Rating: B+ The situation at the heart of this episode is one quite familiar to any fan of romances with class-based complications. The higher-ranked man wants to be respectful of the lower-ranked woman’s wishes by not forcing her into a situation she may not want (and which he has reasonable evidence to that end, basedContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries episode 12”
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The Eminence in Shadow episode 32 (season finale)
Rating: B+ Ragnarok is upon us! Well, sort of. Really, it’s just an opportunity for Shadow to fight a boss monster-type foe while his Shadow Garden minions do all of the lesser work. The minor problem for the series is that Ragnarok just isn’t that interesting a foe on its own. Sure, it wrecks partContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow episode 32 (season finale)”
Review: Pluto
This ONA series, which debuted on Netflix in late October, has a very interesting pedigree. It adapts a lauded manga by Naoki Urasawa (the manga-ka behind titles like Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, Master Keaton, 21st Century Boys, and of course Monster), but that was itself a re-imagining of a singular story arc from OsamuContinue reading “Review: Pluto”
Review: The Boy and the Heron
Despite some flaws, this is still a movie well worth seeing.
The Eminence in Shadow, episode 30
Rating: B+ As I watched this week’s episode, I was struck by the thought that I have been overlooking one big inherent irony: Shadow Garden’s behavior is itself very cult-like, especially in the way it idolizes and even (in some cases) outright worships Shadow. That comes through clearly in the different reactions of 559 andContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 30”
The Eminence in Shadow, episode 29
Rating: B The prostitute Marie was shown too prominently back in episode 21 for her to not pop up again later, so it’s little surprise that her reappearance comes as the story shifts to what Cid was doing after he stepped out of the picture for a while at the end of episode 27. Unfortunately,Continue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 29”
Fall ’23 Mid-Season Round-Up
For the last two seasons, I have done a mid-season round of of isekai titles. While there are certainly enough of them this season (eight total, if you include reverse-isekai) to do a piece on just them, We also have a bevy of series about characters displaced within their own timelines (four in all!) andContinue reading “Fall ’23 Mid-Season Round-Up”
The Eminence in Shadow, episode 27
Rating: A- Confirmation bias is a psychological characteristic whereby people tend to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in ways that align with their pre-existing beliefs or values. It lies at the heart of many of the ironies in this series, and it is very much on display in this episode, where the ShadowContinue reading “The Eminence in Shadow, episode 27”
Movie Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
Posted: 11/13/2023 Note: This review is based on the subtitled version. A dubbed version is apparently also circulating, but that was not shown in my area. The Tunnel to Summer is a late 2022 movie which has only recently had a U.S. theatrical run, courtesy of HIDIVE. It adapts a 2019 light novel and isContinue reading “Movie Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes”
The Eminence in Shadow episode 26
Rating: B+ The series has been cycling through members of the Seven Shades for feature treatment this season, and this episode is Alpha’s turn. What we learn about her here is quite interesting and, honestly, a little heartbreaking. It’s hard not to sympathize with her given how Cid/Shadow/John Smith handles the situation. To this point,Continue reading “The Eminence in Shadow episode 26”
USA Anime 