Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk – A Strong Finish

Certainly Worth the Watch!

Picking up right where Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk left off, the second season of the anime opens with one powerful episode. That said though, before I get into any of that, and why you should definitely watch this, be aware that there will be spoilers for season 1 in here. If all you were looking for was assurance that the whole series is worth your time, I can confidently say it is. Now, on to the review proper.

Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk – A Surprising Delight

Probably the Best Video Game Adaptation Turned Anime I’ve Seen

Awhile back while searching for another anime I happened upon a show called “Tower of Druaga“. This title was one I was quick to disregard, except two things struck me about it when I looked it up. The first being that this was somehow based on a 1984 Namco game and the fact that this was a Gonzo production. If you don’t know already, I have a philosophy that all Gonzo shows are at least interesting, even if they aren’t good, but sometimes they really delight. So the big question is, did Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk deliver?

Rec – Supporting Each Other

Life Sometimes Takes Unexpected Turns

The other day I was listening to Digi talk about his favorite OP’s on YouTube when he reminded me that Rec existed as an anime. I was in the mood to watch a romance show, and at only 9 episodes, each really only ~12 minutes apiece, I decided to give it a watch. It’s a Shaft production and I had some expectations for something interesting, so, was it?

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom – A Near Perfect Adaptation

The Best Bee Train Show I’ve Seen

Maybe you haven’t heard of Bee Train as a studio, but they have less than a stellar reputation. You probably have heard of Gen Urobuchi, known for such series as Psycho-Pass and Madoka Magica. So what happens when these two get together to adapt one of Urobuchi’s early visual novels? Well, you get Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, a dramatic tale of two assassins filled to the brim with twists and turns.

Liar Game (Season 1 & 2) – Outplayed with Kindness

Kanzaki Nao is Stupidly Honest

Finding herself caught up in the titular Liar Game, Kanzaki Nao doesn’t seem to stand a chance. She’s extremely honest and takes everyone at their word. However, she soon realizes that in order to escape this twisted game she’ll need help. Enter Akiyama, a con man who has just been released from jail. Together they teem up to take down the organization behind the game and save everyone caught up in the mess in the process.

Boogiepop Never Laughs – Better Than the 2000’s Version?

It’s Complicated…

When it comes to Boogiepop, my relationship with the franchise is a more complicated one. Very rarely do I have any real knowledge of the source material, and in turn, does that impact my watching. Further more, it is even more rare for me to have seen multiple adaptations of said work. This is the case with Boogiepop Never Laughs which has lead to an obvious question, so what is even worth engaging with here?

Anime ABC’s Q is(n’t) for Cowboy Bebop

A Little Context

For those of you out of the loop, Anime ABC’s is a series where I review an anime for each letter of the alphabet in order. Typically these are longer-form essays where I try something unique/different each time. This round should be Q, but instead I hosted a redemption round since there just aren’t a ton of Q anime. The winner of that vote was the famed Cowboy Bebop. Now that you know what’s going on, let’s dive right into the review.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – Having the Time of my Slife

*Hums Title to Tune of “(I’ve Had) The Time of my Life”*

Originally I tried to transform the lyrics into some semblance of a review, but that ended up being quite the undertaking! Instead, you’ll have to settle for a regular ol’ review of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, or just Slime, for short. There was a lot of enthusiasm for this one at the start of Fall 2018 but was it able to hold onto that momentum through Winter 2019 across its 24 episodes?

The Diary of Tortov Roddle – A Moving Painting

A Sense of Lonely Whimsy

Once again my paying attention to Digi has paid dividends. Love him or hate him, I do often stumble across excellent recommendations, especially of more obscure titles. One of his recent videos, “Finish or Fail A-pocalypse #2: Ayashi no Ceres & The Traveler’s Diary” convinced me to check out the show in question today. With six, three minute episodes, The Diary of Tortov Roddle is worth checking out for just the novelty alone.

This Art Club Has a Problem! – Collaboration with Yomu: Episode 1

First impressions are important: a critique of the first 5 minutes of the episode.

Ok, so before I actually do that let me introduce this project a bit. Yomu really wanted to do this collab where folks would all watch a show, the same show, episode-by-episode each week but with a big twist! That being we’d all (mostly) be focusing on different themes/ideas each time. We get a huge list to choose from and pick one. So, as you can see, I chose to tackle first impressions. We had some choices as to what to watch but we settled on This Art Club Has a Problem! in the end. You can read about the project in more detail here.