First Impression: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 (Anime Expo World Premiere)

Our man on the ground, T.R. Racki, watched the world premiere of the second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the first episode of which screened at Anime Expo 2026. The series drops this fall. Visceral. Chaotic. Traumatic. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 throws the audience immediately into a high-stakes heist that goes violently, spectacularly wrong. There are no… Read More First Impression: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 (Anime Expo World Premiere)

07.05.202607.05.2026 TwwkLeave a comment

Review: To You in the Beyond

Our man on the ground, T.R. Racki, watched the world premiere of To You in the Beyond at Anime Expo 2026. The film releases in Japan later this year. A sixteen-year-old girl washes ashore on a remote Japanese island. Her first word in the year 2026 is “1974.” Kazuki, a fifteen-year old boy, takes refuge… Read More Review: To You in the Beyond

07.04.202607.04.2026 Twwk1 Comment

Uma AX 2026: Pretty Busy (Daily Dispatches from Anime Expo 2026)

Umapyoi! Umapyoi! (Horse joy! Horse joy!) Time to lace up the track shoes. It’s Fourth of July weekend, which means three things: backyard barbecues, fireworks, and Anime Expo. And while the peak of summer uma racing bursts from the gate on July 3 at Saratoga, the starting bell rings one day earlier in downtown Los… Read More Uma AX 2026: Pretty Busy (Daily Dispatches from Anime Expo 2026)

07.02.202607.05.2026 TwwkLeave a comment

Summer 2026 Anime First Impressions

Another anime season is upon us, and that means it’s time once again for our first impressions! Over the next several weeks, our writers will be sampling a wide range of new and returning shows and sharing their early thoughts—what excites us, what surprises us, and what might be worth adding to your watchlist. This… Read More Summer 2026 Anime First Impressions

06.25.202607.05.2026 Staff1 Comment

Something Genuine Season 2, Ep. 4: Hana Hope on Music, Identity, and Finding Her Voice

For the fourth episode of season two, I had the pleasure of speaking with singer-songwriter Hana Hope. Anime fans may know Hana from her work singing themes* on Spice and Wolf, Fate/Grand Order, and most recently, my favorite anime of spring 2026, A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA. But while her music first drew me to… Read More Something Genuine Season 2, Ep. 4: Hana Hope on Music, Identity, and Finding Her Voice

06.24.202606.25.2026 TwwkLeave a comment

First Impression: The World’s Strongest Rearguard

Atobe Arihito and his coworkers die in a bus accident, and he reincarnates in a fantasy world. Actually, it seems like everybody on the bus (such as his former boss, Igarashi) reincarnates. They are in a nation of Seekers, those who explore labyrinths, and the people of the fantasy world are used to getting reincarnators… Read More First Impression: The World’s Strongest Rearguard

07.05.202607.05.2026 JeskaiAngelLeave a comment

First Impression: Recommendations from Iwamoto-Senpai

Kodo Iwamoto, a student from a military academy, is sent to investigate a strange rumor: a village that allegedly experiences black snow. Upon arrival at the village, he begins his investigations, which lead him to a beautiful garden with an odd variety of flower. When he picks one of them, the ground gives way beneath… Read More First Impression: Recommendations from Iwamoto-Senpai

07.05.202607.05.2026 negativeprimesLeave a comment

First Impression: Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus

There is no way that Mizuka Tsurumaki will work at anything having to do with a circus. The visuals may fill us with wonder, the music may be epic, the chief performer may mention how there’s a smile on every face, but she is not buying. You see, Mizuka is the daughter of a legendary… Read More First Impression: Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus

07.05.202607.05.2026 GaheretLeave a comment

First Impression: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects

Once an orphan, carrying out his parents’ wishes for him to help others by caring for other orphans, Dias became part of a war effort for the kingdom that lasted 20 years. He was good at warfare—so good, in fact, that the king granted him a domain for his heroics. But as Dias surveys his… Read More First Impression: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects

07.04.202607.05.2026 Twwk1 Comment

First Impression: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia

Content warning: slavery; suicide. In 1213 AD, in the city of Tus, a young girl named Sitara is sold as a slave. The family that buys her is kind, even teaching her how to read the Quran and to practice Islam. At first distraught over losing her mother, Sitara eventually comes to accept her circumstances… Read More First Impression: Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia

07.04.202607.04.2026 negativeprimesLeave a comment

First Impression: The Duke’s Son Claims He Won’t Love Me, But Showers Me with Adoration

The kind and industrious Elsa comes from an impoverished noble family. She receives an offer of marriage from Julius, the eldest son of a duke. For the benefit of her family, she accepts the offer, but doesn’t meet Julius until their wedding day. The wedding and reception afterward mostly seem to go well enough, but… Read More First Impression: The Duke’s Son Claims He Won’t Love Me, But Showers Me with Adoration

07.04.202607.04.2026 JeskaiAngel1 Comment

Beneath the Tangles

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