Toni, Cy, and Chiaki get the band back together to look back at the latest in the BanG Dream franchise, Ave Mujica! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:56 What is BanG Dream 0:08:32 The writing 0:13:14 Differences from MyGo! 0:18:29 Songs serving the story 0:22:51 Reasons to create art 0:29:33 Camp 0:33:58 Uika 0:40:34 Intrusive thoughts 0:44:48 Mutsumi 0:47:48 Pluralism 0:55:21 Trauma dumping 1:02:32 Sakiko 1:13:31 Hopes for the sequel 1:15:15 Favorite music 1:18:59 Outro Toni: https://bsky.app/profile/kuu-hime...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 20 min
Vrai, Peter, and Tony gather to check-in on the Spring 2025 season with a lot of nice titles and a few that are perhaps taking on way too many concepts outside of their scope. 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:18 A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof 0:07:25 Mono 0:08:33 Food for the Soul 0:11:43 The Beginning After the End 0:12:06 Apocalypse Hotel 0:15:20 TO BE HERO X 0:21:23 Lazarus 0:27:45 Kowloon Generic Romance 0:39:47 The Gorilla God’s Go-To Girl 0:40:25 The Too-Perfect Saint 0:43:17 Rock is a Lady’s Mo...
May 19, 2025•1 hr 14 min
The classic AniFem combo of Dee, Caitlin, and Vrai get together to talk about the standout anime of 2025 Winter and AOTY hopeful, a meta throwback to ‘90s shojo isekai, ZENSHU! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:25 Background 0:03:38 Production 0:06:51 Personal experiences 0:09:54 Sub and dub 0:12:59 The beginning 0:13:50 ‘90s shojo isekai vibes 0:16:43 Adult isekai 0:18:44 Industry conditions vs individual relationship with art narrative 0:23:18 Destiny and Memmeln 0:36:00 Natsuko drawing from her inspirations...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Tony, Vrai, and Peter return to conquer the nadir of the Monogatari series so they can enjoy Tony's promised greater pastures in Neko White and Black. Enjoy all our thoughts on the infamous toothbrush scene! 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:52 Why are we doing this? 0:05:55 It’s not good 0:06:46 Vrai and Tony see the egg GIF 0:07:36 Obligatory Senjougahara glazing 0:12:47 Karen’s place in the narrative 0:16:06 What’s Hanakawa up to? 0:19:49 Mayoi’s moments 0:25:18 The toothbrush scene actually isn’t that bad ...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Dee, Tony, and Peter return to reflect on the 2025 Winter Season’s new anime as well as its many many many many MANY sequels! 0:00:00 Intro Red Flags 0:01:18 OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying Neutral Zone 0:05:48 Sorairo Utility It’s Complicated 0:07:09 I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time Feminist Potential 0:09:14 ZENSHU 0:11:16 Medalist 0:19:58 Honey Lemon Soda 0:28:57 From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad...
Apr 05, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Caitlin, Colleen, and Megan return to complete their rewatch of the Magic Knight Rayearth anime! 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:49 Content Warning: Grief and loss 0:02:33 Production 0:04:09 Mech designs 0:08:11 New songs 0:10:03 The writing 0:13:01 Personal reactions 0:14:52 Lantis x Eagle x Hikaru 0:16:32 Plot Mess 0:24:25 Umi romance 0:26:27 Umi and Fuu have nothing to do 0:33:19 Anime vs manga ending 0:38:18 Themes + motifs 0:44:49 Value of shojo 0:49:23 Shojo mecha 0:50:46 Contradictions 0:55:36 Final t...
Mar 15, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Caitlin, Colleen, and Megan return to review the first half of Magic Knight Rayearth’s second season! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:55 New writer 0:05:54 Major changes in second season 0:09:38 Narrative passivism 0:12:32 The dub 0:15:28 Differences from the manga 0:17:16 New designs 0:19:15 New music 0:20:51 Eagle Vision 0:28:26 Aska 0:30:13 Tatra and Tarta 0:35:14 The anti-monomyth 0:38:10 Trauma 0:39:56 Alcyone 0:43:42 Nova and Lady Debonaire 0:47:39 Hikaru as protagonist 0:50:28 The people? 0:55:34 Fina...
Mar 08, 2025•59 min
Dee, Tony, and Peter team up to check-in on the A to ZENSHU of 2025 Winter anime, discussing the surprisingly top-heavy season! 0:00:00 Intro Red Flags 0:01:45 OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She's Saying Yellow Flags 0:07:02 Sakamoto Days Neutral Zone 0:11:40 Sorairo Utility It's Complicated 0:13:19 I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time Feminist Potential 0:19:27 Medalist 0:31:05 Honey Lemon Soda 0:40:47 From Bureauc...
Feb 13, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Due to some technical issues with the first episode audio, Caitlin jumps into part 2 of a watchalong of Magic Knight Rayearth with special guests Megan and Colleen 0:00:00 Intro (special note) 0:02:21 Sub vs Dub 0:08:35 The story so far 0:11:30 Greatest anime betrayals 0:16:30 Visuals and pacing 0:19:38 Ferio 0:21:51 Caldina 0:23:40 Zagato 0:25:36 Inouva 0:29:58 Individuality in isekai 0:38:31 Girlhood and innocence 0:45:53 Womanhood and villainy 0:48:04 Romance 0:51:38 Final thoughts 0:53:23 Ou...
Jan 31, 2025•56 min
Alex, Cy, and Peter return to close out 2024 by wrapping up the Fall season, including a number of shojo titles and some surprise shonen favorites! 0:00:00 Intro Red Flags 0:01:56 Yakuza Fiance 0:09:11 The Do-Over Damsel Yellow Flags 0:11:49 TsumaSho 0:14:04 I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History Neutral Zone 0:15:01 Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 0:20:40 Negative Positive Angler 0:24:00 Demon Lord 2099 0:27:15 Acro Trip It’s Complicated 0:30:41 Ranma remake 0:36:16 Nina the Starr...
Jan 05, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Caitlin, Cy, and Anime Herald’s Samantha get together to look back at a unique anime featuring adult romance and the consequences of burnout, Recovery of an MMO Junkie! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:20 Synopsis 0:03:48 The why 0:06:05 The controversy 0:11:15 Relatability 0:24:05 Similarities to Isekai 0:36:45 The gender of it all 0:44:02 Queering het 0:46:20 Koiwai 0:50:03 Moriko’s presentation 0:56:08 Final thoughts 1:01:19 Outro Caitlin: https://bsky.app/profile/alltsunnodere.bsky.social Cy: https://bsky...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Toni and Cy meet to discuss Anime Feminists core values and our plans going forward post-election. 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:40 Not throwing anyone away 0:10:36 Safe place to express and explore community 0:14:47 How we discovered Anime Feminist 0:26:40 How anime helps and has helped us 0:47:35 Why we create these communities 1:03:19 Recommendations 1:15:10 Outro Toni: https://bsky.app/profile/poetpedagogue.bsky.social Cy: https://bsky.app/profile/pixelatedlenses.bsky.social AniFem Linktree: https://li...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Alex, Cy, and Peter check in on the 2024 Fall season’s surprising number of magical girls, enjoyable het romances, and girls hitting the sailor moon pose! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:41 Yakuza Fiance 0:09:46 The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 0:15:07 TsumaSho 0:16:39 I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History 0:18:12 Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 0:24:56 Negative Positive Angler 0:28:23 Acro Trip 0:31:01 Ranma 1/2 0:38:38 Nina the Starry Bride 0:46:34 Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 17 min
The fantastic LOOK BACK, based on Fujimoto Tatsuki's one-volume manga, is available on streaming as of today! Toni, Caitlin, and Peter got together to talk about burnout, relationships with creative peers, and grappling with mourning. Check out the rest of this episode or read the transcript at our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/animefeminist
Nov 07, 2024•12 min
Vrai, Cy, and Chiaki gather to talk self-actualization and automobiles for the final episode of their Revolutionary Girl Utena watchalong covering the Adolescence of Utena film! 0:00:00 Intro 0:04:04 Content warnings 0:04:29 Colorism and Anthy 0:10:08 Standalone or sequel? 0:12:36 Chiho Saito manga 0:13:42 First touch 0:14:33 Akio 0:21:11 Sexual assault 0:23:17 General horniness 0:26:29 Toga 0:30:10 Shiori 0:33:52 Kissing 0:39:35 The car 0:48:44 Epilogue 0:54:15 Where’s Nanami? 0:56:03 Reflectio...
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Vrai, Caitlin, and Peter wrap-up the 2024 Summer season with a number of romcoms with good to questionable execution… 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:56 No Longer Allowed in Another World 0:03:17 VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 0:03:41 Pseudo-Harem 0:07:22 Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 0:08:36 SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary 0:11:41 The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible 0:12:04 My Deer Friend Nokotan...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Take a peek into what's happening over on our bonus feed! Last year on Patreon, Toni talked about their feelings on Made in Abyss season 2 and how it explores abuse survivor narratives. But there's a lot more to dig into. So Vrai and Lizzie did their homework, and now we've got a full season retrospective for your listening/reading pleasure. Wanna hear the rest, or read the transcript? Just head over to https://www.patreon.com/animefeminist
Oct 01, 2024•11 min
Vrai, Peter, and Toni look back the anime adaptation of Inio Asano’s sapphic apocalypse, Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction! 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:28 Also there’s a manga 0:03:11 Spoiler warning 0:04:09 Content warning 0:04:29 Content vs tone 0:07:41 Anime vs manga 0:10:12 Oba and the aliens 0:17:34 Facism, colonialism, the military industrial complex, and corporate complicity 0:22:14 Activism and futility 0:28:13 Kenichi and Hiroshi 0:30:29 Collective vs individual action 0:35:21 Kenichi by way...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Vrai, Chiaki, and Cy return to wrap up the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series. Revelations are had. Tears are shed. Only the movie remains. 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:47 Reactions 0:03:58 Utena’s place in queer media 0:0838 Juri’s line: “Pure” vs “genuine” 0:14:43 Anthy’s storyline / rewatchability 0:16:44 Portrayal of race / WOC as the universal scapegoat 0:25:04 The stabbing 0:33:56 Akio 0:39:23 Anthy’s transformation / Utena’s realization 0:45:30 Movie expectations 0:49:31 Final thoughts? 0:52:26 Tra...
Sep 02, 2024•57 min
Vrai, Caitlin, and Peter convene to discuss the current state of the 2024 Summer anime season! 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:20 VTuber Legend 0:05:25 Pseudo-Harem 0:08:01 The Elusive Samurai 0:14:34 Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 0:17:44 Wistoria: Wand and Sword 0:19:29 The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord’s Army Was a Human 0:20:04 SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary 0:22:12 Ramen Akaneko 0:26:27 Quality Assurance in Another World 0:28:44 The Ossan Newbie Adventurer 0:30:23 My Deer Friend ...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Things are heating up, both narratively and literally, as Vrai, Cy, and Chiaki return to peak trauma with Part 4 of our Revolutionary Girl Utena watchalong! 0:00:00 Intros 0:01:51 State of the retrospective 0:03:58 Initial impressions 0:05:05 Juri 0:13:25 Akio 0:15:30 What is Touga doing? 0:20:41 Nanami 0:25:36 Episode 33 0:37:43 Anthy and Akio 0:44:17 Prejudice, exoticism, and Anthy 0:55:18 Utena’s memory 1:04:24 Outros Vrai: bsky.app/profile/writervrai.bsky.social Cy: bsky.app/profile/pixelate...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Alex, Toni, and Peter return to wrap-up the 2024 Spring anime season! 0:00:00 Intros 0:01:50 Mysterious DIsappearances 0:06:09 Train to the End of the World 0:09:54 Tonari no Yokai-san 0:10:28 Go Go! Loser Ranger 0:10:56 Kaiju No. 8 0:13:47 WIND BREAKER 0:18:28 Tadaima Okaeri 0:24:00 Spice and Wolf 0:25:39 Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night 0:36:11 YATAGARASU 0:39:35 Whisper Me a Love Song 0:43:00 A Condition Called Love 0:50:04 Black Butler 0:52:46 DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION 0:58:19 D...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Dee, Peter, and Vrai join together to share some of their favorite historical manga! 0:00:00 Intros 0:02:15 Fast Pitch: Goodbye, My Rose Garden - Dee 0:04:02 Two to Mango (Side A): House of Five Leaves - Dee, Vrai 0:13:30 Love It Or Loan It: Golden Kamuy - Peter 0:23:46 Antique Roadshow: The Rose of Versailles - Dee 0:30:53 Team Huddle: Innocent - Peter, Vrai, Dee 0:39:20 Bless This Mess: Requiem of the Rose King - Vrai 0:52:18 Two to Mango (Side B): A Bride’s Story - Dee, Peter 1:03:11 Hit Me W...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Toni, Vrai, and Peter return to their Monogatari watchalong with the ultra-violent 3-part movie trilogy Kizumonogatari! 0:00:00 Intros 0:01:25 Watch order 0:02:25 Suffering and gore 0:06:20 Visual style 0:12:35 Impressions 0:15:44 Hanekawa 0:22:35 Araragi’s savior complex 0:28:14 THAT scene 0:36:44 Sexualizing Hanekawa and Shinobu 0:41:33 Ending 0:44:44 Self-sacrifice vs self-destructiveness 0:47:41 Bodily autonomy 0:51:37 Scars/bonds 0:53:17 Edgelord deconstruction 0:55:52 Vampire mythology 0:5...
Jun 10, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Alex, Toni, and Peter check in on a number of eyebrow-raising romances and some science fiction series with big but as-of-yet unrealized potential in the Spring 2024 season! 0:00:00 Intros 0:02:05 DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION Red Flags 0:08:31 Mysterious Disappearances Neutral Zone 0:11:36 Train to the End of the World 0:16:54 Tonari no Yokai-san 0:18:14 Kaiju No. 8 It’s Complicated 0:26:26 Tadaima, Okaeri 0:36:19 Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF 0:40:34 Jellyfish Can’t Swim...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Toni, Vrai, and Peter return for Nadeko Snake and Tsubasa Cat, talk about examination versus exploitation, and anguish over the now-unfinished streaming status of the series. 0:00:00 Intros 0:01:39 Lost media 0:02:59 Ranking OPs 0:08:53 Sexual assault imagery 0:11:18 Tsubasa cat 0:21:08 Apparitions and metaphors 0:27:05 Hanekawa’s victimization 0:30:58 Nadeko Snake 0:35:54 Dramatic reading 0:44:46 Araragi and Senjogahara’s date 0:53:18 The Oshino question 0:57:02 Pacing, temporarily, and influen...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Vrai, Peter, and Alex take a much delayed look back on the 2024 Winter anime season where some of our bottom titles managed to pull out some good content before the end and top titles that took an absolute nosedive in the second half. 0:00:00 Intros Red Flags 0:02:11 The Witch and the Beast Yellow Flags 0:06:49 BUCCHIGIRI?! Neutral Zone 0:12:52 Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord 0:15:11 ‘Tis Time for Torture, Princess 0:16:36 7th Time Loop: The Villainess En...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Toni leads Vrai and Peter on a watchalong through the first 8 episodes of the late ‘00s collaboration between NIsioisin and Studio SHAFT that was as infamous as it was influential, Bakemongatari! 0:00:00 Intros 0:00:54 Toni’s justification for doing this 0:02:53 Bakemonogatari in the anime zeitgeist 0:10:34 Copycats 0:14:22 Visual style 0:22:53 Hanekawa 0:25:00 The male gaze and Ararai’s ahoge 0:28:58 Senjougahara’s sexuality 0:35:52 Portrayal of sexual abuse 0:38:22 Mayoi Snail (briefly) 0:41:0...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Vrai, Cy, and Chiaki return to cover the conclusion of the Black Rose arc, the beginning The End of the World, and Akio being both the worst and relentlessly sexy on convertibles. 0:00:00 Intros 0:01:03 Content warnings 0:02:08 Feelings 0:05:59 Keiko 0:09:46 Mikage 0:22:45 End of the World 0:29:02 Akio 0:32:36 Cycles of abuse 0:35:49 Kozue and Daddy Longlegs 0:41:30 Anthy and Utena 0:45:17 Nanami 0:49:10 Toga 0:56:34 Ohtori’s OSHA compliance 0:59:12 Outro Vrai: bsky.app/profile/writervrai.bsky.s...
Mar 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Cy, and Chiaki, and Vrai return and dive into the Black Rose Saga, the importance of the secondary cast, and Anthy's deepening characterization. 0:00:00 Intros 0:02:34 Content Warnings 0:03:09 Note on translation 0:05:05 Catching Up 0:07:00 The economic bubble 0:08:37 Filler 0:11:52 Nanami episode 0:14:22 Anthy 0:24:15 Symbolism 0:26:52 Adult content 0:29:12 Shiori 0:38:53 Wakaba 0:41:00 Saionji 0:46:30 The Onion Prince 0:53:25 The death tower? 0:55:36 Next time… 0:57:34 Outro Vrai: bsky.app/pro...
Mar 05, 2024•59 min
