Tag Archives: tv

The Apothecary Diaries episode 26

Rating: A- This episode has a bit of everything that makes this series great: expanded world-building, exploration of rich detail, hints of bigger mysteries, behaviors just suspicious enough to warrant investigation, regular cast members being themselves, lots of pretty venues and character designs, and a fun new regular being formally introduced by name. It mayContinue reading “The Apothecary Diaries episode 26”

Fall ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2

See here for part 1. This half of the report covers Orb (which I somehow overlooked in my first half) and all fall season series I have been following which are first hitting episode 6 or 7 between 11/16 and 11/20 inclusive. Mostly these are the series that were later starters, though in one caseContinue reading “Fall ’24 Mid-Season Report, part 2”

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”

Spring 2024 Wrap-Up

With the last handful of titles for the Spring 2024 season having now aired (except for the title whose last two episodes have been delayed), let’s take a summative look at what worked well and what didn’t this season. Because of the high volume of titles I managed to follow this season, covering every oneContinue reading “Spring 2024 Wrap-Up”

Spice & Wolf: merchant meets wise wolf episode 1

Note: Because I find this title obnoxiously long, I will hereafter be titling these Spice & Wolf (2024). Rating: B+ The base concept here seems simple enough: a great wolf has spent centuries being the goddess of the wheat in one village, but due to the advent of advanced farming methods, she no longer feelsContinue reading “Spice & Wolf: merchant meets wise wolf episode 1”

Winter ’24 Mid-Season Round-Up, part 2

In Part 1 last week, I covered series that have not been getting episode reviews at Anime News Network. In this installment, I will be offering my take on series that I am following that are getting week-to-week coverage. In most cases, these are the season’s more popular and/or noteworthy productions, so it’s not aContinue reading “Winter ’24 Mid-Season Round-Up, part 2”

The Apothecary Diaries, episode 18

Rating: A I was going to skip reviewing this one separately and just combine it with episode 19, rather than post a review this late. However, episode 18 turned out to be loaded, the culmination of many hints and mysteries presented to date, and the previews suggest that next episode will be even more loaded.Continue reading “The Apothecary Diaries, episode 18”

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)”