Cosplay is as ingrained into Japanese culture as is sake and pork cutlet bowls. Perhaps they feel they actually invented it, but they have certainly gone to great lengths to perfect it. It’s just that I do not personally recall a show that looks at cosplay in a mature manner; the people who do it are wholly, solely committed to it, especially in trying to pull off just the right look (which can be really hard if you take on someone like, say, Alphonse Elric) without mocking them. Thus, we have “My Dress-Up Darling” (“Sono Bisuku Dōru wa Koi o Suru”, or “That Bisque Doll Falls in Love”). (more…)

I often wonder why you would want to reboot a series, especially one that still has life in it. Perhaps you want to offer it to a new generation, who doesn’t have the time to see the original (kind of a weak argument). Perhaps you want to take it in another direction and free yourself from the past that YOU created (another weak argument). Perhaps you just want to make a profit from all this (another weak argument, but this one makes better sense). And so, we have “RBWY: Ice Queendom”. (more…)

I caught this at AX 22 and was intrigued by it, despite the over-the-top fan service and all that goes with it. It’s another offering in the Magical School genre and this follows the misadventures of a would-be magician and all that goes with it, so we have the short title, “Vermeil in Gold” and its full title, “Vermeil in Gold: The Failing Student and the Strongest Scourge Plunge Into the World of Magic” (“Kinsō no Verumeiyu: Gakeppuchi Majutsushi wa Saikyō no Yakusai to Mahō Sekai o Tsukisusumu”), and all that goes with it. (more…)

OK, as you know, sports anime are my second least-liked genre (Giant Fighting Robots still have a commanding lead). It’s just the arc traveled in these shows is always the same: a person either a) loved the game and left it for a variety of reasons or b) want to make a name for themseves IN the sport. Through a series of events and happenstance, they are able to c) forge a comeback or d) establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with. And unless it is an unusual sport not normally covered in anime (tank battles, sumo wrestling, cornholing, whatever), I’ll take a pass. The object of our scrutiny for this one is sometimes not even considered a sport, golf, but I ended up on the green with “Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story.” (more…)

This is a ‘nothing’ series; a show where we just see the day-to-day life of rather plain and ordinary girls, doing plain and ordinary things in their plain and ordinary life. Except it is anything but plain and ordinary. In fact, it is within the confines of these plain and ordinary things that we see marvelous and extraordinary things. And what makes “Joshi Kausei” (“High School Girls”) more than plain and ordinary is that no one ever speaks a single word! (more…)

In all the time I have watched anime, I have never encountered what I call a fetish show. I mean, there are shows that have strong ecchi factors in them and we are given some pretty strong examples of the weaponry that some of the women pack, but I haven’t seen a show that really hyper-focuses on one aspect of women and their clothing…until I ran into “Miru Tights” (“Miru Taitsu”, “Watch Tights”). (more…)

I have to assume that the reason everyone likes the chibi style is that all the characters are just so darn cute. I mean, the proportions are closer to a baby than an adult, so there may be a natural affinity towards it. I have also noticed that a lot of shows do a type of chibi adjunct, whether it was “Black Clover” and their ‘Petit Clover’ segment, or ‘Girls’ Last Class’, a short run series from “Girls’ Last Tour” or “Strike Witches” who did a short pull series in a pseudo-chibi style. Not wanting to be left in the dust, RWBY has thrown their hat into the ring (or gauntlet or maybe a vial of dust) and have come up with “RWBY Chibi”. (more…)

Oh, look, it’s another chibized series. What are the odds? (Well, since the House sets the odds, they were always in my favor.) (more…)

So, it is common knowledge that the Japanese will make an anime series on practically ANYTHING. I mean, there’s one that delves into the fascinating world of….being a public servant! And I saw another one about the struggles to create….a new dictionary!!!! (Be still my beating heart. It is hot in here or what?) So when I ran into this one, “Chio’s School Road” (“Chio-chan no Tsūgakuro”, or “Chio’s Commute to School”), I was ready for the caliber of boredom usually reserved for things like being trapped at the Cleveland Airport for a week. Boy, was I wrong. I mean, about the show, not the Cleveland Airport. (more…)

This is a real mixed-bag of a show for me. I like the general concept of it but detest the animation decisions, as it serves no purpose to make it 3D-ish, unless they were trying to tie things in with the video games they were playing. Anyway, this is the world of “Hi-Score Girl” , (‘Hai Sukoa Gāru’). (more…)