Forum: Anime, Manga and Video Game Reviews

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...

I thought I knew what Belle was all about, based on the trailer. It seems I was only half right. Belle is a rework of the basic Beauty and the Beast scenario, though with a few different twists. Suzu is a less than average small town high school girl who feels a bit inadequate when compared to...

Do you remember Happy, that blue cat from Fairy Tail? Well, he’s back in a new series, though with a few enhancements. Actually, he is the sidekick of Rebecca, an adventure seeking video poster who is not the main character either. Explaining Eden Zero may take a while. So Rebecca and Happy...

Here’s a first for Studio Ghibli. It’s a film directed by someone who is not Japanese. The Red Turtle is the first feature film from Dutch born animator Michael Dudok de Wit. It’s a fairy tale fantasy about life itself told with virtually no dialog. That is one ambitious effort, and it totally...

I am really starting to get into sports anime. Though the themes are often the same, they all seem to have an element of excitement and doubt, as the outcomes are not always guaranteed. Yowamushi Pedal is no exception. I just finished the first two seasons. Sakamichi Onoda is a first year...

I have seen all films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, except for Kiki’s Delivery Service. I thought it was finally time to finally getting around to watching it. I really should have watched this classic earlier. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a whimsical tale of a young witch who, like all young...

Naoyuki Tsuji is not your typical Japanese animator. His style does not look like anime at all, nor is it supposed to. In his own words, Tsuji is bringing us to a “world of uncertainty.” The Naoyuki Tsuji Animation Collection gives us a sample of his work. What can be described as a...

Below you will find my review of Kuroko’s Basketball. It is one of the best sports anime I have seen. Well now we have the follow-up movie. Kuroko’s Basketball: Final Game has a synopsis which is simple enough. Jabberwocky, a street team from the USA, travels across the ocean to take on...

Does anyone remember a film called Bright from 2017? It stared Will Smith. Well, I don’t remember it either, and I am certain I never saw it. But I did just watch the 2021 anime remake Bright: Samurai Soul. An elf child named Sonya is found and taken to a brothel, where a former samurai named...

An injured warrior wearing a mask he cannot remove, wakes up in a village of furries not knowing who he is, where he is, or what he is. That’s the setup for Utawarerumono. Eventually, he becomes the leader of the village and spearheads a rebellion against the evil emperor. That brings us through...

Why is it whenever I look at Shaman King I think of Shawarma King? Probably because I am looking for a bit of humor which Shaman King tries to deliver but fails. Or I am hungry. Thirteen-year-old Menta takes a shortcut through a cemetery one night where he meets another 13-year-old named Yoh. ...

Time is relative. With that in mind, welcome to the world of Steins;Gate. Welcome also to the Future Gadgets Laboratory, run by Okabe, a self-proclaimed mad scientist out to rule the world. Well, not really. Okabe is actually a man-child living in a fantasy of his own creation. His primary...

Some time back, I reviewed the series Violet Evergarden, and then later the first movie based on that series. Links here: https://www.animeforum.com/showthread.php?133654-Violet-Evergarden-(2018)...

The third and final season of Kuroko’s Basketball, aka The Basketball that Kuroko Plays, sees the boys from Seiren High meet their final challenge in the Winter Cup Tournament. Are they up to the task of competing with more powerful schools? But before Seiren takes on their final opponent,...

I only saw bits of the anime series Lupin III, and I really did not care for it. That’s why I put off watching Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro for so long. But as an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki’s work, I had to watch it sometime and so tonight was the night. As one of his pre-Ghibli works, I...

An interesting redo of the original game, if just the common route and the two near side routes. I will say now SPOILERS AHEAD. Gotta admit the new graphics, voices and music are a real improvement but I just can't get over the way it's still in NVL format instead of the more modern ADV. I...

We’re not playing around here! Well, actually we are. This is Darwin’s Game. High schooler Kaname accidentally signs up for an on-line game, which involves actual battles to the death in the real world. Each player gets his own special power, or sigil as it is called in the game. It’s not...

The Sky Crawlers certainly had me thinking. I really don’t know what to make out about this film. There are several good aspects to point out, and an almost equal number of negatives. In an alternate universe, there are a select group of battle pilots known as Kildren. Genetically modified,...

Alien Nine is one of those anime which raises questions in the mind of the viewer. The questions raised in my mine were, “Why is it titled Alien Nine? Nine what?” And also, “Why am I watching this crap?” Sixth grade student Yuri is elected by her class to be an alien fighter. She joins a...

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Sempai (actually he does) begins with second year high school student Sakuta in the library when he sees a girl in a bunny costume walk by. I don’t mean a bunny rabbit, but a bunny costume modeled after the ones from Playboy. The girl is third year student Mai,...

In a way, Record of Ragnarok reminds me of Dragon Ball Z, and not in a good way. Have you ever heard the joke, “How many DBZ characters does it take to screw in a light bulb? Only one, but it takes him ten episodes to do it.”? Indeed, in DBZ we often have fights which drag on too long, often a...