Naraku is too damn brave. He needs to wuss out of more fights and try manipulating third parties from afar, thereby subjecting Inu Yasha’s gang to a profound test of character: will they kill the innocent or be killed themselves?

Too many power-ups are the well-deserved fruits of arduous training. Once in a while, it might [...]

All it took for Queen’s Blade to win my endorsement was a single episode. Twenty-three episodes later, I’m doubling down.

I wouldn’t watch Queen’s Blade if it had a shitty story. Forget for a moment the stereotype that hentai/ecchi/fanservice anime have flimsy plots. A plot that’s “not bad for an ecchi anime” still wouldn’t cut it. [...]

Seitokai no Ichizon chronicles the hijinks of a five-girl student council. Each girl represents a different fetish: one is a loli, one is a sadist, one is a tomboy, one is a pussy, and one is a male. Every day in the student council room, these five girls continuously screw around and drop references until [...]

Cromartie High School? Slice-of-life? Holy shit, that would kick ass! I would do anything to live in a world where it’s plausible, let alone ordinary, to go to school with a sentient robot, a sushi-making gorilla, and Freddie Mercury. Unfortunately, Cromartie High School is the least realistic anime I have ever seen.

That’s not to say [...]

A lot of bloggers have recently posted their Top N Anime of the Decade lists. I’ve never cared to write these kinds of trendy posts (though I’m more than happy to criticize them). Even if I did get in on the posts, the vast majority of my readers wouldn’t care that it was part of [...]

(From Maddox’s Comic)
Last season I was watching this lesbian show called Aoi Hana. It started off pretty slow, but approximately halfway into the series, one of the girls got dumped. Perfect. All the slow-moving drama would pay off tenfold if that goody two-shoes lesbian kid were to transform into a rancorous and psychotic distortion of [...]

In episode 24, a female sniper is assigned the task of killing Golgo 13. It’s impossible to beat Golgo 13 in a fair fight, and women in general fight dirty, so she plots to mess up Golgo 13’s eyesight by exposing him to the sandy Sirocco/Ghibli winds of Morocco. Little did she know that Golgo [...]

This is a slice-of-life picture. If you don’t get it, you’re looking it at wrong.
Ever notice how Lucky Star is a comedy? Ever been told that if you’re not watching it as a slice-of-life anime, you’re watching it wrong? Ever wished that Baka-Raptor would write a post on how that’s the stupidest shit in the [...]

I was recently thinking about how much I suck at drawing, image editing, web design, and other forms of useful art, when I realized there’s a simple way to turn that all around: training in the mountains. Mountain training is a surefire way to get better at anything: martial arts, kendo, ninjutsu, homosexuality, mountain climbing, [...]

No. Not again. I refuse to accept this. Why must all the tough guys in anime get stalked by little girls to show they have a caring side? Who’s next, Golgo 13? If I were in charge of writing the new FMA series, Scar’s encounter with May Chang would go something like this:

To think the [...]

Endless Eight was a waste of time, money, human resources, natural resources (e.g., oil, gas, animal pelt), bandwidth, and chakra. Good thing I didn’t watch Endless Eight—I watched Finite Five (skipped eps 5-7). It was only five-eighths as pedophilic.
You just read the most flattering review of Endless Eight on the internet.
Come on guys, IT IS [...]

At least the English intro is bad enough to be good
I want to like everything I watch. You might not get that impression from all the bashing I do on this site, but really, I give every show a fair chance. In fact, I probably try a lot harder than you (otherwise I wouldn’t like [...]

A few posts ago when I claimed that Asu no Yoichi is the best harem anime ever, various commenters contended that the following were better:

Clannad
Kanon
Suzuka
Ranma 1/2
High School of the Dead

I cannot agree, not because these shows are (all) bad, but because they’re not harems (with the possible exception of High School of the Dead, which [...]

Hey, look at me, I’m Mr. Perfect. I never lose sight of what’s truly important in life and always believe in the goodness of the human heart, no matter how unfounded or irrational it may seem to the objective bystander. I’m so comfortable with who I am that my ludicrously flamboyant wardrobe doesn’t make me [...]

Just how boring is K-ON? Let’s put it this way: I paused episode 10 to rewatch an episode of Akikan.

Akikan: Crappy animation, original jokes
K-ON: Uncrappy animation, unoriginal jokes
Winner: Akikan
The jokes in K-ON are so stale that I’m forced to make up my own jokes to survive each episode.

See 1:39-1:45

I’m the king of the world, on [...]

After watching two episodes, I was ready to shelve Eden of the East for a marathon. It wasn’t bad, but aside from the animation quality, it didn’t strike me as anything promising. Memory loss. Biblical allusions. Male nudity. None of these turn me on. I shall address each in turn:
1. Male Nudity

Everyone seems to love [...]

I shall start with a base score of zero. Every time I see something I like, I’ll add a point. Every time I see something I don’t like, I’ll subtract a point.

Score (S)
Meaning

S > 5
Love it

5 >= S >= 2
Like it

2 > S > -2
Indifferent

-2 >= S >=-5
Dislike it

-5 > S
Hate it

1. Lyrics

Where have I [...]

Queen’s Blade has been taking a lot of shit from even the most perverted anime bloggers. This ends now.
I typically don’t care for fanservice anime.

If you want porn, there’s almost definitely something better
If you want a story, there’s almost definitely something better

Thus, as a practical matter, I’ll only endorse a fanservice anime if it has [...]

The most heterosexual picture on my hard drive
Despite my unwavering support of lesbianism in anime, I do occasionally approve of heterosexual relationships. The conditions are tough but fair:

The male cannot be a complete loser
The female cannot be a complete bitch
Generally, both characters must be at least 18 years old
If they’re both under 18, they must [...]

(This is a remake of Robots Don’t Have Feelings)

This is by no means an endorsement of Akikan. It is a simple observation that many of the shows I’m currently watching are worse. First, a quick unbiased review of Akikan:
Three things that rock:

A suprising dose of original humor
Mamiko Noto
A hardcore lesbian

Three things that suck:

Lame premise
Lousy animation
A crappy joke for every good one

Overall, Akikan is [...]

Berserk + a real ending
Claymore – Raki
Mouryou no Hako + subtitles
Soul Eater – everyone except Stein and Medusa
Kibure + an appearance in episode 14
Miniami-ke – all the non-Hosaka scenes
Gankutsuou – the ambiguously gay ending
Higurashi – the noise complaint I got for blasting the intro theme at 4AM
Maddox + updates
The New York Giants – Eli Manning
Baka-Raptor [...]

1. Punchline Overkill

Holy shit, it’s like I’m watching Lucky Star all over again. Cut the bullshit punchline reinforcement and move on.
Even Kanako’s lesbian observations are getting on my nerves.

REALLY?!?!
Perhaps some viewers have difficulty picking up lesbian innuendo. Not me. My lesbian mangekyou sharingan identifies lesbian innuendo 100x faster than Kanako and without all the squealing.
When [...]

Deaths #1-3: The First Colossus

These were legitimate “experimental deaths” because I had no clue what could kill me, nor did I have any clue what I was doing.
Death #4: The Waterfall
On the way to the fifth colossus, I swam down a waterfall, marking the first time in the history of the universe that a fictional [...]

Good evening. I am Kenshiro, ass-kicking practitioner extraordinaire. Having fought countless villains throughout my travels, I’ve learned that nobody is truly evil, for we all have love in our hearts.
Shin

So he kidnapped my girlfriend. That can only tell me one thing: he has great taste in women. Nobody who loves Yuria could possibly be evil.
Souther

Enslaving [...]

Given the recent inauguration of America’s first black president and, more importantly, the release of the first episode of Hetalia Axis Powers, the times call for a critical examination of race in anime.

Japanese People

Madarame is one of about five anime characters who actually look Japanese. The rest all look white.

Even Pesche admits that Ishida looks [...]

I picked up several shows from Fall 2008, but I’m only giving midterm grades for these five. You know why? Because most of them were too damn short. One season = 26 episodes. Let me reiterate:
1 Season = 26 Episodes
I’m generous enough to give out midterm grades for series with 24 or 25 episodes. 13 [...]

1. Real Pocky

Product placement isn’t funny, unlike Trademark infringement.

Two girls in swimsuits are trapped in a closet and all I can think about is trademark infringement. Why? Because I’m not a pedophile. Speaking of lesbians and pocky…
2. Not Enough Lesbian Pocky Scenes

Speaking of lesbians…
3. No Lesbian Scene between the Director and her Assistant

Talk about wasted [...]

1. Anime News Network says there are 24 episodes

Anime News Network is a reputable, trustworthy source of information. There’s no way they’d get this wrong.
2. The phrase “Detroit Metal City is over” at the end of episode 12 refers to the episode being over, not the series
3. Not every character got a scene in the [...]

Animals are only good for three things: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They used to be good for manual labor, but nowadays there’s nothing an animal can do that a machine can’t do better, faster, cheaper, and without shitting all over the place. Why does anime portray animals as cute and lovable? They’re stupid and self-indulgent. [...]

1. A Natsuki look-alike named Natsuki

2. Fire-Breathing Dinosaurs

3. Evil Lesbians

4. Mr. Iron

5. In Medias Res
In medias res, also medias in res (Latin for “into the middle of things”), is a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning. – Wikipedia
But Baka-Raptor, that sounds a lot [...]

When I first watched Full Metal Alchemist, Roy Mustang’s “sexiness” cracked me up. If you haven’t seen the show, here’s the gag: all the ladies would fall head over heels for him even though he looks generic enough to be a harem lead.

Then I found out that many girls in real life actually think he’s [...]