Do you like magic or the art of illusion? Our unnamed male main character…doesn’t really, but just entered to a new school and is required to join a club. That’s when he stumbles into a classroom where the school’s magic club is meeting. There he meets the entire magic club. Which is one person—the titular,… Read More First Impressions: Magical Sempai
In my last Newman’s Nook column, I thought I was done talking about Sarazanmai. I was wrong. There are two more characters that merit attention—Reo and Mabu. Reo and Mabu appear to be the show’s antagonists. The duo are serving the otters by creating kappa-zombies when introduced in the series. Through flashbacks, forced reveals, and… Read More Newman’s Nook: The Martyrdom of Mabu
Last time on Newman’s Nook, I examined Kazuki and Toi of Sarazanmai. For the sake of completion, I decided this piece will feature our third kappa-boy, Enta. A complicated character, Enta is a boy in love with his best friend. He is confused about his sexuality and tossed into a world of kappas, zombies, and… Read More Newman’s Nook: Enta’s Dueling Goals
Sarazanmai continues to tackle complicated issues of desire and lust with gorgeous visuals, kappas, and of course, butts. In my first piece on the series, I spoke about secret revelations. This time I want to speak about two of our leads—Kazuki and Toi. Warning: Spoilers from the first five episodes will follow. Kazuki gives the… Read More Newman’s Nook: You. Me. Same.
Sarazanmai is a series that is hard to explain; however, I will try anyway. After a series of very strange events, the three eighth grade boys—Kazuki, Toi, and Enta—are transformed into kappas and forced to prevent zombie kappas from endangering the world. They do so by removing a fictional organ called the shirikodama from a… Read More Newman’s Nook: Secrets Revealed
An early 90s nostalgia trip, Hi Score Girl is an anime series about hardcore 2-D fighting game enthusiast, Haruo Yaguchi, and the two girls he meets at the arcades. The first is Akira Oono, who is one of the most popular girls in school. Akira gets top marks in all of her classes and will… Read More Newman’s Nook: Haruo’s Passion in Hi-Score Girl
Two boys that are wildly different end up connected as…kappas? Sarazanmai opens with Kazuki telling about the important parts of his day – texting a girl, carrying a box, and watching the daily fortunes. We then see Toi, who is robbing a “Kappazon” car. The two get into a scuffle and destroy the statue of… Read More First Impression: Sarazanmai
I like anime and manga. New anime. Old anime. New manga. Old manga. However, I find myself distracted from time to time by the new hotness, be it a new anime series that strikes my fancy or a fresh manga series of which I can’t seem to get enough. Something always finds a way to… Read More Newman’s Nook: Old Classics vs New Hotness
Goku’s tenacity, desire to defend the helpless, and incredible strength make him one of anime’s most admirable characters. But not everything about Goku is so praiseworthy, specifically not his parenting skills. Throughout the Dragon Ball manga, Goku appears to care for and love his family—however, he’s constantly absent from his children’s lives. He missed most… Read More Newman’s Nook: Goku the Absent Father
Although we all accept Saiyans as part of the Dragon Ball universe now, it’s easy to forget that this whole concept, and the fact that Goku is not human but of this alien race, is introduced right at the start of the Dragon Ball Z. Mind you Goku had a tail, super strength, and could… Read More Newman’s Nook: Redemption of Vegeta