Forum: Anime, Manga and Video Game Reviews

Haven’t we seen all this before? Yes, we have, and we have seen it done better. So much for Sekirei. Minato is a loser who just failed his college entrance exams for the second time. Suddenly he makes the acquaintance of Musubi, who not only has big boobs, but is also a big boob. Anyway,...

Someday in the future, cheap, petty crooks will be armed with cyberware making themselves infinitely stronger. That’s the premise for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Based on a video game, this series gets by on action covering up a thin plot. But the action sequences are well done, although the series...

I do remember watching one or two episodes of the first season of Black Butler, so many years ago. I never got around to watching the rest. Then I saw that the series was available on Netflix streaming, and thought I’d finally watch it all. It turns out that what Netflix has is just the second...

In her first year in high school, Shouko Komi is the most beautiful girl in her class. Put upon a pedestal, the other students flock to her. The problem? She suffers from severe social anxiety to the point where she can’t even talk to people. Yes, you guessed it. Komi Can’t Communicate. ...

It’s dark and at times depressing, just as I like it. But what really draws me into Madlax was the way it tells what seems to be two separate, unrelated stories, and then turns them into one. Margaret Burton is an innocent, naïve schoolgirl. She is the orphaned daughter and sole survivor of a...

I never got into the series Case Closed, though I have seen a few episodes. They were not bad, but I was wondering exactly who the intended audience was. A grown detective is trapped inside a child’s body, but still goes around solving murders. Having the hero as a kid would appeal to children,...

A while back, I wrote of a series called Kakegurui. Taking place in an elite high school, the pecking order depended not on grades, athleticism, or family, but on your skill at gambling. Entering this school was transfer student, and gambling expert and addict, Yumeko Jabami. Her eyes glowed red...

So what exactly is Vinland? It is the Viking name for North America. But Vinland Saga does not take place in America. Rather Vinland remains in the background as an utopian dream. The series’ focus is on Thorfinn. A mild, innocent boy when we meet him, Thorfinn grows into a bitter,...

Yup! The name of the series is Bastard!! – with the double exclamation marks. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I should warn you that this is not an anime for children. Duh!! – with double exclamation points. So not to make a long story, the demon Dark Schneider (no I did not make...

Now on Netflix Streaming, it’s time for more mindless action just for the sake of violence. And the storyline? Say hello to Spriggan. ARCAM is an organization dedicated to protecting the world from ancient relics which could possess the power of mass destruction. They employ a group of highly...

The title Five Star Stories sounds like one of those old movies from the 1940’s and ‘50’s about a newspaper. Nope. This is an sci-fi action anime. No, really. There is action and lots of it. But you have to wait until the plot is established, which happens more than a third of the way into...

It would really help to view the series and movies in the proper order. That will resolve part of the confusion. But Tiger & Bunny: The Rising is more closely related to the first series than the rehash movie. And the second season is a continuation of the second movie. Got it? So anyway,...

(Maybe I'll start doing these too, when I watch a new show... though I mainly rewatch old shows...) Bakuman. Is a very interesting premise about a guy, Mashiro who, as a kid, watched his uncle draw manga for Shonen... Jack. (Interesting copyright note: They mention One Piece, Naruto, Bleach,...

With Pacific Rim: The Black, season two, the story comes to an end. However, this American/Japanese/Korean production does not let up on the action and suspense as Taylor, Haley, Mae, and Boy fight their way to Sydney and safety – though not without some loss. This time they are up against a...

I'm not going to spend too much time on Gakuen Alice, mainly because I did not finish the series. There's nothing wrong with the series. It's just after 10 episodes I did not want to invest any more time in what is essentially a children's anime. Gakuen Alice may not have appealed to me, but...

On one level, it’s a buddy anime. On another, it is a story of self-discovery. It is also about coexistence. And you get a lot of blood and gore in the process. That’s basically the gist of Vampire in the Garden, currently on Netflix Streaming. So humans and vampires are in an endless war...

Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning is the first movie based on the anime series. It pretty much retells the basic story of season one, but with a different plot. Also, the relationships are somewhat different. Then there are the product placements. The premise is that corporate sponsored...

Bubble takes us into quite a different Tokyo. After a rain of bubbles, the laws of gravity seem altered. The city becomes abandoned, inhabited now only by teens and kids who organize into different gangs, competing in a dangerous game they call Battlekour, where they wager much needed supplies. ...

What’s it all about, Eve? Apparently, it is not the story so much as the eye candy which Adam by Eve: A Live in Animation provides us. And “A Live” is not a misprint. From what I could find, this is an experimental project produced for Netflix by Eve, a Japanese (male) singer and musician who...

Once again we have an example of how Japanese anime has influenced the world. Trese is based on a Filipino comic and produced by BASE Entertainment of Indonesia, with some American participation as well. Does Trese hold up to its Japanese influence? I would say it does. Alexandra Trese...

Well they’ve made anime about practically every other subject you can think of. Why not an anime about bath houses? Why not? Because it is boring. I really can’t believe I actually sat through all 11 episodes of Thermae Romae Novae. Proud ancient Roman Lucius is the son and grandson of...

It’s not a great series. It has its problems. But Kotaro Lives Alone is intriguing. We have all seen dozens of anime series where kids live alone without their parents. But a 4 or 5 year old? (Kotaro has a birthday in one of the episodes.) Where’s Child Welfare? Apparently they are not...

Japanese anime continues to show its influence the world over. From Spain, we have an animated series which is just spilling over with the Japanese anime influence. That series is The Inhun Chronicles. The series consists of two seasons, but only five episodes each. Yet the story is fully...

When we last met, I did a write-up on The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an American production done in partnership with South Korea’s Studio Mir. Well, here is another anime which is also an American production along with Studio Mir. DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, inspired by a video game, has the same...

Anime is not just a Japanese style anymore. I’ve said this before, that Japanese animation has influence beyond that country. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, based on an adventure TV series, is an American production in partnership with South Korea’s Studio Mir. I have the feeling we will be...

The Orbital Children, aka Extra-Terrestrial Boys and Girls, is a short six episode series which can be seen on Netflix Streaming. It takes five kids, two born on the moon, and five adults, one in a giant fat bunny costume, and places them on what appears to be a space station orbiting earth. The...

Quite honestly, some of the details seemed to get lost in the translation. But the basic storyline of Child of Kamiari Month is simple enough. This is a family anime, one which adults can enjoy, somewhat, along with their children. I say somewhat because the basic plot is rather simplistic. ...

There’s something I learned about anime several years ago. Don’t give up on a series until you watch at least 4-6 episodes. Had it not been for that rule, I would have missed out on Super Crooks. This is an anime set in a world were some people are born with super powers. Yeah, I know we’ve...

Our favorite little panda, Retsuko, is back with more workplace adventure and death metal. It’s season 4 of Aggretsuko. With a little help from her friends, Retsuko may finally be getting together with our favorite hyena Haida. Only a new president of the company may destroy everyone’s future as...

So close, yet so far away. I really wanted to like Blue Period. I liked the concept, but I hated the execution. Two years in the life of high school student Yatora Yaguchi are told in twelve episodes, which is not enough time to really develop much of anything. Yaguchi is a pretty good...