Last week I was too busy galavanting around New York City to post my usual roundup, so enjoy extra links today! Here’s what caught my eye this week:

• Are you an Anime-Planet user? Do you hate having to manually update your profile with all the Crunchyroll shows you’re watching? In that case, you’re going to love their new partnership, which allows you to watch CR shows from your profile and opt to have them update automatically, too. Check out the press release—actually, I wrote it! And if you’re also on Anime-Planet, let’s connect.

• Yes, it’s possible to learn Japanese by watching anime. But you’ll need to grab your textbook and turn subtitles off for a change. Koichi shows you how.

• The always edgy VICE Magazine interviews Richard Garfield, the inventor of Magic: The Gathering, and manages to make the game sound approachable and cool. If you’ve found M:TG too complicated in the past, check out the way Garfield lays it out in this Q&A.

• More people attend comic cons than read comics. As somebody who attends a lot of general geek events and is not a US comics fan, I’m not surprised!

• Why every tech company needs an English major. Sometimes my coworkers publish really great articles that make me feel better about my degree.

• The Fullmetal Alchemist mangaka just completed her third “human transmutation.” So geeky, so cute.

• Apparently while I was in New York, the entire world became obsessed with Twitch Plays Pokémon, a version of Pokémon Red being played by 80,000 or so people all at once. For me, the easiest way to keep up is by reading the live update stream on Reddit.

• Tony has been blogging at Manga Therapy for four years now! Go congratulate him and if you know/are an illustrator, let him know. He wants to start building anime themed infographics, which we could always use more of.

• @adaywithoutme wrote about being a socially unacceptable Gundam fan. Liking G Gundam? Totally acceptable!

• Finally, for Higurashi fans only: 2kids Presents Casey & Friends.

Incredible Harime Nui cosplay by Rato. Check out her other costumes, too.