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Anime Reviews Reviews

Backlog Busting: “Mob Psycho 100 III”

Back in 2022 there were a lot of things going on in my life. Among other things, after dealing with infertility for multiple years, late that year I got pregnant with my one-and-only child. Probably because of that, mainly the immense fatigue that came along with it, I didn’t have a lot of energy to watch anime. I was really happy that the final season of Mob Psycho 100 was coming out, but I was chronically sleepy and had trouble finishing the episodes I was watching. Around episode 5 I reached a point where I felt like I’d have to re-watch episodes and that’s a difficult prospect for me even in more typical circumstances. So the series sat unfinished from that point on until I picked it up again in early April 2026.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Backlog Busting – “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”

I wrote recently about my shameful anime backlog situation. To keep myself accountable, I thought it would be good to document what I finish within a reasonable amount of time. This is the first of those.

I have a real issue with finishing the anime I start, which as I’ve mentioned previously has more to do with how and when I’m watching it than the actual quality of the series. With Frieren in particular, I watched the first half of the first season pretty readily (which, looking back, was a miracle considering that I’d just had a baby a couple months prior to when the broadcast started and just wasn’t really in my right mind due to broken sleep and such). I caught up at the midpoint and, unlike previously when it was easy for me to watch a bunch of anime from week-to-week, I lost my momentum and had to prioritize other more pressing matters.

This was always a small point of shame to me; I really enjoyed what I’d already watched, so why couldn’t I just sit down and finish the first season? I think a big part of why it wasn’t that simple and the main reason why a lot of my hobbies suffered at that time was that I’d gone from having some decent coping mechanisms for my lack of executive function (a life-long issue) to suddenly suffering from having both my guts and my neurons rearranged through the experience of pregnancy. My priorities were different and my ability to focus had really changed as well. A lot of my mental energy was being spent caring for my little one and making sure his needs were met, and so most everything else fell to the wayside.

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Anime Reviews Personal Reviews

Dealing with Words Left Unsaid in “Journal With Witch”

For reasons that even I’m not quite sure about, I spent some time a few years ago in the corner of Reddit that deals with navigating toxic family relationships (primarily r/raisedbynarcissists, but also some focused more around other familial and romantic relationships). I wasn’t “raised” by any narcissists, but I think like most of us I’ve dealt with individuals in my life who I’ve suspected had some narcissistic traits, and learning about what that all entails has helped me to unpack some things about the challenging interactions I’ve had.

I think what’s interesting to come to know is that, in many of these cases, the overriding emotion being experienced by the person posting is grief. When dealing with someone whose perception of the world lacks grounding in reality, there’s often not a way to have a genuine interaction with them. Whatever relationship you think you have with them is always filtered through their illness; they often aren’t in a state of mind to see you as an equal existence with your own thoughts, feelings, and desires. The grief comes from mourning a relationship that was never really there, and the reality that you may never get the opportunity to say what you need to say to these people in a way that they will acknowledge. It’s forever suffering a lack of closure.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Shiny New Anime Prep – “Wistoria: Wand and Sword”

Title: Wistoria: Wand and Sword

Episodes: 12

Streaming: Crunchyroll

I often claim that I have very broad tastes in entertainment. I don’t necessarily think that makes me special or a better consumer, but I think my experiences in sampling a large cross section of anime has allowed me to become comfortable when dabbling in many different genres. My criticisms tend to revolve more around the overuse of storytelling tropes, or the use of tropes that just rub me the wrong way. I’m happy to enjoy a fantasy series, but if many of its story beats revolve around slavery dynamics or its heroes are accessing video game style user interfaces, I tend to lose interest, or worse.

However, even stale tropes when wielded by the right hands can become fresh again. What it boils down to, I think, is being able to avoid cynicism when utilizing those story beats and having some amount of respect toward the audience who appreciates them. That, and being able to subvert expectations in other key ways so that the media doesn’t feel like a complete rehash of something else.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Shiny New Anime Prep – “Train to the End of the World”

Title: Train to the End of the World

Episodes: 12

Streaming: Crunchyroll

At the rate that new technologies are developed and released upon the public, it’s natural to feel nervous when yet another miracle invention (which may or may not have been fully vetted by, well, anyone) appears for public consumption. Enter 7G, a communications technology that Japan tech gurus and government leaders alike hope will return the country to the technological forefront. Teenager Yoka finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and is plucked off the street to press the start button for 7G during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. However, immediately after her finger pushes play, reality warps to the point that most places and people become unrecognizable and civilization collapses.

Now two years later the very few settlements that remain are scattered along the Seibu Ikebukuro line, where each stop is now hours or even days travel from its neighbors. Shizuru has spent the last couple of years since the 7G incident living her life in the town of Agano where, due to the effects of 7G, residents transform into animals after they turn 21 years old. Shizuru and Yoka had a falling-out just before the incident, and Shizuru grasps onto any snippet of information she can find about Yoka’s possible whereabouts so that they can hopefully repair their rift. When she by chance sees a newspaper clipping with a photo of Yoka in the now-mutated Ikebukuro, she makes it her mission to pilot an old abandoned train car to make the weeks-long trip into the city. However, she won’t have to make the trip alone – she’s joined by friends Nadeshiko, Reimi, and Akira, who experience this wild new world along with her.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Shiny New Anime Prep – “Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master”

Title: Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Episodes: 20

Streaming: Crunchyroll

I’m trying something a little different this year – right now I’m prepping for an upcoming convention, and part of that involves catching up on anime from the past year that I think I may want to include (either featured, or included on our more extensive recommendation list). I’m hoping writing about what I’ve been watching will help me collect my thoughts a little bit better, and treat the media as less disposable – even though I’m watching a lot of in a relatively short time.

The Kingdom of Yamauchi is led by the Kin’u, or golden raven, a singular emperor among a race of Yatagarasu, or three-legged ravens. Though the title is often bestowed down a heriditary line, when the kingdom finds itself in need a true golden raven may be born to help protect Yamauchi and its people.

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Halloween Seasonal Special Features

It’s Spooky Season! – Day 29: Otherside Picnic

There are relatively few anime series that star adult characters, so when I find one I definitely take notice, even if the end product is somewhat uneven. Take Otherside Picnic, a series that stars two college-aged heroines who become friends (and more). At its best, the series is creepy and unsettling; at its worst, it’s merely enjoyable. But overall it’s a fun ride with some amusing characters who find themselves in some spooky situations.

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Halloween Seasonal Special Features

It’s Spooky Season! – Day 24: Raven of the Inner Palace

I may have mentioned this, but over the last year my ability to keep up with new anime was severely disrupted due to health issues, so when it was time to prep for an anime convention I had a lot of catching-up to do. Usually when I end up in this situation, sacrifices must be made. There are always anime that I wanted to watch but didn’t have time to cram into my schedule, and I’ll realistically probably never get back around to them again. On the other hand, there are almost always some series that I take a chance on and end up loving. Raven of the Inner Palace was one such series.

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Halloween Seasonal Special Features

It’s Spooky Season! – Day 21: Shadows House

When I started this month-long project, part of the reason I’d had the idea in the first place was because I wanted to call attention to some lesser-known, older, and potentially out-of-print or unlicensed episodes or series under the guise of creating a Halloween listicle. Having said that, I think it’s important to note that not every overlooked series is older or even especially difficult to get a hold of. Take Shadows House. While I don’t think the show is a secret to anyone who’s kept up with seasonal anime the last several years, it’s a series that I think deserves to be more well known than it is.

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Halloween Seasonal Special Features

It’s Spooky Season! – Day 20: Shinsekai Yori (From the New World)

There are some anime each season that I watch, enjoy, and then mostly forget about after a few months. There are many fewer anime that I watch and never stop thinking about. Shinsekai Yori (From the New World) is one such anime series. Part of why I think it’s remained so front-of-mind for me is that my experience of watching it was very intense; it was fairly late at night on a weekend when I made it to the third act of the series, and I chose to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning to finish it. However, in despite any sleep deprivation that may have been involved, I think the truer reason why I’ve always felt a connection with the series is that it ends on such a shocking note that I would dare anyone who’s finished watching it to ever forget it.