キミはキメラ 隠遁者の夜明け / Ur Chimeric - Hermit's Dawn

 

The story is about a hiki that one day gets an offer to work at a biolab doing pretty much everything, from cleaning to bringing coffee. His main task though is taking care of a chimera. Right there I have a problem with this book. The very first pages are illustrations of all characters and their names, including the monsters. I know most LN do this but in this case, with a plot that's supposed to be a mystery, this is really ill-advised. They literally give away one of the key mysteries of the plot on the first page of the book. I kept thinking maybe there was going to be a twist and the thing that's supposed to be inside the box we saw earlier and that the main character spends half the book wondering about is not going to actually be the creature the first page shows but nope, it was exactly that. I don't get this but what do I know.

The story itself is nice for the most part, there's a couple of twists there I didn't see it coming. The story is mostly divided between the internal monologues of the main character, Haruhara, and his daily work of taking care of a supposedly highly intelligent chimera creature. His monologues are pretty much him being extremely thankful to have a job now and how the person who hired him saved his life from being a hiki forever. This excessive gratitude plays on later into the plot but it's still not that interesting. His work with the chimera was more entertaining and somehow it didn't get repetitive while I was reading it but in retrospect I guess it is.

Still, an overall enjoyable read for those looking for a quick modern fantasy fix.

寺ガール / Tera Girl

 

Tera Girl or Temple Girl if you want a literal translation, is about three sisters whose father is a Buddhist priest. The family lives in the temple and each one has their own view of that sort of life and responsability. The only one really invested in the whole thing is the middle sister, Hikari, so everyone in the family has a lot of hope on her inheriting the grounds and continue the family tradition.

Hikari is actually OK with it until she falls in love with a boy in her school. This new situation brings all sorts of conflicting emotions in her life and what we get to follow in this short work by famous author Mizusawa Megumi is how she deals with it and how it affects those around her.

There's a solid premise here and the characters are filled with life. They all possess that emotional sensitivity that makes them a joy to know more about. Really the only problem is how short this is, only three volumes long, which I think was not enough time to develop the full potential of this plot and characters. 

The art is really, really good and if you're into the shoujo style of the later 80s and 90s, you'll love it. This is one of the best examples of that way to draw manga. The characters look endearing and adorable, all of them. Mizusawa Megumi is really good at drawing portraits and making them alive and emotional.

This is a good introduction to her works. It's nice, it's short and a very enjoyable read. If you don't feel like going through Hime-chan's Ribbon just yet, this little title here is the perfect start for this author's oeuvre.

日常 / Everyday

 

Nichijou is a sol with a lot of over-the-top humor. There's a lot of insane stuff going on here, all of it combined with a soothing atmosphere. I feel like the best material however is used in the first half of the episodes and the other half feels a little bit repetitive, though the Nano's story having some closure about her wish to go to school and be more human was really nice to watch and wrapped things up great.

The show is mostly a set of sketches divided between Hakase, Sakamato and Nano in one side and  Mio, Yuuko and Mai on the other. There's also lots of other supporting characters that have their own little stories here and there which is always amusing.

There's a lot of Buddhism references here and lots and lots of wordplay, so if you're watching this with English subs on you'll be missing a good number of jokes but you don't actually need to get all the jokes to really enjoy this. The characters are adorable and fun to follow around. All in all a very entertaining show.

地獄少女 / Hell Girl

 

There's a website you can access at midnight. It's a connection to the underworld. In there, one will find but a single prompt where you can write down someone's name to be quickly dragged to hell. The entity in charge of actually taking the person there is Enma Ai, a high school girl in beautiful kimono sets. That's the premise. Each story we follow a different revenge plot where a person is bullied or have something terrible done to her and that drives him or her to ask for hell girl's assistance.

Hell Girl has a very odd thing about it. The supposedly main character is actually just a minor character that receives no development whatsoever until the very end. On the entire run of this manga, Enma is featured as the main character in maybe 2 or 3 stories. All the other ones she just appears briefly to do the same thing over and over again; drag people into hell. This is rather frustrating given she's the only character connecting all this stories together and someone reading Hell Girl will probably want to know more about Hell Girl. We get some development and resolution for her but it's just not enough in my opinion.

Then there's the problem with many of the stories themselves. They can get very, very formulaic. Student is bullied, contacts Hell Girl, bully is sent to hell. Perhaps that's half the stories here. A few here and there really stands out as being interesting but you really have to be the patient type to reach them all. Hell Girl's friends also get pretty much no exposition even though they should be really important as well. 

I'm glad I read it but I feel I won't be revisiting this title anytime soon nor did it inspire me to pick up the other ones that came after it. The art has its own thing going and might not be to everyone but it certainly has a particular charm to it. I just wish Hell Girl was more about Hell Girl.

千と万 / Sen to Man

 

This is sol at its finest. It's hard to believe this is the only title by the author that is not hentai. He has a lot of insight to offer through his characters. I wonder why he doesn't want to do more in this genre. 

So, Sen to Men is about a single dad, Chihiro, taking care of his teenage daughter, called Shima. Each story is more or less self-contained where we get to see the daily life of this family.

The heart and soul of a sol title is its hability to turn daily life into an interesting story and this is exactly what we get here. Going shopping, going to school, hanging out with friends. This is a very soothing collection of every day life activities and thoughts told in a very entertaining manner. 

The art is amazing and fits perfectly. It's a very elegant, charming style that makes you stop several times to admire a panel or a page or a character's facial reaction. It's a pity it's only 3 volumes long. This could easily go on, there is a lot in this characters that would render a lot more interesting stuff to read. Here's is hoping this author tries something similar again some day.

コタローは１人暮らし / Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi

 

Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi tells the heartwarming every day life of Kotarou, a mysterious kid living completely alone in an apartment complex. His past is shrouded in mystery. How he can afford to live alone? How is it even possible for him to pull this off, since he's only four years old? Little by little we get to know more about Kotarou and his rather unusual circumstances.

Most of the stories is not about Kotarou's past however, but his daily life and the relationship he develops with his neighbors, in particular with struggling manga artist Karino, Mizuki, a hostess at a pub and Tamaru, a rather eccentric individual that really like kids. This is one of those stories where the adults are trying to take care of this child but little by little realize it's Kotarou who are fixing their lives in one way or the other, and it's a delight to watch it happening.

The chapters tell stories that are usually self-contained and they're usually funny or emotive. There are many chapters out there showing Kotarou struggling with the fact he's an orphan. I think the hardest thing to get used here is the art. It's... unique. In fact there's a chapter where Karino is getting flak over his rather unique art and I'm pretty sure that's based on the author's personal experience. Once you get used to it though, this is a really nice read. I feel this manga is like Yotsuba's crazy ugly cousin.

ReLIFE

 

Another anime about high school students. What an anime can possibly offer that's new with this setting? Seems like it's impossible, yet ReLIFE manages to do it. Imagine a school romance that is not developed by a series of misunderstandings, students that can actually express themselves and accurately describe and have conversations about their feelings and problems. That's what we get to watch here.

Kaizaki Arata is a guy down on his luck. After facing serious trouble in his job, he quits and becomes sort of a recluse. One night he meets Yoake, a mysterious character that offers him a lifetime opportunity; an one year contract where he gets to be a high school student again with everything paid and the chance of having getting a full time job if everything goes well at the end. Looks shady but Kaizaki is so drunk and desperate he accepts. Good thing Yoake was actually speaking the truth there.

And thus begin a series of nice character studies that are both interesting and fun to watch. Little by little Kaizaki goes around helping everyone around him. He finds himself in a odd, advantageous position, being 10 years older than everyone. He tries very hard to keep balance between lecturing people and just being friends with them. Fortunately he uses his insight and experience with great sensitivity and care.

It's all the more interesting when we know, and Kaizaki knows, his ReLIFE is only for a year. This rather fleeting moment in his life both makes him feel dejected and the necessity to appreciate and use the little time he has the best way possible. ReLIFE has a very interesting mix of teenage problems and more mature concerns about life in general.

A very wholesome watch. Engaging plot, interesting characters and a nice positive, soothing atmosphere. I'll make sure to read the manga soon.

Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!

 

This Art Club Has a Problem! is not a romance show exactly. A love interest show more like it. Usami likes Uchimaki, but Uchimaki only likes 2D girls. They both meet at the art club and after Uchimaki helps a lost girl on their way back home, Usami begins to like him. Problem is, like I mentioned, he doesn't like 3DPD. Comedy ensue. 

Along with this ride we have the club's president, a senior highschool student that really enjoys sleeping at the club's sofa. I think he might be homeless. We also get Collette, a vibrant, energy-filled girl that we're not sure why she's there but she's pretty funny so they keep her around, and Imari, an otaku and transfer student that is kinda crazy.

It's hard to point exactly why this show is such a nice watch. The art is pretty good and the characters are really endearing. Even minor characters like the Kaori, Sayaka and Ryouko bring a lot to the little moments they come up. You could easily have entire episodes based on the minor characters alone. Same goes to Tachibana, the teacher appointed to be the club's supervisor. 

The show manages to keep up pace and juggle really well all its parts. The comedy, the love interest moments, crazy and nonsense scenes and so on. It's charming and quite entertaining. All characters manage to be quite likable and necessary in their own way. No wonder the manga is going strong for almost 10 years now.

Gabriel DropOut

 

Gabriel DropOut is one of those shows to make your brain go to standby mode. The stories are pretty self-contained and you could watch every episode in any order you like. You have a beach episode, a new year episode, a few school episodes, some dedicated to a particular character and so on, take your pick

Gabriel is an angel that goes to Earth but instead of learning more about humans get lost in an endless session of gaming, slacking and eating crap. Vignette, a very nice demon tries to help her in anyway she can but Gabu is quite a slacker. Satania just wants to beat every angel she meets and acts as the more comedic part of the group. Raphiel is just there to see the world burn and enjoys every second of it.

It's interesting to notice how there are quite a few shows where you have a slacker, hopeless character that is actually very well adjusted. Same happens on Himouto!. You have a character that cares about nothing but ramen and gaming, and yet has friends, a job and goes pretty well in school. Of course this is entertainment and not a critical assessment of anything, but I like how the industry want to depict NEETs and hikikomori people but don't want to follow any of the consequences. Nothing wrong with that though, serious. It's all fantasy, besides, one should NOT be thinking about this, it's a show to make your brain stantby.

It's fun, colorful, silly. I really enjoyed all the characters and most of the situations they find themselves in. Endearing and soothing. 大西さん does a great job playing Vignette here, easily my favorite character. The manga is still ongoing, I might check that out, too.

High Score Girl

 

It's 1992, arcades are booming and Haruo really, really likes Street Fighter 2. His entire life revolves around him waiting to get the chance to go to the arcades and play a whole lot of Street Fighter. One day he's defeated by Oono, the genius, beautiful, perfect student from his class. As they continue to play games together a relationship develops but since this is an anime, neither can fully acknowledge their feelings, nor they can properly express it. You seen this before I'm sure.

High Score Girl has three fronts to speak. It's a slapstick comedy, which I didn't particularly like or dislike, it's just there. Then you have the games. There's a lot of talking about gaming here, which is nice. I happen to be old enough to have visited arcades a lot in the mid 90s so there's a lot of content here for someone like me. 

Then there's the romance part, which starts really well but it gets quite repetitive fairly soon into the series. Oono is kinda of an one-note character. Actually more like a no-note character. She never speakers. I'm pretty sure that's the main reason they introduced Hidaka into the mix, so Haruo has someone to talk to. Oono is the weakest link in this plot. She's not very captivating. In fact she's gone for a few episodes and there's absolutely no loss. If anything, it's better when she's not in it. It's just that when she's around the whole thing becomes very formulaic.

My favorite character is probably Namie, Haruo's mother. She's the only funny character in this and whenever she appears the enjoyment factor goes way up. Overall a nice series and I plan to watch the second season, but I'm glad it's not 12 episodes long this time.

Shinigami no Ballad

 

 

Shinigami no Ballad is a short series of six self-contained stories about Momo, the god of death, her cat Daniel, and their ventures in the human world. All stories involve young people having to deal with the loss in some way or another. This might sound like heavy drama but Shinigami no Ballad manages to tell stories in a fairly lighthearted, soothing way. 

All stories are very well written and have a point to make, which is really refreshing when most anime have a tendency to have scattered plotlines just in case the show gets renewed for a new season. Watching stories that have clean and nice resolutions feels almost like a privilege and I really appreciate it. This is an older anime and it has that early 2000s charm to it. 

The innocent yet brave way these young students deal with loss and receiving a visit from Momo gives  a dreamlike quality to this show that is very appealing and fun to watch. The original material is in fact an series of visual novels but I can't find it anywhere. Hopefully I'll be able to check that material soon.

Girlish Number

 

The main character in this is the cheeky Chitose, an aspiring voice actor. She's a breath of fresh air in this genre where the leads tend to be very wholesome characters. It's not that Chitose is a bad person at all, but she's quite the arrogant, self-centered, brash individual. Her conversations with her brother, Gojou, is by far the most interesting thing in this anime because we get to see how far Chitose can go on thinking very highly of herself.

Girlish Number is a show about a group of voice actors, most of them just getting into the business. We get to see a little bit of their daily lives, talking with the producers, the recordings sessions and the conventions. The characters are interesting enough and the plot gives ample space for character development so it's always fun to follow this people around. 

There's this one scene where the girls meet the author whose's work is the base for the anime they're recording and they do their very best to avoid him. I wonder if this particular scene comes from personal experience or was just a moment of brilliant inspiration. I wish there could be more awkward moments like that between authors and actors.

Gosick

 

It feels like Gosick tries to have everything in there somewhere. This is a 24 episodes long and for half of it it manages to keep its pace. There's a lot to know about the country of Sauville, in particular the Saint Marguerite academy, an elite school that our leads Kujo Kazuya, a Japanese student, and Victorique, the daughter of a cultist (yes there's a lot going on here) attend. Well, Kujo does attend, Victorique is a prisoner there because of her family's involvement in Sauville's political life. She also happens to be a little genius girl with beyond human mistery solving powers. And a pipe that she never actually lights it.

There's also colorful and interesting side characters populating Sauville. Grevil, the police investigator and Cecile, a teacher at the academy are my favorites and always welcome when they show up. Despite having a lot of things to solve, the story here has a tendency to forget about itself. A lot. Many episodes are self-contained tales  but many of them are not particularly interesting, though a couple are really good. Kujo and Victorique go around solving misteries out and about, though the mysteries here are not the type that invites the viewers to solve it. We just get to see Victorique putting random things together that happens to be right because she's the main character. That's her on the cover of course. 

The characters are interesting enough and you do care for them but not even that can conceal the fact that the plot here is spread too thin. That's the biggest fault of Gosick. This would be very good if it had half the episodes so Kujo wouldn't need to go screaming for Victorique up and down for so long. It does get exhausting at certain point. Then the last two episodes come in and solve everything very, very fast and ads a 10 years gap on top of it on its way out. Because it's one of those. There's a good story and good character development here somewhere. This anime is based on a visual novel, maybe it's worth checking that out instead.

New Game!!

 

The second season for New Game!! is pretty much the first season again with a couple of new characters and a little bit more drama. Aoba has a rival now, Momizi, who is also aiming to become the best character designer in the company. Nene is now hired as a part-time programmer. The pairings here change a little bit. Nene is around Ahagon a lot now, since they work on the same booth.

Hifumi is promoted and has to try to overcome her shyness even more. Yun and Hajime get an episode focused on their past but that's pretty much it. The focus here really is around the newcomers, Momizi and her friend, the programmer Tsubame and how they relate to Nene and Aoba. As you might expect, despite some intial friction, they quickly become friends because it's impossible for that not to happen.

There's even less talk about gaming this time. One's enjoyment here really depends on how much you like the new girls. I felt like there was much we could go about the existing characters, particularly Yun and Hifumi, but I guess they weren't popular enough and the author decided to introduce new characters instead. If you liked the first season, the odds are you'll also enjoy the second.

New Game!

 

New Game! is a lighthearted series that follows Suzukaze Aoba, an aspiring character designer as she gets the chance to work on her favorite video game franchise, Fairies Story, a medieval Europe themed (nobody gets tired of those, ever) action adventure RPG. New Game! is one of those shows where everything the characters ever do appears to be cozy, fun, very soothing indeed. Doing overtime for 4 days in a row? Looks fun and cozy. Sleeping under your work desk because you did overtime until 3 AM and have to continue to work from 6 AM on next day to meet deadline? Looks fun and cozy. 

You have your characters here like you usually would have them with this flavor; Aoba is reliable, always happy, sensitive and adorable. Hifumi is reserved, shy and adorable. Yun is friendly, hard working and adorable, Hajime is tomboyish, energetic and adorable... you know. Those types of characters. You know what you're getting yourself into as soon as OP begins. 

You don't have to like video games to enjoy this, but you do need to enjoy cute girls doing cute things because it's one of those and it's pretty good at what it sets out to do. Now, there is a plot here, but much of it goes through the ropes of showcasing the ever evolving relationship between these characters. 

If you're tired of cute girls doing cute things at school but still want to see cute girls doing cute things somewhere else, say, in an office, then this is definitely for you. There's even a second season called New Game!! (notice the extra ! there) because apparently a lot of people can't get enough this crew.

Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita!

 

If you like odd duck characters like Tsukimi in Kuragehime and Tomoko in WataMote, then you'll definitely enjoy Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita!. This show is centered around Miyako, a social phobia ridden, cosplayer obsessed,  deviant university student. She skips class as much as she can (I assume so, we only see her going to school once), hates going out,  can't go to stores because she can't handle eye contact with the cashier and to make matters worse, she becomes very infatuated with Hana, an 11 years old student, a friend of her young sister, Hinata. Don't worry though, this is one of those pure and wholesome Shoujo Ai shows.

We get to follow Miyako, Hinata and friends as they go around the house playing games, cooking and dressing cosplays made by Miyako. There are very funny moments in there but this is one of those feel-good shows more than it is a comedy. The feeling of progression and story is presented through Miyako trying to (more like being pushed to) become an adult while getting incredibly insightful help and support from a bunch of kids. Hana in particular is very much an adult despite being in a kid's body. Well, at least when it comes to anything else that is not sweets. Give her a cookie and her brain shuts down.

The balance between Miyako weirdness and the moe characters is a great combo. It keeps everything interesting and going forward. This is the perfect anime for people who kinda like moe but can't take too much sweetness without a break. Miyako offers perfectly embarrassing moments to keep you interested. She goes from bribing kids with cookies to almost getting arrested by acting like a complete creep during the summer festival. It's all good though, the kids vouch for her and she's let go. I'm sure it's a memory that will come back to torment her from time to time for all eternity.

It's nice to see how Miyako slowly improves thanks to her sister and friends. She even starts to get popular... not in university of course, but the elementary school students from Hinata's class are convinced she must be the best person ever! I'm not sure about the best ever but you can see she has the potential to become a very sensible, dependable adult. Sometime soon. For now she's pretty much a wreck though, which is fun and cringy to watch. And that's why you would sit through this in the first place.

All the characters are very colorful and bubbly, which is perfect for the tone of the show. Music is nice and equally bubbly. I hope they make a second season soon.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

 

It's hard to find a more enticing title than Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. It's the perfect title for an anime telling a horror ghost story. However, this show, much like the main character, Yuuko, seems to be suffering from some form of amnesia. It's been a while I've seen a story told in such a scattered, poorly organized manner. Yet you keep watching because the characters looks so nice and the premise is great, too.

The story is about Yuuko, a ghost haunting the grounds of a private school. Niiya and Kanoe, two students attenting the school, are able to actually see Yuuko and interact with her. They then decide to form an unofficial, paranormal investigation club to try and shed some light on Yuuko's mysterious past. This is actually a classic ghost love story. A human falling in love with a being from the Beyond and their love can never be... kinda. You see, it's not always a love story because like I said, the plot suffers from amnesia. 

This show has 12 episodes and we spend over half of it running around witnessing uninteresting tangents, receiving plot points like water slowly dripping from the tap. Again, this is really weird because there's a potentially very interesting story here, so why anyone would do this to us, the viewers? There's an excessive amount of fan service that ends up being annoying because it keep kicking the story down. It drags it to the mud and leave there for 6 or 7 episodes. Then, like Yuuko, the show decides it wants to tell a story again. What I'm saying is the pacing here could be better.

There are very nice moments in there so you stay with it. You can sense there's more to it, and the characters look so good. It has that nice Gangan feel to it. Maybe the problem is Tasogare Otome x Amnesia wants to be too many things. It has a little bit of everything. It goes from horror to comedy and harem, then it wants to be tragic but a stream of comedic moments comes trampling everything down. It gives you a nice ending and then it takes it back again. This show does that a lot, it slaps you in the face on every episode.

Maybe this is one of those cases where the anime wants to cover too much ground to give you a fair idea about the original material. The manga is 10 volumes long, so not a small tale by any means. It's funny, I really wanted to like this more than I did for some reason. I think it's because of the title. The words Dusk Maiden of Amnesia should be reserved just for the best ghost stories out there. This is a decent one and it could be really good with better passing and a less scattered plot.

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku

 

Wotakoi is a situational comedy for people who enjoy the anime flavor of things. We get to follow two couples around as they work, go have a drink and attend comicon events. The main protagonists in this tale are Nifuji and Momose. Nifuji is an inconspicuous and self-contained gamer. Momose is a fujoshi and manga artist. They start a relationship, seemly out of convenience at first. Despite what the titles implies, their relationship is not hard on them by any means. In fact they get along pretty well. 

The same cannot be said about the second couple, formed by Konayagi, a cosplayer fanatic and Kabakura, a YuriYuri fan and apparently a figure collector (he talks about it a couple of times but we never get to see his collection, which is a bummer to be honest). They often have theatrical arguments over non-life-threatening things like Kabakura not wanting to cosplay as a girl or his refusal to read BL manga. Of course they always manage to overcome their differences and everything ends up being fine, because this is a feel good show.

Talking about feeling good, the comedic sketches here are rarely funny, they're mostly amusing, built for 'feel good' purposes, though occasionally there's a chuckle here and there to be taken. Unlike with the manga, the show doesn't have that many references to otaku culture as the title might suggest. The show revolves a lot more around Momose and Nifuji getting used to be in a relationship on one side, and Konayagi and Kabakura fighting and making amends, on the other. A couple episodes have a lot of references to gaming, a couple others have some manga and anime references but it's mostly a superficial thing that doesn't have to be there for the stories to work out.

This is the perfect palat cleanser for when you finish watching something with a lot of earth threatening monsters, androids fighting aliens, mechas, and teenagers that can fly and destroy buildings with a single punch. The romance is subtle and sparingly used, the characters are likable, distinct and wholesome. I just wish there was more otaku things on Wotakoi. I still can't get over the fact we never get to see the figures hoarded by Kabakura.

Sakamoto desu ga

 

Sakamoto desu ga is a comedy of mostly 10 minute sketches where the main character, Sakamoto, is shown existing as the perfect being to ever grace the planet. He's cool, cooler, the coolest, as the intro suggests. There's nothing he can't do and no situation he can't get out of. His perfection is the running gimmick but there's more going on here than meets the eye.

At certain point, one of students wants to know if it's true that Fukase, one of the bad guys in the show, have lived a thousand human lives before. I believe they should be asking this about Sakamoto as well. It's like he lived every single one of those situations and knows exactly what to do every single time. Sometimes all it takes is bringing an umbrella to the bathroom, but if the situation requires more, like say, riding a typhoon to save a little bird, no problem, he has powers that goes far beyond that of an ordinary human.

I'm convinced Sakamoto is a bodhisattva that have lived a million highschool students' lives before. That's why he can do everything perfectly. That's why he shows perfect compassion and understanding of the human soul. His solutions are not always obvious but it always lead to the best conclusion. For example, at one point, he witness one of his schoolmates, Kubota, having money stolen by a group of hooligans. Later Kubota asks for Sakamoto's help because he's getting mugged so often he's running out of money. Sakamoto doesn't confront the hooligans. Instead, he and Kubota start working at Wcdonald's. He figured if the problem is Kubota is running out of money... This turns out to be the right move for everyone involved.

His perfect loving-kindness means that he actually doesn't have any enemies, just people that doesn't know yet that they want to be friends with him.  This is also a running theme on the show. It's interesting to see how Sakamoto manages to get on everybody's good side acting in inventive, sometimes even tangential ways that ends up making absolutely everything right. 

It's a feel good type of show. It's about friendship, unexpected situations and lots gags. It's about the greatest student who've ever lived, Sakamoto.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

There's a few important aspects I look for when picking a magical girl manga or anime. I believe those aspects are what make the genre special. Is is why it's a genre in the first place. First, the world the story is set in is a world of hope. This means the world has a lot more kindness and goodness than evil and cruelty. Essencially the world is one worth saving and fighting for. Second, the magical girls and their allies are the embodiment of humbleness, selflessness, charity and purity. They may have doubts about several things but their morality, purity of heart and conduct are firmly established. Third, the evil is a temporary state of madness or the temporary result of an injustice to be corrected by the heroes. Basically, evil in the world is a mistake and the result of ignorance, rather than active malignant will.

Shows like Sakura Cardcaptor and Sailor Moon are excellent examples of magical girl shows done right. Endearing, heartwarming, hopeful. The positivity and the restauration of faith in humanity is what magical girl stories is all about. It's no wonder why characters like Sakura and Serena are such popular characters, even after all this time.

Then there is this show called Madoka Magica, the complete and spetacular ruination of all the tenets of the genre. This is on purpose of course. If you're looking for a magical girl anime here, keep looking, this is not it. Madoka Magica sets out to present the precise opposite of all the corner stones of the genre. The only thing they kept positive here is the friendship in between some of the characters and the pure intentions of Madoka, the main character. This is done however so they can suffer more. It's sort of a trap. The rest is all over the walls like splatter of blood from dead magical girls. Because they go there, they kill magical girls. You probably know about this already, this is a very famous show.

What they do is to subvert the three important aspects of the genre as I described above. First, the world this characters live in is not a world of hope. In fact it's pretty bleak and target of even bleaker intentions from outer space. In fact hopelessness is an important part of the plot. Second, the magical girls can be corrupt, uncaring, selfish and even evil. The opposite of what magical girls suppose to be. Third, evil is the result of a calculated risk, not ignorance, in fact, it might be even brought about by pure intelligence.

This is a really interesting show but not because it's a different take on the genre. The story stands on its own and the fact it's a magical girl show on the surface is just for flavor purposes. This story could work even if you removed all the magical girls and replaced them with dogs. Of course there's the plot hole that all stories with time travel have, but really, this is to be expected, and it doesn't detract anything from the story.

My only complaint is that maybe there are 2 or 3 episodes in there that is clearly just gloating about how the show is bleak and sad while adding nothing to the plot itself. The ending is pretty good, though anyone who stops and think about it for a second can see that Madoka is not the smartest girl when it comes to making wishes. This is actually not my cup of tea, but I give credit where credit is due. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is a very good show for what it is and I can see why so many people like it.

Rozen Maiden

Dollfie Dream. Azone. Parabox. If you know exactly what I'm talking about, then this anime is definitely for you. Truth is though, there's something for everyone in Rozen Maiden. I don't remember a show succeeding at so many different things all at once. And with such class and charm, too. It's a show about ball-jointed dolls that come to life thanks to little pieces of a gem called Rosa Mystica. Each doll has a piece of the gem and they battle each other in a competition called Alice Game to collect all the pieces and have a chance to meet their dad, Rozen, the fabled doll maker.

Yet this synopsis barely covers the basics of all the things you'll witness in Rozen Maiden. You have time travel, dimension shifts, hungry little doll ghost, a hikikomori, suicidal girls, a mysterious bunny and everything in between. Of course you also get dolls fighting by waves of rose petals, feathers, watering can and scissors. A lot of sibling rivalry and little dolls drinking tea in tiny tea cups.

The Alice game is not the focus here, however. The heart and soul of this show is the relationship in between the dolls themselves and their relationship with Sakurada Jun, a hikikomori as a kid and a depressed university dropout, bookshop employee as an adult. Jun has a special connection to Shinku, one of the dolls, and watching how their friendship develop is quite interesting and filled with endearing moments.

Now, if you have any actual interest in ball-jointed dolls (Dollfie Dream, Azone and Parabox are bjd brands in case you're still wondering) then you'll get an extra kick out of this show. Every kid out there at least once imaged their toys coming to life. For those who still think about that stuff as an adult, and in fact know a thing or to about dolls, you'll love to watch the quiet moments of this show, like Jun serving Shinku tea, Shinku trying to read the newspaper or dolls silently going back inside their briefcase for a nap. Lots of scenes of Jun cleaning and putting dolls together will certainly strike a cord for you as well.

Then again, that doesn't even begin to cover all the soothing moments we get in between these characters. Shinku and Suingintou's rivalry is another major aspect of the show and it goes from quite serious, tense moments to completely hilarious. There are seven little dolls by the way, all of them sisters, made by the aforementioned Rozen, the doll maker.

This anime manages to tell a story involving so many different things, I'm still amazed everything came out so well. It manages a lot of different tropes, has interesting, endearing and appealing characters and lots of soothing, sad and happy moments. The music is also very, very good. I'll definitely check out the manga and the other anime iterations. I'm really glad I picked this one up.

Amaama to Inazuma

 

Kouhei is a single dad struggling to take care of his daughter, Tsumugi. He has a very busy schedule as a teacher and it's hard for him to keep up with all the necessary domestic tasks. He's particularly bad at cooking, but one surprising invitation from one of his students, Kotori Iida, to bring his daughter to have dinner at her mom's restaurant, takes them into a cooking journey, from burger to okonomiyaki.

Each episode is a self-contained story that surrounds around Tsumugi wanting to eat something, then Kouhei and Kotori rushing to prepare it using a nice restaurant kitchen and appliances. We get to see Kouhei trying his very best to be a good parent and following his successes and shortcomings is really interesting and engaging most times. He's really an endearing guy and you can't hope but cheer for everything to go his way. Kotori is also a lovely person that is always ready to try her best to bring joy into Kouhei's and Tsumugi's day.

By episode 4 or 5 however, it feels like we got to see everything those character have to offer. Their emotional range is spent, as well as their personalities. Part of the problem is how formulaic each episode is. Very few have something that stands out. Tsumugi wants to eat something, Kouhei and Kotori do their best to prepare it. Tsumugi throws a tantrum, Kouhei and Kotori manages to calm her down, she apologizes and feels happy again. Rinse repeat.

Amaama to Inazuma fails to make use of their side-characters to alleviate the loop. You have Kouhei's friend, Yagi, who seems to be a very interesting guy to follow around for a bit but for some reason he's barely used and so we never get to know him. He has a restaurant and he shows up a few times. That's it. It could be so much more than that. The same problem happens with Shinobu, Kotori's fiery friend. She has a large family and little brothers so she's really good with kids... or so that one 15 seconds scene suppose to convince us that that is the case. Like Yagi, she barely comes up to the story that really needs a shift in focus from time to time.

This is a very sweet parenting and cooking anime that should either be an OVA 4 episodes long or make better use of its characters. There are good moments in there but it's recycled too many times just to reach the 12 episodes mark. If only the plots would let Tsumugi in the school for a little bit longer and focus on something else for a little while, this would have more balance and be a lot more entertaining.

Natsume Yuujinchou

 

Everyone has their favorite yokai show. For a lot of people is InuYasha, a bunch of other people like Mushishi and there's also a fair number of xxxHolic fans. I myself am very fond of Gegege no Kitarou. Right now though, Natsume Yuujinchou is definitely my favorite yokai show and I think it's going to stay that way for a long time.

Long story short, Takashi Natsume can see yokais. He's the grandson of Reiko Natsume, a very powerful human who bound several yokais to her command by having their names written in a book. Takashi inherits this book and that causes a lot of problems for him. You see, a book that grants you commanding powers over a legion of demons and spirits is something a lot of yokais covet. One of these, to Takashi's luck, is Madara, a powerful creature that likes to walk around shaped as a fat and adorable cat. He calls himself Nyanko-sensei and end up serving as a much needed bodyguard for Takashi.

That's the setup. You sure have watched the story about a boy who can see spirits. Takashi Natsume is a different type of kid, however, which gives the show a very special atmosphere. Instead of using the book for going into some awesome run-of-the-mill adventure, he decides instead to liberate the bound creatures by giving back their names. Takashi Natsume is also the most compassive and kind mc to ever grace a supernatural drama show. I would even say he's a bodhisattva. Not only toward humans but toward the yokais themselves, many of which are hostile, some irredeemably so. There's a very tricky power struggle going on here, where Natsume's compassion can only be upheld by the power of Madara a lot of times.

It's very amusing to watch those Yokai scratching their heads in amazement by how nice and wholesome Natsume is. To the point that many of them end up liking him for it. He's such a kind, loving person that even those who are at first hostile or indifferent toward him are caught off-guard and can't help but end up respecting the guy, no matter how silly he may be. That's a major aspect of this show. Demons that end up aspiring to be something better by watching acts of compassion. It's Buddha enlightening hungry ghosts all over the place. Except Natsume is just trying to be a nice guy, he barely knows what he's doing half the time.

Of course, all the creatures in this show are equally interesting to follow around. A lot of them seem a little lost, like something about them has been dismantled and they lost their footing in the world. Characters like that have a great potential to be part of endearing, heartfelt tales, which is what this show is all about.

Sankarea

 

Sankarea starts really promising. The Furuya family have an uneventful, happy life. They live in a house adjacent to the Shinto temple where the head of the family, Don, serves as the priest. Everything is well and fine until the family cat, Babu, is hit by a truck and dies. Chihiro, the teenager of the family and protagonist of this tale, can't accept losing his pet cat and so tries to bring it back to life by following an ancient, mysterious manual that contains a recipe for a ressurection potion.

One night, while working the recipe with his mortar and pestle he spots a girl outside the building screaming down a well about the several nasty things her dad does to her. This turns out to be Rea Sanka, the richest girl in the land. They somehow find common ground for a friendship and Rea starts helping Chihiro with the ressurection potion. 

Rea's dad, Danichiro, is not at all pleased with her precious daughter running around with the local rabble and a thing leads to the other that leads to a chase that leads to Rea being mortally wounded and falling from a cliff. All is well, however when, as it turns out, Chihiro's ressurection potion actually works and she comes back to life. 

And that's when everything goes downhill, or rather, it goes nowhere for the rest of the show. All we get from this point on is testifying how dull Chihiro is as a character, how dull Rea is when all she can can think about is pleasing Chihiro and I keep wondering why this plot doesn't move when there are so many hooks and it could go anywhere it wanted. The impression I got is that the story is actually following the wrong characters. Chihiro and Rea are just too uninteresting.

This show would be so much better if we could follow Chihiro's younger sister, Mero. In fact we do for episode 9 and it's possibly the very best episode on the show. Another way more interesting character would be Jogoro, Chihiro and Mero's grandfather. A crazy little man who appears to have dementia but the short glimpses of sanity seem to hint he's possibly the character here with the most interesting background to explore (which, by checking the manga, turns out to be the case).

There was no good reason to have the plot stagnant for half the episodes of this show when there's so much to draw from the manga. It starts off really well but I guess it asked way too much of my patience for me to really like it. Better picking up the manga for this one.

Net-juu no Susume

 

Moriko has finally reached the limit with her job and decides to become a NEET. She comes back to a mostly empty home with a very clean carpet and a bobble head cat. She remembers playing some MMO games and enjoying it very much. You can be alone and still chat and have fun with other people. It's the perfect solution for the socially inept Moriko and after a quick search she starts playing Fruits de Mer, a high fantasy world with a medieval setting, because nobody ever gets tired of those, ever. She soon finds a partner, a healer nicknamed Lily and her party.

From that point on, an amazing sequence of coincidences have the players of Moriko's party finding each other in real life, including the player behind Lily, Sakurai, a very nice and extremely wholesome individual who falls in love with Moriko but can't bring himself to tell anyone about it. This is not, however, a case of romance that has to overcome a series or silly misunderstandings, though the premise might look perfect for that sort of thing.

This is where the beauty of this show happens. You're actually watching a reincarnation romance for modern audiences. You know the story, a love so strong that the two people involved keep falling in love through consecutive lives until they can finally be together. It's the whole Red Thread of Fate thing mixed in with Hindu rebirth mythology stories. Here however, instead of having actual rebirths, Moriko and Sakurai keep finding each other through several online MMO characters but for some reason or another the romance never happens. That's the real twist of Net-juu no Susume for me and what makes it interesting. 

Of course the characters are solid too, and I think there could easily be another season where we get to explore the lives of the other members of this MMO party. Unfortunately this series was cut short due to the author's illness, though I could not find anything about it outside Wikipedia. She never mentions any illness on her twitter account, so I don't know, but that besides the scope of this short review.

Tokyo Ghoul

 

Tokyo Ghoul is an invitation to the manga. A lot of anime is pretty much that, but Tokyo Ghoul is even more so. Every character here has a lot of backstory going on and we can see the people behind the show trying their hardest to cram everything in 12 little episodes. There are many interesting characters all around going through their own hardships and doubts. Even at the very end we're still getting introduced to a bunch of characters, situations and whole institutions we didn't even know existed 10 minutes to the end of the show. It is an expansive universe and the anime does a good job at giving you a brief tour to this world and the people living in it.

Tokyo Ghoul is like a dark fantasy slasher where no character is disposable. If I had to describe this show in a single sentence that would be it. Everyone has a good reason to be here, even if some of the characters a little tropey, it's always engaging. Each episode points to something that we would like to know more about. What training investigators get that they become as powerful as ghouls? What is the procedure to make a kuinke? Mado-san's family, Rize's business in the 11th ward? And so many other things. The response to all of those are the same: It's time for you to pick up the manga.

The anime will just give you the basics. It's the struggle of coexistence. Like with the X-Men, but here mutants are ghouls and have to eat people in order to survive. Some ghouls enjoy the predator life and live it to the fullest, while others believe in a peaceful coexistence. How they do that? By eating people who suicide, of course. It's a delicacy. All ghouls have to deal with the hunger and the human police force specialized on hunting ghouls. The setting is one messy Tokyo, which is perfect for this stories to develop. 

I mentioned there are no disposable characters and I mean it. It's sad to see some of these people's demise because there's always so much going on for them. We get to know their families, friends, what they believe and where they stand in this crazy, crazy ghoul world. Even when they're quite obviously evil, they have a good reason to have ended up that way. There's nothing without cause in Tokyo Ghoul, that much the anime managed to make clear. So what's next? Time to pick up the manga.

Kuragehime

 

A group of friends bound by love, kindness and a lot of social anxiety. Tsukimi is an aspiring illustrator with a keen interest for everything jellyfish. Mayaya is obssessed with the Han dinasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Banba knows everything about trains. Jiji is always thinking about older, mature men. Chieko is a Ichimatsu doll collector and knows everything there is to know about kimonos. They all live together in an old fashioned inn owned by Chieko's mother. They're NEETs (thought they won't admit it) and spend the day mostly indoors, indulging in their hobbies. Once a week they all go out to the grocery store for supplies.

This is a very interesting group of friends and it's a delight to watch their failing to go outside and other shortcomings of no consequence. Here, social anxiety receives a lighthearted approach to a very nice effect. The chaos element in this rather uneventful, chilled group of people is Kuranosuke, a beautiful boy that looks better in a dress than most women. Little by little he finds his way into this group, bringing a new perspective to their lives, but mostly, at least at first, what he really brings is high quality kobe beef for the special dinner party at fridays. Things take off from there.

Kuragehime is an endearing slice of life comedy and the sparingly placed romance storyline is well played, making it a nice addition to the whole thing. There's plenty of funny situations at every corner with these characters and though you probably won't be laughing out loud all the time, it never fails to be an amusing watch.

What really makes it worthy though are the characters. They make a nice team of weirdos and we can't but find comfort that they found each other. The perfect NEET, nerd team. There should be whole episodes where we watch Chieko sewing new clothing for her dolls or Mayaya's jumping around her bedroom pretending to be one of the great generals of the Han dinasty. Unfortunately there isn't, but the anime is just the first volume of a 17 volumes long otaku friendship mostly indoor adventure, so if you like what you see here, the manga would be the next natural step.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji

 

Kaiji is the sort of person who only truly functions under tremendous pressure. His intelligence, gut and motivation only kicks in when he's thrown into terrible, desperate situations. Left to exist on a peaceful world, he's prone to laziness, boredom, self-indulgence, given to tantrums and extremely unsociable. Under normal circumstances he's numb, a little more than a shadow. Kaiji is also a compulsive gambler.

He can't climb the social ladder the regular way. His only chance, he believes, is to get it all at once in a gambling match. That's the premisse of Kaiji Ultimate Survivor. Crazy gambling ideas, tense plots and the exploration of Kaiji's personality as he sinks deeper into the underworld of gambling, organized crime and desperate people. A lot of desperate people, including Kaiji himself.

I find the gambling ideas in this show not to be the most interesting, as far as games go. Kaiji gambles his life in 4 different games during this season, two of them are card games of random chance more than anything else. A third is more of a torture race and the last one is a draft. Although all those games end up being a battle of wits, which makes them interesting, the games themselves are not rather simplistic.

What's really interesting here is the character development for Kaiji and the people he meets on his journey to the bottom of society. One of the very best episodes is the tenth one, when we get to see Kaiji working at a convenience store. This is a critical moment for the show because we can testify how Kaiji is unable to function in normal society. "It's no use, I can't stand this sort of atmosphere. I just can't stand it!" Kaiji thinks to himself while his coworkers socialize over tea and tell silly jokes to each other. He's an outsider and there's no hope for him among normal people.

Yet, he shows deep compassion and sympathy for his fellow men. Many times he will give up everything to save someone. He will go out of his way, puting himself in great peril to rescue a lost soul. He knows this person he's saving would cross him if given the chance. He knows humans are cruel and can't be trusted. He's seen the ugly side of humanity, and yet again and again, he will choose to help others to his own detriment.

The show is filled with very tense moments, carefully and slowly crafted through dialogues and narration. These are not fast-paced stories but their outcomes are always interesting and  well worth the wait. All characters, even minor ones are full of development and infused with worth and emotion. How I wish they would make more anime based on the works of Mr. Fukmoto Nobuyuki. A very nice watch.

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge

 

Tanaka-kun is always listless. He doesn't want to be the main character even in his own life. It takes too much effort, too many things happen to you when you're the main character. You're always going somewhere, there's always someone bothering you. It's best to be just an extra in a street scene, if you're lucky enough, they don't even need to draw your face. One of Tanaka-kun's abilities is to become almost invisible.

Tanaka just wants a silent place where he can be quiet or better yet, doze off into a nice, ten hours nap. Like his friend Oota mentions, Tanaka is aiming to achieve a form of listlessness beyond anything known to mankind before. He's impressed enough by this resolution that he vows to help Tanaka in any way he can. Is he just curious to know how languid Tanaka can get, or he's convinced Tanaka cannot function without him? Maybe a little bit of both. Oota is a really nice guy and a really good friend.

While Tanaka is the heart of this show, such a character can only go so far on his own. What really hold things together here is the people around Tanaka, specially Oota. The responsible, reliable and incredibly abled-body Oota, who will literally carry Tanaka around and make sure he can function at the most basic level. Their friendship is the reason this anime works so well. They're opposite of each other in many ways and oftentimes their relationship become something of master and apprentice thing. Even if Oota is not on the path of becoming listless himself, he's always interested and intrigued by his friend's take on life and is always ready to listen to Tanaka's surprinsingly insightfull take on things.

Oota's dedication to his friend seems contagious and is a delight to watch. Tanaka's gratitude and appreciation is enough to make him worthy of such friendship and everything else in the show grows around that. Miyano, a classmate of the duo, wants to follow Tanaka and become a languid master herself. Ehizen is the fake delinquent beloved in the neighborhood for her helful disposition. Shiraishi grows fond of Oota and Tanaka after realizing they respect her for what she truly is.

It's one of those shows where everyone is actually kind-hearted and caring and so nothing can ever go too wrong. It's a circle of friends that keeps growing and everyday life is an opportunity for amusing, delightful moments... and for Tanaka to doze off to a gentle summer breeze.

Barakamon

 

Barakamon is about the emotional journey of Handa Sei, a young calligrapher from Tokyo. He goes from punching one of the judges who criticizes his work to a caring, sensible person. The plot has a lot of very good 'emotional intelligence' moments and it's hard to believe this was written by a 23 year old sometimes. This is one of those titles that really makes me curious about the original material, which I plan to check out sometime.

Barakamon's weakest point is its comedy. It's not bad but if depended on it, this would be a run-off-the-mill slice of life show. Not bad but not really funny, more like amusing most of the time and at least not annoying in its worst puns. No, this characters and stories really shines in its emotional moments, brought about by life lessons Handa goes through while living with a colorful cast of charaters in the Goto islands. It's actually very straight forward stuff. Never give up. Be caring. See the bigger picture of things. 

Just like in real life those rather obvious realizations only really make sense through a meaninful event and Barakamon manages to do just that. Each episode is a self-contained story and almost all of them are interesting and endearing enough to make you care. Even minor characters have real weight to them and even though you only ever know one of two things about them (like Tamako's younger brother, the village elder Nomura or the village chief Yuujirou) you're always glad when they show up to say something. Not a single character here feels like padding and I find this is rather unsual, be it on anime or other entertainment media in general.

Handa Sei, the main character in this tale is really well written and his broad emotional depth makes for excellent interactions with everyone he meets, from his Tokyo business friend to the elemental school kids that visits him daily. He's one of those people that can learn from everyone and his rather self-effacing and sometimes self-doubt, self-debasement behavior brings out the best on everyone around him. And that's how he ends up being friends with everyone in Goto, to our great enjoyment.

Bakemonogatari

 

I began watching Bakemonogatari because I read there were lots of Japanese mythology into it. There is, but the presentation of the material is rather hectic. Maybe in the novels those stories have a better passing. Here, a lot of it is told, not shown. It's a dialogue heavy show and the dialogue is entirely on this very Japanese wit style 当意即妙, with lots of retorts being a pun over Kanji radicals or how two words sound similar. If you don't know Japanese and you're not interested in the Japanese language, then it's likely you'll be missing out on half this anime has to offer.

The characters are very self-conscious about being anime characters and I'm still undecided if that's an thing I like or not. Lots of meta jokes about it and lots of playing around with anime and manga cliches. It's sort of hard to get into some of this characters but if you manage to stick around I'm sure you'll like most of them by the end. Animation is also rather different. Lots of collage and sorta hidden written jokes everywhere. The mythology in Bakemonogatari is intimately connected with language, so again, if you really want to enjoy this, knowing some Japanese will really help you appreciate things that are completely lost in translation.

Plot development is not linear and character development is not always connected to the actual plot. You know more about them because they talk to each other about lots of things, not just what is actually going on in that particular episode. Once I realized that's how the whole thing was going to play through, I learned to curb myself and enjoy the talking.Other than that there's lots of fan service, but it's so forced that's even more ridiculous than it usually is. 

So, Bakemonogatari is about this highschool student, Araragi Koyomi, that goes around helping other students that for some reason or another are cursed. Sometimes it's a clueless god, sometimes it's a demon, other times it's just stress. He'll help anyone in need and that all of the people he helps are cute girls is purely just a coincidence. The show itself is, of course, very aware of such fact and it's also a running gag throughout.

There's a lot of quirky things in this show and I feel it by reading the MAL reviews, it's a sort of love or hate thing but for me it ended up being a little bit more balanced than that. I enjoyed the mythmaking and some of the endless dialogues but it did feel too quirky at times. Hard to really explain. I think you'll just to check this out for yourself.

Chobits

 

 

 

Chobits touches on several interesting topics, from growing up and trying to become a good adult to the relationship between humans and technology, and although many, if not all of the topics this series touches here and there could easily be the focus of this story, Chobits chooses to be a love story, or rather, several of them, all dealing with the impact technology has on human relationships, in between ourselves and with our machines. This came out when the internet was really just starting out but its consequences could already be felt in society at large. CLAMP knew this and Chobits is their response to this dilemma, if you will.

We have a wife who is abandoned by her husband, who fell in love for his pasocon and is on an emotional quest to find her self-worth again. A baker marries his computer and tries to give her the best life he possibly can. A boy builds an android with the appearance and personality of his deceased sister. Chi, the main character, tries to understand what love is, when she begins to realize her own emotions towards Hideki, the man who found her in the street, deactived. Personal tragedies and how each character deals with it is really what this series is all about and it's never disappointing or condescending, there's a lot of sensitivity and warmth in all of those stories and each one is very enjoyable.

The real mystery in Chobits is where exactly being just a machine ends and being human begins. Computers in this universe seem to be machines with human souls and the people living within it, just like us, are not sure where to draw the line. Is it just a machine? Are all those android emotions just programming? Should they be taken seriously? The main characters, each and in their own way end up finding out that in the end those questions are not as important as making sure to approach every situation that happens in life with the uttermost compassion and understanding.

Corpse Party - Tortured Souls

 

A vengeful ghost slasher story in anime form. That's it. It lives up to its title thanks to a cast of highly disposable characters. Nobody will be spared, this is a corpse party, after all. We need corpses. Lots of it. It's suppose to be horror but there really isn't enough tension for any horror to happen. The violence is too upfront about itself and you soon find the plot gives no expectations about anyone surviving. Everybody is so obviously doomed from the get go.

The good part of it is the story behind the curse, or rather, the place created by it. The idea of having a school stuck in some Beyond forsaken part of hell where you can end up by complete accident is a pretty interesting idea and not enough time is dedicated to explaining or exposing the concept further. The slasher party get the upper hand here every time. You get some exposition here and there but it never feels enough. Maybe curses are better left unexplained?

Another

 

The atmosphere was the thing that I liked the most about this one. The curse looming over the students in Yomiyama North Middle School and their families affect everything, including the colors, the rain and the doll shop, my favorite spot in town. Misaki also has an interesting character design and appeal to her. No wonder she's on the cover.

There wasn't much to try to follow here, as far as a mystery goes. The culprit could be anyone, as everybody in this has its own red herring going to keep us guessing. Except that you quickly realize this and stop guessing right the way. There's no point. Then people start dying. A lot. There's quite a body count here. I wasn't expecting this. Many of those deaths are quite nasty too. I felt there wasn't much of a transition from mystery part to the body horror part. Once the curse is sufficiently explained to us people start dying and there's no stop to it.

Except Misaki could have stopped before anyone got killed. It's hard to understand why she didn't do anything earlier, give she has quite an advantage when it comes to identify spirts and things "that suppose to remain hidden." It's alright though, you don't want the whole show to last only 10 minutes, do you? Eitherway, I felt sorry for the characters, that curse really meant business.

The most interesting part of Another for me was when I woke up next day after finishing watching it and my mind was under the impression to be close to some outlandish sadness or melancholy that didn't seem to affect me directly, but still looming over like I had taken too large of other world glum the day before without realizing it.

Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!

 

I'm writing this as I listen to the ending song on a loop. As I followed Tomoko around, the whole situation went from funny, to concerning, to nervously saddening. The way her delusions are again and again cause of self-sabotage are stomach churning. Her vast experience in fantasizing situations up have a tendency to give Tomoko surreal expectations of how real life works and her disappointment is depressing to watch. You have to keep remembering that at least she has a decent family and at least one friend, Yuu-san, who really deserves all merits for putting up with Tomoko. I'm really glad that she does.

 

Tomoko wants to be popular, but as the show progresses, she just want her existence to be acknowledged. Her best shot at that is obliterating a cockroach during class, causing an adverse impression on her classmates. Meanwhile she makes up a past where she has friends and everybody looks up to her, have an imaginary club with imaginery friends, an imaginary boyfriend, taking all fantasies too far, often leading to disaster or a mental breakdown. Apparently it's really hard for her to stop or learn her lesson.

She has serious issues and is one of the biggest sour grapes persona out there, but in the end I really like her and kept hoping things to improve, which I suppose they do in the manga. I've seen the cover of the last issues and apparently she has more friends now. I should check that out. It seems even the author feels like he had enough of punishing poor and silly Tomoko. It's all good from here!

 

Lovely show, it really explores the character and leads it to interesting, sad and happy situations. Tomoko has her moments of deep insight and the show offer very sensitive, even poetical moments in almost every episode. I'm really glad I picked this one.

Himouto! Umaru-chan

I never watched anime but now that I’m mostly burned out from manga and games I decided to put my Japanese to some other use and anime is pretty much what’s left for me as far as escapism goes. I’m going pretty much blind here and the first title I picked up more or less at random is Himouto! Umaru-chan. I managed to watch the whole thing through so it wasn’t a bad pick, I think. I like the episodic nature of it. You can enjoy a whole story in 10 minutes or less.

The main character, Umaru is the perfect student and athlete, excelling in everything at life without even trying. At home she’s an otaku, fast food junkie and an annoyance to her brother, Taihei. Most of the show is made of jokes on her double identity, sort of. To be honest I didn’t find it funny, more like amusing. It’s an easy, relaxing watch. The important thing is to take it for what it is, light hearted stories about characters that really care for each other.

What I liked the most about it though is the actual hero in all of this, Umaru’s brother, Taihei. I liked his wholesome personality, always trying to do the right thing, clearly trying to become a good adult. He’s a decent cook and manages to keep order in his house, despite Umaru’s being a toy hoarder and never cleaning after herself. Again, this is all setup for the jokes, but I enjoyed Taihei’s character beyond that. I also enjoyed the episodes around Kirie a lot, as she progresses from being basically mute to being able to make and maintain friends. I would like to see her finally coming into terms with her brother.

All in all, all problems those people have are superficial, it’s either there for a joke or to be easily overcome. Everyone has a kind heart and everything works out in the end. Good escapism, and a good start. Let’s see what I’ll stumble upon next.