12 Days of Anime 2019 – the Year of Fluff

I’ve changed a lot over the years. I recently wrote about how maternal I was becoming. I suppose that growing more sentimental goes hand in hand with that! I used to hate cutesy, romantic fluff. As far as I was concerned, it just got in the way of the good stuff (if you know what I mean)… In fact, one of my very first posts on WWB (waaay back in 2012 – dear God, don’t try to find it) was on that very subject. But, over time, as sex dwindled in importance to love, friendship, and commitment, I’ve slowly come to love fluff! This is reflected in the anime I loved most this year. 

Character Spotlight: Touko Nanami

Bloom Into You is an anime about two young, high school girls, Yuu and Touko, who find themselves kind of, sort of dating. This ill-defined relationship spurs them to consider all sorts of things, not just their sexualities (which is kind of a given), but who they are and who they want to be as people. Please watch this show if you haven’t already. It’s a really special anime, one that’s thoughtful, sensitive, and refuses to fall back on the tried-and-true, yet oh-so problematic tropes that plague the yuri genre. Today I will be talking about Touko Nanami, one of Bloom Into You’s two heroines, and a big part of what makes this show so amazing. 

12 Days of Anime 2018 – the Year When Love Came in All Shapes and Sizes

Now, before I begin, let me just say this: I’m straight (whoa, where is she going with this, right?), so I’m not about to start acting like the voice of the LGBTQ+ community. That would be kind of inappropriate! That said, something that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed about this year’s anime is that they’ve featured quite the assortment of gay and otherwise unconventional pairings. In fact, I’d suggest that many of these are some of the best pairings we’ve had this year, regardless of whether the characters’ feelings are mutual or one-sided.

Ty’s Top Picks for Fall 2018

Fall, or autumn, for my fellow Brits, is almost upon us! But what’s even more exciting than the thought of cool weather, back to school shopping (what? That’s exciting, right?), and pumpkin spice everything is that we’re due yet another promising season of anime! As with my last season preview I will list the shows that I’ve chosen to watch. These will be divided into three categories: continuing from the last season (so, summer), sequels, and standalones. Based on my research (which involves pouring through reviews, news articles, and source materials) I’ll briefly discuss what it was about these shows that appealed to me. I hope that this will help you decide what to watch yourself!