The first season of this show was fraught with peril and genuine danger. I mean, you could really lose an eye (as evidenced by our maiden up there) or even your life. For the second season, not only are the stakes even higher and more challenging, the rewards are equally advantageous. This is “Kakegurui xx” (“Compulsive Gambler”). (more…)

Ever been cornered or trapped or treed, the hounds baying at your feet and you were compelled to do something you normally wouldn’t? Yeah, as of late, owing to real problems I have in trying to watch my anime, I have been seeing shows that I would have walked away from, but since I can’t get my hands on anything, well, as W. C. Fields once said “It is time to grab the bull by the tail and face the situation.” Thus brings me, and you, and the rest of us out there, to this, “Domestic Girlfriend” (“Domesutikku na Kanojo”). (more…)

There are a group of fictional characters that have been played to death, either in movie or on stage. These include such ‘people’ as James Bond, Frankenstein’s monster, Hamlet and Sherlock Holmes. This also includes anyone billed as such, like “Basil of Baker Street”, which was a cartoon approach to Sherlock, and, with what you have with this show, “Kyōto Teramachi Sanjō no Holmes” (or, “Kyōto Teramachi Sanjō no Hōmuzu”, or “Holmes of Kyoto”). (more…)

Do not let the rather casual, almost cartoon-like animation fool you; this is a rather cruel and heartless show. “Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō”, (“Girls’ Last Tour”) tells the tale of Yuuri and Chito (left to right) as they navigate a massive city complex after some apocalyptic war has taken place. Driving their Kettenkrad (a kind of motorcycle half-track), they search for something, anything, to help them understand what went on and what is going on. (more…)

And here is the ‘two’ of the one-two punch. Another of those very harsh private academies animes, this one is truly a classroom of the elite, but that’s not what we are trying to accomplish with “Kakegurui” (or “Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler”).  (more…)

This is part of a one-two punch review in regards to Japanese schools and their educational system. Most animes use the schools as a jumping-off point to look at some harem rom-com or superhero education, so the school is more background or a platform for these events, rather than part and parcel of the whole approach. These particular shows I am scrutinizing look at the school itself and the academic mindset that drives them along. It seems harsh and cruel by our standards. Hell, it’s harsh and cruel by the Marquis de Sade’s standards! It makes one wonder if all private academies are like this. If they were any tougher, you might as well be training to be a Navy SEAL. Our first scholastic offering is “Classroom of the Elite” (“Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e”, or “Welcome to the Classroom of the Supreme Ability Doctrine”). (more…)

This is what I call the “Semi-Colon Series”. It is a grouping of shows that use a semi-colon in the title, and then they run the title all together. The other three are “Chaos;Head”, “Steins;Gate” and “Robotic;Notes”. The shows all share similar characteristics: they are very dense, plot-wise, things are never as they seem and you’ll get the information you need to make sense of it when it is decided you can handle it. I guess it is a bit like life. (more…)

The anime company “Trigger” (or “Trigger Studio” depending on whom you are speaking to) comes up with a lot of wild and woolly shows like “Inferno Cop”, “Kill la Kill” and “When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace”. I bring this up, as their latest offering is in the same visual vein, but tackling a deeper subject, so it can’t be readily dismissed out of hand. I am speaking of “Kiznaiver”. (more…)

For many, a trip is a chance to get away from who you are and discover what you might be. It is also an opportunity to rid yourself of your ‘old clothes’ and try to be someone new or better or improved. Initially, that is the concept behind “The Lost Village” (“Mayoiga”), but the execution is rather complicated, as we have two competing storylines. (more…)

This show is presented as an OVA, but it comes off more as a one-shot, and a confusing one at that. “Big Order” (“Biggu Ōdā”) tells the story of Hoshimiya Eiji, but it is done in the most painful way possible as to make it nearly incomprehensible as to what is going on. He starts off talking about wishes and if you were given one wish, what would it be? He progresses through his normal, boring life in his normal, boring town, going to his normal, boring school and seeing the new transfer student (that’s her up there, Kurenai Rin). (more…)