An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

Month: August 2023

(Holmes + Edge)^SocialCommentary = ? – Moriarty the Patriot Spoiler Review

Moriarty the Patriot is a show that walks a ton of fine lines. Somewhere between adaptation and subversion, tawdry vengeance and cunning capers, message fiction and adventure – at the intersection of those dividing lines, you find this show. That puts it in a promising yet perilous position, since balancing on any one of those lines is also balancing between success and failure.

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Pudding Ghost – Nanana’s Buried Treasure Spoiler Review

A boy moves in to a new apartment, only to discover it’s haunted! The ghost wants to find her (unknown) killer and kill them back, and in the meantime can help the boy find a number of mystical artifacts that are hidden throughout the setting, hidden behind any number of ridiculous puzzles and traps.

It’s nowhere near as exciting as it sounds.

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Deus est Machina – Kamisama Dolls Spoiler Review

“Hidden Gems” are an interesting topic. On one side, it’s always exciting to find – or think you’ve found – something really great and entertaining that not a lot of people have noticed. On the other hand, the breadth of media consumers are often pretty good at picking up on works that are top notch in all regards, meaning that if there really was little to no buzz, rather than the “finder” just happening to miss the circles that got excited, the material is usually a diamond in the rough at best. Sure, it’s possible that meta problems like a lack of marketing or troubled release could hide something really grand, but more often there’s this impetus to call “hidden gem!” on something that’s either not as hidden as you think it is or only a gem compared to having zero expectations.

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Foxy Lady – Kanokon Spoiler Review

Well, here’s a little show you probably won’t find unless you’re looking for it. Kanokon is a very ecchi romance featuring, at its core, first-year high school student (who looks like he’s ten. Awkward.) Kota, who is pursued by his beautiful upperclasswoman Chizuru… who is actually a kitsune. The perils of interspecies dating and the hesitance of a lead drawn and written younger than he canonically is are made all the more complicated by the arrival of other more or less horny Yokai into the situation.

Maybe you got here looking for the “Also ran” to Rosario + Vampire or Actually, I Am. Maybe you were seeking Omamori Himari without that bothersome Urban Fantasy Action plot. Me? I’m a reviewer, I have to go dredging through lesser known titles of ill repute now and again. Well, let’s not waste any more time and dig into this one.

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