When the show “New Game!” came out, I had two big problems with it. The first was the overwhelming female cast in it (men were there, but certainly background at best) and the fact that for trying to put out a video game, there was a decided lack of pressure. The game would come out when it would come out. Not very realistic. With the second season of “New Game!! 2” (“Nyū Gēmu!! 2”) upon us, they have at least raised the stakes a bit. (more…)

Do you remember when you first fell in love? Awash in all those giddy, uncertain emotions that were swirling about you in a kaleidoscope of feelings and sensations? Yeah, well, when I first fell in love, mankind had just discovered the wheel, OK? It’s been a long time. Still, with what you get from “Tsuki ga Kirei” (“as the moon, so beautiful”), it is a reminder of those days.
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OK, this is a squealing girl anime, where a grouping of divergent female types somehow get together to help each other with their particular struggles, one in another series of X chromosome shows that seem to be proliferating like mad. This one is “Hinako Note” (“Hinako Nōto”), although the original premise is rather appealing. (more…)

Wow. This is seriously one delightfully deranged comedy. Although you may tumble to the secret before it gets revealed, that does not detract from the romantic humor generated by “Eromanga Sensei”, although ‘romantic’ may be a bit of a stretch. PS, I am also going to reveal things in the third paragraph, so you may wish to avert your eyes. (more…)

Although this could be seen as “Girls Who Save the World”, it is done in a more realistic manner, in that they may not have capes and wands or be magical girls, but they are trying to save and protect people and a way of life. This is “Sakura Quest” (“Sakura Kuesuto”). (more…)

This is a strange romantic ‘comedy’, sharing more in common with “Nisekoi” than anything else, except there is a true sense of not knowing what is actually going on by those to whom all of this anger is directed. This is the life of “Masamune-kun no Ribenji” (“Masamune-kun’s Revenge”). (more…)

I have mixed opinions on music shows. Sometimes, they hone in too much on the music portion of it and let the rest of it fall away. Other times, there is too much inner turmoil and that saps whatever interesting parts of the show that were working. So, for me, it’s a mixed bag. And in a lot of instances, I really can’t get behind the music. It just sits there for me. This offering, “Fuuka”, is a double music show. (more…)

I am seeing a lot of music animes popping up, and it’s not just folks wanting to be the latest idol band or boy group, but real musical dedication. After having seen “Your Lie in April” and bumbled through two season of “Hibike! Euphonium”, I decided that I would try out “Piano no Mori”, (“Piano’s Forest”) although it is a strange confabulation of events. Also, it’s an anime movie and you know my stance on them. I will watch it and decide later if it was worth it, as they get such a limited to no release at all in the US (more…)

This is an odd series on a variety of levels. I feel that they could have done fuller episodes of this and really explored the unusual relationship between these two people. Or perhaps they wanted it that episodic, as their encounters are that episodic. In any case, “Tawawa on Monday” (“Getsuyōbi no Tawawa”) explores a caliber of casual meetings and greetings in the same vein as “Same Time, Next Year”. (more…)

I remarked that the Japanese will do an anime on anything. Although this is a caliber of romance, it is a more mature effort. This is no high school rom-com, but something more serious. However, it is packaged around the struggles to create a new dictionary. So, you are immediately thinking ‘How dull can that be?’ And, in a broad sense of thing, yes, it is rather dull. I mean, you are just doing research work to make this project fly, as you track down the real meaning of words. It’s the old Connotation vs. Denotation battle that my Freshman English teacher used to hammer into us as we dissected poetry…..but I have digressed again. It’s tough being an old man. (more…)