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The Anime V-Day Special Returns for 2025!

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Happy Valentine’s Day~!

The time for me to bundle up against the cold and take on another highly treasured anime property is here! That’s right, we’re back at it again this year, but the flavor is a bit different for 2025. As the early part of any year tends to put me in the mood to bite down on some sci-fi anime, I can usually call this the “Sci-Fi V-Day Special.” However, after gazing at my options of interest, it seemed that I wouldn’t be able to make room for anything huge this year. In the interest of time, I was forced make a swift pivot, yet trust me when I say that I’m still excited for what 2025’s special holds.

BUT, before I make the announcement, let’s look back on the history of this homegrown tradition. Here’s a refresher for those in need!

2013 ~ Steins;Gate

2014 ~ Kokoro Connect (I think . . . )

2015 ~ Neon Genesis Evangelion

2016 ~ The Rose of Versailles (It’s not always a sci-fi watch, I know!)

2017 ~ Ghost in the Shell

2018 ~ Haikyuu!! (Again, not sci-fi!)

2019 ~ RahXephon

2020 ~ Gunbuster (PANDEMIC)

2021 ~ Gunbuster

2022 ~ *SKIPPED* (I did watch Heroic Age, though.)

2023 ~ Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo (REWATCH)

2024 ~ Trigun

This annual advent always emphasizes classic anime, those which have proven the test of time and are still beloved across many circles. With full knowledge of the time restraints AND the desire to try a slice of the easy life (or cake, whichever is served first), I’m happy to announce that this year’s V-Day Special will be . . .

2025 ~ K-On!

After the Trigun watch poster turned out so nicely, I put similar effort into designing the watch order “roadmap.” Hope y’all like it!

While K-On! hasn’t been one of those titles lingering in my physical collection amassing a thick layer of dust on its case for too long, it’s one every anime fan from the dreamy 2010s era remembers fondly. I’ve admired these silly girls and their light music club from afar for YEARS, and it’s time I sat down and truly gotten to know them.

Over the next few days, I’ll be hibernating before the TV and munching on the sweet treats. In fact, what makes this marathon so much swifter is that I purposefully chose a title I’d already started to serve as the V-Day Special. Sooo, my actual “starting point” for the holiday will be in the middle-ish of the second season. Call me a cheater, that’s fine! I’d like to think of it as being proactive!

As I spend this time recollecting myself and appreciating all the things I’ve accomplished within the past few weeks, I hope you, too, will be spending this season of love doing that which makes you happy. Whether that means enjoying time with family, friends, or a loved one, what matters most is that you find and embrace that warm, tingly feeling that makes our hearts flutter. Of course, eating something sweet is a must as well!

When next we meet, I hope I’ll be able to muster the energy to organize my thoughts on the K-On! franchise, be it in the form of a review or a more casual reflection post. Either way, it’ll be a retrospective glance at a 15-year-old anime gem. Look forward to it with passion!

IT’S FUWA FUWA TIME!!

– Takuto

A Whole Month of Evangelion! EVERYDAY EVA & Mecha March Announcement

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Hey guys!

I’m so excited to announce that I will be joining Scott (Mechanical Anime Reviews), Lita (LitaKino Anime Corner), and many other anibloggers in this year’s “Mecha March” festivities! Having been following this annual celebration since its conception several years back, I’ve been dying to participate myself as a blogger. In the past, I’d normally do my own personal mecha adventure in February (long story—it’s somewhere on the blog), but this year I decided not to marathon anything to focus on school instead.

Which is why this year I’d like to make amends for my lack of writing about anime by blogging every single day for an entire month. And the topic, of course, is the only thing I could possibly have the energy to talk senselessly yet passionately about for thirty days straight—Evangelion!

Starting tomorrow, March 1, I will be uploading daily posts covering every single episode of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion (and maybe the Rebuild, we’ll see). My reasons for writing are threefold. For one, it’s Mecha March, WOOT! Two, I’ll be watching Eva in high-def Blu-ray quality for the first time ever thanks to GKIDS’ ultra boujee Ultimate Edition set. And Third, I’ll be celebrating the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, which was released in Japanese theaters on March 8, 2021.

I’ll set the precedent here that my participation in this project is mostly to help get me back into the blogging spirit. So, while you shouldn’t expect super high quality analysis posts and thorough episode reviews, you CAN look forward to short reflection posts containing personal anecdotes, production notes, and other random thoughts I have for each episode. It should be mostly relaxing and fun for the both of us. 🙂

If you are looking forward to this month-long series of posts on Eva or are also writing for Mecha March, let me know in the comments! Again, I’m looking forward to getting back into the blogging groove while talking about why I love this notorious yet classic mecha anime!

– Takuto

I’m Back! (Kinda) + More Posts Incoming + Thanks for 7 Years!

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Hi all!

I realize it’s been well over a month since my last post. I’m terribly sorry about that. Looking at my social media presence in general, you can see exactly when I dropped off the face of the earth to start graduate school.

Speaking of, school is great! I love being able to finally focus all my energy on English classes after having graduated with my psychology B.S. already. Those four years sure went by fast, and I imagine these next two will breeze by all the same.

Between reading and researching for classes, my new job at our campus’ writing center (which I LOVE omg), recording and editing for YouTube, and keeping up with manga and anime progress on the socials, I’ve left very little time for blogging. Thankfully, the WP algorithm has still been working in my favor, for despite my inactivity, my blog’s overall views have eclipsed last year’s already. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s not much in itself, but I have to take the little victories when I can!)

On the subject of blogging itself, Takuto’s Anime Cafe officially turned 7 a couple weeks ago!! I wanted to push out a celebratory post, but it just didn’t feel right since I hadn’t done anything in a month. So, to right this wrongdoing, I want to thank you all again for continually supporting me. Whether it’s on the blog, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube, I cherish our interactions, and I hope I can be more present in the year to come. None of this would be here without you guys, so thank you!!

Going forward, I have a few projects planned. Immediately, I’ll publish a post over YenPress’ SAO audiobook—the first of its kind—which Yen was kind enough to send to me to review! Next, I plan to start releasing posts for all the videos that have yet to be shared on the blog. (I realize a lot of y’all don’t care about Kpop, but it helps sustain traffic and such.) Then, I want to resume writing short manga reflection posts to cover my reads. After that, well, we’ll see how far I get with just these goals.

Lastly, I just want to tag on that I’ve been in the works of trying to draft my first novel! It’s an exciting process, but a long and frustrating one, too. Not sure what will become of it or how far I’ll get, but it’s been a fun (and time-consuming) endeavor so far.

So, this is my “I’m back!” post, as well as an anniversary thank-you, and finally an announcement of things to come. I hope to see many familiar faces in the blogosphere again, especially after being gone so long, and I look forward to our little talks again! Until then, I hope you’re all staying safe, staying hydrated, and keeping up with the various Asian media we all love!

– Takuto

The V-Day Sci-Fi Special Returns for 2021!

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Happy Valentine’s Day~!

The annual time for me to lock myself in my room and binge anime has finally come again. I love Valentine’s Day, but not for the same reason most do. When I think of V-Day, I value it as a time to love myself, to spend time on me. Really, it can be a day for whatever you want, I just use it to celebrate self-love!

Normally, I like to pick popular sci-fi or sports anime franchises to tackle for the marathon (don’t ask why it’s just those two genres, as I have no explanation). Can’t remember what we’ve done in the past? Here’s a refresher for ya!

2013 ~ Steins;Gate

2014 ~ Kokoro Connect (I think . . . )

2015 ~ Neon Genesis Evangelion

2016 ~ The Rose of Versailles

2017 ~ Ghost in the Shell

2018 ~ Haikyuu!!

2019 ~ RahXephon

2020 ~ [SKIPPED DUE TO HIATUS]

And so, for this year 2021, I’d like to welcome 2020’s attempted title back to the stage for a second try—give it up for . . .

2020 ~ Gunbuster

I failed big time last year, and I wanted to make amends for that by trying Gunbuster one more time. To tell the truth, I didn’t even give the series a first try, as I was in a big anime and blogging slump during this time last year. It never got the chance it should have, which is why I’m excited to dive into this legendary title once again.

I even brought back the roadmap sheet I drafted last year!

This year’s V-Day special will actually take place during next weekend, February 19-21, as I was booked this past weekend by the Manga Love Readathon!

I’ve got all the DVDs and Blu-rays that I’ll need to make this marathon a hit already locked and loaded. Oh yeah, we’re ready for this one. 🔥🔥🔥

So until next weekend, spend these next couple of days with the ones you love most. And if you’re rockin’ it single like many of us are, TREAT YO SELF, and use this holiday for some self-care—you deserve it!

Much love and chocolates from me~!

– Takuto

Manga Love Readathon TBR! || FEB 2021 #mangalovereadathon

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Hey guys! I had other plans for the weekend (like a Gunbuster marathon for my annual V-Day Special—don’t worry, it’s still coming), but when I saw Shae’s first video for the Manga Love Readathon go up, I couldn’t resist the temptation to just sit down, bundle up, and read some manga this weekend. Soooo here we are! 💕

Sub to Shae’s Channel: https://youtu.be/gfj1ltk2MK8

Follow Shae on Insta @ shaegeeksout
And the hashtag #mangalovereadathon! ✨

What are you reading this weekend? Are you participating in the readathon? Let me know in the comments! ❤️

Interested in more anime, manga, or K-pop content? Subscribe to stick around!

Thanks for watching~!

– Takuto

I MADE MY FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO!!!

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Hello all!!

I’ve got some pretty big news to share today! As of a couple hours ago, MY FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO WAS UPLOADED TO THE INTERNET. Crazy, right?? I never thought I’d make the leap to YouTube, even though I’ve been wanting to for probably a decade now. WELL, things change, and people change, and I finally mustered the courage to sit down in front of my camera (that is, my iPhone XR) and film myself.

What is the video about? I wanted to make my first video something relatively easy that I wouldn’t regret making. SO, I filmed one of my favorite types of videos to watch: an unboxing video! It’s pretty basic, I realize, but I have plans to expand, absolutely. It’d be cool to make video essays about my favorite anime, discussions over the manga I read, video diaries about collecting and being an otaku (or a K-pop fan)—anything and everything, really!

Basically, I want to expand into video-making because it looks fun. As much as I enjoy blogging, there’s something very personable and relatable to seeing someone’s face and hearing their voice—aspects which can’t be attained with online writing alone. I don’t just want to archive my words anymore. I think I’m ready to be seen, to be heard, and to finally get out of my comfort zone.

In case you’re worried, I WILL NOT be neglecting the blog in favor of my YT channel. Blogging will always come first. Whether I make 10 videos, 100 videos, or even stop after the first, I will always return to blogging at the end of the day. This is my home. BUT, I hope YouTube will eventually yield its own fruit. Give it time, I suppose.

What can you expect? Pretty much the same stuff I do here, just in video form. AKA, you’ll HAVE to look at my ugly face, muahahaha. I’m honestly not sure how long I’ll last, but at least I can cross “Make a YouTube video, you coward!!” off the bucket list, right?

So, that all said, below here is THE first of hopefully many videos to come. And did I really decide to make this first K-pop related?? YOU BET I DID!!

To my readers, followers, and my friends, thank you for all your encouraging words—especially my fellow anitubers out there. You are my endless inspiration, and—wherever this journey takes us—I hope we’ll stick with each other. It’d mean the absolute world to me if you decided to subscribe to Takuto (channel link) and kept him company as he explored this wild new land.

Thank you for reading, and (if you clicked the link) thank you for watching! 🙂

– Takuto

Pride Month 2020 Celebration Announcement: Anime & Manga Edition!

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Hello all!

I realize that these are some of the most important times we are currently living in. Crazy times, but crucial nonetheless. However, it would be a crime to forget the importance of June to the LGBT+ community. After all, they make up a huge part of our own anime and manga community, as well as include some of my dearest friends.

In honor and celebration of gay pride and equality, I’ve decided to dedicate the entire month of June to posts about BL manga and anime! These posts will range from soft shounen-ai to some of the, well, harder subjects in yaoi and BL. Such posts may be full series/book reviews, first impressions, or anything in between. Really, I haven’t figured out how I want to talk about all these works. But, I do know some of the titles I want to recognize on my blog.

I’ve never celebrated pride month in such full capacity. Truly, though, I owe it to the LGBT community for being a pillar for acceptance and visibility of all people on the sex and gender spectrums. I want to highlight some of the prominent works being discussed, not only because I have a lot of BL manga sitting on my shelf just waiting to be talked about, but also because I love and support this community and what it stands for 100%.

I also want to recognize all the people and companies working their butts off to bring these works to us. Really, I’m thankful to be able to buy these kinds of books and be part of a discussion that is much larger than myself.

So, in addition to my usual reviews and shenanigans, please look forward to this exciting month of content ahead of us! If you’re also doing some pride month posts, feel free to link those below or tag me on social media so I can share them.

Stay wonderful, and stay safe, my friends.

– Taku

Takuto WILL be Attending Naka-Kon 2020!

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Hello all!

It seems that time is slipping through my fingers with each passing day. And yet, I have managed to find a little time for anime and cosplay still—at the cost of time spent blogging, that is. I’ll have a more formal update here at the end of March, but I suppose I should address the topic of this announcement first:

I WILL be attending Naka-Kon 2020 this weekend!

While school, life, and other fandoms have been on my mind lately, I won’t let that stop me from having a great weekend ahead. Oh yeah, and I’m gonna be cosplaying too!

I’ll for sure be cosplaying villager Eugeo from Sword Art Online: Alicization and Rantaro Amami from Danganronpa V3, with Shinra Kusakabe from Fire Force as a potential alternative (assuming I can finish the adjustments I’d like to make). I can’t wait to show off Eugeo’s Blue Rose Sword—it’s my first build with EVA foam, and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. Pics will be coming soon (also, check out my Insta for more)!

As for guests, I hope to meet Amanda Celine Miller so she can sign my big Danganronpa art book for her fabulous Junko Enoshima performance (and potentially my Sailor Moon VIZ DVD for Sailor Jupiter). Zach Aguilar will also be present, so if I could get him to sign my second Aldnoah.Zero DVD for Slaine Troyard (as Max Mittleman signed for Inaho Kaizuka a couple years back), I’d be more than thrilled!

Again, a bigger update will be forthcoming from me, which will detail the simulcasts I’ve been watching (and what happened to my Valentine’s Day Gunbuster marathon . . . oops!). I hope the spring season has found everyone well, and until next time, thanks for stopping by!

– Takuto

The V-Day Sci-Fi Special Returns for 2020!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!!

It’s that joyous time of the year again, a season of love and spending time with the one you cherish most—or in my case, locking myself in my room and binging anime until the wee hours of the morning!

The mecha gods also bless the cycle with back-to-back giant robot franchises for this annual celebration. Can’t remember what we’ve done in the past? Here’s a refresher for ya!

2013 ~ Steins;Gate

2014 ~ Kokoro Connect (I think . . . )

2015 ~ Neon Genesis Evangelion

2016 ~ The Rose of Versailles

2017 ~ Ghost in the Shell

2018 ~ Haikyuu!!

2019 ~ RahXephon

And for this year, the big 20-20, we’ve got an extra special title on the menu. Give it up for . . . *drumroll~~~~~*

2020 ~ Gunbuster

YAY!!! There it is, my next adventure awaiting me ahead!! Guys, I’ve been holding off on this precious piece of Gainax history ever since watching the groundbreaking Evangelion as the V-Day feature for 2015. FIVE years later, Gainax takes the stage once again with a classic mecha title that I’m sure to enjoy with all my heart.

This year’s V-Day special will actually take place during next weekend, February 21-23, on account of the fact that I am busy performing at a Valentine’s Concert this weekend!

In terms of watching methods, fear not! I recently picked up all of the DVDs and Blu-rays I’ll need to marathon the Gunbuster franchise in the RightStuf holiday sale (with exception to the 1988 series, which I’ll hopefully find online) so everything will be viewed in the best quality that I could get a hold of. Oh yeah, we’re ready for this one.

So until next weekend, spend these next couple of days with the ones you love most. And if you’re rockin’ it single like many of us are, TREAT YO SELF, and use this holiday for some self-care—you deserve it!

Much love and chocolates from me~!

– Takuto