The Ramparts of Ice Ep. 7: Everyone’s got baggage & the pseudo love polygon

Well, Giraffe Guy’s younger siblings — blood-related or not — seem to love him, and that’s always a good sign. Personality-wise, however, he’s still kind of a blank slate. But this is the episode where we finally start to learn more about him and understand what makes him tick. He won’t just be the tall, nice guy in Koyuki’s small friend circle. He’ll finally have real depth. Having said that, I am already bracing myself for the angst: “I have to stop the noise, or it consumes me.” Yeah, that’s a little dramatic. Sure, I get it. He lost his mom at a young age. That would mess anyone up. But is there a single character on this show who doesn’t have major baggage?

Continue reading

Everything Else: Spring 2026, Week 6

Mo’ anime, mo’ problems.

Continue reading

I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class Ep. 6: New arc, new issues

Ever since Umi confessed to Maki, he’s been having bad dreams about his parents’ relationship. Something about someone falling out of love — probably the father. As a result, Maki doesn’t think he’s ready to become Umi’s boyfriend… but he’ll make sure to work hard in order to get there one day! It can never be simple, can it? Anime characters always gotta have some deep-seated hang-up. But I honestly don’t know what it means to be a “good fit for Umi.” If she’s already fallen in love with him for being himself… then why not just continue being himself? He’s overcomplicating this. Just do what you’re doing: being the considerate dork who share her tastes in shitty movies and video games.

Continue reading

Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 7: All of the adults kinda suck

According to Qifrey, Agott has not taken the second test. She’s not ready. How does Agott respond? She immediately slaps his hand away. She’s not quite yelling, but she’s clearly angry. Qifrey still isn’t convinced, but he hesitates. He isn’t firm. So Olruggio comes along and says that he’ll take Agott with him. And just like that, the rest of the girls want to come along as well. Bro, c’mon. This is an actual rescue mission. In other words, a life is at stake. A kid’s life! Yeah, Agott needs opportunities, but this isn’t the time for her to be testing her limits. Qifrey is not only the adult, he’s also her teacher, role model, mentor, etc. He should be putting his foot down. A person’s life is not something to trifle with, but he just lets her talk her way onto the mission? That’s baffling to me. This is the guy every other anime fan is glazing? He just looks cool, but otherwise, he’s a complete boyfailure. In desperate situations, the anime gives him every opportunity to farm aura, but he can’t even do the basic things right. He can’t control his apprentices. In fact, maybe if he had been more attentive to Agott’s needs, we wouldn’t be in this mess of a situation.

Continue reading