The Thaleniel Guards

Sharp sounds of clashing metal ring out beneath one of the many tall, oil burning street lamps that intermittently light Thaleniel’s dark, southern warehouse district. Bathed in orange-tinted light, two figures, clearly engaged in combat, move and circle each other. They trade slashes, thrusts, blocks, and parries as their swords meet again and again. Eventually, one of the combatants gains an…


Review: Akebi’s Sailor Uniform Anime

In Short: Released in 2022 by CloverWorks, Akebi’s Sailor Uniform is a twelve episode anime based on a manga of the same name. It follows twelve year old Komichi Akebi as she starts her first year of junior high at the same all girls private academy that her mother attended several years before. All throughout elementary school, Komichi was the only student in her class, so she is beyond…


Review: Kill la Kill

In Short: Released in 2013, Kill la Kill is a 24 episode + 1 OVA anime that is the first series produced by studio Trigger. In it, we follow delinquent punk high school girl Ryuko Matoi as she searches for the person who murdered her scientist father. This leads her to Honnouji Academy, a place where top ranking students are gifted special uniforms that give them superpowers, and to the school’s…


Review: Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-

In Short: Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song- is a 13 episode anime created by Wit Studio in 2021. It tells the story of an android Artificial Intelligence nicknamed Diva who was created by humanity expressly for the purpose of singing. Her life takes an unexpected turn when an AI from the future named Matsumoto is sent back in time and demands she help him save humanity from a world ending AI uprising.…


Review: Gekijouban Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Movie

I finally got to see the Revue Starlight Movie, and it was incredible. The anime series, which the movie follows up on, was mostly about main character Karen Aijo refocusing on her acting ability in order to star…


What Makes Senki Zesshō Symphogear So Awesome?

When I found it a few years ago, I had no idea that Senki Zessho Symphogear would quickly become one of my favorite anime series of all time. It is a fun, uplifting, semi sci-fi spin on the classic magical girl genre that’s filled with awesome action, awesome music, awesome characters, awesome messages, and awesome stories told over five seasons. Here’s a brief description of a scene set in…


Review: Astra Lost in Space

In Short: Astra Lost in Space is a twelve episode anime released by studio Lerche in 2019. Set in a future where faster than light travel is common, the show follows a group of high school students who are frighteningly transported from the surface of one planet into orbit above a distant unknown world by a strange energy sphere. They should be dead, but because they were still wearing their…


Anime Suggestions For A Ravenclaw

Your Name. Your Name is pretty easily my favorite anime movie. It’s fantastically beautiful in both art and animation, has great characters, has some really well integrated music, and has a great premise. In it, two high school students living very different lives, a boy in the big city of Tokyo, and a girl in rural small town Japan, end up swapping bodies a couple of times a week. The…


Review: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

In Short: Released in 2011 by Shaft, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a delightful take on the popular Magical Girl genre of anime. In it, young high schooler Madoka Kaname and her best friend Sayaka Miki are approached by a cute magical creature who offers to make a contract with them. It will grant each of them any single wish they…


Review: Spice and Wolf Anime

In Short: Spice and Wolf is a 2 season, 24 episode anime from 2008 that is adapted from a long running series of light novels and manga. It tells the story of traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence and his companion Holo, a haughty yet clever wolf goddess who travels along side him in human form. In addition to bushels of downright excellent banter between its two leads, Spice and Wolf puts medieval…