Tag: October 2018 issue

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba [Review]

Young Tanjiro and his family make a living selling charcoal. One cold winter he goes down the mountain to the village to sell his wares and returns home to a scene from a nightmare. His mother and siblings have been slaughtered by a demon and …Read more »

Soldiers!

September 15, 2018

Brittany Vincent

Ever wondered what your favorite action figures and toys do while on their own? What if they could come to life and go to battle with one another, not for your amusement, but because that’s what they’re created to do? Frame Arms Girl is a …Read more »

One Week Friends [Review]

September 8, 2018

Brittany Vincent

Making friends is tough as it is, but imagine if all the memories you made with someone on the road to friendship just disappeared every week. That’s how things go for the determined Yuuki Hase and reserved Kaori Fujimiya in One Week Friends, a touching …Read more »

Caving In

September 5, 2018

Michael Goldstein

In the center of Orth lies a hole so deep that many have tried to explore, yet very few seem to survive it. This chasm, called the Abyss by many, is littered with all kinds of strange creatures and undiscovered treasures. Yet for all of …Read more »

The Bride was a Boy

September 5, 2018

Jason Bradley Thompson

In the 1990s and 2000s, an American manga reader might get the impression Japan was more progressive on LGBT issues than the US: American mainstream comics were aggressively straight, while manga was filled with genderqueer characters, sex-swapping, and gay romance. But in 2018, Japanese politics …Read more »

Honor Among Thieves!

September 1, 2018

Brittany Vincent

There are good and bad people out there in the world. You probably know a few of the bad ones, and you interact with them on a daily basis. Or maybe you are one. Maybe your heart is enshrouded in darkness and you just don’t …Read more »

Magical Girl Ore [Review]

September 1, 2018

Gerald Rathkolb

The most ridiculous of shows Few genres have changed so much over time as the magical girl genre. In the early days shows like Magical Girl Sally were unquestionably targeted toward young girls, but very quickly that demographic expanded. As soon as the early 70s …Read more »

Hinamatsuri [Review]

August 26, 2018

Evan Minto

We’re only partway through 2018, but Hinamatsuri is already one of the year’s best anime comedies. It’s hardly the kind of show that usually attracts attention from fans, but the six episodes that have aired as I write this combine an inventive premise with precise …Read more »

Hungry for You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night [Review]

August 26, 2018

Che Gilson

Billed primarily as a story of friendship, Hungry for You is closer to horror comedy, with an emphasis on the comedy. Dreary Yomai Town is the site of mysterious disappearances. Three teenage girls have vanished, and the culprit seems to be Endo Yasuko, a girl …Read more »

Punch-Out!

August 25, 2018

Daryl Surat

This seems to be the year that 50th anniversary commemoration projects end up being all the rage among new anime fans, and I couldn’t be more pleased. For in addition to the various Go Nagai anniversary works such as DEVILMAN Crybaby, Mazinger Z Infinity, and …Read more »

B: The Beginning – Spectacle and Constant Surprises [Anime Review]

August 25, 2018

Paul Thomas Chapman

Something is rotten in the state of Cremona, a fictional island kingdom (not to be confused with the real-life city of Cremona in northern Italy) where old-world style meets near-future technology. Cremona is the setting for B: The Beginning, a Netflix original anime directed by …Read more »

Monster Tamer Girls [Review]

August 25, 2018

David Estrella

If read too quickly, the title Monster Tamer Girls could be misread as Monster Girl Tamers and no one would blink an eye. Lately, we’ve seen so many permutations on monsters and girls in schools, dungeons, offices, et cetera that it feels like there’s nothing …Read more »

Claudine [Review]

August 18, 2018

Austin Price

Claudine seems like a missed opportunity on all fronts. Author and artist Riyoko Ikeda is one of the most important manga creators of the latter half of the 20th century; few titles can claim the level of influence and the critical acclaim her 1970s classic …Read more »

Children of the Whales [Review]

August 18, 2018

Ink

The Mud Whale is a gigantic ship at the mercy of the shifting sands of a seemingly endless ocean. The 513 souls aboard—a people who exist holistically with the sand, wind, and sunlight—are not so much sailors as they are residents. The marked among them, …Read more »

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle [Review]

August 18, 2018

Che Gilson

When the Demon Kingdom kidnaps the Princess of Goodereste, it’s the demons who get more than they bargained for. Princess Syalis’s reign of terror begins during her first night as a captive in the demon palace. The pillow is rough and lumpy and even noisy. …Read more »