14 on March. I'm going to dig into more half-watched series I have in the backlog and move on to finish NagaTen this weekend. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 08:02:01
26 Nov 23
I swear, I've had more trouble focusing on writing manga reviews lately, but I'm not going to let it delay the update again. Anyway, let's start on what was intended to be the feature last week. It's Masamune-kun's Revenge, its OAV and the sequel, Masamune-kun's Revenge R. In lieu of manga reviews, we have some less dysfunctional romances in the form of Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero and Season 2 of The Duke of Death and His Maid. We'll continue our anime coverage (of whatever I manage to finish by the weekend) and we'll be taking another stab at that chapter of TWH. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:09:03
25 Nov 23
Now that some of you are coming off Thanksgiving festivities and Black Friday madness, maybe you'd like to see how Margot and friends are doing since they've become guests of the ever-so benevolent Empire. Find out in Chapter 19 of EM3. I'll get the reviews I was supposed to post last week tomorrow (with apologies for the delay). Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:27:29
19 Nov 23
I apologize for being out of action last week, but a bit of a pileup has trashed my production pipeline. The intended progress on TWH didn't come about, so I'm going to move on ahead to the next story (though getting the necessary viewing in for today's reviews led to me forgetting to post it yesterday). Anyway, here's Chapter 24 of NagaTen. I've got a trash romcom for you that'll either be out later in the day or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes me to finish writing a couple manga reviews. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 06:24:53
07 Nov 23
I was running behind Sunday and then followed it up by getting into a minor collision on my way to work, so picking up that thread wasn't the first thing on my mind. I'm still fairly beaten up and have just paid nearly the original price of my bike getting it overhauled, but let's get to those reviews, shall we? First off was rare release day viewing for me, Godzilla Minus One. I followed that with another heavy-hitter, Attack on Titan: The Final Season - The Final Chapters (strictly speaking, it was the Part 2 special of this, Part 3 of Season 4). We also have our first two entries in the Summer 2023 anime list, a couple office-based comedies: The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today and My Tiny Senpai. Last but not least, I recently finished rereading Heretics of Dune, so enjoy my review of that. I swear I'm going to get caught up on manga review writing in addition to getting more Summer 2023 anime out. Also be looking for more TWH. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:29:59
04 Nov 23
It's 3000 leagues in search of Mordekai (or maybe less if we're accurately measuring distances) in Chapter 18 of EM3. We've got a new release among our reviews tomorrow, so look forward to that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 18:47:52
29 Oct 23
Halloween is just a couple days away and this is our last round for the year's scary movie showcase. Before we get to the big event we've all been waiting for, we've got to cap off the Friday the 13th coverage with the 2009 remake and the documentary His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th. With that out of the way, it's time for the main event, the whole reason I sat through 19 movies and two documentaries. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Freddy vs. Jason. Now, occasionally in years past, I've done religious horror on the first weekend of November. I won't be doing that this year, but because I have two more slots to fill, you get that rolled into the October coverage in the form of The Exorcist and The Exorcist III, so Exorcist II: The Heretic isn't looking awkward all on its lonesome anymore. And now that we bid farewell to another year's spookiness, we can look to anime and manga coverage once again. I plan on starting in on the Summer 2023 anime season and digging into stuff from the previous two seasons I haven't finished. Things to do, things to do. Look for more EM3 as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:41:09
28 Oct 23
I don't know if this chapter is all that thematic with Halloween coming up, but maybe it is depending on how you look at it. Anyway, here's Chapter 23 of NagaTen. Tomorrow we close out our October scary movie coverage with the big showdown we've all been waiting for, plus a special appearance by another horror icon. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 16:07:45
23 Oct 23
The Fridays just keep on coming (even on a Monday) with Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (which didn't prove to be so final, much like the last time the series promised finality), and Jason X. If you still haven't had enough Jason, there's still the '09 remake and then we can get to the main event that we've been building up to the past four weeks. Look for more NagaTen as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 16:11:58
22 Oct 23
I'd like to move away from this whole trimonthly release schedule, so maybe we can start making that happen. Six-day workweeks don't seem to agree with me, or else I would've gotten this out yesterday. At long last, it's Chapter 16 of TWH. I'll probably post reviews tomorrow, as I don't have them written yet. (I have to think of several different ways to say "utter rubbish".) Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:38:13
15 Oct 23
The only time I've been camping, I slept in a shallow grave I dug for myselfhasty fighting position, but I'm sure our next feature wouldn't make me any keener on the idea. The way the calendar worked out this year is pretty handy. Just two days ago, it was Friday the 13th. (My Friday wasn't quite so eventful.) From there, we have Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th Part III, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (whose title is a filthy lie), and Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. I hope you like this because we've got six more movies to go before we can have young Goodman Voorhees gallivant with Gentleman Frederick. I didn't finish the latest chapter of TWH in time for yesterday's deadline, but I'm going to get it done for next week. One way or another. Hopefully. Maybe. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:48:50
08 Oct 23
Freddy's back! No, wait, Freddy's Dead. Oh, wait. Maybe not. We were just getting set up for a New Nightmare/. And because we can't stop just yet, we'll just do it all over again in a 2010 remake. We then take a look back at the whole shebang (minus the aforementioned remake) in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. And that's it until we see them get on a new remake kick, so we'll close on a different sort of nightmare, The Nightmare Before Christmas. As next Friday has a particular inauspicious number, our next round of coverage will take us camping to beautiful Crystal Lake. Get your machete and your hockey mask ready. Look for more TWH as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:31:31
07 Oct 23
I realize it's been a while since we last checked in on our Altamiran friends, but you might recall that we have two Prissys now. We know how one of them's doing, but what about the other? Find out in Chapter 17 of EM3. Tomorrow we'll be wrapping up our Elm Street coverage, so look forward to that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 18:31:54
01 Oct 23
October's here once more, and that means scary movies. This year we're going to be looking at the twin titans of the slasher subgenre: Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees. Because we've got an actual Friday the 13th in October this year, I won't get into the latter's franchise for a couple weeks, so we'll be looking at the Dream Reaper first. It all started in 1984 with A Nightmare on Elm Street and was followed by A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. There's more, of course, but it'll have to wait until next week. Look for more EM3 as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:39:11
30 Sep 23
You might want to check out your window for snow. We've actually got a story update. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I've actually started my long-promised objective of getting myself properly back on track to make progress again and now I get to share the fruits of that objective being fulfilled. It's time for Chapter 22 of NagaTen. As tomorrow's the first day of October, we're going to be starting our scary movie reviews. First up is a bad dream on a street called Elm. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 17:41:51
18 Sep 23
I hardly watched any anime last week, and I didn't take time to write up any manga reviews, so we're just going to have to dip into the vault of movie reviews I haven't posted yet. I've been watching a lot of WWII documentaries while grading papers, so why don't we have a WWII feature? We'll be looking at outlaws and mavericks in this week's selection. First off is the big daddy of this sort of film, The Dirty Dozen and right next to it is Kelly's Heroes. As the latter stars Clint Eastwood, we can segue right into Where Eagles Dare and with Commandos on the mind, there's the one relatively recent entry among our selection, Age of Heroes. Last but not least is the Sean Connery feature The Hill. There's a rather steep incline I have to scale on my daily commute, so that film has a way of popping into my head, especially on summer days. Anyway, this week should be rather chill with the school festival and sports day, so once I get my lesson planning done, maybe I can finally restart my writing and also get sufficient review material together. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 08:12:14
10 Sep 23
You may not believe me, but I had all the material I needed to post this last week, but what I didn't have was the time, considering that I'm back on my regular work schedule and I can't be staying up too late if I want to be functional the following day. I thought I'd just get it knocked out Monday, but then I found myself having to stay late, which threw off my timing. Anyway, that's enough for excuses. It's here now, so let's get started. First, some relatively new anime. Let's start with some isekai trash: I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too and My One-Hit Kill Sister. We then switch gears and have some fun with Mashle. And because Heaven Burns Red had been eating up a good chunk the past couple weeks, we look back at a previous work by writer Jun Maeda in Angel Beats!, and its OAVs. We've got two more weeks of me playing anime catchup before we start our annual October Halloween horror feature. We'll see if I can crawl out from under the pile of work and resist my usual distractions to get some writing done. It's been so long that I'm starting to go out of my gourd over it. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:14:45
27 Aug 23
I'm back from vacation at long last and this Friday I celebrated my return to Japan by going to see the latest (and theoretically the last for real this time) film by Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron, which I nearly missed out on because I wouldn't have even known what the movie was or that it was out if I hadn't noticed the Ghibli stuff in the theater's merch section when I treated my nieces to Toho Cinemas' famed rainbow churritos. We then have a couple airplane movies from my journey there and back again: John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. Next, we have Volume 16, the finale of Girlfriend, Girlfriend. I'll try to catch up on some more anime from the previous seasons before the next term starts up. Maybe I can get a story update out while I'm at it. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:34:18
30 Jul 23
The week's anime viewing was all focused on staying up to date on the current releases, so I didn't actually manage to go back and finish watching any additional stuff for review purposes, and though I finally got back to writing some manga reviews, I only finished one before the deadline, so we're going to be doing another movie week. While it would've been more thematic to do this two weeks ago, on the eve of Umi no Hi, we're doing now. I may have been Army, but we're in the Navy for this week's selection of films. We start with 1944's The Fighting Sullivans. Next is the 1955 film adaptation of Mister Robers and 1963's based-on-a-true-story PT 109. We then close on some submarine action with Run Silent, Run Deep and The Enemy Below. Summer activities might interfere with the update schedule in the coming weeks, so I won't be making any promises for the near future. Worst case scenario: I'll be back once the dust has settled. If I don't have that chapter of TWH for you then, I'll have to cobble together something else. The topic of the reviews is up in the air as well, so you just don't know what you might (or might not) get. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:26:35
23 Jul 23
I only got one series watched that I could use at the moment, which isn't enough for the week's reviews, so instead I decided to dip into my movie backlog. What will we be looking at today? CHARLES FOSTER KANE! Yes, that's right. We're going to do another Orson Welles special and we'll kick things off with his most acclaimed film, Citizen Kane. We also have Black Magic, Mr. Arkadin, The Stranger, and The Trial. I'll pick up the Spring 2023 anime reviews next week and hopefully also that chapter of TWH I didn't finish. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:32:41
17 Jul 23
Here in Japan, it's Umi no Hi, but the deep dive I hinted at in my previous post isn't into the ocean depths but rather the Abyss. Yes, we mix the wide-eyed wonder of exploration with the horrors of all manner of physical, psychological and spiritual trauma in the little gem that is Made in Abyss. For comparison purposes, I also watched the two recap films that repackage the first season, Journey's Dawn and Wandering Twilight. These aren't really necessary if you see Season 1 first, but before going on to Season 2, you do need to see the third film, Dawn of the Deep Soul. Once you've done that, be ready to toss your heart in the shredder again with Season 2, The Golden City of the Scorching Sun. Have I mentioned that there's lots of trauma to be had? Yes, well, it's very well-written trauma, so if that sounds like your definition of a good time, check it out. Next week's reviews will depend on how I spend my time, but I think I'll try to pick up some Spring 2023 anime and restart our manga coverage. No promises on the next chapter of TWH, but I'll see what I can do. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:28:25
15 Jul 23
We had quite a bit of a cliffhanger where we left off last time, so let's pick things back up with Chapter 16 of EM3. Now, I haven't quite gotten caught up on my viewing for the reviews, but because I've got a three-day weekend, I'll finish said viewing tomorrow and then post Monday. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 16:55:05
09 Jul 23
As mentioned last week, I still have a number of Winter 2023 anime I'm meaning to finish, but we're going to jump ahead to a few series from the spring season. For the most part, I hadn't even touched on any of the series I wanted to try out, but there were a few exceptions and that's what we're covering today. We start with two of the big heavy-hitters of the season, Season 3 of Kimetsu no Yaiba and Oshi no Ko. We then have a bit of oddball choice that I just happened to pick up and follow, The Legendary Hero is Dead! I was going to round this out with Season 2 of Mahoyome, but I found out that what we got was just the first cour of the season, so I'll be getting back to that one in December. I can't just have three items for a week's reviews and I don't have the time to watch anything else, so instead I'll have to dip into the movie backlog. It came from streaming! We've got a couple films that I saw back in the States at my father's suggestion. Make what you will of his taste. From 2022, it's Moonfall and Uncharted. As for next week, maybe we'll do a bit of a deep dive. What do I mean? You'll see. Also, look for more EM3. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:39:51
08 Jul 23
Slowly but surely, I'm getting myself back on track. Now just wait and see it all go out the window once my big summer trip comes up. Well, until then, I can at least try to maintain my schedule. We've got Chapter 21 of NagaTen for you today, picking things up after a two-month absence. As for tomorrow's reviews, it looks like I'll be doing my first installment of Spring 2023 anime, so look forward to that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:20:31
02 Jul 23
Although I don't have enough for a full feature, I did finish at least one of the Winter 2023 anime I have on my list, so we'll go ahead and start with that. It's yet another isekai, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement. From here, we'll be looking at some anime movies. Some of these reviews I've been sitting on for years. We'll start with a couple from the 90s, Silent Mƶbius: The Motion Picture and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture. Next, from 2019 is Blackfox and The Alchemist Code: The Movie. As far as Winter 2023 anime goes, there are still 13 series on the docket, plus five more on hiatus, but I've also got 25 Spring 2023 series that I plan on watching (subject to some pruning along the way), which have pretty much all wrapped by now and that means the summer season is going to be starting up soon. It's a good thing summer vacation is coming up soon. We'll see what I decide to do. And now that I've finally gotten that chapter of TWH out, I need to focus on getting the next chapter of NagaTen together. It's mostly finished and I've started on the next one, so I just need to get that squared away. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:11:07
01 Jul 23
I've managed to beat out last time by making you wait three months this time around, but at long last, here's Chapter 15 of TWH. I've finally got a story update out, but I haven't been watching any anime for the weekend reviews, so I guess I'll dip into the movie backlog. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:38:13
25 Jun 23
The days were rolling along and I wasn't getting any anime watched, so I thought I would need to dip into the movie backlog, but then I happened to see that the delayed Season 4 of Golden Kamuy started back up last month and recently wrapped, so I go caught up on that and now we can do the Golden Kamuy special that was originally scheduled for December. You see, my friend encouraged me to get into the series last year, so I marathoned my way through and decided to hold out on posting my reviews until I could bundle it with S4. Little did I expect a six-month hiatus, but so it goes. It works out now, so yay for that. So here we go. We've got Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, and the OAVs. From here, I'm tempted to skip ahead and watch some of the Spring 2023 anime I want to watch, but I'll try to do at least one more Winter 2023 anime feature. We'll see. And maybe I can finally get a story update out the gate. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 16:07:39
18 Jun 23
Well, not just one but two weeks now with no updates. The excuses are the same, so I won't repeat them. However, it just recently dawned on me that I have a huge backlog of movie reviews, so even if I don't have enough material for the regularly scheduled reviews, I can still be making review posts at least. Anyway, I do happen to have the material I need to continue our Winter 2023 anime coverage, so let's get on with the show. There's no real theme tying together today's selection, but we do start with two blasts from the past. First is a holdover from last year, the first season of the remake of Urusei Yatsura and after that is Trigun Stampede, a remake of that 90's classic Trigun. We then have Season 2 of The Vampire Dies in No Time and Chillin' in My 30s After Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army. The current anime season is going to start wrapping soon, but I still have a considerable backlog to work through from the winter season. I don't know how I'll work it out just now, but I'll figure it out. We'll see what I can cobble together for next week. If it's not more of the Winter 2023 anime, then I'll dig into the reserve of movie reviews. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:46:28
28 May 23
First off, let me apologize for no updates last week. I was kept busier than I expected and hadn't caught up on my viewing. Things hadn't lightened up all this past week either, but that seems to be the trend at my new job. (Yes, Tears of the Kingdom is getting its slice of my time as well.) Anyway, let's get on with the show. We start this week with two reincarnation stories. The first is The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady and next is Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire. Next is one of those otome game villainess stories that usually involves reincarnation, but not this time (well, not for the main character, at least) Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte. Last but not least is a sort of reincarnation if you think about it that way, Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister! I don't know if I'll have any particular theme for next week's selection, but we'll see if I can figure something out. No promises on a story update, but maybe I can surprise everyone, myself first and foremost. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:32:17
14 May 23
We begin this week's coverage with a pint-sized liar detective in In/Spectre, winding back to 2020 for Season 1 before we look at the Winter 2023 release of Season 2. Now, there was a joke going around during the yuki onna episodes that her son showed up in another series airing around that time, which brings us to our next feature, a workplace romcom with a supernatural twist, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague. I still haven't gotten the latest manga reviews written, but I do have something else for you. One of my coworkers recommended it, so Friday after work I watched The Super Mario Bros. Next week we'll be looking at some reincarnation stories and hopefully I can have the next chapter of TWH out as well. (Depending on how much of my time Tears of the Kingdom eats up.) Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:52:22
13 May 23
Because this week isn't quite so golden, I don't have any excuse to not have the update out (although I did get Tears of the Kingdom yesterday). So here's Chapter 15 of EM3. Look for reviews tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 16:08:48
01 May 23
International Ayame Jellybean Day has come once more, so raise your glasses to everyone's favorite fuzzy white mascot. And how will I be celebrating the day? Well, I let her wallow on the concrete out front and shared some of my katsuo tataki with her, so there you go. Yes, yes, I know I need to update the image gallery. How many years have I been saying that now? Well, I've got work in the morning, so this is all I can managed for now. Look for more EM3 on Saturday if there are no hiccups in the journey homeward. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 15:42:49
30 Apr 23
For this week's installment of Winter 2023 anime, we've got a trio of romcoms: Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten and Tomo-chan Is a Girl! So you could get this set of reviews out now rather than later, all we have for manga is Volume 15 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend. Next week we'll be having some fun with youkai and such, and I'll try to get the next chapter of EM3 out once I return from my Golden Week outing and abouting. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:47:46
Looks like I'm just going to have to make time for writing regardless of my energy level as my current job doesn't afford me the same downtime as its predecessors. Anyway, as you can probably guess, no progress has been made on the latest chapter of TWH, so as I promised, I've got Chapter 20 of NagaTen for you instead. Now, depending on whether I want to short you or not (as I still haven't done my writeup for KnY #20), I will either get the next batch of reviews out to you later in the day or tomorrow along with the International Ayame Jellybean Day festivities. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 01:39:27
24 Apr 23
This update is late because I wanted to give you a full five items and it took me extra time to get the reviews written. We kick off our Winter 2023 anime coverage with some isekai. First is a holdover from the previous season that was held up by production delays, Uncle from Another World. We follow it with Handyman SaitÅ in Another World and Farming Life in Another World. For manga, I've got Volume 19 of Kimetsu no Yaiba and Volume 14 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend (as I'm trying to catch up on manga releases from the past couple months). Don't hold your breath for the next chapter of TWH, but if I can't get it done, I'll move on to NagaTen. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:15:21
16 Apr 23
What a contrast we've got for you this week. First is a thoroughly mediocre ecchi comedy with a fantasy twist, I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job and its followup OAV. And now we can get to the good stuff. We've got Violet Evergarden: The Movie and the gaiden film, Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll, as well as the OAV episode the followed shortly after the main series ended (and I missed until I was rounding out my viewing). We then close with our manga coverage with Volume 18 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. We're diving into the Winter 2023 anime next week, starting with the obligatory isekai shenanigans. As for more TWH, that'll entirely depend on whether or not I can scrounge together to time to get the next chapter written or not. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:09:50
I got a late start on putting this update together and I just kept nodding off, so I decided to come back after I'd gotten a halfway decent night's sleep. Now, I could postpone the reviews until tomorrow, but I think I'll try to get them out this evening as usual. Anyway, we've got Chapter 14 of EM3 for you. Look for a rather mismatched pair for the subject matter of the reviews in (hopefully) several hours. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 01:35:00
09 Apr 23
This week's reviews starts with a world war, World War II specifically, first in the Atlantic theater in 2020's Greyhound and then the Pacific in 1965's In Harm's Way. Next we have a war of worlds, the 1953 version of The War of the Worlds and Steven Spielberg's 2005 stab at it, War of the Worlds (without the "The", unlike the trend of the following decades, where adding the "The" became all the rage). And then we have our ongoing manga coverage with Volume 17 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. It's going to take me some time to get caught up on the Winter 2023 anime, so while I'm doing that, I've got some other stuff to fill the gap for next week, a few odds and ends picked up along the way. Also look for more EM3. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 14:37:58
08 Apr 23
Another story that's been languishing in writer's block Hell has returned to us. We've got Chapter 19 of NagaTen for you after a nearly three-month wait. The good news is that I just finished the next chapter and I'm a good way into the one after that, so we may just be able to stay on track. (If only I could say the same for TWH...) We've got reviews coming up tomorrow, so look forward to that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 09:06:38
02 Apr 23
We're looking at some spy films this week. First, we have a pair of dueling movies from 2014-2015, Kingsman: The Secret Service and The Man from UNCLE. And because David McCallum played Ilya in the original TV series of The Man from UNCLE, now's as good a time as any to post my review of Sol Madrid. Lastly, as if France didn't go through enough when Liam Neeson was in town, it's Idris Elba's turn in The Take (otherwise known as Bastille Day). For manga, we have Volume 16 of Kimetsu no Yaiba, and because I believe I've shorted you in one or two of the review posts in recent weeks, we also have a rare book review (the book review being rare, not the book in question). It's God Emperor of Dune. Mostly because I just finished rereading it a day or two ago and also because I might forget to post it if I don't do it sooner rather than later. Next week we've got world wars and wars of worlds. I'll try to buckle down and finish that chapter of NagaTen before things start up with work. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:18:12
01 Apr 23
By this point, you might be thinking it's an April Fool's joke to say that we have a story update, but it's true. It's been almost two months, but Chapter 14 of TWH is finally ready to go. Now I just have to make a similar breakthrough with NagaTen for next week. In the meanwhile, though, look for some espionage action in tomorrow's reviews. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 11:19:30
26 Mar 23
The past month has been quite the ride for me and now that I'm back in Japan, things are rather hectic as I gear up for a new job. I am at least happy to report that I've finally managed to break through my writer's block, but I didn't have enough time to get the new chapter of TWH finished. I should have it ready next week, though. And now, without further ado, let's get on with the show. This week we're looking at airplane movies from my Christmas trip back home. First is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, followed by The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Top Gun: Maverick, and, because I'm an eccentric, Kenneth Branagh's massive 4-hour rendition of Hamlet. Now that I have my manga pile sitting next to me again, we can also resume our manga coverage with Volume 15 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. Look for espionage action next week. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 10:35:38
12 Mar 23
We kick off this week's reviews with a couple films from 87North Productions, Kate and Bullet Train. Next we have a couple Netflix films, The Highwaymen and The Adam Project. Lastly, filed under "because I have nieces", is Sing 2 because one Sing just wasn't enough. Look for more to add to the movie pile if nothing else next week. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 22:47:46
06 Mar 23
Without getting into the details, I've had a lot going on lately and that means I haven't had much time for writing. I also have been dealing with some writer's black lately. Isn't this why you outline your story first? Why, yes. Yes, it is. Anyway, we're going to look at some films I watched on my trip back to the States last summer. First up is 2008's Appaloosa, followed by A Scanner Darkly, the 2021 Guillermo del Toro remake of Nightmare Alley (which I'll pair with the 1947 original that I've been sitting on for years), and lastly the Australian film Red Dog. I can't make any promises about story updates at this time, but I should be able to swing more movie reviews at least. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 02:00:01
27 Feb 23
We bring our Fall 2022 anime coverage to a close, first with Arknights: Prelude to Dawn and Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal, and followed by The Eminence in Shadow (which bled into the current season) and its Studio Puyukai spinoff Kagejitsu! Between now and the end of the Winter 2023 anime season, I'm thinking about catching up on some airplane movies and the like from my past couple trips to the US. If I can get it finished, look for more TWH as well, but that may not come out until the week after next. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 04:09:36
25 Feb 23
We check in with Gally and Kamellia in Chapter 13 of EM3. We'll have the last entry in our Fall 2022 anime coverage. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 22:30:02
19 Feb 23
Sorry there was no story update. The gears ground to a halt as I was trying to figure out how I wanted to finish the chapter. I'm just going to have to postpone it to next cycle. Moving on to the day's event, PA Works brings us more girls with guns in Akiba Maid War. Next we have tanuki learning rakugo in My Master Has No Tail. Last and definitely least is Studio Troyca's misbegotten Shinobi no Ittoki. I ran short on time, so we've just got Volume 14 of Kimetsu no Yaiba for manga coverage. Next week we'll wrap the Fall 2022 anime coverage with a couple game adaptations and a series that was a bit of a guilty pleasure that bled into the current season. As I said, I'm shuffling NagaTen off to next cycle, so look for more EM3 next week. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 11:24:01
14 Feb 22
I said I was going to have this out yesterday, but it slipped my mind, so here it is now. We've got a new Cross Arc story that's been moved into preproduction, Seasons' Seasons. Funny title? A bit, maybe, but I'll be doing something a bit different from some of the other Project Reclamation stories I've been doing. Now let's see if I can get that chapter of NagaTen ready by Saturday. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 07:35:27
12 Feb 23
We look at courtly romances of both the Oriental and Occidental variety in the form of Raven of the Inner Palace and Bibliophile Princess. Next we have a farming series that isn't actually about farming, I've Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved My Farm-Related Skills. For our manga coverage, we have Volume 28, the final volume of Kaguya-sama and Volume 13 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. Now, I know I didn't get the story update out this week, but I'm going to try to get it out next week, and as a minor form of compensation, I'm going to post a teaser for a new Cross Arc story I've decided to move into preproduction. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 11:36:33
05 Feb 23
This week we're looking at three of the big heavy-hitters of the season. Our first entry started earlier in the year and just rounded out its second cour, Spy x Family. Next is Chainsaw Man and Mob Psycho 100 III. For manga, we have the penultimate entry, Volume 27 of Kaguya-sama and Volume 12 of Kimetsu no Yaiba in anticipation of the Swordsmith Village Arc coming to the small screen. Next week we'll be looking at some courtly romances and an odd bit that didn't fit in elsewhere. Look for more NagaTen as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:19:22
04 Feb 23
We get back on track with Chapter 13 of TWH. Be looking for reviews tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 05:39:09
02 Feb 23
As you may have noticed, the site's been unavailable the past several days. I thought we had resolved the issue with the primary domain when we had that trouble a few years ago, but apparently not. We may actually be getting closer to an actual solution. For now, things are back up again and below I have what I was going to post on the anniversary last Friday.
It's the site's Sweet Sixteen. What makes it so sweet? I dunno. Ayame, I suppose. Anyway, this is that special time of year when we look back at what we've done and look ahead at what we plan to do. As you're well aware, TWH has suffered from schedule slippage, but at least it's not like "The Case of the Striped Leopard", which has been left languishing for years because I underestimated the challenge of writing a mystery story. Anyway, we can expect a good chunk of the year to be devoted to continuing the serialization of the three projects currently underway, butāprovided there is no further slippage in the scheduleāwhat's going to take their place once they're done? If we can stick to the schedule, NagaTen should wrap at the end of July and TWH and EM3 should wrap at the end of November. I'd like to start developing the Earth Arc, but I find the stories there difficult to plot out. Perhaps the only way forward is to just bite the bullet and power through. Maybe I'll finally kick off Gottfried Monogatari, though it might be faster if I returned to The Seeds of Avalon. Would I consider both? After all the attention I've given the Cross Arc, it wouldn't be unthinkable. As for the Tellus Arc, perhaps I'll follow TWH with its prequel, The Penitent Priest, or else maybe one of the Gladius Cycle stories. I'm also thinking about moving forward with Welcome to the World, even though I imagine the series will prove to be divisive. I don't want to expand beyond three projects in serialization at a time, though. I let my attention get split in too many directions as it is. Now, you may have been hoping for plans that were a little more definitive, but this is where we are at the moment. Here's to me making good use of my time so that the current projects proceed smoothly and their successors are ready to get out the gate when the time comes."
We'll be picking things up with what was intended for last week's updates, so be looking for that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:21:23
22 Jan 23
Funnily enough, it was almost exactly two months ago that I covered romcoms from last season and this week we've got Love Flops, More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers and Season 2 of Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! For manga, we have Volume 11 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. I was supposed to do the penultimate volume of Kaguya-sama as well, but Fire Emblem: Engage came out Friday and time it cut into time I would've spent writing reviews. Next week we'll be covering some heavy-hitters and hopefully have more TWH as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:21:23
21 Jan 23
While Mariana is currently in the hands of the Empire, what's happened to Iliana? You can find out in Chapter 12 of EM3. Look for some romcom reviews tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 10:36:01
15 Jan 23
With the Winter 2023 anime season well underway, we kick off our coverage of the Fall 2022 season that came before it. We start with a couple of reincarnation isekai, I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss and Reincarnated as a Sword. We also have the latest film from director Makoto Shinkai, Suzume, which I watched the day before I headed back to the States. For manga, we have Volume 14 of Call of the Night and Volume 10 of Kimetsu no Yaiba. We'll be looking at a selection of romcoms next week. Be looking for more EM3, too. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 12:13:52
14 Jan 23
So Admiral Beck's trump card just got tossed into the wood chipper. I'm sure he's going to take it well. It's Chapter 18 of NagaTen. Look for our first installment of Fall 2022 anime tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 10:58:43
08 Jan 23
Before we dive into our Fall 2022 anime coverage, we have a detour prompted by Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle, which was reviewed last time. We're looking at the Infinite Stratos series, or at least as much of it as has been animated. We have Season 1 and Season 2 of the TV series, the first season OAV "A Sextet Yearning for Love", the "Long Vacation Edition" version of S2E1, and "World Purge-hen". We'll kick off our Fall 2022 coverage with some isekai next week and continue NagaTen as well. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 13:46:14
07 Jan 23
Happy Neko New Year! You're not going to believe me when I tell you this, but I actually did have the latest chapter of TWH ready to go two weeks ago, but as is so often the case, my return home proved to be too hectic for me to find the time to sit down and focus on updating the site because, you know, priorities. Anyway, I'm on the shinkansen back to Nagoya, I've got my little pocket router providing Internet access, and I thought, "Why not knock out the update now so there won't be anything to distract me when the mascot is berating me for leaving her all this time?" Anyway, here's Chapter 12 of TWH. Look for Infinite Stratos in tomorrow's reviews. Stay tuned.
Posted by: James
UTC 08:01:37