Art is funny, in that you look at something and have absolutely no idea what it means or is supposed to say. Sure, it may look cute or beautiful or intriguing, but, eventually, it does nothing for you and you walk away from the whole thing. “Glasslip” is an anime like that for me. It purported to be something else, but dissolved into a rather convoluted mess and I gave up on the story.

Let us go back to the beginning, as you start at the start. Although, for this show, you could start at the end and it would make the same caliber of sense.

Tōko Fukami‘s family runs a glass-working business in a small seaside town named Hinodehama (that’s in the Fukui Prefecture, if you are keeping notes). She (that’s her in the seven o’clock position) hangs out with her four best friends:

Yukinari Imi (one o’clock)
Yanagi Takayama (two o’clock)
Sachi Nagamiya (five o’clock)
Hiro Shirosaki (six o’clock) (more…)

“Jinsei” (“Human”, although the subtitle is “La Bonne Vie” and why it is in French, you’ve got me) is initially closer aligned with “Medaka Box”, but without a lot of the over-the-top histrionics that did undercut that show.

Congratulations, you are back in school! You are enrolled in the Journalism Club, and, as a reward, have been tapped to take care of the Life Counseling section. Here, you will put out a suggestion box, where the students give you their problems and hope that you can come up with a solution. Leading the section is Yūki Akamatsu (the guy up there). Initially, you do not wish to take on the task, as you are a bit of a social misfit and do not think you can give good advice. Not to worry, as we have three other girls (and eventually a fourth) that will help you in your Newspaper Quest. They are (left to right):

Ikumi Suzuki. She comes from the sports club and is bursting with energy.
Yuki
Rino Endō. Representing the science club, she has more of a nuts-and-bolts approach to things.
Fumi Kujō. Literature club. She has a good mind but overthinks things.
Not pictured is Emi Murakami, who will come from the arts club. (more…)

This is an entry in the ever-increasing popularity of the school-magic show. You have seen it with “The Familiar of Zero”, “Blade Dance”, Magic Craft Works” and “A Certain Magical Index”. So, what makes “The Irregular at Magic High School” that different? Well in one aspect, it isn’t that different, as we cannot decide on the title (Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei, “The Poor Performing Student of a Magic High School”), but ‘poor’ is a very poor choice of words, but this is revealed during the run of the show. Also, rather than being a magic show with a school setting, it is a school show with a magic background.

It is the future (almost the end of this century). Magic is an established fact, has been for about 100 years and many countries train those with magical ability to, eventually, become soldiers to defend the country. In Japan, there are nine Magic High Schools. I do not know if the numbers mean anything, but we focus on First High School. Ah, but we use magic differently, in that we don’t going around, proclaiming “Accio!” or “Deletrius” or “Hakuna Matata!” Rather than casting spells with chants or other traditional forms of spell casting, mages use a Casting Assistant Device, better known as a CAD. The bad thing is the device looks like an iPhone6. (more…)

My initial concern about “D-Fragments” (or ‘D-Frag!”) is that it was another of those hostage shows, in the fact that the main character is bullyragged into joining a club that he’d rather not join. The story focuses on a pseudo-connected series of sketches as delinquent student Kenji Kazama (hot and sweaty up there) is forced into joining his school’s struggling “Game Creation Club” by its members, a quartet of crazy women with their own eccentricities that drive him crazy. As he attempts to distance himself from the club, the more he seems to run into not only his fellow club members, but others from his school who drive him insane to different degrees.

As you can see, he makes Member Number 5 and thus the club is saved from extinction, especially since it is a spite club, but more on that later. The members are (this time, right to left from Kazama):

Takao, she is the source for all of the boob jokes and the president of the real Game Creation Club
Sakura Mizukami, called’ Water’ as her answer to all problems is to pour water on it
Roka Shibasaki, president of the club, she is ‘darkness’ as she puts a bag over people’s heads
Chitose Karasuyama, student council president, she is ‘earth’ as she throws dirt at them
Minami Ōsawa, the teacher adviser, the room is a place for her to sleep

The actual fifth member of the club, Hachi Shiō, is more of a lurker. (more…)

There is a classic trope in Hollywood pictures, where some rube from the country comes to the Big City to make it big, only to get fleeced and greased. That is the initial concept behind “Akami ga Kill!” (“Akami Slashes!”).

In this land, Tatsumi leaves his poverty-stricken village, with his two friends, in order to join the army in the Capitol, makes lots of money and help save the village. Along the way, he is separated from his companions and gets to the Capitol all alone….where he is promptly swindled out of all his money. Destitute, a rich family takes him in for the night, to help him get back on his feet. However, this house is attacked by members of the assassination group Night Raid, who proceed to kill most of the people.

In trying to defend them, Tatsumi realizes that his hosts not only take in lost souls from the streets, but torture them to death, including his two friends, whom he frees, but cannot rescue. Angered, Tatsumi kills his hosts and joins Night Raid to dispense some harsh justice. (more…)

School and friendship animes seem to go together like corned beef and mustard (and I find horseradish mustard works best for that). This offering, “Ao Haru Ride” (“Blue Spring Ride”), treads familiar ground, but in a different way.

Futaba Yoshioka (second stamp from left) wants to change up her life, leaving behind her previous school and reputation. You see, in junior high, the girls ostracized Futaba because too many junior high boys liked her. That was only half the problem, as the only boy Futaba liked (and I mean REALLY liked), Kou Tanaka, moved away before she could tell him how she felt.

That was then. Now in high school, Futaba is determined to be unladylike (well, more tomboyish) so her new friends will not become jealous of her. While living her new life contentedly, she meets Kou again, but he now uses the name Kou Mabuchi (and he is the far left stamp) and has a cold attitude, not only towards her, but to a lot of people. He tells her that he liked her as well in junior high, but feels differently now. That was then. (more…)

This is another of those ‘Alternate Universe” shows, but isn’t that what science fiction is about? (or as Harlan Ellison said, “It’s Speculative Fiction.”). Welcome to “Aldnoah. Zero”

In 1972, during the last Apollo mission, an ancient alien hyper-gate was discovered on the surface of the moon. Using this technology, humanity began migrating to Mars and settling there. After settlers discovered additional advanced technology, the Vers Empire was founded, which claimed Mars and its secrets for themselves.

Some years later, the Vers Empire declared war on Earth, and, in 1999, a battle on the Moon’s surface caused the hyper-gate to explode, shattering the Moon and scattering remnants into a debris belt around the planet, an event referred to as Heaven’s Fall. Cut off from Mars, the remnants of the Vers insurgents established several massive orbital space stations within the debris belt (they are referred to as Landing Castles) and a ceasefire was established. (more…)

This is one of those shows that drop you into the action without much to go on, although the show might have been better to be called “Red Gender” than “Blue Gender”. Disclosure Time: I bailed out on this show after three episodes, as it did violate Rule Three of Anime (“If you feel the show is not going to get better, leave it. It is NOT going to get better.”). In my opinion, this is one of the worst animes I have seen this year (fighting for that title with “Terra Formars”) and the worst anime I have seen since “Peach Girl”. Now, this differs from one I don’t like. There are some shows that just miss for me or aren’t worth my time from the capsule description. This one I at least watched to draw my conclusion (and my repeated open).

In the year 2009, Yuji Kaido (that mullet-head up there. What is that hair style? Was it ever popular?) is an average young adult male diagnosed with a serious disease (the “B-cells”) and is put into cryogenic stasis until a cure is found. Twenty-two years later, he is awakened in the midst of a raging battle between armored soldiers and insectoid beings called the “Blue” which have overrun the Earth.

This group of soldiers is from an orbiting space colony, collectively called Second Earth. They had orders to recover “sleepers” around the Earth. Among them is the soldier Marlene Angel, (can you find the girl?) who at first appears to be heartless toward others. On the journey to the space colony, Second Earth, Yuji meets many of the humans that were left behind during the evacuation due to limited resources. Standing orders for Marlene and the other troops are to consider any human survivors on the surface to be already dead, which greatly troubles Yuji.

The problem with this is that it is terrible science fiction, terrible war and terrible horror. It seems these insectoids, which look like giant spiders, when they capture you, ball you up and will eat you later. Well, as you have seen, most people do not roll up well, so there is a lot of physical compaction. Adding to this is that Yuji has zero idea what is going on, except that he is the only one from his facility to survive, as the others are lost. His tube broke open and he was awakened; the rest were still in their tubes and sank to the bottom of the sea. (more…)

Certainly the ending of “Free!” strongly implied there would be a second season; I just didn’t expect it to come so fast.

“Free! – Eternal Summer” continues/completes the saga of the Iwatobi Swim Club and the rivalry between them and Samezuka Academy and how they strive to prove who is the best, both individually and collectively, with the target of the Nationals well within their sight and grasp.

One thing that bothered me was the titles of the individual episodes, as they tethered it with swim terms. It’s just that it got corny to watch “The Butterfly of Farewell” or “The Crouching Start of Vindication”. Why not have “The Flip-turn of Despair”? This was one of two drag points. The other was fake problems that really weren’t problems, but everyone gets to sing an aria in this show, so you need something that causes them consternation. Oooh, oooh, I broke a nail! (more…)

This is another of those shows like “Infinite Stratos” or even “Unbreakable Machine Doll”, whereas only maidens who are pure of heart and come from a noble family can pilot a body ship, or, in this case, make contracts with the spirit world and become elementalers. In order to achieve the finest education in all these matters, they attend the Areishia Spirit Academy, where they are trained and given an Elite’s education in order to qualify to become an elementalist. Well, all of this is knocked into a cocked hat when Kamito Kazehaya (find the dude up there, dude) somehow manages to make a contract with a spirit, making him the ONLY male elementaler in the world and only the second since the Norman Conquest (the real one, not the series).

“Blade Dance of the Elementalers” relates the tale of how Kamito tries to fit in with all of these girls, but four in particular, who are, left to right:

Claire Rouge
Rinslet Laurenfrost
Ellis Fahrengart
Fianna Ray Ordesia

The fifth, Terminus Est, is actually the contracted spirit for Kamito. This is her ‘human’ form; her regular form is some fabulous sword. (more…)