This year has been a step forward in my career, as I’m now a contributor for a real publication! My Utena series is coming out this year, but between my writing for The Daily Fandom and the sheer density of that series, I might not be able to post quite as regularly. That will definitely be the only thing I’m posting here in 2026; if you want more of my writing, of course, I’ll also be writing monthly articles on TDF. Please be patient with me on that, and of course, I’ll probably not post anything outside of the series on this site anymore. You can see all my articles here, discussing a lot of the same things I’ve blogged about from different angles.

Anyhow, you know the drill: This is just a list of notable stories I encountered this year, in no particular order, with the main distinction between the list proper and the honorable mentions being how much I have to say about it.

The Apothecary Diaries (anime): This one is a slow burn, but this past season it’s gotten very interesting. It takes place mostly in an emperor’s harem (and somewhat in a nearby brothel), with the protagonist getting drawn into mysteries and palace intrigues. It sets up a very unique romance involving the (arguably) aromantic Maomao, and despite questions of consent, it’s consistently entertaining to watch that unfold. It’s a rare anime that’s upfront about sex (despite rarely depicting it onscreen) due to that setting, and aside from some controversial neurodivergent rep and a persistent plotline involving a pedophile, it’s always engaging. If you can accept the premise, it’s a great watch.

Knights of Guinevere (cartoon): This is Dana Terrace’s follow-up to The Owl House, produced by Studio GLITCH (of The Amazing Digital Circus fame). Only the first episode has been released (which you can watch free here), because, as usual with GLITCH’s shows, it will have a very sporadic release schedule. At first glance Terrace is lashing out at Disney, setting the show in a cyberpunk dystopian Disneyland-esque theme park, but it seems she wants to have a genuine conversation about the ideas Disney promotes. It is definitely a cartoon for adults (as of yet, it’s only because of violence and language), but I’m looking forward to what she does with her creative freedom.

Miraculous Ladybug season 6 (cartoon): I didn’t love this, but since I didn’t click with Idol Precure, it’s the only magical girl show I had to turn to this year (and it took some interesting turns, if not always for the better). On the downside, the heroes have become so OP that the fights aren’t nearly as compelling as in earlier seasons (and the banter is sorely missed). On the upside, they did address a few issues I’ve had, mainly by FINALLY canonizing the gay couples, and getting Adrien some therapy to boot! The overarching plot of Marinette keeping Monarch’s identity a secret is sufficient fodder for drama, but I’m still concerned about where it’s headed (particularly for Natalie).

Tavern Talk (video game): This is a cozy game with endearing characters, basically a VN with a drink mixing minigame, and I adored it. With most VNs, it feels like a chore to get all the endings (especially the bad ones), but here, I just wanted to spend more time with these characters, and even the bad endings had some fun interactions.

Wake Up, Dead Man (film): The Knives Out series has been the standard-bearer for whodunnit films in the past few years, and Rian Johnson is in top form here, delivering a prescient indictment of Christian Nationalist ideology, while also highlighting what the Church should be in a secular society. And the mystery’s good, too.

Honorable mentions:

Andor (television): I didn’t like the way they handled Bix, but other than that, it’s a timely commentary on fascism and how to stand up against it.

Frankenstein (film): This was an adaptation only Del Toro would make, with the best ending for the story in my opinion.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (animated film): Mostly the soundtrack, but the movie’s pretty good, too.

Scarlet Morning (book): ND Stevenson’s prose novel debut is good, but I’ll save the full review for TDF.

Yona of the Dawn (anime): I was waiting for a new season to be announced before jumping into this one, because I expected I would like it, but knew it was unfinished. I loved it.

Until next time…