Filler vs. Canon: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Anime Arcs (and Which to Skip)   You're watching a long-running action anime, like Naruto. The main plot is intense; the characters are in the middle of crucial training or a life-or-death battle. Suddenly, the next episode begins, and the main characters are on an unimportant side mission, like helping a talking ostrich or cooking the...

It is a frequent question in the anime community: How many episodes does One Piece have? Is it the longest? The short answer is: No, One Piece is not the longest anime in history. Although the Luffy anime has surpassed 1100 episodes, the throne of the most extensive anime belongs to a category of short-format Japanese series with near-daily broadcasts that have been on the air continuously for...

Any anime fan knows the terms “Shonen” (for young boys) and “Shojo” (for young girls). Many are familiar with “Seinen” (for adult men). But there’s a fourth crucial pillar that, in the West, is often overlooked or misunderstood: “Josei.” Josei is the demographic aimed at adult women. It is not Shojo. It is the medium that produces some of...

A Foodie's Guide to Anime: What Are Onigiri, Ramen, and Taiyaki?   Food in anime is often animated with a level of detail that makes it look more delicious than real food. From characters meticulously preparing bento boxes to scenes of them devouring bowls of noodles, food is a pillar of the narrative. For new viewers, three foods appear constantly, acting as key cultural items: Onigiri...

Anime, an art form traditionally defined by the 2D screen, is undergoing a radical metamorphosis. The growing sophistication of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is not just changing how we watch anime, but where and with whom we experience it. The promise of immersive technology is to blur the line between the viewer and the character, moving the fandom into the Metaverse. I. VR:...