Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Explorations Episode 41: Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fateuary has come again, so it’s time to discuss Unlimited Blade Works!

Episode 41: Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fateuary has come again, so it’s time to discuss Unlimited Blade Works! (Minor technical note, a bunch of my audio got dropped due to poor mike placement on my end. That said, most of my contributions to the conversation was moderation, so you should be able to hear what Tora & David have to say without any issues.)

(Minor technical note, a bunch of my audio got dropped due to poor mike placement on my end. That said, most of my contributions to the conversation were moderation, so you should be able to hear what Tora & David have to say without any issues.)

News Links:

Next month, we’ll be watching Yona of the Dawn. You can find where that is available for streaming on JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/yona-of-the-dawn

Opening:

Donut by Anozira
Bandcamp Link: https://anoziramusic.bandcamp.com/track/donut
Used with permission

Please support my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/countzero
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor
Check out my Let’s Plays at https://www.youtube.com/@CountZeroOrPlays

Donation Links…

Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Cat’s Eye (2025)

It’s interesting looking at Cat’s Eye in the context of various 80s revival series like the Rumiko Takahashi revivals. Those series kept the setting in the original time, while lightly modernizing some of the more off-color jokes. Cat’s Eye – a heist series – also tones down some of the off color humor, while also leaving the core premise unchanged (Charlie’s Angels but Heists, and not wearing masks), and moving the series to the present day. That last bit is where the series starts to run into trouble.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: A Mangka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

In the Fall 2025 Season, we got an example of the genre of anime that I’d describe as “metatexual works about making anime and manga”. That series, A Mangka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace, isn’t as instructive or informative on how the industry works as other shows and manga series, like Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-kun, but it also avoids the self-indulgent pitfalls of Western works about how dramatic pieces of art get made. This makes for a series where a lot of the jokes just work, and it’s generally a fun experience.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Princess Principal

Another Anime Review this week, with a look at the Steampunk series Princess Principal.

Find out where Princess Principal is available for streaming on JustWatch:

sd
Hoopla
Free
Source:

Princess Principal is available on Blu-Ray from (Affiliate Links):

‘Solecism’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Please support my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/countzero
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor
Check out my Let’s Plays at https://www.youtube.com/@CountZeroOrPlays

Donation Links…

Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Call of the Night Seasons 1 & 2

I take a look at a couple of seasons of Anime that I’ve completely overlooked on this channel.

You can check the streaming availability of Call of the Night here:

hd
Fandango At Home
$ 8.99
sd
Fandango At Home
$ 8.99
hd
Amazon Video
$ 31.99
sd
Hulu
Flat
hd
Hulu
Flat
hd
HiDive
Flat
sd
HiDive
Flat
sd
Hidive Amazon Channel
Flat
Source:

Physical Releases of Call of the Night are available from (Affiliate Links):

Posted on by Alexander Case

My Favorite Anime of 2025

It’s time to take a look at my Top 8 Anime of 2025.

Footage of all anime series is used under fair use for purposes of criticism.

‘Solecism’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Please support my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/countzero
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor
Check out my Let’s Plays at https://www.youtube.com/@CountZeroOrPlays

Donation Links…

Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: May I Ask For One Final Thing?

I’ve been generally keeping clear of Isekai anime the last few years, also with a lot of fantasy series based on light novels. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because those series were frequently crap. When I saw May I Ask For One Final Thing come up on the list of upcoming anime, along with one other show I’ll get to later, it seemed like a good time to put my toe back in. I’d say this was something of a pleasant surprise.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

2026 Anime New Year’s Resolutions

My 2025 Anime New Year’s Resolutions didn’t quite work out according to plan. Some of this was on me in terms of scheduling – I could probably have slipped Golden Boy in pretty much anywhere (and I’m writing this in 2025, so I still might slip it in). Others less so, as for example, I’d put the first season of Mushi-shi on my list, only for the license to have expired by the time October came around, or for A Silent Voice only to be available on HBO Max. So, I’ve learned my lesson and will be dialing back my resolutions this year to 6, which I’ll try to do across podcasting and personal viewing.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Short Peace

This month, indeed tomorrow, if this goes up as scheduled, the Anime Explorations Podcast episode where we’ll be discussing Robot Carnival will go live. Appropriately enough, among the options I received for this year’s Anime Secret Santa was Short Peace, the fourth, and as of today, final anime anthology film that Katsuhiro Otomo has been involved in, coming after Memories. So, it felt right to choose that film as my pick for this year.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Film Review: Conan the Destroyer

Until recently, I’d seen most of the Conan films. I’d rented Arnold’s first film on disc, and the same with the film with Jason Momoa taking the role. However, while I’d seen bits and pieces of Conan the Destroyer on cable, I’d never really seen the film. I figured now was as good a time as any to get to Arnold’s final outing as the sword-swinging Comparison.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Film Review: Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind

The Hong Kong movie industry of the 80s and 90s was one that was willing to create a bunch of action comedy horror films, with Sammo Hung serving as almost the martial arts film equivalent to Dan Ackroyd on Ghostbusters. I’ve covered one of the films of this era in the past with Mr. Vampire. Now it’s time for another, one starring Mr. Hung himself, with Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Film (Video) Review: City on Fire

This week I’m taking a look at Ringo Lam’s undercover-cops-and-robbers crime thriller, City on Fire.

City on Fire is available from Amazon.com (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4oGSqt2

‘Solecism’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Please support my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/countzero
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor
Check out my Let’s Plays at https://www.youtube.com/@CountZeroOrPlays

Donation Links…

Posted on by Alexander Case

Film Review: Way of the Dragon

When I was in Middle School, I discovered Hong Kong martial arts films through researching the wuxia genre on the Internet after watching Big Trouble in Little China, and the first I sought out was Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss. So, I’ve always known that Bruce was one of cinema’s greatest film performers, and I’d assumed he could do no wrong. That there was no such thing as a mediocre Bruce Lee film. It turns out there is, and it’s called Way of the Dragon.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Film Review: Trog

Trog, as a film, is probably one of the more lazy and derivative horror films I’ve seen. However, it accomplishes this not by knocking off one genre of horror films, but several all at once, in an effort to turn it into some kind of horror cinema Dagwood. It doesn’t succeed, but it does manage to be entertaining in the attempt, but not in the ways they intended.

Read more
Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Ruri Rocks

I’ve talked before on blog posts and on podcasts that I do the unspeakable act of watching anime with my parents. Now, I don’t watch everything – we get together a couple times a week, and I carefully pick the shows we watch, but sometimes we watch things that are fanservice adjacent. My Dress Up Darling was one of them. As my dad majored in Geology, I figured Ruri Rocks would be a good fit as well. I was correct.

Read more