Most of what I’ve written over the last 15 years or so have been anime reviews, so here’s a ready reference. Enjoy, and if you can’t find a show that you’re interested in you can always Request a Review.
#:
009 Re: Cyborg (Meh)
The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me? (2020): First Episode(s) Impressions
22/7 (2020): First Episode Impressions
A:
Active Raid (I liked it better when it was Patlabor)
After School Dice Club (2019)
Ah! My Goddess: The Movie
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (aka Snow White with the Red Hair): First Thoughts, Final Thoughts
Akatsuki no Yona: First Thoughts, Second Thoughts and Final Thoughts
AKB0048: AKB0048 and AKB0048: Next Stage, the disappointing Sentai Filmworks Blu-Rays, and a cultural connection to Rakugo.
Alien 9
Amanchu! (2016, recommended) and Amanchu! Advance (2018, oh dear)
The Ancient Magus’ Bride: First Thoughts
Angel Beats!
Anime de Training! EX! is a bit of a worry.
Anohana (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) RECOMMENDED
Another
The Anthem of the Heart
Appleseed Ex Machina
Argevollen: First Thoughts, Second Thoughts, Final Thoughts
ARIA the ANIMATION and ARIA the NATURAL, Sometimes you don’t need dialogue, ARIA the AVVENIRE
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts
Asteroid in Love (2020) and light pollution
Azur Lane (2019): On not keeping it focused.
B:
Bakemonogatari
Barakamon
Batman: Gotham Knight
Battle Angel
Beyond the Boundary: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts (TBA)
Black Magic M-66
Bodacious Space Pirates (tag): See separate entry below for list of posts
BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt so I’ll Max Out My Defence (2020): First Episode Impressions
Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi (aka ERASED): First Impressions
Boy and the Beast, The
BTOOOM!
C:
Card Captor Sakura: Card Captor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, Sakura and the Law of Diminishing Returns
Carole and Tuesday (2019): First Thoughts and Final Thoughts. RECOMMENDED
The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (2020): First Episode Impressions
Castle of Cagliostro, The
Cat Returns, The and the Disney dub of The Cat Returns
Celestial Method aka Sora no Method
Cells at Work (2018)
Manga vs Anime: Flying Witch and A Centaur’s Life
A Certain Scientific Railgun: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts
Chihayafuru (Season 1) and Chihayafuru (Season 2) and deja vu all over again.
Children Who Chase Lost Voices
Chobits: First thoughts, second thoughts, and I never did get round to posting a final review (and probably won’t).
Clannad: First Thoughts, Second Thoughts, and Final Thoughts (Meh)
Combustible Campus Guardress 1 & 2
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! (Aieeee!)
D:
Days
Dennou Coil: First Thoughts and Wrapping Up
Diamond Daydreams
Dirty Pair (tag): Affair of Nolandia, Project Eden, and Flight 005 Conspiracy, See episodic reviews below (TV Series complete, OAVs in progress).
Dominion Tank Police
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan (2018)
Dream Eater Merry
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
E:
ef: a tale of memories and ef: a tale of melodies
El-Hazard: The Magnificent World is my favourite OAV series.
Encouragement of Climb (aka Yama no Susume, tags, see below for list of posts)
F:
The Fate/Stay Night Franchise (tag). See below for list of posts.
Flying Witch: First Episode, A Simple Pleasure, On the Comfort Anime List, and Manga vs Anime: Flying Witch and A Centaur’s Life
Fractale
Freedom Project
From Up on Poppy Hill, and a trope not often seen.
G:
Gakkou Gurashi, or why I won’t be watching any more of it (but don’t let that stop you).
Galaxy Express 999
Galaxy Railways: A Letter From the Abandoned Planet
Gall Force: Eternal Story, Destruction, Stardust War, and Ten Little Gall Force.
Garakowa: Restore the World
The Garden of Words
GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There tag: see separate entry below for list of posts
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts
Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts
Girl Who Leapt Through Time, The, and Revisited
Girls Beyond The Wasteland (aka ShokoMeza)
Girls Und Panzer tag: See separate entry below for list of posts
GLASSLIP: First Thoughts, Second Thoughts and even the train wreck failed to be entertaining.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: First Thoughts
GunBuster!: Gunbuster! and BustGunner, er, GunBuster! Revisited
Gunslinger Girl (or why I won’t be doing a Twenty Days series on Gunslinger Girl)
Gunsmith Cats
Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack
H:
Haibane Renmei: general tag, and twenty days tag. See below for context
Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom and Hakuoki: Record of the Jade Blood
Hamatora will make your eyes bleed
Hanasaku Iroha: The TV Series and Home Sweet Home (the Movie)
Hanayamata: First Thoughts, a fabulous set of shout-outs, and Final Thoughts recommended.
Heaven’s Memo Pad
Here is Greenwood
Hibike! Euphonium (tag, see below for context).
High School Prodigies Have it Easy Even In Another World (2019)
Hiiro no Kakera: The Tamayori Princess Saga: Season 1 and Season 2
Howl’s Moving Castle
I:
In This Corner Of The World
Inari, KonKon, Koi Iroha
Inu X Boku and the Hanabee Blu-Ray Release of Inu X Boku
Interviews with Monster Girls
In/Spectre (2020): First Episode Impressions
Iria: Zeiram the Animation
Is it Wrong to Try and Pick up Girls in a Dungeon?: First Thoughts, Final Thoughts
Isekai Izakaya: Japanese Food from Another World (2018)
J:
K:
Kado: The Right Answer: First Thoughts, What Just Happened?, The Epically Wrong Answer.
Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits (2018)
Kakushigoto (2020): First Episode Impressions
Kamigami no Asobi
Kamisama Kiss: Season 1 and Season 2
Kamui no Ken / The Dagger of Kamui
Kanamemo (NOT recommended)
Kantai Collection tag: See below for list of posts
Karen Senki (NOT recommended)
Kari-gurashi no Arrietty
Katana Maidens: First Thoughts, Final Thoughts (TBA)
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020): First Episode Impressions
Kemono Friends
Key the Metal Idol: General tag, and twenty days tag. See below for context
Kiddy Grade: First Thoughts and Final Review
Kids on the Slope
Kimagure Orange Road: OAVs and I Want To Return To That Day
Kimi no Na wa (aka Your Name)
Kiss Him, Not Me
Kokoro Connect: The TV Series and the OAVs
Konosuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts
K-On: Season 1 Review and Season 2 Review (maybe one day)
Kyuuketsuki Miyu / Vampire Princess Miyu OAVs
L:
Laid-Back Camp: Exactly What It Says On the Tin, and Room Camp (2020) First Episode Impressions
Lance N’ Masques
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko
A Letter to Momo
Locodol seems to be a very mean show
Log Horizon tag: See below for list of posts
Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions (2012)
Lupin III Part 2: Episode 155 Farewell My Beloved Lupin
Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy
Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine: Part 1, a side note on nudity vs fanservice, and Part 2
Lupin III Part 4: First Thoughts
M:
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Macross Frontier: A quick note and Series Review (coming soon)
Macross Plus
Madan no Ou to Vanadis
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story (2020): First Episode Impressions
Magic Knight Rayearth tag: See below for list of posts.
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
Metal Skin Panic: MADOX-01
Millennium Actress
Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club
Mirai no Mirai (2018)
Miss Hokusai
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Mizu no Kotoba / Aquatic Language
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket and why it is my favourite piece of Gundam
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Recommended) and the first two light novels
My Hero Academia: Bakugo vs Uraraka
My Neighbour Totoro: The Magic Will Never Leave Me and My Favourite Anime Film
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom: First Episode Impressions
Myriad Colors Phantom World
N:
Nadia: Secret of Blue Water tag: See below for list of posts
Nagi no Asukara Tag: See below for list of posts
Nameko Families is an odd little show.
Nanana’s Buried Treasure
Naruto Shippuden The Movie
New Game!, New Game!! (Season 2) First Thoughts.
New Kimagure Orange Road: Summer’s Beginning
Nobunagun and the risk of a weak first episode, Nobunagun series review
No Game No Life: First Thoughts, and Final Thoughts
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (OK) and Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza (flee screaming)
O:
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror
Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga (2020): First Episode Impressions
Only Yesterday (aka Omeido Poro Poro)
Origin: Spirits of the Past
P:
Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasi: First Thoughts (borderline) and Final Thoughts (it got better)
Paprika
Patema Inverted
Patlabor tag: See below for list of posts
Phantom Quest Corp
The Pilot’s Love Song: Thirteen episodes of “Meh”
A Place Further Than the Universe: First Thoughts, Fremantle, and Final Thoughts. RECOMMENDED.
Planetes: General tag, Thirty Days tag (incomplete). See below for context.
Poco’s Udon World
Ponyo on the Cliff
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette (not recommended)
Prétear (aka Snow White and the Seven Pretty Boys)
Princess Jellyfish
Princess Principal
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: A quick note, a very Arthurian review, and the 3rd movie Rebellion
Q:
R:
Ranma 1/2 Season 1
Ranting about Evangelion (no nasty words but I really hate this one)
Record of Lodoss War: General tag, Twenty Days tag. See below for context.
Recovery of an MMO Junkie
Redline
Restaurant to Another World
Revolutionary Girl Utena Tag: see below for list of posts.
Ride Your Wave (2019)
Rideback
Riding Bean
The Right Stuff and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (possibly my best review, certainly my favourite)
Rin-ne: First Thoughts, & continues to be what I expected.
Robotech: Don’t Hate It Too Much (Harmony Gold are fair game)
Robot Girls Z
Rocket Girls
Ruin Explorers
S:
Sakura Wars
Sakura Quest
Say “I Love You” (tag): See below for list of posts
Scrapped Princess
Shin Sekai Yori tag (aka From the New World): See below for list of posts
Shirobako (tag): See below for list of posts.
Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: First impressions, As it connects to AKB0048, others TBA
Silent Mobius Tag: See below for list of posts.
Solty Rei
Someday’s Dreamers
Sora no Woto (aka The Sound of the Sky)
Sore ga Seiyuu: First Thoughts
Sound! Euphonium (tag for alternate title, see Hibike! Euphonium posts below)
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Space Firebird 2772
Space Pirate Captain Harlock
Spirit of Wonder, The
Steamboy
Strange Dawn
Strike the Blood: First Thoughts, Second Thoughts, and Final Thoughts (TBA)
Summer Wars (in brief) and Summer Wars (Twenty Days)
Sword Art Online (aka Harem Art Online)
T:
Taisho Baseball Girls
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya has a cultural link to Sailor Moon?
Tales from Earthsea
Tari Tari tag: See below for list of posts.
Time of Eve
Toji no Miko: First Thoughts, Final Thoughts
Tonari no Seki-Kun: The Master of Killing Time: First and probably only thoughts
Toradora: First Thoughts, Final Thoughts, and the complete series from Hanabee
Toward the Terra
Tsuki ga Kirei (aka As the Moon, So Beautiful): First Thoughts
Tsuritama
U:
Umamusume: Pretty Derby: First and Probably Only Thoughts, I was bored so have some final thoughts as well
Umi Ga Kikoeru (1993)
Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer
Ushio and Tora: Looks Like Fun (Episode 1 impression)
Usagi Drop (story), Usagi Drop DVD Release, and the Usagi Drop live action.
V:
Valvrave the Liberator: First Thoughts and Final Thoughts (TBA)
Vexille
The Vision of Escaflowne: Thirty Days Tag. See below for context
W:
Waiting in the Summer
Walkure Romanze: An anime to flee screaming from, and I was totally right.
Wave, Listen to Me: First Episode Impressions
When Marnie Was There: A quick note
When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace
Whisper of the Heart
Wolf Children
World is Still Beautiful, and Revisiting The World is Still Beautiful
X:
Xam’d: Lost Memories: Initial Thoughts and Final Review
Y:
Yorimoi. RECOMMENDED.
Your Lie in April: First Thoughts
Your Name (aka Kimi no Na wa)
Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru (aka Yuna Yuki is a Hero): Tag, see below for list of posts.
Bodacious Space Pirates:
- First Thoughts
- Second Thoughts
- (hopefully not) Final Thoughts
- the Hanabee Blu-Ray Release Part 1 and Part 2, and
- a guest review by Peter Wilkie
- Movie trailer and character designs
- First Impressions: Abyss of Hyperspace Movie
Encouragement of Climg (aka Yama no Susume)
- Season One,
- Season 2 First Thoughts,
- Season 2 Final Thoughts,
- The Perils of Point of View: Season 3 Review
The Fate/Stay Night Franchise
- Fate/Stay Night: The Franchise (2006 – 2015)
- Fate/Stay Night (2006) (aka Deen/Stay Night)
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014/15)
- Fate/Zero (2011-2012)
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya (2013)
- Fate/Grand Order: First Order (2016)
- Fate/Apocrypha (2017)
- Part One
- Part Two, First Thoughts
- Final Thoughts (TBA)
- Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel
- I. presage flower (2017)
- II. lost butterfly (2018)
- III. ???
- Today’s Menu For the Emiya Family (2018-19)
- Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia (2019/20)
GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There
- The Self-Defense Force Goes to Another World (ep 1)
- First Thoughts
- Second Thoughts
- The New OP Sucks
- Third Thoughts (what a muddled mess)
- Japanese perspectives on the politics (links to other bloggers that you should read)
- Final Thoughts
Girls Und Panzer:
- First Thoughts,
- Second Thoughts,
- Final Thoughts
- A Movie in 2014?
- The Volleyball Club are Awesome
- The Hanabee Blu-Ray Release
- The OAV Collection
- There is a board game: Panzer Vor!
- Girls Und Panzer Der Film!
- Meet the Cast (photos of the actual tanks where I could find them)
Hibike! Euphonium
- Season 1: First Thoughts,
- Season 1: Final Thoughts,
- Season 2: Episode 11 is “only” good,
- Season 2: Final Thoughts
Kantai Collection
- You have GOT to be kidding me
- Mocking the first two episodes
- Hey, this is actually amusing me
- It also shows how AnimeLab is establishing itself
- Chibi Kongou is adorable (well, she is 🙂 )
- Final Thoughts
- On keeping it focused
- A Kantai Collection alternative: K-On Inspired Hijinks
Log Horizon
- Season 1 First Thoughts (Recommended)
- my mental disconnect over the music video for the ED,
- Season 1 Final Thoughts (Still Recommended)
- Season 2 First Thoughts
- Season 2 Speculations about Where It’s Heading
- Season 2 Second Thoughts. Oh dear.
- Season 2 An alternative view: the Babylon 5 of anime?
- Season 2 Final Thoughts (Better than I expected but…)
Magic Knight Rayearth
- Magic Knight Rayearth Season 1 (non-spoiler),
- Discussing the Ending to Season 1
- A fairly wild speculation about Hikaru.
- Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2 (spoilers for season 1)
Nadia: Secret of Blue Water
- Has it been remastered?
- Why, yes, it has been remastered
- First Thoughts
- Second Thoughts
- Final Thoughts (forthcoming)
Nagi no Asukara
- A quick note
- Part One (Recommended)
- The new opening
- A Deus Ex Machina and a Chekhov’s Gun and
- Part Two (Still recommended)
Patlabor:
- The original OAVs,
- Patlabor: The Movie,
- Patlabor 2: The Movie, and
- Why Patlabor is my favourite mecha series.
Revolutionary Girl Utena:
- The 5.1 remix,
- The Black Rose Saga,
- The Apocalypse Saga Part 1 and
- The Apocalypse Saga Part 2
- The Nozomi Extras Part 1
- The Nozomi Extras Part 2
- Adolescence of Utena (the movie)
Say “I Love You”
Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World)
- Dvořák’s 9th and Shin Sekai Yori
- First Thoughts,
- From the New World Part One
- From the New World Part Two (watch once recommendation)
Shirobako
- First Thoughts
- Episode 6 disappears
- Episode 6 reappears (Update: looks like Waiting For Godot was the culprit after all)
- Second Thoughts
- Third Thoughts. STILL Awesome.
- Achieves irony through non delivery
- Final Thoughts, or WHY HAVEN’T YOU WATCHED SHIROBAKO YET?
Silent Möbius
- Slient Mobius: The Motion Picture 1 and 2
- As a Five Team
- The soundtrack to the movies (especially the second movie)
- First thoughts on the TV Series
- Second thoughts on the TV Series
- Final thoughts on the TV Series
Tari Tari
- Looks at body image part one,
- Body image part two (not really resolved),
- Looks at architecture and design, and
- The actual series review.
Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru
- First Thoughts
- Wild Mass Guessing (some of which were accurate)
- Final Thoughts (which which were possibly a touch harsh)
- Revisited
Episodic Reviews
I have occasionally done full episodic reviews of selected series, plus additional themed posts to round out to sets of 20 or 30 posts.
In this vein I’ve completed:
Thirty Days of Anime (a fairly wide ranging set of posts. I had a lot of fun doing these).
Twenty Days of Lodoss War
Thirty Days of The Vision of Escaflowne
Twenty Days of Haibane Renmei
Twenty Days of Key the Metal Idol
Twenty Days of Anime Movies (see individual links above)
Dirty Pair TV Series
Dirty Pair OAV Series
Thirty Days of Planetes is in progress but interrupted by Real Life TM.
Panel Notes
I usually attend SwanCon in Perth, Continuum in Melbourne, and will start making a habit of GammaCon in Canberra. Occasionally I contribute to these conventions as a panellist, so here’s some my note from those panels.
Talking about tropes (hardly a surprise since I link to TV Tropes so often in my reviews):
- Anime Archetypes at SwanCon 2010, and
- Anime Tropes: The Sequel at SwanCon 2011.
- The Revenge of the Tropes was featured at Continuum in 2014.
Whilst I’ve done Anime 101 / Best Of panels before I’ve found Better Than They Have Any Right To Be to be a topic that allows for more critical discussion of “midrange” titles:
- I initially did a version of this at ConFlux but don’t seem to have any notes for it. 😦
- Better Than They Have Any Right To Be was a big hit at Continuum 9, and the panel notes (a downloadable slideshow) have some surprises.
- I also did this one as more of a presentation at GammaCon and it seemed to go over fairly well.
Regrettably my 2015 GammaCon panel on Names to Know In Anime wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped it would be. I plan to be back with a co-panelist in 2016 though.
Other Bits and Pieces
I’ve also written a general piece on anime story telling and editing (or the lack thereof): Sometimes Less is More. I have since clarified this with a comment about overediting of light novel adaptations: sometimes more is more.
I did a Three Fandoms challenge that included Lejji Matsumoto and Card Captor Sakura. There was also a bit of a rant about the Top 20 Madman Anime of 2012. In a similar vein I took part in an Anime Blogger Interrogation Game.
The latest addition to this set is a surprisingly popular piece on comfort, or zone out, anime.
I’ve also spent a little time musing on why CrunchyRoll is cool, and wondering what shows made people subscribers to CrunchyRoll.
I also had fun playing on twitter with the Explain an Anime Plot badly hashtag.
I may have issued a bit of a rant on moe character designs. Bring Back The Noses!
You may not like dubs (I’m not usually a fan), but show some (commercial) respect at least.
My attitudes towards fanservice.
May their art be their memorial: a trip down memory lane with Kyoto Animation.
Comments are always welcome on any of these reviews either here or in the individual reviews (but see the Site Disclaimer for the moderation policies).
Glad I found your site. FYI, the link to Twenty Days of Haibane Renmei has “http//” in front without the colon.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I’ll fix that link on the weekend. Thanks for reporting the glitch.
I really like the fact that you list them all out here. Wish more bloggers maintained a list like this.
Thanks. It’s partly for my benefit as well, as I often go back to reviews of one show to help clarify my thinking for another.
Mmm. I can relate to that. Sometimes I’ll use index to organize past posts for my own purpose, most often if I’m trying to think of good examples of a writing technique, so I dig into the reviews.
But it’s also really nice for a new audience who wants to really peruse without scrolling down indefinitely to see what’s in the archives :-). I see a lot of titles I’ll be adding to my “to read list”
Cool, I hope you enjoy them!