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Dear Readers, I have an announcement to make.  First, put your tissues away! I’m not hanging up my aniblogging pen or closing the blog.  No worries, there.  In fact, you will be seeing quite a bit of content from me; however, most of it won’t be on rayout. I have been asked to serve as a writing contributor and media creator at Wave Motion Cannon.  This is a great honor for me, as I will be…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 12: Monogats

The thing I’ve fallen for hardest this year is this goddamn bulbous Monogatari franchise. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 11: Asuka Tanaka and The Reality of Inconsistency

I recently marathoned through KyoAni’s outstanding high school drama, Hibike! Euphonium.  One of my favorite reasons to watch was the character Asuka Tanaka.  When I took to Twitter to talk about my experiences with the series, I discovered, to my great surprise, that she is far from universally beloved among the fans.  Some even refer to her as an out-and-out bad person.  This is a claim that I…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 10: Kill Genre Conventions

I missed it the first time around, but I barreled through Akame ga Kill earlier this year, and it totally won me over with it’s bold way of doing things. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 9: The Two Stories of Diebuster

I absolutely cannot believe I waited this long to watch Diebuster.  I have never been more annoyed with past-me accepting the views of other critics as gospel truth, regardless of how “big time” the critic or how vehemently expressed the opinion.  In many ways, this notion of freeing myself from previously held biases and expectations has been the story of my fandom in 2015.  It was a year of…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 8: Takemiya Yuyuko

This year, I was touched by the anime adaptations of Takemiya Yuyuko’s light novels, Toradora! and Golden Time. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 7: “Is It Wrong To Start The Title of A Post About Danmachi With The Words “Is It Wrong?”?”

Yes! Yes, I am, actually.  And, no, you’re not bothering me Supporter-chan.  Not in the least.  I’m just trying to figure out how I can explain to these fine folks that Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Danmachi) is a good show, worthy of their time.  I sure as hell didn’t expect to enjoy the show as much as I did.  I did not think this was for me, and I am not confident recommending it…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 6: Make TV Gundam Great Again

TV Gundam has had a rough go of it in the last decade.  Ten years ago, the legendarily poor Gundam SEED Destiny was finishing up its run.  A couple of years later, there was the improved-but-not-great Gundam 00.  In 2011 Gundam AGE failed to excite fans with both character designs and plot moves that were almost universally derided.  If you don’t count Gundam Build Fighters as a Gundam show…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 5: AniTwitter Necromancy

When Symphogear first aired in 2012, I haaaated it.  I mean, I thought the first episode was cool, but by episode four, I was out.  No thanks.  Then, a funny thing happened earlier this year.  AniTwitter brought Symphogear back from the dead. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 4: One-two Punch

One Punch Man has been the hit show of Fall 2015, a fairly unsurprising fact   People love this show for a lot of different reasons.  Sakuga nuts adore the care and attention that the animation staff clearly takes with OPM.  Some probably dig that a solid meat ‘n potatoes shounen fighting series is on TV again.  Both of these points resonate with me, but neither conveys what I chiefly enjoy about…

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 3: Sharing The Things You Love

One of my absolute favorite anime-related experiences this year was watching From Up On Poppy Hill with my wife. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 2: 80s Anime Adventure

You know someone really cares about you when they push you toward stuff animated by Mutsumi Inomata.  Luckily, I had a friend do just that for me this year. (more…)

Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 1: BEARsona

There are check boxes to every subculture, and anime fandom is no exception.  I normally don’t write about video games in this space, but there’s just something about the modern Persona series that seems to resonate with weebs the world over. (more…)

Did I say it was my final appearance on Josh Dunham‘s  Senpai Coast To Coast podcast?  Well, I am quickly proven a liar because I’m on THE VERY NEXT EPISODE.  It’s November, so we are talking robots.  In Part 1, internet cool dude David Majors talks to Josh about Rah Xephon, and I attempt to sell the world on Diebuster. Senpai Coast To Coast Page | Direct Download | iTunes | Stitcher No show…

Yuri Kuma Arashi: Relationships Are Hard And We Are Really Bad At Them

Famed auteur anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara produced his third TV series, Yuri Kuma Arashi (YKA going forward), in early 2015.  It’s his shortest television anime in terms of length, but YKA retains the trademark depth and richness found in Ikuhara’s previous work, Mawaru Penguindrum and the beloved Revolutionary Girl Utena.   There’s way more going on in YKA  than I can hope to address in a…

The Otaku Memory Box: The Ephemeral Sound! Of An Ensemble

It was a passing moment in time, but, for the members of the Kitauji concert band, it will live forever. (more…)

Podcast: Bakemonogatari Part 3

It’s the third and final part of my guest appearance on Josh Dunham‘s Senpai Coast to Coast podcast.  We finish up our discussion of Bakemonogatari by delving into the Tsubasa Cat arc, paying special attention to the series’ twelfth episode.  I truly enjoyed doing this podcast with Josh.  He was an absolute pleasure to work with, and I hope he’ll have me back in the future. Senpai Coast To Coast…