What Whitney's Watching

So, let's say you have a friend. Let's say this friend is close to you or at least close enough to you that if they recommended something to you, you'd check it out and vice versa. One day, your friend finally works up the courage to bring up that "anime stuff you're always watching" and you explain to them that anime is the most advanced medium of story-telling and that they are missing out on some of the best content ever written. They seem intrigued and they ask you that one question that EVERYONE who watches anime has been asked: "If I wanted to get into anime but like, I've never seen anime and I don't want to watch anything weird, what would you recommend?" What do you say? Well many people suggest the popular basics like Naruto or Dragon Ball Z or anything that has been on Toonami in the last 5 years which is fair and fine, but not necessarily the right answer. In fact (and yeah this is unpopular to say but if you had sense yo...

Whew... guys... the [redacted for my personal safety] are at it again and the buffoonery has reached an all time high. Needless to say, as a black girl, there is a certain level of baseline nonsense that you grow to expect. You expect that if you get on a dating app, at least once, someone is going to tell you that they're "eager to try chocolate" and you'll be forced to swiftly block them and re-valuate your entire life. You expect that one day someone will reach up and yank on your box braids while proclaiming that they just "totally love your dreads like omg you have no ideaaa" and you'll have to decide what is more important: your pride or your freedom. You expect a multitude of things to happen to you and whether they are slight annoyances or actual tragedies, they aren't outside the realm of anything you or your friends have come to expect. HOWEVER (and yes this is a big however), the modern day impersonation and minstrelsy that has bloomed an...

*sniffs deeply* Do you smell that? *sniffs again* Ah yes, it's the smell of a crisp, fall breeze flowing in over the horizon. The equinox has passed and it's finally Autumn, meaning that Winter is not so far behind. And what better way to keep you warm and satisfied during these chilly nights then to hurry home after work or school, tune out the rest of the world, and wrap yourself tightly in the arms of your favorite anime zaddy. Engross yourself the big, animated biceps and perfectly styled spiky hair. Lose yourself in the smoldering looks and become entranced with the soothing voices. Truly nothing is better than a fine anime zaddy and to help you get started on finding your perfect anime zaddy to keep you occupied during the holidays, I have compiled a brief starter list of zaddies to watch for this upcoming fall. While you may not see your fav here, these three are guaranteed to heat you up, as the temperature goes down: Senku Ishigami Senku Ishigami is...

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a masterclass in emotional and impactful story-telling that isn't afraid to hurt it's audience. This anime not only subverts your expectations but completely crushes them all while guaranteeing that the audience experiences excitement, suspense, and some pretty decent anime zaddies. Gurren Lagann is one of the few successful anime to not have an originating manga and even though that meant that the creators had no structured story to work from, the anime is beautiful and rich because of how unencumbered it is. You can tell in the way it's written that the writers were excited to be able to work in this medium with free reign, free of any backlash of manga purists or even slight comparisons to a manga. This enthusiasm and excitement comes out mostly in the dialogue between characters, which feels very fresh and real. For example, there's a big romantic scene about a third of the way through the anime that feels less like a typical shonen ...

Truthfully, I'm not a social media/celebrity antics blogger or at least I don't want to be. I don't think it's worth my time and to be quite honest, I would suck at it and y'all know that. The idea that I would research people who have no business being famous in the first place, sit my ass down, and put my time and effort (because this DOES take effort) into writing about "whose baby mom's is smashing who" or "which influential politician was exposed for doing blackface today" makes me SICK. It makes me physically *blerrrrgggggghhh* and as long as there is anime and teen murder mystery romance dramas left in the world to watch, I will always have more important things to write about. HOWEVER, I am a human woman in 2019 with a twitter, which means from time to time, I'm gonna see some shit that not only earns my attention and disgust but fills me with so much annoyance and cringe that I have no option but to write out my feelings to get s...

Saiki Kusuo is the strongest anime protagonist of all time, with an ever-growing list of greek god like abilities that in comparison, makes the abilities of other popular protagonists look like neat party tricks. You know that tired ass "Who would win in a fight, Goku or Superman?" argument that all the dusties in 2012 would always debate on twitter? Well, the answer is Saiki and it isn't even close. The entire fabric of the universe in which Saiki exists is being bolstered and supported by his abilities and if nothing else, you need to watch this anime just to get an understanding of what he can do. From casual time travel to all and any form of telekinesis you can imagine, it is so much fun to watch someone so OP do virtually nothing but navigate high school with his power. Truly a ROMP, if I do say so myself. Also, for my fellow shonen heads let's not act dumb. Watching strong ass characters become OP over time is half the reason we love these shows and since ...

Some of y'all are going to be mad at me, but it must be said: Elite is the best teen drama to come out in the last 5 years and none of the other girlies even come close. Literally no one is touching Elite not sleepy Riverdale, not "this doesn't need to exist" Degrassi Next Class, NOT DUSTY 13 REASONS WHY, and on the lowest of keys, not even Euphoria. It's just that good. Now, a lot of y'all who are reading this are probably asking yourselves: "Damn, why is she gassing this random ass show? Isn't it not even in English? She has to read subtitles on a show that isn't an anime and she's STILL gassing it? Yiketh." And to that I say: "Stop hating and just watch the show. CLEARLY there is a reason I'm going so hard for it!" The reason being that Elite is the only teen show in recent years that understands fully what it is. It's isn't trying to start any conversations acting like a school assembly and it isn'...