takt op.Destiny – Episode 1
A beautiful action series that’s thin on plot and chemistry between the leads.
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The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made – Episode 1
It’s just….so boring.
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AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline – Episode 1
Put on your earmuffs, because we’re headed square into dogwhistle territory.
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The vampire dies in no time – Episode 1
The vampire dies in no time is no-holds-barred slapstick comedy. It’s a pretty good example of the genre, too, if you’re down for something manic.
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Digimon Ghost Game – Episode 1
If one good thing came out of Adventure 2020, it’s that it inspired Toei to take a chance on this series.
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Tesla Note – Episode 1
EX-ARM walked so Tesla Note could fly, and wow, what a brief, ugly flight this premiere is.
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Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut – Episode 1
It’s the kind of thinly envisioned alternate universe that more or less directly replicates real history while stapling exactly one speculative element on top. But by the end, I was surprised to find it had won me over for at least another episode or two.
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Mieruko-chan – Episode 1
I’d assumed Mieruko-chan would be much more straightforwardly a zany comedy, juxtaposing the terrifying creatures of the beyond against Miko’s disinterest in engaging with them. But the pacing of this entire episode, and each individual apparition, leans way more on the horror aspect of this horror-comedy.
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Muteking the Dancing Hero – Episode 1
This is the sort of show people describe as “out there,” one that requires a certain tolerance for wacky hijinks and an appreciation of creators gleefully stacking concepts on top of one another because…well, why not? Have you ever seen a show about rollerblading DJ tokusatsu heroes before? Well, there you are.
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The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window – Episode 1
BL and yuri fans, I think you all know how we roll the dice when the word “adaptation” comes around. For every given or Bloom into You that marries skilled adaptation with beautiful art direction, there’s an Otherside Picnic or No. 6 that struggles despite quality source material. Tricornered Window’s first episode unfortunately falls squarely into the latter camp, but its premise is solid enough to win out over its stiff production for now.
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Selection Project – Episode 1
Come for the idols, stay for the idols because Selection Project is wholly a show about idols, and while things don’t completely go to plan for protag Suzune, the premiere had a lot of building blocks that hint at a dynamic series… if it can stick the landing.
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Waccha PriMagi! – Episode 1
Technically, the general rule at AniFem is that we don’t cover children’s programming, but if we can make an exception for dear ol’ PreCure I figure I may as well shine a spotlight on PriMagi and see what’s going on over there, too. If you’re hungry for more officially-licensed all-ages magical girl content, you might want to join me in the audience.
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Introduction to Copaganda in Anime and Manga
Media from all over the globe contains an abundance of pro-law enforcement storylines and themes. Anime and manga are not exempt from this, with some of the most successful franchises in both mediums espousing dangerous, pro-cop social politics. That’s why this piece aims to introduce new and old anime fans to the concept of copaganda, highlight some of the most popular ways the practice appears so that it can be regularly identified, and offer some direction on how fans can still enjoy the mediums in spite of these prevalent themes.
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The Heike Story – Episode 1
Weaving the many threads of the classic Japanese epic Heike Monogatari into a compelling, cohesive adaptation will be a challenging task, but this premiere is off to an impressive start.
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Portrayals of Black Masculinity in Carole & Tuesday
Despite its social justice-minded storytelling, Carole & Tuesday can be a frustrating watch as it swings back and forth between exploring these characters as nuanced individuals and perpetuating harmful stereotypes of Black masculinity.
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Chatty AF 147: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Rewatchalong – Rebellion (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Vrai, Alex, and Mercedez return to their rewatchalong to watch the infamous movie, unpack that last 15 minutes, and discuss how it colors the franchise as a whole.
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Gearing Up or Dressing Up? On female fighter equipment
When it comes to a particular category of battle-related gripes, I think I’m less the annoyingly fastidious critic nobody wants to watch a show with, and am actually harping about something genuinely important: female fighter equipment, which too often sacrifices realism and practicality in favor of sex appeal. In anime, this issue manifests in three major forms: “boob armor,” high heels, and “chainmail bikinis,” all which hurt the dignity of not only the characters who must wear them but also the female viewers who must endure the real-world effects of such normalized sexualization of womens’ bodies.
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Pregnancy as the pinnacle of womanhood in TSF porn
Though inherently absurd once verbalized, “Abenime” are stories that speak to a nation’s plight. They are designed to manufacture consent by defining baby making as the norm. Women can make babies; ipso facto, their role in saving Japanese society lies in buffering the ever-shrinking population with young, healthy babies who will carry on the nation in the future.
And while this attitude reaches public discourse by way of popular entertainment, it also likewise prevails within narratives not often discussed out in the open. -
The Dead Mothers of Shounen
To be a mother in a shounen series, especially of a male protagonist, is often a guaranteed death sentence. It also means a lack of characterization outside of her role as a caretaker. Even otherwise highly acclaimed series are guilty of these tropes, and I can’t help but wonder why they continue to persist.
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Queer Subtext and Representation in Kamen Rider
Much of the franchise’s homoeroticism is a result of the franchise’s severe gender disparity, which it has only recently taken steps to address; the series took 31 years to get its first female Kamen Rider. There have also been canonically gay, transgender and nonbinary characters, but the quality of representation is questionable. Regardless, many LGBTQ+ viewers have seen their own experiences reflected in the many characters of Kamen Rider, whether implicitly or explicitly.
