Certainly one of the more intriguing ‘school’ shows I have seen, “Assassination Classroom” (“Ansatsu Kyōshitsu”) is an odd duck of an offering in anyone’s book.

One day, the world wakes up to find that 70% of the moon is gone, completely vaporized and now is in a permanent crescent shape. The alien who did it states to the Japanese government (good, YOU losers deal with it!) that within a school year, Earth will also be destroyed by him, but he offers mankind a chance to avert this fate. In the 3-E Class at Kunugigaoka Junior High School (where all the slackers, dummies and other losers end up), he starts working as a homeroom teacher, where he instructs his students not only in regular subjects, but also in the ways of assassination. The Japanese government promises a reward of ¥10 billion ($100 million) to whomever among the students succeeds in killing the teacher, whom they have named “Koro-sensei”, as for some reason, he (we assume it’s a he; it’s the tie) doesn’t have a name. However, offing him has proven to be an almost impossible task, as not only does he have several superpowers at his disposal, including the capacity of moving at Mach 20, but he is also the best teacher they’ve ever had.

There are about 30 students in the class, leading with (around the clock, starting at upper left) Nagisa Shiota. Now, this person is a guy (a joke later played out in the show). Not particularly strong, he is blessed with keen insight, as he tries to figure out the best way to exploit Koro’s weaknesses (and he has a load of them).

Next is Karma Akabane, a slacker in every sense of the word, he is also thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to being a homicidal maniac. Class is now interesting enough for him to attend; otherwise, he’s probably downtown, mugging folks and causing numerous degrees of mayhem. (more…)

I used to complain (and still do) that anime was always about the future, but this one, “Junketsu No Maria” (“Maria the Virgin Witch”) takes place in the past, the far past, like the Hundred Years War past (1337 to 1453). I think this one takes place during the Caroline War segment of it, so we can put it between 1369 and 1389. Above us is Maria the Witch (and her two familiars in their owl form, left to right, Priapos and Artemus). She helps the people of the nearby village with medicines and other kind of support.

For the most part, the church tolerates her (barely), but when war comes to this part of the world, she gets on her broom and conjures up spirits to send the English packing. Well, this does not bode well for her, either with the Church or with God. No, He doesn’t make an appearance. Besides, who would do the voice? Chris Ayres? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Seriously, Archangel Michael comes down to threaten Maria not to use her magic in public, as it is an affront against God. He sends a minion of his to watch over her, Ezekiel, a rather slight girl, to do what she has to do to stop Maria, up to and including dispatching her, if necessary. (more…)

This isn’t necessarily a ‘girl who saves the world’ anime, but “Akatsuki no Yona” (“Yona of the Dawn”, also known as “The girl standing in the blush of dawn”) certainly embraces a woman who goes from wallflower to being front and center (that’s her, front and center).

We start off in the kingdom of Kouka, with Yona as your typical pampered princess, whose biggest concern might be chipping a nail (actually, it’s her flaming red hair; she hates it). Along with her bodyguard Son Hak (off her left shoulder) and childhood friend Soo-won, they live a happy, sheltered life….until on her 16th birthday celebration, she sees Soo-won kill her father, King Il, and engineer a coup. The reason behind it, the king was weak and deserved to die. Well, that’s been a pretty good reason to kill rulers since we’ve had rulers. Yona and Hak escape, as Hak is the Thunder Beast and can use that blade of his to devastating results. Sadly, both of them fall to their deaths from a high precipice while being pursued by the palace forces.

That puts a major crimp in things, as Soo-won was going to marry Yona, to give legitimacy to what he wanted to do as king. He can (and will) still proceed, but it just makes things a whole lot tougher. However, our demoralized duo is not dead, but has taken refuge with an oracle of some ilk, Ik-su. Offering his young apprentice, Yun (far right), as a guide, they have been instructed to hunt down the Four Dragons, as they have pledged their fealty to the King of Hiryuu castle. Wait, but she’s a girl, so she’d be queen, right? Shhh, it’s the emotional import. As the rightful heir and eventual ruler, she gets their support. Oh, and they aren’t real dragons, with scales and a forked tail and breathing fire, but they have the attributes of a dragon. In my picture up there, you see all four of them (I’ll break down that cast a bit later). (more…)

The OVA for “Assassination Classroom” is, quite simply, the worst OVA I have ever seen, as there is no real reason for it. Now, a full review will follow when the show actually concludes, but, for the nonce, the plot revolves around Koro Sensei (that smiley face up there). He is a space alien and has personally blown away 70% of the moon. He gives the earth nine months (until March, in the anime) to have this classroom of slackers and losers try and assassinate him or it’s bye-bye big blue marble. It’s a lot harder that you think.

The series just dropped us into things with a rather thin background in regards to the initial events, and I was hoping the OVA would be a kind of Episode #0 or #0.5, to pre-explain things better, but no such luck. It is, in fact, a compilation of Episodes # 7 and #8, but with no real rhyme or reason. I mean, I can WATCH Episodes #7 and #8 in full and get what I need and not have this Cliff Notes version trotted out. OK, the art is a little different and the version I saw used an alternate font for the subtitles, and there is a slightly new take on things, but, overall, it’s those two episodes done again. And since this OVA came out just after #8 was released, it’s even more perplexing. And if you just decided to grab the OVA, then you are tremendously behind the curve, as you are, in effect, coming in about mid-season and no amount of catch-up is going to help. (more…)

Now, I really liked “Amagi Brilliant Park”, a series about characters from another world who need to generate positive energy to live here in our dimension (go check the review). What I enjoyed about the three-run OVA is the scratch style that they used, as evidenced by that piece of junk up there. As if it was slapped together in record time, the shows are depending more on the stories they tell and the predicaments everyone gets into than the actual art approach, but it works quite well for them. I feel if they used the original artwork, it would actually hurt these throw-away bits. (more…)

“Shiro Bako” (and there is a review out; I do a lot of anime watching and reviewing), was an anime show about making an anime show. The front part of the series spoke about “Exodus!”, which was the first anime they were producing. The OVA is the ‘first episode’ of that anime run, so we can see the fruits of their labors.

The show is about the idol girl group “Tracy”, composed of (left to right) Aya, Akane and either Alpine or Arupin (it depends on which source you use). Their manager also promotes the group Ginger and everything Ginger is, Tracy is not. They perform in front of practically no one and their dressing room is the staff toilet. They are, understandably, depressed and they are on the verge of breaking up when Akane decides to talk to their manager, Taguchi, about things. (more…)

Why do you have a movie based from a TV series? I find the reason is that you want to wrap things up nicely, you don’t need a full-run season to accomplish that and the movie will allow you to play out the emotional angles better. I can take 70 minutes to really tell my story, rather than having to break in up over three attempts of 24 minutes each. But that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed success and, sadly, the “Tamako Love Movie” fails to deliver.

There is a review out there on the series itself (“Tamako Market”), but the initial skinny is that Tamako Kitashirakawa’s family runs a mochi shop. One day, a bird comes in from a foreign land, helping the prince of his country look for a bride. Tamako was a good candidate, but eventually declined the offer. I assumed the movie was going to look at the aftermath that was caused by these odd people showing up and being a caliber of mooch for four or five months.

The movie starts off on the home island of Prince Mecha Mochimazzi, his sister Choi and the useless bird emissary Dera. They are busy making mochi and wondering aloud how things are going for Tamako and her friends. We then see them and…and…and…for 83 minutes, nothing happens. The main thrust is that Tamako seems adrift, as she does not know what she wants to do with her life. Mochizō Ōji, her rival, her friend and her companion, is planning on going to Tokyo and further his education. It appears she will take over the family business. Oji has to tell her of his decision to leave, but cannot find the gumption to tell her. Tamako decides that she will put forth a great deal of effort with the baton club to be able to participate in a cultural festival and showcase their talents. (more…)

This is another “Women and Weaponry” submission, potentially closer aligned to “Stella!” and “Girls und Panzer” than “Upotte!” (and I have reviewed all of them, so give them a spin if you haven’t already). For this one, “Sabagebu! – The Survival Game”, it follows a group of high school girls and their daily lives in their survival game club. It all begins with Momoka Sonokawa (Madame Peace Sign), who is a transfer student to a new school. While on the train to school, she is bothered by a pervert when some woman pulls out a pair of side arms to confront the molester, only to get arrested instead. Yeah, it’s usually not a good idea to be yanking guns out to dispense some harsh justice. People freak out, even if they are just airsoft pellet ball weaponry.

Momoka follows this odd lady when she sees her at her school, tracking her over to a run-down building and discovers the Survival Club. The rest of the club are (right to left):

Maya Kyōdō, second-year and gravure idol
Urara Kasugano, first year and a bit of a masochist
Momoka
Miou Ootori, club president and filthy rich (she pulled the guns on the train)
Kayo Gōtokuji, club treasurer and a cosplay freak
Platy, club mascot (more…)

This was a different show for me. Yes, it is a dancing show, and, on a nuts-and-bolts level, not much different than “AKB0048” or “Long Live!”, in that a group of girls wish to perform, but it is done in a different manner and it is earnest without being overweening. “Hanayamata” tells the story of Naru Sekiya (front and center), an ordinary 14-year old girl who likes fairy tales. She sometimes wishes her life could be like one, but, that’s the harsh realities of real life. You have to play the cards you are dealt. She is worried about her lack of other interests and dearth of friends. She has a nighttime chance encounter with a “fairy”, a foreign girl practicing dance at a temple. On the spur of the moment, Naru asks to join her and she is introduced to the world of yosakoi dancing. And the rest of the team include, left to right:

Hana N. Fountainstand, that foreign girl ‘fairy’
Yaya Sasame, one of Naru’s friends
Machi Tokiwa, student council president
Tami Nishimikado, student council vice-president

Not pictured is Sari Tokiwa, Machi’s sister, a teacher at the school as well as the club advisor and Masaru Ōfuna, the owner of a yosakoi shop. The series is how these girls interact together and push forward in trying to get to a competitive level to be in the Hanairo Festival, where you showcase your skills. Yes, this is a standard show about (a) overcoming adversity, (b) bettering yourself, both physically and emotionally, (c) understanding the power and strength of friendship, (d) taking responsibility for all that you do and don’t do and (e) enjoying life as it is set before you. (more…)

“Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride” has presented to us a two-episode OVA in which the ladies are, again, challenged in their abilities to be good samurai warriors. This time, the threat comes from a longbow warrior, Uesugi Kagekatsu, potentially more powerful than they are, and the prize is to become the actual bride of Yagyū Munenori, who is the leader of this tiny clan. To do this, they engage in, not martial arts, but homemaking arts, as they show off their ability to cook and clean and be domesticated.

Well, since this is served up with huge doses of silliness, the normal things go wrong, in that the food is either destroyed, completely inedible or made with some weird ingredients. And where would an OVA be without some (huge) degree of flirty behavior and wardrobe malfunctions and all-American nakedness (OK, this this case, all-Japanese nakedness). (more…)