Crime has never been so odd and criminals never so odder. “Cuticle Detective Inaba” initially follows the standard crime drama trope. Our hero, Hiroshi Inaba (dead center), used to work for the police department, but got tired of being bossed around and thwarted in what he could accomplish, so he struck out on his own, as he feels he can do more without the restraints of police protocols and his annoying partner. And that’s where the standardness ends.

You have noticed the ears, right? Well, that isn’t some rockin’ hair style, our detective is a genetically-engineered werewolf and he can determine EVERYTHING about a person by tasting their hair. OK, it’s not as bad as licking drool, but still….

He will need all of his skills as a new villain has come to Tokyo, Don Valentino, a Mafia crime boss who is going to bring Japan to her knees with a daring series of bank robberies. He will amass all the money in the land…..so he can eat it. Yes, that guy IS a goat. Aiding Don is his fight is Fernando, that burlap-bagged guy who looks like a refugee from “Resident Evil”, Dr. Noah (the purple-pigtails. Yes, Woody Allen did that joke in 1967 with “Casino Royale”) and Gabriella, that scowling maiden at the far left, who is simultaneously the best and worst assassin ever. Oh, she can hit her mark….but it’s usually Don. Right between the eyes. (more…)

OK, Season Two is upon us for “The Neighbor’s Club” (or, the new title “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT), where we build on the good will and storytelling of the first season to expand up our little entourage and see them grow and mature into the adults of the future. Sorta.

Part of the problem with a second season is if you do not have a clear picture of what you want to accomplish, you are just retreading, or following the same path or sticking with that which worked, rather than expanding outwards. And this is exactly what happens. It is as if they got to a point they feel good with and left it at that. The only one who is trying to move forward (of sorts), is Rika, the mad scientist, who goes through a transformation to be something else, so she looks really different.

We still have the verbal fisticuffs between Yozora and Sena, as well as the battles between Kobato and Maria, but Kodaka is still just as clueless on things, even when aspects of his past are brought forth. The injection of conflict into this show seems kind of artificial. I am also amazed as to what people remember from their youth. I have foggy notions and nothing truly concrete, but these folks recall it like it was earlier in the day. (more…)

I just am not certain what gives with all the ‘nothing’ shows. Sometimes it works, as with “Joshiraku”, but a lot of the time for a lot of the shows, it is a head-scratcher. You are not even certain if you like or dislike the show, as there really is nothing there to grab ahold of to determine whether you like it or dislike it. It reminds me of going to Denny’s: I can get something to eat, but it has no lasting impact on me. Did I even really have food? “Minami-ke Tadaima” is that kind of show, as we watch these three sisters who live on their own and the problems they face in everyday life, with their friends at school and at home.

The three sisters are, left to right, Kana the headstrong, Chiaki the youngest and Haruka, who is the eldest. There is no explanation as to why they are on their own, but Japan seems to have more absent and/or dead parents than even in the Disney Universe. They are getting along and trying to understand what life is about and what growing up entails. At least, that is what you are hoping for. (more…)

A kind of sister show to “AKB0048” (although more like a distant cousin) is “Love Live! School Idol Project”. This tells the story of nine girls who are trying to save their school from shuttering its doors. Otonokizaka Academy has had declining enrollment for years and will not accept new students after this year, allowing those who remain behind to complete their education there, then turning into a Senior Center or a giant fighting robot assembly plant or a Pokemon hospital. Honoka Kōsaka (far left) will do whatever it takes to save the school. But what? What can be done to increase enrollment enough?

She notices that other schools have Idol Clubs and they are both very popular and very successful, the biggest being UTX Academy with A-Rise. WE could do this! She petitions the Student Council to start this club. Alas, the president of the Council, Eri Ayase (the person next to Honoka) is dead set against such a debasement of the school and its standards and will not allow it, even if it could save everything. However, there is a tiny, tiny loophole: Niko Yazawa (number three position; red ribbons in her hair) has an Idol Fan Club on campus and that one is established. It is decided to join her club and slightly change the charter for it, thus allowing them to rehearse. The initial members of the group are Honoka, Umi Sonoda (dead center) and Kotori Minami (gray hair, white ribbon) and they call themselves “μ’s” (pronounced ‘muse’, so you can see why it has to be a nontet), but initially it is a trio. They give a great performance in front of practically no one, but the word gets out and others want to join the group and help the cause. (more…)

OK, anyone who didn’t know there was going to be a second season of “AKB0048”, you have to watch “Tokyo Mew Mew”. A lot. There were so many loose ends, it was like the first time someone tried to sew, so we HAD to have “AKB0048: Next Stage” to bring everything to a conclusion…..of sorts.

So, we pick up right where we left off, trying to get the 77th generation of AKB0048 ready. We still have the same problems: artistic rivalry, the evil forces of the anti-entertainment army in hot pursuit, self-doubt and uncertainty if any one of them can really make it. However, they do throw in new problems that complicate things even further, in that the Anti-Entertainment Forces are now becoming more aggressive and Chieri’s father (that girl is the blue-haired attraction in the front row), is bound and determined to get the Center Nova Phenomenon to take effect, so he can take advantage of everything for some galaxy-consuming power grab the likes of which no one has ever seen.

It’s just, for me, the cast was/is getting almost too large to handle properly. We have broken them down into factions or groups to tell the story better, and each of the groups (The Trainees, the Old Guard, the Support Staff) get their time in the sun, but I would have preferred more interaction between the overall groups, and not just merely within. Another aspect of this show, which is crucial, are the songs and I care so little about them. Maybe I’m not into J-Pop or the songs just do not have enough driving hooks for me, but it is all so very, very bland to listen to. You would think a series about music would have better songs to go along with things. (more…)

All too often, people with intense or expensive hobbies are met with derision by people who insist that these passions are a waste of time. Wouldn’t that time be better spent working at a real job?

In the case of anime fandom, what most outsiders – and, indeed, many fans – don’t realize is that there are plenty of ways to create a profitable career from a love of anime. It just takes some creativity, commitment and a bit of hard work. Here are some of the many careers you can develop as an anime fan:

Animator or Voice Actor?

Of course, the most obvious way to leverage a love of anime into a career is to work in the industry. Anime is one of the biggest exports of Japan, and there’s no sign of its popularity waning. Getting into the industry as a foreigner is a challenge, though, and it’s very competitive. A formal degree in animation can put you ahead of the game and put you on a good trajectory for internship positions, but if that’s out of reach it can be easier to find a job in voice acting, writing subtitles, and other aspects of the anime import business. (more…)

I was at Anime Expo 2013 and you get marvelous opportunities to see films…provided you could get in. This one presented itself and the line for it was short, so I grabbed it.

Now, the official title of this is “Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below” (although in some places, it is also known as “Journey to Agartha”. The ORIGINAL title is “Children Who Chase Stars”. For me, this is a sign of trouble. Can you pick a title?) This is brought to you by the same folks who did “5 Centimeters per Second”. This has been out for a while, but is just getting to us here.

Asuna Watase is a girl who is mostly by herself. Dad is dead and mom works long hours as a nurse, so she is left to her own devices. This includes spending a lot of time at her secret cave, listening to whatever radio signals she can get on her cat’s-whisker radio and hears a song she has never encountered before. At school, she hears tales of a bear being seen in the hills where her cave is. Defying the people, as she knows the mountains well, she goes up the hill and sees the ‘bear’, but it is some kind of horrible monster, bent on killing her. (more…)

Kikyo from Inuyasha is honestly one of the most infuriating characters I’ve ever watched. Even after she finds out that Inuyasha didn’t kill her she still sides with Naraku and his plans of killing Inuyasha. Of course her argument is since she’s a technically “a living corpse’ all she wants is to become human again, but that chance died when she decided to shoot Inuyasha to a tree. She could’ve continued on living if she didn’t shoot him with that arrow. She would’ve been free to live a Priestess life hood, but no she killed herself with shooting him with her arrow.

True at the time she did think that he betrayed her, but back to the original point of that she eventually figured out that he didn’t but she still hated him for something he didn’t do. Which brings me to why she would hate him. My first reason that she’s jealous of the fact that he’s beginning to love Kagome who I have been routing for since I first started watching the series. My other reason is the fact that Inuyasha never died the day she died though that had been her original plan. He was able to move on 50 years later while her soul was moved into Kagome (must’ve made her dead self tremble in rage). Plus the fact he’s falling in love with her reincarnation must’ve have been a punch in the face. (more…)

Usually I get kind of coy in giving reviews, making you read through my whole marvelous article before I finally let you know whether you should watch something or not. I also do not do movie reviews either, so this is a double departure for me. I’ll get straight to the point…..

You should watch “Wolf Children”.

Now, it will be coming out in the theaters, but it is going to be a limited release, which means you will have to do some hunting for it, but it will be in English Dub (although the subtitles were not a problem at all). The only thing wrong with the film is the title, which gives away everything far too soon. It would have been nice to be able to be surprised as to what events were unfolding. I even chose this image over the wallpaper release, as that really spills the beans regarding key plot points. Even something like “Different Children” would have been better as a title. (more…)

This is a rather silly harem comedy with a twist. Originally known as “Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!”, we also know it as “Nakaimo – My Little Sister is Among Them!”

Let’s talk about the guy in the middle, Mikadono Shougo. He is the only living heir to the Mikadono Group, some big we-own-it-all company. For him to take over the reins, he needs to graduate from school as well as finding a life partner. However, things become complicated as he learns that his father, Kumagorou, had an illegitimate daughter, who is also watching over him as well as attending the same school. This leads to Shougo trying to find his sister. He has scar on his forehead from an accident when he was kid and this caused him to lose bits of his memories and, of course, it is the critical ones.

Well, as soon as everyone at school find out whom he was, the ladies flocked to him, with these five as the leading candidates. Also his handler, Risa Seri, kind of gave him permission to sow his wild oats, but he is conflicted in that he may want to explore merger possibilities, but what if it IS his sister? Can you think of the scandal?

The series revolves about him trying to figure out who his sister really is and what is going on behind the scenes. (more…)