This is another of those shows like “Infinite Stratos” or even “Unbreakable Machine Doll”, whereas only maidens who are pure of heart and come from a noble family can pilot a body ship, or, in this case, make contracts with the spirit world and become elementalers. In order to achieve the finest education in all these matters, they attend the Areishia Spirit Academy, where they are trained and given an Elite’s education in order to qualify to become an elementalist. Well, all of this is knocked into a cocked hat when Kamito Kazehaya (find the dude up there, dude) somehow manages to make a contract with a spirit, making him the ONLY male elementaler in the world and only the second since the Norman Conquest (the real one, not the series).
“Blade Dance of the Elementalers” relates the tale of how Kamito tries to fit in with all of these girls, but four in particular, who are, left to right:
Claire Rouge Rinslet Laurenfrost Ellis Fahrengart Fianna Ray Ordesia
The fifth, Terminus Est, is actually the contracted spirit for Kamito. This is her ‘human’ form; her regular form is some fabulous sword. (more…)
In a sense, this is another ‘move-in’ show, but it takes a slightly different tack for it. “Engaged to the Unidentified” (“Mikakunin de Shinkōkei”, “Unconfirmed & In-Progress”) tells the tale of Kobeni Yonomori (far left). She is a high school girl who lives with her mother and older sister Benio (next to her). Upon turning sixteen, Kobeni is shocked to learn that, due to an arrangement by her late grandfather, she is engaged to a boy named Hakuya Mitsumine (far right) who, along with his little sister Mashiro, (next to him) come to live with Kobeni. Talk about a move in, they not only come into the house, they come into the school and right into her class room (like you didn’t see that one coming, eh?). As Kobeni spends time adjusting to this new family, she learns there is more to Hakuya and Mashiro than meets the eye.
Kobeni has enough problems in her life, as sister Benio is The Most Popular Person at School, smart as they come, Student Council President, perhaps runs the World Bank in her spare time and anyone would do anything for her. It’s that now we have Hayuka transfer in (a man of little to no words) and Mashiro (who is a bit overcute for me. Look, look, her uniform is too large so you never see her hands! Awwwwwww!) In a sense, Kobeni is under attack on three fronts and has to place this all in perspective. Adding to the concerns, she kind of vaguely remembers Hayuka, but a childhood accident robbed her of her memories of that time. (more…)
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…)
I always have a problem when a show can’t seem to decide on a title. That usually means confusion in how to best present it. “The World is Still Beautiful”, also known as “Still World is Beautiful” (“Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukush”, “Even So, The World is Beautiful“) does somehow manage to avoid most of it, but not completely.
In this world, Nike Lemercier, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom and one who holds the power to call forth the rain, travels to the Sun Kingdom to marry Sun King Livius Orvinus Ifrikia (Livius I) for her country, despite her own reluctance. She soon discovers that the King, who conquered the world in only three years after his ascendance to the throne, is still a child, both physically and emotionally. And being one of those ‘my way or the highway’ types, he potentially has never been told ‘no’ in his life. Well, Nike is going to break that record.
Also, as you can tell by the names of their countries, it rains a lot in the Dukedom (think of Seattle, but without good coffee shops), and hardly ever at all in the Kingdom (think of Phoenix, but without the Sun Devils football team). The story details the twin relationships of them trying to get along (the “Battling Bickersons” come off like lovey-dovey compared to these two) and external forces that didn’t really want this union to exist at all. (more…)
You kinda knew that there would be a sequel to this show, as much was left undone, so the parent company gave us “Date A Live 2”, which is both a continuation of what went down the first season with newer complications, one of which is a shorter season.
For those playing catch-up (and those who haven’t read the review of Season 1), the world has been bedeviled by these spacequakes, which are discovered to be caused by these space maidens (called “spirits”) entering our dimension. They cause untold damage and people are killed (think of an earthquake, but far more devastating). It was determined that if these ladies could have their powers sealed, this would cut down on problems. To this end, the standard anime male schlub of Shido Itsuka is used to get these ladies to fall in love with him, so he could kiss them and seal the powers.
Second Season has more ladies showing up, especially the Troublesome Twins of Kaguya and Yusuru (those bodacious gingers at the far right). You see, it’s kind of like spinning plates on small sticks. We add more and more plates, but you still have to tend to the plates you already have spinning. Now, this may come as a bit of a surprise to many of you, but girls tend to get jealous when you say you love them, but are seen by them in the company of another girl or girls. Since Shido has 10 plates spinning, I mean, trying to deal with 10 girls at once, who get jealous that he is spending time with other ladies, he has his hands more than full and things get out of hand. (more…)
“Chaika, the Coffin Princess” is one of the odder journey shows I have encountered. Sure, it just drops you into the action and you have to figure things out on the fly, but the initial idea is strange indeed.
Chaika Trabant’s father was once the ruler of the Gaz Empire. OK, more of a tyrant, who exuded great and dangerous powers. When he was killed (as is the fate of all despots), his body was hacked apart and relics given to the Eight Great Heroes who overthrew him. Yeah, what a nice souvenir: the eyeballs of a dreaded ruler. Try to make the rest of the castle decorating work with a trinket along those lines.
Chaika has one wish: to gather up all the pieces and give Daddy a proper burial. Lots of luck with that! You see, even in death, these relics (do you really want me to call them body parts?) still retain that great power and those who now rule the land do not want this to occur, as a new and greater evil can arise from this Corpse of Evil (which is a great name for a rock band). (more…)
Let’s see. It’s a harem romantic comedy ‘move-in’ show, with shades of drama sprinkled on top, like something you get at the ice cream store. True, this does have a nice twist into the proceedings, but at the core, it is all the aforementioned. Oh, a ‘move-in’ show, is one where the main character comes to a new town or a new school or a new dimension and ‘moves in’ to an apartment or housing complex or the slave’s quarters to start that new life, but then gets more than they bargained for. It’s just it appears this is the latest fad/plot device in anime.
“If Her Flag Breaks” (“Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara”) is also one of those prophetic shows, where everything is laid out before you, but you have to assemble the pieces, muck like putting together a bicycle on Christmas Eve using those instructions. It initially doesn’t make any sense, (“Adult must be side as of legal place of being”), but as it slowly comes together, you can make it all work…..sort of.
Our hero is Souta Hatate, the guy on the roof, who has this strange and rare gift: he sees flags. Well, they are more like pennants, but they sit atop your head. He is able to define what it is you are after or what a situation might be and he sometimes steps in to change the current reality to change the direction you go in to, in a sense, cheat fate. (more…)
What if “Romeo and Juliet” met “My Bride is a Mermaid”? You would end up with “Nisekoi”, a quite entertaining romantic comedy, although one can argue the use of the term “romantic”.
“Nisekoi” (“Fake Love” or “False Love”) tells the tale of high school student Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader of the yakuza faction Shuei-Gumi. A new kid is on the block, yakuza faction Beehive. There is that gang/turf war confrontation and this can only lead to bloodshed and unwarranted police interest. Into Raku’s life leaps Chitoge Kirisaki….literally. Blondie jumps a wall to find Ichijo there and knees him in the face. Ooooops! However, this little incident causes him to lose his locket (you can see the monstrosity hanging from his neck). He discovers she is a transfer student into the school and forces her to look for the locket. Their deep and abiding hatred foments at this time.
Upon returning home, Raku learns that the Shuei-Gumi and Beehive gangs have agreed to settle their feud….by pairing their leaders’ children. Raku learns that his girlfriend-to-be is none other than Chitoge. For the next three years, they must pretend to be in a relationship to maintain peace between the gangs. If they fail at any point, the truce is off and everyone dies! No pressure, right? (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…)
“My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy (“Ore no Nōnai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Rabu Kome o Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru”), also known by the abbreviation “Noucome”, is a show with a rather original concept and situation. Our hero, Kanade Amakusa, (dead center guy) has a terrible condition. He’ll be riding on the Freeway of Love in his pink Cadillac when, out of nowhere, he will be given two choices. Now, neither of these choices is all that swell, but he has to choose it and do it, otherwise, he gets a blinding headache for not choosing and STILL has to choose it and do it.
Many of these ‘choices’ are weird and/or perverse. As a result of his actions, he has tainted his reputation with his classmates and other people around him. Needless to say, this makes getting a classroom buddy difficult, so getting a date is very difficult. One day, a choice he makes on his way home from school causes a mysterious, beautiful young girl to fall from the sky and land RIGHT ON HIM. Amakusa discovers that she, Cocolat, was sent from the God World to assist him in completing a series of missions given to him directly by God himself. After completing these missions, the “Absolute Choices” curse will be lifted from Amakusa; but should he fail in completing any of the missions, he will be stuck with the curse forever. (more…)
