Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump 2023

Best picture for kitty-lovers, worst for ailurophobes.

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 by various creators It’s the eleventh anniversary of this blog! As every year, let’s take a look at the long-running colossus that is Weekly Shounen Jump! One Piece has moved on from the Wano storyline to one involving frequently referenced mad scientist(s) Dr. Vegapunk, who is not as cool… Continue reading Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump 2023

Movie Review: Sword of the Beast

Gundayu and Gennosuke discuss their plans.

Movie Review: Sword of the Beast (1965) directed by Hideo Gosha It is 1857, towards the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Commodore Perry’s ships have forced Japan to open its ports, and social change is rippling across Japan. Yuuki Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira) thought he was going to help bring reform, but instead wound up killing his… Continue reading Movie Review: Sword of the Beast

Manga Review: Futaba-kun Change #3: Laying Down the Smack!

Manga Review: Futaba-kun Change #3: Laying Down the Smack! by Hiroshi Aro Recap: Futaba Shimeru is a teenage boy barely coping with male puberty and new feelings towards his friend who’s a girl Misaki. Then he discovers he’s also going through female puberty! Due to his family’s unusual genetic structure, they turn into the opposite… Continue reading Manga Review: Futaba-kun Change #3: Laying Down the Smack!

Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86

Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: Teen detective Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub) is shrunk into a pre-teen by an experimental poison. Until he can find a way to reverse the effects, he assumes the identity of Conan Edogawa. He still solves crimes, but it’s harder to get… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86

Anime Review: Pluto

Gesicht confronts the darkness in his own past.

Anime Review: Pluto On an alternate Earth where robotics technology is far more advanced than our own, self-aware robots have spread into almost every facet of society. Some are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and in recent years, robots have been granted at least some civil rights. But some robots are more powerful than others, with… Continue reading Anime Review: Pluto

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10 by Rumiko Takahashi Note: The following review has SPOILERS for previous volumes. Check out my earlier posts. Quick recap: Nanoka Kiba’s parents were killed in a bizarre car crash when she was little. When she’s a teenager, Nanoka learns that a local shopping arcade functions as a portal between the… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10

Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth

Gamera's in a bit of a pinch, but turning him upside down is not a winning move.

Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth It is summer, 1989, on an alternate Earth where the Apollo Program never ended and there’s a permanent station on the Moon. In Tokyo, Japan, three children are enjoying their last summer break together before middle school separates them. Sensitive Boco, protective Joe and cryptid fan Junichi may not share all… Continue reading Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

From left to right,: Tsugaru, Aya and Shizuku.

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce (also advertised as “Undead Murder Farce”) Aya Rindo was turned into an immortal being during the Heian Era of Japan, keeping the appearance of a young woman but gaining knowledge and perceptiveness according to her chronological age. About a year before the story begins during the Meiji Period (Victorian… Continue reading Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82 by Gosho Aoyama It’s time once again to catch up on the adventures of Conan Edogawa, boy detective, who is secretly Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub), teen detective who was shrunk by an experimental poison. See my many prior reviews of this series, titled Meitantei Conan (“Detective… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1

Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1 by Tatsuya Endo Mukashi, mukashi (a long, long time ago) the Moon was inhabited by scientifically advanced humans whose civilization happened to resemble aspects of ancient Japan and China. The Pure World was ruled by a line of Empresses who wielded the Three Sacred Treasures of the… Continue reading Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1