VLADLOVE – Episode 1
Once again I am faced with a title that should be extremely relevant to my interests—in this case, a lesbian vampire romance with a pretentious artsy streak—only to trash 90% of my built-in goodwill with fumbled execution.
Reviews Category
Results-
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Cute Executive Officer – Episode 1
A short show about the most exasperating 5 year old you’ll see in anime this year, probably.
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Anime Feminist Recommendations of Fall 2020
Fall featured a lot of hotly anticipated titles from well-loved creators, but which managed to stick the landing?
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Skate-Leading Stars – Episode 1
I do sincerely think Skate-Leading Stars is at least trying to do its own thing, and by the end of this first episode it had convinced me to hear it out for two more.
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Onyx Equinox – Episode 1
The main question that both myself and other natives had after the release of Coco was, “who gets to tell indigenous animated stories without us being in the room?” These are the questions I asked myself while waiting for premiere for Onyx Enquinox; and after having seen the first episode, it left me feeling angry and tired.
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2020 Fall Three-Episode Check-In
There’s too darn many anime this season. Some of them are even really good! The team did their best, resulting in our longest check-in post ever.
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D4DJ First Mix – Episode 1
D4DJ is like a swig of energy drink. It’s fun, colorful, high-octane, and I can already tell I’m going to have Rinku’s beloved dance track stuck in my head for the whole weekend.
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Anime Feminist Recommendations of Summer 2020
One series out of Netflix jail and another delayed from the spring season ride in to save an otherwise slim summer.
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MAGATSU WAHRHEIT – Episode 1
While it has the most generic Fantasy Oppression setting imaginable, the very emphatically capitalized MAGATSU WAHRHEIT knows exactly how it looks—and it’s unexpectedly sly at playing with those expectations.
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Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club – Episode 1
A stunning premiere that showcases the main cast while hinting at a wholly optomistic plot that welcomes newcomers and seasoned fans to enjoy a new entry to the Love Live! franchise.
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2020 Fall Premiere Digest
If Summer was thin, then Fall’s made up for it by being absolutely packed to the gills with titles of every stripe!
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Dropout Idol Fruit Tart – Episode 1
Dropout Idol Fruit Tart, like the sweet treat in its name, is bright and sugary, but probably does not contain much nutritional value… and in fact might make you feel a bit off if you consume too much of it too quickly.
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Maesetsu! Opening Act – Episode 1
It took me two days and no less than four separate attempts to make it all the way through Maesetsu’s 24-minute first episode.
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The Gymnastics Samurai – Episode 1
This first episode is such an eclectic mix of plot points and character beats that I suspect everyone is going to have a different reaction to it. My advice? Go watch it. At worst, it won’t make you angry, and at best, it may just charm the leotard off of you.
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The Day I Became a God – Episode 1
When the writing is willing to shut up and breathe, it unearths a kind of camaraderie in the face of despair that I have no doubt it plans to return to. Unfortunately, those two minutes are preceded by 20 minutes of noise.
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Adachi and Shimamura – Episode 1
The tone is soft, the art is gorgeous, and it’s never afraid to dive a step to the side of realism in the name of visual metaphor or setting up atmosphere. And yet, at the same time, this premiere is oddly and satisfyingly down-to-Earth. The dreamlike visuals go hand in hand with the subtle characterization, even if they—like the characters themselves—might seem at first like an odd couple.
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Akudama Drive – Episode 1
Akudama Drive comes in like a robot boxer: moving fast, swinging hard, and covered in LED lights.
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Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear – Episode 1
A beary cute fantasy premiere that showcases charming animation and promising characters, but is ultimately threadbear on plot and sadly, bear-ly leaves a mark with its unfortunately okay first episode.
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Noblesse – Episode 1
Apparently the market for manhwa adaptations is considered unreliable enough that we are now here, staring down the barrel of a 2020 anime based on a series that began running in 2007 (and was in fact, the first Webtoon title translated into English) and feels every inch its age.
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Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World – Episode 1
Our Last Crusade feels more like an MMO world that refuses to admit it’s just the Light Novel author’s MMO fanfiction.
