| “ | And until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and others...stay frosty. | ” |
―Glass Reflection's outro | ||
Tristan Gallant (born: March 26, 1990), better known online as Glass Reflection or Arkada is a Canadian YouTuber who reviews many anime series. He gained his popularity mainly through his two series: 'First Reactions', which is for an ongoing series or for a completed series that he can't get to the end of due to whatever reason, and his central work: the 'A Glass Reflection Review Of' series which is exactly what the name suggests, as well as his primary focus on the channel.
History[]
Arkada gained his popularity mainly through his two series: 'First Reactions', which is for an ongoing series or for a completed series that he can't get to the end of due to whatever reason, and his central work: the 'A Glass Reflection Review Of' series which is exactly what the name suggests, as well as his primary focus on the channel. He also occasionally does vlogs, generally if people request them.
Lastly, he also has a gaming channel, although so far two months have passed since the last upload, and due to a rather small audience we are inclined to assume that Arkada has decided to only focus on Glass Reflection, with his only gaming content being the occasional stream. Tristan makes a living off of making anime reviews on YouTube, the income provided by ad revenue and a Patreon page.
He is well known for saying The Ending is Paramount, meaning in most cases if the ending of a show isn't good, his enjoyment of the show overall will be completely ruined; he has received both a lot of criticism as well as a lot of support for this claim.
Arkada formerly combined a numerical score that was a rough aggregate of various factors with a unique overall rating system, but eventually went solely with the overall ratings as the scoring was cumbersome and often confusing and contradictory between reviews. His scale, from best to worst, is:
- Certified Frosty: As he puts it: "A rating reserved only for the best of the best and those shows too important to ignore."
- Buy It: A very good show that's worth shelling out the money to add to your collection.
- Stream It: Worth watching, but only worth buying if you really dug it.
- Skip It: Generally not worth your time.
- Fuck It: Usually reserved for titles that are a complete failure for one reason or another. WataMote, while it had some merit, earned this rating mainly due to its unbearable cringiness.
Featured Channels[]
- Rerez
- Isla McTear
- JoJo Talks Too Much
- The Cartoon Cipher
- DaxStrife
- ProfessorOtakuD2
Videos[]
A Glass Reflection Review of....[]
GR Anime Review is the main series on his channel, and the one he's been doing the longest, by far. Simply put, he picks an anime, either by personal choice, because it's popular in the community or it's been a popular request from his fans and reviews and analyzes it going in enough depth to clearly lay out all of his likes and dislikes about it, while usually avoiding a lot of MAJOR spoilers, (with a few exceptions). He almost never covers the ending in great detail, unless it's crucial to understanding criticisms he has with it, and the show overall. He also isn't above touching on anime inspired cartoons from other countries such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, RWBY, and Netflix's Castlevania series.
- Death Note
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Lunar Legend Tsukihime
- Hellsing
- Final Fantasy VII: Adent Children
- Fruits Basket
- Deset Punk
- Princess Tutu
- Baccano
- Last Exile
- Claymore
- Wolf's Rain
- The Girl Who Lept Through Time
- Baldr Force EXE
- The Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Hack Sign
- Gungrave
- Heat Guy J
- Ghost Hound
- School Days
- Kenko Zenranki Suieibu Umisho
- Kara no Kyoukai - The Garden of Sinners
- Yotsuba&!
- Digimon Tamers
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Ruin Explorers
- Spice and Wolf II
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
- Summer Wars
- Genshiken
- Bamboo Blade
- Steins;Gate
- Another
- Redline
- Fortune Aterial
- Sword Art Online
- Paranoia Agent
- Cowboy Bebop
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica
- Usagi Drop
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Kanon 2006
- The End of Evangelion + Death and Rebirth
- The World God Only Knows
- Soul Eater
- Air
- Clannad
- Eden of the East
- Slayers (Season 1-3)
- Rin - Daughters of Mnemosyne
- Sound of the Sky
- Angel Beats
- Kino's Journey
- Ah My Buddah
- Deadman Wonderland
- Chobits
- Gankutsuou
- Project ICE
- Final Fantasy Unlimited
- Haibane Renmei
- Karas
- Planetes
- Black Lagoon
- Fooly Cooly (FLCL)
- STR.A.IN
- Gundam Wing
- Mysterious Girlfriend X
- Scrapped Princess
- Samurai Champloo
- Black Butler
- Interstella 555
- Gurren Lagann
- The BIg O
- Black Lagoon - Roberta's Blood Trail
- Black Butler II
- Maoyu Mao Yuusha
- Full Metal Panic
- Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
- Mushishi
- Gosick
- Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyoujin)
- Darker Than Black
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- The Future Diary
- Elfen Lied
- Anohana - The Flower We Saw That Day
- Love Hina
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Endless Eight (Haruhi Suzumiya)
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Wolf Children
- Perona 4 - The Animation
- The World God Only Knows - Goddess Arc
- Jormungand
- Kill La Kill
- Log Horizon
- Bokurano: Ours
- Witchcraft Works
- Madoka Magica Rebellion
- Code Geas - Lelouch of the Rebellion
- No Game No Life
- Psycho Pass
- Hidamari Sketch
- Fate/stay night (2006)
- Terror in Resonance
- Tegami Bachi
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni
- Hellsing Ultimate
- Watamote
- The Devil is a Part Timer
- Trigun
- Toradora
- Fate/Zero
- Tokyo Godfather
- Tokyo Ghoul
- Girls und Panzer
- Hyouka
- Akame ga Kill
- Darker than Black - Gemini of the Meteor
- Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
- Death Parade
- Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
- Squid Girl
- Shirobako
- Trigun - Badlands Rumble
- The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
- Azumanga Daioh
- Fullmetal Alchemist 2003
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Ghost Stories
- My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
- Guilty Crown
- Berserk (1997)
- Sword Art Online II
- Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV)
- Hunter X Hunter (2011)
- One Punch Man
- Gatchaman Crowds (and Insight)
- Kiniro Mosaic
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
- Yuki Yuna is a Hero
- Noragami (+ Aragoto)
- Erased
- Konosuba
- Turn A Gundam
- Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
- Comic Party
- Your Lie in April
- Psycho Pass 2
- My Hero Academia Season 1
- Working!! Season 1
- Log Horizon 2 (ft. TheHiveLeader)
- The Boy and the Beast
- Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
- Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
- Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World
- Martian Successor Nadesco
- Barakamon
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
- Tokyo Ghoul Root A
- Durarara!!
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Yuri on ICE
- Sailor Moon
- Kemono Friends
- Patlabor
- Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
- Shinsekai Yori
- The Saga of Tanya the Evil
- Nichijou
- Gundam (seris overview)
- A Centaur's Life
- Aria: The Animation
- The Reflection
- Eureka Seven
- My Hero Academia Season 2
- Silent Voice
- Ghost Hunt
- Made in Abyss
- Mars of Destruction
- Psychic School Wars
- Garzey's Wing
- Big Order
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
- Overlord
- Kino's Journey (2017)
- Yuru Camp
- Mary and the Witch's Flower
- Aggretsuko
- Land of the Lustrous
- Seiyuu's Life
- Non Non Biyori
- Outlaw Star
- Violet Evergarden
- Golden Kamuy
- Goblin Slayer
- Gundam 00
- your name
- Darling in the Franxxx
- SNAFU TOO
- Steins;Gate 0
- A Place Further than the Universe
- Manique
- Mirai
- Perfect Blue
- Pokemon
- .Hack
- Millennium Actress
- The Rising of the Shield Hero
- RWBY
- Bakemonogatari
- Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
- Castlevania
- Assassination Classroom
- Monster
- Children of the Sea
- Great Pretender
- Konosuba Season 2
- The Ancient Magu's Bride
- Tower of God
- Beastars
- Vinland Saga
First Reaction/Is It Worth Watching?/What is It?/Why I'm Excited[]
First Reaction is a show on Glass Reflection where Arkada takes either an on-going show or a show he can't complete for his own reasons and then watches the first three episodes of that series (but that can vary for some episodes) and then judges the series so far and whether you should try and watch the entire series. The series as ongoing, with episodes so far covering series such as Parasyte: The Maxim, Sailor Moon Crystal, Death Parade and Food Wars.
- Psycho Pass
- Btooom
- Robotics;Notes
- Ghost in the Shell: Arise
- Free: Iwatobi Swim Club
- The World God Only Knows III
- Watamote
- Fate/kaleid liner prisma Illya
- Genshiken Naidame
- Beyond the Boundary
- Kill la Kill
- Log Horizon
- Sailor Moon Crystal
- Aldnoah.Zero
- Zankyou no Terror
- Assassination Classroom
- Death Parade
- Nagato Yuki-chan
- Parasyte the Maxim
- Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
- Food Wars
- Sound Euphonium
- Blood Blockade Battlefront
- My Love Story
- Gangsta
- Himouto Umaru-chan
- Shimoneta
- GATE
- One Punch Man
- Myriad Colors Phantom World
- Kiznaiver
- My Hero Academia
- Ace Attorney
- Re:Zero
- Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
- Flying Witch
- Big Order
- Top 10 Anticipated Anime of Summer 2016
- Mob Psycho 100
- Sweetness and Lightning
- Berserk (2016)
- Tales of Zestiria the X
- 91 Days
- New Game
- Drifters
- Top 10 Anticipated Anime of Fall 2016
- SHELTER
- Keijo
- Occultic;9
- Izetta the Last Witch
- Top 5 Anticipated Anime of Winter 2017
- Interviews With Monster Girls
- Youjo Senki
- Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
- ACCA
- Attack on Titan Season 2
- Top 5 Anticipated Anime of Summer 2017
- Juuni Taisen
- Violent Evergarden
- Darling and the FRANXX
- Magical Girl Ore
- Uma Musume
- Tokyo Ghoul:re
- Persona 5: The Animation
- Last Period
- Fullmetal Panic
- Cells at Work
- Angels of Death
- Hanebado
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- Bunny Girl Senpai
- Bloom Into You
- Skull Faced Bookseller Honda-san
- The Promised Neverland
- Gen:LOCK
- Kaguya-sama: Love is War
- Magnificent Kotobuki
- Sarazanmai
- Fruits Basket (2019)
- Demon Slalyer
- Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken
Review Week (of Awesome)[]
The Review Week (of Awesome) is an annual event where Arkada makes a list of anime to review and have his fans vote on them. He pulls from multiple sources; anime he personally wants to review, anime from previous years that he never got to, anime he's done in a review before but the review got taken down for some reason (whether because of copyright or because he himself pulled it), as well as anime that his fans request for him to put in the list at the moment (these days he'll typically make a post on Patreon for people to suggest anime to put in the list). When the list gets completed (he may add to it later, though), he'll make a video on YouTube announcing it, with a link in the description to where people can vote. They can vote for as many anime as they want to see him do, but only the top 5 anime voted on will get chosen, as the week only lasts from Monday to Friday. Arkada stresses that he will never make a promise as to when the week will actually take place because it all depends on if he's able to finish each review beforehand (which of course includes watching the series, finding clips, making sure he owns it or at the very least, that it isn't licensed, scripting and putting the review together, each step taking an ample amount of time to accomplish. Some years the week comes earlier, and some years the week comes later. 2016 marked the 5th annual Review Week (of Awesome), and the 3rd year in a row.
Review Week (of Awesome) Second Edition (2012)[]
- Darker than Black
- Mushishi
- The World God Only Knows
- Bartender
- Steins;Gate
Review Week (of Awesome) Fourth Edition (2015)[]
- My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
- Guilty Crown
- Berserk (1997)
- Sword Art Online II
- Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV)
- Hunter X Hunter (2011)
Review Week (of Awesome) Fifth Edition (2016)[]
- Tokyo Ghoul Root A
- Durarara!!
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
Review Week (of Awful) First Edition (2017)[]
For 2017, Arkada decided to change things up and review anime that he felt were terrible rather than any random anime that might be good or bad.
- Mars of Destruction
- Psychic School Wars
- Garzey's Wing
- Big Order
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Review Week (of Awesome) Seventh Edition (2019)[]
- RWBY
- Bakemonogatari
- Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
- Castlevania
- Assassination Classroom
Review Week (of Awesome) Eighth Edition (2020)[]
- Konosuba Season 2
- The Ancient Magus' Bride
- Tower of God
- Beastars
- Vinland Saga
Podcasts[]
Podtaku[]
Years ago, Arkada was one of the four main members of the anime-related Podcast called Podtaku. It was a Podcast where he, Gigguk, (known as The Anime Zone back then), Holden Casanova, (known as Holden Reviews back then), and Jeanious Jean (known as XDisturbedJeans back then changed her name to Anime Appraisal for awhile), got together and discussed anime, basically just mentioned whatever they were watching at the moment, to see what discussions would crop up because of it. The Podcast started on August 13, 2012, and ended on January 10, 2016, almost three and a half years later. The one who wanted to end it was Arkada himself, a decision in which a lot of people, including his co-hosts, and many fans, disagreed with. It's still unknown why he wanted to end the Podcast.
- PodTaku - Episode 00: The Holden Encyclopedia
- PodTaku - Episode 01: Brain Food for the Average Otaku
- PodTaku - Episode 02: Dubs, Subs, and Homosexual Inclines
- PodTaku - Episode 03: This Is (Not) A Podcast
- PodTaku - Episode 03.33: Super Spontaneous Spoilerfic EVA Discussion
- PodTaku - Episode 04: IT'S SHIT
- PodTaku - Episode 05: The Christmas special with Arkada, Gigguk, Jeanne, and Ho-Ho-Holden
- PodTaku - Episode 06: The Winter Anime Chart, Sans Gigguk
- PodTaku - Episode 07: The Podcast that Leapt Through Time
- PodTaku - Episode 08: The Disappearence of Arkada Suzumiya
- PodTaku - Episode 09: Fate/Taku The Holy Dub War
- PodTaku - Episode 10: OBJECTION! Jeanne Fights All
- PodTaku - Episode 11: Holden and Gigguk's Bizarre Adventure
- PodTaku - Episode 12: The Mathematics of Moe
- PodTaku - Episode 13: Purgatory, Conventions, and the West
- PodTaku - Episode 14: The Drunk Cast
- PodTaku - Episode 15: The Void
- PodTaku - Episode 16: ROW ROW Fight Da Spoilahs!
- PodTaku - Episode 17: Attack on Shit
- PodTaku Episode 18: Kill Witches, Get Bitches
- PodTaku Episode 19: Holden's Gonna Do Some Holding
- PodTaku Episode 20: IT'S A GUNDAM
- PodTaku Episode 21: Live Free and Mind the Gap
- PodTaku LIVE 1
- PodTaku Episode 22: Family Friendly Beastiality
- PodTaku Episode 23: I am Jack's Heavenly Feel
- PodTaku Episode 24: Samurai Shampoo | Feat. Ninouh
- PodTaku Episode 25: AtTaku on Hypu
- PodTaku Episode 26: It's Dandy Time!
- PodTaku Episode 27: Combustion of the Jean Encyclopedia
- PodTaku Episode 28: Christmas Special 2013
- PodTaku Episode 29: We've Found You Waiting in the Summer
- PodTaku Episode 30: DO YOU EVEN CIRCLE?!
- PodTaku Episode 31: The Garden of Akiyuki Shinbo
- PodTaku Episode 32: Low Quality Bait
- PodTaku Ep 33: ACEN - The Final Countdown!
- PodTaku Episode 34: The Real Con Blues
- PodTaku Vlog 1 - Anime Central 2014
- PodTaku Vlog 2 - Anime Central 2014 Panel (Second Impact)
- PodTaku Episode 36: The Evolution of Dubbing
- PodTaku Ep 40: Romance Anime Discussion [Archive]
- PodTaku Episode 41: Limited Budget Works
- PodTaku Episode 44: Be Kind Rewind [Archive]
- A Goodbye to PodTaku
Jtaku[]
Jtaku was a spinoff Podcast basically the same as Podtaku, but where many other anime YouTubers discussed anime with each other, the main members of Podtaku only occasionally guest starring. Jtaku was started on September 28, 2013, almost a year after Podtaku, and ended the same time as Podtaku, January 10, 2016, almost two and a half years later. The many stars of Jtaku included Full Circle Reviews, BakaShift, CinWicked, NineOuh, Sooin, Fiction Reviews, and 42believer among others.
- J-Taku Episode 00: The Fall 2013 Season Chart
- J-Taku Episode 03: Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) Discussion
- J-Taku Episode 04: RWBY Discussion
- J-Taku Episode 05: The Winter 2013/2014 Season Chart
- J-Taku Ep 10: School Days Argument - The Rock's Vs The J's
- J-Taku Ep 13: Kill La Kill Series Discussion
- J-Taku Ep 17: Madoka Magica Rebellion Discussion
- Top 10 J-Taku Moments
- A Goodbye to PodTaku
Mangapod Book Club[]
Mangapod Book Club is a Podcast that Arakada has guest starred on four times in the past. It's a Podcast hosted by HappiLeeErin, where she and her co-hosts, and occasionally special guests, (like Arkada), read all or part of a manga, (if its' a long manga they'll typically discuss three to five volumes per Podcast), and then discuss it with each other. It started in 2012, and is still ongoing to this day, albeit not nearly as often due to life obligations, such as Erin and her husband having a baby.
- MangaPod Book Club #39: Sailor Moon (Vol. 1 - 5, Ch. 1 - 19) with special guest Arkada!
- MangaPod Book Club #99: Monster Musume (Ch. 1 - 26) ft. Arkada!
- MangaPod Book Club #144: Sailor Moon (Vol. 6 - 10, Ch. 20 - 33) ft. Arkada!
- MangaPod Book Club #124: Sweetness and Lightning (Chapters 1 - 33) ft. Arkada!
Quotes[]
- "A five minute intermission in the middle of the film!"
- "Oh no, there I go, spreading my opinion again!"
- "Let's jam."
- "And until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and others...stay frosty!"
Subscriber Milestones[]
- 500,000 Subscribers - April, 2018
Video View Milestones[]
- 69,000,000 Subscribers - March, 2018