T5W#548-Top 5 Reasons Why I’m Skipping Katsucon in 2026 (and Maybe 2027 too)

I’ve been going to Katsucon since 2015.  In the 10 years I’ve been attending, I’ve only missed 2: 2021 was cancelled by the Pandemic and I skipped 2022 cause I was still being cautious about attending a full weekend con even with lifted restrictions (Otakon 2022, no way I wasn’t missing that).  As much as I do enjoy the location and the nightlife of the con in particular, Katsu’s felt kind of different for me since coming back in 2023.  It’s hard to describe but it’s not the same winter con I started going to back in 2015 and I’m not the only one to share those sentiments.  I was actually thinking about skipping Katsu 2025 but ended up going cause it was the 10^th Anniversary of my first one and it was ok, still had its problems but it was ok.  But yeah, I wont be attending Katsucon 2026 and might even be giving the con a longer break even past that.  Why?  Well on todays Top 5 Wednesday I’m sharing my Top 5 Reasons Why I’m Skipping Katsucon in 2026 (and Maybe 2027 too).

 

Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School Part 2 Episodes 5-7

Ryoko Mitsurugi cant seem to catch a break can she?  Not only is she the most popular student in school thanks to her being a K-Fight Champion, she’s also become the Chosen One to save another reality called Solvania.  What’s worse, now even her friends are being pulled into the battle as well.  Between deadly gangs, giant gangs and a cooking competition, Ryoko continues to be put to the test but this beautiful Samurai Girl is always ready for a fight.

I’ll say this for Real Bout High School.  Theres a lot about the Anime I do not like at all and I’m sad to say the show doesn’t look to be getting rid of those negative parts any time soon.  However, when the show is focused on the original premise of the Manga and sticking to high school antics, I freaking love it.  Yes the animation isnt the greatest and some of the fights leave a lot to be desired but dammit, I still love this world and it’s characters and want to see more of it.  It just sucks it has to include a No Rules Isekai component that sticks out like a sore thumb.
 

T5W#547-Top 5 Thoughts on the Teaser Trailer for The Ghost in the Shell

It’s been forever since we got any kind of substantial update on the next Anime iteration of Ghost in the Shell.  All we’ve known up until now is the Studio taking charge, Science Saru (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Star Wars Visions 3) and that it might be going back to the very beginning with the source material.  Well, low and behold, a kick ass teaser dropped not too long ago and I am more pumped than I already was.  The teaser trailer doesn’t offer much outside of a few shots, staff announcements and a banging track playing over the visuals.  Oh I guess it does give us an actual release window of July 2026, so only a few months remain until the return of Major Motoko Kusinagi and Section 9.  With that in mind, my Ghost is whispering me to share on today’s Top 5 Wednesday my Top 5 Thoughts on the Teaser Trailer for The Ghost in the Shell.

 

Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School Part 1 Episodes 1-4

In the illustrious halls of Daimon High School, disputes are settled through the K-Fight System: where students can settle their differences in one on one battles.  The greatest champion of the system is Ryoko Mitsurugi, a beautiful Samurai obsessed girl whose skills are second to none.  But Ryoko’s life is about to get more hectic than constant K-Fight challenges when she discovers a pendant that transports her to an alternate reality where Monsters roam and she’s the only one who can stop them. 

So this is an interesting case: this isnt an out of the blue random title for me.  I read the Real Bout High School Manga back in high school and I really loved it…ok the first half more than the second half but maybe I’ll touch on that later.  I knew there was an Anime sequel but never got around to watching it cause it was really hard to find and I hadn’t heard great things about it.  Well I came into possession of the entire series recently and for the month of Romance and Love, we’re gonna spend it with cute high school girls who love to pick fights in school hallways.  Though there might be a little bit more going on alongside that, which could hamper the experience. 
 

T5W#546-Top 5 Mugen Moments in Samurai Champloo

While it might not be quite on the same level of Cowboy Bebop, no one can deny that Samurai Champloo’s greatest weapon is leading man Mugen.  While the overall ensemble of Mugen, Jin and Fuu might not always work in most episodes (mostly on Fuu’s end), Mugen usually gets the biggest stand out moments ranging from action to hilarity to surprisingly heartfelt dramatic bits.  I still stand by my notion that Champloo should have been his show with Jin as a secondary lead getting into adventures while earning each others respect and pseudo friendship along the way…so basically Samurai Champloo without Fuu or the Sunflower Samurai.  On today’s Top 5 Wednesday, it’s the unofficial ancestor of Spike Speigel’s show as I count down the Top 5 Best Mugen Moments from Samurai Champloo.

Samurai Champloo Part 6 Episodes 22-26

The end is in sight as Mugen, Jin and Fuu arrive in Nagasaki.  The Sunflower Samurai is close but so are a cadre of assassins looking to collect not just his head but the heads of the traveling trio as well.  Mugen, Jin and Fuu confront their sorted histories one more time, pushing themselves to the limit to see their long journey through.  And even if they survive the onslaught, there’s still the matter of Mugen and Jin’s unfinished business?  Will this story only end if one of them dies at the hands of the other?

Now that I’ve watched the finale of Samurai Champloo, I’ve come to realize that one of it’s biggest problems isnt the adventure as a whole, though some stories were certainly better than others.  No, it’s that with all the lack of build up, lead in, and Fuu being generally a pain in the ass not revealing what she knew about him, there was no way the Mystery of the Sunflower Samurai was ever going to get an adequate conclusion.  And while there’s still plenty to love about the final five episodes, a lot of that positivity falls not on the completion of the “main story”, but rather everything else that’s worked for Samurai Champloo across all 26 episodes: the action, the music, the animation, the humor and Mugen being Mugen.
 

T5W#545-Top 5 Things to Remember Before Seeing Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe

Even though we’ve been getting plenty of exciting new Gundam projects these last few years including The Witch From Mercury and SEED Freedom, the one Gundam story everyone has been waiting for is Part 2 of the Gundam Hathaway Trilogy.  Originally intended for a Summer 2020 release but delayed due to the Pandemic, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway dropped in the Summer of 2021 in Japan and on Netflix and took fans into a new struggle as the Earth Sphere crossed the UC0100 line.  It’s been five years since the first part of this new saga arrived and fans have been eagerly wanting to see where the rebellion of Hathaway Noa goes from here.  To get you caught up before we send Mobile Suits into the ocean (judging from the trailers), today’s Top 5 Wednesday will be looking at the Top 5 Things to Remember Before Seeing Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe.

 

Samurai Champloo Part 5 Episodes 18-21

Mugen, Jin and Fuu might’ve finally caught a break in their search for the Sunflower Samurai in a town held hostage by religion and lies.  They have a name.  They have a destination.  Now all they have to do is get there.  But when a beautiful, blind musician named Sara joins the party, everything’s on the verge of changing once more.  Is Sara someone who’s too good to be true or is she an opponent even Mugen and Jin’s skills might not be able to overcome?

I feel a little let down that I’ve gone through so many sets of Samurai Champloo episodes and only a couple have stood out each time.  Yet here we are at the penultimate chapter and wouldn’t you know it, I really liked each of the four offerings presented.  Sure I had some gripes here and there and three out of four were so much stronger than one.  But besides my usual nitpicks (Fuu related mostly), this weeks Samurai Champloo had a lot I really liked about it and I wish the show was this consistent with the overall quality and not just relying on the animation or soundtrack to pick up some of the slack.  Anyway, got nothing but mostly good things to say here, let me ramble.
 

T5W#544-Top 5 Anime Turning 30 in 2026

While maybe not the same kind of landmark year 1995 was, 1996 was still a stellar year for Anime, especially when it came to Mecha.  We’ve obviously got a lot of brand new and returning titles in 2026 including the continuations and conclusions of Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach respectively.  Today on Top 5 Wednesday though, we’re warping back a couple of decades to give celebratory shoutouts to the old school titles that remain fondly remembered starting points in the genre for fans such as myself (even if I found some of them much later on Toonami).  These are the Top 5 Anime Turning 30 in 2026.

Samurai Champloo Part 4 Episodes 13-17

The search for the Sunflower Samurai comes to a halt when an unexpected reunion leads Mugen to some unfinished business he thought he’d left behind long ago.  Meanwhile, wanted terrorists seek revenge for a terrible deed and the discovery of gold in a river could lead to our trio losing their heads.  Blood, betrayal, rage, redemption and maybe even a little romance are waiting for Mugen, Jin and Fuu, if a petty argument between them doesn’t threaten to end their journey first.

Samurai Champloo enters its second half this week with two 2-Part adventures and one stand alone sandwiched in between them (hence why today we’re looking at 5 episodes).  The thing about two partners is that there has to be a very good reason for them to be two parts and not just one episode being stretched painfully thin to fill run time.  Samurai Champloo has good and bad examples of this with both of these stories.  Plus the stand alone episode is easily one of the best and most hilarious so it mostly balances things in the good column but let’s break it all down shall we?
 

T5W#543-Top 5 Characters Done Dirty in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX

Of the many, many things Gundams latest entry does wrong, the characters suffer the most.  Honestly, if you’re not Machu, Nyaan, Suji or Chalia Bull, you’re window dressing, a name just meant to bolster a typical hugely cast Gundam series…and that’s just wrong.  Just because everyone’s not getting into the same poor man’s “fooly cooly”/cryptic nonsense doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to just stand around and be ignored or dumped on.  So, for our first Top 5 Wednesday of 2026, I’m giving some justice to some underrated new faces to the Gundam franchise with the Top 5 Characters Done Dirty in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX.

 

Samurai Champloo Part 3 Episodes 9-12

The road to the Sunflower Samurai continues to yield detours for Mugen, Jin and Fuu.  From warriors with supernatural skill to a cult of warrior monks posing as ninjas, Mugen might find he’s in for a helluva good time.  Meanwhile, a woman with a sorrowful tale attracts Jin’s attention but is it enough to sway him from his current promise?  And after traveling with two quick on the draw Samurai for so long, how does Fuu feel about her two traveling companions?

Contrary to what I might have been saying so far, I don’t hate Samurai Champloo.  I only think that some of its core elements are holding it back, mostly in regards to the main quest and the characters.  I want the show to be better and, case in point, I got most of that wish in todays set of episodes.  Two of them were centered around the true anti hero we should be following around while the failings of another were made up for by one of the most essential players in Samurai Champloo’s make up.  So yeah, this week I have more good than negative things to say, let’s get cracking.
 

Samurai Champloo Part 2 Episodes 5

Brought together by fate and misfortune, Mugen, Jin and Fuu continue their journey to find the “Samurai who smells of Sunflowers”.  But few places have any clues or details as to his existence.  What they do have are Yakuza, deadly Temptresses, beat boxing bandits and random assassins all coming after our trio.  One thing is for sure, no matter where these three go, there’s hardly a dull moment.

I get why Samurai Champloo was a major hit back in the day.  With it’s cool artstyle and action scenes blending together elements of hip hop culture and music, it’s pretty unique and it’s from the same guy who did Cowboy Bebop and pretty much everyone, even non Anime fans, love Cowboy Bebop.  For the life of me though, I’m finding it hard to see why this was a hit beyond those aspects cause if everything after Episode 1 yesterday felt undercooked, todays second outing feels like the shows already recycling plot threads and beats within episodes of each other.  That’s not to say there aren’t some stand out moments that could pay off further down the line but lets break down why Samurai Champloo, for me, isnt reaching the hype it should.
 

Samurai Champloo Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Mugen and Jin are a wandering vagabond and ronin, both highly skilled in the art of killing.  When these two cross paths, blades are set to draw.  But when a young girl named Fuu saves their lives from execution, the pair find themselves in her debt and forced into a quest: to find a Samurai who smells of Sunflowers.  They have no leads and no idea where to start.  What they do know is that everywhere they go, trouble follows. It’s sure to be an exciting adventure, if Fuu’s two bodyguards don’t try to kill each other first.

Happy New Year Everyone and welcome to the Gundam Anime Corner in 2026.  To start things off, I’ve finally decided to look at a show that’s been on the waiting list ever since I started this blog in 2014.  Released in 2004, Samurai Champloo is Shinichiro Watanabe’s directorial follow up to Cowboy Bebop.  As such, the Anime has a lot of Bebop DNA in it, mostly in the main cast, the music and the cultural mish mash between Modern and Feudal Japan.  Despite the approach, does Samurai Champloo live in the shadows of what could be argued is Watanabe’s magnum opus?  We’ll be piecing that together all month long so let’s get the party started shall we?
 

Welcome to the Gundam Anime Corner 2026

Happy New Year Dear Readers and welcome one and all, old and new, to the Gundam Anime Corner.  This is my own little corner of the internet where I’ve been sharing my thoughts on Anime, Video Games, Movies, Conventions and various other topics since 2014 (well 2015 here, I started elsewhere in 2014 so it still counts).  If you’re new here, welcome.  Pull up a chair, check out a review, Top 5 list or two and stay as long or as little as you’d like.  For you returnees and long time readers, welcome back.  2026 is shaping up to be a big year full of long awaited titles, requests from the readers and (hopefully) some new projects or two throughout the year.  For now though, I’ve got a nice little map of the next couple of months including a tease of the forthcoming Twelfth Anniversary Review coming at the end of March…that I haven’t decided yet but bare with me.