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Watch Battle Spirits Ultimate Zero. This isn't a request. This is a DEMAND. Because this is one of the finest looking and animated shows I've ever watched, even outside of card game anime. And the best part is it's also a really great show.
Tetsuya Ishikawa is a god. No other way to put it, this is an absolutely gorgeous show. The prettiest AND coolest outer space western adventure.

Rei is a great lead and they do everything to sell you on the new card type and mechanic of Ultimates, and I'm sold. I mean, how many male main characters do you know have elaborate ... transformation sequences like from a magical girl anime? To play card games? And he had a little dragon sidekick? And all they eat is pizza and cola? This is an Ultimate experience of a show. This is a childs dream come to life.

There's this very big made up myth in card game anime sphere about "the character HAS to lose, and thus get development". And that's like really silly when you think about like Yugi and Jaden.
And it's especially extremely silly with Rei. I think people have forgotten how to be cool, and that's simply why people spout random writing things like it's gospel. Cause if you're cool like Rei the Number One Star who will find the Ultimate Battle Spirits, who travels in pastel space with very geometric stars, what makes you think the bad guys are ever going to win against a henshining hero.

Just watch it, you won't regret it.

IIf you wanted a celebration of the Yugioh franchise, the Yugioh Arc V manga is your manga. And unlike the previous spinoff manga of past animes, this is a completely different story than the anime, not even trying to do parallels.

Just Yugioh Back to the Future.

Except our "Yugi" is a man who inhabits THREE additional personalities and it's every much as entertaining as you'd expect. It's kind of wild to think no one has done the "alternate personality" thing since the original Yugioh. And Phantom Yuya is the best character for it. Yuzu being the audience surrogate and a side character being a ... much better role than her "heroine" role in the anime is crazy.

I really liked the action duels in the manga vs the anime, it seems to actually utilize the fact it's a game of chance and not just ways to make anime original cards to save the MC on top of making cards that will never be real. It's a real show in the manga. And truly culminates in the best Ceremonial Duel in the series prior to Yugioh Sevens.

The Yugioh Arc V manga is heartwarming story about family and about making smiles. Genuinely wild it exists among manga that came before it, and even the ones that came after.

Back Arrow is such a fun and unique anime. A show sbout the power of conviction. Genuinely in awe this was a 2021 anime, because in some ways it feels like it could have come from the 2000s. And that's not surprising when you look at the director/writer combo here.
And the fact it was a 2 cour show? What a treat in this age if you're not a hobbyani fan.
Which is a shame cause in many ways Back Arrow is is very much hpbbyani with how mich its a playground in the best way possible.

I mean come on, cowboys vs a Chinese inspired ... empire and a European inspired kingdom and they fight by becoming mechs that are created by will???? MANIFEST ARMOR
Lingalind is an amazing setting.

And the show makes great use of how bonkers this setting is, made even better with the main lead, Back Arrow and his initially unwilling village who get wrapped up in his mystery. Oh, the weird naked man who fell from the sky with no undies. Elsha, Atlee and Bits journey with Arrow is so, the places it goes, it's really cool how even though it's his show, these 3 sometimes pick up his slack. It's a good dynamic.

And the mecha designs are REALLY good, it's a shame the show didn't do well cause I WISH we got everything and not only the first 2 robot figures.
Back Arrow's mech is such a unique lead mecha design, on top of its powers. Everything about this show is so well done and in some ways is comfort food while being endlessly inventive. And that's what a good adventure anime should be. That's what good mecha anime should be. Nothing overstays it's welcome, all the characters are utilized effectively. The fights are really good. This is such a great original anime. AND it has a LiSA op? SAO go home. This is real peak.

2.5 Dimensional Seduction is a modern shounen masterpiece.
It has the ecchi, it has the romcom, it has the cosplays, it has the drama, it has the pop culture references, it has unparallelled friendship, effort, victory. It's kinda crazy to think about where this series started to where it was 50 chapters in to where it is now 160 chapters in. The cosplay romcom battle shonen that could.

Cause 2.5 Dimensional Seduction is a manga about love, love for artists, love for fans, love for community, love for people. It's an unfiltered love letter. Love for the very Otaku world that would have you reading this ... sort of manga or play a mobile game, or cosplay. It is art that loves art, and there's nothing more beautiful than that.
And all wrapped in a story about two no boundary degenerate otaku who learn to love the world of cosplay and thus their manga club grows beyond the two of them. Way way beyond.

I love Okumura and Lilysa, it's genuinely so good how they are both the protagonists and the story masterfully switches between them and explores and utilizes their characters. Their connection over a fictional Jump manga is very endearing. They are equals. And nothing is lost as new cast members get introduced. It's genuinely awe inspiring how well put together everything is, and then when Summer Comiket hits, the ride keeps going up, and it's been far too many chapters to ask "when is it going down?"

Yu Hashimoto is an amazing mangaka. So many great expressions. So many great outfits. So many cute Nonopis. What a storyteller, what an artist.

This is a series everyone should read. If I could I'd make this mandatory reading for teenagers especially
Otaku responsibly, find a good place where you can freely express yourself, and fill yourself with love cause love is a powerful thing.
Lots of good adult things to take away from this series other than well, the ecchi.

As of this writing, the anime is about to air and go on for 2 cours, a mobile game being developed, so much merchandise being produced from many figures to a collaboration with the bandai card game Union Arena. And this is the scale of it all BEFORE airing, even more to come after?
And frankly, this review ive been wanting to write for a while now feels small compared to the push the series is now getting by production commitees, and I couldn't be any more prouder.
It's one of those rare series where everything is aligned and it's getting all the love it rightfully deserves.

Here's to this amazing manga. I can't wait to come back and say, this series was amazing all the way to the end.