Another Japanese obsession I cannot wrap my noggin around is the theme café/maid café fetish. OK, I have never been to Japan and I don’t even do the Maid Cafes that pop up at anime conventions. It’s a bit of a culture clash for me. And though this show doesn’t define it any better for me, “Blend S” (“Burendo Esu”), was fun to watch. (more…)

I caught this delightful entry at AX 17, where we were the first to see it, which also spurred me to eschew a couple of other offerings to take advantage of actual ballroom dancing classes at the Pony Canyon booth. Even if you know nothing about competitive ballroom dancing, this series, “Bōrurūmu e Yōkoso”(“Welcome to the Ballroom”) will introduce you to it. Yes, the story is as old hat as it gets, but it is executed with a great deal of heart and vigor. (more…)

It has sadly gotten to the point where I am tired of NEETs or hihikimoris or shut-ins or whatever you want to call those people who willingly shut themselves off from the real world to pursue a virtual one. However, this offering, “Netojū no Susume”, (subtitled “Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life” or “Recovery of an MMO Junkie”) does something a bit different than just locking us inside a darkened room, the glow of the monitor giving us companionship. (more…)

One of the freedoms you get with doing an Alternate History/Universe series is that you are untethered by anything concrete in the real world to tell your tale. One drawback is that you may have to rely on pseudo geography and country names to help with your story. Thus is the conflict generated by “Shoukoku no Altair” (“Altair: A Record of Battles”). (more…)

Another trend that I am seeing is what I call the Cutely Brutal show. The artwork is more along a cartoony, slightly exaggerated approach, but the story itself is mean and cruel and vicious and horrific, so you have a difficult time reconciling the two. Such is the case of “Made in Abyss”. (more…)

This is one of those stories that drops you in the middle of things and tries to explain some aspects of this odd and strange life that you have encountered, but not explain too much, kind of like the lives that these people are leading. This is “Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau”(“Whale Calves Sing on the Sand” or “Children of the Whales”.)
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OK, if you did not know that there was going to be a second season of “Attack on Titan”, you go stand in the corner with the other two people in the world who got confused on this. The dramatic conclusion of the first season and the veritable ton of unanswered questions DEMANDED that there be a second go-around. Now, this felt more like an experimental season, complete with a huge amount of blind-side attacks and plot contortions that could have doomed other series. It doesn’t mean that this came out unscathed and the 12-episode run just added to the experimental nature of what is already a difficult show to follow. It is certainly more than the mere destruction of the titans, and, although the fight sequences do not disappoint, they can get a bit much. Now, let’s get down to brass tacks….. (more…)

Do not let the rather casual, almost cartoon-like animation fool you; this is a rather cruel and heartless show. “Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō”, (“Girls’ Last Tour”) tells the tale of Yuuri and Chito (left to right) as they navigate a massive city complex after some apocalyptic war has taken place. Driving their Kettenkrad (a kind of motorcycle half-track), they search for something, anything, to help them understand what went on and what is going on. (more…)

I feel that I will never understand the magnitude on the Japanese psyche regarding WWII and the dropping of the bombs. It permeates every fiber of their being and colors almost everything they do, consciously and unconsciously, even so many years after the events. We have another film that looks at the war experience, but it is done in a different manner. The inevitable comparisons between “Grave of the Fireflies” and this one, “In This Corner of the World” (“Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni”) will happen, as both are depressing, but the latter approaches it in a more hopeful, but less natural-looking, manner. (more…)

I could have seen this at AX 17, but they mooked with the scheduling so it passed me by. I had to wait for it to come online to grab it. This is a caliber of lead-in to the series, as it is a three-part OVA. The series itself was released in 2018. This short-run talks about things after the dust has settled and everyone is more or less comfortable with one another. If the series is going to be like this offering, it is going to be both intriguing and restrained. This is “The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Those Awaiting a Star”. (more…)