Real Anime & Movie Reviews from Japan

Touch, H2, Major and Cross Game are not streaming in the US. These ten baseball anime are, with what Koshien means and why so many of them aim at it.

Ten anime about dogs, picked by a viewer in Japan, from Cowboy Bebop's corgi to Pochita and Bond. Why a dog in a Japanese story is rarely just a pet, and where to stream each one in the US.

Beyond Outrage (2012) streams on Prime Video in the US and free on Tubi, yet nowhere in Japan. A Japanese fan’s review of Kitano’s yakuza sequel, with a spoiler-free who’s who chart of the Sanno-kai and Hanabishi-kai.

Crunchyroll is the only US subscription streaming all 12 episodes of Draw This, Then Die! A Japanese fan’s review of the manga-club anime that turns out to have two leads: a student and the teacher who quit drawing.

Belle streams on HBO Max in the US. A Japanese fan’s review: world-class visuals and Kaho Nakamura’s songs, but a script that pushes its characters around and a final act that fails its heaviest subject.

Outrage (2010) streams on Prime Video in the US and free on Tubi, yet nowhere in Japan. A Japanese fan’s review of Takeshi Kitano’s yakuza film, with a spoiler-free who’s who chart of the gangs.

Ten live-action Japanese drama series picked by a viewer in Japan, from Netflix's first local original to Kore-eda's 2025 family piece. What each one is really about, and which US subscription has it.

Ten anime built around cats, picked by a viewer in Japan, from Chi's Sweet Home to a cat apocalypse that aired this year. Why Japanese cats are rarely just pets, and where to stream each one in the US.

Crunchyroll is the only US subscription streaming all 12 episodes of Draw This, Then Die! A Japanese fan’s review of the manga-club anime that turns out to have two leads: a student and the teacher who quit drawing.

Slime Season 2 slows down with politics and long meetings, yet keeps the core of Season 1: a nation, and the friends who built it. A fan in Japan on Parts 1 and 2, the watch order, and where it streams in the US.

Dr. STONE finished at 94 episodes in June 2026. The full watch order including the Ryusui special, where the pacing stalls, how many hours it takes, and why Crunchyroll is the only US subscription carrying the whole series.

Dr. STONE finished on June 25, 2026 at episode 94. The Whyman answer is a let-down and the series survives it intact. Where to stream the final 13 episodes in the US, and what seven years never once compromised on.

The final season of Dr. STONE streams on Crunchyroll only in the US — Netflix carries Seasons 1-3 and stops. A review of the first 24 episodes, where the enemy is a scientist too and knowing more stops deciding anything.

Crunchyroll is the only US subscription with all 12 episodes of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, sub and dub. Science SARU’s revenge story is fought with books, not swords.

Dr. STONE: New World streams on Crunchyroll and Netflix in the US, and not on Hulu, which stops after Season 1. A fan in Japan on why Season 3 belongs to Ryusui, and where its 22 episodes sag.

Gurren Lagann streams on Netflix, Hulu and Crunchyroll in the US. All 27 episodes, where the two movies fit, why episode 4 caused a scandal in Japan, and why the back half divides people.

Belle streams on HBO Max in the US. A Japanese fan’s review: world-class visuals and Kaho Nakamura’s songs, but a script that pushes its characters around and a final act that fails its heaviest subject.

Sugii’s 1985 Kenji Miyazawa adaptation streams on Crunchyroll and free with ads on Roku and Pluto TV. The director’s own reason for casting the whole film as cats, what Haruomi Hosono’s score does, and who should not start here.

Why only 14-year-olds pilot an Eva, why it bleeds, and where every Evangelion title stands on US streaming in September 2026. The popular answer has no source.

The End of Evangelion replaces episodes 25 and 26 of the 1995 series. Where to stream it in the US, why the show has to come first, and what it will not answer.

Hosoda’s 2006 anime streams on HBO Max in the US. A Japanese take on why it is still his best, where it sits among his eight films, and how to tell it from the live-action versions.

Where to watch Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in the US now Prime Video has dropped it, and why this finale lets go where The End of Evangelion pushed away.

Where to watch Evangelion: 3.33 in the US now that it has left Prime Video, and why the third Rebuild film withholds from you exactly what it withholds from Shinji.

Where to stream Evangelion: 2.22 in the US, and why the second Rebuild film is the warm one: two songs every Japanese child sang at school, and the moment the mission shrinks to a single person.

Beyond Outrage (2012) streams on Prime Video in the US and free on Tubi, yet nowhere in Japan. A Japanese fan’s review of Kitano’s yakuza sequel, with a spoiler-free who’s who chart of the Sanno-kai and Hanabishi-kai.

Outrage (2010) streams on Prime Video in the US and free on Tubi, yet nowhere in Japan. A Japanese fan’s review of Takeshi Kitano’s yakuza film, with a spoiler-free who’s who chart of the gangs.

Muroi Shinji: Stay Alive (2024) is not streaming anywhere in the US as of September 2026. A longtime Bayside Shakedown fan on whether part two of the Muroi spin-off is as bad as its reputation, with the ending kept inside a marked spoiler section.

Kotera-san Climbs! (also listed as Climb Miss Kotera) is not streaming anywhere in the US as of September 2026. A Hello! Project fan reviews Haruka Kudo’s first lead film, a quiet school drama where four classmates change while she just climbs.

The Suspect: Muroi Shinji (2005) is on no US service. Here is what you can actually watch instead, and why this Bayside Shakedown spin-off scores 2 out of 10.

No US subscription service carries Hana-bi in September 2026, and in Japan it is on nothing at all. A view from Japan on Takeshi Kitano’s Golden Lion winner: why the hyphen splits flowers from fire, why every frame survives being paused, and why I still rate Sonatine higher.

Kids Return has no US stream, rental or purchase in September 2026. A view from Japan on Takeshi Kitano’s 1996 boxing film: why it skips the training montage, and why the schoolyard ending is the scene people here still quote.

Japan closed this franchise in 2012, then reopened it with a 2024 spin-off and a new film in September 2026. Where the fourth film holds, where the back half comes apart, and the one English-subtitled disc that exists.

Touch, H2, Major and Cross Game are not streaming in the US. These ten baseball anime are, with what Koshien means and why so many of them aim at it.

Ten anime about dogs, picked by a viewer in Japan, from Cowboy Bebop's corgi to Pochita and Bond. Why a dog in a Japanese story is rarely just a pet, and where to stream each one in the US.

Ten live-action Japanese drama series picked by a viewer in Japan, from Netflix's first local original to Kore-eda's 2025 family piece. What each one is really about, and which US subscription has it.

Ten anime built around cats, picked by a viewer in Japan, from Chi's Sweet Home to a cat apocalypse that aired this year. Why Japanese cats are rarely just pets, and where to stream each one in the US.

Ten anime where the train does the work, from Galaxy Express 999 to Mugen Train, picked by a viewer in Japan. Six where the train is the whole story, four where one railway scene carries the film. US streaming for each.

Ten Akira Kurosawa films picked by a viewer in Japan, from his 1948 breakthrough to Ran. What each one is doing, which are on HBO Max, and which two you can watch free.

Ten Yasujiro Ozu films ranked by a viewer in Japan, from Late Spring to his final picture. What each one is about, what to notice, and which US subscription actually has it right now.

Ten Japanese comedies picked by a viewer in Japan, from Ozu's fart-joke classic to Takeshi Kitano's 2024 self-parody. What is actually funny about each one, and which US subscription has it right now.