Short, non-spoiler reviews and hot takes of anime for the newly initiated weeb.
The movie is the best in the Index series, but that isn't saying much. Animation is improved, but it still bears all the sins of the series: Constant exposition, convoluted plot, and the same tired ecchi jokes. It also ignores the ending of Index II despite taking place right after it.
A short and sweet vignette of cute and funny relationship-centered scenes.
While unapologetically a Madoka-inspired Magical Girl show, it does take its own approach and has a more gradual pace. A slightly warm Cherry Pepsi to Madoka's crisp, icy Vanilla Coke.
While I really liked the premise, I feel the execution fell short on all fronts. Lackluster animation, characters, and dialogue led me to literally fall asleep during the final battles.
An improvement over the first Railgun season! Railgun S takes Misaka's arc from Index and properly develops it and gives it the weight, drama, and time it deserves.
A fun, cozy, and stress-free vignette piece of various fantasy customers discovering great food. Surprisingly high production value.
In the "Military vehicles as Anime Girls" competition, fighter jets come dead last behind battleships and tanks. This felt like an adaptation of a very mediocre visual novel that relied wholly on tropes.
Between the start of July 2020 and the end of June 2021, I watched 64 anime series/movies. Here are my top 10 from those, as well as some honorable mentions.
The best Castlevania has offered yet, with intriguing, natural dialogue, great character development/exploration, and gorgeous action sequences. If you struggled the first two seasons, it's worth it for this.
As the record holder for best box office performance in Japan and #1 Foreign-language film in the U.S., Mugen Train is a fantastic canon movie that sets itself as the pinnacle of what an anime movie of a series should be.
At a Glance Anime 