Rating: B+ If I recall correctly, Lawrence has alluded before in the anime to how travelers are always a source of suspicion to locals, and thus the first to be blamed when things go wrong. Those on the fringes of the community and/or which are hated by the locals because of their roles also fallContinue reading “Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 23”
Category Archives: Episode Reviews
Spice & Wolf episode 22
Rating: B+ What better way to prove to someone that you are not going to turn them into the Church for having a secret cache of pagan lore than to reveal that you are one of the very pagan “gods” talked about in that lore? That’s the tactic Lawrence and Holo opt for in theirContinue reading “Spice & Wolf episode 22”
Oshi no Ko episode 19
Rating: A- Shonen action series are renowned for being stocked with characters who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and the script for Tokyo Blade emphasizes emotional acting even above and beyond that. That makes it an ideal venue for those who have issues with their acting – Melt, Akane, and Kana among them –Continue reading “Oshi no Ko episode 19”
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 20
Rating: A- For long-time franchise fans, this week is the most exciting of times: the debut of an arc completely new to anime form for the first time in 15 years! With “Church Girl and Miller Boy,” this adaptation finally diverges completely (if possibly only temporarily) from the original adaptation by beginning animation of theContinue reading “Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 20”
Oshi no Ko episode 18
Rating: A Last episode delivered a remarkably effective exploration of one of the series’ more minor regular characters, so it’s only fitting that the focus should now shift to the major ones – in particular, Kana and Akane and the rivalry between them. And forget that both of them are romantically interested in the sameContinue reading “Oshi no Ko episode 18”
Oshi no Ko episode 16
Rating: A Oshi no Ko‘s anime adaptation has never found itself shy on content, but this may be the most packed regular-length episode in the series to date. Even though its plotline is relatively simple – we’re watching the final preparations for the debut of the Tokyo Blade play – so many different character pointsContinue reading “Oshi no Ko episode 16”
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 18
Rating: B We’re in the fifth episode of the current arc, and as in the last two arcs, Lawrence is stressing out over the current financial crisis. This time the stakes aren’t potentially deadly, but a different kind of death potentially awaits him: the prospect that Holo might leave him. And while Lawrence is theContinue reading “Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 18”
Oshi no Ko Episode 15: “Emotional Acting”
Rating: A In the days leading up to the airing of this episode, I engaged in a discussion on another site about whether or not this story actually needed the reincarnation angle. Could a story which eliminated that and Ai, and was just about ordinarily-gifted twins working their way through various aspects of the entertainmentContinue reading “Oshi no Ko Episode 15: “Emotional Acting””
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 15
Rating: B+ Things were a bit strained between Lawrence and Holo at the end of last episode, and clearly that still weighs on Lawrence as this episode starts; why else would he flash back to the last time he thought Holo was leaving him behind? That presumably plays a factor in why Lawrence decides toContinue reading “Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 15”
Oshi no Ko season 2 (episode 12)
Rating: A Oshi no Ko was, by any reasonable measure, one of the biggest titles of 2023, and one of the hardest-hitting as well for the content it covered. Hence it was, by far, my most-anticipated title for the Summer ’24 season (if not the whole year). I am pleased to say that its firstContinue reading “Oshi no Ko season 2 (episode 12)”
USA Anime 