Rating: B+ One point that often gets underemphasized in discussions and analyses about this franchise is how much the structure and nature of familias can vary. Some (like Hestia Familia) function like a true family, while others function like businesses (Ishtar and Dian Cecht), fraternal organizations (arguably Loki Familia), spy groups (Hermes Familia), civic groupsContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3”
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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2
Rating: B+ I have seen some claims that this installment is only supposed to be 15 episodes long instead of two full cours. If true, that means a much faster-paced adaptation than the previous story arc, as volumes 16-18 are collectively at least 100 pages longer than volumes 12-14. (And that’s without factoring in theContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2”
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1
Rating: B+ NOTE: For anime-only readers, I strongly recommend either reading the novel Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya or watching the compilation of the Memoria Freese version of it before getting too deep into this season. Certain parts of this season (especially its middle arc) will make more sense if you have the background for Freya’sContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1”
Summer 2024 Wrap-Up
With the last handful of titles for the Summer 2024 season having now aired, let’s take a summative look at what worked well and what didn’t this season. Because of the high volume of titles I followed this season, covering every one of them here would make this post cumbersome. Hence I am only coveringContinue reading “Summer 2024 Wrap-Up”
Fall 2024 Preview Guide
REviews of the first episodes of most series in the Fall 2024 anime season, posted as they debut.
Spice & Wolf episode 24
Rating: A- Last episode ended with Lawrence, Holo, Elsa, and Evan all fleeing Tereo, which is unquestionably the smart and safe move for all of them. However, as becomes apparent during their flight on Holo’s back, the smart and safe move isn’t necessarily one that everyone can live with. And that provides the grounds forContinue reading “Spice & Wolf episode 24”
Series Review: Bye Bye, Earth part 1
This adaptation of an early novel by the creator of Mardock Scramble can be a captivating fantasy story but sometimes tries too hard to be different.
Spice & Wolf (2024) episode 23
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”
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”
Terminator Zero
Like its namesake cyborg, The Terminator is a franchise that just won’t die. The franchise’s seminal movie was originally envisioned as a standalone, but its unexpected success eventually led to Teminator 2: Judgment Day, which is widely considered to be one of science fiction’s most influential and ground-breaking works. Though that was also not intendedContinue reading “Terminator Zero”