Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary – Episode 1
The show’s not especially scary either, but it’s got good foundations and a great Weird Little Girl at its heart.
Posts by Vrai Kaiser
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Roll Over and Die – Episode 1
You can improve any genre by adding gay to it, but…does the “kicked out of the party” microgenre deserve to be elevated by lesbians?
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SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table – Episode 1
SHIBOYUGI’s beautiful double-length premiere doesn’t make for a bad short film, but it’s hard to see it having staying power as a series.
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A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation – Episode 1
A disappointingly underbaked adaptation from a creative team that feels poorly matched to the material.
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Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter – Episode 1
The world hasn’t yet had a BL about an accountant solving a royal conspiracy by investigating paperwork, and how wonderful that we do now.
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The Demon King’s Daughter is Too Kind!! – Episodes 1-2
I have a dozen minor quibbles with the show, but at the end of it all I come back to the fact that both episodes flew by and felt like a warm blanket.
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Noble Reincarnation: Born Blessed, So I’ll Obtain Ultimate Power – Episode 1
It’s yet another power fantasy isekai, but it at least comes from a relatable fantasy: “here’s how I’d fix the world if I had all the money.”
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Hana-Kimi – Episodes 1-2
This is the baseline we should expect from adaptations of classics–a lovingly done project that isn’t afraid to edit the material where it’s aged.
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Let’s Go Karaoke! – Series Review
Let’s Go Karaoke is a beautifully made coming-of-age story that’s mostly about an age-gap friendship, though not everyone will be comfortable with its hints toward the possibility of something more down the line.
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Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love! – Episode 1
Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love is lifting an absolutely herculean task onto its shoulders: selling a fatphobic world on the charm of a cute and confidently fat heroine.
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A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace – Episode 1
AniFam, I am pleased to present to you a star rom-com of the season: “useless lesbians make manga.”
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My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! – Episode 1
This is an exhausting premiere that wants to pat itself on the back for pointing out the tropes it’s wallowing in.
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Shabake – Episode 1
It’s hard to tell if this will be an episodic drama or a grand mystery, but there’s a lot of hinted depth to the chronically ill protagonist.
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This Monster Wants to Eat Me – Episode 1
The summer of depressed small town boys falling for eldritch mountain gods has come to a close, but fall is here for us with depressed small town girls falling for sea monsters! Truly, anime is good.
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Let’s Play – Episode 1
Do you yearn for a Megatokyo anime that never was? Were you horny for Markiplier in 2016? Is there a powerful urge to rubberneck in your veins?
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Maebashi Witches sets a new standard for tackling fatphobia
Writer Erika Yoshida’s talents shine in Maebashi, which isn’t so much about revolutionizing the world as imagining achievable ways that everyday girls can make the world a better place. And nowhere is the show stronger than in its exploration of fatphobia.
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Turkey! Time to Strike – Episodes 1-2
Gauging the first episode of Turkey! feels useless without the second, which is both a good and bad thing.
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There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… – Episode 1
It’s “part time girlfriend” premise is fun and joyously silly, but its frenetic pacing might not be for everyone.
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Cultural Exchange with a Game Centre Girl – Episode 1
A lot of the shine comes off this rather sweet premiere when you realize it’s setting up a romance between a 13-year-old and an 18-year-old.
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Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex – Episode 1
It’s a harmless romantic fantasy, but its broad melodramatic writing feels squarely for middle-schoolers.
