As the crowds began to assemble, finding seating on the field in front of the stage or lining up to buy food from vendors, I caught sight of a musician sitting cross-legged at the side of the festival stage, tuning her guitar. I immediately recognized this wispy, pretty young woman and wondered if others knew… Read More From Hokkaido to SXSW: Rejay’s Expanding Sound
Another anime season is upon us, and that means it’s time once again for our first impressions series here at Beneath the Tangles. 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… Read More Spring 2026 Anime First Impressions
Time is a funny thing: There is a certain vertigo to it. Sometimes, a carved stone older than civilization pops up in the river of my city—a city with a wall built by a Roman legion, Renaissance palaces, and Visigoth churches once ransacked by Napoleon’s soldiers. As the years go by, these backgrounds become landmarks of my own… Read More The Elusive Samurai, I: Tokiyuki and the Baptism of Fire
Koyuki Hikawa: “The Queen.” Her classmates avoid her and even fear her, not because she’s done anything terrible or fearsome, but because she looks scary; her face always gives off a “don’t come near me vibe.” And that’s on purpose. After struggling through the anxiety that being teased caused her in middle school—for her shyness,… Read More First Impression: The Ramparts of Ice
Toya Senji has been trying to figure out for a long time what his special talent is, but so far, his true calling has eluded him. He has developed this inferiority complex due to constantly being compared to his brilliant older brother, who died young. So when Haito Luo Buffett offers him a chance to… Read More First Impression: Petals of Reincarnation
Despite his best efforts, Natsuki had a “colorless and gray” three years of high school. Now he’s on the verge of graduating college and starting a career, but he’s still nagged by the regrets of his teenage years. Then he wakes up and its seven years earlier. He quickly accepts that he’s gotten a chance… Read More First Impression: Haibara’s Teenage New Game+
As the first episode of Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon season 3 begins, Boxxo and Kikoyu try to outdo one another with food yet again before sharing their birthday party. Shortly afterward, we say goodbye to Kikoyu—who leaves on a personal quest—before Boxxo and his friends search for another member… Read More First Impression: Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 3
It’s been a month since school started, and the fateful day when shy, introverted Nakamura spotted happy-go-lucky Hirose at the opening ceremony and fell in love at first sight. Since that time, he’s been trying to build up his courage to develop a friendship with his crush, but Nakamura can’t even say one word to… Read More First Impression: Go For It, Nakamura-kun!!
As we open, a shadowy man schemes to get Kiyotaka Ayanokoji expelled from Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School and returned to the White Room (a mad science facility where he was raised). The man issues orders to a cloaked figure. The scene then shifts to the main cast of students, who are about to… Read More First Impression: Classroom of the Elite 4th Season: Second Year, First Semester
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