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- Today
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I was gonna say I feel Issho has definitely passed the respect line at this point. We know he's not quite as heartless as he comes off, but probably feels he has to be that way for the sake of Rakugo and almost certainly tied to something with the original Shiguma (we still never got a full explanation for that one panel we keep seeing where he tells Issho "You killed me" or something like that while he's lying in his death bed). Alternatively, Zensho is spiteful and irredeemable, so F that guy
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Issho definitely seems to have taken more of a 'tough love' approach to teaching Kaisei. I guess it's working more or less as intended... But the master-student relationship that Akane had with Shiguma seems a lot nicer than what Kaisei has with Issho I'm hyped for the next few chapters. Issho and Zensho are characters that I mostly dislike, but I hope they both show some signs of not being absolute bastards through their art and performances Whatever happens, I'll probably still not like them either of them all that much. Just give me something that I can begrudgingly respect. To be fair, Issho already has that going on... but I want to know more about him anyways.
- Yesterday
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- Finally read the special chapter of The Elusive Samurai. Was a fun way to get back with the characters, and I loved so many of the modern characterizations. Takauji being an upstart business dude with Go-Daigo being the CEO of the financial empire was pretty clever. I also about fell out when I saw the fans doing the bow headbang for Akiie. Also the idea that the Hisashiban are a band makes so much sense. - Finally caught up on Akane-banashi, and while I wish I hadn't fallen behind, it was awesome reading Kaisei's performance and the aftermath in one swath, and then catching up perfectly before the Issho/Zensho showdown. God, so much to say about this. Kaisei's performance was incredible, and it was awesome seeing him discover that he hadn't truly found himself, and that this was him finally branching out and finding what true self looks like. Also nice to see him as so vulnerable and actually fighting from underneath. You can kinda tell Akane was almost a bit disappointed that she won because she was probably thinking, "Well, shoot, I didn't expect to hit these goals so soon," but I think seeing Issho's performance will renew her fire. Incredible series and it just keeps getting better. Can't wait. I definitely feel like his judging had motivations behind it. He might have actually thought Akane was the winner on pure Rakugoka art, but think he specifically did this to help Kaisei grow through loss now that he's finally broken out of his shell, while forcing Akane to find new goals and seek even higher heights. Or something like that.
- Last week
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I was mixed up re: Akane-banashi, the last episode of the first season was actually yesterday. God damn. Perfection Master Shiguma is the GOAT
- Earlier
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I've been waiting since May for the Jays to get hot. Even up to All-Star break, they were only a handful of games back in the Wild Card race. The division is almost certainly a lost hope... But I keep telling myself, all it will take is a few weeks of good baseball to get back into it. And if they get hot in September/October then who knows what might happen! But it just isn't happening Lost a series 2-1 against the White Sox after the All-Star break. Not totally surprising since the White Sox are actually a competent team again (I'm happy for their fans!) but the Jays should have enough talent to hang with them. Chicago outscored the 15-5 across those three games. Last night they get soundly beaten by the Rays, and they still have three more to play against Tampa this week. If the Rays sweep - which they probably should - then I'm about ready to just give up on this season and hope for better next summer The AL West is tight and nobody really seems to want to take control of it. I dunno, the AL just doesn't have many truly good teams so far this year. I could jump on board the White Sox bandwagon in October if they get there and both the Jays and M's miss out.
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So...Red Sox 14 straight. When the Blue Jays gonna get hot? Don't worry, the Mariners will miss the playoffs by one game. So neither of us will get to enjoy the post-season.
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Akane-banashi # 215 I'll spoiler it in case you haven't read it yet
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The Elusive Samurai is back and I am so happy. Love that the new season started with their crazy fishing expedition! All for Tokiyuki There was a ton of story stuff packed into this first episode after the fishing shenanigans. LOTS will happen in this season. I forgot how fast paced the manga could be at times. OP and ED are both bangers and the visual aesthetic of this series is just off the charts. I have zero complaints, absolutely love it. The first new episode of You and I Are Polar Opposites was brilliant too. Very happy to have these crazy characters back in my life. Sayonara Lara was interesting. Watched the first episode last night. I guess I'm just dumb because from reading the synopsis, I totally didn't realize that this is heavily inspired by The Little Mermaid There is of course a twist and I'm curious to see what happens next. Gonna watch the second episode tonight. I absolutely binge watched Akane-banshi this week. Incredible stuff. It's been super fun seeing the story animated. Last episode tonight... Then I have to patiently wait for January to get more. Black Torch is cool stuff too. It's a fairly short manga. I wonder if they can finish the whole story in one season of anime.
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Yeah if anything, I would recommend seeking out some of the big fights from the earlier stuff. There's a Roll fight that they go crazy with the animation
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I toyed with the idea of checking out the Black Clover anime... but it's a lot of episodes! The anime is back this October, so I'll probably just start watching from there. I think the anime left off at the beginning of the Spade Kingdom arc. There are lots of good battles in that arc and the final arc that I think would be awesome animated.
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I got a bit of catching up to do on stuff. I've been getting really hard into Marvel again recently and have actually started following some ongoing stuff, so that's been eating most of my energy for reading. Only one's I'm actively caught up on are Kurumizawa's Folly and Haunted Peak. The latter is still really intriguing and I'm trying to figure out where it's gonna go, but the chapters feel like a drip feed sometimes and I'm sitting here thinking it would probably be less agony if it was animated. Depending on how it ends, I recommend checking it out, but maybe waiting until it's finished or more chapters have piled up. Once I catch up on the usuals (and I want to read some of the new series and get back to Black Clover), I'll post a flood of thoughts. I'd be very curious to know your thoughts on the Black Clover anime versus the manga if you ever get bored. I think some fights are given the animation treatment in a way the manga can't capture, but episode to episode I've found reading the manga to be way more enjoyable (and I loved the anime)
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Finished Black Clover yesterday. I was starting to feel a bit of fatigue during the Spade Kingdom arc, but it still had a good amount of excitement and enjoyable stuff. I wasn't immediately thrilled by the premise for the final arc, but in the end I really enjoyed it. The chapters covering Asta's time in The Land of the Sun, learning Yami's backstory, etc. were definite highlights. The final battle(s) were pretty hype if a bit silly in moments. True to the catch phrase of the series, everybody just kept surpassing their limits I have some minor nits to pick but all things considered, I am a big Black Clover fan from start to finish Since I liked Black Torch, I've started reading Heart Gear. First couple of chapters are a good start and I'm curious to see where it goes. I love this author's art style.
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It may just be before the X-Men officially become a thing, because obviously Jean's there, and he seems to have some familiarity with her.
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Akane-banashi # 214 God damn the suspense The big man is going to announce the winner. I am legit nervous to see what happens in next week's chapter! Also, I just got started on the anime over the weekend. Four episodes in and loving it The juxtaposition of watching the beginning of the story animated -- seeing Akane take the stage for the very first time opening for Kaisei and how impactful that was for her -- while also reading the current God of Death duet duel arc provides a very "full circle" kind of experience. Incredible stuff. I was not familiar with the studio (Zexcs) doing the Akane-banashi anime. I'm really enjoying the aesthetic of their work.
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The weird thing about the shared universe is they said apparently the X-Men don't exist here? Makes no fucking sense lol. But then it looked like there's a team of mutants kicking around anyway?? I'll never understand these things honestly but I guess we'll see. Remember when the Arkham Knight was totally not the Red Hood?
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Finished Black Torch last night. I really enjoyed it overall. Cool concept, some good characters, fantastic art style. The ending was rushed, and not very good. That's a sore spot. I guess it just wasn't popular enough and got cancelled suddenly. It's a shame the author didn't have even just one or two more chapters to work with, then I think the ending could have been more satisfying. Oh well. It's worth reading even with the subpar conclusion.
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Lots of good stuff this week We got a bonus chapter of The Elusive Samurai! Wasn't expecting that. I assume it's to hype up the second season of the anime which airs this summer. The content of this chapter honestly wasn't anything super special, but it was enough for me to just have these characters back in my life for another day. The last few pages were the most impactful Witch Watch # 253 KANSHI! Akane-banashi # 213 Things definitely seem to be swinging in Kaisei's favour as his performance carries on. His chapters have been really good. But there's no doubting the quality of Akane's God of Death either. Can they be declared double winners??? I started reading Black Torch in anticipation of the anime this season. I noticed it's only 19 chapters, so I figured I could zip through the manga and then decide if I want to watch the animated version. I'm only two chapters in and I'm totally hooked. Love the art style. It's a thing of beauty. I'll polish off the manga this week and look forward to watching the anime. Closing in on chapter # 300 of Black Clover and still very much enjoying it. This showdown with the Spade Kingdom has been rather epic
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Summer season links: MAL Summer 2026 page AniChart Summer 2026 page CrunchyRoll Summer 2026 lineup (still being announced) Not a ton of stuff that I'm looking forward to in the summer, I guess. But I'm open to trying a few new ones that maybe I wouldn't normally. We'll see how I feel when new stuff starts popping up on Crunchy. I will for sure continue watching You and I are Polar Opposites and The Elusive Samurai. Looking forward to both a lot. I am curious about Sayonara Lara, as I'm always on the lookout for new original anime. A good, original, complete story that can wrap up in ~13 episodes is my Holy Grail that I hope to find in every new season. It's been a minute since we got a really good new original anime. Kore Kaite Shine (Draw This, Then Die!) sounds like it could be amusing too. I'll give it a try if Crunchy licenses it. Last but not least, the GITS anime caught my attention... but AniChart says it will be streaming on Prime Video and I don't have that right now. I'll probably binge watch it at a later date when I get a month of Prime to buy something from Amazon. I should also go back and watch the Akane-banashi anime on Netflix when I find time for it this summer. I see a new season was announced for January 2027. I love this manga and I trust the anime will be good too. edit: Forgot that Daemons of the Shadow Realm continues in the summer. I'll keep watching it. I'll give Black Torch a try too. Might be good?
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Dang, Hima-Ten! ended today I knew it was nearing the end, but this felt a bit too abrupt. The last several chapters honestly weren’t great, but it was still mostly a good series. Lots of very charming and likable characters
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I thought the Jays were turning a corner. Then a six-game losing streak happened They could still add to it
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This arc feels massive. I think there is a ton of story left. At Togashi’s pace, finishing it seems like a challenge… but I hope he can do it. Even if he has to cut stuff and speedrun to the end As long as it’s better than the end of Yu Yu Hakusho.
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At this point I just hope he can finish it. It seems like there is a lot of story left.
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You know both Blue Jays and Mariners suck...
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Hunter x Hunter is back this week!!! Who knows how long it will last, but I am mega hyped
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And that's a wrap on the Dr. Stone anime. I think I liked the ending better in the manga. No matter which way you slice it, the way things are resolved with Why-man are anti-climactic IMHO... but it all felt a bit more epic in the manga In any case, I enjoyed seeing it animated. And it was the second half of the final episode -- the "Where are they now?" epilogue stuff -- that was the real good stuff, not the ending of the moon mission in the first half of the episode. Most of this final arc, from Suika being alone and saving everybody, to planning the moon mission, and finally making it happen, is all top shelf stuff in my books. Chrome and Suika really steal the show though, insisting on finding a way for the moon team to be able to return to Earth Sai is also one of my favourite characters in Dr. Stone and it was a treat to see him animated finally.
