Archive for the English Anime Category


Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk Anime, Full Season Review

August 19th, 2026

Botan stands thigh-deep in a river holding a bottle of sake. She's wearing a plain while dress which is taken on some water from the river. She's mostly facing the opposite shore but is looking over her right shoulder. Her reddish-pink hair is fashioned in her usual dual-ribboned do.

by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

The Botan Kamiina

1 oz Yume no Kanbai 19 year sake 
0.75 oz strawberry-infused scotch whiskey (Glenlevit base)
0.5 oz Rokudaime Lily shochu
0.5 oz simple syrup
2 dashes of angst–I mean, angostura bitters

Shake with ice, then pour into an absinthe-rinsed coupe. Garnish with a lily flower.

When I first sat down to watch the Botan Kamiina anime, it was like ordering a drink from a cocktail bar’s menu. I knew I liked the ingredients (Yuri? Check. Set in college? Check! With a focus on appreciating alcohol? Check!!) but a menu description doesn’t tell you how balanced a drink will be. Much like a boozy cocktail, Botan hits you up front with some harshness (cough cough episode 3) but as you sip and let the drink dilute, the sweeter flavors come forward and leave your palette more satisfied.

That is to say, it is not exactly a perfectly crafted concoction, but there are plenty of things to like.

As I mentioned in my early review of the series, a new dorm member arrived. Chin-lan Chang, a new student hailing from Taiwan, arrives in the house and immediately throws a sapphic molotov cocktail on the yuri yearning status quo. (You see, her older sister married a Japanese woman, and after accepting her new sister-in-law, she goes “I gotta get me one of those”.) Immediately she puts some moves on Botan, but quickly recognizes that her target already had a situationship brewing. She then pivots to gunning for Gujou-senpai, who is still futilely pining for Ibuki. Nevertheless, her forthrightness pushes the narrative forward by both snagging her senpai for herself as well as getting Botan to confront her feelings and face Ibuki head-on.

Like many others, I’ve found it refreshing how straightforward the series is about the girl’s interest in each other. Chin-lan just asks Botan, “are you and Ibuki dating?” and the question is considered seriously. Botan’s struggle to understand how she and Ibuki feel about each other is centered on whether it’s the alcohol that Ibuki really loves, not handwringing about whether it’s possible for girls to love other girls. And I also appreciated that Botan wants more than pure 100% agave tequila love out of her connection with Ibuki once she emotionally commits to her own feelings.

Akane, Botan, and Yaeka are hanging out in a Yamaha showroom. Akane is playing a red Revstar guitar with cream soapbar pickups, wearing a white denim jacket and navy skirt. Botan is taking a video of her with her phone, while Yaeka looks intently at her with her hands behind her back.

The thing that is so ultimately frustrating about this series is that its best moments belong in a more focused story. Chin-lan’s confession, folding out of Gujou’s metaphor on her uncertainty, may be one of the most beautifully-phrased scenes of its kind in Yuridom. And yet, this sits within a series that dedicates half an episode to an anime-original infomercial for a Yamaha showroom which you can visit in Shibuya (the collab ran through August 17; you would have gotten a clear card if you happen to buy a guitar there). If HEY had this much juice in their writing, I would’ve liked to have seen it occupy more of the run time.

Visually, the show kept the bar high through the end. There really isn’t a point I can say that the production skimped out. It’s visually compelling all the way through, which is fantastic.

The one thing that became more and more apparent is that these girls are bougie. Aside from their interest in pricey bottles of various forms of alcohol, they attend a prestigious college, have ample travel budgets, and namedrop seriously expensive fashion brands like Sakai and Margiela. Hell, when Ibuki borrows a friend’s car it’s not a decade-plus old hatchback, it’s a modern Mazda Miata. It puts the series in a realm of affluence tourism. I personally did not find that aspect distracting but I’m sure some have.

It’s hard to wrap discussions of the series without feeling like an important detail is getting filtered out. The story highlights are strong but the story is so lightly sketched that it feels more like an aperitif–not to mention that the storyline for tertiary couple Akane and Yaeka gets left hanging. It’s hard for me not to appreciate the craft that studio Soigne put into the series, and I beg that more Yuri works get this level of treatment; at the same time, only talking about its production and potent yearning glosses over the unevenness around its primary subject matter: drinking. But given the fanart and discussions I’ve seen about the series, alcohol is the least-discussed part of the series. I mean, I certainly had questions about it when the girls drank straight absinthe on more than one occasion.

All that said, I think the show is well worth checking out if you haven’t already taken a sip or two. What I hope it does most is broaden more viewers’ palettes for something with a bit stronger of a yuri kick.

(While I did not try to source a single drink that is featured in this show except for absinthe, it did reignite my interest in mixology which has been fun but a bit taxing to my wallet and liver.)

(Also, I cannot vouch for the quality of the cocktail described above. It’s probably terrible.)

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8 
Service – 4
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

Botan Kamiina Blossoms Fully When Drunk is (for now) still streaming on Crunchyroll.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network. You can find him mostly reskeeting Yuri posts and sports takes on Bluesky @hyperartmarcussan.bsky.social





Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus Episodes 1 – 4

August 12th, 2026

A bunch of kids come out of a colorful repurposed schoolbus turned into a circus tour bus. A girl in a red jumper dress is held back from running off by a girl in a blue jumper dress. by Tazimonfire, Guest Reviewer

The summer of 2026 season has been jam-packed with yuri, leading me to dub it the summer of yuri. One show that might have flown under the radar for most this season in the sea of fantastic adaptations is Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus an original production animated by A-1 Pictures streaming on Crunchyroll.

Taking place in 1950’s Japan during the Showa era we follow the story of Mizuka a sixteen year-old raised to live the life of a circus performer by her trapeze artist father at the famous Lotus Circus. In episode 1, we learn that Mizuka never enjoyed the circus life and holds disdain for her father who has run off leaving her penniless. She finds herself collapsed on the road, picked up by members of the Sunflower Circus, a troupe comprised of girls without any family. What begins as a one night stay to recuperate, turns into a much longer endeavor as Mizuka is saddled with paying back an IOU between her father and the ringmaster of the circus Maria. Thus begins Mizuka’s journey to help this struggling circus shine even brighter.

I’m personally a sucker for anything historical so this show piqued my interest immediately. From the first episode, the humor was snappy with a number of recurring gags that never overstay their welcome. The animation is clean, what I would expect from an A-1 production but they do sometimes skimp on the details for the actual performances mostly relying on still shots. The exception being the trapeze sequences which are mostly between Mizuka and the troupe’s ace Ouka. They have an instant connection the first time they perform together with numerous sparkles on screen, the moment slowed down so you really see them making intense eye contact as Ouka flies through the air with Mizuka catching her. It’s obvious that over the course of the show Ouka will show Mizuka a dazzling new world where she can love the circus again, but I very much look forward to the journey.

At it’s core, Grow Up Show is about performance and creating a showstopping spectacle for the audience. It actually reminds me of Revue Starlight in the way that the characters are both inspired by the magic that only a live performance can bring but also in each other as they aim to lift each other higher to make something special. As the main cast is rather large, the show divides them all into pairs to explore their relationships: Mizuka and Ouka, magician Imari and acrobat Isuzu, juggling twins Aoi and Akane, and trapeze artist Shizuku and silk aerialist Svetlana who are all supported by ringmaster Maria and assistant Rin. Time will tell how yurish these pairs will be.

So far, subsequent episodes have chosen a pair to focus on, with episode 2 showing Ouka’s further efforts to get Mizuka to fly with her again while they both bond with a young girl named Kasumi who also dreams of performing in the circus someday which ended up being very sweet. I give kudos to the young actress voicing Kasumi she did excellent work.

Episode 3 shifts the focus to Svetlana and Shizuka and how they ended up at the Sunflower Circus in the first place. To put it plainly these two are a couple, from first glance you can tell they are of the Michiru and Haruka from Sailor Moon variety which I am always happy to see. Shizuka is the masculine flirty type while Svetlana has an air of grace and a bit of a possessive streak. Shizuka proudly proclaims Svetlana as “my honey” and brags that her act is the highlight of the circus. Svetlana is quieter in her affections but they have a very touching scene in the middle of the episode where they simply hold hands in the empty main tent in a moment of quiet contemplation as they relish how happy they are being together in that moment. They clearly hold great affection for one another and I am so pleased to see a relationship between two adults who have been together for a while on screen.

Episode 4 is probably the weakest so far with the conflict between Isuzu and Imari being a typical case of miscommunication but the rest of the cast really pulls everything up and I did enjoy their shenanigans of doing an impromptu magic show on the beach to try and earn money and boost Imari’s confidence. Shizuka and Svetlana are really only there to flirt with each other while presumably working on a new act but who knows for sure. I do feel a bit bad for Ouka, since they’re doing it right in her face as she once again tries to convince Mizuka to partner with her. Shizuka even compares them to a “straight-arrow girlfriend and a good-for-nothing boyfriend” which got a chuckle out of me.

Overall, an excellent start to an original series that I hope will keep up the momentum as the season goes on. A traveling circus allows for nice pacing as we get to see new places and people. I will continue to root for Ouka and look forward to Shizuka and Svetlana being lovey dovey every week. Hopefully in this summer of yuri we will get to see an actual Lily Circus.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Nothing particular to write home about but everything overall looks nice. I give extra points for how cozy their tour bus looks.

Story – 7 Everything happens exactly as you would expect it to, but I am having a nice time.

Characters – 7 For such a large cast I think they do a good job giving everyone some time in the spotlight even if they’re not the focus for the episode. This is a group I will surely miss once the show is over, I love a found family.

Service – 3 There is a beach episode with service stills of some of the characters in swimsuits just because but at least it’s the adults. Mizuka does also spend a lot of time in the bath as it’s her thinking spot but there is minimal service which is appreciated.

Yuri – 5 I can’t describe Ouka’s feelings for Mizuka as anything other than being incredibly smitten and Shizuka and Svetlana are just that couple constantly reminding you that they are very much in love.

Overall – 7





I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day, Episodes 1-3

August 5th, 2026

Two girls wearing a dark school uniform with white collar hold hands. Where they touch glows with a golden light.by Sasori, Okazu Staff Writer

There is definitely no shortage of fantasy anime this season, and I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day /Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai, is another one to add to your summer list.

This is an anime adaptation of Aono Nachi’s yuri manga, animated by Roll2, streaming on  Crunchyroll.

 Kimishinu is very stylish. From it’s early PV trailer, to its catchy OP『Amore』by ReoNa, on paper it has a lot going for it. It’s directed by Yasushi Tomodo, who also worked on Girls Band Cry. There are also some heavy hitter VA’s, Takahashi, Rie voicing MC Totsuki, Sheena and Hidaka, Rina voicing our smaller MC, Kagari, Mimi.

Episode 1, Kimishinu starts with a grim battle between two magic users, ending with the death of one (or both) and then panning out showing us the dire world they are fighting in. We are then introduced to our main character, Sheena Totsuki, who is a child soldier in a magical user based war orphanage, and learn that the girl who died in the opening duel was her roommate.

Sheena doesn’t want to be at this war school, she seems weaker than the rest of her classmates, unable to conjure her wand and clearly bothered by any form of fighting. We are also introduced to her supporting couple friends who defend her from bullying, Lizzy Seiran and Ari Maud.

Sheena flashes back to her now deceased roommate, lamenting on how lucky Sheena was being weak and thus exempt from the magical duels that the children frequently fought. Later in the night, Sheena is restless and makes some onigiri, going outside to eat, she’s greeted by a bloody little girl, who is very interested in Sheena and her rice balls, much to Sheena’s horror.

And surprise, the little girl turns out to be a new classmate of Sheena’s, going by the name of Mimi Kagari, also the same name of a legendary soldier weapon of their school. Mimi definitely looks 10, which is pointed out by some classmates, but you know the power of magical school will I guess let that one slide. Mimi’s care taker/parental figure is resident medical nurse Fran, who seems to deal with Mimi like a feral creature, promising Sheena that her roommate will wash up and not look like a bloody tomato on the regular.

When going down the hall, Mimi and Sheena spy some ladies doing magical yuri kissing, to help top up that mana flow. The episode ends with Mimi wanting to cure Sheena’s ailing stomach, by also giving her a mana kiss.

Episode 2 returns us to the kiss scene, Mimi proudly stating how she fed Sheena a ton of mana which I assume will come in handy later on. Sheena panics, not knowing how to deal with this new information, hiding in bed lamenting about her now first kiss.

This episode was pretty exciting because the class was participating in a mock duel. Sheena paired with Mimi, who was of course destroying the competition. The fight scenes are a cut above most fantasy budgets, and gave all the cast some pretty neat fight sequences. Sheena eventually gets separated from Mimi, who is in berserker mode. Sheena ends up getting attack by a trespassing magic user and loses an arm in the fight, Mimi destroys him coldly after.

Nurse Fran brings Sheena back to the schools medical ward after the battle, Sheena looking like she’s on deaths door with only one arm. Fran talks with Seiran and Ari, stating how losing body parts is pretty common, and that she’d heal Sheena herself. Mimi steps in and insists on healing Sheena with her own magic and proceeds to mana kiss her so hard that her arm grows back.

As Sheena recovers, she learns that Mimi also hates pain, forming more of a bond with her, and is also impressed by her seemingly unlimited magic abilities. Mimi of course takes this sign of friendliness as another reason to lean in for another kiss.

Episode 3 starts with a cute morning routine scene between Mimi and Sheena, who is clearly getting use to Mimi’s critter antics. Mimi’s kind of a failure at being a lady though, so Sheena teaches her how to tidy up on their day off. The peace doesn’t last long because Mimi is the only person called out for another battle. Alone, Sheena confides with Seiran and Ari about how she feels about Mimi and the new bound of trust she has with her, but also how she fears for Mimi’s safety. The girls tell Sheena about how Mimi was the one that restored her and she might be similar to an immortal weapon.

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Early evening, Mimi is returned to Fran in some back door of the school in a disembodied bag, and then told to heal herself as she starts to reanimate with her own magic. Fran scolds her for rushing into to battle, but then realizes it was because Mimi wanted to hurry back to probably see Sheena.

Sheena, unable to sleep, makes Mimi onigiri and returns to the place where she first met. She’s relieved to see Mimi has returned in one piece and asks if they’d like to be friends. Mimi hugs her excitedly at the prospect and they share a very cute moment together. They eventually go back to their daily routine, Mimi learning that best friends share secrets through Sheena, saying she had a really important one to tell her.

The secret ends up being that Mimi couldn’t die, because she was already dead, thus ending the episode.

I ended up liking Kimishinu more than I should have, not because the premise was groundbreaking or original, but because it was really well executed. The music and backgrounds were dramatic when they needed to be and light and whimsical when necessary.

In terms of yuri, I like Seiran/Ari quite a bit, because I’m a sucker for justice/bad girl dynamics. Mimi and Sheena’s growing friendship made me smile, Mimi’s loud feral personality is a good foil to Sheena’s meek/quiet nature, which keeps the shows dynamic lively.

The three episodes had some great pacing, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series with that in mind.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story- 6.5
Characters- 7
Service- 2 (For the random magical kisses)
Yuri- 5 (Some interlocking hand-holding and the kisses are becoming less about the mana)

Overall- 7

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Goodbye, Lara, Episodes 1-3

July 31st, 2026

Three girls, one with blonde hair, one redhead and one with dark hair, leaning over the railing of a sailing boat surrounded by seagulls.

by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what would happen to The Little Mermaid if she was reincarnated in modern Japan, then Goodbye, Lara is the show for you. Even if you haven’t it’s still worth a watch. Produced by Kinema Citrus as a 15th anniversary project, and streaming both subbed and dubbed on Crunchyroll, the show is described as a modern interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

Episode 1 is mostly exposition and is set in the 1700s, under water in the mermaid kingdom. Lara is the youngest of her sisters, has been brought up as a member of the royal family and, like all mermaids, is supposed to believe that humans are beneath them. But as in the original, Lara falls in love with a human prince who she rescues from a burning shipwreck. She is imprisoned for this by her father and is then given an impossible choice by her aunt Grace, a sea witch who has been banished from the kingdom previously. Lara can either drink the mysterious potion to become human, but will dissolve into foam unless she finds true love. The prince rejects her when she transforms back into a mermaid and she is sent back to her kingdom, which to her horror she discovers is in ruins as a result of her foolishness. Grace reappears and Lara is sent to the modern world via Lake Biwa, and is immediately punched by a girl walking nearby.

Episodes 2 and 3 are about Lara adjusting to the modern world. The girl is named Mari, and she is a national champion boxer who trains at her school boxing club. Grace has reappeared in the body of Mari’s pet fish and is affectionately called Gon-chan by Mari. She acts as a mentor to Lara and keeps her out of the worst trouble. Lara is focused only on the fact that she must find her true love in order to reawaken her family below the sea. We also learn that Lara’s sister Lisa and a mysterious figure known as Kota are also in the modern world. Lara goes to school with Mari and begins to learn about love from the other people around her.

Yuri wise, there’s not a lot going on in these first episodes but the signs are there if you want to see them. At first Mari seems annoyed by Lara’s naivety but she definitely starts to care more for her as time goes on. The show makes a big deal about the fact that Lara is looking for her prince, but what if her prince was right beside her all along? I hope the show’s creators are brave enough to take it in that direction.

The art and animation are nothing to write home about. The character designs have a kind of early 2000s/Rumiko Takahashi vibe which I quite enjoyed.

Overall, I will keep watching but this is definitely one of those shows where the yuri is subtle rather than in your face.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 0
Yuri  – 2

Overall – 6





Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance, Episodes 1-4

July 30th, 2026

In a ruined landscape in front of a city, Fate and Nanoha stand in their barrier jackets, holding their sentient weapons, while a girl burns brightly behind them.It has been a long while since I reviewed a Nanoha franchise entry. In fact, it’s been more than 10 years! And truthfully, I love The Nanoha franchise very much for what I would like it to be, far more than for what it is. 

But here we are again, 22 years after my first post about Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, with a new entry and I once again both really like it and don’t in nearly equal portion. This time for exciting new reasons! Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance, is streaming now on Crunchyroll and I had a chance to watch the first four episodes.

Let’s get the negatives done first, so we can focus on the positives. The story is…generic. It’s true that the fighting in earlier Nanoha entries were hardly works of literature, but ends of the world, and eternity-eating books are abstract enough that we don’t have to sit through grimdark blood and guts. In this new world, mutating gross monsters are the foe and there is a lot of blood and guts.

The other negative is the same as the original series in that the trauma, loneliness and misery of young girls is mined for entertainment. And in this, the misery has notched up. We’re not just watching them be emotionally and psychologically manipulated, but physically hurt as well.  We understand that this is to increase our empathy for the young women in question…but, eww. It’s just a nasty habit of anime’s that children’s suffering is regularly turned into motivation for revenge, i.e., everyone is fridged, all the time. 

So, Episode 1, a double-length episode, introduces us to Kuze Shiina and her sister Setsuna, an abandoned girl she took in. They live on a remote island. The entire world has been infested by ravenous monsters called Majin, cleverly translated here as Diaboli. Shiina is a very talented hunter, since the government and experts have abandoned them. Within seconds it becomes apparent that her and Setsuna’s happy life is not going to last, and so, we are treated to our first two of many tragic stories. But things are not what they seem and Shiina will lose something and gain it again all at once.

Shiina leaves the island and comes to the city, where we see an adult Yagate Hayate is in charge of the fight against the Diaboli. But it is 13-year old Takamachi Nanoha that saves Shiina, and asks her to be part of the new task force. C.P.. being abandoned by the government, Shiina refuses, but eventually becomes part of the EXCCEDS taskforce.

As of Episode 4, the typical nude transformation scenes have been left behind. In my book, that is a huge plus. Those made it hard to recommend Nanoha, because they wee so obviously pro-creeper.

And while we have not yet seen them except as a still, Hayate’s Knights got a mention. I cheered when Raising Heart and Bardiche had lines. Bardiche is my favorite character. I even have a lovely metal keychain replica of him. This is an approximately accurate size picture of it. This is the kind of shit I pick up when I’m in Japan, get home and think…okay, what am I gonna do with that?

Now that the story is lined up, the next few episodes proceed to introduce our frenemy squad. These are girls who have been abused and suffered and are doing good work fighting assassinating the people who profit off the Diaboli, but of course will be our enemies and then, ultimately part of the Nanoha extended family.

Immediately, Shiina meets Towa, and they become friends right away. They will be the Nanoha and Fate of this series. Towa’s mission is good, the way she and her friends go about is understandable…but we all know that they are going to be “befriended.” before the end.

And in this, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance hits the sweet spot for me, even though the monsters and the people who profit off them are the most generic, unmagical, overdone plot ever. Because Nanoha is not about the fights, those some of those have been excellent. Nanoha is about family.  I talk about this in a 2012 essay The Concept of Family in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha-verse, this idea of bringing people into one’s family, giving love and affection to the outcast and unwanted, is one of the key features that makes the Nanoha francise appealing, even despite a legacy of sexualization of young women. This progression of friend to enemy to family is a repeated theme in this series.  By the end of Episode 4, it is clear where we will find our newest family members.

For Yuri fans, since we’ve returned Nanoha and Fate to their tween years, they are once again in the time just after A‘s. We know this, because in this iteration, Fate introduces herself as Fate Testarrossa Harlaown. Fate, to our eyes, has more of an interest in Nanoha, and blushes when she is in proximity to the other girl, while Nanoha proudly declares Fate her “best friend.” Again, undoubtedly, we’ll see emotional intimacy, tears and reconciliation between Shiina and Towa, as we did with Nanoha and Fate.

To be very honest, I felt Episode 1 did not do the series justice at all. The banality of the “invasion of the mutating monsters” just left me feeling like it was a magic-less world. Nanoha has clarified that her “magic” is not an innate ability, but that it can be learned, as we know. In this world, science and magic are nearly the same. 

But as the story proceeds, I felt it move closer to the Nanoha-verse, and not just because more familiar characters arrived on screen. Whether they are fighting monsters, magical items running amok or megalomanics, when it comes down to Nanoha, it’s always about humans connecting.

Ratings: 

Art – 9 Actually really good! Gone are the days of cheaping out on this series
Story – 6, but I’m willing to give it a chance
Characters – 8 Nice to see old friends and make new ones
Service – 2 Much less than it used to be. I’m so glad.
Yuri – Who knows?

Overall – 7

It was a bit of a slow start, but we’ll see where it goes.