[Review] BLUELOCK, Feel Free to Devour Me

I haven’t been this put out in a while about a break in seasons, especially for a sports anime. Now that the two-cours first season is over I can easily say that BLUELOCK is my favorite sports show since HAIKYU!! and Kuroko’s Basketball, and I’m even tempted to put this above Aoashi given my constant excitement this entire season. There’s always something irresistible about athletes like Hinata and Aoi who are capable of viewing the playing field as a whole, snapshotting any given moment to memory and manipulating the ball around the bodies like pieces on a game board. BLUELOCK takes this an extra step by inserting pure, unadulterated hubris into the formula, and I love it.

Kaiseki Anime Podcast Episode 115 – Fall 2022 Season Wrap

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:35 Beast Tamer
• 06:12 Bibliophile Princess
• 08:00 Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
• 11:20 Futoku no Guild
• 12:30 I’ve Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved My Farming-Related Skills
• 15:12 Muv Luv Alternative
• 17:00 Raven of the Inner Palace
• 18:41 Reincarnated as a Sword
• 21:05 Shinobi no Ittoki
• 22:10 Urusei Yatsura
• 24:05 BLUELOCK
• 25:44 BOCCHI THE ROCK!
• 26:56 Do It Yourself!!
• 29:21 I’m the Villainess so I’m Taming the Final Boss
• 30:55 Love Flops
• 32:47 Mob Psycho 100 III
• 35:10 SPY x FAMILY Cour 2
• 36:44 The Eminence in Shadow
• 38:11 To Your Eternity Season 2
• 39:38 Welcome to the Demon School! Iruma-kun
• 40:53 Akiba Maid War
• 44:05 Chainsaw Man
• 47:13 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
• 48:42 Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
• 49:52 BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War
• 51:22 Golden Kamuy Season 4
• 52:41 Outro

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You can find Kaiseki Anime Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Play. Subscribe to us now! Please also take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts—these reviews increase our visibility to new viewers, as well as gives us the feedback we need to improve.

If you have any questions or comments, let us know by commenting below, through Twitter with #KaisekiAnimePodcast, or on our personal Twitter accounts.

Music Credits:

• “Clover 3” by Vibe Mountain
• BLUELOCK OP: “Chaos ga Kiwamaru” by Unison Square Garden
• “Seasons” by roljui

[Review] Akiba Maid War is AOTS

I’ve written more about this show this season than any other on both this blog, Twitter, and even on Discord, simultaneously praising, recommending, and freaking out about it. I can no longer imagine the fall season without Akiba Maid War charging right up the center and standing at the forefront. From start to finish, the characters and this ridiculous setting demanded my attentions, easily competing for both anime of the season and the overall year.

[12 Days of Anime] Day 11: Akiba Maid War

What is old can be new again, a lesson I’ve learned repeatedly over the years and is once again proven this recent fall season with Akiba Maid War, a single-cours show that combines familiar styles into one hell of a unique premise that will be talked about for years to come. From the initial idea to the execution, to the variety of cast members both regular and passing, to the catchy opening song and the follow up ending, I was surprised over and over again. No other fall anime competed for my attentions as much as this one; no other anime hyped me up only to cast me down as violently.

[12 Days of Anime] Day 9: SPY x FAMILY

It is with shock looking over the 2022 season that I realized SPY x FAMILY only began airing this year, with its two seasons spanning across multiple seasons and ending out this fall just as great as when it started in the spring. Back when it first aired, I remember the hype surrounding the anime adaptation, the love manga fans had for this unconventional family and the hope that the transition would treat the material with respect and care. As an anime-only fan, I didn’t have any particular expectations other than my usual for quality writing and characterization. SPY x FAMILY over delivers on the character writing, giving us a large cast of characters who each exhibit their own quirks, both public and private.

Kaiseki Anime Podcast Episode 114 – Shinobi no Ittoki and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:21 Shinobi no Ittoki
• 16:25 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
• 30:10 Outro

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You can find Kaiseki Anime Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Play. Subscribe to us now! Please also take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts—these reviews increase our visibility to new viewers, as well as gives us the feedback we need to improve.

If you have any questions or comments, let us know by commenting below, through Twitter with #KaisekiAnimePodcast, or on our personal Twitter accounts.

Music Credits:

• “Clover 3” by Vibe Mountain
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury OP: “Shukufuku” by Yoasobi
• “Seasons” by roljui

[12 Days of Anime] Day 5: Romantic Killer is Undeniably Best Romcom of the Year

There have been a ton of shows over the past year with excellent romantic pairings and comedy, but almost of all of them are happy side dishes to what is a completely different entree. Very few feature love as the main focus of the show, and even fewer of them balance with humor as well as Romantic Killer.

[12 Days of Anime] Day 1: Live and Let Live with DIY

The 14th of December marks the beginning of the 12 Days of Anime, an event I’ve had a smattering of experience with over the years, sometimes participating, sometimes completely forgetting about it, and even more commonly losing steam part way through. Hopefully this year will be an example of the first, though I’ll likely keep the posts a bit short to accommodate my procrastinating nature.

Fall anime Do It Yourself!! leads with Day 1 and its live and let live lesson featured prominently in episode nine, “Does ‘DIY’ Mean a Shocking Surprise? How Unexpected! It’s Really Unexpected!” This is when Serufu invites the club to her home to demonstrate her improved skills by building a pig house. Her continued struggles reveal her insecurity that results in her friends banding together to remind her of her worth.

[Review] I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss

I’m walking into this review a bit off-kilter, having thoroughly enjoyed the premise and writing in the first arc, then gradually spiraling into disappointment through the middle and ending. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss may have let me down at the end, but I still appreciate Aileen’s character and her romantic interactions with Claude. Their blunt flirting left little to the imagination and made for some of the most entertaining couplings of the year.

Kaiseki Anime Podcast Episode 113 – Do It Yourself!! & BOCCHI THE ROCK!

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:35 Do It Yourself!!
• 12:50 BOCCHI THE ROCK!
• 23:03 Outro

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You can find Kaiseki Anime Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Play. Subscribe to us now! Please also take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts—these reviews increase our visibility to new viewers, as well as gives us the feedback we need to improve.

If you have any questions or comments, let us know by commenting below, through Twitter with #KaisekiAnimePodcast, or on our personal Twitter accounts.

Music Credits:

• “Clover 3” by Vibe Mountain
• Do It Yourself!! OP: “Dokidoki Idea o Yoroshiku!” by Konomi Inagaki, Kana Ichinose, Ayane Sakura, Azumi Waki, Karin Takahashi, and Nichika Ōmori
• “Seasons” by roljui