The third season of *Jade Dynasty* is the worst of the lot. It is possible I’m bitter that the triumphant end to season two ended up being a dud.
First, rewind.
Jade Dynasty is set in a universe with contending righteous and unrighteous sects. The righteous sects practice Buddhist, Daoist, and what looks like Zoroastrian magicks. The unrighteous sects practice glamour techniques, necromancy and poisoning.
Our protagonist Zhang Xiaofan learned a technique in his youth that placed him on an unorthodox path to straddle the sects’ various teachings. The story follows the struggle and tragedy that follow that choice.
This season was *supposed* to be about
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Sep 21, 2025
Shenguo Zhi Shang
(Anime)
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The most important thing to say about Over the Divine Realms is that the characters have the most expressive and beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, period! And given how often the camera zooms in on them, I’m certain that’s a deliberate directorial choice. If so, then it’s a brilliant one because your enjoyment of the show hinges on your attachment to the four leads. You’ll be spending most of the season’s four-hour runtime with them in an essentially claustrophobic locale in what’s effectively a time loop.
The set-up is that an exorcist and his two disciples have been summoned to the capital of a middling State ... 
Sep 7, 2025
Guimi Zhi Zhu: Xiaochou Pian
(Anime)
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*On the day Ince Zangwill went a sequence lower, Klein Moretti’s life changed forever. For Ince, it was all according to plan . . . .*
*Lord of Mysteries* is an interesting show. As someone without any prior knowledge of the source material, I imagine this must be how it feels to be dragged out of bed during peak harmattan and dunked in a river. The sensation is shocking, bracing and all altogether confusing. I loved its setting, its animation and the story. The literary and pop culture allusions were a tad overdone. And, yes, since I loves me a good allusion when I write, I’m being ... |
