OK, we have been busily killing goblins, now it is time to take on demons. But these demons are of a harder, more pernicious nature and even the best of your skills may still come up short. I mean, you have morality; they have sharp claws. See where that gets you. But this is the driving force behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (“Kimetsu no Yaiba”, or “Demon-Slaying Blade”). (more…)

Yeah, this is a magical boy show. There are probably a lot of them out there, but this is more aligned with Harry Potter than Sailor Moon. And if we are doing the crossover, it would be a merging of Harry Potter and Perry Mason (OK, potentially closer to Judge Dredd, but without the Stallone Snarl and someone barking out “I AM the law!”) We are at “Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation” (“Muhyo to Rōjī no Mahōritsu Sōdan Jimusho”, also known as “Muhyo & Roji”). (more…)

Demons, demons, demons. There does seem to be a fascination with demons, especially when we present them as more humanish than demonoidal. I mean, most of us see demons as someone who will burn you up or mow you down or cleave you in twain. Yeah, you might want to get some kind of PR firm to help burnish that image a touch. But what happens when a demon come after you for a debt that a relative owes them? How did this happen? Such is the premise behind Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits” (“Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi”, or “Afterlife Inn Cooking”). Oh, did I forget to mention it’s also a kind of cooking show? Oh, did I forget to mention it’s also a kind of isakai? Oh, did I forget to mention it’s also a kind of romance? Man, I would lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on to my shoulders. *THUNK* (more…)

Oh, no! It’s a ghost! It’s a haunting! It’s a hot springs! We must protect the world, or at least parts of Japan, from those bad, evil, nasty, mean, ugly, cruel, vicious and rotten ghosts that will bedevil the lives of common citizen who merely want to take advantage of a lovely locale to soak away their stress! Well, things are never as they seem and such is the case with “Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs.” (“Yuragi-sō no Yūna-san”) (more…)

I guess if you are going to be a demon, it really helps to be a cute one. Or have big boobs. I guess that’s nice as well. At least that is one of the theories on display in this rather charming and obscenely violent series “Dropkick on My Devil!” (, “Jashin-chan Doroppukikku”). (more…)

I am worried about this series. I mean, initially, “Black Butler” was one of the meanest and cruelest series I had ever seen, where harsh justice is dispensed right and left and anyone who dares to entrammel the relationship between Sebastian and Ciel had best bring their A++ game; otherwise, they will crash and burn and experience 99 degrees of unpleasantness. And get stuck with the bill! But for this movie go-around, we get “Book of the Atlantic”. (more…)

Horror is a genre that is down the list for me of what I wish to see in anime. I want something psychological that doesn’t involve severed limbs and blunt instruments and buckets of gore stored around the house, as it’s the maid’s day off and there is just so much to clean up. However, when I was presented with an anthology of tales derived from the disturbed pen of manga horror artist Junji Ito, since it was going to me more like “Night Gallery” or “Tales from the Crypt”, I decided to take in the “Junji Ito Collection” (“Itō Junji Korekushon”). (more…)

There is always a problem with having a large cast in an anime, in that everyone needs to be there all the time. However, for this show, “Yōkai Apāto no Yūga na Nichijō” (“Elegant Yokai Apartment Life”), it actually works in its behalf not to showcase them all at once. You see, there are a few key people who need to be there, but the rest can come in and go out, as it befits their character and the plotting. (more…)

Calloo callay! Our favorite demon bureaucratic wonk is back for a second season of marvelous mayhem in “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 2” (“Hōzuki no Reitetsu”). (more…)

I could have seen this at AX 17, but they mooked with the scheduling so it passed me by. I had to wait for it to come online to grab it. This is a caliber of lead-in to the series, as it is a three-part OVA. The series itself was released in 2018. This short-run talks about things after the dust has settled and everyone is more or less comfortable with one another. If the series is going to be like this offering, it is going to be both intriguing and restrained. This is “The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Those Awaiting a Star”. (more…)