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
Melody is the sole servant at an impoverished noble estate. In the span of a couple weeks, she’s completely transformed the dilapidated mansion, and then she helps the estate’s resident, Luciana, host a tea party. That about covers the first three minutes, and the rest of the episode is flashbacks, in which we learn about… Read More First Impression: Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!
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
Few artists have become as closely associated with anime music over the decade and a half as Eir Aoi. Since her breakthrough with songs like “Memoria” (Fate/zero), “Innocence” (Sword Art Online), “Genesis” (Aldnoah.Zero), and “Hello Hello Hello” (A Couple of Cuckoos), she has helped define the sound of countless anime memories for fans around the… Read More From “Memoria” to “Unrealistic” and “MONSTER”: A Conversation with Eir Aoi
We go back—way back—for today’s Reader’s Corner, with the release of two manga taking place in the 1940s: the volume one rerelease of Naoki Urasawa’s Billy Bat and the one-volume manga about the heroic Himeyuri schoolgirls during the Battle of Okinawa, cocoon. Reviews of other new releases are also below. Check them out and let… Read More Reader’s Corner: Billy Bat (Vol. 1), cocoon, and Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice (Vol. 3)
Happy Friday, otaku! Here I come again with another “old school” anime devo, but as Discotek Media says in all their sizzle reels, “Blu-rays are forever. So are the classics.” Speaking of them, they released today’s subject on Blu-ray a few years ago: Iria: Zeiram the Animation (1994). This six-episode OVA (original video animation) from… Read More A Relentless Enemy: Zeiram and the “Roaring Lion” Called the Devil
In my last article, I talked about the character of Tokiyuki, the Samurai Who Lives, and how The Elusive Samurai has him discover his mission through a baptism of fire. But the journey of our hero has just begun. Soon, a great betrayal destroys his faith in others. Indeed, the second episode of TES depicts the murder… Read More The Elusive Samurai, II: Kojirō and Ayako, Retainers of a Hidden Lord
Interested in watching thoughtful, human-centered conversations with people connected to anime?
Watch Something Genuine, our interview series that cuts through the noise and focuses on the people behind the costumes, in front of the mics, and watching anime, just like you and me. Season two premieres on May 27th.