This is one seriously weird show, right from the title. Because the apostrophe is hidden, you think this is called “Akiba Strip”, but you wouldn’t be too far off the mark with it. No, the actually title is “Akiba’s Trip” (“Akibazu Torippu”) and the layout up top is every indication as to how unhinged it is. (more…)

Is it just me, or do the ladies seem to have more shows about them than the guys? Are ladies just that more intrinsically interesting or do we like to see how they overcome a plethora of problems designed to weed out the weaklings and we end up with a stronger, more empowered woman? Or is it just big boobies in tiny outfits? That seems a bit much to lay on a bunch of 15 and younger gals, but that’s the idea behind “ViVid Strike”, although the full and complete title is “Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid” (“ViVid Mahō Shōjo Ririkaru Nanoha Vividdo”, and don’t ask why they spell it that way). Oh, and this is the second season of the show, not that it really mattered in how it all came to be. (more…)

Please do not let the horribly flat and bland art style throw you off. There is a more compelling story in here than you initially realize and you have to watch it. I mean really watch it. Brought to you by the same folks behind “One Punch Man”, this tale, “Mob Psycho 100” (“Mobu Saiko Hyaku^”) looks at people with abilities who may not know what to fully do with them. (more…)

I have noticed another trend in anime. This one was a long time coming, as a lot of companies are not too eager to get on the bandwagon for this one, but it is best described as “Magical Girls Gone Bad”. One could argue that “Black Rock Shooter” is a caliber of magical girl show, and things in it went badly for those involved. It has gone through a lot of other shows to get us to “Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku” (“Magical Girl Raising Project”). This does give pause as to whether or not you wish to follow in this profession. (more…)

This was a show that was full of promise, but ended up devolving into the usual fight for supremacy genre that seem to bedevil this caliber of show. “Bungo Stray Dogs 2” (“Bungō Sutorei Doggusu” or ”Literary Stray Dogs”) started off the second season with an interesting take. The first season had us dealing with Atsushi Nakajima (dead center), who has the ability to change into a were tiger. He was taken on board by the Armed Detective Agency, a group dedicated to fighting the Port Mafia, a band of outlaws who also have an arsenal of people with special abilities. (more…)

I have remarked that when you see an uptick in OVAs or short runs of a series that completed its first season, it is a prelude to the release of the next season, but they want to let you know it’s coming with a bit more than a notice on the internet going “The second season is coming! Sale starts on Friday!” It’s just there was a two-run OVA about a year or so ago and now “Nanatsu no Taizai: Seisen no Shirushi” (“The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of the Holy War”) came out with what they refer to as a TV Special that acts as a prelude to the new season. (more…)

There are two kinds of super heroes: those who are born to it and those who are made. Superman and Wonder Woman are examples of those who were born to it; The Flash and Spider Man are those who were made, by some bizarre accident or event. This show, “Taboo Tattoo”, is about ‘ordinary’ people who possess super powers, granted by a special mark that they receive. (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…)

This is another in the long-running genre of ‘Girls Who Save the World’, but in this instance, they are saving many worlds. Let’s put on some patriotic music as we send forth the plot of “Ange Vierge” (“Anju Vieruju”): (more…)

I have a real problem with a lot of shows. Should I grab it when it comes out and take it as it is or should I wait for it to conclude and watch it all at that time? But then, I’m not giving a ‘fresh’ review. Sure, I end all my reviews with the admonition “It’s first run until you see it”, but you never want to be behind the curve in reviews, as it looks like you are cobbling one together from what other people have said and so it isn’t all that ‘fresh’. I bring this up as I almost did not finish the run for “God Eater” (“Goddo Ītā”) because of some crazy trick they pulled during the run. It also doesn’t help it is a video game adaptation and it feels like it several times over. (more…)