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Taki Takenosuke's Walking Time is very short, and not a lot happens in it. You can read the entire manga in about an hour.

And yet, it's such a relaxing, charming story that I can't help but love it.

We follow Taki Takanosuke, an elderly gentleman who enjoys taking leisurely strolls around town. On his walks, he meets with various people, learning about them and just spending time with them. There's such a genuine warmth and friendliness to these interactions, and it makes me hope that I myself can be such a friendly old man someday.

We learn a bit about Taki's past as well, and it really ... helps round him out as a character. By the end of the series, I really liked this delightful old man.

For a mere 21-chapter story, the manga makes good use of its limited time, and tells a compelling story with likable characters.

If you want a good short-but-sweet manga, give this one a read.

One of the most iconic anime characters of all time got his TV debut here, and what a great start it was.

The original Lupin III anime is a nonstop thrill ride, full of case chases, shootouts, heists, and cool fight scenes that still hold up over 50 years later. This show is - to put it simply - the epitome of "cool." But it's also not so high on its own hype that it's totally self-serious or humorless either; Quite the opposite, as Lupin III is jam-packed with comedy, and nearly every episode manages to make me laugh out loud at least once.

The premise is ... simple: Arsene Lupin III, the grandson of the famous thief Arsene Lupin, goes on a different self-contained adventure in each of this show's 23 episodes. Some of them are attempts to steal a magnificent treasure, some are duels with rival criminals, some involve shaking off the dogged Inspector Zenigata - but all of them make great use of Lupin's clever thinking and resourcefulness as he outwits his foes. And that's a huge part of what makes the show so fun; Lupin usually wins not by brute force or sheer determination, but by playing it smart. (Of course, he is not perfect, and sometimes loses the treasure he's after - which just makes the times he does win all the more special, since it's never a foregone conclusion if he'll succeed.)

One major thing about Part 1 is the tonal shift that occurs about 7 episodes in. The first few episodes - directed by Masaaki Osumi - were more dark and moody, having more of a foreboding atmosphere. Osumi was replaced with Hayao Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli fame) who reworked Lupin into the more lighthearted, zany series it's mainly known for today. Lupin himself shifts from being more of a straight-up villain to... well, still a villain (he is a thief, after all), but more of a goofy, likable villain with a heart of gold. And it is this characterization of Lupin that would persist through (almost) every subsequent project featuring the master thief for the next five decades.

While some parts of this series may feel a bit strange compared to Lupin's later outings, I do think it still holds up remarkably well, and is absolutely worth the watch. If you're already a fan of Lupin, or want to get into the series but don't know where to start, Part 1 is a great time. I highly recommend it.

Super Crooks is an incredibly fun short series about a bunch of super-powered criminals.

In only 13 episodes, we get a jewel heist, a high-speed car chase, a prison break, a complex stealth operation, and plenty more. It's nonstop action with good variety, and some pretty cool uses of the various villains' unique powers.

The characters themselves are pretty likable. Johnny Bolt - the main character - is cocky, egotistical, and a bit reckless; but he's a genuinely smart, good-hearted dude that you just want to root for, despite his flaws. His relationship with Kasey is honestly really well done, and Kasey herself is a really well-written ... character in her own right.

The rest of the crew are a lot of fun too. I particularly liked the Heat, an old retired supervillain who comes back for one last job - a chance to get filthy rich by assembling a crew of bad guys with specialized abilities. He's a great mentor character who's still got some bite to him.

While there are better heist anime out there (this show is no Lupin III by any means), Super Crooks is still a fun 13 episodes and doesn't wear out its welcome.

There are a few minor nitpicks:

- I don't really think Johnny's origin story as a wannabe hero was particularly necessary or added much to the story. It only takes up the first episode, but I feel like it could be cut without losing much.

- Johnny Bolt looks *way* less cool when he shaves his beard for the final arc.

But eh, other than that, it's a fun series. I definitely recommend it.

Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department is a series about an evil organization that wants to take over the world - specifically, their branch of scientists who create monsters to fight the heroes! We follow the misadventures of Kuroitsu and the various monsters she creates.

This is such a fun premise, and for the most part, the show delivers on this potential spectacularly. The evil organization Agastia is set up like a typical company - with executives, financial oversight, shell companies, etc. While world domination is their ultimate goal, it's clear that the day-to-day of running a business is also a major part of their ... operations. This alone provides a ton of fun stories and is rife with great comedy.

The characters are really fun. Kuroitsu herself is smart and focused - but she has a bit of an ego, and can still get carried away with her ambitions at times, which elevates her from a typical cute nerd girl into a proper mad scientist. What I like about Kuroitsu is that she has a genuine love for the monsters she creates. They're not just minions or products or a way for her to get ahead in Agastia; They're her beloved creations, her children in a sense. I like how, despite being a villain, she's so truly compassionate to her creations. The total package is that Kuroitsu is a remarkably well-realized character for such a short anime (it's only 12 episodes); she's legitimately cool and competent, but also funny and flawed, and has that very human pathos to her that makes her both very entertaining and very easy to root for.

The supporting cast is just as great. Agastia's leader, Lady Akashic, is a supremely childish woman who's obsessed with cuteness (one wonders what the world would be like if she ever successfully took it over), and is aided by her right-hand man, the ever-comically-serious Lord Megistus. Kuroitsu's monsters range from Wolfe Bete (a male wolf whose body was changed to a woman at the last minute, much to his chagrin), Cannon (a monster developed by committee, resulting in a "too many cooks" creation), Hydra (a multi-headed monster), Mummy (an initially voiceless monster who just wants to sing), and more. All of these characters are fun and memorable in their own way. And that's not even getting into the heroes; Blader, the magical girls, the Assassin Rangers, all of these characters are fun enemies for Kuroitsu and her monsters to go up against.

At the end of the day, Miss Kuroitsu is a very funny series that has a surprising amount of heart for being a goofy parody of tokusatsu villains. I fell in love with these characters, and I hope someday the (still ongoing as of this review) manga gets a full translation, so I can experience even more fun with the evil secret organization Agastia! I highly recommend giving Miss Kuroitsu a watch.

Ranma 1/2 is recognized as an anime classic, and for good reason. It's got fun action, likable characters, and humor that still holds up decades later.

Importantly, Ranma is (aside from the occasional callback or new character) a mostly episodic series. There's definitely a loose overarching plot, but I feel Ranma can best be described as an "action sitcom," with most plots being self-contained little stories. This isn't a criticism; I think that Ranma works so well as a funny show to just put on and relax with.

I do think the main "romance" (if you want to call it that) between Ranma and Akane is a ... little weak. They don't get along all that well and it's hard to buy any real chemistry between the two. However, it's not a huge focus most of the time, and I think the series is still really enjoyable despite this.

If you want a wacky comedy with some cool martial arts fights thrown in for good measure, Ranma 1/2 is a great choice.

When I was in high school, I really liked Love Hina. I used to think this was a really good romance story, and genuinely wanted to see Keitaro and Naru get together. But as I've gotten older, I've really gotten harsher on this series.

Let's start with the most important aspect of a romance anime: The romance! Keitaro and Naru's relationship simply does NOT feel believable, not in the least. Naru spends 95% of the series being angry and even outright violent toward Keitaro, who in turn is kind of a wet blanket who never stands up for himself or does anything that interesting. There ... is basically zero chemistry between these two, even on the rare occasions where they're getting along. I can barely buy them as friends, much less lovers.

But I've given romance anime a pass even when I wasn't sold on the romance, like Chobits, for at least having an interesting setting and supporting cast. This is not the case with Love Hina. The side characters are all incredibly one-note, and none of them really stand out all that much. Most of them get one or two focus episodes (except Kitsune, who doesn't even get that much) and are relegated to extras most of the time. Of these side characters, Kaolla Su is probably the *most* interesting - having a mysterious past from an unknown country, and being a genius inventor who fills the series with all sorts of wacky contraptions. But even she's not a super well-realized character.

Mind you, I haven't read the manga as of writing this review. I'm willing to give the Hinata Inn crew one more chance and see if their original story is better than the anime. For this adaptation, though, I recommend passing on Love Hina.

Hinamatsuri is a short but sweet series. It's really funny and has a lot of heart to go along with its humor.

The show is about Nitta, a yakuza gangster who unexpectedly meets a girl named Hina with psychokinetic powers. While it's a bit rocky at first, Nitta comes to view Hina as his own daughter, and their relationship is really heartwarming as the series progresses.

While it's short, I really enjoyed Nitta and Hina's father-daughter relationship. Anzu's storyline of dealing with homelessness also had a lot of heart.

I enjoyed the anime (short as it was) so much that I've even started reading the (comparably much longer) ... manga, and I'm enjoying that a lot so far too!

If you want a nice quick funny anime about found family, Hinamatsuri's a good choice.

I wanted to like Comic Party. The apparent premise of this show - an amateur artist tries to make his own comic book - is interesting on paper. But in practice, we don't really get that.

Despite ostensibly being about the life of a manga author, very little about this series has anything to do with the creative process of making comics. Kazuki's job as an artist is mere background trivia in an otherwise fairly mundane slice-of-life series. Hell, we don't even really SEE his comic aside from a few brief glances at it. We have no real idea who the characters are in it or ... what it's about.

To me, that's the most frustrating aspect of this series: It skims the surface of manga artistry but doesn't look any deeper than that. We get a host of funny enough side characters (Taishi is my favorite, Kazuki's brash, over-the-top friend who pushes him into comics in the first place) - but all of them have fairly weak arcs and don't get a lot of development.

I *do* understand that this anime is based on a visual novel. And perhaps the original game is better about this? But as far as I know, it's never gotten an English translation and I've never played it. So judging only the anime here, I don't think it's entirely a bad time, but it feels like squandered potential.

If you want a better series that actually dives into the creative process (of anime rather than manga, granted), check out Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! That's a series that actually deals in detail with both the artistry and the business side of creation.

As for Comic Party, eh. I can't really recommend it.

As a huge fan of Lupin III, I was curious when I was recommended Mouse for having a similar premise: A master thief pulls off daring heists and gets chased around by a dogged inspector? Sounds like my kind of show!

Unfortunately, for all these superficial similarities, Mouse fails to capture the charm of Lupin. Sorata Muon's career as a thief is mostly background dressing for the *real* focus of the show, which is mostly just aimless, meandering fanservice scenes. Now, I have nothing against fanservice in anime (lord knows Lupin III itself had plenty), but that's all about 75% of this series is.

But since the ... show's so focused on steamy scenes, let's talk about that a bit more. Comparing this show to the series it's clearly aping -Lupin is a suave flirt, a charmer, a genuinely fun guy to be around; And yet, he still has to work to woo the ladies (and the occasional gentleman). Muon is about as interesting as a plank of wood, yet he's surrounded by women who just throw themselves at him, despite lacking any of the raw charisma and audacity of the thief he's obviously a cheap knockoff of. So we're left to watch his three mostly-interchangeable henchwomen fawn over this absolute wet blanket of human being.

Of particular note is the character of Heitaro Onizuka, the detective in charge of chasing down and arresting Mouse. He really is just, "Inspector Zenigata but not funny." I know I keep harping on how badly Mouse tries to rip off Lupin, but it's especially transparent with Onizuka.

The animation and art is lacking. The music opts for a jazzy vibe, which does fit - but none of it is particularly memorable. There are some attempts at comedy, but it's mostly trite unoriginal gags. Everything about Mouse feels stale; Like it's a worse version of a better idea.

I do want to be clear: Lupin III doesn't "own" the concept of an anime starring a master thief (it famously takes after Maurice Leblanc's novel series itself, after all). You can absolutely do a story like that with enough original elements to truly be its own thing. But Mouse either doesn't do this, or when it does, its few "original elements" are just boring and lame. By all means, I welcome other shows with a similar premise to Lupin; Mouse just fails in every regard to bring something fresh or interesting to the table.

This is one Mouse that's just not worth catching.

Chobits is an interesting look at romance between a human and an AI. The premise is interesting enough, and I really enjoyed seeing Hideki and Chii's relationship develop over the course of the series.

With that said, I'm not full sold on the romantic aspect of their relationship. Chii herself does not come across as intellectually on the same level as Hideki, and at times their relationship feels almost more paternalistic than romantic. Hideki has to take care of Chii and explain incredibly basic things to her throughout the entire series. It's to the point that - when Chii *does* eventually confess her feelings - it's ... a hard sell. I didn't find it believable that she even knew what it meant to "be in love" with someone - and on that front, I feel like the series could've spent more time developing their relationship to make me buy it a little more.

So why do I still recommend this romance series if I think the actual romance is so undercooked? Well... despite that complaint, I still think Chobits has an incredibly strong cast of characters; Both the leads are likable individually, and the supporting cast is great as well, each with their own arc that gets explored.

From Shinbo's clandestine relationships, to Yumi's conflicting feelings about Persocoms, to the the baker Mr. Ueda's own tragic backstory (which I won't dare spoil), Chobits does an excellent job of fleshing out its characters. When they're introduced, they're just Hideki's wacky friends and neighbors - we're eased into who they are with comedy first, which helps us like them better, so that when we learn more about the tragedy in their lives, we already care about them. This is character writing 101 stuff here, but Chobits does a great job of it.

Another thing I really like about Chobits is how introspective it gets about personhood and the nature of artificial intelligence. Characters will just sit and have fairly realistic conversations, and these moments - to me - are the strongest part of the series. There are entire scenes where it'll just be two characters talking for several minutes, and I feel like these conversations go to some really interesting places.

Chobits isn't perfect by any means, and you'll certainly find better love stories out there. But I felt drawn into its world and found its characters so engaging. Despite my complaints, I still think Chobits is worth watching.