Author Archives: Theron

The Magic of the Inner Palace

Raven of the Inner Palace episodes 1-11 While I don’t specifically consider myself a fan of Chinese Imperial Court-influenced fantasy series, I must have a high tolerance for them; after all, three titles which would probably make my all-time Top 10 list for favorite anime series – The Twelve Kingdoms, Story of Saiunkoku (aka ColorCloudContinue reading “The Magic of the Inner Palace”

Review: Is the Novice Alchemist Managing?

Management of a Novice Alchemist One interesting trend in anime in recent years (and by extension its common source material) is fantasy series with an entrepreneurial bent. While the series may have flashy magic and action elements and typically features a protagonist that’s unusually capable (if not outright OP), it focuses much more on buildingContinue reading “Review: Is the Novice Alchemist Managing?”

Dual Review: Farming vs. Taming

Note: My apologies for getting nothing posted last week! I had fully intended to continue rotating through various series airing in the Fall ’22 season, so to make up for that, I am combining the intended topic for last week with this week’s to create a compare/contrast perspective on two currently-airing fantasy series: I’ve SomehowContinue reading “Dual Review: Farming vs. Taming”

KanColle: See You Again on Another Blue Sea (aka KanColle 1944) debut

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays First Episode Rating: B Though easily the most successful of the “ship girl” franchises to come out of the 2010s (it had an enormous presence in doujinshi markets through much of that decade), the mobile game Kantai Collection has only had two previous anime adaptations: a 12-episode 2015 TV series andContinue reading “KanColle: See You Again on Another Blue Sea (aka KanColle 1944) debut”

Special Preview: Arknights: Prelude to Dawn

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays Rating: 3 (of 5) Anime series which adapt mobile games are hardly unusual in recent years, but I am hard-pressed to think of another one which is based on a tower defense game. Yet that’s exactly what’s going on with this adaptation of a Chinese mobile game. (It has also beenContinue reading “Special Preview: Arknights: Prelude to Dawn”

Reincarnated as a Sword episodes 2-3

Rating: B for episode 2, B+ for episode 3 This is one series that I did not expect to be commenting on week-to-week, and I’m still not sure if I will write it up every week. However, episodes 2 and 3 added enough to the basic premise laid out in episode 1 that I feltContinue reading “Reincarnated as a Sword episodes 2-3”

Review: Summer Time Rendering

Rating: A- When Shinpei Ajiro left his home island of Hitogashima to attend school in Tokyo, his childhood friend Ushio (whose family he had lived with since the death of his parents) didn’t take it well. Now, two years later in mid-July, he is finally returning to the island – but for her funeral, afterContinue reading “Review: Summer Time Rendering”

The Devil is a Part-Timer!! episode 12

Rating: C+ There is a moment early in this episode which speaks best to the spirit and attitude of the show: the scene where Maou and Ashiya have to take the subway to get to the second tower, while Emi just conjured up magic boots and flew over to the first tower. Sadly, it’s oneContinue reading “The Devil is a Part-Timer!! episode 12”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV episode 11

Rating: A Last episode ended with Bell in his worst shape ever – possibly even dead. Naturally, a series so heavily-dependent on its protagonist was not going to kill him off, and as I noted last episode, the series did leave itself a combination “out:” The Goliath Scarf reduced what should have been a fatalContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV episode 11”