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Features, essays, reviews and hot takes from the NCN editorial desk.
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Anime
Anime Hot Take: 5 Reasons Why Anime Is Political
Anime is often treated as an escape from reality—a medium filled with colorful characters, epic battles, and imaginative worlds. While it certainly offers entertainment, it also serves as a powerful vehicle for political ideas.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: L is for...
At first glance, Locathah are easy to dismiss as just another aquatic humanoid. They possess fish-like heads, webbed hands, streamlined bodies, and scales perfectly suited for life beneath the waves. But reducing them to "fish people" misses what makes them genuinely interesting.
Anime
Anime Hot Take: Dubs vs Subs
I know what I said, and I stand by it. I don’t care how people watch anime, I just want them to enjoy it. But for the sake of equality, here’s the thing. I will always go for Dub over Subs, despite what other articles on this website might imply.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: K is for...
Because I can never get enough of the ‘weird little guy’ category of monsters, this time we are heading back to the feywilds, or rather, underneath it…
Movies
X-Men at D23 2026
Everything Marvel Revealed About the Mutants
Anime
Anime Hot Take: Why kris should stop being a pain in the arse and just watch Mushi-shi already
Happy Birthday buddy, now stop being a dick and let's have a talk.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: J is for...
Some of the best monsters in Dungeons & Dragons draw inspiration from real life and today we are venturing into the myths and legends of China. Traditional folklore surrounding jiangshi is wonderfully eccentric, and nearly all of it can become fun gameplay. Jiangshi offer something many undead don't: personality. A skeleton attacks because it's ordered to. A zombie attacks because it's hungry. A jiangshi attacks because something has gone terribly wrong with death itself.
Anime Hot Take: Isekai is the death of world building
This is why I’ll Never Watch Another Isekai Anime. I have finally reached the point in my life where I have to take a stand. I’m over it I have endured enough reincarnated office workers. I have witnessed enough medieval guilds. I have heard enough explanations of mana. I have met enough demon lords. I have watched enough protagonists discover, with great surprise, that the fantasy world they have just arrived in contains both magic and women.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: I is for...
Today we delve into the wonderful world of I, and I must admit that for this one I was a little adrift. At first I thought perhaps I can spin it and make it a post about I the DM being the greatest monster of all, but then I remembered. I have a million tags inside my monster manual of cool monsters and surely there is one there which satisfies today’s letter?
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: H is for...
One of the greatest DM’s ever to put pen to paper once wrote; “Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war.” And who am I to ignore the OG bard? This week we are going to talk about dogs, sort of.
Anime
Anime's Long-Title Epidemic: Why Does Every Show Read Like a Spoiler?
There was a time when anime titles were simple. Naruto. Bleach. Death Note. Monster. One word. Maybe two. They sounded cool, mysterious, and memorable. Sometimes they made sense, and other times they were an obscure reference. Afterall, what does Bleach have to do with sword wielding shinigami? I guess they both clean up.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: G is for...
This week we are talking about the big lads. No really. Massive. Mountain-sized. "I cast Fly because I refuse to deal with stairs anymore" levels of big.
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: F is for...
There are a few monsters which have become truly synonymous with D&D, Dragons, beholders, mindflayers and today's offering, fiends. No infernal bargain, cultists ceremony, or a wizard who makes one tiny mistake with a summoning circle is complete without a Fiend.
cdramas
Blossoms of Power
Will two people on a journey for revenge find love at the end?
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: E is for...
Previously I spoke about ancient horrors lurking beneath the waves, but not every memorable monster has to be a world-ending aberration with enough psychic power to make even your squishy wizard cry. Sometimes the best monsters are the ones that catch your players completely off guard. They look harmless. They sound harmless. And then, before anyone has realised what is happening, the party has somehow found itself in a situation that has spiralled gloriously out of control.
kbl korean bl
The Prosecutor's Proposal
What happens when hate turns to love?
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: D is for...
Note to author: Don’t write dragon. Don’t write dragon. Don’t write dragon. This week we are going to talk about dragons… Psych bitches! (Hmmm I wonder if Lee will let me post this article with a swear right at the beginning? Only one way to find out.)
cdrama
The First Jasmine
What happens when a lone survivor finds revenge?
TTRPG
The ABC's of DND: C is for...
Today we are taking a deep dive. At first I thought it would be cool to do a Couatl, bit after deciding that a Couatl was too much like a dragon to count (what with this whole series being about taking the dragons out of D&D), I decided to delve into the D&D vault.
Asian Drama
Payback
Sun tracks down an ex lover who betrayed him and caused the death of his family. Will he have his revenge?
TTRPG
The ABC's of DnD: B is for...
Like B-movies, and B-sides, there are a lot of B-monsters out there to choose from. Basilisks, and Behir, Bone-whelks and Bulete’s all made it to a shortlist… which then became a long list. But today we will be stepping out of the core rules and into one of the supplemental books; Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
TTRPG
The ABC’s of DND: A is for...
Previously I talked about reasons why dragons can be a bit of a pitfall for D&D campaigns. But where does that leave us? Well luckily we have a huge manual of monsters to draw upon, and with a challenge rating of 10 and some interesting lore, I would like to start with one of my favourite monsters of all time. But first let us set the scene:
Should You Read Absolute Batman?
Absolute Batman corrupts, absolutely...
Anime
Will This Be The Biggest New Anime Of 2027
Kagurabachi Image courtesy of ©Takeru Hokazono/SHUEISHA, Project Kagurabachi
TTRPG
DM Hot Take: Never Give Your Party a Dragon
Plenty of people have said it before me, so this might be more of a reheated leftover take than a hot take. But! There are plenty of reasons why, as a DM (or GM depending on your preference) you should delay giving you party a dragon for as long as possible.
Comics
5 Spider-Man Comics To Read Before Brand New Day Comes Out Tomorrow
Spider-Man Brand New Day Out In Cinemas Tomorrow
TV
Reacher is back
and once again everyone thinks they can take him on!
Movies
The Multiverse just exploded
Everything from Marvel at SDCC 2026!