Monthly Archives: February 2026

Supreme Court Strikes Down Trumps’ Tariffs And What This Means For Us Otakus?

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The tariffs have been a walking nightmare for us otakus. Now, with this ruling, is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Since the start of Donald Trump’s tariffs, our way of otaku life has taken a massive toll. This ranges from price increases on home media like anime DVDs and Blu-rays, manga and light novels, and—arguably the worst—merchandise goods such as figures and cosplay items. Trump’s harsh tariffs on numerous nations around the world, including the motherland Japan, as well as China and Vietnam, have driven up prices for our goods to levels never seen before. To make matters worse, other sweeping trade policies—like the removal of the de minimis exemption—have made direct imports from Japan far more difficult and expensive. The situation became such a mess that numerous Japanese companies, such as Good Smile Company, AmiAmi, Tokyo Otaku Mode, and Solaris Japan, had to temporarily suspend shipments or dramatically change their policies for online purchases to the US. Things got so chaotic that some goods were delayed or even canceled outright. Tariffs have caused horrific harm to us otakus.

Now, today—February 20, 2026—there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel. The United States Supreme Court has struck down Trump’s tariff policy. In light of the chaos and price hikes we’ve endured, what does this exactly mean? The truth is, it’s genuinely good news and a huge relief for us otakus. As we all know, these tariffs have made collecting and our way of otaku life much harder ever since they were implemented. When Trump announced the so-called “Liberation Day” last year, launching sweeping tariffs across nations—including Japan and much of East and Southeast Asia—prices exploded, and nothing has been the same since. Now, with this ruling, what will happen next?

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Why do English Dubs Still Get a Bad Reputation?

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The oldest and most controversial debate in anime history is a divisive and polarizing one. The question is, do English dubs deserve the hate it gets?

The anime community is no stranger to controversial discussions. People in the community often argue about basic topics that are rife among those in it—ranging from questions such as which was the better “Big Three” (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach), who is the best girl in some newly released seasonal anime with only twelve episodes that will be forgotten 45 minutes after it finishes airing, whether Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deep anime with hidden themes or just a pretentious series that tries way too hard, and of course, modern anime vs. old anime.

However, if there is one topic that always seems to cause a ruckus without fail, it’s the topic of English dubs! There’s no denying that the intense and heated debate about the quality and concept of English dubs is, arguably, the most well-known and oldest topic in the history of the English-speaking anime community. The question you’re probably asking is, why is the concept of English dubs and their practice so controversial?

In this article, I will be talking about the short history of anime dubs, the long-standing controversy, and why the practice of English dubs suffer a bad reputation to this day.

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Mangadex Removes Certain Manga Titles to Comply With Legal Issues

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New Year, new controversy. If you thought 2025’s legal controversies would be left behind, then you are certainly wrong.

Oh boy, would you look at that! If you thought 2025’s Armageddon of controversy and censorship issues in anime and manga would be left behind, well, friend, smell the coffee because this stuff ain’t leaving anytime soon. So, what’s going on this time? More censorship, or controversy in the community? Well, you could say both. Since last year, there’s been a rampant attack not just on anime and manga, but on the internet as a whole—ranging from age verification laws, to restrictions on certain freedoms of expression, and corruption in the free market. Most specifically, banks and credit card companies have been exposed for refusing payments and services to select individuals or platforms unfairly deemed problematic. The latest incidents are yet another example of this sad continuation of censorship.

MangaDex, one of the most well-known piracy sites for manga, recently announced that it has removed certain manga titles from its website to comply with the law and avoid legal troubles with officials. The question you’re probably asking is: what exactly did MangaDex remove?

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Ocala Anime-Fest 2026 Review

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The third anime convention of the year was filled with an unexpected twist—one that raised my expectations even higher in an area I’m already very familiar with!

By the time I publish this article, there’s one thing I can definitely tell you: I’m already very familiar with the city of Ocala as a whole. It all started way back with Ocala Comic Con in 2023. Since then, I’ve attended at least four events there in total—and five if we’re counting repeat yearly ones. So what is this anime convention I’m talking about? Well, it’s Ocala Anime-Fest, another anime con from OurCons—the same awesome group behind Sarasota Anime-Fest, which I attended (the second one) on December 6, 2025. Held at the Hilton Hotel in Ocala, this was my second time visiting that hotel, with the previous visit being for OGPokeCards (OG Con) on August 30 of last year. Not only that, but I was also pleased to cosplay as Kaito from Vocaloid—my first brand-new cosplay since Len Kagamine’s for Sarasota Anime-Fest. So far, he’s been the best and my favorite to cosplay! I can’t wait for more cosplay in the future!

Ocala Anime-Fest 2026 came out of nowhere! Just as I was about to finalize my entire calendar for my 2026 anime convention plans in 2025, it suddenly popped up, bringing me a ton of great excitement. Hilariously, though, right after I moved my base from Ocala to Tampa, Ocala starts lighting up my otaku radar again—after a few years of barely anything happening there except Ocala Comic Con and Brick City Anime Festival (both of which I’ve already attended). Nonetheless, I was utterly pleased to learn that the Horse Capital of the World now has another anime con to check out.

Another interesting part is that this year marked the first inauguration of Ocala Anime-Fest. This anime con in Ocala is completely brand new and still so young. So just knowing that I was able to attend its very first year gives me yet another cherished memory and another personal achievement that I’m really happy to have experienced. So, how did this newcomer do? What great magic did this anime con have in store for me?

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SSAS+ Toracon 2026 Review

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What was my first anime convention of this year would turn out to be the only one at this event’s small and humble finale.

Following the successful Brick City Anime Festival 2026 weeks earlier, I was obviously eager to continue my anime convention journey for the year. Before I discovered SSAS+’s Toracon in late 2025, I was always checking animecons.com to see if any new anime cons in Florida would pop up—and sure enough, one did. This humble convention, despite having run for 15 years, was one I shamefully never knew existed. After learning, it was held in Sarasota—a city I was already familiar with from my previous time at Sarasota Anime-Fest 2025—I knew my chance to attend Toracon was all but cemented. Once it concluded, SSAS+ Toracon became my second anime convention of 2026. It was also my first free convention ever and one of the few free ones this year. My choice of cosplay? None other than the original one: Tobi! My good boy deserved to attend his first anime convention, and at long last, he did!

SSAS+Toracon is an anime convention located in Sarasota and hosted at the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences charter school. It was first inaugurated in 2012 and ran for fifteen years, with 2026 marking its final edition. It is highly likely that no future events from SSAS+Toracon will happen anymore. Unlike previous years, the con was admission-free in 2026 and lasted only three hours. Toracon is notable for its family-oriented theme and popularity among children—particularly elementary and middle schoolers—but despite that, it remains an all-ages anime convention open to everyone. This simple fact makes Toracon the smallest and shortest anime convention of 2026 for me (as of right now). So, the question is, why did I travel to attend SSAS+Toracon? Well, exactly for that reason. This con had its last year ever in history, and just knowing that I, Kurai of Animangemu, got to attend Toracon’s finale—with photos, recordings, and having witnessed all the events—makes me feel proud that this otaku was able to be present at an anime con’s closing chapter. In the distant future, when some advanced civilization discovers that an anime convention called SSAS+Toracon once existed, they will see that this otaku journalist’s name and brand were etched into the history books. At the same time, just remembering it fills me with overwhelming sadness. Toracon wasn’t just a con; it gave me my first real taste of “con crash” in the history of my otaku life—something beyond the usual anime, manga, and video game consumerist world. In other words, this was a truly revolutionary moment for me…

SSAS+Toracon 2026 had a lot of great things. However, you’re probably wondering: How did this anime con, despite its small size and short three-hour run, manage to rock the fun for me?

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