Lost Song – Episode 1
Lost Song isn’t very well-animated and the script leaves a lot to be desired, but damn if it doesn’t have some potential to go into interesting thematic territory.
Posts by Caitlin Moore
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Gakuen Basara – Samurai High School – Episode 1
It was really only a matter of time before this happened. That doesn’t mean it should have, though.
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Run With the Wind – Episode 1
Maybe Run with the Wind will be the inspiration I need to stick with my plan to get into running, because I’m certainly sticking with the show.
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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – Episode 1
Recent series like How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord and Death March to the Parallel World Adventure make the generally-inoffensive nature of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime feel refreshing and innovative.
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RErideD: Derrida, Who Leaps Through Time – Episode 1
You’d expect the first episode of an anime named after an influential philosopher to either be smug, pretentious pap or full of intriguing, thought-provoking questions about the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. However, RErideD isn’t really either of those things. It’s just kind of… there.
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Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan – Episode 1
Wow, what a cute, innocent little slice-of-life anime about a girl and her dragon. I’m sure it won’t go terribly awry in some way…
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Last Hope – Episode 1
The prognosis for Last Hope, frankly, is not good
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Childbirth and Politics in DARLING in the FRANXX
All art, from cookie-cutter crime dramas to Nobel prize-winning novels, reflects the views and mores of its creators and the culture they grew up in. Whether intentional or not, DARLING in the FRANXX touches on one of Japan’s current political hot topics: the role of family and childbirth.
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Commentary vs. Snuff: Sex, violence, and despair in Danganronpa
Throughout visual culture all over the world, sex and violence against women are constantly intermingled.
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Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs – Episode 1
No, no, no. I refuse to be nostalgic for this.
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Revue Starlight – Episode 1
Theater is a harsh, competitive world. Revue Starlight takes that experience and makes it literal.
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Asobi Asobase – Episode 1
Like any comedy, Asobi Asobase won’t be for everyone. But comedy that celebrates the crude side that resides within all of us, including teenage girls, is something that I’m always glad to see more of.
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Cells at Work! – Episode 1
I never thought I’d use the descriptor “Schoolhouse Rock meets Osmosis Jones meets Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure,” but I just watched Cells at Work so here we are.
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100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams – Episode 1
With harems these days, it’s go hard or go home. Everyone’s gotta have a gimmick, and sometimes that gimmick is more numbers than anything else.
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The Thousand Noble Musketeers – Episode 1
The twenty-five-minute first episode of The Thousand Noble Musketeers felt like it was about a thousand minutes long. I like pretty boys as much as the next fujoshi, but with no bite, no edge, and no point, it all feels ultimately limp and dull.
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HANEBADO! – Episode 1
For years, every time a female-driven sports anime was announced, I’d say to myself, “Maybe this one will treat its characters like serious athletes instead of moe archetypes and vehicles for fanservice.” HANEBADO! really looked like it might be the female sports anime I was waiting for. And I was right. Sort of.
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Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Episode 1
What did I just watch?
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Cardia Wears the Pants: Fashion and agency in Code: Realize
There’s a lot to love about Code: Realize, but a major part of its appeal is its heroine. While many otome games have meek, passive heroines, Cardia grows into an active protagonist who takes control of her own narrative. A significant part of this transformation comes when she trades in her gown for pants, a rare and welcome move for female characters all across anime.
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Fushigi Yugi: Adolescence Apotheosis
Through its raw, emotional, sometimes-frustrating narrative, Fushigi Yugi uses isekai trappings and the relationship between Miaka and Yui to explore common sources of desire and anxiety for teenage girls along with their potential consequences, both positive and negative. By tapping into the mentality of its audience and providing reassurance in its conclusion, Fushigi Yugi serves the function of a modern fable or fairy tale.
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Wotakoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku – Episode 1
I’m going to say it straight out: I loved this premiere. I love romances between functional adults with common interests. I love grounded stories about likable nerds. I love relatable characters, and my boyfriend more than once turned to me during the episode and said, “That’s you.” Wotakoi, it seems, was made for me.
