Usagi-tei

The Summer Hikaru Died streams only on Netflix. A rural Japanese summer turned into a horror device, a village that says nothing, and 12 episodes that end with the questions still open.

A kid joins professional sumo purely for the money and ends up falling for the sport itself. Sanctuary streams only on Netflix. A review of all eight episodes, and why episode 7 is worth the run-up.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure (1997) streams on the Criterion Channel. A Japanese writer on why the title is not ironic, and why every killer in it is an ordinary working adult.

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars streams on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu. A review of the season where the Kingdom of Science wins with a phone line, and the enemy keeps his argument intact.

Japanese fans split hard over Mushoku Tensei Season 2: a sluggish first cour, a beloved second. Where to stream it in the US, and why I never got inside it.

Included with HBO Max in the US, and unavailable on every service in Japan. The uncut 116-minute film, the butchered 95-minute Warriors of the Wind, and the five manga volumes no movie has ever adapted.

Streaming on HBO Max in the US, but on zero services in Japan. Why Totoro’s plot barely exists yet every frame stays with you, and the truth behind the death god rumor.

Attack on Titan Season 2 streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu in the US — not Netflix, despite what Japanese listings say. Twelve episodes covering a few days, and one of them rewrites what the word enemy means. Here’s why the slowest season isn’t skippable.

Mushoku Tensei Season 1 streams on Crunchyroll and Hulu in the US — not Netflix, despite what Japanese listings say. An isekai that strips out plot armor everywhere except the romance, told with a 34-year-old’s voice running underneath all 23 episodes.

DAN DA DAN Season 2 streams on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu. The animation didn’t drop — the pacing did. A Japanese viewer’s honest take on why Season 2 lands softer than Season 1, plus where to watch all 12 episodes.