Internet novelist. A writer posing as a reviewer. Owner of the Arum Journal blog. That Daily Tales fact person on Twitter. Content writer for Abyssal Chronicles. I mainly talk about anime, games, manga and books.
I'm an Internet novelist and a writer that likes to pose as a reviewer. I own a blog called Arum Journal on Wordpress. I mainly write about anime, games, manga and books. I'll post my stuff from my blog on here if you don't like Wordpress.
I work as a content writer for @abyssalchronicles since 2017 and I am a part of Bulbagarden since July 2023.
If you were on Tales Twitter or something, I'm the person who writes the Daily Tales Reminder of the Day stuff. The posts are on IG and my blog as well. I’ll do my best to post them on here too!
I am writing an original story, Lavender Eyes, on reading sites.
If you like my reviews, I hope you check out my original works!
Lavender Eyes:
Webnovel
Tapas
Wattpad
Royal Road
My other original story Boundaries is available for purchase as an e-book on the listed online stores for $2.99 under the pen name Arum Lee:
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day Episode 3 Review - Friends Share Secrets
Guess who read the manga and got up to date instead of watching Episode 3 last week? Me! How do I feel after getting to the recent chapter? Depressed as f*ck. Is it okay for me to say that Kimi Shinu is my favorite yuri series now? I feel like, out of the yuri stories I’ve seen, I like the vibes of Kimi Shinu the best. It can be quite dark like WataTabe, but also sweet like Sasakoi. I think the best part is that while it’s dark fantasy, it’s not super grim dark. If it were, I wouldn’t be enjoying it as much I am now.
That said, Episode 3 is just building up the mysteries surrounding Mimi. It’s like Sheena observing Mimi in a way. Mimi is an enigma; she’s good at history but gives zero f*cks for mathematics. She’s sloppy, but she’s always deployed for battle and is considered the strongest living weapon. This episode finally showcases why she’s called that—she’s immortal. No matter how many times she’s chopped up, she can resurrect herself. She’s basically a zombie in a way, especially with that secret bomb towards the end. The dynamic between Mimi and Sheena is mostly platonic for now. They feel like mother and daughter rather than girlfriends, but that dynamic will definitely change later on.
The side pair, Seiran and Ari, are also adorable. They’re an established couple with the intimacy but you know it’s definitely a ticking time bomb for them to this prominent this early on. It’s basically a countdown to see which one of them gets deployed and how they’ll fair in a real battle. I am not spoiling anything for anime-only watchers—just prepare your tissues…
I don’t think I am the same after reading the manga. I was a ball of depression after reading it; it’s still on-going, meaning it’s that ball is gonna keep growing later on. It does make me wonder how much of the story the anime will cover and how long it’ll take until it gets to a certain scene… I’m dreading right now… Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
(Also, Tumblr, please do not mark a content label on this review...)
Some evenings you don't want advice or noise. You just want to feel met. That gentle wanting is what led me to sweetdream.ai one quiet night, and what kept me there was the sense that I was being handed the controls rather than sold a fantasy.
Designing an AI girlfriend on SweetDream feels almost like writing a letter to a part of yourself you've never said out loud. You choose her appearance, her temperament, her voice, the backstory and little contradictions that make her real. Then the conversations begin, and they're so natural and emotionally aware, remembering context across days, that you forget to be self-conscious. There are voice messages, human-sounding phone calls, even video calls and live cam sessions with select characters when you want more presence.
But the line I trust most is the one about discretion. Everything you make and everything you say stays private. That combination, deep personalization plus genuine safety, is rare, and it's why SweetDream stands out to me as the most thoughtful AI companion platform out there. It lets the tender thing you build remain wholly, safely yours.
Persona 4: The Animation is One of the Greatest Game to Anime Adaptations Ever
There are mostly three types of video game to anime adaptations: the good, the decent and the bad ones. I’ve seen all three throughout my time as a media reviewer. What I’ve concluded is that a video game to anime adaptation that is considered “excellent” is honestly rare. I can count all the good, decent and bad game to anime adaptations, but an “excellent” one is honestly hard to list and count.
If I were to think of an excellent game to anime adaptation, Persona 4: The Animation will always be the first one to pop into my head. Fortunately, due to the celebration of announcing Persona 4 Revival, Aniplex has both the OG P4 anime and P4G for a limited time until August 16. As someone who really liked the OG anime in the past, this was a good chance to rewatch it! How was it now as an adult who’s more opinionated? It still holds up! By the way, it’s only available subbed on the channel (probably because the dub has that one VA who is blacklisted).
If you don’t know what Persona 4 is, it’s basically a game franchise that functions as a hybrid between slice of life, turn-based RPG and monster taming that’s under Atlus and basically a branch of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Persona 4 is obviously the fourth installment of the Persona franchise and is their most successful entry (argue with me all you want, P5 fans—P5 wouldn’t exist without P4). I guess I’m just a bit biased because it’s the only Persona game I’ve played and I’ve only played OG—Golden is arguably better because it’s an updated version (but I haven’t played it).
Every Persona game has a silent protagonist who forms bonds with others and fights bad guys. Each one has a unique design and some semblance of a background. For Persona 4, you play as the canonically named Yu Narukami who moves from the city to the small rural town of Inaba to live with his maternal uncle and cousin for a year since his off-screen parents have to work abroad for that amount of time. During Yu’s stay in Inaba, he gets caught up in a murder mystery case where two people die by mysterious circumstances. Yu and his friends have to solve the case behind the police’s back due to them being the only ones to figure out that the deaths revolve around a mysterious world inside the television that’s linked to an urban phenomenon called The Midnight Channel where they can only enter with the power of Persona that can only be achieved when facing a Shadow and accepting the true self.
The game basically has to balance the slice of life aspects, which is mostly trying to hang out with people and do odd jobs, the gameplay aspects and the plot aspects in a limited number of time—every day is limited to a few things after school or on the weekends. There is a time limit which is until the set day the protagonist leaves, which is March 21. You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about the game when this is an anime review; well that’s basically the plot of the anime.
The only major difference between the game and anime is that the protagonist can talk and has a personality in the anime. Because of this, the dynamics between the characters changes around a lot because of that, so it makes for a more meaningful experience instead of clicking dialogue options. Yu Narukami’s life has mostly been one of solitude, so he never had any meaningful friendships, hence why he’s a bit of an oddball in the anime. I think this was the best way to write his character.
I think the best part of the anime is the fact that because Yu can talk, the comedy becomes funnier. I especially loved the school trip portion where Yu is a bit too obsessed with the King’s Game and starts behaving strangely because of it. That was the best part as well as the Mystery Food X and the Kanji chase scene. Seriously, if you want a good laugh, watch the Persona 4 anime. The anime also keeps a lot of the game’s OST but also adds in new ones for the adaptation. It also adds in social links in episodes that don’t revolve around the plot in a good attempt to balance the story and the slice of life like how it was in the game. My favorite part was easily the anime original character Aika who is a recurring character who is stoic but shows up in the most hilarious ways due to her family’s restaurant, Aiya, being able to deliver anywhere and anytime so the anime staff has fun with it; I hope she shows up for P4R.
I also liked how, once the True Culprit is revealed, the murders, kidnappings and the red herring all link together. I feel like the game didn’t do a good job on integrating the importance of the red herring villain into the overall story and just treated him as a one off villain until the story kept going. The anime actually uses the red herring villain and integrates his actions and involvement in the story surprisingly well.
The characterization for the characters relatively stays the same, but Teddie is less of a sex pest and more of a pansexual—which is supposed to be his original interpretation as the localization sort of messed it up. Because of Yu’s ability to speak, Yosuke’s dialogue diminishes, but he still is important as he’s basically the default love interest of the anime as a lot of the scenes with him get into a homobromantic angle and the anime doesn’t give Yu a canon love interest choice—I just like to joke that it’s Yosuke because of that.
The voice acting is also good because the Japanese cast (the version I watched) is full of all stars like Daisuke Namikawa as Yu, Showtaro Morikubo as Yosuke, Yui Horie as Chie, etc, and it even extends to the supporting cast like Tomokazu Sugita voicing Daisuke, Daisuke Ono voicing Kou, Kanae Ito voicing Ai Ebihara, etc. The dub cast is also full of all-stars, but you’re going to have to find a different method if you want to watch it.
There are very little faults for the anime. The biggest fault I find is that there is a lack of Yumi Ozawa focus. She’s a Social Link character who is one of two choices for the Sun arcana alongside Ayane Matsunaga. The anime favors the latter and omits the former’s entire presence. I’m not the biggest fan of Yumi, but I just don’t find it fair that Kou and Daisuke also one of two choices for the Strength Arcana but are lumped together as one for the anime. Another gripe is that the animation quality does get a little wonky in some angles but it’s not too noticeable. I also find the "dub whiners" a bit annoying since I get a lot of them in my twitter posts. Hey, if I am able to get the chance to watch an old anime that's hard to come by for free on YT for a limited time, I'm taking it.
Overall, I do think there won’t be another game to anime adaptation that can outclass Persona 4 in terms of enjoyment and quality. It respects the source material so much. I might also check out the P4G anime because it’s available now on the Aniplex channel. It has mixed reviews, but I need to see for myself on whether it’s good or bad. Persona 4 Revival will come out February 18, 2027. Let me know if you’re going to get it and also let me know if you watched the anime!
Digimon Beatbreak Episode 40 Review - The Tragedy Five Years Ago
I’m impressed that the episode managed to squeeze in a flashback that’s decently paced and also be concise at the same time. A lot is told and shown with Kyo and how he is in the present and how depraved Souji is. That man needs to go once and for all.
Seeing Kyo’s past makes me realize how similar he is with Haruomi. Both were working for someone of high position; both were heartless and even killed people. Yet, they still had some semblance of kindness in their heart as they were able to get a second chance in life. On top of that, both were able to warm up to someone younger than them who taught them how to live life again. It’s kind of hard to believe Kyo was 17-18 when this all happened; Raito is 17 and he looks like a twink compared to how Kyo looked back then.
Karina and Minoru are basically the Glowing Dawn kids to Haruomi in a way. Both found them lying half-dead somewhere and took them in briefly. Karina is a yapper while Minoru is basically who the current Kyo modeled himself after. Karina was wearing something similar to a school uniform, so she is assumed to be around Kyo’s age while Minoru used to work at a university, making him both intelligent and elegant; note that Karina mentioned that the Nirinsou building was once an abandoned university facility, meaning that he was alive during the Kano Island incident, implying he’s older than he looks. Karina and Minoru aren’t related by blood and he adopted her, which is why she calls him dad despite not being related to her biologically. The fact that we know both are dead and the countdown to their imminent death makes it even more heart-wrenching when it was done off-screen.
Though, there’s still not a lot known about these two. Given that Karina was mildly surprised that Kyo was a Cleaner and she had a Digimon of her own, I wonder if she and Minoru were unregistered Cleaners or if they were hiding unregistered Digimon and were considered bounties… However, it’s thanks to them that Kyo understands the preciousness of human warmth. It’s unfortunate that it’s short-lived when Souji kills them. The fact that Kyo, who never had friends or family calls them important and his family really shows that he really wanted this deep down… He’s basically inheriting their legacy in a way…
Still, it’s crazy how dangerous Souji was, even for someone who only joined the Five Stars for a year. Since the flashback was five years ago and he’s 30, he was 25 when it all happened. Klay describes him as emotionless. However, the first semblance of emotion he felt was when Kyo was hanging him by the collar from the cliff. That was when he felt fear. This might be a weird comparison, but Souji reminds me a lot of the phantom from Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies as both are cold, emotionless humans, yet the first time they felt something, it was fear. However, I do feel as if the flashback was only there to paint Souji in a villainous light even more and not have him be a character—he’s just there to be bad. I do wish why a black e-pulse is considered unusual, but I guess that’s saved for later…
Karina is voiced by Shion Wakayama who makes her Digimon debut; she’s best known for voicing Momo Ayase in Dandadan, Takina in Lycoris Recoil and Mei Kinoshita in Marriagetoxin. Minoru is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa who voiced minor Digimon roles like Angemon in Frontier and Hippogryphomon in the Frontier movie as well as Doumon in Ghost Game; outside of Digimon, he’s a prolific voice actor known for roles like Sakamoto in Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto, Lillia Vanrouge in Twisted Wonderland and Zelgadis in Slayers. Karina’s partner Luxmon is voiced by Motoko Kumai, who voiced several Digimon in various media, but her most known role in Digimon is Dokamon in Appmon; outside of Digimon, she’s known for voicing Syaoran in Cardcaptor Sakura and Sumomo in Chobits.
With the tragic tale of Karina and Minoru and how they impacted Kyo positively, it does make me wonder what’s the ultimate decision for Kyo leaving the Five Stars three years after. I also wonder what sort of role Asuka plays as his importance in Kyo’s life diminished a lot. Then again, we don’t know anything about the three year gap from the tragedy to his departure. However, I’m still on the theory about Kyo not dying because we still haven’t gotten answer to his connection to Asuka as well as how his neck scar came to be. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Episode 5 Review - Sitara's Very Bad Day
If you’re wondering where the eldest brother Jochi went, he apparently died in the eight-year timespan. How? I do not know, but I was told that he died. That’s why he isn’t present in the current timeline. Damn, imagine showing for two minutes with a prolific voice actor and then fade away and be forgotten like a pencil mark on a wall.
Other than that, this episode is mostly a build up towards a possible Sitara and Toregene team up in the future. For now, the transitions are very interesting. Originally, Sorghaghtani wanted Sitara to sneak into Chagatai’s group to be a spy in order to see if the brotherly bond between the brothers will change now that Ogedei is the ruler. However, circumstances make it so that Sitara accidentally gets taken under Toregene’s wing after going through a series of unfortunate events.
By the way, Shira finally reappears in the story! He still looks the same, especially with that black eye still being in that same spot, but older. He works under Tolui and is also aware of Sorghaghtani’s desire to make Sitara a spy which was why he was the one concocting the plans. However, his plans don’t seem to execute well due to the lack of concrete explanation and that the bezoar stone really threw Sitara off course.
Toregene is formally introduced now. She’s Ogedei’s sixth wife and possibly the black sheep of the bunch. She’s the least eager to be married to him and distances herself from the other wives like Moge and Kyrgyztani. There are hints that she’s only married to him due to the Mongols invasion of her people, which makes sense why she’s hostile.
I also like that Sitara is very conflicted with herself. She hates the Mongols, yet the peaceful life she has in Mongolia has her reconsider her revenge, which she hates. I do like that she has these complicated feelings because that’s what a human heart does. Sometimes, pain is unforgettable, yet it can always be healed. While the Mongolians are hateful due to their invasions, they’re also a nation full of people with their own culture and also bring in people from other cultures; for example, the two slave women Sitara talks to are enjoying their lives in Mongolia as one of them got married to another slave and have children. In a way, they’re able to make their bad situation good, but Sitara feels conflicted for feeling that way. I feel like, had she not met Toregene, maybe she would forgive and move on, but since Toregene is like her, someone who hates Mongols, the fire burning in her grows and spreads to another fire.
Toregene’s retainer Qadaq is voiced by Yusuke Numata who voiced Shiitake in Digimon Beatbreak. Moge, one of Ogedei’s wives who is the tall one with the ponytail, is voiced by Ayaka Asai who voiced Yolei/Miyako Inoue in Digimon Adventure Last Kizuna and 02: The Beginning and Hazuki Kato in Sound! Euphonium. Kyrgyztani, the shorter of Ogedei’s wives, is voiced by Mayumi Shintani who voiced Haruko Haruhara in FLCL and Jakuzure in Kill la Kill; hilariously, Toregene’s voice actress Koshimizu voiced Ryuko, so it’s a bit of a reunion.
Anyways, I’m interested to see what Toregene’s story is and how Sitara is going to team up with her to get their mutual revenge on the Mongolian Empire. I also wonder what she’s going to do with that bezoar stone later on… Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
Red River Episode 3 Review - Not Ready To Leave Yet
While it was obvious that Yuri wouldn’t be going back home since we’re only on the third episode, I do think it was wise for her to decide not to go until she alleviates the survivor’s guilt eating at her. Besides, going home will only be in vain as Nakia could just use her powers to summon her again, which will only cause the same repetitive scenario from Kail. Basically, if Yuri wants to go home successfully, she has to take down Nakia, which might not be an easy feat considering she’s the Tawanna, meaning she’s the woman with the highest authority in Hattusa. At least she doesn’t have to search for her clothes anymore as they’re stored away in a chest in Kail’s castle.
People might think shoujo stories aren’t as dark as shounen or seinen, but reconsider that thought. One of the villains in this story, Zuwa, likes to skin children and even carries a bandana of Tito’s skin around his head. That’s honestly dark as heck. On top of that, Tito’s body was technically discarded at the border of Kail’s castle, meaning they did that on purpose; So yeah, think again if you think shoujo can’t be dark—this one can be. I honestly can’t wait to see what sort of person Yuri will become as she develops into a stronger character; she already is proven to be capable when she takes the bandana from Zuwa by catching him off guard and leapt over him, similar to the tobibako, which is commonly seen in Japanese school life stories in PE class.
It’s obvious that Kail and Yuri will get together in the future as Kail’s playboy antics is mostly an act as he’s searching for that one special woman, which is obviously Yuri. I just need to see more in order to be convinced. Anyways, I do wonder how strong Kail is because Yuri shouldn’t be that light to be able to be carried on one hand like how he did towards the end. He’s practically a branch carrying a twig.
There are more new characters introduced. There’s Ilbani who is Kail’s steward and foster brother who isn’t the biggest Yuri fan out there, which adds for a nice case of a minor conflict. He’s voiced by Tomoaki Maeno who voiced Aresh in Isekai Office Worker, Hak in Yona of the Dawn and Zhongli in Genshin Impact. The cloaked man who accompanies Nakia is revealed to be Urhi and he’s voiced by Koji Yusa who voiced Midosuji in Yowamushi Pedal, Gin Ichimaru in Bleach and Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic games.
I’m a bit worried about Urhi the most as he’s shown to be a man of persuasion with how he was able to coerce Tito’s sisters with ease—they didn’t even doubt the strange cloaked man for even a second. It seems that Yuri’s definitely going to have more adversaries later on. Let me know your thoughts on this episode…
Sparks of Tomorrow Episode 3 Review - Electric Full Moon
It’s interesting to see a clash of ideals when it comes to Seiroku’s dream. Kihachi is skeptical of his brother’s dream due to major trust issues, but he ultimately wants to showcase the Age of Electricity to others and even has others help him accomplish that dream. Yosuke, on the other hand, is selfish and only wants to accomplish Seiroku’s dream on his own by his own hands. In a way, Kihachi represents sharing of knowledge while Yosuke represents hoarding of it.
Kihachi and Inako really do have great chemistry as one is a pessimist and the other is an optimist. If no one will believe in Seiroku’s dream and Kihachi’s capability to create them, then who will? Inako will! Honestly, she’s really becoming the best character in this anime because of her relentless belief in Kihachi and the contents of the Electrical Catalog. She even integrated Kihachi into her friend group, which mostly consists of her two classmates, Suzu and Kate.
Seiroku continues to be the most mysterious character and also the one who haunts the narrative. It’s like he knew he was going to die in the war, hence why he didn’t say anything to Kihachi. Yosuke and Kuga were Seiroku’s classmates when they went to school in Shiga, alongside Noriko. It also makes me wonder what the full extent of his relationship with Seiroku because there’s definitely no way Yosuke has platonic feelings for Seiroku. Were they in a relationship or was it one-sided on Yosuke’s end? All of Yosuke’s memories of Seiroku oozes ‘dead wife flashback’.
I also really like Suzu and Kate! They’re very cute and also quite the quirky side characters. Suzu is obviously the stand out of the two with her crazy quirks and speed in doing stuff. Yajiro is also cute, but I feel like I need to see him more in order to get used to him because he’s just integrated into the story without real proper introduction; all that is known about him is that he’s Kihachi’s cousin and he’s shy.
Suzu is voiced by Yo Taichi who voiced Reiko Aokiyama in Go For It, Nakamura! Kate is voiced by Natsumi Kawaida who voiced Tamami in Hana-Kimi and Lady Fuyou in The Apothecary Diaries. Yajiro is voiced by Kazuki Ura who voiced Isagi in Blue Lock and Shiki in Tougen Anki. While we’re on the topic of voice cast, it’s funny how there’s a Mizoe park that’s basically an amusement park since one of KyoAni’s previous works was Amagi Brilliant Park which involved amusement parks and Yosuke’s voice actor Uchiyama voiced the lead! I wonder if that was on purpose…
Anyways, I’m liking what I’m seeing so far. The animation and time lapse of the creation of the electric full moon was spectacular. It does make me wonder if the rest of the episodes will just be Kihachi and friends creating electrical inventions and having Yosuke crash out and beef with kids? Let me know your thoughts on the episode!
Recommendations From Iwamoto-senpai Episode 3 Review - Cocoons And Bones
So, what I’m getting is that this is mostly just a story where Iwamoto solves supernatural cases. The other two episodes were fine, but this one was kind of boring. The culprit who caused the giant cocoon mess quickly admitted to his actions and all he gets is a slap on the wrist for his actions and the drill sergeant teacher he has, Hatoyanagi, still keeps him on the squad despite his disdain of the supernatural people.
On top of that, the cocoon case wasn’t the entire episode. The last quarter of the episode starts a new case where Iwamoto goes undercover to a nearby town where he meets Amaba, an underclassman who has a tendency to skip his classes and works at a cafe. Basically, the cocoon case is basically to showcase the other divisions of the school and how there is animosity amongst them. Fortunately, Gondo, one of Iwamoto’s friends, is a friendly guy despite having no powers and is mostly a frontline soldier. This shows that the students are all relatively civil towards each other while the teachers are mostly the ones with prejudice.
Gondo is voiced by Hayato Kimura who mostly voiced supporting characters in various anime. Same goes with Okano’s voice actor Shintaro Kuroki. Amaba’s voice actor is Kent Ito who voiced Hirotaka Nifuji in Wotakoi, Seiichiro Kondo in Isekai Office Worker and Divus Crewel in Twisted Wonderland. Hatoyanagi is voiced by Tsuyoshi Koyama who voiced Tsuyoshi Ichinose in Tougen Anki and Dickson in Xenoblade Chronicles.
By the way, I’m not dropping the show. It’s just not going to be prioritized. Regardless, I do hope it’ll get interesting as the episodes progress… Let me know your thoughts on it!
Hana-Kimi Season 2 Episode 5 Review - Goodbye Hokkaido
It seems that the Hokkaido arc was only two episodes long, which is quite short given how other arcs in the first seasons usually last for three episodes max. Regardless, I’m glad that there are no misunderstandings similar to the ones in the first season. Instead, Sano and Mizuki grow closer and it’s really sweet to see since Sano’s feelings are growing stronger by the day.
The two really have a lot of great moments together in this episode. The part where they meet in the bath was a bit tense due to Mizuki’s possibility of being exposed, but Sano already knows. Heck, Julia seems to catch on. However, the best parts between the two are definitely the heart-to-heart moments where Sano finally opens up his family issues to Mizuki, making her the first person to ever learn about his backstory.
The reason why he has issues with his family was because his father was once a famous track athlete specializing in high jumps and a role model to Sano and his brother Shin. However, when his biological mother died in a car accident from a car that he was driving in, he changed for the worse and that caused tension between them. They haven’t resolved the matter, so it’s definitely going to be something that Sano has to overcome in the future.
Regarding Shin, he is also one of the few characters who knew Mizuki is a girl just by looking at her. This indicates that he’s as perceptive as Sano or maybe even more. Anyways, Sano and Shin also do not get along as Shin has been hiding the fact that he has a brother from his friends. Given how long and slow-paced this story is, Shin’s existence definitely indicates a future reconciliation arc.
To be honest, Nakatsu was a little annoying in this episode. He kept getting jealous over Julia even though it’s clear that she and Mizuki are only friends. They argue a lot too. One could see that Julia and Nakatsu could get together due to the sexual tension, but I do feel like Julia does deserve better—and Nanba’s not it either. I could see it working if Julia shows up more, however.
I thought Sano’s father was going to be voiced by Sano’s drama CD voice actor Atsushi Kisaichi, but he’s voiced by Satoshi Mikami instead. Mikami voiced characters like Klay Arslan in Digimon Beatbreak, Ryuji Goto in Solo Leveling and Fennel in Delicious Party Precure. Shin is voiced by Shoya Chiba who has been quite popular lately as he’s got a lot of lead and supporting roles like Taiki Inomata in Blue Box, Nirei in Wind Breaker and Ouri in Tamon’s B-side; it’s definitely an indicator that Shin’s going to show up a few more times later on.
Anyways, even if the Hokkaido arc comes to an end, it’s not the end for Julia’s screen time as the next episode does seem to indicate she’s going to stick around a bit longer. I’m guessing that she’s going to confront Sano about knowing Mizuki’s real gender. I wonder what’s going to happen…but I do know that she’ll definitely be supportive at the end because Julia cares a lot about her best friend. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
Goodbye Lara Episode 3 Review - What is True Love?
While I am all for the possible yuri route, I do feel like it’s bait from the writers since Lara is desperately trying to find ‘true love’ and is latching onto the first person who said that she likes her. Then again, love for mermaids might be different from how humans process it, so I guess I can give it a pass. Still, I’m not fully convinced since it’s only the third episode…
Still, I did like learning a lot about Mari in this episode from how she fell in love with boxing and how her mindset on boxing and in life comes from her late mother’s words. She has some emotional baggage within her in a way and she uses boxing as a means to cope. I think the saddest part of the episode is the fact that no one was cheering for Mari as all of the boxing club members were cheering for Nagahama, Mari’s upperclassman and rival. It does make me wonder if Mari has any friends outside of Lara or if she’s a loner. Props to the coach for being the only supporter of Mari during the sparring match as he kept smiling whenever she had the advantage; he definitely can see her potential.
I do like how Mari is not really portrayed as feminine despite wearing the female school uniform, but she’s mostly portrayed as a tomboy and it’s seen as normal. There’s no storyline of people wanting her to be feminine and all of her family members are accepting of her love for boxing. It’s honestly a healthy way to write a female character without the typical Japanese conformity disrupting it. This also might be a weird thing to say, but Mari honestly looks very dashing, like she’s a prince with that ponytail. I like the detail that Mari looks a bit more like her father, especially how their eyes look, while her brother Yoshiya looks identical to their mother.
Another detail I like is that Yoshiya is not a creep towards Lara. Having a cute, naive girl could have been a bad idea since Mari lives with her older teen brother who is a bit of a delinquent with his dyed blond hair, but Yoshiya is surprisingly a gentleman. He never makes any uncomfortable remarks towards Lara and when he discovers her in the bathtub, he just throws a towel at her and tells her to dry herself. He even gives her a ride on his motorcycle when he saw her leaving the house. He’s honestly such a good guy; I do wonder what caused his transition from loving boxing to loving motorcycles. I also hope he stays this way and not go through a character assassination…
Lara’s determination to find true love is cute, but I do hope that she learns how to control herself when learning about humans again. She did get on Ema’s bad side once. Also, wasting all that water is definitely going to increase their bills… Regardless, I find her endearing. One detail I want to point out is that she was adoring the rice she was eating and it made me wonder if it was a nod to her voice actress Hana Hishikawa’s most well known role as Yui Nagomi/Cure Precious in Delicious Party Precure who is known for loving rice. It’s probably a stretch, but I can’t help but to make that reference…
Mari’s mother Keiko is voice by Natsuki Aikawa who voiced Petra Ral in Attack on Titan. Nagahama is voiced by Aina Aiba who voiced Yukina Minato in BanG Dream and Claudine Saijō in Revue Starlight—I’ve been told that a lot of the staff of Revue Starlight is working on Goodbye Lara.
Anyways, am I the only one who is getting ominous vibes from Lisa? Why is she on land? Is she also in pursuit of true love or is she on land for some nefarious purpose? I can’t help but to not trust her… She’s definitely concocting something… Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Episode 4 Review - An Anger Never Forgotten
I think that one thing not a lot of manga storytelling does is to show off the passage of time. In Sitara’s case, she has lived in Mongolia for eight years now and the difference between her as a teenager and her as an adult is much more obvious with how she speaks. I’ve read somewhere that she’s currently 21, but other sources say she’s 24. If you know her age, please let me know!
I also like how adjusted she becomes to life in Mongolia, but she’s still not completely turned. She still wears her cultural garments, and even puts on an under cap as a way for to still have Fatima in her heart. She becomes a more capable woman as she does a lot of things like getting medicine for a sick woman during a sandstorm, collecting stuff while dealing with mean sheep, and even draining out blood from a dead goat despite her culture only consuming meat from animals that died from cutting through the throat, which is the most painless way for them. However, since her goal is to get the book back, it does feel like she’s trying to deny getting accustomed to the Mongolian life as her fellow Persians start to get used to their lives there.
Anyways, SItara is introduced to Tolui’s wife Sorghaghtani who wanted the Elements book. She’s not exactly a bad person, but I guess she can be described as self-centered in a way? She has no malice, but she cares little about Sitara’s people nor does she ask or care about where the book came from; all she cares is that she has it in her possessions and that she can use it to obtain knowledge to help Tolui and the empire. That’s all she cares about. I can see why Sitara got so infuriated with her. Sorghaghtani has little concern about the people of the world beyond the steppe she lives in yet, she wants to obtain their knowledge. It’s a very contradictory yet complicated mindset. Sorghaghtani has no idea that the book in her possession came at the cost of many lives, including those dear to Sitara, but I can tell she doesn’t care about that since she only cares about things that benefit her. On top of that, she and Tolui have children of their own—not sure how many they have, but two are shown, Kublai and Hulge. It’s a bit sad to see Sitara being so friendly to them while Tolui forgot who she was at the moment.
Speaking of Tolui, I bet there are many who was surprised the next emperor after Genghis Khan’s death was Ogedei and not Tolui. I was the same, but it does make sense why Tolui wouldn’t be the next Emperor as he’s kind of a simpleton. Yes, Sorghaghtani would’ve helped him with the ruling, but he probably does have other factors that didn’t fit to be a ruler. And it’s also obvious if you look up some of Mongolian history and see the series of events; however, it’s is still too complicated for me to grasp… I would like to learn more, though.
I do wonder what happened to Shira. Eight years passed and he hasn’t been seen present-day once. I don’t think he’s dead? If he was, Sitara would’ve mentioned it? Maybe he’ll be mentioned later on? I think the eldest son Jochi went off to make his own pasture, hence why he’s not present, but it’s a little weird that he didn’t show up for his brother’s crowning ceremony, or did he? I don’t remember clearly.
Anyways, the most surprising thing about Sorghaghtani is that she’s voiced by Misaki Kuno. Yes, that Misaki Kuno; the voice actress of lolis like Klee in Genshin Impact, cute girls like Xiaolan in Apothecary Diaries and adorable mascot characters like Brushbuddy and Chiropmon. This is not the first time she’s playing against type but this is her first ever married/mature woman role. She sounds very different and it honestly surprised me with how well she did; I wouldn’t be surprised if she books more of these types of roles later on. Kublai is voiced by Hiiro Ishibashi who voiced Euini in Witch Hat Atelier and Yorita in The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity. Hulge is voiced by Ayumu Murase who voiced Cure Wing in Hirogaru Sky Precure and Hinata in Haikyuu. There’s also Genghis Khan’s brother Temge who is voiced by Shinji Kawada who voiced Ibe in Banana Fish; too bad there’s not a lot known about him right now…
Ogedei as Emperor means that Torgene will probably become important; I wonder if becoming Sorghaghtani’s spy will cause Sitara to switch her loyalty or something… It’s crazy how she’s being sucked into the political drama when all she wants is to get the book back… Also, Jaadugar got a dub starring Cristina Vee as Sitara! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
Pokemon Horizons Episode 143 Review - Ditto On That Dream
This was a very sweet and heartwarming episode. Despite Navi losing her Dream Ball, she still finds solace in that she can discuss about her dreams with the Rising Volt Tacklers which ultimately has her joining them. I just like that Navi gets a lot of characterization with her child-like wonder for Pokemon and that she’s young so she doesn’t have a definite dream yet but wants to find one.
I do like that Liko and Dot telling her how they got their first Pokemon gives an incentive on how Pokemon have their own agency. They either choose or be chosen by a Trainer. This helps Navi realize that she chose Ditto and Ditto chose her. I also like the mysteries surrounding Navi in that it’s unknown if she was Lumiose born and bred or if she came from another region. I feel like people might mistake Navi’s words as her having amnesia or memory loss, but it’s more in the sense of she’s too young to remember the past and has a more clear memory of the present. Ditto has a lot of characterization here. It likes Navi a lot and the fact that Ditto asks Pokemon it meets by turning into Cap showcases its intelligence without the need for human speech. I’m honestly impressed with all the Ditto moments in the episode. I feel like this is the best iteration of a Ditto by far.
My favorite part is honestly the heart-to-heart moments with Emma. Emma definitely does treat Navi differently than she does with Ult; I don’t mean it in a bad way, but it kind of shows the differences With Ult, Emma treats him like a little brother while Navi does feel like her daughter. I also like the implication that Emma gave Ult his Rotom Phone like how she did with Navi in this episode; it makes sense why Ult’s not so used to technology because he was given a phone.
I think my only gripe with the episode is that they didn’t think about the possibility of Navi losing her Dream Ball on the airship. It did feel a little contrived that Roy suddenly remembered that he let her on the ship in the previous episode. What were they going to do if they couldn’t find it on the streets? Go around the same route again? I’m glad that Ditto took action and saved potential contrived writing.
Now that Navi is a part of the team, I honestly can’t wait to see what she brings to the story. I can’t wait to see how the airship’s dynamic will change now that they have someone much younger on board. Let me know your thoughts on the episode!
Daemons of the Shadow Realm Episode 15 Review - The Hour of the Boar
Did…they just make a Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood reference in this episode? I know it’s the talk of the town for this episode, but damn…of all the episodes, why that one? And why is Jiro watching the episode? It’s NSFW (Not Safe For Woofers)! Apparently, some of the staff working on this anime actually did work on Fullmetal Alchemist. I read a Twitter post that stated that one of the animators working on this anime is the daughter of one of the key animators in both FMA and FMAB. That’s honestly so awesome!
FMA stuff aside, I do like that while Yuru is still angry about the big reveal, he still can’t let go of the time he spent with Danji. Even if he now knows Danji is a Daemon and only hung around him to keep Yuru company in the village, without Danji, Yuru would’ve fallen apart. It’s a very complicated relationship; he can’t truly hate Danji as he is aware that some of Danji’s actions were genuine and he wants to believe that. The fact that the pug is the one helping Yuru is honestly adorable. Dogs are wonderful creatures in a way; the fact that the pug only just met Yuru and decided to comfort him because it could smell his sadness was honestly sweet. I also like that there is a dog that likes Yuru as Jiro doesn’t.
The heartwarming stuff slowly transitions into tense stuff as Dera informs Yuru about the message and that’s how they decide to go to the warehouse despite knowing it’s a trap. And they were on the mark, but not in the way they expected. Yuru and Dera were theorizing about how the attacker is a Daemon wielder and had all the preparations for an attack, but Yozakura comes in without detection, showcasing a first case where a Daemon can be undetectable, and abducts Yuru to where Shingo and Asuma are.
The stuff with the Kagemoris was honestly nice. Asa’s slowly going into a mental breakdown from not being able to see her brother while everyone else leaves her alone to have their own conversations. The episode gives a lot of insight to Hikaru in that he’s definitely the nicest of the Kagemori brothers and the one you should trust in as he writes heartwarming stories and doesn’t condone a life of violence and lies like what his family is doing. Given what Asuma did in this episode and that Jin is concocting something with Gonzo, it is nice to see a trustworthy Kagemori. On top of that, Haruo and the other Kuroya siblings aren’t actually related, but still see each other as siblings nonetheless. They were raised under the Kagemori clan as they were abandoned in front of a nursery run by them, showcasing their public face to society. It kind of makes sense why the clan has a lot of minions in a way…
Like Asagiri, Yozakura is voiced by Ayumu Murase. Other than that, this episode was mostly build up to the major battle with Ivan, but Yuru is separated from the group. Given how independent Left and Right are and that they do know how to cooperate with Dera back when they were fighting with Tenaga and Ashinaga, this is probably going to be their second team up. I think the biggest question I have is how Oshirasama’s horse can fit inside the apartment… Let me know your thoughts on the episode!
Digimon Beatbreak Episode 39 Review - No Longer A Family
Somebody make it stop! It hurts! I can’t believe I’m spending Sunday morning being very depressed over what had transpired in this episode… I’m glad that Beatbreak is back to their darker storytelling, but this is honestly a huge slap in the face. I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to recover from this…
This episode also gives some intrigue to Kyo’s ultimate fate. Some say that he’s going to die due to major death flags, but I still don’t think that’s the case; we still don’t know his connection to Asuka, remember! Regardless, he definitely will do something that can change the trajectory of the story for the final arc. Other than that, I did like learning about Kyo in this episode like how he was orphaned due to the Kano Island incident and how Souji was the cause of him losing his friends.
Shout out to Shinichiro Miki because he definitely is killing it as Souji in this episode. The way his voice sways yet still stays so monotonous honestly sends chills down my spine. Whoever thought to cast him needs a raise. Like, the toxic yaoi between Souji and Kyo is honestly one for the Digimon history books at this point. He’s honestly a menace and it’s understandable why records of his time as a Five Star was erased; he’s too dangerous. I also like the symbolism of him changing his partners and having no remorse for it. He’s essentially killing himself each time he does it.
I also felt so bad for Glowing Dawn, especially Reina. She was the one who was in GD the longest and has known him the longest of the three. She was the first to believe in the concept of a family and warmth. The way she was screaming when he was doing all of this was heart wrenching… That nightmare she had back in Episode 35 was definitely foreshadowing, now that I think about it…
I don’t care what any of you say or think about this fact, but the Kinoko gang are the unsung MVPs of this episode. They were there to tend to Kyo’s wounds after he lost to Souji and also gave the kids a good lead on Kyo’s behavior towards them. Thank goodness the writers were smart enough to utilize them this cleverly. It’s thanks to them that the kids aren’t twiddling their fingers and moping.
Honestly, this is an episode where all of the Five Stars, former and current, all appear in and it’s surreal when you think about it… It’s crazy that because of how furtive and hostile the others are, the one that GD has to rely on for information on Souji is Klay. He’s honestly their only clue due to him being there during Kyo’s tenure as the Gold Star. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s actually nice to have him back for an update on his whereabouts.
Next week marks the 40th episode mark of the franchise and it’s honestly bugging me on many are left. Is it 48 episodes? 49? 52? Just how are they going to wrap this arc and launch into end game after this? Let me know your thoughts!
