2024 Winter Three-Episode Check-In
This has been a season of reversals so far, with strong premieres stumbling and wobbly starts finding their stride. Check out the shows in need of a second look!
Feature Category
Results-
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2024 Winter Premiere Digest
Get out of the winter chill and enjoy some cozy food and cool ladies.
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2024 Winter Premiere Reviews
All the winter premiere reviews in one easy-to-find place. We’ll update the chart as more series become available, so be sure to check back in the coming days for more!
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The wasted potential of Death Note’s women
In the hands of a writer who isn’t so brazenly disinterested in writing them, the women of Death Note—Misa, especially—easily have the potential to be the most interesting characters in the deeply iconic series. But as it stands, they’ve been massively shortchanged by writing that presents plenty of fascinating story elements for them, but that never get explored.
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Love Y’all: Lonely catgirl seeks decently written anime polycule
While there is a rise in polyamorous romance in Japanese anime and manga, I must regretfully report we still have a ways to go.
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SHY, Stardust, disability, and the double empathy problem
Shy’s embrace of a Double Empathy Problem framing reveals larger tensions in the struggle for autistic self-determination, both allowing a deeper understanding of the process of Stardust’s self-conception and also revealing the limits of the mainstream culture’s understanding of “empathy.”
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Giant Robots Against Colonialism: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury’s Shakespearean roots
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a show that does not just wear its inspirations on its sleeve but builds on them. One such reference point is William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, from which G-Witch borrows three characters: Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban. In doing so, G-Witch spotlights colonialist readings of the play, envisioning a world where the colonized can break away and heal from oppression by joining together.
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What Tomo-chan Is a Girl! gets wrong and right about gender-nonconformity and sexual assault
Using heartfelt sincerity and character-driven plot twists, Tomo-chan is a Girl! has quickly become one of my favorite shows, in spite of some thoroughly discomfiting scenes that detract from its comedic highs and powerful story.
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Genre conventions and a gentle story of recovery in My New Boss is Goofy
Momose’s trauma is a constant throughline in the series, but we can rest assured that he’s going to be okay—while there are dark moments, the light-hearted nature of the show and its clear placement as a fluffy, bit-based comedy reassure the audience that ultimately this will be a kind story that lets this wounded person have a good time.
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2023 Fall Three-Episode Check-In
We’ve got almost too many great shows to pick from, whether it’s medical detectives or superheroines.
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Restorative justice and community in Samurai Flamenco
As self-proclaimed hero Hazama Masayoshi learns that heroes and villains are parts of their community, not forces outside of it. he begins to reject violence and root his sense of justice in love and empathy rather than punishment.
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2023 Fall Premiere Digest
Let’s dive into the many offerings of what might be the biggest season ever!
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2023 Fall Premiere Reviews
All the summer premiere reviews in one easy-to-find place. We’ll update the chart as more series become available, so be sure to check back in the coming days for more!
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Queer time and the quarter-life crisis in contemporary yuri
Series that focus on queer adult characters open the door to a storytelling niche that’s still relatively underrepresented despite the rich narrative potential it offers: the post-adolescence queer coming-of-age story. Or, in other words, the gay quarter-life crisis.
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Lilies In Transition: The state of trans representation in yuri
As yuri continues to get queerer, the existence of trans people in these stories would be one way to provide validation for trans readers in their gender and sexuality while also helping cis people understand and internalize our long standing place in the sapphic community. Yuri works featuring trans characters do exist, though their history is complex and they remain relatively few.
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Queerplatonic relationships and found family in Buddy Daddies
Despite the lack of a love story between the protagonists, however, Buddy Daddies can still be read as a queer series. While queer relationships in mainstream media are often defined by romantic and sexual attraction, Buddy Daddies stands out because it examines queerplatonic relationships, which is rarely depicted even in LGBTQIA+ storytelling.
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On Nintendo’s reluctance to make Princess Zelda playable
Leading up to Tears of the Kingdom’s release, many fans of the franchise held out hope that perhaps this game would be the one to break the franchise’s cycle of Link being the only playable character. But, unfortunately, this was not the case.
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2023 Summer Three-Episode Check-In
Deeper themes are a little thin on the ground this season, but there’s still some very fun adventures to be had.
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You’re Already Doing Your Best: Healin’ Good Pretty Cure and chronic illness
In a season about environmentalism and illness, Nodoka is in remission from a years-long infection and doesn’t want anyone to suffer the way she did. While she’s not quite depicted as disabled or chronically ill in the show itself, her arc focuses on recovery from a chronic illness in ways that can be similar to managing one.
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2023 Summer Premiere Digest
While it can’t match spring’s bounty, summer has a few gems to offer.
