Caught the 1st episode of Journal with Witch. I think this might wind up being my favorite new anime of the season, we'll see how it goes. I enjoy series where we see adults being kind of a mess but carrying forward just the same. Perhaps parenthood has made me weak to such narrative hooks?

Finished up Kowloon Generic Romance, I liked it pretty well. Its vibes are a mix of 80's/90's with different characters feeling like they'd fit best in one of those eras. I found myself wanting one particular mystery laid totally bare but sometimes you don't get to know what's in a character's mind.

Getting things done around the house & keeping the urge to doomscroll at bay. So it's comfort anime time. Log Horizon is still one of my favorites, really engages with the world it's set in. Stellar cast for the Dub, Jovan Jackson's Nyanta is one of the best cat person performances out there.

Caught the premier episode of Sentenced to be a Hero. Looks really promising, the creature design is disturbing, bringing Cordyceps vibes. If you happened to enjoy this 1st ep also, maybe check out Clevatess if you haven't already. Has that mix of darkness, brutality & a dash of cuteness in spots.

A stern rebuke of at best facile 'analysis' of Pride & Prejudice in service of Prager's political objectives & specifically to the benefit of a particularly anti-trans text. If I might offer a salve of sorts, an earnest & fun look at the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice by Vice's original Waypoint crew:

I'm enjoying Kowloon Generic Romance quite a bit. Fitting for its theme of nostalgia, there are trappings in its style that really give me vibes of early 90's anime. The Dub is solid.

Pretty well sums up The Most Notorious "Talker" Runs the World's Greatest Clan. Featuring Noel Stollen, probably the most overtly ruthless bullshitter we've gotten in fantasy/isekai anime lately. Though the mission is a somewhat selfish one that has a side benefit of helping keep some people safe.

How I'm walking out of 2025.

A deep dive into one person's grift & regressive politics masquerading as literary criticism. While Layne is a novel veneer, beneath her inconsistent arguments is the familiar racism, misogyny & anti-LGBTQIA+ BS all cloaked in 'concern' for society or children that we see in similar grifts/projects.

Oh. . . A new vid from The Templin Institute!? Nice to see the channel showing signs of life, really slick explainer vids for all sorts of fictional worlds.

Since the Dub is playing catch up I'm kind of re-watching Let This Grieving Soul Retire. We aren't hurting for fantasy anime lately but I enjoy a protagonist who is a consummate bullshitter. Krai being the type who is in over his head & misreading most situations but perceived as a master strategist

O'Brien's. An Irish Pub. All dishes are hand made, guaranteed. No replicated fare. Unionized of course.

Wrapped up My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's. Solid Dub, Austin Tindle does well as our taciturn & brooding Isekai MC, Akira. Brief B plot check-ins with Akira's classmates doesn't progress much or take up too much time from Akira's adventure & struggle with being an OP Assassin.

More Black Clover in 2026? Wonderful. If it's out later in 2026, that just means there's time to re-watch the series. Which I just might do.

Gotta love the abrupt shift from tearful admiration of the beauty of a clear & bright horizon never before seen, to noticing the horror that ensures it's the last thing that people ever see. I'm sure we'll get a reveal that's not just a muted reflection. Gachkiakuta may be my favorite this season.

Hideo Kojima hosts. . . Kojima Support!

As a lifelong fan of The Blue Bomber, I have to express how absolutely whelmed I was with that Game Awards teaser. Give the fans, the people, what they truly want:

Finished up Dusk Beyond the End of the World. This nicely animated series speedruns the AI apocalypse to get to what really matters, post-apocalyptic polycules. I wouldn't call it propaganda, it's actually pretty clear in showing how any type of relationship can be dysfunctional. The Dub is solid.

Explicitly? A friend's cool older brother had a bootleg copy of Vampire Hunter D. I would suggest that things like Robotech or Nickelodeon's import of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics sort of count also, it just wasn't labeled as Anime at the time. Hell, Topcraft did The Hobbit for Rankin/Bass.

QTP with a male character you love! There's no shortage of OP Isekai MCs out there but The Eminence in Shadow's Cid Kageno brings a unique approach to his place in an Isekai adventure, just bullshitting & LARPing his way through what are truly world altering events that his actions have brought on.

Haven't played Warframe in many, many years but. . . They went out & grabbed Werner Herzog!? I'm sure he was well compensated but. . . What did they tell him? What did he ask about this thing he's to promote? Feels like some Orson Welles as Unicron stuff here.

Gachiakuta is not subtle, nor should it be. A rough, grimy world but beautifully detailed. The mix of slender & chunky in its design, the action, the acting. Zeno Robinson's Jabber Wonger is dripping with a joyful malice that makes me want to hear what his take on The Joker would be some time.

Catching up on Tougen Anki, pretty solid power battle series with Oni as the underdogs struggling against descendants of Momotarō. I think in a season without Gachiakuta, this might've been bigger but it's style just isn't quite as striking. Solid dub & fun powers with decent character design.

Walking into 2026

Riding Bean. Peak late 80's silly action anime where the action borders on full out mad cap nonsense most of the time. But damn do the cars look so good.

Tonight you'll be visited by three spirits

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. is a tactical reverse harem anime.

Catching up on some reading before bed. While I am excited to see Witch Hat Atelier animated, it's pages like these in the manga that I suspect will be lost in that translation. Beautiful art playing with its confines a bit, love to see it.

A nice way to confirm Clevatess season 2. A fairly brutal fantasy series with a style I quite like, there's a hint of cuteness to its aesthetic. A former hero seeking to regain that ideal & a legendary beast discovering a bit of humanity find themselves pushing against the narrative of their world.

If you see this, repost with your model of positive masculinity. Watch Blood Blockade Battlefront. Leo & Klaus have an incredible dynamic of different kinds of strength. Also it's quite funny at times & beautifully animated, great Dub as well.

Fan service is not always evergreen. Some things, appealing in my teen years, I now find repellent. Then there's Nagi Arato from Ruri Rocks who, in a medium that often uses almost painfully slender figures save for their bust? Just existing is a sort of effortless fan service. It's a good show too.

The Blu-rays I picked up from the MediaOCD sale have arrived. Been a long time since I watched Riding Bean & I'm glad to have a physical copy of the original Bubblegum Crisis, it'll go right next to Tokyo 2040 on the shelf. These slip covers look real nice, gotta be careful not to damage them.

Finally watched the Knights of Guinevere pilot & then watched @agramuglia.bsky.social's vid. Frankie gathering trash as it rains down from a floating platform where broken, unclean things can't be allowed really lined up with Gachiakuta, maybe check that out while we wait on KoG? It has a great Dub

Was Mortal Kombat (1995) amazing? My teenaged self sure thought so at the time. While my enthusiasm for the movie overall may have cooled, Tagawa's Shang-Tsun & Lambert's Rayden, you just kinda smile, great stuff. Want a quick hit? He voices F's friend Valco in Star Wars Visions: The Village Bride.

Introduce yourself with four mechs. MechAssault, wish it were easy for folks to play, a great on ramp to enjoying BattleTech. The Big O really a classic for American Mecha fans. BrokenBlade has a wonderful design aesthetic to its Mecha. The Ez-8, love the reference. A common soldier's Gundam.

Drop something VILLAINOUS

So, after finishing up the Shangri-la Frontier rewatch. I want to ask a question. Probably one that can be found in many a click bait anime article headline but. . . Sunraku would beat Kirito in a 1 v 1 right?

HiDive is like $5.99 a month, has the Sentai Dub of No Game, No Life. Doesn't use AI voices or translations. Has all of Danmachi, Akiba Maid War, Girls und Panzer, Princess Principal, Rock is a Lady's Modesty, Ya Boy Kongming & lots more series. If Amazon does this AI shit to Wotakoi I'll be pissed

The main Dub cast of Cells at Work! performing the opening song for the show. Such a fun & silly series that hinges on the enthusiasm, effort & talent of the faces seen here. Sure it's a promo but I really enjoy seeing VA's performing. #WeWantRealDubs

Got to the back half of season 2's end theme in my rewatch of Shangri-la Frontier. I'm sure it's not limited to elder Millennials but the parallax, idle, walk & run cycles? Those & a dash of chiptune make for a song that hits just right for me.

Post your favorite THE LORD OF THE RINGS character. Wrong answers only.

As the kiddo plays through MechAssault 2, I am loudly reminded that this was the era when you just dropped a Papa Roach or Breaking Benjamin into your game like it was the most natural thing in the world. Honestly? I don't dislike it. MechAssault seems such a solid on ramp to BattleTech, I miss it.

Dusk Beyond the End of the World on HiDive has a great clash of types of relationships. There's androids & post-apocalyptic government stuff but characters not only wanting to love different people but to love them in different frameworks all of which we see are capable of dysfunction? Compelling.

Riding Bean and Bubble Gum Crisis. I've actually only ever owned the physical media for Bubble Gum Crisis Tokyo 2040 so this should look nice on the shelf and on the screen.

Frustrating to see the reach that PragerU has. Reach that exceeds their willingness to honestly engage with any subject, The Bard included. The political project always comes first. PragerU may ignore Richard III but we did get a very unique interpretation a few years back. Requiem of the Rose King

Huh, so there's no Dub trailer at all out of Crunchyroll for May I Ask for One Final Thing? They're still the biggest game in town and that's unlikely to change but it really feels like they're letting Dub series that aren't already really popular go kind of un-promoted at times?

The right man in the wrong place, can make all the difference in the world so wake up, Charlie Brown.

A movie that takes place where you're from.

Helping the kiddo decide what to buy with a Steam gift card I noticed that many Mech offerings tend towards strategy, simulation or online PvP. None really great options for a kid that just wants to stomp around. Dusted off the 360 & pulled MechAssault 2 off my shelf. Feels like a niche unfilled.

Read or Die (2001) Let's just say before there were Quirks, Read or Die gave us some characters with pretty quirky abilities and talents?