Every week, I visit over 205 anime sites looking for posts that celebrate amazing moments in anime or otherwise blow me away with their wit and charm. These are my five favorite posts for the week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
You can see a list of the sites I check here: Massive List of Sites!
AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog
Witch Hat Atelier Episode 5
We’re to the point in Witch Hat Atelier where I’m starting to get nervous. I remember other shows that started strong, only to crash, burn, explode, and fling shrapnel all over the place (*cough* Metallic Rouge *cough*). Fortunately, at least as of this episode, Witch Hat Atelier is doing all the things an engaging story should do. Like what? To answer that, please let me direct your attention to this post by Eva on the site AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog. Eva’s keen eye provided plenty of great examples of why the episode worked. Her enthusiasm was contagious, too! Go see if you agree!
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Anime Feminist
Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era – Movie Review
Even though I have little time to keep up with anything, much less entertainment, I just completed another rewatch of Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray. I intend to induct it into the Caw of Fame at some point — assuming I can stop watching it long enough. It’s very different from the early franchise installments like Uma Musume: Pretty Derby. But it’s a lot like the movie Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era. This review by Alex Henderson on the site Anime Feminist not only reminded me of that. The review also re-introduced me to some of my favorite characters from the Uma Musume universe — like Agnes Tachyon and Manhattan Cafe (whose figures are on my shelf even as I type this). Want a reason to get into the Uma Musume universe? Then this is the post for you!
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Arum Journal
Witch Hat Atelier Episode 5 Review – Dousing The Dragon
We’ve already established that Witch Hat Atelier is humming along nicely. But maybe you’re not convinced. Maybe you need another enthusiastic and insightful review to firm up your confidence. Well, I found the perfect post for you! ecargmura, on the site Arum Journal, laid our why the episode was so entertaining from her perspective. Sure, you might already know the show’s entertaining, but you know what? This post is still a blast to read! And it’s fun to share our enjoyment of a show like this.
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Confessions of an Overage Otaku
Oh, So Trope-ical: The Brainiac
I’m plotting a new book series right now, so character and plot concepts haunt me. Seriously. I can’t get away from them. Just a few minutes ago, I realized that one of my point of view (POV) characters needs a better foe (a faux foe, as it will turn out), so I have to undo some of the work I’ve akready done and stitch it back together. Now, if I knew as much about story construction as The Overage Otaku, on the site Confessions of an Overage Otaku, then maybe I could have gotten it right the first time! Want evidence he knows what he’s talking about? Then check out this analysis of the Brainiac trope from the perspective of a walking encyclopedia on story craftsmanship!
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Thorough Watch
Re:Zero Episode 70 (Season 4 Episode) Analysis + Important Details
Are you watching Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4? You might be surprised to hear that I’ve kept up with this season so far. No, really! I love the series — its lore, it characters, and the tremendous attention it pays to details. Though, to be honest, I sometimes get lost in the intersection of all of the above. But fear not! As you can see in this post on Thorough Watch, anicritic has done the intellectual heavy lifting to tease apart all those details and explain what they mean. If you’re interested in a deep dive — and I do mean deep! — then this is the perfect post for you!
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Want to Read More of My Favorite Anime Post Lists?
Want to explore more amazing anime blog posts? Check out the previous editions of My Favorite Anime Community Posts!
Want to Read Favorite Posts from Other Sites?
- Lesley’s Anime and Manga Corner: Anime and Light Novel Blog Posts That Caught My Eye This Week (May 1, 2026)
- Phoenix Talks Pop Culture Japan: April 2026 Monthly Favorites
TCrow, another thing I may have failed to catch on my first watch is that before Subaru and the group received the second exam message and before Reid appeared, we got the same visual effect as when Subaru’s soul was dragged into Typhon’s Book of the Dead, so this suggests that the souls of the group’s members were pulled to where this Reid is, who’s likely a soul clone of the orignal Reid, so this should be another dimension entirely with this Reid having been stuck in stasis or something given he was all groggy and didn’t know what was happening.
TCrow, I noticed I had missed one possibility for the Books of the Dead and didn’t include all my reasoning for why I concluded what I did, so I’ll be pasting my updated content here for you. Sometimes I assume everyone will just understand me without my providing all the info, so I apologize for that.
I had missed one scenario in that both Al and Subaru only have one book with the difference in expression of this possibility being whether Subaru’s book only covers the canon successful loops until his death or all that he’s ever experienced given Al’s power is likely not re-creating the world.
Personally, I lean towards the Scenario #1 being completely unviable given the whole point of Re:Zero is Subaru looping to push forward the world to a good state given how the whole point of the Books of the Dead is to record the experiences of those who have died, and as for the rest, all of them have some level of plausibility to me. I’ll explain why that would be the case for each of those other scenarios.
Scenario #2 has some plausibility if the world recognizes all of Subaru’s successful loops up until his most recent death given there’s a straight line of action up until that point. This scenario would suggest that after Return by Death is used, the world is re-created to the point Subaru loops back to, which goes against there being alternate timelines. In this scenario, the Books of the Dead are not tied to Echidna’s Authority, which is something I dislike since I believe these books are tied to her Authority.
I believe Scenario #3 is more likely than Scenario #2 given I believe the Books of the Dead are partially a by-product of Echidna’s Authority in conjunction with yin magic since if Echidna’s Tome of Wisdom in the Dream Castle could see all possible futures it most certainly can see the history of all previously destroyed worlds I believe once existed as part of the cycle of the world being destroyed by the Witch of Envy and reconstructed that I propose is happening, so Subaru, if he is partially a by-product of Echidna’s Authority would of course have a Book of the Death that can update itself after each death, and this scenario would also suggest that the world is re-created after Subaru loops back, retaining all of the history of Subaru’s lived experience.
Scenario #4 could indicate that alternate timelines are being created after Subaru loops, and it has some plausibility for now given Subaru’s second Sanctuary Trial showed what happened if the world continued during the unsuccessful loops in which he died. Echidna had said that only Satella would know if they were real, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a lie, and it’s actually Echidna herself who knew whether those timelines were real ’cause of her Authority due to it being able to draw upon all information that ever existed in the past and present and could exist in the future. Given that trial was important to Subaru not treating his life as a throwaway in his quest for a good loop, it’d thematically not be a bad idea for Scenario #4 to be the case. As for why only Subaru, and perhaps Al, has multiple books in this scenario, he’s the one looping, so his books would go with him when he loops since souls are the seat of memories in Re:Zero and with these books containing the memories of a person, it was information gleaned from actual souls themselves.
My Scenario #5 is different than Scenario #4 in that for this one Subaru, and perhaps Al, having multiple books is moreso due to him having been partially created as a by-product by Echidna’s Authority. In this scenario, it’s not that there are alternate timelines but that the world is re-created after Subaru loops, and given this scenario jives with my belief that the Books of the Dead are partially a result of Echidna’s Authority, I’m more partial to it than most of the other scenarios.
Scenario #6 differs from the rest in that both Al and Subaru only have one book with the difference in expression of this possibility being whether Subaru’s book only covers the canon successful loops until his death or all that he’s ever experienced given Al’s power is likely not re-creating the world. This scenario can be congruent with the Books of the Dead partially being a result of Echidna’s Authority for one of its possible expressions, so I’m partial to it to an extent.
Scenario #7 differs from the rest in that I believe Al has multiple books ’cause his power allows him to cheat death, probably without re-creating the world, given Subaru hadn’t died in the canon successful loop of Season 3, but Subaru would only have one book in this case as was the case with Scenarios #2 and #3 although it has two ways of expressing itself given I draw upon two previous scenarios. This scenario is also congruent. This scenario’s also fully consistent with the Books of the Dead in part being a product of Echidna’s Authority, so I’m also partial to one expression of it.
TCrow, here’s the link to my write-up for Episode 71 (Season 4 Episode 5): https://thoroughwatch.org/?p=247
I also added the Break Time short to the end of the write-up much like I did for the previous episode.
Thanks for the shout-out, TCrow. I believing catching the allusion to Atlas carrying the night sky with Shaula carrying Patrasche being indicative of the burden on Shaula over the last four hundred years is some of the best sleuthing I’ve ever done.
Something I didn’t go into detail about in my last write-up is why Shaula said, “Again?” in reference to her believing her master had forgotten many memories again. I had no sleep Thursday night, so my mind was pretty knackered yesterday. Instead of editing my last write-up, I decided to make a new write-up entirely since that lone remark could be enough for a whole post itself.
Here’s the link to it:
https://thoroughwatch.org/?p=243
You’re welcome!
And maybe I was a bit arrogant in naming the title of this recent post since I realized I missed three distinct possibilities in that Al visited Pleiades Watchtower both when he was the Hero of the story and after he was re-summoned into the current world, Flügel losing his memories for some reason four hundred years in addition to any of the four distinct Al possibilities, and also Kenichi losing his memories in addition to any of the four distinct Al possibilities, since Flügel and Kenichi losing their memories doesn’t mean that Al didn’t either at some point. I’ll have to do a correction to my post on the double.
And after having posted what I did, I realized I still missed two more distinct possibilities:
1. Flügel having lost his memories for some reason 400 years ago, and then after he returned to Earth to split his soul and make Subaru and Al heroes, Kenichi also returned returned to the fantasy world and lost his memories with an oath or straight up memory modification being the reason Shaula said that she’d been waiting for four hundred years.
2. Flügel lost his memories for some reason 400 years ago, and then after he returned to Earth to split his soul and make Subaru and Al heroes, Kenichi also returned returned to the fantasy world and lost his memories with any of the four Al possibilities being on the table with an oath or memory modification being the reason Shaula said that she’d been waiting for four hundred years.
Maybe I need to get off my high horse and think things through completely instead of needing to make multiple corrections.
Yes! The post by Confessions of an Over Aged Otaku was really good. I learned a lot about why a brainiac character works and how in some cases it kind of doesn’t. It was really interesting to see how story crafting mechanics works, and why. These kinds of posts always help me with my own writing and also lets me enjoy my favorite anime even more.