Hi, kids, and welcome to another anime review. Let’s walk over and open up the Special Magical Chest and see what we have awaiting us. Well, who would have guessed that is another in a long series of isekai that litter the landscape like Starbucks cups. Is there anything more enjoyable than seeing another one of these shows, for the third time, this week, alone? Well despite some degree of misgivings, we do find ourselves in ancient-ish times with this offering, “Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World” (“Isekai Meikyū de Haremu o”, or “Building a Harem in Alternate World Dungeon”). (more…)

So, how DO you like your perversions? I mean, this caliber of conversation does not come up at the dinner table and it would be difficult to try and explain things as we are ladling out the mashed potatoes and gravy, or perhaps a plate of curry, but you have to have a conversation of some ilk, and since politics is off the menu, well, here we are. It just that this show, “Nobunaga Teacher’s Young Bride” (“Nobunaga Sensei no Osanazuma”) serves up a lot of actions, as we realize social mores and morals have changed over the years to where what was OK then is explicitly illegal now. (more…)

You know, a hot male fantasy and a hot anime fantasy is for a guy to have a harem of beautiful women, all catering to his every whim and desire. What if you could actually have one? What if you discovered it was a lot more work than you realized? What if your humanity was reduced to a mere cypher? This is kind of the plot for “World’s End Harem” (“Shūmatsu no Hāremu”), where, like Transformers, there’s more than meets the eye. (more…)

Another Japanese obsession I cannot wrap my noggin around is the theme café/maid café fetish. OK, I have never been to Japan and I don’t even do the Maid Cafes that pop up at anime conventions. It’s a bit of a culture clash for me. And though this show doesn’t define it any better for me, “Blend S” (“Burendo Esu”), was fun to watch. (more…)

One of the problems with these short-pull series is that they seldom get aired through the normal channels. You then have to hunt them down and that can sometimes be a workout. I can’t comments as to why they exist in the first place, as I don’t know the artistic reasons to bring forth a show that only has 10-minutes segments for its run of twelve episodes. I also don’t know why Adam Sandler is still making films, but there you go. In any case, “Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys” takes a seriously weird look at juvenile delinquents and cross-dressing. (more…)

One of the problems I have with an ecchi-heavy anime is that the perversion is so naked (both figuratively and actually) that you feel beat about the head and shoulders with it. But for this one, “Masou Gakuen H x H” (“Hybrid × Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia”), it is done with such a wide-eyed innocence, that you can’t help but laugh yourself wet, as if these people have zero concept on things of this nature. OK, let us to the plot: (more…)

As of late, I have been running into a lot of fighting academy shows, where people of varying degrees of talents and abilities are shipped off to this particular institute or that particular school to hone their fighting skills in that they may defend this country or do battle against other schools for honor and glory and toyamaki. It’s like being in “The Goblet of Fire” but without Cedric Diggory. (Hmmmm……….this intro sounds familiar). (more…)

This has got to be the strangest harem show potentially ever conceived (there are a lot of series out there I haven’t seen, so this will suffice for the nonce. Or Nonsense). “Brothers Conflict” (“Burazāzu Konfurikuto”, also known as “BroCon”) tells a rather complicated story, owing to the sheer amount of cast. Ema Hinata (the damsel in the center) is the daughter of the famous expat, Rintaro Hinata (well, how famous is that supposed to be? It’s just a plot point, anyway). One day, Ema finds out that her dad is going to remarry a successful clothing maker, Miwa Asahina. Rather than bothering them, she decides to move into the Sunrise Residence complex that is owned by Miwa. From there, she discovers that she has 13 stepbrothers. Yes, those are all guys up there and the Sunrise Complex isn’t much more than a dorm setting.

Since Ema is an only child and these guys have had zero contact with a girl, much less a sister, the series details this adjustment time to living in a new environment and atmosphere. (more…)

This is a harem comedy taken, potentially, to the zenith that it could go for. It is less about the fact that this guy has six ladies or 12 ladies or all the ladies in Kankakee chasing after him, but more as what they are. “Monster Musume” (“Everyday Life with Monster Girls” or, “Monsutā Musume no Iru Nichijō^””), tells the very bizarre story of the very bizarre world that Kimihito Kurusu (Mr. Dazed and Confused up there) lives in.

After many, many years of vehement denials, the Japanese Government finally copped to the fact that these ‘monster girls’ exist. That revelation ‘occurred’ three years before the ‘start’ of the anime, brought forth by passing a legal bill, the “Interspecies Cultural Exchange Act”. Now, they are officially referred to as “liminals”, although some still call them ‘monsters’ (I prefer the term ‘exotics’, but that’s just me). Society is trying to mainstream them in, so there is no longer a culture shock when you see a dullahan walking down the street. Kimihito is a volunteer or a host family or patsy for one of them, Miia (redhead at one o’clock), who is a lamia (half human, half snake). About three to four feet of her is human; the rest (potentially a total of 30 feet) is her snake appendage. (more…)

You knew this kind of series was coming: it’s a magical girl show, set in a school, with guys trying to figure it all out and witches who seem to have an upper hand in things. CUTE witches (none of that old crone with a warty nose junk). But “Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches” (“Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo”) at least tries to put a new spin on old things.

Ryu Yamada (Mr. Shrieky in the upper left) is known as a delinquent in his high school; he has become bored of classes after one year of attending school. Wow, life can’t all be “Die Hard” or “The Expendables”, right? One day, he accidentally falls from a flight of stairs onto Urara Shiraishi (blondie in front) the ace student of the school. Yamada wakes up to find that he has swapped bodies with her. The two try to reverse the change and discover that kissing triggers the body swap.

On the suggestion of student council vice-president Toranosuke Miyamura, they revive the Supernatural Studies Club. The supernatural phenomenon-obsessed Miyabi Itō soon joins the club. The club encounters other “witches” with different powers that are activated with a kiss. A transfer student, Kentarō Tsubaki, becomes a part of the club after nearly causing a fire to the old schoolhouse. The show is an attempt to understand the seven witches that populate it, what their powers are and what their actual purpose is. (more…)