• The first episode of Yuri!!! On Ice was a whirlwind and it’s easy to get hyped up already. But Tom Zoth’s retrospective on director Sayo Yamamoto’s previous works makes me think that all this excitement is justified.

• Thunderbolt Fantasy narrowly missed being one of my Anime News Network top summer picks, and if the final episode had come out sooner that might have gone differently. Here’s Frog-kun on how the show relies on a rich tradition of Taiwanese puppet theater.

• Remember Playing Grounded, the anime-inspired puzzle company? After a couple false starts they’re launching again, and I can’t wait to get my Goldfish puzzle design.

• Speaking of promising Kickstarters, have you heard of Mecha-Ude? It’s the first original project from Sae Okamoto, a self-described geek girl and anime industry professional. The promo video alone makes it clear she can make this happen.

• “You’re cool, unlike those other fangirls,” is a phrase anime and game localizer Kara Dennison is really sick of hearing. A really important message that if you diss one group of fans, don’t get surprised if all of them take offense.

• Boys Love fanservice is not the same as LGBT representation, but reporter Harada Akemi thinks it could encourage readers to empathize with gay people. This article appeared in the Asahi Shinbun and was graciously translated by Takurei’s Room.

• While DC and Marvel wring their hands wondering which new superhero fans want to read about, Ngozi Ukazu’s Check Please!, a webcomic about queer hockey players, just Kickstarted $300,000 and counting.

• Keidra Chaney writes about the secret pleasure of solitary fandom, of indulging in a hobby you didn’t know anyone else involved in, usually pre-Internet. By the time I was in sixth grade I already had an Internet connection and was browsing Gundam Wing and Fushigi Yuugi “shrines,” as we called fansites back then, so this was a fascinating read.

Screencap via Trickster. I won’t be watching but damn, that’s pretty.