Anime and manga don’t shy away from gentle, charming stories. And sometimes at the end of the day, a gentle slice-of-life story about friendship and love is just what the doctor ordered. The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is one of those stories. I will spoil the story in this article: this is one I…
Category: Anime Reviews
Suzume: A Door Opens to Another Coming of Age Story
Suzume released in 2022, and I only got around to watching it in 2025. You might be surprised to learn that I don’t watch cinematic, stand-alone anime films all that often. I find it hard to cordon two hours to watch a single film. I don’t watch live-action films for the same reason. I’m bad…
Secrets of the Silent Witch
Monica Everett is a genius mage who delves into the mathematics that underpin magic. She even worked out how to do the impossible: Unchanted Magic. Magicians normally need to use chants to weave the underpinning physics. Monica, however, is able to instantly see the numbers behind spells. Her father, too, researched the numbers behind reality,…
Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze: A Different View of Masculinity
In many ways, Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze is an inverse of Ouran High School Host Club. The story also touches on the softer side of masculinity in ways that might make some traditionally masculine men uncomfortable. I will spoil the story as I delve into this. Yuu Ayase has inherited the beauty…
My Dress Up Darling Season 2
My Dress Up Darling‘s second season continues the slice-of-life romance among Wakana Gojo, Marin Kitagawa, and their love for cosplay. The season divides into various arcs that develops Wakana’s character and goes into Marin’s realization that she loves him in addition to the stories of several of the supporting cast. This discussion will spoil the…
Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? The Doormat and the Emotionally Unbalanced
Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? is a romantic comedy with the usual love triangle set in high school. But this story has a few twists that are sadly realistic. I have to spoil the story to discuss the characters. Yu Natsume is a high school boy who has an interest in flowers and wants to…