An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

Month: July 2026

I Got Pig Iron – The Sacred Blacksmith Spoiler Review

The Sacred Blacksmith is a show that makes a lot of promises. It’s going to be a fantasy in an original setting, not a total knockoff. It’s not going to be about the strongest with an unstoppable cheat power. It’s going to deliver some serious material, since it’s got a more mature rating.

In at least some sense, this show keeps its promises. However, while some of them are welcome breaths of fresh air, none of them equate to quality. I’ve learned all too well in my time as a reviewer that only quality equals quality, so it’s time to determine whether The Sacred Blacksmith’s work is one for the museums, or for the recycling center.

Read More…Read More…

Is It Still Paranoid When There Is Something Out To Get You? – Paranoia Agent Spoiler Review

This show is a tough one to summarize – it’s told very much like Boogiepop Phantom. That is to say, each episode tells both its own story and part of a greater hole, which are linked by tangents. At least this time around the show tends to move forward in time episode over episode. This does, however, mean that there are loads and loads of characters that bring loads and loads of plots.

The first episode concerns Tsukiko Sagi, a character designer in something of a slump after producing a mega hit. One night, on her way home from work, she becomes the first victim of the mysterious assailant that comes to be known as Shounen Bat.

Read More…Read More…

Odin’s Strongest Soldier (is scared of everybody) – Val x Love Spoiler Review

You know, while Anime is kind of my main focus, it’s not the only interest I’ve had. One that I don’t think I’ve alluded to, at least not often, was Norse mythology. I had a Viking phase and frankly I still think that the Norse myths are cooler than the Greek and Roman ones and are under-utilized in Western fantasy. For every Asgard, there are probably a dozen copies of Olympus.

On one hand, it seems like Japan has me covered. They’ve got their fair share of takes on “Classical” mythology, true, but there are a few more Norse-coded fantasies when lensed through a culture to which both are kind of equally foreign. For example, Warlords of Sigrdrifa had a pretty unique evocation, even setting all all the weirdness aside.

Read More…Read More…

In Space, No One Can Hear You Have a Midlife Crisis – The Legend of Black Heaven Spoiler Review

So, we’re going to form a rock band and save the universe with the power of music and… oh dear Haruhi I’ve stumbled into the offspring of Macross 7 haven’t I?

I was pretty hard on Macross 7, and I don’t think transitioning it to “modern” Earth is going to make it any less absurd. The pitch is a rough one, but the proof is in the pudding, so they say. Let’s watch it.

Read More…Read More…