Animation

Thank You, My Hero

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Warning: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Final Season, now streaming on Crunchyroll. Some sections are more spoilery than others, so I’ll try to label when I’m diving into the thick of things for those who might just want my general thoughts on the season as well as the series at large.

This coming April will mark 10 years since the TV anime adaptation of My Hero Academia began at Bones Studio C, the same production house that gave us Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Soul Eater, and Ouran High School Host Club. And nearly just in time for that anniversary, the series has concluded its eighth and final season – the shortest, in fact, at 11 episodes. 11 episodes of dazzling spectacle, heartbreaking sacrifices, and monumental strides for its world and characters, and not a single week passed that the gravity of it all did not bring me to tears.

When it started, I was in my senior year of High School. I loved all the characters, I loved the animation, and I had a crush on Deku, because he was (and still is) adorable and ideal boyfriend material. Now I’m approaching my 30s, and despite the uncertainty of the future, for which this series’ text aptly latched onto as it progressed, I’m living my best life. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that My Hero Academia contributed to the heights of my life at this juncture, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that its whimsy has helped lift me along the way. It is a story that found me at the right time and grew with me, becoming more resonant than I ever expected.

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Bones Film and the Hunger for Longer Anime Seasons

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So earlier today, I watched the new trailer for Daemons of the Shadow Realm, the new Hiromu Arakawa adaptation, and unsurprisingly, it rocked. Though crucially, I don’t believe it’s just because of Arakawa’s namesake. Don’t get me wrong: Fullmetal Alchemist‘s acclaim and staying power in the cultural consciousness are a testament to some wonderful writing, but they’re also inextricably tied to the artistry of Studio Bones. Frankly, if it weren’t Bones – oop sorry, Bones Film – handling this adaptation, I might actually be less excited, if only because few studios can evoke such trust in me by reputation alone.

Like, honey, look at the material. Mob Psycho 100? My Hero Academia? Noragami? Kekkai Sensen? Star Driver? With a resume like this, even something as huge as Fullmetal Alchemist is practically just a blip on the radar. Glazing aside, Daemons of the Shadow Realm‘s anime has only done itself more favors the more that’s been shown, and all from Masahiro Ando, the director of one of the studio’s greatest gems, Sword of the Stranger. Plus, with music by Kenichiro Suehiro of Fire Force and Re:Zero fame, it will probably be one of the best soundtracks of the season.

But none of that is what really caught my eye. I wasn’t even gonna write about it. If anything, I was planning on writing about Gachiakuta and My Hero Academia dominating this season (and I still might). No, what really caught my eye were the final words of the trailer: “Airing for two consecutive cours starting in April 2026”. It’s just a simple detail, practically obligatory, to disclose the release date and whatnot, right? Right… But somehow it felt more like the answer to a prayer. Cause like, has anyone else felt like anime seasons used to be longer?

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Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Made Me a Fan Again

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TitleDemon Slayer The Movie: Infinity Castle
DirectorHaruo Sotozaki, Hikaru Kondo (Chief Director)
StudioUfotable
Premiere Date9/12/2025 (United States)

It’s been nearly six years since Ufotable’s adaptation of Demon Slayer concluded its first season, becoming a worldwide phenomenon and earning an admittedly impulsive 10/10 from yours truly. Granted, my love began to wane in the years since, bogged down by the TV anime’s questionable pacing, which created a sensation that not much progress was being made in the story. And now, it’s already coming to an end… well, technically. There’s still a lot more to adapt, I hear.

Demon Slayer The Movie: Infinity Castle sells itself as the beginning of the end, but if anything, it makes the six years between Season 1 and now feel like nothing more than an interlude. Season 1 adapted 53 chapters, but this trilogy aims to adapt the final 66. It’s not just an ending; it’s the story’s next major saga, from its pacing to its beating heart. In that, this film exemplifies the anime’s intervening failings, yet at the same time, it is also a rekindling of its greatest strengths.

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An Abridged Summary of My Thoughts on the Demon Slayer Anime For No Reason At All

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Hey everyone, remember in 2019 when I gave Demon Slayer a 10/10?

Probably not, and that’s fine. I mean, I didn’t give it a 10 in the post itself, but that is what I gave it on MyAnimeList.net when I finished it, and honestly, I still stand by that. Season 1 of Demon Slayer was such a fun and jam-packed adventure that really hit all the right notes. Animation, music, performances, heartfelt themes – it had it all, and from when it began to where it ended, it truly felt like we’d experienced an adventure with only more on the horizon.

Fast forward to 2021, and I reviewed Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train almost just as positively. It was kinda the first shonen anime film to prove that studios could feasibly continue the canon story through films rather than just making high-budget theatrical side stories that were dubiously canon at best. Mugen Train was awesome, and later, while writing for GameRant, I would go on to write about what I considered to be the most emotional scene, not only in that film, but in the series at large. That film rocked and made me even more excited for what the franchise held in store for the future…

… That is, until that future came. Now I’m just a bit sad.

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[Insert Joke About Trash]: Should You Watch Gachiakuta?

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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-3 of Gachiakuta, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

I was gonna turn the title of this post into something like “This Anime is Trash” or something evocative of the central motif of garbage present in the story, but then I remembered that every reviewer on YouTube has already made that joke. I also remembered not immediately picking up on the joke and getting a little pissed, thinking, “What the fuck are these people smoking?” The thing is, it’s undeniably effective clickbait; it just already feels played out (not that my title ideas are any better, clearly).

To the surprise of no one who has read my writing before, I love Studio Bones. Their shows have consistently been among my favorites of all time, be they original projects or adaptations, and for over 25 years, they’ve been a shining beacon in an industry full of beloved studios. But sometimes I feel like I need to brace myself for the day when my favorite studio will “fall off”. I’m not getting any younger, and the same can be said of the artists behind my favorite works of film and television.

I think it was The Canipa Effect on YouTube who said that studios aren’t actually important. What matters are the artists behind the studio. When you get right down to it, it’s not “Bones” that I have to thank for my favorite shows. It’s the producers and founders like Masahiko Minami, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, and the late Hiroshi Osaka. It’s also Bones’ directors, like Tensai Okamura, Takuya Igarashi, Rie Matsumoto, Kenji Nagasaki, Masahiro Ando, and none other than Shinichiro Watanabe.

Of course, I say all this, but Bones still has that dog in them. Mob Psycho 100 is one of the most well-animated TV series of the past decade. Bungo Stray Dogs continues to be one of the highest-quality manga adaptations out there. My Hero Academia Season 7 was so good that I tried to nominate it for Anime of the Year at this year’s anime awards (albeit to no avail). Like, come on, they just announced a new adaptation of a series from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist. They’re doing fine.

The thing is, studios change. It’s natural, because the people working there age and pass what they know down to new people. Those new people might kick ass and bring the studio into a brave new era, and maybe those new people fuck it up. Most of the time, it’s nothing so clear as either one of those. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, in trying to prevent myself from becoming a bitter old man or a stan that refuses to criticize something, I want to be more critical of Studio Bones. You see, it’s just a little tough, though, because so far, Gachiakuta is pretty fucking cool.

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Lazarus Is Dumb (Fun)

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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Lazarus, now streaming on HBO Max.

A little over two months ago, I set my expectations low for Lazarus, the newest original anime project from Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo fame. I poked holes in its premise, criticized its mish-mashed tone and its overly wordy script, and expressed my disappointment in the early English dub. Yet, through it all, I was just as quick to praise its aesthetic strengths and held out hope that, by the end, I’d look back on a series that, while perhaps not excellent, wouldn’t leave me regretting the time spent with it.

Thank god I lowered my expectations, because the things this show has done well since the start have made each Sunday morning spent with it all the more entertaining. Its artwork was consistent and, on occasion, truly wowed me with exceptional action and choreography. The English dub improved as the main cast settled into their roles, and the show’s heights leveraged their simple but energetic chemistry to create a pace that was fun and engaging. Best of all, the music was really good.

However, the closer the series inched towards its finale, the more it felt like I had to fish for these positives; to remind myself of how impressive this series can be when it has its shit together. Then, I started to wonder if it ever truly had its shit together to begin with and furthermore, whether it ever had the chance to from the start, much less the time. I kept my expectations low for Lazarus, now let’s see how much that helped, how much that was needed to begin with, and what a measuring of expectations couldn’t save at all.

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The Profound Hopelessness of Castlevania: Nocturne

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I never reviewed the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne, though I did pen a piece about how it evolved the franchise’s already impressive power scaling through its new cast of characters. Nocturne‘s first season really impressed me, and that’s why I was so shocked to see that it had such a mixed reception – at least according to the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (take that as you will). I suppose living up to the original series was a tall order, but even so… why?

Looking at this sequel series solely through the lens of its artwork, sound design, and overall aesthetic, it is a joy to behold, and a step above even its predecessor’s greatest heights. Narratively it might stumble in places, so too did the first series, just over four seasons instead of two. But that’s not really what compelled me to dust off the old blog and add another idea to a pile of half-completed drafts. I want to talk about how Season 2 made me feel, and how that feeling allowed me to forgive what few flaws held this show back from greatness.

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My Top Ten Anime List, a Decade in the Making

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Over a Christmas break in 2013, I binged Attack on Titan and became an anime fan. This often surprises the friends that I’ve made since then because, what with how I talk about this industry and my favorite shows therein, one would think I’ve been this way since I was a kid. My high school pals have been watching Dragonball and Naruto since they were kids, but they would likely call me out as the biggest weeb in the group.

A few years ago, I decided that when 2024 struck, I’d have a list of the top ten anime I have watched in those ten years. And then, New Year’s came and went and I realized I’d completely forgotten to write this. Thankfully, I already had the skeleton of a list ready to go and only had to make a few adjustments. I know I haven’t kept up with this blog as much as I would have liked, but I wasn’t about to miss this occasion.

So without further ado, whether you’re a friend or mutual anime blogger with whom I have been blessed to share this platform, here are the best anime I have ever seen.

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“Bang!” | The Guns of Cowboy Bebop

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Cowboy Bebop‘s cultural influences trace heavily to classic action cinema, be it Hollywood or Hong Kong, western or noir. And though most will remember Bebop for its martial arts and the Bruce Lee stylings that define the leading man, the gunplay in Bebop scratches quite the itch.

It’s not like there haven’t been tons of good gunfights in anime, even in recent years, but they often lose out to melee combat, be it realistic or stylized. There’s something about the gunplay in anime of the 90s and the early 2000s that feels distinct.

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An Informal Praise of My Hero Academia

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My Hero Academia is the only long-running Shonen anime that I have watched since its beginning and that I’ve kept up with since. Most other shonen are too long for me to get past the barrier to entry, so getting in on the ground floor was a great feeling. It helped that Bones was producing it and that its premise was so appealing.

80% of the world’s population has superpowers except for our protagonist? And we’re promised that – somehow, despite that – he will become the world’s greatest hero? It’s a great premise with a classic long-term promise of what’s to come. Funnily enough, despite that premise not being entirely accurate, it captured people’s attention in no time. By 2017, it was one of the biggest anime in the world.

… And for some reason I’ve never formally reviewed it until now. And with each passing season, the prospect of rewatching previous seasons to go over them seemed rather ambitious given my already inconsistent binging capabilities. So I had resigned myself to never reviewing the series. But now, five seasons and two movies strong, with the third film in theaters at the time of writing, I find myself tempted to say “screw it” and do it anyway.

So here is my review of all of My Hero Academia before the new movie comes out!

Plus ultra