Hatena Illusion – Episode 1
Hatena Illusion spends its first episode ignoring its most interesting portions on magic to instead do a by-the-numbers middle school romance plot.
Posts by Chiaki Hirai
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Seton Academy: Join the Pack! – Episode 1
Subpar production, sexual harassment, and an abusive and spiteful lead will likely place Seton Academy in the back of the pack for this season.
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Darwin’s Game – Episode 1
Despite a doubleheader premier, Darwin’s Game fails to say much aside from proving it’s going to get gory.
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Assassins Pride – Episode 1
Whereas it could have gone for a more contrived story of a princess waiting to awaken the secret powers within her, Assassins Pride hints this will be more a political cloak-and-dagger tale with elements of combat and fantasy.
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ORESUKI Are You the Only One Who Loves Me? – Episode 1
When two of “Nice Guy” Joro’s closest friends suddenly ask to go on what is only describable as a date, you can’t help but know there’s going to be a train wreck at the end of it. And boy, is there.
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Kochoki – Episode 1
Overall, Kochoki is a fun time, and I like the character designs. Nothing’s egregious, so if you want some very loose historical fiction, this might be a good show to pick up.
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Demon Lord, Retry! – Episode 1
With all that can potentially go wrong, Demon Lord, Retry! faces a Sysphean challenge to being “a good anime” by my measure, so I’m not really going to stick around to see where it goes.
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NAMUAMIDABUTSU! -UTENA- – Episode 1
For a show ostensibly about Buddhism, there sure are a lot of worldly desires being catered to here.
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We Never Learn: BOKUBEN – Episode 1
Nariyuki isn’t a bad protagonist for a harem anime, but the basic setting lends to some flaws in an otherwise good show.
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Newcomer manga artist Rutaro Hina on their career, works, and LGBTQ identities in Japan
Rutaro Hina, 21, is a newcomer manga artist from Tokyo whose recent work focuses on trans issues in Japan. This interview is in both English and Japanese. このインタビューは英語、日本語両方でご覧になれます。
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The Quintessential Quintuplets – Episode 1
Anyway, yeah, it’s a harem anime.
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Dimension High School – Episode 1
For all the fanfare lent to Dimension High School being a show that transcends reality, it’s kinda boring how the fight for the fate of the 3-D world lies on a series of brain-teaser puzzles.
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How NOT to Enter a BDSM Relationship: Consent and abuse in Demon Lord
Is it okay to own another person? No, of course not. Yet here I am, wearing a collar around my neck.
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BAKUMATSU – Episode 1
Hold up. Why does Takasugi have a boob-window shirt on?
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Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary – Episode 1
Xuan Yuan Sword offers likeable characters and a brewing drama that’s bound to get messy. Yin and Ning are resillient women and exhibit upstanding bravery in the face of danger. The story will no doubt raise them as heroes against Taibai while their friend Zhou will unknowingly rise against them.
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The challenges of a queer immigrant and the shortcomings of A Certain Marriage
A bitter-sweet story, A Certain Marriage delves into the beauty of gay relationships and the discrimination LGBT people experience. The story, however, ultimately fails to delve into the challenges queer immigrants from Japan face living in America.
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An Analysis of Magical Sex-Change (TSF) Manga
Transsexual fiction/fantasy is a genre of stories featuring the transformation of the main character from one sex to another, usually through coercion or by accident. While these stories can often resonate with trans viewers, they can also feature a variety of problems.
