Chained Soldier – Episode 1
Is Chained Soldier going to be a story that digs into themes of gender and consent in an interesting and complex way? Look, never say never, but… this premiere is so silly that my expectations are pretty low.
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Gushing Over Magical Girls – Episode 1
I may be on a watchlist now.
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Ishura – Episode 1
It’s a premiere that’s nakedly yearning for the heat of Attack on Titan’s apocalyptic opener, and I will admit that it hits its familiar beats pretty well. But its future appeal is going to live or die based on how much it decides to center Yuno as the protagonist.
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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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Fluffy Paradise – Episode 1
Fluffy Paradise is… fluffy. This isn’t even remotely uncommon in isekai, but generally that subtype doesn’t start with God giving the protagonist the mission to determine whether humanity is unsalvageably racist.
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Scholars Kim Hanjae and Kim Jongik on sharing manhwa globally
2023 was the first year Otakon invited guests who create and study manhwa, and the two guests were eager to discuss the process of bringing awareness to manhwa as an artform, using the newfound popularity of webtoons as a way to introduce English-language fans to the history of the medium.
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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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Chatty AF 197: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Retrospective (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Alex, Caitlin, and Toni talk the new Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime, how it stacks up for newcomers, and how it gels as a new take on the almost 20-year-old comic.
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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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Transmasculinity and queer sexuality in the works of Ikeda Riyoko
Unlike many other gender-bending stories of the time, which often fall back on a “born in the wrong body” story, or a Mulan-style passing narrative, Ikeda acknowledges a wide range of trans experiences, and the complex ways in which trans experiences are socially constructed, and historically specific, intersectional, and, above all, personal.
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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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Chatty AF 196: 2023 Fall Mid-Season Check-In (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Toni, Caitlin, and Peter try and fail to check-in on the biggest anime season ever in a reasonable amount of time.
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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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Chatty AF 195: Vinland Saga Retrospective – Part 2 (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Toni, Caitlin, and special guest Annie Phan return to discuss VINLAND SAGA’s critiques of slavery, the portrayal of violence, and also some hot boys.
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Anime Feminist’s Seasonal Backlog: Overlooked Comedic Gems
Tackling your backlog can be intimidating, so we’ve sorted through ours to bring out some older favorites you might have missed!
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Raising a Girl With Agency: Long Live The Queen versus Needy Streamer Overload
What does it take to raise a girl? According to one genre of games … it takes day-to-day event scheduling to get all the right stats in all the right places.
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Many Ways to be a Warrior: Illness, martial arts, and seeing myself in Kojirō Sasaki
By watching how Record of Ragnarok told the origins of Kojirō Sasaki, I reminisced about my time wrestling. The samurai would lose his matches; but Kojirō uses his defeats to study and learn the way of the sword, playing the matches and possible outcomes in his mind, analyzing how adversaries move and think.
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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.
