Under the Kotatsu

As our time with Flying Witch comes to a close, we must ponder such important topics as ghost cafes, foxes and what sounds they make, time zones, spicy radishes, ladder etiquette, pickling, hotcake lore, and much much more. Anime Discussed: Flying Witch 7-12 Next time: Show and Tell! Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Good vibes only this episode as we've watched the first half of Flying Witch, a show that makes up for a sparse plot with good vibes and fun characters. We talk about what makes a show like this work, strange voice casting decisions, bitter foods, dog girls who don't know how good they got it, and more! Anime Discussed: Flying Witch 1-6 Next time: Flying Witch 7-12 Send us your questions! You can...

We're back to talk more about the cool giant alien man whomst fights the even cooler giant monsters. The second half of Gridman managed to wow us even more than the first half, so join us as we talk through the climax of the show, what characters we liked most, our favorite Kaiju, and all the '93 Gridman references that Austin marked out for. BABY DAN DAN. Anime Discussed: SSSS.GRIDMAN 7-12 Next t...

Access Flash! Resident toku nerd, Austin, is here to guide Danielle and Danny through Studio Trigger's 90s tokusatsu throwback show, SSSS.Gridman. We talk about the show's incredibly strong direction, its relationship to the original Hyper Agent Gridman and other tokusatsu, and how horny animators need to chill with the fan service... but mostly we're just here to talk about how capital C Cool thi...

It's our one year anniversary! We spend some time looking back on all the anime we've watched in the last year, remembering the highs and lows, and coming to the horrifying realization that a number of things we've watched are getting live-action adaptations. But before we do that, we talked about the 2016 anime blockbuster Your Name., it's place in the culture, what works and doesn't work about S...

We have arrived at the destination of fate: the end of Penguindrum. Did the ending manage to bring everything together? Or did Ikuhara leave us out to dry? Join us as we process our final thoughts on Ikuhara's messy comeback to anime. Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 19-24 Next time: Your Name. (Plus our one year anniversary!) Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu...

I'm not gonna lie. These were a rough group of episodes. At least we had a better time talking through our thoughts and feelings than we did actually watching them. Content Warnings for discussion of rape and abuse, homophobia, and sexism. Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 13-18 Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 19-24 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anim...

Strap in y'all, this one's a long one. Turns out we have A LOT to say about these middle episodes of Penguindrum. We're still a bit divided on our feelings towards the show and what it's trying to do, but we're definitely not short on things to sink our teeth into. Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 7-12 Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 13-18  Send us your questions! You can e...

Time for a new show! Danielle has picked Kunihiko Ikuhara's Penguindrum, a show with a whole lot going on in classic Ikuhara fashion. We've got things to say about what works and doesn't work about these first six episodes from both the perspective of first-time viewers and a rewatcher. Fabulous Max~! Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 1-6 Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 7-12 Send...

We've crossed the finish line on I.G.P.X which means we get to talk through our mixed opinions about the series finale, rough draft some fan fiction, gain an appreciation for cowboy chic, and finally get to the bottom of who the glizzy gulper of the IG-1 is. Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 20-26 Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotats...

Time to kick it into gear as we head into season 2 of I.G.P.X. More mechs, more races, more drama: season 2 has more of what we liked about season 1 and then some. Join us as we continue to have a good time talking about this curiosity of early 2000s Toonami programming. Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 14-19 Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 20-26 Send us your questions! You can email us at undertheko...

We're back at it to discuss the second half of the first season of I.G.P.X. These 7 episodes give us even more mecha racing action to chew on, but also more quiet downtime with Team Satomi than the first half of the season. This show also goes on to prove the old adage that Mobile Suit Gundam taught us: fencing is inherently gay. Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 7-13 Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 1...

It's time for a new show! We're watching the 2005 Production I.G and Cartoon Network co-produced mecha racing anime, I.G.P.X (Immortal Grand Prix). Strap in for high speed mechs, sports anime bullshit, katanas (both real and air), and some sick beats. Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 1-6 Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 7-13 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com o...

Well, we made it. We finished Eden of the East, but at what cost? Join us as we talk through the two movies that attempt to wrap up the series, and finally close the book on trying to figure out what the politics of this show are. Folks, it's ain't great. Anime Discussed: Eden of the East: King of Eden and Paradise Lost Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at un...

You know how last time we were all pretty split on how we each felt about Eden of the East? Well let's just say our opinions kinda converged after this batch of episodes for better or worse. Anime Discussed: Eden of the East episodes 6-11 Next time: Eden of the East: The King of Eden and Paradise Lost Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @...

Evangelion may be over (for now?), but our journey into Kenji Kamiyama's Eden of the East has only just begun! Like many of Kamiyama's works, Eden feel like it has a lot to say about society, but how much does it actually have to say in these first few episodes? It's fair to say that the three of us each feel very differently about this show so far, so join us as we unpack our various thoughts and...

Yo ho ho! It's time for a special episode! We're joined by our friend Tyler to talk about The Big Three shonen anime: Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece. We've all got a whole lot to say as we dig into what made these three shows so big and enduring. Do they hold up? What makes a good shonen anime? How is the fashion in Bleach so good? Are three swords better than one? Why is the second episode of Naru...

We've made it to the end of our journey through Madoka Magica (well, at least until Walpurgisnacht: Rising). Join us as we talk about the Rebellion movie! Is it gay? Is it good? Did Homura do anything wrong? And how much of this is Gen Urobuchi's fault? At least the transformation scenes were really good. CW: Discussions of death, and self-harm. Anime Discussed: Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie...

Well we're not done with Madoka just yet, but we ARE done with the TV series. Join us as we work through our complicated thoughts on the show before the Rebellion movie further complicates things. How much lore is too much lore? Did Homura do anything wrong? And how about that ending? CW: Discussions of death, suicide, and sexualization of minors. Anime Discussed: Puella Magi Madoka Magica episode...

It's time for Danielle's first pick, so of course we're watching something with Yuri undertones: Madoka Magica, a show with a whole lot to dig into. Is it a "deconstruction" of the magical girl genre? Is it even a magical girl show? Most importantly, is it gay? CW: Discussions of death, suicide, and sexualization of minors. Anime Discussed: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episodes 1-6 Next time: Puella...

As the One Year War comes to a close, so does our discussion of the Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movie trilogy. We're back out in space for this movie which means it's time for more mechs, more newtypes, more drama, and more space politics, but not before Austin gets to educate Danny and Danielle on Andrew W.K and his Gundam song covers. CW: General discussion of death and war Anime Discussed: M...

It's time for more Gundam! We watched the second film in the Mobile Suit Gundam compilation trilogy, and realized, hey, maybe stuffing 43 episodes into 3 two hour films isn't the best way to experience a story? Either way, we've got lots to say about Ramba Ral, son of Jimba Ral, Char's cool new mech, and the greatest knockoff Springsteen song of all time. CW: General discussion of death and war Me...

It's time for Austin's first pick, and of course they couldn't stop themself from choosing the granddaddy of modern mecha anime, Mobile Suit Gundam, and we've decided to watch the Trilogy of compilation films produced shortly after the show finished it's run on television. Are these movies a good way to experience Gundam? How much of Evangelion is borrowed from Gundam? Just how anti-war is Gundam...

After being put through the wringer by our last anime, we're very grateful to be watching something that's unquestionably good this time around. Join us as we talk our way through the first half of Ping Pong the Animation, Masaaki Yuasa's breathtaking adaptation of Taiyo Matsumoto's classic manga. CW: Brief discussions of fatphobia and racism Episodes Discussed: 1-6 Next time: Episodes 7-11 of Pin...

We've finally made it to the end of Cowboy Bebop, and you better believe we've got some hot takes. A couple more good episodes is not enough to save us from the utter mess that is the finale. Strap in for a long one as we deep dive on the last seven episodes of this "classic anime" and try to piece together where it all went wrong. CW: Discussions of Suicide, Transphobia, Racism, Misogyny.  ...