Thanks for visiting Anime Rants. I am several weeks behind schedule, but still trying to finish up the last few installments of Spring 2026. This post covers the episodes released in the week of June 14th to 20th 2026. Of this week, my favorite episode was Re: Zero season 4 episode 11. The installment for Dr. Stone was almost as interesting, but it honestly felt too underwhelming for a penultimate episode of a shounen anime. Anyway, my notes are below. 🙂
Contents
- The Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4
- Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3
- Go For It, Nakamura!
- Re: Zero Season 4
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
The Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 4
Episode 11: The Gathering of Gutenbergs
Ferdinand arrived and quickly destroyed the Goltze monster with a huge amount of mana in a magical sword. Unfortunately, the feystone left behind was too tainted to be used as an ingredient in Rosemyne’s Devouring potion. Though the mission failed, Ferdinand smiled at Rosemyne and told her not to cry. Later, Rosemyne discovered a bunch of old letters belonging to the previous High Bishop. Some of them contained evidence of bribery and whatnot, so Rosemyne reported it to Ferdinand. The letters also mentioned Veronica, the Bishop’s older sister, who had been imprisoned for her involvement with the corrupt Bishop. Veronica was the woman who raised Ferdinand and apparently verbally abused him to no end during his childhood. Rather than being upset his “mother” was imprisoned, Ferdinand seemed almost smug about it.
Rosemyne was very busy with her Bishop duties overseeing the mana chalices brought in by the blue-robed priests. However, she still found time to meet with Ingo the carpenter. He wanted to see her to verify that he was still one of her exclusive craftsmen for the printing press. Rosemyne put Ingo’s worries to rest quickly and kindly. Together with the other Gutenbergs – Zack and Johan – Ingo began designing a new and improved printing press. The episode ended on a hopeful note. In other news, I’ve grown very fond of the ending song for this season, and have decided to try to learn to sing it. It’s a beautiful song called “Ima mo, Arigatou” (“Thank you for now, too”) by Erika Ikuta.
Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3
Episode 12: Why-Man
This episode finally revealed the true form of Why-Man. People have been saying that the petrification was caused by aliens since the first season, and they were mostly right. Why-Man or the Medusa isn’t a biological creature, but a “machine lifeform” that parasitizes other intelligent species. In exchange for granting “eternal life,” the small mechanical aliens expected to be protected from oxygen, which for them was a deadly toxin that also prevented movement. They wanted their diamond batteries changed as well. Being from somewhere else in space, the Medusa are by definition extraterrestrials. They seem to share a collective consciousness but have some level of individuality, too. We heard the voices of two of the little machines talking to Senku and company.
Personally, I thought the final reveal about the Medusa was a bit underwhelming despite good execution and story consistency. It’s possible I’m just disappointed because I don’t want Dr. Stone to end, but I felt that there were more creative and shocking plot twists and reveals that would have been better than the one chosen. Anyway, Senku issued a challenge to the floating mass of Medusas, saying that it was time for a showdown to settle things once and for all. I don’t know what he has in mind, but we’ll find out in the final episode next time. It’s such a bittersweet experience watching this show end.
Go For It, Nakamura!
Episode 12: You and I Are “Friends”!!
The first half of this installment was light-hearted and typical of a Valentine’s Day mini episode. After realizing that it was considered normal for friends to exchange chocolate on Valetine’s, Nakamura bought some chocolate for Hirose. However, he wasn’t able to give it to Hirose. Things kept getting in the way. There was a strange scene where Nakamura found Hirose alone after school as if waiting for someone. Nakamura interpreted Hirose’s unusual behavior to mean that his gay crush might be mutual. However, that was a sad misinterpretation. Hirose was only blushing and acting unusual because of his crush on a girl at school. The next week, Nakamura saw Hirose walking home with a girl and overheard that he now had a girlfriend named Hana.
Nakamura was devastated, but he tried to be happy for Hirose. Since parts of his suffering early on were portrayed in a comedic light, I wasn’t expecting the gut-punch ending where it became genuinely emotional. The last scene showed Nakamura crying, “Isn’t my happiness his happiness?” That was a powerful line. When you’re a misunderstood and very empathetic teenager like Nakamura, it’s sometimes hard to see the boundaries between yourself and others. Nakamura had such an obsessive love for Hirose that he thought Hirose’s happiness was equivalent to his own. But that’s not how it works. When you’re in love and the person you like isn’t into you, it’s bound to hurt like hell. Hirose might be overjoyed to have a girlfriend, but Nakamura will not echo the feeling. He has now learned the painful lesson that his own happiness is separate from anyone else’s.
Re: Zero Season 4
Episode 11 (AKA 77): I Love You
This intense installment is the final part of the first half of season 4, also known as the Loss Arc. The remaining eight episodes will begin airing in August and will form the Recapture Arc. Long story short, almost everyone met a tragic end in this world, but not without a huge mental breakthrough on Subaru’s part. First, Julius was attacked by mabeasts and then challenged by Reid. Then Beatrice and Foxidna both got caught in an explosion and died. We don’t know what happened to Rem and Ram. Left alone, Emilia and Subaru had a long talk during which Emilia stated that Subaru was someone she loved. This was the inspiration Subaru needed in order to find his courage and determination. Emilia and Subaru clung to each other as the Tower crumbled and they plunged downward into a vortex. When Subaru revived, he had all his memories. To be continued.
Though many questions remain unanswered, I was fairly satisfied with this episode as a midway point in the season. Seeing Satella is always interesting to me, as I want to know more about the witches. I have other thoughts about this episode, including the suspicion that the Reid we saw was not the real Reid. But for now, this is all I have in me. My thoughts apparently don’t want to be orderly and writable today. Oh, well.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
Episode 11 (AKA 83): Milim’s Friend
The episode began with some important backstory for Milim. We learned that Milim’s friend, the baby elemental dragon, was technically her half-sibling. The sorcery kingdom killed the elemental dragon baby, causing Milim to rampage and destroy the entire country. She awakened as a Demon Lord. Later, the elemental dragon came back to life, but with a corrupted soul, resulting in the birth of the Chaos Dragon. Milim had no choice but to seal away her dear friend. Now, back in the present, the Dragon was free again. Things looked grim at first, as Milim battled the growing monster. But thanks to Raphael and Rimuru, the Chaos Dragon’s soul was purified and transferred into a new form: a Dragon egg. Milim treasured the egg, naming the baby Gaia. It was the reincarnation of her dear friend.
Elsewhere, Yuuki figured out there was a connection between the Rozzo Family and the God Luminous. Meanwhile, thanks to Raphael, Rimuru realized that Yuuki was suspicious and hadn’t actually been under Maribel’s control. He now knew to be wary of Yuuki. There was also a nice moment at the end of the episode wherein Rimuru expressed appreciation for Raphael and saw a vision of an angelic being smiling in return. Raphael is so cool and underappreciated, so this moment was awesome for me.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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