The Otaku Exhibition

Category: Uncategorized

  • Re:Zero & Shield Hero: Why We Still Love Isekai

    In the past couple of years, anime has been dominated by isekai. Isekai, if you’re blissfully unaware, is the Japanese word for another world, and refers to the genre that was previously known as portal fantasy. The common factors have been well known tropes: an otaku protagonist is transported or reincarnated into a fantasy world…

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Understands Why You Game

    As I stated in my first impressions review of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time from my favorite series, and I can make no claim to be impartial. Breath of the Wild is a special game for me, and it’s the reason that I play…

  • Mob Psycho 100: Coming of Age with ESP

    Mob Psycho 100 is one of the strongest written anime series in recent memory. It balances the strong comedy chops with hard-hitting emotional moments like the very best of Fullmetal Alchemist. Very few series can bounce between slapstick comedy and legitimate gut-wrenching grief with this level of agility, and Mob makes it look easy. On…

  • Sword Art Online: A Lesson in Disappointment

    Long before I started watching anime, I heard whispers of a show called Sword Art Online on Discord. Some of my acquaintances were in love with it, while others derided it and told me to steer clear. That sort of controversy piqued my interest more than rave reviews ever could, but it wouldn’t be until…

  • Konosuba: The “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” of Anime

    Have you ever tried to recommend a series or movie to someone by mixing and matching elements of other series? “Yeah, you should watch My Hero Academia, it’s basically the anime Sky High.” or “Jujutsu Kaisen is great, it’s the best parts of Demon Slayer and Bleach.” It’s an effective cultural shorthand, and with many…

  • Noblesse Review: Webtoon’s Last Shot

    Director: Yasutaka Yamamoto Studio: Production IG Streaming on: Crunchyroll I have had a rocky relationship with Crunchyroll’s originals, and more specifically, the adaptations of Webtoon manhwa. Tower of God dropped this spring, and while its lore and worldbuilding were impressive, it didn’t quite live up to the monumental hype associated with it. Still, it was…

  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity First Impressions

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been my favorite game of all time since the moment I watched Link run out of the Shrine of Resurrection onto the mountain cape, surveying the great expanse of Hyrule beyond him. It is one of the most effective calls to action in gaming, managing to…

  • Demon Slayer Knows Why You Love Shonen

    Shonen battle anime is not just a popular and defining genre of the medium, it’s a phenomenon, a formula. The shonen genre dates back more than a century in one form or another, but it wouldn’t be until series in the 1970s and 80s codified what we recognize today as shonen. Early hits like Devilman,…

  • The God of High School: A Lesson in Disappointment

    Summer 2020 was a pretty dry season for anime due to coronavirus slowing production down drastically in the spring, but the season was not without its breakouts and returning masterpieces. Re:Zero returned in triumph, while The Misfit of Demon King Academy was a laugh riot, and Rent-A-Girlfriend was the perfect train crash in slow motion.…

  • Haikyuu!! To The Top Season 2 Review: More Of The Same Is A Compliment

    Director: Susuma Mitsunaka Studio: Production I.G. Streaming on: Crunchyroll To be clear, I am not a fan of sports. I understand the appeal, having played them as a kid and watching the occasional local game in high school, but I can’t put myself into them fully. I think it is because professional sports rely on…