It's always difficult to know what's real at E3 and what's not.

SEGA's Yakuza franchise is one I hold near and dear to my heart. Filled with great storytelling, some of the best voice acting in any genre, and a great blend of seriousness and silly, the tale of Japan's crime syndicate

E3 media briefings, you don't have to love them

This spring season has been a big deal in the anime community! So many shows are returning. Really hyped anime, some of which are based on popular manga, have finally made their debut. Is the hype worth it? I think we should dig into the spring!

The Netflix Effect

Piano No Mori

Piano no Mori (or just Piano)  is the only Netflix exclusive this season. It's about a very young piano virtuoso, I guess. Piano no Mori looks fantastic, at a movie level of quality. I don't know how many months down the line it will come to Netflix. That's alright. I think Piano no Mori is the kind of anime I can afford to wait for anyway.

I Finally Saw It!

Aggrestsuko

So I learned this at the last minute: Aggretsuko is not a spring 2018 anime! It's not even a 2018 anime! It originally debuted in 2016, and found its way to Netflix, where it's been English dubbed.

Sanrio is a weird company. They have Hello Kitty and her animal pals, who sell a whole slew of merchandise. Then Sanrio allows shows like Sanrio Boys to be made. That's not the oddest thing they've let happen. Aggretsuko is their latest project, but it's for sure not for kids. If you've ever had a desk job, a greuling full time position that is unfulfilling, then you know where Aggretsuko is coming from. This is a workplace comedy, but with adorable animals as people! One of our adorable characters is Retsuko, a female red panda who takes out her frustrations by screaming death metal into a karaoke mic in the bathroom. Yep, this is adorable Sanrio! I hope no one is fooled by the cuteness of the character art; don't skip over this on Netflix.

Returning Favorites

Amanchu!

Amanchu actually came back for another season! My heart grows 20 sizes whenever I watch the show. Something is different this time, and that's my only criticism of Amanchu! Advance. This season is weird, because it's supposed to be about Futabi ("Teko") getting an advanced scuba diving license- AND (possibly) advancing her relationship with Hikari ("Pikari"). The second season has far more episodes about vivid dream worlds than actual character interaction. I hope that the last few episodes carry the relationship between these characters further.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia continues to prove why it has gained such an incredible following. You have the excellent action, the drama, and the long-term consequences that heroes like Deku have to live with when fighting villains. If you have ever claimed to love superheroes, but you don't watch MHA, I have to tell you, you are only hurting yourself by not watching it.

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma

We're back to the foodgasams! Shokugeki no Soma had a moment (about half a season) where they were doing things a little different. We've gone away from the beloved shokugeki. It's coming back, because, um, it's in the name of the show, so not to worry. I think that the battle we're headed towards is going to be incredibly fun to watch.

Steins;Gate 0

It has been a long, long while since I've watched Steins;Gate. The last show in the Science Adventure series I watched was Occultic;Nine, and that is definitely not a show of the same quality as Steins. Steins;Gate 0 takes place after the end of the original anime, so newbies will be confused if starting off with this series. Steins; Gate 0 makes me feel the same emotions as it did in those last few episodes, where Okabe Rintaro was desperately trying to fix a bad future.

Full Metal Panic

I don't think it's fair for me to call this a returning favorite, because I haven't watched all of Full Metal Panic. I liked the FMP I have seen, so it's kind of a favorite? Anyway, the new Full Metal Panic is so good! The action is great, but if you're a true fan, and not a fake-ass loser who didn't watch FMP when I had the chance, you already know what the quality level of Full Metal Panic should be.

FLCL

Fooly Cooly has not one but two seasons for you; I don't know how you feel, but I never expected to see more FLCL in my lifetime.The first season up is FLCL Progressive, and the third season will be FLCL Alternative. Progressive takes place after the original FLCL. We have a completely new set of characters, but one old character definitely makes her presence known. Crazy beings are still popping out of peoples' heads, people are still getting hit by vehicles at high speed (and somehow living) and there's still a giant iron. What's not the same is how Hidomi figures into this story, and how the horn on her head changes her.

Of course, the "leak" we talk about in this week's title is the big leak made a few weeks ago by WalMart Canada. It's the reason this week's announcements at the E3 conference weren't quite as surprising as they might have been.

You have to give it to Nintendo for being more open to Mature-rated games on their Switch console. Less than a couple years ago, you wouldn't dream of seeing a video game riddled with drugs & violence appear on what

We dredge up an old TV commercial from the 1970s to produce this week's title. Do you know what the commercial was about?

When in doubt, follow the Zelda formula. That's what I've come to find many indie developers do when it comes to action RPGs. Often, it can lead to some unique experiences like the death-inspired Continue?9876543210, or it can deliver true

We usually choose a good, long, verbose title for these shows. Not this week. This week, we could explain it all in three simple words.

Those hopeful words are delivered in the first few minutes of this week's show by Pandalicious.