Media Noms: Week 31 2026
July 27th - August 2nd 2026
TV
- This Monster Wants to Eat Me | Episode 1 | Studio Lings - Interesting concept, but fairly slow pacing. Willing to give it a few more episodes, but not compelled just yet.
- Soul Eater | Episode 1 | bones - FUCK THIS SLAPS. It’s the perfect 2000s very problematic, but hard as fuck energy. The “witch” is hot, the dialogue is uninhibited. I like the animation. Good, problematic shit.
- Please Put Them On, Takamine-San | Episodes 1-2 | LIDENFILMS - Delicious, tasteless evil anime. Gotta love how bad it is. Gotta love someone did it tho haha.
- Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You | Episodes 1-4 | Asahi Production - Exceptional. As a lesbian I stand by this anime. It’s adorable and I have soooo many bi friends who date way older men and this healed something in me.
- Goodbye Lara | Episode 1 | Kinema Citrus - Brilliant. It’s all of the wonder of a modern anime with the whimsy and care-free nature of a Sailor Moon/90s anime. It’s Little Mermaid, but it’s Ponyo, but it’s better and better. Truly outstanding, I’m so suprised and happy about this one.
- I Want to Love You Til Your Dying Day | Episodes 1-3 | ROLL2 - This is apparently one of the better anime/manga out right now, especially in the yuri space. I really don’t like it so far. Mimi is too young looking and I’m not getting any chemistry between the main love interests. The world is pretty cool, but ultimately feels a bit lifeless to me.
Music
- Peace Anthems | Collective of Artists - Whole album is worth listening to. It’s radically chill vibes with good instrumentation and very little vocals. It goes by quick and is an easy listen.
- You Baby | Nesian N.I.N.E - Just some classic island music.
- Morning Time (Awoia) | Fia - Same same.
News/Essays
- China’s Elderly Embrace an Unlikely New Sport: Hyrox Races | Sixth Tone - Just a really cool phenomena. Hoping this spreads for the parent-child vibes.
- All The Video Game Studios That Refuse To Use Generative AI | Aftermath - Cool reference list, but even better if you scroll and read the long-form answers from studios/devs. I think there are excellent insights into the logics of generative AI and the companies that are creating these technologies.
Books/Manga
- The Moon on a Rainy Night | Volume 3 | Kuzushiro - Really back to Volume 1 form now! I really like the pacing and the return to Kanon and Saki’s dynamic. The sleepover setup is a quintessential Yuri setup and it was enough of the trope with a touch of what makes this story unique. Volume 2 was so dark and upsetting with very little silver lining, none of the bright, sparkling Yuri that you would see in Volume 1. It just felt out of step with the vibe of the series and I couldn’t quite tell if this was turning into a doomer or toxic Yuri, or if it was going to be more standard with the focus on hearing disability. One thing in Volume 1 that nagged at me was how over the top the discussion of disability was. It felt very US liberal coded, rather than two teens figuring it out on the fly. Volume 3 feels a bit more human first, like the relationship and slice-of-life moments get to stand out more. Which is my preference! I’m not sure what to make of the whole “everyone is out to warn Saki off from Kanon” vibes, it feels quite hostile at times, which on its own isn’t terrible, but it does break the immersion for me. The setup for Volume 4 is quite the doozy but I do feel more confident picking it up and seeing where the story goes.
YouTube
- I Bought a Five Dollar XBOX 360, Can I Fix It With Zero Experience?! | Moth Country - This is the perfect example of a girl video. This girl just buys up a 360 with zero tinkering experience and fixes it up. I love this fucking video.