This is one of those ‘future retro’ shows, in that it occurs at a time, in an alternate universe, using a different calendar and choosing its era so it is reflective of nothing, but understands everything. That’s a problem with an omnibus approach: you have it all but execute it none.

“The Pilot’s Love Song” (Toaru Hikūshi e no Koiuta, “Love Song for a Certain Pilot“) reminded me a great deal of “The Last Exile” in that there was a 1930s feel to it, when aviation was something daring and dramatic and there was an art deco approach to design so things looked cool, even when they were standing still, but we instill this show with our modern sensibilities.

In this world, we live on a great floating island or rock or land mass called Isla. Ten years earlier, there was the Wind Revolution, which overthrew the ruler, and killed the entire family, a la the Romanovs.

OK, this is a plot give-away, but it’s not that big of a plot give-away. The young son was taken in by a kind man who took pity on him. I mean, what crimes could a six-year-old boy do against a nation? Whiz off the balcony? His new father, Michael Albus, changed his name, but did let him know of his past. He was Prince Karl La Hire; now he is Kal-el Albus (the guy at the left). However, he does have one goal, to kill Nina Viento, the young girl who led the revolution that deposed them all and lead to so many deaths. (more…)

This can be properly categorized as a ‘witch show’, but this is no ‘magical girl’ show. It might be closer aligned with “Black Rock Shooter” in the caliber of despair that it generates, but I get ahead of myself. This is an unhappy show. Not a sad show. A sad show is like “Air the Series” or “5 Centimeters per Second”. This one is unhappy is that everyone…it looks like I’m taking the chute back to Square One, as I’m getting ahead of myself.

“Brynhildr in the Darkness” (“Gokukoku no Buryunhirude” “Extreme-Black Brynhildr”) is an odd cat of a story, mainly because it doesn’t know what it wants to be.

Ryouta Murakami is head of the astronomy club. They even have this far out observatory to use. (No, I mean far out; he has to take a couple of bus lines to get to the thing) Too bad there isn’t a single other person in the club. I mean, what gives? I know if there was an astronomy club at my high school, I’d be there (we had a chess club. If I had joined, I’d be called ‘Carpet’, as I’d have been laid out the entire time.)

He comes across this girl, who tells him not to go to the observatory or, if he does, miss the last bus down from it. He does neither (he’s a guy; like he’s going to listen to some odd girl he just met?) As it happens, a sudden rain storm causes a massive rock slide and he is killed…or would have been if Neko hadn’t shown up to use these bizarre powers to hold the rock back. Neko Kuroha is that black-tressed number at the far right. She looks similar to a friend that Ryouta had many years ago, but died in a tragic fall. Still, there is something about her that piques his interest. (more…)

This is a strange series, as you really are left in the dark for most of it. We are telling a story that has no real purpose as to why we are telling it, but it needs to be told. I’ll explain as we go along.

“Haibane Renmei” (“Une fille qui a des ailes grises” and/or/either/both, “A girl who has grey wings”) has us look at angeloids in a different way. I mean, no one ever says the word “angel”, but they have wings and a halo, but if we took away those two features, they are no different than you or I. There are male ones as well, but the whole mythology behind it seems confused.

OK, I watched it, as it was On Demand and I needed something to see while I did the ironing, and it was there. It’s a show with a lot of promise, but it stagnates to the point where we are just going through the motions.

We are in the city of Glie. Although the time feels modern, there is still something kind of backwards about the town, as I don’t recall ever seeing a TV set, for example. And there is a huge stone wall that surrounds the town and environs. It appears that no one ever leaves the town, and certainly the haibanes can’t at all. (more…)

I can’t really remember a biking anime. The closest I got was an ending arc for “Honey and Clover” when one of the students went on a biking journey of Japan. “Yowamushi Pedal” is more focused than that and with the same amount and caliber of fan service.

Let us meet Sakamichi Onoda (dead center; look at the size of his eyes!). To say he is an otaku is like saying the Pacific Ocean is a little wet. He has just entered Sohoku High School and plans to join the anime club. In middle school, Onoda did not have any friends with whom he could talk about otaku things and is hoping he can make such friends in the anime club, but he finds out it has been disbanded. In order to reestablish the club he tries to find 4 other people who would like to join. Yeah, good luck with that! (more…)

Talk about a fish out of water! This is a standard high school romance anime, with a bit of a twist. “Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea”, known in Japan as “Nagi no Asukara” (“From Calm Tomorrow”), takes a new tack on an old story. But first, let me bring down, from the Forbidden Shelf, a book. A book filled with lore and tales so fantastic, no one could believe them……except Steven Speilberg, who could turn it into a blockbuster movie.

Long ago, before cable TV, before transistor radios, before taxes, human civilization had lived on the ocean floor. However, there were many humans who wanted to live above the surface and they moved to land, creating a fundamental separation between the two. (Think of it like Red States and Blue States). Oshiooshi is the seaside village we are in, where, just below the surface is the sea people village of Shioshishio. After their school closes down, four middle school students from the sea have to go to school on the surface. This is about their lives as they adjust to a new environment and the relationships with each other.

Sounds simple? Not on your harpoon! We examine not only the lives of the five people up there, but the dynamic interaction between upper and lower residents, as each views the other with misgivings and distrust and distain. (more…)

This is one of the odder school romance anime shows I have seen, mainly because the main thrust of it doesn’t make any real sense, but, being a comedy, I guess it’s not supposed to make sense, as we have to make the story work, more or less.

“The Pet Girl of Sakurasou” (“Sakura-sō no Petto na Kanojo”) tells the story, initially, of Sorata Kanda (that stiff guy three in from the right). He attends Suimei University of the Arts (often shortened as Suiko), but he is a ‘problem’ child. He is a problem as he took in an abandoned cat, in the hopes of finding a new owner for it. Well, that didn’t happen, and pets aren’t allowed in the dorms, so he was ‘transferred’ out (read that as ‘hit the bricks, bozo’), as he wouldn’t surrender the cat, and into the Sakura Dorm. In this world, it’s like a one-way bus ticket to Cleveland: you go in, you never come back out to the normal world. I hope you enjoy seeing Lake Erie catch on fire. (Well, actually it was the Cuyahoga River, in June of 1969).

Now, these people in the dorm (and it doesn’t house that many; only about six. In a school this size, there are only six problem students? Really?) are all very creative and highly intelligent, just a tad on the addled side. Thrown into this mix is Mashiro Shiina (to Sorata’s right). She is so addled that she cannot even dress herself in the morning and needs a handler to help her. OK, who gets the job of being her handler? Who haven’t I called on in a while? That right! Sorata gets this dubious job. Feed her, dress her, get her to class, bring her home, help her pass her tests, etc., etc., etc. (more…)

When is a movie not a movie? When is a series not a series? Why can’t you ever get a good answer to questions? How often will I reuse this introduction?

I bring this up, for when I saw this, it was billed as a movie, but it isn’t even seven minutes long. It’s not an OVA or a short or a segment, so I am confused. You’ll probably spend more time reading this review than seeing the film. “Dareka No Manazashi” (“Someone’s Gaze”) is the name of this little offering.

We are in the ‘slight future’, potentially 2016 or thereabouts. We are telling the story of Aya Okamure. She is the young one in the snapshot up there, but we are a few years beyond that point. She is living on her own and trying for a job. This is a typical Japanese family, in that mom is overseas working somewhere. As a doctor, her abilities are in high demand, but she has been overseas for about 10 years or so. Dad lives alone with the family cat, Mii-san. (more…)

I debated whether to consider this a short-run series. It comes in at 11 shows, but that last one is a kind of recap, clip show, overview of things and seems more like a send-off than a real episode, although I do consider series runs of 11 or less a short-run. We’ll let you decide.

This is a very odd show. Odd in the sense that every character in this show is quite intelligent, learned, educated and knowledgeable on a variety of issues. Because of that, the show can get a little prolix and overly scholastic, as you learn the history of cocktails, the stories behind many famous drinks and what it is a bartender really does.

We are in the Ginza, a very popular area of Tokyo, where all sorts of bars and watering holes exist. But there is a very hard to find one, Eden Hall, where you go to for more than a mere libation, but a chance to reflect upon your life and where you want it to go. The man behind the bar, Ryū Sasakura, is a bartending prodigy who is said to mix the best concoctions anyone has ever tasted. But that is because he knows what it is you really need before you do and it isn’t merely booze, but both a tonic to revive and a statement to bring your life into focus.

This is another strange show, in that you do not realize how all the stories are interconnected, as well as not getting the answers you need to understand what is going on, so it is going to take some dedication in viewing it. OK, the full title for this is “Mawaru Penguindrum”; otherwise, you may have a hard time finding it as merely ‘Penguin Drum”.

Initially, we drop in on the Takakura family, currently composed of (left to right) Kanba (the playboy type), Shoma (the innocent one) and Himari (the terminally ill one). Mom and Dad are missing (and we’ll find out why later in the series), so it’s just these three and the mysterious Uncle Ikeba (just a voice on the phone).

One day, they decide to go to the aquarium, where they purchase this really ugly penguin hat for Himari. As they are paying for the hat, Himari collapses. She is taken to the hospital, where she dies. As the brothers mourn, they are surprised to see Himari suddenly spring back to life, fully cured of her condition. The doctor calls it a miracle, as her condition was such that no one comes back, much less gets cured. (more…)

Well, I am a hopeless mermaid fanatic, but I knew that the world of “Mermaid Forest” I was getting myself into was not the realm of music and light and Ariel singing to me and combing her hair with a dinglehopper and wondering about legs. Sure, there’s lots of red to be seen, but it’s blood. This may be one of the bloodiest series I have seen in a while and I’m watching “Attack on Titan”.

Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Yuta appears to be any other kind of wanderer in Japan (and let’s face it, Japan is loaded with them. I mean, Ash in ‘Pokemon’ is a 10-year old boy wandering all over hither and thither, so it’s not all that strange), except he has both a dark secret and a darker agenda. He is headed towards a remote village where he hears there are mermaids. The other islanders give it a hearty chuckle, ho ho ho. Why, they’ve been working these waters for years and heard the tales, but they gave it no heed. It’s just a rumor, like a balanced budget or an honest lawyer. (more…)