Free! Eternal Summer

Free! Eternal Summer: Episode 01 Review

No one was surprised that Free! got a second season, but I was sure surprised to see a season called “Eternal Summer” start in the middle of winter. It makes some sense—no one on the Iwatobi team was a third-year (and thus in danger of graduating), but their rivals at Samezuka had to say farewell to their captain and introduce a new one.

READ MORE
Kuroi

Sailor Moon Crystal: Episode 01 Review

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here! The Sailor Moon reboot we’ve all been waiting for. It seemed almost impossible that a franchise as big and as popular as Sailor Moon had gone so long without any sort of extra story or remake (as fantastic as the stage shows and live action series are, they’re just not quite the same), but after 23 long years, the anime is finally getting a modern treatment!

READ MORE
[NiJ] Summer 2014

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Episodes 5-7 Review

As much as I hate to say it, with so many lovable and colorful characters, even a series as meta as Nozaki-kun can start to feel predictable in its gags after a while. After all, those who are genre-savvy enough – or, at least, familiar enough with the series – can guess what it is they can expect once the premise has been introduced.

READ MORE
[NiJ] Summer 2014

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Episodes 02-04 Review

While a series that leans against the fourth wall and pokes fun at a specific manga genre isn’t exactly anything special to write home about (though I seriously beg to differ in the case of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun), when it comes to its cast, this show has the ‘colorful and interesting cast’ part in spades. Episodes 2 through 4 are pretty much dedicated to introducing new cast members, each one just as interesting and unique as the next.

READ MORE
Kitsune

Glasslip: Episode 05-07 Review

Although he was likely already aware, Yanagi finally explicity confesses her love to Yukinari in episode 05. It seems that she has already accepted that her love will not be returned since Yukinari confessed to Touko, and although Touko rejected him, Yukinari is still hung up over her.

READ MORE
Glasslip

Glasslip: Episode 02-04 Review

As I mentioned in the last review, the characters are very well-defined. I already feel attached to most of them, and even without the plot twist, their everyday “adventures” are interesting enough to keep me engaged.

READ MORE
New in Japan

Love Stage!! : Episode 01 Review

Love Stage!! introduces the audience to Izumi Sena, a college student who dreams of becoming a manga artist in a family where entertainment is the career path of choice. Despite all of the opportunities and offers for help Izumi has received, he declines them all because his heart lay in pursuit of manga; he even joined the Manga Club at school to better his drawing.

READ MORE
New in Japan

Ao Haru Ride: Episode 02-04 Review

I noted in my last review that the personality of the main characters has not been expanded upon much yet, but it is clear to me now that this is so because the characters are holding back so much of themselves. Futaba is only beginning to come out of her shell, and Kou has a lot of barriers put up.

READ MORE