OK, this is another standard entry into the Wonderful World of Romanic Comedy anime. Now, this started out as a fan-service heavy eroge game, to become a fan-service heavy manga to arrive at a fan-service heavy anime. “Princess Lover” tells the story of Arima Teppei (Mr. Akimbo in the center). He is just your typical high school student with two standard parents. Or so you think. Sadly, Mom and Dad are killed in a car-jacking and the real truth comes out.

Mother Kanae is actually the daughter of Isshin Arima, president, CEO, COO, LSMFT of the Arima Group, potentially the most powerful corporation in Japan. Mom was slated to take over when Isshin became worm food. Well, that got knocked into a cocked hat, so gramps adopts Teppei and sends him off to Shuuhou Gakuen, a high school only for wealthy students, so he can learn to take control off the company when the time comes for him to take control of the company.

However, on his way to the presentation dinner in his honor, he has to stop bandits from trying to hijack a….horse and carriage? Really? What does the calendar say it is? The person he saves is Charlotte Hazelrink (the one grasping his arm), a princess from the principality of Hazelrink, who just happens to attend Shuuhou. At the party, Teppei meets the girl that he is betrothed to….much to the shock of both parties. That is Charlotte van Hossen (off his left arm) who is very skilled with a sword (short blondie next to her is her little sister, Maria). (more…)

OK, this particular ‘romantic comedy’ is a real workout, redefining what is meant by ‘comedy’ and how much perversity you are willing to except.

The initial concept for “Recently, My Sister is Unusual” (“Saikin, Imōto no Yōsu ga Chotto Okashiin Da Ga.” “Lately, My Little Sister’s Been Acting A Bit Strange, But.”) is simple enough.

Yūuya Kanzaki (guy at the end) lives with his father, as Mom has been dead for many a year. Suddenly, Dad meets widow Kyoko and before you can say ‘yakisoba’, they get married. Kyoko brings to the family her daughter, Mitsuki (short black hair), who is potentially 16 (they both possibly are. They never say an age, but that’s a usual age for this stuff) and is upset at the recent turn of events. She is cold, stiff and stand-offish from Yuuya. Well, too much is happening too fast for her.

One day, on their way back from school, as they cross a pedestrian bridge, Mitsuki suddenly faints. When she awakes, she discovers she has been possessed by a ghost, the flirtatious Hiyori Kotobuki (can you find the wings? Good!). Here’s the trick: Hiyori was killed near this bridge (and isn’t that always nice to have in a romantic comedy) without professing her love for her ‘big brother’ Yuuya. She has to get to heaven, so she needs to construct these golden steps to get to the gate (no, those wings are as useless as a politician in winter). (more…)

Now, let’s drop the pretense. “I Wanna Be the Strongest in the World” is just a really thin excuse to show off female wrestlers and their body parts. The plot of the original story was practically transparent but the OVA drops everything.

There may be more than three shorts I ran across (about five minutes each), but you get to see all that you want to see.

Somewhere in the bowels of the Berserk Gym is a special room, a room filled with mud, so the ladies can learn all there is to know about mud wrestling. Is this an Olympic event or is Hooters hiring? So the ladies learn that mud is slippery and, in trying to acclimate themselves as to what to do, costume tops gets pulled down and the boobies come out, unfettered and uncensored. There is squealing and not caring that one is topless amid other topless ladies as we slop about and slide through and roll hither and thither. (more…)

“Maken-Ki Two” is another series that completely abandoned its first season to put out a second season that bears almost no resemblance to its first season.

It was bad enough that the ladies in Maken-Ki are, for the most part, very bounteous and that the boobs got in the way of things. The plot was, in some form, Takeru Ohyama’s arrival at Tenbi Academy to learn how to hone his special powers. At the end of the first season, they defeated a shadow group, but there was the threat that they would be back, so Takeru has to learn to get stronger and refine his abilities.

The second season has thrown that all aside. I will absolutely kill off the first episode, but the rest of the tales that follow aren’t much better or different.

Tenbi is an educational institution that people with these ‘maken’ powers go to, so they can how to properly control them. It’s like Hogwarts, but without dragons. However, some of the students decide to use their powers for mischief and mayhem. To combat this, the Disciplinary Committee is formed. It consists of nine students; two guys and seven ladies and six of the ladies are ‘out there’ Look at the artwork above. ALL of those ladies are in the series. (more…)

Another demon show, “Strike the Blood” tells the tale of Akatsuki Kojou, who was a regular kind of student, until an incident turned him into a vampire, as well as the Fourth Progenator. He lives on an artificial island complex where all caliber of monsters, demons and other mystic types reside in peace and solitude. However, dark forces are afoot (don’t these guys have any place to call their home? They are always afoot, causing mayhem and driving up the insurance rates) as they seek to unleash horrors and terrors unimagined….like a Miley Cyrus tour.

As the Fourth, he is viewed with a great deal of suspicion from the other Three Bosses. Just his mere presence is enough to tip the balance of power and the other three feel it would be best if he was dead. Akatsuki? All he wants to do is go to high school and be left alone; he wants no part of this craziness. Well, he doesn’t get a say in the matter. Since it helps things if he was pushing up daisies, the Lion King Organization dispatches a Sword Shaman, but she is to observe the Fourth and then decide to dispatch him, should he prove a danger. That happens to be Yukina Himeragi, who is a mere 14 years of age, but as tough as they come. (more…)

If you have seen “FLCL” (AKA Fooly Cooly), you will enjoy this show. If you have not seen FLCL, well, I would suggest you go and see it, as it will prepare you for “Kill La Kill”. They share quite a lot in common: a rather free-wheeling art style, loose association to a plot (although this one is defined better) and a huge, take-no-prisoners, no holds barred, anything-goes approach to the entire show.

Welcome to Honnouji Academy, one of those academic islands in many animes (“Eiken” was set up like that). But this is more of an Educational Mountain, as everything ends up at the top and the school sits upon the pinnacle. The Academy is ruled over with an iron fist and the steel sword of Lady Satsuki Kiryuin, (the grumpy one on her head with the sword), and her elite four (to the left; more on them later).

Into this cauldron of resentment and travesty comes Ryuko (or Ryuuko, depending on who’s doing the subtitles). Her father was killed by Satsuki and she wants answers, but she cannot battle her. You see, those who Satsuki deems worthy is given a Goku Suit. It is imbued with Life Fibers that enhance your abilities. But it comes with a double edge: It makes your abilities better, but it also fuels and increases your arrogance, your condescension, your disgust of those beneath you. (more…)

I enjoy a good anime that takes a standard idea and turns it on its head. Much in the vein of “The Devil is a Part-Timer”, this offering, “I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job.” (“Yūsha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shūshoku o Ketsui Shimashita” or “I, Who Didn’t Become a Hero, Reluctantly Decided to Find a Job.”) follows the tale of Raul Chaser and a career shift.

He went to Hero Academy to learn how to fight demons, as the Demon Realm was real and people needed protection from these attacks. However, the worst thing that could happen, did! Peace broke out! Man, I did NOT see that coming! Think of all those people out of work! No need for armor, even if it is Black Friday. The demon lord was defeated and now, there are no more demons to fight. Crfap, all that tuition money down the drain! Raul has, otherwise, no marketable skills. Sure, he can wield a broadsword, but it’s kind of pfffft! when he works as a mechanic.

“I will defeat you, evil devil bolt, with my mighty ratchet of freedom!” Yeah, it kind of loses something in the translation. (more…)

As part of this onslaught of sports animes that I have recently encountered, we now segue over to “Wanna be the Strongest in the World!” (“Sekai De Ichiban Tsoyoku Naritai!”) which is as representative of women’s pro wrestling as “Hetalia” is of world history. It’s not bad, but this is more like WWF (and that’s NOT for World Wildlife Fund) than the Olympics.

We start out with the best, the biggest, the most famous, the most beloved J-Pop group to ever grace a stage in Japan, Sweet Diva! Stadiums are sold out, CDs are hotter than flapjacks and every bit of information about them is glommed up by a hungry and caring public. The Center of the group is the dulcet-toned, flowing grace, heavy-bosom, just 17 years old, Sakura Hagiwara (black-haired up there). If she went out for the Diet (the National assembly, not something from Dr. Atkins), she would be elected by a landslide. Or a spacequake.

As part of their duties as pop idols, they do these meet-and-greets. One is with the wrestling team Berserk, an all-female pro team. One of the members of Sweet Diva, Elena Miyazawa (redhead with the mic), who is also Sakura’s on-stage rival and best friend, makes an injudicious comment about wrestling and is challenged by Rio Kazama (silver-hair, far right) to a no-holds-barred match. Sakura accepts the challenge in her stead and is soundly defeated by Rio. (more…)

This is a sports anime and the second strangest one I have encountered (“Girls und Panzer” wins that race). “Walkure Romanze” takes place in Germany (they never say it, but you see enough text and print to be able to determine this) at Winford Academy where, on the agenda, is jousting. Forget metal shop here, we’re going after some really heavy metal here!

Now, it is supposedly for both male and female knights, but we only focus on the ladies. Our male hero is Takahiro Mizuno. He used to be a knight but suffered an injury to both body and mind and has now relegated himself into being a begleiter (and you pronounce it like you are trying to bum a match for your cigarette: beg lighter). His job is to offer support and guidance to whomsoever the knight is. (Much like what Burgess Meredith did in ‘Rocky’).

Mio Kisaki is at this school (the one holding the helmet), but not in the jousting section. However, she runs afoul of Celia Cumani Aintree (big busty blonde) who challenges her to a joust. This is bad, as she is a jousting prodigy, is Student council president and has never lost a round in her two years here. However, Mio does well enough to want to get into the jousting program. The series is her attempts to better herself, trying to get Takahiro back into the jousting program and all the other concerns and machinations within the jousting program. (more…)

“High School DxD – New” is the second season of this show. There were so many loose ends left at the end of the first season, the only real question was “When is season two coming out?” Now it has, and we continue on with both training and fighting.

Let us recap the cast, for those who may have forgotten:

Issea Hyodo is a demon, smack dab in the middle.
To his right is the president of the Occult Research Club, Rias Gremory
The three lovelies above are Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou and Asia Argento.
(There is another guy, Yuto Kiba, that’s him to the far right, with his marvelous new sword).

Now, with the battle between demons, fallen angels and angels still raging, the Church decides to send out its own minions, those two spandex-clad femme fatales, Irina Shido and Xenovia. (more…)