Next Club Meeting: February 21, 2026, at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.

This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Anime Viewing Schedule for February 21, 2026


 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Fountaindale Public Library
VIEWING SCHEDULE
          11:15 - 12:05   Apothecary Diaries - Season 2 eps 16-17
          12:05 - 12:55   Ranma 1/2 Remake: Season 2 eps 7-8
          12:55 - 1:25     Club Meeting
          1:25 - 2:15       Sanda eps 4-5
          2:15 - 3:05       Frieren: Beyond Journeys End 1-2
          3:05 - 4:45       Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc (Movie)
        

"Time to Rejoice!"
 
Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440 
Peggy J. Danhof Board Room
(Second Floor)
 
From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.
Don't miss these exciting anime series: Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura
* ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW *
11:15 - 12:05   The Apothecary Diaries - Season 2 eps. 16-17
The Apothecary Diaries
Plot Summary:  
Jinshi dreams of his childhood, recalling an old man being taken away by an angry old woman—later explained to him to be his father and grandmother, respectively. He also told that the man he believed to be his father was actually his brother. Jinshi knows that Maomao will eventually discover the truth. Meanwhile, while Maomao observes the penmanship school, she hears the teacher telling about the nation's founding myth, focusing on the Mother Royal, a foreigner who birthed the country's first emperor. The capital was built around a shrine—the Shrine of Choosing—where emperors were once selected through a test. The shrine has been abandoned since an epidemic wiped out nearly all of the previous candidates. She also learns that her adoptive father, Luomen, sometimes visited the shrine when he had free time, and became acquainted with the eunuch who maintains it, who is also the penmanship teacher. The emperor takes Jinshi and Maomao to the shrine to attempt the test once more. Following a series of colored doors according to specific instructions, they reach the final stage, only to fail again. The failure note implies the emperor doesn't descend from the Mother Royal. After the eunuch expresses belief Luomen would have uncovered the shrine's secret, Maomao asks the emperor about the previous emperors' eyesight, learning that only the previous emperor had good eyesight; and about the parentage of the previous emperor, whose elder brothers died in an epidemic. The emperor has Jinshi take the test, guided by Maomao, who takes them to the end, a balcony on an upper floor. The shrine's caretaker explains that if none of the candidates succeeded, they were allowed to try again, aided by a concubine of the right lineage. The emperor asks for an explanation, which the eunuch has Maomao give. She deduced that the shrine was built to select for red-green color blindness, a rare trait in the country but more common in the western lands where the Mother Royal was said to have hailed from, which Luomen would know, having studied medicine abroad. However, she withholds that allowing concubines with the trait is a method to ensure that the bloodline of the Mother Royal remains in power despite the prevalent patriarchal succession of rule. The emperor jokes about taking Maomao as a concubine, but is unwilling to anger Lakan, and finds Maomao's breasts as too small. The eunuch, though, warns about suddenly introducing new blood into the imperial family. Maomao continues to wonder about Jinshi, this time no longer seeing him as "just the emperor's favorite eunuch".
 
 
12:05 - 12:55   Ranma 1/2 Remake: Season 2 eps 7-8
 
RANMA 1/2 Remake

Plot Summary:
Soun Tendou runs the Tendou Martial Arts School accompanied by his three daughters: Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi. One day, the sisters' lives are turned upside down when their father announces that he has promised one of them to be married to a fellow martial artist's son in hopes of carrying on the family legacy. In addition to their mixed reactions, when the fiancé arrives, the last thing the Tendou family expects is Ranma Saotome and his father, Genma. Ranma has been training in China with his father until an unfortunate accident changed them both. Now, when water touches them, Ranma turns into a girl and Genma into a giant panda. Ranma ½ follows Ranma as he attempts to get along with his newly betrothed, the youngest of the Tendou sisters, Akane. As the two begin to attend the same school, they deal with fellow friends and rivals, all of whom have something to say about their engagement.
 

12:55 - 1:25     Club Announcements
Movies
Anime
Music
Pop Culture
Conventions
Cosplay
Trailers
Video Games


1:25 - 2:15    Sanda ep 4-5
Sanda
Plot Summary:  
The story is set in Japan in 2080. Affected by the declining birth rate, Japan has implemented a series of control policies for minors, including arranging marriage partners from infancy, not allowing children to sleep to slow down development, and requiring them to use the toilet separately from adults. Young people's social status is also higher than adults. Santa Claus has been sealed for a long time because of the curse, which makes society think that Santa Claus has disappeared, and regard Christmas as an ancient custom or a fictional legend. On December 25, when it was snowing, middle school student Kazushige Sanda's body seal was broken by his classmate Shiori Fuyumura, making him look like Santa Claus. From that day forward he finds himself transforming into Santa whenever he wears red clothes. Later, Sanda discovers that he can change back by eating jellybeans. The reason why Fuyumura lifted the seal was that she hoped that Sanda would help find her missing classmate Ichie Ono, and also hoped that he would remind society of Christmas.


2:15 - 3:05    Frieren: Beyond Journeys End 1-2
Frieren: Beyond Journeys End
Plot Summary:  
Frieren, Fern, and Stark leave the magic city of Äußerst behind and travel along a road in the northern lands. To know more about people's hearts, the journey continues.

 
3:05 - 4:45    Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc (Movie)
Chainsaw Man Movie - Reze Arc
Plot Summary:   
Following Katana Man's defeat, Public Safety division leader Makima assigns the fanatical shark devil Beam as temporary partner to the devil hunter Denji (Chainsaw Man) while his regular partner Power has her excess blood drained. Makima takes Denji on a movie marathon date; both dislike all but the final film in the program, which moves them to tears. During the date, Makima reassures Denji that he has a heart capable of feeling.

Denji is caught in a storm while patrolling and takes shelter in a phone booth, where he meets a girl named Reze and later visits her at the café where she works. Her behavior leads Denji to think she has feelings for him, though he is conflicted over his simultaneous attraction to Makima. Meanwhile, devil hunter Aki Hayakawa is assigned the Angel Devil as his new partner, whose touch shortens the lifespan of mortals. Angel's laziness and apathy towards humans become sources of mutual tension.

Denji and Reze sneak into her school at night, where they skinny dip in the outdoor pool and she teaches him to swim. While separated from Denji, Reze is suddenly ambushed by an assassin who aims to torture her to control Denji; she feigns weakness before quickly killing the man and allying with his partnered devil, the Typhoon Devil. The day after, while watching fireworks at a festival, Reze asks Denji to run away with her. He hesitates, leading to her realization that there's another woman in Denji's life. Reze then kisses him, bites out his tongue, and incapacitates him revealing her true identity as the Bomb Devil.

Beam retreats with the injured Denji to a Public Safety office, where they find Aki and Angel; the four escape by car as Reze slaughters the other hunters. As she chases them through the streets, a revived Denji retaliates but is easily defeated. Aki and the Violence Fiend fend off Reze, but the Typhoon Devil arrives to assist her. Denji is revived by Angel using the blood of a nearby casualty and Beam suggests using his chainsaw abilities tactically in the fight, giving Denji the idea to ride Beam's shark form in the battle. Amidst the fight, the Typhoon Devil's winds pull in Angel before Aki catches his shirt. Intent on dying, Angel begs him to let go but Aki secures him by grabbing his bare hand, taking two months off his lifespan.

Denji and Beam kill the Typhoon Devil, though Reze severely injures Beam. The confrontation leads them to the coastline, where Denji uses his chains to bind Reze to him and jumps into the water, preventing her from using her abilities as they sink to the seabed. All three wash ashore the following morning, where Reze concedes that her mission has failed and she never had feelings for Denji. He replies that if that were truly the case, she would not have taught him to swim. Denji then reciprocates Reze's offer to run away together and asks her to meet at the café the next day...

1 comment:

  1. I hope you meant Frieren eps 1 & 2 of SEASON TWO and not for the earlier one.
    Also, glad to see you back, Mike but Bob stated you are still recovering at home. Best wishes to you.

    ReplyDelete