2020s in anime Archives - Breaking it all Down

Posted on May 31, 2026May 31, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Explorations: Episode 44: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean – Part 1

It’s the final summer of Jojo, and we’re kicking it off with some hard time with the first half of Stone Ocean, streaming on Netflix.

Episode 44: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean – Part 1
It’s the final summer of Jojo, and we’re kicking it off with some hard time with the first half of Stone Ocean, streaming on Netflix. Next month is the second half!

Next month is the second half!

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
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Donation Links…

To support mutual aid groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive%20health%20care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on May 20, 2026May 2, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime (Video) Review: May I Ask For One Final Thing?

While we wait for more JoJo, I review a different anime series with someone who stops time and punches the hell out of people.

The current streaming status of May I Ask For One Final Thing is on JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/saigo-ni-hitotsu-dake-onegai-shitemo-yoroshi-desho-ka

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

Donation Links…

To support mutual aid groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive%20health%20care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on May 10, 2026April 18, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Chained Soldier Season 2

Not a lot of the heavier fanservice shows tend to get second seasons. Chained Soldier is a bit of an exception, with its combination of action and fanservice, rather than putting its focus on the fanservice itself. This makes for an interesting position for the show’s second season.

Posted on May 9, 2026April 18, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Oshi No Ko Season 3

The second season of Oshi No Ko got into what the progress of creating a 2.5D play is, Aqua feeling like he could move on from his revenge plan, and Ruby started a revenge plan of her own after finding Sensei (Aqua’s old body) dead body hidden in a cave. In Season 3, we get to see how Ruby goes hunting for the man behind Sensei and Ai’s murders, and ultimately, Aqua returns to the road to revenge.

Posted on May 3, 2026April 18, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Trigun Stargaze

Trigun Stampede served as a bit of a reboot. It worked to take some elements of the main story and the flashbacks telling the backstory of Vash and Knives (and what happened to Julai) and combine them into a new timeline. Trigun Stargaze picks up where the first season left off, and takes us to our final confrontation with Millions Knives leading up to the arrival of the rescue fleet.

Posted on May 2, 2026April 18, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Fate/Strange Fake

Fate/Strange Fake is the latest side story in the Fate franchise, adapted from a series of novels from Ryogo Narita, the creator of Baccano. Is it a good jumping on point for newcomers? Not in the slightest. Is it a fun ride? Absolutely.

Posted on April 29, 2026April 12, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Video Review: Kowloon Generic Romance

This week, I’m taking a look at a Romantic Drama anime with a nostalgic bent.

You can find where the series is available for streaming through JustWatch: (https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/kowloon-generic-romance)

The manga is available through (Affiliate Links):

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4teL6ri
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/98607/9781975345785

‘Solecism’ by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. http://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
Watch my Let’s Plays at https://www.youtube.com/@CountZeroOrPlays

Donation Links…

Support Mutual Aid Groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive health care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on April 25, 2026April 18, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Frieren Beyond Journey’s End Season 2

The first season of Frieren was a series that successfully struck a good balance between humor and melancholy. Season 2 is in the tricky place of having to maintain that balance. Thankfully, it manages to pull it off.

Posted on April 22, 2026April 5, 2026 by Alexander Case

Picks: Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2026

Here are my picks for the Anime Awards for 2026

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

Donation Links…

To support mutual aid groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive%20health%20care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on April 19, 2026April 5, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You Season 2

The first season of “Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You” was a series that was trying to balance the protagonists lives in the present (technically 2030) with them attempting to come to terms with their dreams in their past, and how the (unnamed) COVID pandemic was impacting them. The second season instead puts a bit more focus on these characters reconciling in the present day.

Posted on April 12, 2026March 29, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers

Samurai Troopers, or as it was known when it aired on Toonami back in the day – Ronin Warriors, was a show I was aware of, but didn’t get a chance to watch as much of as I would have liked as a kid.

Posted on April 1, 2026March 15, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime (Video) Review: My Status As An Assassin Is Stronger Than The Hero’s

Been a while since I actually reviewed an Isekai series – time to look at one of the better animated ones of the past few years.

You can find where the series is available for streaming through JustWatch:

Crunchyroll

Flat

Crunchyroll Amazon Channel

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

Donation Links…

To support mutual aid groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive%20health%20care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on February 21, 2026February 21, 2026 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.

Posted on February 7, 2026February 7, 2026 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.

Posted on January 28, 2026January 11, 2026 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:

Hidive Amazon Channel

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

Season 1
- Crunchyroll
- Amazon

Posted on January 21, 2026January 5, 2026 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

Donation Links…

To support mutual aid groups in Minnesota: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
To support relief and recovery in Ukraine: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/ukranian-crisis/
Donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/get-involved/ways-to-give
Reproductive Health Care: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Reproductive%20health%20care
Trans Rights: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search/?causes=LGBTQ%20rights

Posted on January 18, 2026January 10, 2026 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s

The other Isekai anime I took a look at in the Fall 2025 season was My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s, or “My Status as an Assassin” for short. This one was much more conventional in terms of an Isekai anime, but it handles its characterization and worldbuilding much more reasonably.

Posted on January 11, 2026December 27, 2025 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.

Posted on January 10, 2026December 27, 2025 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: My Hero Academia Final Season

There’s a quote from Kurt Vonnegut where the end of it sticks in my brain, in a good way: “Goddamnit, you’ve got to be kind.” The final season of My Hero Academia (to a degree, also the previous season), I feel, builds up to that quote being the core message of the series. There will be spoilers.

Posted on December 3, 2025November 8, 2025 by Alexander Case

Anime Video Review: Anyway, I’m Falling In Love With You

I’m taking a look at a recent romantic dramedy anime set partly during the Pandemic – Anyway, I’m Falling In Love With You.

Posted on November 2, 2025October 20, 2025 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.

Posted on November 1, 2025October 12, 2025 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: City the Animation

Nichijou was an anime that got me and my family through the overwhelming tension of the 2019-2020 Oregon wildfires. When I learned that City, another manga from the same creator, was getting an anime adaptation this year, it became an immediate addition to my watchlist. I was not disappointed.

Posted on October 26, 2025October 12, 2025 by Alexander Case

Anime Explorations Episode 37: Mieruko-Chan

This month we’re discussing the horror comedy(?) anime Mieruko-Chan.

Posted on October 25, 2025October 12, 2025 by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Anne Shirley

Anne of Green Gables was a part of my life for a significant chunk of my childhood without having read the book. The Anne of Green Gables TV series and its sequel, Avonlea, was ever present when I was growing up. So, when we got a new anime adaptation of some of the early novels, titled Anne Shirley, I had a real “Why not?” moment, and added the series to my watchlist.