Look, I KNEW that there was going to be a second season of “Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri” (“Gate: The Self-Defense Forces Fight like This in That Place”), as all the loose ends at the close of Season One made that a foregone conclusion. To their credit, they have upped the stakes, so now things are even more problematic. (more…)

What if fantasy became real? What if you lived in a world where extra-dimensional creatures of every ilk and caliber, of every temperment and desire, of every size and strength, were made whole? Thus is the intriguing plot idea behind “Myriad Colors Phantom World” (“Musaigen no Fantomu Wārudo”). So, how did this come to be? (more…)

In my many years of reviewing anime, I have come across a crop of shows that I refer to as ‘nothing’ shows. There is a huge amount of talking, but nothing really happens. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as some of them are character and plot driven and tell a fascinating story. But it can run hot and cold.

Our latest offering, “Oshiete! Galko-chan” (“Please Tell Me! Galko-chan”) is also a short-pull series, in that the episodes only run for about eight minutes. But they pack a lot into these shows. Our cast includes (right to left), the aforementioned Galko, Ojou and Otako. Yes, they are very iconic, as they are, respectively, a gyaru, an airhead and an otaku. But they go beyond those limitations and tell some interesting tales. This came off for me as closer allied to “Daily Lives of High School Boys”, another ‘nothing’ show, but with a definite edge to it. (more…)

Every once in a while, you come across a show that you like, but others detest. I catch my shows on one site that rates the popularity of any particular offering and this one scored low (in the 60s), although I do not know what they were looking for. “Sushi Police” tells the tale of, fortunately enough, the Sushi Police, although it could be the Motorcycle Squad, as they are, left to right, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki. They are on a mission: to make sure all sushi served in the world is authentic sushi and not some kind of terrible rip-off. To this end, they will go anywhere and everywhere to protect the good name of sushi, doing anything and everything in that just and noble pursuit. (more…)