Archive for the Staff Writer Category


Otakon 2025 Field Report – Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty Panel

August 17th, 2025

Photo of Miyuri Shimabukuro, Shinya Watada, and Hidetake Nishigaya posing in front of the crowd from the second RockLady panel at Otakon 2025. Shimabukuro-san and Watada-san are holding chibi dolls of the main cast.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

The familiar barrage of guitar notes of “Ready to Rock”, BAND-MAID’s opening song for Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, hyped up an expectant crowd. On stage, however, was not the band; present instead was RockLady’s Director, Shinya Watada, Otoha Kurogane’s voice actor, Miyuri Shimabukuro, and Producer Hidetake Nishigaya. The topic at hand: the staff’s favorite scenes and a peek behind the curtain on production.

The Saturday morning panel was the group’s second during this year’s Otakon, the first being held the day before in one of the larger conference rooms of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Having only the chance to visit the conference on Saturday, I was curious whether interest in the series was strong enough to carry a second session. I was pleasantly surprised; despite the smaller room, the attendees, roughly 120 in total, were as loud and raucous as a Fuji Rock crowd (or at least my imagination of such). I was pretty impressed by the number of fans who showed up to hear more about a niche title that aired on a small streaming platform.

The panel was MC’d by Nishigaya-san, with Watada-san and Shimabukuro-san as the guests of honor. Both shared two clips each that were their personal favorites and discussed why. Watada-san highlighted two post-jam ending scenes; Otoha’s first colorful outburst and immediate switch back to lady-like speech from the end of episode 1, and the battle of the bands scene with our full group panting, sweating, in front of a stunned crowd. Both moments were stressful to direct, and he was relieved that they managed to hit with the intended impact.

Shimabukuro-san’s choices were both spirited character moments. First was lead character/guitarist Lilisa and Otoha’s first exchange of vulgarities in episode 3. The second was Lilisa’s defense of the rock greenhorn Tina in episode 8. She would mention that her biggest challenge was keeping her speech intelligible during the not-infrequent torrents of screamed insults.

After the favorite scenes section, the panel moved on to Q&A. Shimabukuro-san mentioned taking drum lessons to get into the role, but given her novice status she did not end up drenched in sweat like her character. The staff were asked about their favorite Western rock bands (Watada: Bon Jovi; Nishigaya: Green Day).

The most interesting revelations came towards the end. Nishigaya-san touted one last surprise: a prerecorded segment with BAND-MAID, who provided both music and motion-capture for the musical performance scenes. Of their anecdotes, my favorite was from drummer Akane Hirose, who said that Otoha’s freestyle drumming in episode 1 was an unrehearsed jam that was requested at the end of a recording session. 

All in all, it was a fun panel. The only mildly disappointing part was that Akira Sekine, the seiyuu for Lilisa, was not there to trade stories with Shimabukuro-san, which could’ve brought out some more lively banter. Also, there was no season 2 tease or even a shoutout to the upcoming localization of the manga coming next month. Still, I was pleased to see that the show garnered enough love for there to be two panels dedicated to it.

After the panel I left the hall and grabbed myself a chili-smothered half-smoke at the Ben’s Chili Bowl stall located at the north end of the convention center’s skybridge that spans across L Street. Given the central location, I had a great vantage point to watch the throngs of anime fans passing by, many in cosplay. While I didn’t see anyone dressed up as Otoha or Lilisa, there was still plenty of RockLady-like rebellion put on display. Perhaps the next time I make it to a convention I will see more proper ladies saying “Gokigenyou~” with middle fingers up.

Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty is available for streaming on HIDIVE, and volume 1 of the manga will be coming out in English via Yen Press on September 23rd.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





Tied by your Red

August 15th, 2025

Black and white illustration of a young woman and a beast, a red ribbon floats lightly in the air in front of them.by Ashley P, Guest Reviewer

If there is one fabulous uniting factor for all fans of romance it is the fantasy of being swept away by a cold steely noble who eventually warms to your plucky sensible charms. We’re looking at a yuri visual novel Tied by your Red; but you can find this sort of setting everywhere.

Tied by your Red follows Erica (although sometimes it is Erika) who has been betrothed to the stoic Duke Louise. While Louise was thought by Erica to be a scary, cruel Duke who kills her brides without a second thought it turns out that in fact that Louise is just a slightly awkward romantic lead who is a perfect dashing partner to the more skittish Erica.

Other than our two romantic leads in Louise’s mansion there is only one other person staying with them, Maiden, who is the only member of domestic staff. Not only that but there are unusual rules about leaving the residence, and everyone must be in their own room before midnight. At midnight Erica is occasionally awakened by sounds of something outside her chamber door.

Putting all this together makes it very clear what kind of story we are getting and it is refreshing to see this genre in a visual novel. A visual novel with fantastic sprite direction. Characters pace around the screen and move and appear in ways that add to their character. The only downside is Erica’s actual sprites, she is never shown to be anything less than marginally terrified. Which makes sense for a majority of the game but once her and Louise’s relationship gets going and everything is revealed Erica still looks seconds from bolting from the room.

This becomes even more noticeable when you complete Erica’s story and have the ability to re-read the story from first Louise’s and then Maiden’s point of view. It is weird to see Louise’s internal narration talk so kindly about Erica but then her sprite looks close to tears. It makes Louise seem unusually detached from the women we are told she has fallen for.

The only downside is that there are some unusual word choices, line breaks and even untranslated lines in the English version. This is not really a deal-breaker for me but this is something anyone looking to buy this game should know. Examples below.

Tied by your Red is the fun pulpy romance that I can always have more of so I hope those few missing lines can be patched out because otherwise it is a quick fun time.

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 6
Service – 2
Yuri – 8

Overall – 7

 

 





Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko, 2nd Stage

August 10th, 2025

The promotional poster for season 2 of Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko. On the left the actresses embrace, wearing Hawaiian patterns and a lei on the right Hiroko holds a blowdryer over Ayaka's hair. by Frank Hecker, Okazu Staff Writer 

The live-action adaptation of Sal Jiang’s manga Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko! ended with Hiroko agreeing to accept Ayaka as her girlfriend. Although the live-action series covered all three volumes of the manga, its producers decided to create a sequel going beyond the original story. Thus we have Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko, 2nd Stage, now streaming on GagaOOLala (along with season 1).

Any sequel faces the problem of matching the appeal of the original while creating a new story that doesn’t retread old ground. Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko, 2nd Stage attempts this by moving almost completely away from the office setting of season 1 and focusing on Ayaka’s relationship with Hiroko and (to a lesser degree) Hiroko’s relationship with her family.

As 2nd Stage begins, Ayaka has been living with Hiroko for half a year. Hiroko caters to Ayaka’s every need, including making her breakfast and cleaning up after her, but (as Ayaka’s friend Risa implies) Hiroko treats her more like a pet than a lover. Ayaka wants them to be a “real couple” (i.e., to have sex), Hiroko is reluctant to do so, and Ayaka doesn’t understand why. And, quite frankly, neither do we: Hiroko offers excuses to Ayaka (she needs more time to sort out her feelings) and to herself (she’s worried about her “selfish desires”), but this part of the plot requires a major suspension of disbelief, especially now that Hiroko knows that Ayaka’s feelings toward her are genuine.

As in season 1, Hiroko’s ongoing misunderstandings and miscommunications provide the springboard for multiple comedic moments. But comedy isn’t as funny when someone’s getting hurt, and it becomes clear through the course of the series that Ayaka is more and more distressed and confused about Hiroko’s behavior. It’s almost a relief when the show turns to the secondary plot concerning Hiroko and her family (she’s still not out to them) and to the goings-on at Bar Kiyoko (where Risa’s new girlfriend Kyoko informs everyone that Risa has gone from a “clueless puppy” in bed to “a wolf who’ll bare her fangs”). But these digressions can’t compensate for the fact that the show drags on for too long. The plot threads finally resolve in episode 6, thanks to Ayaka’s actions and the innocent intervention of Hiroko’s young niece, a sweet ending that I can’t help thinking could have come one or even two episodes earlier.

As Hiroko, Kanna Mori once again excels at wide-eyed reactions, mixed in with more subtle acting in the final episodes. But the real star of 2nd Stage is Shiho Katō, whose performance as Ayaka is the beating emotional heart of this sequel: We feel her pain, echo her confusion, and cheer her on as she forthrightly declares her love for Hiroko to Hiroko’s sister and mother: “This is how I truly feel. There’s not a single bit of pretense.” Riria Kojima joins the cast as Hiroko’s sister Keiko, who offers some cringey (meta)commentary in response to Ayaka’s outing herself (“I’ve been really into Thai dramas, so I know a bit about this kind of thing”), while former otokoyaku Hiroki Nanami brings sultry sex appeal (along with advice for Ayaka) to Bar Kiyoko as lady-killer Jun.

Ratings:

Story — 5
Characters — 8 (+1 for Ayaka, -1 for Hiroko)
Production — 7 (the subtitles are occasionally clunky)
Service — 4
LGBTQ — 10
Overall — 7

Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko, 2nd Stage provides a satisfying ending to the story of Ayaka and Hiroko, but it takes its sweet time getting there. Fans of season 1 should expect less comedy, more angst, and increased frustration at Hiroko’s cluelessness and self-delusion.





There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… Light Novel, Volume 2

August 8th, 2025

Two girls stand back to back, saluting the viewer with V signs. One girl has very long black hair, the other has collar-length pink hair. They both smile at us.by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

Volume 2 of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… opens with Mai announcing that Renako is her fiancée at a fancy dinner party, much to Renako’s surprise and horror. Despite this, after that prologue, Mai is almost a side character in most of this volume, as we get to know another member of the friend group/harem. This volume focuses almost entirely on Koto Satsuki, who is featured on the cover alongside Renako, and is called Satsuki-san at this point in the story. In Volume 1 we find out that Satsuki has a crush on Renako, but also that her relationship with Mai is more complicated than it first appears. Satsuki describes their relationship as “toxic friends” and also says that “The number one reason why I stay with her (Mai) is that it gives me the opportunity to see her in distress.” Hopefully, this volume will dive into this in more detail.

We also know that after Mai assaults Renako in volume 1, she confesses everything she’s done to Satsuki in an attempt to soothe her guilt. Satsuki is less than sympathetic, and we still don’t really understand her motivations or why she has a crush on Renako. Is it jealousy or does she simply want what Mai has? It turns out to be a little more complicated than that, she wants to date Renako as a way to get revenge on Mai. In classic harem protagonist style, Renako is manipulated into dating Satsuki for 2 weeks. Never mind the fact she’s still technically dating Mai.

Satsuki though, has a secret of her own. She has an after school job at a fancy doughnut shop which Renako and her sister end up discovering, and it turns out there’s more to Satsuki-san than meets the eye. Satsuki invites Renako back to her house after work, and we find that she’s an only child, raised by a single mother and works to try and support herself and her mother and the perfect facade is just that, a facade. She clearly still doesn’t trust Renako very much, but the fact she’s brought a friend home for the first time since starting high school shows that there’s maybe some cracks appearing in that defensive wall.

Harems of course live and die on the strength of their characters, and I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying this series. Renako is understandably utterly bewildered by this whole situation she finds herself in, and the way things are going so far I could genuinely see this ending up in a poly situation. And if it does, I respect that choice, because why have one girlfriend when you can have many? As long as everyone involved is happy and consenting, bring it on. I’m also looking forward to Volume 3 because Ajisai is on the cover and I hope this means we see more of her and her relationship with Renako as I enjoyed her section of volume 1.

Ratings: 

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 8 The side characters are still more interesting than Mai.
Service – 6
Yuri – 7
Harem – 8

Overall – 7.5 I found this volume more interesting than the first one because Satsuki is a genuinely interesting character and I still have no idea what her true motives are.





Bad Girl Anime, streaming on HIDIVE

July 30th, 2025

Six high girls in school girl outfits in various poses. A multi-colored logo said “Bad Girl.”

by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

Your butt is mine, gon’ tell ya right

So opens Michael Jackson’s 1987 mega-hit “Bad”. I’ve always found this line risible, like a 7-year-old trying to sound cool. Don’t get me wrong, the song is a certified banger, but no amount of buckles or hip-thrusts were going to convince me that MJ knew how to throw down.

Even less convincing is Yuu Yuutani, the titular so-called Bad Girl,streaming on HIDIVE. You see, she wears earrings (that are actually paper clips)! And she doodles on the bus window! That will definitely catch the attention of her beloved senpai and public morals committee member, Atori Mizutori, won’t it? Turns out she’s very bad and being…well, bad. But despite this, she gets her wish, as Atori finds herself fascinated with this small scared animal who follows her around.

Every character is an easily identifiable archetype: we have the socially inept lead; the grumpy gyaru best friend with a crush; the conceited clout-seeking cutesy girl; and the well-admired and respected senpai. Not much in the way of surprises here, although aside from the “school idol” girl they are likeable enough.

Nothing about Atori’s sudden interest in Yuu makes a lick of sense aside from the fact that there wouldn’t be a premise without it. You can’t look at Bad Girl and expect anything resembling verisimilitude or character growth—it’s simply a vehicle to deliver well-worn jokes around our lead struggling to communicate yet failing upwards. There is also a layer of lewdness to the gags that feel very calculated, starting with the OP that includes several moments of our cast posing with each other in the nude for no reason.

The animation is solid, the comedic timing is tight and punchy. It’s a well-executed version of what it is: a gag manga adaptation with few fresh ideas. To paraphrase Wesley Snipes: it ain’t bad.

Art – Cutesy. Very cutesy
Story – Goofy and fluffy
Characters – Here just to be silly
Service – Kya-hoo out of 10
Yuri – Should’ve called this series Down Bad Girl

Overall – It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly great either

You can watch this series on HIDIVE, if you’re bad enough

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.