Forum: Anime, Manga and Video Game Reviews

The world is in danger of destruction. Of course by saying “the world,” I mean Japan. The Japanese military stands by helplessly as its government debates what to do. All defense falls upon the hapless American army. (Is there a political message in there?) But mankind has a secret weapon! ...

Suzume is about a titular character, a girl who meets a guy who seals doors to keep a giant worm from causing earthquakes to places in Japan. Without giving away anything more, it was directed by Makoto Shinkai of Your Name and Weathering With You fame. Talk about outdoing yourself. This movie was...

I’m sorry. I tried my best to get through this series, but six episodes is all I could stomach. I just can’t watch any more of From Me to You. If I tried to stick with it for all 25 episodes of season one, I don’t think I would have survived. So we have a high school girl named Sawaku who...

My Happy Marriage is not a romantic adventure, but rather an adventurous romance. It is also a drama dealing with broken family relationships, with a bit of a supernatural threat thrown in. Miyo is the daughter of a highly respected aristocrat by a previous relationship. When her younger...

Season 2 of Vinland Saga is available, so let the blood flow freely. The second season starts off several years after season one ended. Thorfinn, the cold-hearted Viking warrior, is now a slave. How that came about we don’t know yet. Or at least through the first 16 episodes, we don’t know. ...

Go back a while. I did a write-up on the animated series Ultraman -- https://www.animeforum.com/showthread.php?134375-Ultraman-(2019) It was only one season, but guess what! Netflix Streaming finally has the six episode season 2 and the 12 episode season 3. What took them so long? So we...

Yes, Baki Hanma: Son of Ogre does have a plot. Yes, there is a story. Unfortunately, neither is important. All that matters is that a bunch of grossly muscular men are beating the crap out of each other. Baki is about to take on his father in a battle to the death. But first he has to...

A review I posted in a comment on Youtube a while back: Although I am a part-time otaku and there are many, many animes I greatly enjoy, there are only three that have impressed me enough to be added to my library: Chobits, Masshiro Iro Symphony, and Ai Yori Aoshi. I love AYA because it...

So I went and made a short video delving into the ways Fullmetal Alchemist uses themes of birth and sexual reproduction using manga chapters and TV show eps as a reference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_spFLBM-REQ There's no end card in the video, so I'll say this here. If you enjoyed the...

Exclusively on Netflix Streaming comes a comedy-adventure series with all the usual clichés, but still with a fresh, exciting look. It’s called Skull Island, and it is worth a watch. I should note this is not a Japanese anime, though the influence is obvious. The artwork is not done in manga...

It is Japan of the Edo Era. Not only the Edo Era, but also an alternate universe. Here history is a little different. An illness called Red Face Small Pox strikes only young males, reducing the male population to the point that society can only now function with women doing the work and men used...

Did I just walk into the middle of something? Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune is about a war being fought for some reason. There’s the Trade Association army, which raises the question of why a trade association would have an army. Various planets and civilizations are members, meaning that the...

The Digimon Adventure 02 cast is back!! This time, they meet a DigiDestined named Owada Rui, who is "the first DigiDestined to be partnered with a Digimon." They find him after seeing him fall from Tokyo Tower. The film opens in Japan on October 27th, 2023.

Can an anime with a thin plot and cliché-filled storyline still be entertaining? Oddly, yes. Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya has a few things going against it. The story seems too familiar and predictable. Yet the 3D animation is great, and the character development suburb. I actually found...

I admit to being at a disadvantage here. I have seen a few episodes of Case Closed, but I never really followed the series. Still that does not seem to have interfered with my enjoyment of Case Closed: The Culprit Hanzawa, a fun-but-dump spoof of the parent series. I did have to do some...

Mononoke is a series dealing with the supernatural. A nameless medicine vendor travels through Japan fighting these demons known as mononoke. Well, that’s about it. I did want to like this stylish series, but unfortunately, it does fall flat. The twelve episode series tells various tales...

OK, so what was I watching here? Bee and PuppyCat seems to be a remake of a remake by the original creators of a short animated film. It is not a Japanese anime. This series is American made, but it does have some Japanese anime story elements. There is a talking cat, which only Bee seems to...

She’s back! Retsuko, that cute little red panda with a death metal heart, a job she hates, and a non-existent love life. . . . Opps! Wait a minute! She now has a love life! Retsuko has finally hooked up with Haida for season 5 of Aggretsuko. But things are not quite as happy as they should...

What is an anime series doing with a name based on a Clint Eastwood quote? Fortunately, the title is the only thing about Make My Day which I didn’t like. I did like the story, the characters, and of course the action. Jim is a would-be artist working part-time as a prison guard on the planet...

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre is an anthology series based on manga by Junji Ito. Each episode is a separate story or two dealing with some sort of supernatural horror. Though original, some of the tales are not that interesting. Others, especially those at the end of the...

It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Well, most likely it is. Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure combines computer animation with live action to give you a series for the whole family. The plot seems more made for kids, but like all really good children’s’ entertainment, it provides a bit...

So here is yet another coming of age anime. True Tears really doesn’t add anything new to the genre, but it does have a character driven storyline with some interesting characters who are well defined. Shinichirou meets Noe, a strange girl who rumor has it can put a curse on people. She is...

I have yet to play 'Digimon Survive.' But for those who have, what is your review of it? I will say this: I did see some game-play and the in-game anime scenes and it was VERY impressive! :D

Netflix Streaming now has the first five episodes of The Way of the Househusband, Season 2. I previously wrote about season one: https://www.animeforum.com/showthread.php?135351-The-Way-of-the-Househusband-(2021). It’s a Dumb, but Fun series based on a one-joke premise. A former Yakuza boss...

I want to see this movie sooooooooo bad!! Even though I'm a little spooked by the plot surrounding two teens often switching bodies. Though I can relate, as my body's been SNATCHED too!! lol :rolleyes:

The TV series Violet Evergarden tells of a young orphan trained as a killing machine by the military. When the war ends, a disabled Violet must learn to live in the world of everyday people. This also means learning how to experience and interpret her own emotions. This she does working as an...

Exception is a Japanese series made for Netflix Streaming, so the original dub is in English. This should make it a bit easier for English speaking audiences, since we don’t have to worry if the translation is accurate. But is the eight episode series still worth watching? The answer is yes. ...

Weathering With You is a 2019 Japanese anime film about a boy who runs off to Tokyo and meets a girl, who can somehow influence the weather. Boy falls in love with girl, encounters danger, violence ensues, romance blooms, there are tears, and there you have it. I went to the theaters to see the...

Maybe I expected too much from Jujutsu Kaisen O. It’s just that when I go see an anime movie, I expect more than what I would get from an anime TV series. After all, the filmmakers have more resources and time available than if they were working on a series. Watching Jujutsu Kaisen O, I felt...

I certainly prefer to watch movies which have some sort of point to them. Drifting Home really has a hard time coming forth with a point. I guess you can make up your own. Or it is intended for a younger audience which really doesn’t care either way. Nonetheless, Drifting Home is an...