Plus: Mamoru Hosoda film underperforms in box office debut; Kadokawa buys Singapore anime festival organizer; Light anime boost small manga publishers; and more
Dec 3, 2025 • Subscribe
More like this
Why It Works: A Lifetime of Competition: Growing Up in Chihayafuru
With the spring season rapidly approaching, it felt like about time to write some sort of thematic wrap-up for this season of Chihayafuru. I’ve been thrilled by Chihayafuru’s…
The Rise of AI: Anime in the ((not)) Far Future
"Unlocking the Power of Anime Fandoms with AI!" Join us as we explore the ways that AI is empowering anime fandoms like never before. Through sentiment analysis, natural…
Unnecessary Excesses in Light/Web Novels(Mushoku Tensei)
Mushoku Tensei might send a message of positivity about self-improvement, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some flaws from excesses. Let’s talk about them.
Anime funding companies see sales rise
Plus: Sony Music bids on a top five manga app; Scholars retrace anime studio labor histories; Niconico suspends Visa credit card payments; and more
2022: A Source of Strength
How cartoons helped me through an almost impossible year.
I’m Sick of Source Material Fandom In Anime
Let me form an opinion on Aira from Dandadan based on what I’ve seen of her, please. And not what she’ll grow into.
What anime works best as an ad for the source material?
What makes the original great? Why does the anime fall short or feel incomplete? Is the original work licensed?
Growing out of anime
as I rapidly approach my 30s, a phenomenon I have noticed is that many peers and friends have begun to worry about growing out of anime.
The Rise of a New Anime Genre
I love girls bands and YURIIIIIIIIIIII Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedJoker0808?s=09 Stream Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UC484Bx-gC-kDFOrER6hjlHw #anime #girlsbandcry #bocchi #bocchitherock #bocchi_the_rock
Shogakukan readies AI-translated digital light novels
Plus: Manga serializations shift from magazines to digital; Sony Music doubles down on anime music; Sony Music asserts its artists' anime ties; and more
Anime Production Schedules are a Growing Nightmare
Production schedules in the anime industry have issues that need to be urgently addressed or they will cause a chain reaction of problems.
Weave a Tangled Web
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Umineko: When They Cry, When They Cry, Ace Attorney, Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo
Growing in the Shadows
Its been a few weeks but I am back with another hopefully topic called growing in the shadows. Sometimes we have to do work behind the scenes to…
This Week in Anime - Visual Novels Aren't A Joke
Now that the Type-Moon's visual novels have a new lease on life in English, Lucas and Steve look at other great entries in the medium. Visual novels aren't…
Ghost Stories: The Funniest Dub You’ll Ever See
Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet! Hanime on Anime here, and do you believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior? Okay, I’m just kidding there, but hopefully,…
Frieren and The Rise Of A Legendary Anime Director
With Bocchi the Rock and Frieren, a new legend has risen in the anime industry. Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/PhenomSage Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhenomSage MyAnimeList: https://myanimelist.net/profile/PhenomSage Edited by OtakuBox! Thanks for watching!
The Rise and Rise of Fetish Scenarios in Mainstream Manga
The past few years a friend of mine and I have been discussing the rise of the obvious fetish manga, where what is clearly and unambiguously an eromanga…
BAKI, Baki the Grappler, Chainsaw Man, My Wife Has No Emotion, Ranma ½
The Meteoric Rise of Villainess Anime
Who better to play the villain than the protagonist? Lets dive deep into the history of Villainess Light novels and anime Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dirkoin
Nihongo Legends– Kamisama why?! Stories in Anime
As any avid weeb would know, the use of gods in anime is a crazy amount. But I’m here to point out a few that focus on the…
Anime Like The Gene of AI
In a near-future society, humanity has integrated with intelligent technology so deeply that robots are sometimes indiscernible from people and humans can
Plastic Memories, The Gene of AI, Time of Eve, Black Jack, Ghost in the Shell
Tokyo Roses: A History & Growing Guide
Get to know some of the most beautiful made-in-Japan roses as well as the history of roses in Japan.
Growing Up
Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's…
Oh! My Goddess, Captain Tsubasa, Captain Tsubasa, Bite me!, Gon
This Week in Anime - What is the Future of Anime and AI?
The AI wave reached anime shores a long time ago - will anime ever be the same again? Join Chris and Nicky this week in their discourse about…
This Week in Anime - The Rise and Fall of Rooster Teeth
Lucas and Nick reflect on Rooster Teeth's legacy, from RWBY to gen:LOCK to Red vs. Blue following Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to dissolve the production company.
Akira Daikuhara: the works and career of a forgotten anime pioneer
For Japanese animation fans and historians, the name of Akira Daikuhara (sometimes spelled Daikubara) should ring a bell as belonging to one of the major artists in postwar…
5th Blogiversary Week: Politics in a Creator’s Works
Hello one and all. Welcome to my fifth blogiversary week. During this week five years ago, Mechanical Anime Reviews was somehow born. You know, if a blog can…
The Rise and Rise of Mari Okada
By Zoe Crombie. As far as creators of anime go, Mari Okada has experienced one of the strangest rises to power from her humble origins to her current…
Rambling about AI Voice Acting in Anime
Please consider supporting these videos: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bobsamurai Etsy Store: https://bobsamurai.etsy.com Get Connected: Discord: https://discord.gg/X7ArfDgBjH Twitter: https://twitter.com/BobSamurai Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobSamurai/
My Fears for AI Art in Anime
AI Art in Anime is coming and there's nothing we can do to stop it. Should we be scared? I am and here's why.
Japan as a Source of Legal Ideas: A View from the Mekong Subregion of ASEAN
No post summary was provided.
Rise of the Anime Soundtracks Part 2!
As the site crashed, I need to re-upload everything that was lost plus the other things that I've been planning to post on the page. …
Anime and AI
It’s the most frightening time of the year and Halloween is right around the corner! While there are a lot of terrifying anime out there, I have to…
Urban Fantasy Novels, Anime, Games Set In Japan
Urban fantasy is very common in Japanese pop culture. There are popular literary novels, light novels, manga, anime, and video games, all fe...
Source is One Piece
No post summary was provided.
#MechaMarch Eureka 7: A Story of Growing up and Romance
Eureka 7 is one of a few shows helps define a generation of anime fans. It appeared on Adult Swim a little more than a year before Death…
Which anime adaptations improve on their source material?
Is there a series where you vastly prefer the adaptation to the source? What choices does it make that improve the story, or is the different medium itself…
This Week in Anime - The Rise and Evolution of Old Classic Dubs
The release of new dubs and adaptations has breathed new life into old classics like Digimon. Join Chris and Nick this week as they explore these classics and…
Web page changes
I have updated and moved the Navigating Tokyo, Tokyo on the Cheap, and the Down the Sumidagawa With iPad and Camera pages into the Tokyo Str...
The Rise of a King, Hiccup - Part 2
Summarizing part 1, Stoick is overprotective (in HTTYD 1) and that overprotectiveness has limited Hiccup from: Being able to connect well with other people in the village, which is important…
The Rise of a King, Hiccup - Part 1
This is a long analysis so I’m going to break this into a bunch of parts. I don’t know how many yet, but I’ll put links to each…
The Rise of a King, Hiccup - Part 3
100% honesty here, the third movie killed my motivation to finish this. However, I had already begun to write it out and I hate to let the work…
Spring 2024 Anime Week 6: The Unexpected Rise of Date A Live
May 18th, 2024 One of the shows that has been consistently praised from this Spring 2024 season is Date a Live V. The show consistently ranks in the…
Sakamoto Days Episode 05 Review: Source of Strength
Sakamoto says he’s done messing around—it’s time to fight for real. Boiled scoffs, asking if Sakamoto really thinks dropping a few pounds out of nowhere gives him a…
Ghost Stories — Anime Review
There are many incredible moments peppered throughout the Ghost Stories dub that had me bursting with laughter, even on a rewatch.
5 Ways to Sustainably Source English Books in Tokyo
Trying to be sustainable with your book purchases? Read on for the best recommendations on how to find English books in Tokyo while still living that eco-friendly lifestyle.
Episode 319, "I See a Little Bullhouetto of a Man"
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have special guest Matt Cohen from SModcast and Bagged & Boarded on our show to go through Manga…
Episode 319, "I See a Little Bullhouetto of a Man"
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have special guest Matt Cohen from SModcast and Bagged & Boarded on our show to go through Manga…
Stories of the Rainbow || The Colorful Stories Tag
I was tagged by Rise over at Phoenix Talks to do the Colorful Stories Tag. For it, I picked out the anime that I think are the most…
Phoenix, The Promised Neverland, The Reflection, Sweetness & Lightning, Colorful