Far as I can tell, Robert Redford was: * successful at everything he tried * genuinely intelligent & insightful * desired by women * envied by men * an absolute mensch to everyone he dealt with * a tireless, lifelong philanthropist ... and he died peacefully in his sleep. 10/10 life. No notes.

RIP Robert Redford

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle offers plenty of action and some emotional flashbacks, but it suffers from an overuse of flashbacks that undermine the story's pacing. Our review: bit.ly/47ofSpq

Here's @shineyezehuhh.bsky.social, @siddhantadlakha.bsky.social, @kircarey.bsky.social, and @rafaelmotamayor.bsky.social talking about one of the most exasperating aspects of my old job. (I still stand by that Penguin score.)

Heidi took over in the '70s. It was Isao Takahata's breakout hit, with Hayao Miyazaki on staff. More classic shows followed. But TV anime was a brutal industry. Surviving it changed Miyazaki and Takahata and their styles, as we explore: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-pressu...

Everything with Chitose Amano made me cry like a fucking baby.

This is just a general observation (and I know I was just talking about The Summer Hikaru Died yesterday), but a lot of the mainstream anime titles are really, really queer right now. These aren't Demon Slayer, but have you watched the current season of My Dress-Up Darling?

Never (*NEVER*) bet against Jimmy C!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️

You love to see it

Unknown to Western media, bisexuality was invented in Japan in 1979.

a great observation and a powerful bummer

absolutely spectacular writing from the Wikipedia editor who added this to Jim Carrey's entry en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Car...

A wonderful article by the fabulous @rafaelmotamayor.bsky.social about Koala Man, a show I am immensely proud of. I hope more people will discover this slice of weirdness! www.slashfilm.com/1901465/hugh...

So I wonder who did the German subtitles for Crunchyroll's Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show?

woooow

FIFA says yes to racism: defector.com/fifa-says-ye...

I still can't get past the idea that people in America are now supposed to accept that this is a valid form of law enforcement and just assume it's fine when random dudes in groups with face-coverings, no ID, no warrant, & no uniform grab people off the street and force them into unmarked vehicles

Shingo Natsume (Sonny Boy) to direct "Ghost" animated movie at Madhouse (2027). Co-written with Tomohiro Suzuki. Character designs by Natsume Ono & Norifumi Kugai. A sneak preview could be seen at Annecy Festival ;-] natalie.mu/comic/news/6...

Hope to see more of Kate and that shirt on @giantbomb.bsky.social

LET'S FUCKING GO!! One of anime's most traumatic stories in glorious HD.

Maybe they could stop trying to deport all the activists who said this was happening for a year then

It turns out that letting a machine someone else owns do all your thinking for you means that your very process of thought can be enshittified into a glorified ad feed. Who would have guessed this was going to happen, except everyone?

Mad king shit. Just making up new tariffs to replace the tariffs his advisors already had to dupe him into cancelling. Hilarious that the media that is pushing "why did we ignore Biden's cognitive decline" insists on sanewashing and covering this up.

in honor of george wendt, a reminder that most male posters look like norm

This shit is hitting a lot of us HARD today

This is such a fascinating (and also kind of sad) read about the slow corporate death of creativity and some of the people fighting against it

Super thorough piece by @felixgillette.bsky.social on the decline of Cartoon Network in the Age of Zaz. But to my mind, this graf is the crux: The demand is there; WBD failed to meet it and damned the brand in the process. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Next in the #OnePiece anime: 1129: Kuma's Past - Better Off Dead in This World (May 18th) 1130: Erased History! The God Valley of Despair (May 25th) 1131: A Fleeting Happiness - Kumachi and Ginny (June 1st) 1132: Vow to Ginny - Kuma Becomes a Father (June 8th)

if you were also offered a polygon contractor position, get in touch. working on a story about how valnet is changing the site. my DMs are open, my email is [email protected], and I'm nathangrayson.666 on signal

I was also offered a contract position at Polygon, and I declined it. When I inquired about freelance rates or salaries (and whether they would include dental and health insurance) under Valnet, I never got a clear answer, so do with that what you will.

Last night, Andor made me say something that I’ve never said as a Star Wars fan: “Wow, Episode 9 fucking ruled.”

“Holding her is dangerous. If word of this gets out it could generate sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate.” / “There’ll be no one to stop us this time” are Ep IV lines with huge lore implications that shape the roll out of conflict in this particular era. I think they’re often overlooked.

1/ The US government has ordered the Swedish city of Stockholm to end its diversity, inclusivity and equality (DEI) programmes within 10 days. The city authorities say the demand is "bizarre" and they won't be complying. ⬇️

It's very telling that the main reaction to Godzilla Minus One's budget was "Wow, that's so cheap! Why can't American films be that cheap??" and not "Hmm, why are Japanese filmmakers paid so little?"

I don't have jobs to give and I wish I did, but to everyone that was until recently employed by Polygon: GamesRadar+ is always interested in freelance pitches: [email protected]

Finally some good news today

Most folks are talking about the Polygon news in terms of the loss to videogame journalism, but proportionally, the loss to tabletop journalism is even worse.

I am just one guy and I cannot do much but I’ve had some success freelancing and if you want some help with getting a pitch in shape that’s a standing offer I made on the old site and the same goes here

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Valnet is the fucking puppy mill of fandom media. They pay shit rates, blacklist folks who criticize said rates, and basically churn out COUNTLESS clickbait pieces of shit that is designed for fucking Google rather than for people I fucking *despise* them

Essential reading.

I keep thinking this meme has hit every possible iteration. I keep thinking it doesn't get better. I keep being gloriously wrong. Via Facebook, here: www.facebook.com/adam.the.cre...

I hope this gives a lot of Catholic TERFs watching this massive coronaries, or at least really bad heartburn.

Psssst. It's the comic i colored!

Glad to see 4 old Japanese anime series restored in HD for the 50th anniversary of "World Masterpiece Theater" : - A Dog of Flanders (1975) - Anne of Green Gables (1979) - Perrine's Story (1978) - Romeo's Blue Skies (1995) natalie.mu/comic/news/6...

This is one hill I will happily die on: the biggest mistake most early-career journalists make is sticking to the list of questions. Have questions! Do your research! But you’re having a conversation. Listen. Follow up. React. No one has ever had a memorable interview based on a list of questions.

The Japanese TV series Ultra Q is playing on Tubi. Truly, deeply weird show — abrasive slapstick and kooky surrealism. X-Files for very young kids, kinda. There’s one episode that’s almost like an alternate Gamera origin story, although they don’t call him that. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Q

Had a nice happenstance day with @rafaelmotamayor.bsky.social as we both pushed ourselves way beyond the point of exhaustion post-Star Wars Celebration to have fun wandering Shibuya and Ikebukuro Didn’t realize they were here but great to say hi, so glad I could, thanks again!

Andor returns tonight, and before you watch it you really need to watch Star Wars Rebels. I wrote about the connection between both excellent shows for IndieWire. www.indiewire.com/features/ani...

Magneto was right

As long as we’re doing French Revolution takes, let’s all remember that Mark Twain’s is undefeated: