Top Ten Anime of the 2010s... Plus Another 15 That Deserve To Be Talked About 31 Dec 2019 10:45 AM (5 years ago)
Oh look, another entire decade has ended. You know what that means, don't you? It means that I'm old... so very old...
It also means that just like everyone else with a keyboard and a desperate desire to fill the void between Christmas and New Year, I have to make a Top Ten list of the decade's best anime. Except let's be honest, there were so many more than 10 good shows and movies in the
My Anime Top Ten - 2018 31 Dec 2018 10:50 AM (6 years ago)
"Ha!" I thought to myself as I sat down to write this, "Making a Best of 2018 anime list is going to be easy. I mean, there wasn't that much good stuff this year, right?" Cut to five minutes later, and me squinting at a list of 25 series and films that was still threatening to grow at any moment if I were to just think a little harder.
No matter what the naysayers may wish to opine on the
The Halfway House - Winter 2018 Edition 14 Feb 2018 12:25 PM (7 years ago)
I hate to alarm you folks, but we're already half-way through the first anime season of 2018. Yes, it's mid-February already, and yet it seems like only yesterday that I was writing about my hottest shows of 2017.
Still, in keeping with that whole "writing about things" state of mind, this seems like a perfect time for me to dig out some of my highlights from the currently airing state of
My Anime Top Ten - 2017 1 Jan 2018 4:41 AM (7 years ago)
I'm back, baby! Okay, I'm not really back, but now I no longer have an official "home" for my musings this is the time of year when my fingers get decidedly itchy. The people must know what anime I enjoyed in 2017, and they must know immediately.
So, after a three-year hiatus, it's time to perform a little necromancy on this blog to share my top ten anime of 2017. You know you want to
Reverse Thieves Secret Santa 2014 - Barakamon 24 Dec 2014 8:00 AM (10 years ago)
Following on from my viewing of Log Horizon, this year's Secret Santa pickings have turned out to be a great opportunity to watch recent shows that I'd hoped to catch but never got around to, and thus my second selection for 2014 was Barakamon.
Out of nowhere, this seemed to be a series which built an impressive amount of hype from those watching it as it aired, although in this case the hype
Reverse Thieves Secret Santa 2014 - Log Horizon 24 Dec 2014 3:00 AM (10 years ago)
This 'blog may be defunct but its writer most certainly isn't, and who would turn down the opportunity to spend their December being forced at gunpoint (okay, I may be exaggerating here) to watch anime that some random stranger thinks you might like. Probably. Maybe. Possibly. If you're really lucky. Yes, that's right, I threw my hat into the ring for the Reverse Thieves Secret Santa
The end of an era... 30 Jun 2014 11:19 AM (10 years ago)
When I fired up this 'blog on a whim at the start of 2008, the world was a very different place - Crunchyroll and legal streaming were still largely irrelevant (particularly to someone based in the UK such as myself), fansubs still ruled the roost, and Twitter barely existed in anything like the hugely popular form that it does today. It was that environment that led to the creation of this
Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2 - Episode 13 (Completed) 30 Jun 2014 11:15 AM (10 years ago)
The Love Live is over (and there are no prizes for guessing who won), which leaves just the small matter of graduation to be tackled by both third years and the student council alike.
As you might imagine, Honoka's attempts to write a graduation speech to deliver as student council president proved rather torturous and led to some last-minute panic, but otherwise everything is in-hand and
Mekakucity Actors - Episode 12 (Completed) 29 Jun 2014 2:40 PM (10 years ago)
Now that Momo and company have been rescued, it's time for the gang to make good their escape and take on the "final boss" in this finale of Mekakucity Actors.
With the entire cast assembled, the group has no shortage of special powers to use to get to where they want to go, whether it's Takane's hacking ability (and not an iconic cap in sight) or... well... Takane's abilities with a gun in
Knights of Sidonia - Episode 12 (Completed) 27 Jun 2014 10:41 AM (10 years ago)
Taking the fight to a massive Gauna hive was always going to be a "do or die" mission for Sidonia's Gardes, but as the situations worsens it seems as if only the "die" part of that statement has any chance of coming true.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and with Benisuzume scything through the platoon and an anti-planet missile well on its way, the decision is made to blow a whole
Mekakucity Actors - Episode 11 25 Jun 2014 11:50 AM (10 years ago)
Last week's episode taught us a lot in terms of filling in the gaps within Mekakucity Actors (aside from the most important gap of all, of course, that being the reason why this show is garbage), so now that we have our "bad guy" in sight what's next for the Mekakushi-dan.
The most pressing issue however is to prevent Hibiya from doing anything foolhardy, and eventually Momo and Kido catch
No Game No Life - Episode 12 (Completed) 25 Jun 2014 10:48 AM (10 years ago)
Try as they might to twist the game in their favour, it seems that Blank simply can't be beaten, leaving Izuna on the brink of defeat in the decidedly Japanese virtual world that makes up the game created by the Eastern Federation.
This isn't the end of the matter however, as Izuna has a trick of her own up her sleeve - the rare Warbeast power to surpass her own normal physical limitations. Thus
Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2 - Episode 12 23 Jun 2014 11:28 AM (10 years ago)
Now that the future of their group has been decided, judgement day is nigh for μ's. No, not that judgement day, but rather the Love Live itself.
With Nico having fortuitously drawn a prize slot for the event, giving the group the final slot in the competition (which doesn't seem like such a great draw to me, I've seen how Eurovision works), focus has to return to one last
One Week Friends - Episode 12 (Completed) 22 Jun 2014 9:41 AM (10 years ago)
There may have been no dramatic fallout between Hase and Kaori, but the very obvious cooling in their friendship is visible to all and sundry within their class as time goes by.
Of course, it goes without saying that Fujimiya is more keenly aware of this change than anybody else, and it's Kiryu to whom she turns looking for advice - advice that he can't readily give beyond explaining that Hase
The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behaviour! - Episode 12 (Completed) 22 Jun 2014 8:34 AM (10 years ago)
Ritsu's new friend has provided her with a journey of discovery as to what friendship is all about, but is it about to lead her into a sticky situation as she's thrust into a karaoke party mixer when all she was actually expecting was a quiet day at the library.
In a blue of frantic worry, Usa opts to borrow Mayumi's phone to check in on whether Ritsu is okay, and although she isn't okay
Riddle Story of Devil - Episode 12 (Completed) 21 Jun 2014 7:14 AM (10 years ago)
Haru has survived all of her assailants and passed the test designed specifically for her - or has she? It seems that there is one final peril that has decided to know its face.
That danger is, of course, Tokaku herself, who seems to have taken upon itself to unleash her ability to kill now that it resides within her on her one-time friend. All is not as it seems however, as Haru is saved from
Knights of Sidonia - Episode 11 20 Jun 2014 12:00 PM (10 years ago)
The path of a giant craft journeying through space never did run smooth, particularly if that craft happens to be named Sidonia, as this space-faring behemoth suddenly finds itself dwarfed several hundred times over by a massive Gauna hive; one so big that its consumed a dwarf planet to use as its placenta.
It also seems that the phrase "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" won't apply
Nanana's Buried Treasure - Episode 11 (Completed) 20 Jun 2014 10:45 AM (10 years ago)
The face-off between the Adventure Club and their former member Ikusaba seems to have taken a dark, violent and decidedly dangerous turn - is there any way out of the mess Juugo and company have found themselves in?
Yes, as it happens, but not before our protagonist is left with a fractured elbow and collapsed lunch by Ikusaba. Of course, the solution comes via our resident master detective, who
Selector Infected WIXOSS - Episode 12 (Completed) 19 Jun 2014 2:21 PM (10 years ago)
Ruko has, to all intents and purposes, decided her upon her wish, but will having to face up to a determined Hitoe and LRIG Yuzuki quickly derail her plans?
As their part in Iona's "battle royale" rumbles on, it becomes clear that Hitoe is fighting against the very curse that afflicted her thanks to her last round as a Selector - her memories of her friends has returned, and in spite of the pain
Ping Pong the Animation - Episode 11 (Completed) 19 Jun 2014 10:55 AM (10 years ago)
Hoshino's defeat of Kazama has sent reverberations not only around the arena in which the tournament is being hosted, but also the wider world as word spreads online via the media and social networks. For those involved however, this is all ancient history already, as our focus zooms in on the final between Peco and Smile.
Amidst worries about Hoshino's knee, Tsukimoto remains adamant that
M3 the dark metal - Episode 9 18 Jun 2014 2:52 PM (10 years ago)
Akashi and Heito's venture into the Lightless Realm didn't exactly go swimmingly, and as two entered only one returns, with Akashi just about making it out before collapsing, with his colleague nowhere to be seen.
What's more Akashi now point-blank refuses to pilot the Argent again having learned at least some of its secrets as they pertain to his brother - the trouble is, the powers that be are
No Game No Life - Episode 11 18 Jun 2014 10:52 AM (10 years ago)
The game is afoot against the Warbeasts, and although Shiro and Sora have effectively been placed on "home territory" as the nature of the virtual reality they'll be playing in is revealed, it seems like it really couldn't be any worse for our pair of shut-ins; in fact, it's fair to say that a game set in Tokyo is the last thing that they wanted.
However, Sora in particular is quick to recover
Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2 - Episode 11 17 Jun 2014 10:55 AM (10 years ago)
The results of entrance exams are on show at Otonokizaka High School, and crowds have gathered to see who made it and who missed out. The news is good for both Eli and Honoka's sisters, but of course the prospect of new students also means that it's almost time for some of the third years to depart.
When mentioned by Honoka's sister, this prospect hits μ's leader like a lead weight as
One Week Friends - Episode 11 15 Jun 2014 1:29 PM (10 years ago)
Following that rough time thanks to the loss of some of Kaori's memories again since Kujo's appearance, things have settled down and returned to their normal routine for Kaori and Hase, even if Saki is still stuck in a rut regarding her relationship with Shogo after recent events.
There is still something gnawing away at both Fujimiya and Hase surrounding the former's unexpected meeting with
Mekakucity Actors - Episode 10 15 Jun 2014 10:35 AM (10 years ago)
Our perspective shifts once again for this week's Mekakucity Actors (who saw that coming?), as we witness a woman and her daughter waiting for the return of the latter's father... something which, it seems, may never happen.
This suspicion in confirmed when the home of the family in question is raided and the mother openly shot in front of her daughter - not that this is the end of the