#I just find the concept very interesting and two of my favorite seiyuu voice the same guy hehe

[youth-pastor-chrollo]

Anyone know any good resources (threads, blogs, etc) on how to get more into Clock over ORQUESTA? The MILGRAM collab got me really interested in it but I’ve only been able to find very limited information. I’ve tried to look at the wiki but unfortunately it isn’t the most functioning website…

[impracticaldemon]

Hey! So I haven't kept up with a lot of otome games and stuff, including some of the non-hakuouki stuff you are into, but I was curious about it? I wanted to know about whatever the Ikesen (ikemen??) series is, or what it is I suppose lmao? I assume mobile games, which is cool, I kind of want to look into some of those, but I curious about what were your favorites or your thoughts on them, etc.

Hi Miss P!

Just for context, I want to mention that I was a “non-mobile otome only” player until about 2.5 years ago.  I was wary of mobile otome games for a few reasons, including *my* perceptions about (lack of) depth of story and characters, cost, and dependence on a server (i.e., you don’t get to buy and “own” a game).  I took a harder look for two reasons: (1) seeing the artwork from more recent games; (2) discovering some favourite voice actors in the mobile otome world.  Also, I just wanted to find more localized Japanese otome.

What have I played?

I have actively played all the (localized) games by Cybird:  

Destined to Love (historical AU, Shinsengumi / bakumatsu era; thrown back in time; fated lover concept)

Midnight Cinderella (classic “you’re suddenly chosen to be the Princess” concept; setting is sort of mid-1800s, European-type country)

Ikemen Sengoku (historical AU, mid/late Sengoku era; taken in by Sengoku faction, become close to key leaders; thrown back in time)

Ikemen Revolution (fantasy, overarching framework based loosely on Alice in Wonderland; setting is Victorian-with-magic, not weird-drug-trip)

Ikemen Vampire (late 19th Paris, but focus is personal, not much political/historical; famous men now vampires; thrown back in time)

I have also played MLQC (from “Mr Love Queen’s Choice” - the worst localized title I have ever come across - I mean, it sounds ridiculous. The Japanese title is “Love and Producer” [ 恋とプロデューサー ] which is more accurate and less dorky sounding.  This game is Chinese (not Japanese) but so popular that it has been translated into Japanese, Korean, and English. **Note that there is some debate as to whether this is an “otome” game.**

I haven’t played: Voltage otome games; Mystic Messenger; or any other mobile otome games.

How do they work?

Almost every game has these features:

you choose the love interest right after the prologue [completely different story for each guy, no common route]

total story length is approx. 26 chapters of 5 sub-chapters [or 13 chapters with 10 sub-chapters]

you are given 5 free tickets a day; one ticket = one sub-chapter

you can buy more tickets with real money by buying “gems” (or whatever the premium in-game currency is called)

you have a stamina bar that refills over time that lets you compete in simple, totally automated challenges versus other players for experience points (usually a straight comparison of your “beauty” score, where beauty is all about how nice your clothes are and what you own (cue eye roll))

you can buy more stamina with real money, but don’t have to if you’re patient (you recover 1 point per 3 minutes, or 20 points per hour)

you need a certain level of experience points in order to pass “intimacy” challenges throughout the story

you also need certain items or outfits to pass “attire” challenges - you can buy these things with in-game regular currency (you get a bit each day) or in-game premium currency

once you’ve read a chapter you cannot go back without re-reading from the start and using new chapter tickets [there is no save function]

there are dialogue choices that raise your affection points with the love interest (getting the maximum affection score by the end of the game usually gives you a nice bonus gift; a minimum score is required to complete the story)

EVENTS are completely separate from the main routes - you compete against other players for the highest event points in order to get coveted items (outfits, chibis, teddy bears, etc.) - you DO NOT HAVE TO play in events in order to enjoy or progress in the main routes

Favourite:

Ikemen Sengoku is hands down my favourite. I would recommend this to most Hakuouki players in search of some interesting historical otome.

not historically accurate (apart the obvious, the warlords presented did not all work or live together in 1582 as presented; the main AU premise is that certain key warlords didn’t die, and relative ages and relevant details have been adjusted to fit the overarching plot(s)), but captures a lot of historically accurate details

best protagonist (modern sensibilities, has a chosen profession she relies on, sense of humour, generally competent, spunky but not perfect

the modern-era physics grad student and history-buff-turned-ninja Sarutobi Sasuke is a wonderful person, character, and “narrator”

excellent sense of humour (game) - big selling point for me tbh, and the localization team has generally done a great job (translating humour is *hard*, and while the adaptation sometimes strays too far from the Japanese original, it’s generally very good)

all main routes are different (overall, the main story quality is very good and has plot to go along with the character/romance development)

character background and development is very good

variety of love interests, with non-love-interest characters still playing important and interesting roles [sadly, few-to-no developed female secondary characters; lots of bro/mances of different kinds]

main routes all have two different endings (moving toward three); the different endings span several chapters (not just an epilogue) and are reasonably distinct in most routes (but both are clearly happy endings)

dressing up your character turns out to be a lot of fun (apparently I have NOT gotten over playing with dolls, bears, or chibis, go figure)

special “events” feature all kinds of new stories, some more creative than others (imagine Hakuouki with frequent, official new content!)

Note:  romance/sexiness level varies per route and character (Cybird provides some guidance on this in their route notes for most of their games); you generally have to pay to read more explicit stuff, but even then the level of implied/explicit varies - IkeSen is generally mid-range for Cybird for romantic/mature content in my opinion

Voice Acting:  only a few voiced lines, but more are in the works - there is a PS Vita version of the full game with full voice acting; my attention was drawn by Toriumi Kosuke (Saito from Hakuouki) voicing Toyotomi Hideyoshi (but the voice is deliberately lighter than Saito’s sadly for me); there are a LOT of pro seiyuu in the more recent Cybird games (Hakuouki’s Kazama as Leonardo da Vinci in Ikemen Vampire is a treat for the ears, honestly)

Reviews for other Cybird: 

I enjoy Midnight Cinderella for the sheer Princessy-ness of it all, and playing with dolls *ahem*. The main stories have both “personal development” and “political intrigue” style plots; however, this game is biased toward romance. There are a range of love interests, which is great - everyone can have their favourite(s). The top characters are “poster boy” (Knight Captain) Alyn Crawford (the guy you’d find on the box cover if there were one), (King) Byron Wagner, and (Duke) Louis Howard.  Call them Classic Tsundere, Classic Kuudere, and Classic Appears-to-be-tsun-but-is-really-a-total-cinammon-roll Deredere.

I enjoy the characters and world design of Ikemen Revolution; would definitely recommend it, but feel more could have been more done with the setting and characters. Alice is my second-favourite Cybird protagonist. The character interactions are very good and well-developed. 

Ikemen Vampire is very popular, and has a lot going for it, but isn’t my personal cup of tea.  That said, I’m still playing, and I do enjoy various aspects of it - the characters and character interactions, for instance.  If you’re looking for a more modern, sexy, gothic kind of feel to your otome, this could be a good choice.  

I wouldn’t spend money on the Shinsengumi game, Destined to Love, for two reasons:  (1) Cybird appears to have dropped the localized version completely (you can play all the main stories for free, one chapter per day, and you can buy old event stories, but there are no events or updates; (2) most of the stories have an unfinished feel to them, at least for me. 

That said, DTL isn’t bad if you’re in the mood to read some different stories about Hijikata and the guys (plus there are more love interests from the anti-bakufu side).  Hijikata and Saito have a similar feel to them, Okita and Yamazaki have definite similarities as well; I enjoyed Sakamoto more in DTL than in Hakuouki,and Katsura is nice.  Takasugi has a route if you’re okay with a rougher version of Hakuouki’s Okita - just be prepared for sarcasm and a very aggressive edginess.

Non-Cybird:

MLQC is a lot of fun as a deck-building game and has the most innovative story - character development aside, it’s a mix of modern China (the main plot is set in a fictional Chinese city) and increasingly sci-fi elements as you slowly learn more about what makes the protagonist and the four love interests different. There is a fair bit of grinding if you want to read more chapters and upgrade your cards, which are needed to pass challenge points in the story.

This game does not follow the usual “common route then pick a route” progression of most otome games.  Also, you don’t have choices that affect the main route progression (there are choices that affect each love interest’s affection level, though). You fully control which cards you develop (since some resources are scarce unless you throw money at the game), and you’ll probably develop one or two guys’ cards over the others.  Since each card provides you with a four-part story “date” (mostly implied romance, some more, some less), it’s up to you how you progress.

The art is gorgeous, the story is great, the translation is… not so good but better than many Chinese games… the English voice acting is quite good.  You can also download the Japanese voice acting in a number of places.

This is not the kind of otome/game you play to get an Otomate (Hakuouki, Code Realize, Collar x Malice) kind of experience.  But there are a lot of good qualities.  One of which is that it’s the easiest of the games to play for free.  Also, they have a “post whatever you want” policy.  Which tells you just how popular the game is, since people throw money at it anyway!

~ Imp

PS  This is already longer than intended, but there’s a lot more I could write. I’d be super happy if you (or anyone!) had follow-up questions about the mobile otome experience or specific games.

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Last and First Idol

Warning: This work contains graphic descriptions of violence that are discussed in the review.

Before I began reading Last and First Idol, I had absolutely no idea what it was about or what sort of a story I would find within. I knew it had to be in some way yuri because J-Novel club sent it to me to review saying as much, but beyond that, I had no idea. I can definitively say that going into Last and First Idol blind was absolutely the wrong idea. While searching for cute and fun yuri stories, I naively wandered into graphic accounts of cannibalism, grotesque creatures, and a reckless abandon for human life. It seems almost impossible that the astonishing creations within the light novel all began with a Love Live fanfiction story. However, as jarring as my experience was, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the work. Last and First Idol is a collection of three hard science fiction yuri short stories by Gengen Kusano.

There are a few common elements present throughout each story. As previously stated, they are hard science fiction work, with particular attention and details placed in scientific logic and accuracy. Each story intersects the lofty science concepts presented with an aspect of anime/otaku culture, idols, gacha mobiles games, and seiyuu (in that order). Finally, each of the short stories features a protagonist that physically evolves and becomes stronger by killing and consuming, though not necessarily eating their own kind.

The title story, Last and First Idol, begins innocently enough, with Mika Furutsuki dreaming of becoming an idol. She practices regularly, joins an idol group in high school, and hires her dearest friend Maori Niizono as a producer. However, things take a dark turn when, during a downturn in her idol career, Mika kills herself. The Earth is struck with massive solar flares, rendering it almost uninhabitable and riddling the survivors with cancers. Niizono brutally murders scores of survivors to harvests their body parts and transforms her body into a powerful being. She then resurrects Mika, turning the idol into a horrific monster. The rest of the story follows Mika as she continually evolves and changes by assimilating her victims’ organs and bodies into her own to become the ultimate idol.

More than any other, this story is graphic and depraved. Several passages made me feel nauseated as Kusano holds little back in his descriptions of the atrocities Mika and Niizono commit. However, while undoubtedly disturbing, science and transformations Mika undergoes are fascinating and wonderfully described in detail. Kusano’s attention to detail benefits the work here, as readers will be engrossed in discovering how Mika adapts to overcome her next challenge.

The second story, Evolution Girls follows Youko Sasajima. She is a young woman addicted to the gacha mobile game, “Evo Gals.” Youko’s addiction quickly leads to her death. However, she awakens, reincarnated as a single-celled organism. In the world she finds herself in, “girls” pull gacha to acquire organelles and level up. Soon she evolves beyond microscopic life into prehistoric aquatic creatures and onwards, all by drawing gachas. To pull these gachas, Mika needs “points,” which she obtains by eating other girls. It is a fascinating and spectacular reimagining of life’s evolution, all from the perspective of a young woman.

Youko teams up some a few other girls to help create a feared hunter pack, however, they are never the apex. There is a constant sense of fear and apprehension as the reader is aware that the girls risk encountering a creature stronger than them and getting slaughtered at any moment. Youko grows incredibly attached to one of the women, Vayu, and vows to protect her. Her love for the girl acts as her driving motivation throughout the latter half of the story.

One of the most exciting aspects of Evolution Girls is its ending, which catapults the stories scope and scientific fantasy. There are discussions of parallel dimensions, the nature of souls, and a dastardly plot older than the universe. Many aspects of this ending echo Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a connection I was happy to discover Kusano himself acknowledged. There is a rewriting of the universe and its fundamental laws, a character living through multiple timelines, and it is all because of the way energy function in this universe. It is wonderfully vast and imaginative, but frustratingly convoluted; I had to read the final few pages of the story a half dozen times to comprehend it.

The final story in the light novel is Dark Seiyuu. In a futuristic society, seiyuu is no longer a term used to describe voice actors but a different race of humans. These seiyuu have laryngeal sacs, an organ which allows them to control aether, a medium of light and sound. By manipulating aether, the seiyuu can fire lasters, create sounds, manipulate gravity, and fly spaceships.

The story follows Akane, a seiyuu who, to grow her power, murders other seiyuu and transplants their laryngeal sacs onto herself. Since birth, she has heard strange whispers, a mysterious voice. One day while out on a date with her partner Sachii, Akane is attacked by the Dark Seiyuu, who encourages Akane to listen to the voices. Soon Akane and Sachii engage in desperate pursuit, chasing the Dark Seiyuu across the galaxy, hijacking ships, battling bounty hunters, and escaping the law on the way.

Dark Seiyuu is easily my favorite story in the light novel. Some scenes and descriptions in the story are breathtaking, like a beautiful and terrifying sequence when the Earth loses all gravity. It also features a clear goal which the characters are driving towards at all time. Unfortunately, the ending is more than a little disappointing. Just as the plot ends, the story opens up to what seems like a greater adventure. This conclusion feels like an epic introduction to a much longer work. However, it ends just as the call to action is answered. Dark Seiyuu is begging for a sequel that will likely never be.

While Dark Seiyuu carefully balance its plot and science Evolution Girls and Last and First Idol are far less successful. There are multiple sections in these stories where long descriptions of the mechanics and functions of various scientific processes feel out of place and ruin the stories’ otherwise fantastic pacing. Thankfully, these descriptions are incredibly well written and researched, but you will enjoy the story far more for science than the plot. However, the greatest failure of the stories is in addressing the complex philosophical questions they touch upon, such as survival and cannibalism. It is such a missed opportunity, especially because it is clear from that Kusano is capable of incorporating philosophy wonderfully.

The sacrifices to story in the name of science are nothing when compared to the characters. Most of them are cruel, taking glee in their murderous escapades. Furthermore, they have very little development. If you asked me to describe the personality of any characters in Last and First Idol, I would not be able to. The one exception is Youko from Evolution Girls. Her motivation is far more believable and understandable than Mika’s wish to become the ultimate idol in Last and First Idol and helps sell her occasionally questionable actions effectively. Youko is easily the most likable character in any of the stories. While she does kill, it is necessary for survival, and she does not take the same glee in it that characters in other stories do.

Each of the stories in Last and First Idol contains yuri elements (obviously, otherwise I would have no business reviewing it). In the titular story, these elements are present in Niizono’s dedication to Mika, but outside of the implication, no bond between the two is ever clearly stated. In Evolution Girls, the yuri elements are more explicit, with Youko being in love with Vayu. Additionally, two of the side characters being implied to be interested in each other. Finally, there is Dark Seiyuu, which features two women in a relationship. Regrettably, their relationship, at least on Akane’s side, is more for publicity than any actual romantic or physical attraction. However, there are moments when Akane displays genuine affection and care for Sachii, but these moments are inconsistent. On one page, Akane can be comforting her and on the next annoyed by the girl.

Last and First Idol is a haunting and brilliant work of science fiction. It masterfully integrates otaku culture with high and hard sci-fi concepts, and its fast-paced stories will keep readers on the edge of their seats. However, its storylines and characters suffer at the expense of the stories’ scientific aspects. Still, if you are looking for an extensive and profound science fiction work that pulls no punches, be sure to give Last and First Idol a read.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 2 Art – N/A LGBTQ – 4 Lewd – 0 Final – 7

You can purchase ‘Last and First Idol’ digitally now: https://amzn.to/2MPc4oB

Review copy provided by J-Novel Club

[amyure]

Snippets from the Tokyo 7th Sisters Complete Music File

I’ll write some interesting things I find as I skim over the t7s complete music file. - Esh

Esh originally wrote this up as a twitter thread, I’ve compiled the tweets and lightly edited/sorted them. If you’re interested in picking up the book for yourself, it can be found on Amazon Japan as well as CDjapan. – Nab

Multifaceted Motegi

Both Satsuki Update and Kanaboshi Tsukumo are Motegi. (Hahahaha) [Motegi is the General Director of Tokyo 7th Sisters, aka the guy to thank for everything (along with his team of course)! For reference, those two lyricists’ identities were kind of a mystery in the earlier days of t7s… though now they’re both just listed as ‘Alias of Shintaro Motegi’ over at VGMdb haha]

Kanaboshi Tsukumo tends to be more straightforward, saying things that Satsuki Update is not able to say explicitly, as shown from the contrast between BokuAo [僕らは青空になる] and Funbare Runner's lyrics. Prizm Rizm’s lyrics were Motegi's first foray into songwriting.

Satsuki Update and Kanaboshi Tsukumo, even if both are Motegi, were created with different personalities. The song "Bokura wa Aozora ni Naru" and "Funbare Runner" were made as "brother songs", where the former shows Satsuki update, and the latter, Kanaboshi Tsukumo's differences from them.

"Nanasis doesn’t really stick to genres, right?" Motegi: Yes. It is more like, if the song doesn’t move me then I won’t release it. If I can’t say this part of the song is good, I won’t produce it. [This is def a big part of why I like t7s music so much…]

Song Notes

The concept of Crazy Girl's Beat is "Anyway, it's cool. Even the lyrics, they’re whatever that sounds cool. ‘Sexy lingerie, yo’, despite being a little ???, is also part of it. Anyway, cool."

WORLD'S END was made to explain to fans how QoP's song came into being. Kz was tasked with making a rock song that "isn't so Kz" (to which kz replied with "eh?") They [Motegi and Kz] made the lyrics together, making it seem like telling a story.

Lucky☆Lucky’s lyrics were written by imagining what kind of songs 4U would sing after getting over the events of Episode 4U. That's why they are firm and reassuring, not only to themselves but also to others and the outside world.

BokuAo was created to convey the feelings of gratitude to Shihainin [the in-game term for the player’s ‘manager’ character] for the great enthusiasm in 1st live and for Shihainins’ great enthusiasm to the music itself. "There is no one word for gratitude,” said Motegi. Within Funbare [FUNBARE☆RUNNER] were things not "explicitly said” in BokuAo. The jackets for BokuAo and Funbare Runner are the girls looking at audience, saying "Thank You.”

Taikutsu Ribbon [たいくつりぼん] was made on a rainy winter day; it was made because Motegi wanted a mellow song.

Watashi Ai for You’s title was thought up by Motegi.

Motegi said "It's okay if the lyrics are incomprehensible" to emon for B.A.A.B. The title is from the acronym of "Break Away", mirrored. The lyrics were by emon, but the title was thought up by Motegi.

It was decided for everyone to sing every part in H-A-J-I-M-A-R-I-U-T-A-!! and Motegi wrote it without the image of MC [main character]. Even the cast asked him, “whose feelings are these?” It was his own feeling to every young person who loves Nanasis, and the moment he thought “777 Sisters is great this way.”

Hello... My Friend is the song which Motegi, for the first time, crafted together with the composer. He felt "something" was lacking, so Ryudai Abe said, "come to my house" and they made the song together. It was also made after Motegi gave his all for Ep4U and got a positive reaction.

Haneru!!’s [ハネ☆る！！] lyrics were done in one night. It was when schedule was tight with LeSCa’s lyrics as well, and Motegi felt like he wanted to break away from that style. Motegi also seems to like having girls saying somewhat boyish things, so he put boyish words like "sakutekichuu" (searching for enemy) in.

Motegi commented there were only painful memories in the making of Behind Moon. Having had not enough time, he wrote it alone in a car while the others were out drinking, and thus put in words like "unfair". Yoshii Ayami (Kyoko’s former voice actress) praised Motegi a lot for the phrase "The mint tea smells like winter" in Behind Moon and for the very first time Motegi had the confidence to say, "I wrote it."

From B.A.A.B., Karakuri’s songs were made to have an ‘overseas’ sound. For -Zero, while thinking the concept may be ‘China, or Europe, or US’, Motegi remembered Karakuri as a name is very Japanese and decided to make lyrics with a lot of old Japanese words. For -Zero’s lyrics, Motegi referenced Heian period stuff like “The Pillow Book" or "Kokin Wakashuu", a collection of waka Japanese poetry from Heian period. (Personal note: no wonder it really took a lot of research for me when I translated -Zero...)

Seventh Haven was made before the 2nd Live and at that time, they [Motegi and Kz] were in a ‘dark mode’ where they were pondering, "Is it okay for idol songs to be like this?" "Just bust through it."

The lyrics from "Robber x Lover" began flowing after "I am sure, by Abracadabra...". "I don’t want to be a robber, I want to be a lover" is to convey a ‘that is just how much I love you’ vibe. Within WNo4’s songs, the girls' voices are the least "autotuned" in Robber x Lover.

Sayonara Rainy Lady’s lyrics were written when it was raining, which revealed a bright sky after stopping. This made the feelings during the time of their writing to be bright. Motegi specifically wanted the "Kudaranai hanashi" part be sung by Imai Asaka (Shizuka’s VA).

KUMAROBO comment for BokuAo: the last chorus’ guitar solo was conceived with the "thought of borrowing those feelings from Kz-san's song" but, he could not remember which song it was. He personally repeated that part numerous times as well, loving it very much. Upon being asked for a song he could never make himself, Kumarobo answered Seventh Haven. He couldn't get an idea how it was made at all, saying he might have been able to create Sparkle Time!! but he could never be able to make a Seventh Haven.

YELLOW’s lyrics were written before 2nd Live, in 2 hours. Motegi was at a park overlooking the ocean near an airport waiting for his plane, which is why it has the sky and breeze imagery within the lyrics.

KARAKURI's song Winning Day is linked to Episode KARAKURI’s scenario, especially how it questions the meaning of "winning". Where the girls "win but did not triumph."

Kz is a fan of Kumarobo. His favorite T7S songs are PUNCH'D RANKER, Cocoro Magical, Funbare Runner, HAJIMARIUTA, and YELLOW. The image he had of Killer Tuner changed upon seeing it live, which he described as “it's super awesome.” Kz said, while working on seventh haven, he felt for the first time he understood what Nanasis was. When he sent the track to his manager, his manager said, "this is an overkill.” Kz replied "just send it," and as it turned out, Motegi approved it right away. Kz said within the story there are dark moments here and there in Nanasis, and Seventh Haven represents what "blows up" after them.

During the making of Girls Talk, Ryudai Abe [composer of the track] said a discussion went, "don’t two girls talking sound nice?" to which the reply was "then phone calls seem good!" and somehow it was made with the atmosphere of ‘strange late-night high feelings’. The talking part of Girls talk [after the second chorus] was Motegi recording the "girls talk" of two young staff members and just putting it into the song. The fast-forwarding effect was also there because he wanted "to try it somehow," he said that at that time, he really played with things.

Seiyuus / units

Ferb is Hirose Yuuki's first voice acting role. She was told to portray Ferb with her "usual voice" but always had to calm down before recording, or else it would be “too Hirose."

Ayano Yamamoto, Yumeno VA, knew about QoP’s debut from twitter when fans started dropping congratulation messages on her twitter. She thought at first that they might have mistaken her with someone else or something, as she didn’t know what those congrats were for.

Just like in the QoP Drama CD, the voice actresses of QoP spent a long time practicing how to do their MC [talking to the audience] session for the Live. Hirose (Ferb VA) thought of it as fitting and very QoP.

LeSCa’s debut was determined when Kadokawa asked for novelization in Comptiq. Motegi had wanted to debut them but never had time/opportunity till Kadokawa's novelization offer. The same thing happened with QoP.

WITCH NUMBER 4's unit name is from the image of a super hacker swimming in digital world of 2034, ‘digital wizards’. Since they are girls, it became digital witches. With imagery of JK [high school] hackers, thus it is a technopop unit.

The theme for SiSH is ‘that refined lady you find commuting by bus.’

The theme for NI+CORA is ‘Is it superb compatibility, or incompatibility? Like two high heels touching at their tips’.

The theme for Sanbon Ribbon [サンボンリボン] is ‘Somewhere in their heart, there always remains a small girl.’

The theme for LeSCa is ‘the sweet and sour days of youth’; "What's LeSCa? It's lemon squash, refreshing, carbonated drinks!" [as explained by Kyoko in the novel]

Artwork / jacket illustrations  

The CD jacket for ‘t7s Longing for summer’ was originally meant to feature Mito, but MKS-san (main illustrator) said Haru would be good. Upon seeing the rough draft, Motegi felt that he had been mistaken. Haru was indeed the right choice, and with praise to MKS, the illustration was done up before the album released.

The jacket for ‘The Things She Loved’ [the t7s soundtrack album] is Nicole, not Coney, and the title is meant to be past tense. The moment she became Coney, thanks to the things she (had) loved, she can shine brightly. She continues to love it as time progresses towards her future.

Thanks to time constraints, -Zero/Treat or Treat? didn’t manage to get a full body illustration. Since it's Halloween, it is orange for pumpkin, and sticking out of the tongue as Halloween's "trick or treat"-ish playful feel.

The jacket illustration for YELLOW was to show “Triangle”. The white heels and beautiful legs are "very LeSCa", which Motegi had wanted to show off no matter what (Motegi commented how all 3 girls have beautiful legs). [Motegi…]

For Seventh Haven’s jacket, Motegi gave the raw track from Kz to MKS. Motegi had the image of both songs and illustrations' expressions and costumes, but in the end, he let MKS's design sense take the lead, and could only describe the final product as nothing less than amazing.

QoP album jacket was made black and white to show off a "rock band”-esque feel, with only their name in purple, symbolizing the band’s name.

The rough draft for Harukaze’s jacket was drawn by Motegi himself half a year before its release, then given to MKS. He then let it be just as per Motegi’s draft but the hand, the chin slightly tilted upwards, and Haru’s eyes were all MKS's design. Motegi requested for Haru's ear to be visible though.

Motegi on World’s End and Stay Gold/Start Line: MKS-san always knows what Motegi desires every time. Motegi praised MKS-san a lot in the music file, e.g. how his "world" would not be able to be separated from MKS-san's illustrations. He also commented how Musubi's leg is mesmerizing [in, I assume, illustrations where she is featured…? Such as You Can’t Win’s cover.]

For Present 4U, Motegi talked about how rock bands make jackets with meaning, but then often they don't have meaning. The illustration is "to show how the meaning is to have no meaning", fully made for the 'atmosphere', which is set in California, and tied to the Drama Track in the album.

Thanks to time constraints, for the “Are You Ready 7th-TYPES??” album jacket, only Nicole and Haru’s illustrations were finished. Since the ‘two colors’ concept was decided on, the art that was originally multi-colored was made monochrome red/blue. This was also to strengthen the image of a cool album.

Back to summaries

[persephone-damnedqueen]

Beginning Thoughts of the Fall Anime Season 2017 . . .

Welp, fall is here, and as usual, it is time for me to do my annual first impressions of the season’s anime titles.  My gods if you thought the amount of shows I checked out last season was a lot, this season’s amount is insane.  This season, so far, I have checked out 22 shows thus far and plan for at least 7 more to pick up.  Insane, right?�� So how do they stack up so far?   Let’s see.  Also, please keep in mind, that these are solely based off of the first one or two episodes, and are purely my opinion, so if my opinion is different than yours, then I’d love to here it.   Also, I will try to remain as spoiler free as possible.  

Netojuu no Susume:  Studio Signal.MD

Dropped.  Alright, so I feel like I have to mention this.   I’m a serious gamer.  More specifically, I love me some MMOs.  How much you ask?   Well, so much so that I actually met my husband on World of Warcraft.  Insane right?  I mean my god you do not want to see our /played time on that game.  So, needless to say, I am a bit critical on gaming anime because of this, because I know what it’s like.   This anime was just. . . . cringey.  I found myself sighing every chance I got and by the 20 minute mark, completely turning it off.  Everything about the first episode was just  . . . bad.  There’s really just no redeeming qualities. . . well, one line said by the Guild Master which was something along the lines of “you have no idea what her irl gender is.”  I laughed.  It’s accurate.  85% of female toons you see on wow are actually guys. Anyways, moving on.   

Evil or Live:  Haoliners Animation

Dropped.  Mmmm  I had such high hopes.  After reading the summary, I will admit, I was hyped for this show.  On Paper, this show sounds wonderful.  I thought it was going to be some horror psychological thriller that at the end of it left you questioning the very meaning of the world around you or something.  Instead, what happened?   I . . .don’t even know.  The series starts off with massive amounts of Live Action, which, while being completely unexpected, I didn’t mind so much; the series became an instant drop for me when the MC and Co were clearly showing a break from reality and needed actual mental help, was beaten instead.   It wasn’t “horror” or “edgy” it was just poor writing.  Needless to say, I have dropped it.

Just Because!: Studio Pine Jam

Dropped.  For no other reason that fuck it’s boring.  I fell asleep watching it not once, but twice.  It was that boring.  This series proves that even the prettiest of shows can bore you to death.  

Omiai Aite wa Oshiego Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji:  Studio Seven

Porn.  With Plot.  Alright, so this is an actual hentai series.  Not like Soft-Core either like Hajimete no Gal was last season.  This is an actual hentai series, and if you could believe it, it’s actually more plot focused and semi-interesting than 95% of hentai out there.. . . Well, as interesting as a hentai series about a female teacher and a student banging and “engaged” can be.  Don’t get me wrong here, it’s totally trash, but hey, each episode is only four minutes, so I’m going to keep watching this trash just a bit longer to see where it goes.  

Sengoku Night Blood:  Typhoon Graphics

Mmmm Still waiting for the day with they make a good anime based off of an Otome Game.  Alright, so here’s the story.  Girl gets sent back into another world and gains a harem.  A vampire harem.  That’s it.  I’ve saved you the trouble of checking this series out.  You’re welcome.  

Urahara:  Studios Emt^2 and Shirogumi

Dropped.  Instant Drop.  Jesus Christ that animation is fucking trash.  You have two studios working on this series, and the animation still looks that garbagey?!?!  How?!?!?!  I can’t even with this. . . Ugh, nope, moving on.  

Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte kara:  Creators in Pack

Yet another series that will probably be dropped halfway through.  Honestly, there’s just nothing that really happens in this series, and I know it’s really hard for anything to happen in a four minute long series, but literally nothing happens.   Wife comes home.  Husband makes her drink.  Wife gets tipsy.  Thank you husband.  I mean the main reason why I’m going to be sticking it out just a bit longer is to keep getting cocktail recipes haha.   

Imouto Sae Ireba Ii:  Sliver Link Studios

Will probably be dropped.  Is it just me or is this series like Silver Link’s answer to A-1′s EroManga Sensei?  Honestly, this show is meh at best so far.  The art is nothing too great, and the story screams EroManga, and since I wasn’t a fan, I really don’t see myself watching more than three episodes.  

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-Bitch na Ken:  Studio Diomedea

I started watching it with hopes of it doing two things.  One, fill the hole in my heart that was left when Hajimete no Gal ended; and two, explain what the hell a Sho-Bitch is.  In all honestly though, this show is probably going to be dropped.  While the art is generic, the characters are bland and too common; I also the comedy too forced at time and repeatable.  Yes, we understand main waifu really just wants to figure out what Haruka likes, and obviously misinterprets everything, but does that really have to be the joke every single time?

Inuyashiki:  Studio MAPPA

Ah, the latest from Studio MAPPA.  I have one question:  MAPPA, what the fuck?  Let me clarify.  The opening few minutes of the first episode made me feel.  Fuck, I almost started crying.  It was depressing and yet the story was just relatable and beautiful all at the same time.  I was feeling feels I didn’t want to feel.  It really kept true to the Drama tag, which I love.  I’m a sucker for some hardcore drama filled series.  Then. . . .it got weird.  Some weird like mecha space alien thing weird.  So, again, MAPPA, what the fuck?  Don’t get me wrong here.  I will be continuing to watch this solely because despite the series taking that weird turn, in no way did that make the actual tone any less enjoyable.  Plus, the art style is so unique to the show, I’m curious as to where it can go from here.  

Mahoutsukai no Yome:  Wit Studio

Alright, I’m a fan.  This has to be a contender for Anime of the Season, and we aren’t even three episodes into it yet.  It’s wonderful, and not only one of my favorites from this season so far, but my favorite thing Wit Studio has ever done, (and yes, that just brought me a ton of hate from SnK fans haha).   I can see and agree with the hype this series has had.   Honestly, check it out.  It’s good  and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.  

Blend S:  A-1 Pictures

I found my Moe-Blob for the season, and I’m so happy.  I actually really like this series so far.  It was adorable, and literally just what I want in my seasonal moe-blob.  It’s nothing too driven plot wise, and definitely won’t be anime of the season or anything like that; it’s literally just Cute Girls waitressing in this cute cafe.  Regardless, I’m definitely going to continue to watch it for a bit longer at least.  

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou:  Studio White Fox

Keep your eye on this one this season.  It’s probably going to be the Dark Horse of this season.  In all honestly, I became instantly hooked watching the first episode.  The tone at the start was so eerie and grim that I found myself getting literal goosebumps.   Maybe it’s the high I’m on after the Made in Abyss ending, or just wanting to find something to fill the void that series has left me with, but I’m getting serious MiA vibes.  I’m hoping this series is even half as good as MiA was.  Also, I’m a major fan already of how unique the art is for this show.  

Ousama Game The Animation:  Studio Seven

I’m biased.  Period.  I will be watching this show no matter how terrible it could ever get solely because my favorite Seiyuu is the lead.  Mamoru is a God, and I will watch it religiously every week.  That being said, I can tell you that this show is edgy as fuck, and with it being one of two survival game anime out right now this season, this one is definitely the weaker, edgier of the two.  It is a pretty cool concept though, and I’m already a fan of the survival game concept, that I don’t mind watching this one until the end.  I would also like to warn that this one is definitely gory so if you don’t like that than this isn’t for you.    

Konohana Kitan:  Studio Lerche

CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS.  I REPEAT, CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS.  Having read the summary for the series prior,and seeing both the Seinen and Shoujo Ai tag on it and that it would be done by Lerche, it became an instant check out at least, and I’m glad I did.  This series is the calming pallet cleanser.  It’s the show where you can turn off your mind and just watch the cuteness.  Plus, did I mention cute little fox girls?  What more do you need?   

Black Clover:  Studio Pierrot

Alright, I’m split in two for this.  Part of me wants me to look at this show for what it is:  a stereotypical shounen series, with decent animation, predictable plot and bad voice acting, if you saw the first episode you’d know what I’m talking about.   This show screams Naruto, Fairy Tail and Bleach rip off; and hell, since I hate Naruto, never got into Bleach, and am still VERY pissed at Fairy Tail, combining the three into one really just makes me both cringe and glare at the screen.   Evil Glare.  A glare that if I could, would totally shoot lasers out and everything.  I mean hell, it’s even done by the same studio as Naruto.  Regardless, the tons and tons of shounen I’ve seen makes me just feel like this is repeating it all.   That’s one part of me.  The other part of me enjoys this show, solely for the fact that my husband LOVES the Black Clover manga, so watching it with him makes me at least want to give it a chance.   I do however doubt it will be as big as people hype it up to be, and if it does get big it will be nowhere near as good quality wise as a lot of other shounens, and will take a lot for me to become a fan.  

Juuni Taisen:  Graphinica

Without a doubt, my favorite from this season.  I’m hooked.  This series has it all:  unique character designs, well executed art, and a killer story line, (pun intended).  Mmmmm this story is wonderful.  It hooks you from the start, which is to be expected since the original source is written by the same original writer for the Monogatari Series.  There’s plot twists and betrayals and just epicness.  It also has one of the best openings and closings of the season.  Side Note:  THE PSYCHOTIC LITTLE USAGI BOY IS BEST BOY AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE, AND IF HE DOESN’T WIN I WILL RIOT.  

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru:  Washio Sumi no Shou:  Studio Gokumi

When I first saw that Yuki Yuno was getting another season, I was fucking thrilled.  Yuki Yuno was a magical girl series that I fell in love with not only because of the Madoka Magica vibes it had, but because of the beautiful art and animation and vibrant colors it used.  It’s visually stunning.  So, how is the prequel turning out?  Still just as stunning.  In all honestly, I’m going to love this series provided it stays true to the themes and tones of the first season, and if the opening episodes are anything to say about the rest of the series, then I know it will.  Plus, who isn’t up for Magical Girls this season?

Osomatsu-san 2nd Season:  Studio Pierrot

I actually genuinely missed this show.  My gods this show is a gift.  This has to be one of the underapprieciated comedy gems to come out in the recent years, and it fills me with joy knowing that it still shines just like the first season did.  I enjoy watching the episodic skits of everyone’s favorite sextuplets.  Seriously, why have you not started this show?  

Shokugeki no Soma:  J.C.Staff

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO SEE MY SON KUGA ANIMATED?!!??!  TOO LONG.  This is hands down the best season of Food Wars yet, and we are barely a couple episodes into it.   I love the pacing of this season, and having being a manga reader, I can confirm for you that it’s completely accurate with the manga thus far.  J.C Staff is clearly showing that they still care about Food Wars and aren’t rushing with the season.  Also, thank the gods for the 24 episode season.  THAT’S MORE EPISODES OF MY PRECIOUS KUGA.  

3-Gatsu no Lion 2nd Season:  Studio Shaft

I cried.  I fucking cried.  Hard.  My god I missed this series.  Everything about the first episode was fantastic.  The music and animation were spot on, but of course nothing out of the ordinary for the phenomenal Studio Shaft, but what did I love most you ask?  Character Development.  MY FUCKING GOD.  Compare Rei to the start of Season one, and you’d never think it’s the same person.  I can’t stress that enough.  If this first episode is a sign on how amazing the rest of this season is going to be then I’m beyond fucking happy.  This is the series I’ve been waiting for since the start of the year.  

Gintama.  Porori-hen:  Bandai Namco Pictures

Has there ever been like a bad season of Gintama?   Like Ever?  All this season has proved to me is: one, life is boring and dull without Gintama.  Two, Gintama is the king of comedy series.  Three, Gintama is without a doubt one of the greatest series of all time.   This season is hilarious and easily makes me burst out laughing from start to finish.  Thank you Gintama, I’ve truly missed you.  

Ballroom e Youkoso:  Production I.G.

How is the second half of the season you ask?  *Insert Pouting Face Here*  Fuck you, Chi-chan.  Worst Girl 2017.  THERE I SAID IT.  YEAH, I SAID IT.  WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?  #BRINGBACKBESTGIRL2017  Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Tartara has a partner now, but like seriously why her? -.-  Why couldn’t Mako just be his partner forever and they could live happily ever after?  

 So, yeah, those are my thoughts so far on the Fall Anime 2017 season.   Let me know yours, and if there is anything I’m not watching, and should be, then please tell me!  I love recommendations, and I already know of a few that I need to pick up. . . .

[sarazanmai]

Stuff I loved in 2017.

Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Kyoani.

So this was a very interesting year you could say. I really put forward a lot more effort to try new things and I do think a bigger part of this year for me was learning to stop stressing myself out so easily. Not sure if I fully succeeded, but I tried. I have a lot to talk about in this post so I suggest getting comfortable. This post isn’t a ranking, I have no interest in doing a ranking. So if you question why certain things show up sooner or later in the post than others its just a random order and not a signal of my opinion on it.

Let’s get this over with, I like “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid”. Try and hear me out on this. I did not read the manga and have no intention to ever do so. Now with the anime I remember hearing about the concept and finding the idea of it rather charming. A dragon who takes on a human form and tries being a maid, it sounds adorable. Then I saw the character designs and went “oh”. But through all of the controversy regarding the anime there was still this piece of me that kept wondering about it. I am mutuals with @darlinginthefranxx and asked them about the anime because they liked it so much and despite saying I wouldn’t watch it, I did. And I really enjoyed it. This is not an anime to be judged on screen caps, you need to see the characters in motion to fully appreciate how good the animation actually is. In screen caps it looks like nothing special and their faces can look rather flat, but this is a beautifully animated show. From the colors to the character animation themselves it looks great. Kyoani if anything just excels at their animation. Everything comes together in a very seamless way. I really enjoyed the characters a lot too. Kanna is the cutest thing I saw all year and I think Tohru and Kobayashi themselves were really fun to follow. Lucoa was funny, I liked Fafnir and Takiya, I love Elma, this was a good cast. The seiyuu are great too, I’ve always loved Daisuke Ono so hearing him as Fafnir made me happy. And Yuichi Nakamura as Takiya was amazing because he doesn’t actually sound like I’m used to him sounding. I never would have guessed that was him. I also wanna give credit to Kobayashi’s actress Mutsumi Tamura, I really enjoyed her voice its very smooth and relaxing. There is sexual fanservice, but it is not the focus of the anime. In fact most of the fanservice amounted to bouncing breasts and Lucoa putting on these silly little outfits. The anime is largely a slice of life / fish out of water kind of story. Its not a harem, its not an ecchi, and even if it was I have seen harem and ecchi anime that are still good so that isn’t a kiss of death to me. As a whole the anime is composed of very funny and even very sweet episodes detailing things like Tohru’s attempts to win Kobayashi’s heart or things with Kanna at her school or Fafnir and Takiya being otaku who love online gaming. The OVA is about Valentine’s Day and it climaxes with such a heartwarming moment that I felt like I had a blanket wrapped around me. I do wish the last episode was different, its just this rather awkward tone shift into something more epic. I think if you took the last few minutes of the finale and just latched them onto the second to last episode completely removing the stuff with Tohru and her father it would be smoother. The final few minutes of the series were so good showing us that everyone has found some kind of place and seeing Kobayashi bring Tohru and Kanna to meet her family just seemed like the right stopping point. It indicated that she sees them as her own family and leaves me with a good feeling. That being said its an anime that I can understand is not for everyone. Hopefully if you’re reading this you are someone who trusts my opinion. When I sat down and watched it I realized it isn’t what I thought it was and it truly is one of the best anime of the year.

I don’t talk about music very often. And that’s because I don’t think my taste in music is especially interesting to talk about. But I loved Lana Del Rey’s “Lust for Life” album so much and its worth mentioning here. When I first became aware of Lana I was not interested, another retro female singer just wasn’t something I got excited about. But then I actually tried her music and just fell in love. The thing that people seem to lose sight of with her music and her artistry is she’s actually quite weird. Her music is strange, its haunted but she’s singing about sex and getting high and loads her songs with references to literature. And I love that. Her music is almost hypnotic. Whoever said that she sings like a horny ghost was completely right and nowhere is that more clear than on the song “Cherry”. There’s a haziness to that song that makes it so hypnotic and what sets it over the edge are the bizarre lyrics. If you’ve heard it you know what I’m talking about. When it comes to her music I honestly don’t try to analyze every lyric she writes. Like I’m not gonna be all “hm yes when she says ‘I’m crying while I’m cumming’ she’s speaking to the way sexuality is tied up in female suffering”. I’m not that kind of person with music. I don’t need to know her every waking thought process behind her music, I just feel it. I wouldn’t consider any of her songs lacking in substance though. My favorite track off the album is the one I’ve linked up there called “13 Beaches” and when I first heard it I was just hit by a train of emotions. “Get Free���, the last track, is hands down one of her best and has a very moving message about moving past your demons and into something more promising. On this album she collaborated with Stevie Nicks for the song “Beautiful People Beautiful Problems” and Sean Lennon on “Tomorrow Never Came” and those tracks are both beautiful as well. Its hard to say how this compared to her other albums as I enjoy all of them, but this one I keep reaching for.

I didn’t see "The Handmaiden” in 2016 when it came out, but ultimately its a film that was worth waiting to own on blu-ray. It is stunning. I’m a big fan of Park Chan-wook’s film “Oldboy” and when I heard about the production of this one I was instantly interested. Its frankly bizarre to me how many bloggers and critics tried to act like the lesbian content was some plot twist when this was literally used as a selling point. The Korean lesbian revenge thriller. I find that description to not do it proper justice at all though. Its more than just a movie about women taking revenge and women being defiant and boiling it down to such a movie is just wrong in my opinion. So much of the film is about the voyeuristic and predatory nature in male sexuality and the male gaze and how it damages women. To paraphrase Chan-wook himself, during Hideko’s reading scene those men don’t lay a finger on her but they cause her deep pain because she has been made a sexual object. A thing for them to be amused by while she silently endures humiliation and performs her way through it. The romance between Hideko and Sook-hee is handled in a way that is not only believable, but it feels natural. Them falling in love did not feel like a twist as it felt like the natural course the movie was taking. There’s so many layers and so many things about this movie to dissect, but all people want to talk about are the “yaaas queen” revenge scenes and the sex. The revenge aspects to the film are emotionally and dramatically satisfying, but the amount of focus on them while failing to deliver a more nuanced discussion of it disappoints me. Its frankly easy to focus on the revenge angle and ignore the more thought provoking substance and I’m not fond of that. The sex scenes I felt were beautifully shot and knowing the levels Park Chan-wook went to in order to insure the actresses were comfortable gives me a lot more respect for him as a director. He removed all male crew members including himself from the set and provided them an extra room with snacks to go relax in should they feel overwhelmed. Compare that to other male directors making films about female sexuality and you’ll see that not nearly enough directors have that amount of self awareness or respect for their actors sadly. In terms of the scenes themselves I saw them as representative of the two ladies experiencing a freedom with each other once they’re no longer under the oppressive and stifling male gaze. The scenes are explicit certainly, but I wouldn’t consider them obscene by any means. And definitely not a male fantasy given the themes within the film concerning sexuality. Either way I think honing in on this just feels unnecessary, there is so much more to this film than seeing two beautiful women touch each other. Ultimately this is a movie I am proud to own and my favorite movie I’ve seen all year. Its deep, its emotional, its beautiful, the lead actresses Kim Tai-ri and Kim Min-hee were amazing, I fully look forward to seeing this epic story unfold for me again when I rewatch it.

“Moonlight” is a brilliant film. I had first heard about through @elegguas and I remember straight off the bat seeing the stills for it and thinking “wooooow” because the cinematography in this movie is so top notch that I am angry it did not win the Oscar for that category. I mean I can’t be the only one who thinks this movie got cheated out of that award. Much like with “The Handmaiden” I do not understand people treating the gay subject matter as a spoiler that must be kept under wraps. I watched reviews for it on youtube after seeing it and was confused about why people were tip toeing around it. This wasn’t something they tried to keep a secret, the trailer shows them leaning in for their kiss and when I first read about it I was informed by the article that it was a film exploring the life of a closeted black man. You look foolish for acting like this was some plot twist is what I’m saying. I think with all the back and forth surrounding the awards season and people putting it against movies like “La La Land” a lot of people didn’t even go out of their way to watch this film to be honest. It feels like a lot of people just weren’t watching it. I also found some people just looking for a reason to critique the movie negatively for what I can only assume is being contrarian. I actually saw someone chastise the movie because they appeared to have used eye drops for the scene with Chiron and his mother in the third act. Of all the things to zero in on that is probably the most inane one. This really powerful scene loaded with emotion is on display for you, two really strong performances, but you’re going to focus on the fact that they might have used eye drops for their tears. Its ridiculous. But in spite of all of that I will tell you this honestly is a movie that lives up to its hype. All the performances were great, again that cinematography is beautiful, its a movie where everything lined up where it needed to be and makes for a rich and moving experience. And it really is not a story you see being told in very many films. The choice to present this as a look at Chiron’s life in three different stages was a very smart one and the actors they hired all performed the role brilliantly. I never felt like I was seeing three separate people, but a person through the years. There was a cohesion throughout the three chapters and everything builds up to a finale that is quietly powerful. The writing and the performances make it all conclude in a very striking way that never felt ham fisted. There were some stylistic choices like having the actors look directly into the camera or the audio not syncing up with the footage that helped give specific moments this very unique feeling. And they did not feel random either. Some might not like that, but I did. Barry Jenkins is a very talented director and I look forward to whatever he creates in the future.

Is this the greatest anime ever made? “Legend of the Galactic Heroes” is an anime who’s strength is all in its writing. Trite as it is, especially after what happened to Star Wars, this is a series that excels at grey morality and truly showing a multifaceted group of characters. Nothing is too simple. You can’t pin someone down as a perfect hero or even evil. And the characters grow. When I finished the 110 episodes of this OVA I really felt like I experienced people evolving with time. I suppose that comes from the fact that unlike most anime this wasn’t based on a manga, it was based on a series of novels. Novels that were well received upon their release. All of this being said you always need to approach something highly praised with as clean and open of a mind as possible. Set the bar too high in your mind and you’re not going to get the story you envision. I say the same thing about “Cowboy Bebop” and “Evangelion” too. The series has a slow start, given how long it ran for its only natural I suppose. They took their time to set up this universe, these people, what they fight for, who they care about, this is a very complex situation being presented to us and it needed time to have proper seeding and development. Once things kick into high gear its like nothing else. A lot of media will try to show grey morality and ultimately fail as it always feels like this “omg who are the REAL bad guys!!!!” thing. You don’t get that with this. You really do see all these different perspectives and angles and its what makes these characters feel so engaging. I wouldn’t want Yang to be the perfect hero, I definitely don’t want Reinhard being Dio Brando in space. When characters die it really feels like you’ve lost someone special. Even characters I didn’t think I was attached to really hit me hard when it was time to let go. It appears that this is an anime a lot of snobbish people latch onto as an example of “real” art in anime while other more recent anime are junk. I always hate when that happens as it makes me want to root against the anime in question just for the sake of being contrarian. But if its really that good, then its really that good. “Legend of the Galactic Heroes” is by no means a weak anime, the fact that I finished it all in under a month (along with the introductory movie “My Conquest is the Sea of Stars”) is proof that for how dense it is you can watch it with ease. So is this the greatest anime ever made? I’m not sure I can answer that as we all look to anime with different things we want out of it. What I look for in an anime is likely not what you look for in an anime and the medium as a whole is so vast that its hard to point to one thing as the best. But the answer is probably yes.

“Tamako Market” is like the definition of wholesome. Obviously given the art direction this is a very cute, very sweet anime. And there are people who treat that like its a bad thing. What this anime does better than so many else I’ve seen is it really feels like something I can unwind to. I felt relaxed watching it. This is the hot cocoa of anime. Its a slice of life anime where ultimately there isn’t much if any conflict going on, but that’s honestly good. The series director is Naoko Yamada who made “K-On” and “A Silent Voice” and she really has talent. She is not old, she just turned 33 and has already carved out a space for herself in a very male dominated business. Watching all of those anime I listed its clear why that is. She knows how to make simple stories interesting. We don’t always need a big epic plot, like sometimes we all need to take a break and enjoy something simpler. That doesn’t make this a lazy anime though. There’s scenes that are set up very interestingly, there’s a specific moment of Tamako and her family eating dinner and its shown from above with you looking down at the table. It didn’t feel gimmicky, it didn’t feel random, in the hands of another creative team something like that would have. People seem to dislike Kyoani because they make these slice of life anime centered around cutely designed girls and I feel like that’s unfair. The amount of effort they put into their anime is staggering, none of the anime from them that I have seen felt like some cheapo cash grab with no thought put in beyond making lots of money. And I have to respect the studio for how they go about making anime. They make all of their anime in house and are one of only two studios who do not outsource (the other being Ufotable) and compared to majority of anime studios they have a very healthy system in place. People have given this anime negative reviews for being a sweet and simple slice of life anime and honestly those people just come across like they don’t have fun. That’s very blunt of me to say, but I read these reviews and just wonder why they’re so angry at something so harmless. Like this is such a strange anime to get mad over and meanwhile vulgar and even offensive anime become these big mainstream hits and no one bats an eye. This anime is great and just because its not some big sci-fi action banger that doesn’t mean its worthless junk. I even found myself getting choked up during some scenes. My only problem is that the subplot with the islanders felt like it came and got resolved weirdly easily. Like it just happened and then it was done. That doesn’t detract much from the fun I had with it. Overall this is a great heartwarming anime that I’d recommend to anyone who isn’t an elitist jackass that only cares about manly shonen anime.

“Samurai Champloo” was the first anime series Shinichiro Watanabe directed following “Cowboy Bebop” and surely he felt a lot of pressure to do something equally as great. And the direction he went was really refreshing and something that I feel only he could have made. I rewatched “Bebop” and “Space Dandy”, my personal favorite of his anime, in full shortly after completing this and its interesting to notice the ways in which Watanabe’s anime feel connected. He has a very clear vision when it comes to his anime. However they all feel distinct and not at all like they’re trying to fall back on his reputation and previous successes. Watanabe really feels like a true auteur for the anime world, there’s always this high quality to his work and no one else makes anime like him. I feel like he brings out the best in the people he gathers to work on his shows. Its also no coincidence that his “big three” if you will follow a similar format in that they’re a group of established characters traveling and encountering people and events through their journey with few recurring characters outside their respective circles. I like when anime do that, its what I enjoyed about “Mushishi”. The fact that Watanabe specifically looked to black culture and chose to merge it with the traditional samurai image is something that I doubt anyone else could have pulled off. Watching this anime it was clear he had a real respect for the music and various elements of hip hop that he was incorporating into the show. He was not concerned with this anime being nationalistic, he specifically said he did not want to make such an anime and it shows in the choices he made with it. Things like showing foreign characters and making a protagonist be from the Ryukyu Islands helped give this setting a feeling that it was lived in. It felt like this world seemed as wide and expansive as our own despite us spending the entire time in Japan. Another reason this show works so well naturally is our main characters. I’ve always liked Kazuya Nakai’s voice and since I honestly haven’t been watching the “One Piece” anime despite keeping up on the manga it felt great hearing him again. Mugen literally had to say one sentence and I was like “...Zoro?”. He seems to like voicing swordsmen who are low key stupid since I know his character in “Gintama” falls into that description as well. I thought Fuu was great, frankly I felt this was more her story than anyone’s and the way it all concludes for her left me feeling like I was about to cry. And Jin is a really interesting character in his own right, with someone else behind the character he could have been very boring honestly. Its a lot of fun following these three and when it all ends I felt sad despite the ending being positive, I didn’t want it to stop. Do I like this anime as much as Watanabe’s other anime? Yes I do.

“Wandering Son” is a beautiful anime. It follows a child named Shuichi who is a trans girl and her friend Yoshino who is a trans boy. And its handled in such a powerful and sincere way. It doesn’t feel like a gimmick, I genuinely believe this was a story that people wanted to tell because it was worth telling. Its based on a manga by Takako Shimura who’s work in general seems to focus on LBGT people, I want to watch the anime “Sweet Blue Flowers” which is based on one of her other anime and focuses on lesbians. I feel like with “Wandering Son” she managed to not only tap into something relatable, but she also made something highly thought provoking. She chose to write this story about middle schoolers because she felt there was a lot of potential to discuss puberty and how it effects trans people. Shuichi is a character that leaves you feeling a desire to protect as she’s not only a very sensitive child, but we see that the people in her life really do not understand what she’s experiencing. Her romance with one of her sister’s friends Anna becomes complicated, her sister just sees her as a weird boy that sneaks in her room and tries on her dresses and there’s a particularly emotional situation where she decides to go to school dressed as a girl and suffers the aftermath. But this isn’t a tragic story either. She grows as a person and by the end no longer seems as meek as she was in the beginning. And Yoshino undergoes an equally interesting character arc that touches on things like wanting to wear a binder and not feeling comfortable trying on a boy’s gakuran due to the effects of puberty. There’s also very interesting stuff regarding their friends and family. There’s a whole sub plot regarding a girl named Saori who has a crush on Shuichi, Anna made for a very interesting character and I was happy to see her set things right with Shuichi and accept her, and there’s a very poignant back story to an older trans woman named Yuki that our leads often seek advice from. In the end Shuichi finds it in herself to keep moving forward and be the person she wants to be and develops a good support system among her friends. I feel like what I saw in the anime was done beautifully and amounts to a very uplifting story, I felt proud seeing these character mature. And ultimately a story like this is not something I have ever seen an anime attempt so it felt like an eye opener in a very good way. Also as that screen cap shows its got a very unique animation style to itself, it evokes the art from the manga and very much looks like its own thing at the same time. The way they colored it is different and gives a painterly effect which I think was a smart move. Its weird to say, but if it wasn’t for my complete disappointment with “Yuri on Ice” I wouldn’t have ever heard of this and the next anime I will be discussing. There are LBGT centered anime out there worth your time and if people voicing dissatisfaction in one anime is what it takes to get them out there in your consciousness then I suppose I can’t see that as a bad thing.

It says a lot about a movie when my biggest problem is “it should be longer”. “Doukyuusei” is a fantastic movie. Beautiful art, a great believable romance, but its only an hour. Its based on a manga of the same name by Asumiko Nakamura and if the film is anything like the manga or her other work then she is really skilled at creating a believable chemistry. The art style for the movie appears to be the same as the art in her manga and I like how almost 1970s it looks. I know this isn’t necessarily how 70s manga and anime looked, but something to the designs reminds me of that time period. The director is Shouko Nakamura who’s worked on anime like “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” and “Gurren Lagann” and her work here really makes a case for how skilled she is. I hope she directs a series of her own someday. And I think the seiyuu they’ve hired are worth acknowledging too. I’ve been a fan of Hiroshi Kamiya for years, he’s someone with a lot of natural charm and charisma. I hear his voice and instantly want to like whoever he’s voicing even if I don’t like all of his characters. Its hard to describe in writing, but there’s something magnetic about his voice. And Kenji Nojima I’ve wanted to see more of ever since he became Mamoru Chiba in “Sailor Moon Crystal” and it felt great hearing him in this. He’s one of those seiyuu who seems to keep showing up in anime I don’t want to watch (unlike Kamiya who just shows up in everything) so it felt good to finally encounter him in something that appealed to me. Both of their performances are great and help enhance the personalities with these characters. I’m not sure if they recorded the dialogue together, I think with anime that’s typically how its done, and if that’s the case then I really feel like they played off of each other perfectly. Now I do know there is a big chance this is considered BL to a Japanese audience just knowing what I know about the way they categorize certain anime and manga. Regardless of what label you latch onto it this is still a believable romance and it never truly felt like it existed just to make fujoshi sigh. The way the relationship is presented is very romantic and heartwarming, it didn’t feel exploitative and like a thing designed for straight women to gawk over. The more sexual moments are still handled in an intimate enough way and it never feels like sexy fanservice. With one hour of run time they managed to succeed in really every area the romance in “Yuri on Ice” failed for me. You see them kiss (a lot), they address that there’s a sexual attraction between them, the idea of this being a long term relationship and not just a high school fling is really central to the film. Its never beating around the bush about it being a love story and they even address the character’s insecurities regarding the relationship. It isn’t sloppily thrown in there because oh wait we need drama even though none of these emotions have been touched on before, these thoughts and actions feel natural. Plot wise there kind of isn’t one as the romance is the focus of the film, but I love that. Its a simple story about two teenage boys falling in love and being in love. Just a shame it couldn’t have been a half hour longer. Not because it felt abrupt, it doesn’t. But because I just wanted more of these characters and this beautiful animation.

The second I laid eyes on Anna Biller’s “The Love Witch” I knew I was going to love it. She captured the 60s aesthetic so beautifully, you’ll excuse the pun the movie is absolutely bewitching. Biller really involved herself with this production from the writing to directing to set and costume design. She experienced a lot of problems with her crew that didn’t believe in her or the project, but I’m happy she persevered and made the film she wanted to make. This is her second feature length film after a 2007 movie called “Viva” in which she starred and I hope this gained her enough attention to result in more films from her. Some might argue this retro pastiche isn’t something she can do forever, but honestly she does it so well that I don’t really care. This movie just screams aesthetic and Samantha Robinson who plays Elaine is absolutely stunning and great in her performance. Its a performance that evokes how acting in the 1960s generally were with it being very presentational, but it works for both the character and the film at hand. I hope she develops a good career for herself. What’s interesting is watching the movie as a woman all of these feminist concepts she works into the plot felt very easy for me to understand and relate to yet all of these male critics don’t really seem to get it. They understand feminism is involved with the film in some way, but they don’t seem to fully appreciate all the ways in which feminist theory shapes the film. Scenes like Elaine going “life’s been tough huh?” while her latest man is crying like an idiot or the words of her ex echoing in her mind telling her she needs to put more effort into her appearance resonated with me. Everything including the overall concept of a woman who’s dragged herself into this fairy tale state of mind is something born from Biller’s personal ideologies, yet to so many critics the film is just an exploration of sex and kitsch. I don’t think this is a movie that would alienate any male viewers, but I do wonder if the feminist theory and Biller’s self described attempts at creating a female gaze just wash over them entirely. Critics have said its a movie lacking in plot, but I disagree. It has a plot, its about a witch who wants to find her dream man and uses her magic to entice the men around her only for things to turn out very badly every time she tries. Even if you watch it as just a tribute to old campy horror films you’ll still be entertained, but its so much more than that in my opinion.

This might sound weird, but for months now I’ve been convinced I watched “Haikyuu” last year. No that was this year. The reason I held off on it for so long honestly is because sports don’t especially interest me, but after watching it and getting caught up to date on the manga I think the problem isn’t sports as a subject matter but how its executed. “Haikyuu” is a very fun and lighthearted series. You’ve got fun characters, everyone is adorable, and the actual games themselves do have a sense of tension. You also don’t need to worry about the cliched evil rival team who we hate purely because they aren’t on the same team as our protagonist. I know there’s people who like to flatten Oikawa down to an egotistical villain, but that’s a massive disservice to his character as at the end of the day he’s one of the most interesting members of the cast. I never got the feeling the series itself was trying to make anyone an antagonist, they’re just people who love their sport and want to win. Making people like that evil is just tiring and one of the reasons I don’t take movies focused on sports very seriously. Its interesting that we’re now in an era where one of the big hits from Weekly Shonen Jump that isn’t “One Piece” is a sports anime. I made a post saying that our new big three are “Haikyuu”, “Boku no Hero Academia”, and “Black Clover” and I meant it. Of those three “Haikyuu” is the best. You don’t need to go in with a deep knowledge of volleyball, they educate you on the sport through the story. Much like how one of my favorite anime “Ping Pong the Animation” educates the viewer on table tennis. I’m no sports anime connoisseur, but I think its important to inform people with no knowledge of the sport at hand about how it works. Its not just a matter of passing a ball over a net and making sure it hits within the boundary line and Furudate understood the importance of teaching his audience about the complexities within volleyball. Centering the story around someone considered too short for this sport was also a good idea. Underdog protagonists in sports media is far from new, but the way in which Hinata throws himself into the sport and how far he’s willing to go to prove he isn’t defined by his height just makes him endearing. Its hard to say what’s going to happen in the series after the current arc focusing on nationals ends, but I’m also perfectly comfortable with rolling with whatever Furudate brings my way.

This is a fun anime. I know its likely gonna be on everyone’s worst list, but I am not everyone. And don’t show me that video of Asta yelling that got really popular on here, I’ve seen it too, and I just don’t care anymore. I swear though Asta’s voice is not as bad as everyone acts like it is. When he isn’t doing that vibrato yell he sounds good and I don’t think he yells as often as he did in the first two episodes. Maybe I’m just used to his voice, but I’m really fed up with all the complaining about it. Its funny when I tried watching that video I couldn’t handle five seconds, but I understood this was one of the new big things from Weekly Shonen Jump and decided to try it anyway. I love shonen anime and manga so it just felt like there was no harm in trying it. And its fun. “Black Clover” does have a very formulaic first several episodes and we’ve seen characters and tropes like this in other shonen anime and manga. And I understand fans of the manga think the manga just pulls everything off better. But its still an entertaining anime to me. I’m sure people will tell me that this is still something that’s just too by the numbers, but I personally have too much fun with it to get upset over it. Once I got past what I consider the set up phase to the story I enjoyed it so much more. I like this setting a lot and look forward to seeing more of it. And I do like the characters for what they are. Asta is a type of character I have a soft spot for because I like protagonists who try hard. Yuno hasn’t been in a lot of episodes as of the most recent one, but he has potential to be interesting. Noelle I really love, I love that she’s designed more with beauty in mind instead of cuteness and that she’s rather prissy. I like Yami, I like Magna, I just appreciate a lot of things about this series even if its not anything groundbreaking. “Black Clover” is in many ways a mixed bag, but at the end of the day I still like watching it.

“Hibike Euphonium” is gorgeous. Kyoani never seem to rest on their laurels and keep finding new ways to improve upon their animation with each anime. I genuinely believe they aim to push the limits of what an episodic anime can be like. Like with many of their anime “Hibike” is a slice of life shojo and this one follows a girl named Kumiko who plays the euphonium, a tuba like instrument that I had never heard of before, in her school’s band club. What Kyoani understands about making a slice of life is that if your characters and their interpersonal relationships are interesting enough then you don’t need to make something especially complex. A lot of people likely feel as if Kyoani is wasting this gorgeous animation on these simple stories, I don’t agree with them. All genres of anime should look good, except hentai, so slice of life having this kind of production value doesn’t offend me in the slightest. When it comes down to the characters I found them all likeable, especially Asuka. I really loved her character and was happy to see her get so much focus in season two. And again the animation in this is so beyond what other anime are doing. I had so many moments where I went “oh my God they included a detail like that”. With this anime they aimed for something that felt naturalistic and its reflected in both the animation and audio. The seiyuu were all directed to speak in a natural tone of voice rather than the typical “anime voice acting” kind of way. When characters are inside their voices have an audible echo while outside they do not. The scenes of them playing their instruments work in the same way. We see Reina practicing her trumpet outside and the audio reflects where she is supposed to be. This level of perfectionism just blew me away. I know a film is in the works and its directed by Naoko Yamada and it isn’t a complication film either, I really look forward to that.

Surprise more Kyoani. I meant it when I said loving Kyoani was a big part of my 2017. I never had anything against them, I never even watched their anime before. But man I am happy I have. Its just in general great to try watching different kinds of anime than what you usually do. This anime is called “Hyouka” its one part mystery one part high school slice of life. Those two elements mesh together very well despite them seeming like they wouldn’t. Our protagonist is Houtarou played by Yuichi Nakamura sounding unlike I’ve ever heard him sound before. It follows him and his friends in his school’s classics club as they try to figure out various mysteries surrounding the school. It sounds simple, but amazingly enough there’s a tremendous amount of depth to the anime. A lot of symbolism behind their use of color, a lot of foreshadowing, I’ve only watched it once but I’ve been told its an anime you discover new things about upon each rewatch and I believe it. A lot of people seem to overlook the rewatch value in something and truthfully not everything has it. Some shows or movies lose their magic when you go back to them, but it takes a considerable amount of skill to create something that keeps giving and giving. Part of why I believe this has that special rewatch value is that these main characters are interesting and flawed in ways that make you want to keep experiencing things with them. Some people I guess didn’t like the way it ended, but given these characters I felt like it was a conclusion that made sense. I feel like this anime has not gotten the amount of attention it fully deserves. Compared to other things by Kyoani it seems like this one falls under people’s radar and I think that’s unfortunate as its just as impressive as something like the previously mentioned “Hibike Euphonium”.

When you hear the name “Flip Flappers” you probably imagine a Nickelodeon cartoon about talking ducks. Or at least I did. In actuality its one of the most interesting anime from 2016. I didn’t see it until this year obviously, but I remember people talking about it and how amazing the animation was. While “Mob Psycho 100″ is my favorite anime from 2016, I do think this is an anime with a lot to share too. Its directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama who directed one of the more artistic episodes of “Space Dandy” and in between that episode and this anime its clear that he’s someone with a strong vision and unique style. “Flip Flappers” is another anime that I feel screen caps do not do justice to, you need to see the characters move to really see just how brilliant the designs are. There’s something about this art style that only looks good in motion for me. Clearly they’re very striking, but the animation itself on the characters is very smooth and the way the anime uses colors makes me smile. I’m just happy anime are still using strong color palettes and not giving me this dull wash of grey in an attempt to look more serious. Story wise I can’t help but feel like “Flip Flappers” is a big Gainax homage up to and including the cartoonish animal sidekick. I wouldn’t say its exactly like any one Gainax anime though. Many compared it to “FLCL” and those are two radically different anime. The qualities people found similar between them are what I think can be chalked up to this feeling like an homage, but when it comes to the plot and these characters and what the show is striving for its really doing its own thing. You cannot tell me that this is just like “FLCL”, its still got its own identity. Some of the plot points I was able to predict as things developed, but in the end everything comes together in a very satisfying fashion. The characters I wanted to see happy got to be happy and the conflict is concluded in a satisfying way. I hope after this we get to see more from Oshiyama as I’m sure we haven’t seen the best of him yet.

Its become very clear to me that “Made in Abyss” is most people’s favorite anime of the year and I think its obvious why they love it that much. This is a really special anime and I am so proud of the team for getting a second season. I think what makes this anime so strong is that this world does feel fleshed out. We are discovering it along with Riko and Reg, but it still feels fully realized and it enhances the sense of wonder and terror that looms throughout the episodes. Its a thing that’s been said to death about anime that frankly aren’t that good, but this is an anime where the characters do feel like they’re in real danger. On the surface it looks like just a sweet show about kids wandering the forest. And I admit the screen cap I chose certainly makes it appear that way, when I make these posts I like to sometimes select misleading or out of context caps for kicks. But this anime goes to some very intense and unnerving areas. I really believed that Riko was going to need to lose her arm. When we got the flashback about Nanachi and Mitty I was shocked by how far they went. We all still talk about Nina from the “Fullmetal Alchemist” franchise, doesn’t matter which version. And as emotionally powerful as that was we still didn’t actually see it happen to her. Here such a trauma doesn’t happen off camera, you see it all and it leaves you with a feeling that is hard to shake off. This isn’t a nihilistic story though. I never get the feeling that this is one of those “life sucks and then you die” stories. As intense as the show gets there is still this feeling that something good could come out of it even after everything we learn about the Curse of the Abyss. Riko and Reg ultimately haven’t lost the spark in their eyes and that means so much to me. I don’t want a miserable experience, I want to see the characters move through their situation. While it isn’t my personal favorite 2017 anime “Made in Abyss” definitely is up there as one of the best we’ve gotten from this weird year.

One of the great tragedies of the anime world is losing Satoshi Kon at such a premature age. He still had ideas, there’s no telling what else he could have created if he never got sick. There is a gaping hole in the anime world that he left behind and nobody can replace him as proven by the complicated production for his still unfinished film “Dreaming Machine”. His movies are difficult to obtain in America, hopefully we’ll see them rereleased in the near future because to deny audiences of his work really gives me a bad feeling. I think about people who may want to watch them, but can’t because they’re so difficult to get your hands on. I really don’t like that. So long as there remains an interest in his work though I’d like to believe he will remain a figure of importance. I had always wanted to watch “Paranoia Agent” and really regret not seeking it out sooner. I didn’t even know the plot, I just knew he made it and that was enough to sway me. Going in blind my assumption based on the official art I had seen was that it was about a punk kid solving a surreal mystery in his city. I’m honestly happy I was given something far more imaginative than that. This series exists because Kon had all of these story ideas and concepts, but felt none could justify a feature length film. So he piled them all together and created a thread that connected them and this series was born. What impressed me right out the gate was seeing that the quality of animation in this show still holds up. Not a lot of TV anime from the 2000s have aged well for various reasons, but this still looks good. His style was something that I feel will always look good and its impressive to this day. And the writing and overall structure to this anime is just tight. The twists and turns and various interwoven stories were handled wonderfully. Despite how much I enjoyed this anime I will say that there was an episode that just took me out of it all. Episode eight just felt awkward and honestly goofy which is something I never associated with Kon by any means. I wish it wasn’t there as it breaks up the flow the episodes had built up. In spite of that I was happy with the anime. My personal favorite episodes were the second and third ones. And the overall message this anime carries about facing reality is something that while not new for an anime is done in a very emotional and gripping way. Kon only got to make so much within his short lifetime, but what’s there is impressive. They were all so interesting and expertly made by a true visionary. And we will never seen anything like them again.

And here is the third in the “YOI was disappointing so let’s find better LBGT anime” trio. “No.6″ is a really engaging anime. The sci-fi aspects to the story were interesting, I went in blind outside of knowing it was LBGT and found everything to be very curious. I told myself at the time to only watch a few episodes and I ended up watching all of it in one go because it grabbed me. It also helps that it stars two really great seiyuu. I always liked Yuuki Kaji and even if he’s been in pretty much every anime these days I have never had a problem with that because I don’t feel like I’m listening to Eren whenever he appears. And Yoshimasa Hosoya I knew was a good voice actor, but I had no idea he could sing that well. The characters they portray are both very interesting and seeing their relationship bloom through the episodes was one of the best qualities to the show. Like with all good romances it develops and progresses naturally, it felt like all of their interactions were leading into this deep rich relationship forming. The romance while a major selling point in my opinion isn’t all the anime is about though, its got a really interesting sci-fi plot where we watch Shion face the cruel nature of the world he lives in that he had up until then been sheltered from. With Nezumi, someone who’s lived in that cruelty his whole life, by his side Shion is ultimately forced to face whether or not the city he once called home is worth saving. I don’t want to reveal too much else about this piece of the story. Just know that its something that builds to a massive and emotionally powerful climax in which I was brought to tears out of pure relief. Its got a strong plot, a romance you actively root for, and despite being made in 2011 I’d argue it holds up very well from a visual standpoint.

Moisture is the essence of wetness. And wetness is the essence of beauty. How the hell did we get here? The swimming anime? Really? Well guess what despite its status as a meme the anime is actually really great. When this first came out I just thought it looked like the dumbest yaoi bait thing. I was wrong though. "Free” is certainly transparent about its fanservice, but that kind of gives it all a charm. Of coarse them being swimmers means seeing them shirtless a lot, but when its actual fanservice its pretty clearly fanservice and there’s something about how they did it that just made me smile. What I think the anime was successful at was just crafting a very fun and lighthearted sports anime. I think its so easy for sports to result in a lot of angst and drama and this does have some dramatic elements, but they never feel excessive. Something that was also appreciated was Mamoru Miyano not playing a douchebag for once. Seriously it doesn’t happen very often for whatever reason. There was Ling Yao, Tamaki, Riku, and that’s kind of it. Rin starts off as a typical rival jock, but as you get to know him that all breaks down and he ends up being a good friend to everyone in the second season which warmed my heart. After everything it was nice to see that and Rin was probably my favorite character as a result. These characters generally speaking were all very likeable and the seiyuu cast just got me so excited. Rei was probably my second favorite character and him being played by Daisuke Hirakawa just sweetened the deal. There are people would still think the series is too ridiculous for them, but I feel like those people never really gave it a fair try. Its a fun anime about a bunch of boys who love swimming, it never pretends its anything else. I have not watched the movies or the OVAs, I only watched the first and second season but trust me I am eating my old words. And I look forward to the third season when it arrives.

Is this the greatest anime ever made? Its definitely one of the best the 2000s has to offer. I remember when “K-On” came out and people really hyping it up, but I just never got around to it. What impresses me about this anime is how it left a very noticeable impact on not just Kyoani as a studio, but on anime in general. This anime isn’t even ten years old and there’s already proof that its left its mark. The moe boom was a big thing and I understand there’s people who don’t like that kind of anime, but what I have seen has been very enjoyable. In between this and “Tamako Market” I can’t decide which one I prefer, but they’re very close and incidentally both are made by the same team. Naoko Yamada making an anime like this when she was just in her 20s is still impressive to me, especially with how much of an improvement the second season was. Season one was great and a lot of fun, but it was season two that really brought it to a new level. The animation got a lot better and I feel like the episodes themselves had a little extra something to them. Everything just felt elevated. A lot of people seem to hate anime like this and I’m just not going to agree with them. Especially with all of the misinformation regarding these types of shows. “K-On” is about a group of girls in their school’s light music club and watching them connect, its not a skeevy fanservice show designed to sell itself to otaku that live in their mother’s basement and don’t bathe. This anime was a big hit and had a large female audience in Japan because people enjoyed these characters and its humor. They could relate to them and share in the fun experiences they have. When you watch this anime you really feel this sense of camaraderie among the girls and feel like they’ve grown once you reach its finale. Something as simple as that still makes for a great show. Big epic shonen anime aren’t this end all be all. I say this as someone who really loves shonen anime and manga, while its the most popular kind out there it isn’t the only type that matters. A big theme with the anime I discussed in this post is I don’t need a big sweeping plot if the characters pick up the slack and entertain me. This cast does that and then some. I loved these girls and seeing their banter and what they were up to. I loved seeing them grow and I loved seeing them perform. I enjoyed every minute of it. That being said its also an anime that knew when to stop. We really did not need a third season where the girls were in college. This felt like a complete experience and I look forward to revisiting it in the future.

So I said “Made in Abyss” seems to be most people’s favorite anime of the year. Well for me personally after rewatching “Little Witch Academia” its mine. I watched the first two episodes and immediately went and watched the 2013 movie and the 2015 OVA. As I was watching the episodes when they came out I was surprised to see that it was giving more of a slice of life feeling in favor of a more plot heavy tone. This is something I love about it now, but at the time I expected it to have a structure like “Kill la Kill” and midway through I stopped watching every week but fully intended on coming back when it ended. And I did and I loved it. The choice to adopt this type of writing works in favor with it and yet when its bigger plot does kick in it doesn’t feel out of place like the one in the finale for “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid” did. And it was so much fun that I watched it all again recently. This world and these characters are just so charming. Akko is one of the best protagonists in recent years, Sucy and Lotte are adorable and play off of Akko fantastically, Diana has great development, Chariot was very likeable, Croix is actually I villain I cared about. I wanted to know more about her. The problem with Ragyo from “Kill la Kill” is she was so evil that I didn’t want to know more about her, it felt like all I needed to know was she was evil and had an amazing theme song, but Croix genuinely had me intrigued. Something I want to give the anime major credit for, especially from Trigger, is they chose not to make this sexual. There is no sexy fanservice, we don’t see up the girl’s skirts when they ride their brooms, Croix is fully clothed, even Chariot’s costume in her performances isn’t actually sexual despite it being a bustier style top, after something as in your face as “Kill la Kill” I’m happy they went the opposite route and gave us something that I believe all ages can enjoy. You could show this to a kid and not have to worry about them seeing something trashy. The voice cast is great too. Megumi Han as Akko is just as fantastic as she was as Gon in the 2011 “Hunter x Hunter” anime. Diana’s seiyuu Yoko Hikasa was Mio in “K-On” and she is just great at capturing that haughty tone Diana required. Junko Takeuchi the once and eternal Naruto blew my mind as Croix. I never would have guessed that was the same voice actress as him. Granted this was the first time I ever heard her voice a woman, I’ve only heard her play boys, but she hit it out of the park. And hearing Noriko Hidaka was a real treat. She voiced Akane in “Ranma 1/2″ and Kikyo in “Inuyasha” and it just felt good hearing her voice someone like Chariot. The creator of the series Yoh Yoshinari has said he’d like to continue the franchise with a new season and even showed interest in a spinoff about Chariot or Lotte’s “Night Fall” books. I really hope he can do all the things with this that he wants to do. People did crowdfund this series so we know for a fact people wanted it and came back to tune in when it aired. And I hope as the years go by more people discover this anime because I truly think it captures a lot of things people want anime to do.

At Anime Boston in 2015 I saw this AMV and immediately knew this is something I had been overlooking for far too long. “Yu Yu Hakusho” is my favorite anime I’ve seen all year. Its probably strange to other people to find out there’s people who haven’t seen it, but some of us did not have the luxury of getting Cartoon Network growing up. I went into this anime very blind, I didn’t know anything about its plot. What I expected was this monster hunter type of story, essentially I expected “Hunter x Hunter” meets “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure”. I did not get that, but I’m very happy with what I was given instead. Let’s start with the fact that it has the best introduction to any character ever. I love seeing how protagonists get introduced. "Yu Yu Hakusho”, your protagonist is fucking dead. That’s honestly so amazing that I applaud Togashi for coming up with that. I’m happy the series didn’t drag out the amount of time it took for Yusuke to come back to life, it would have been rather dull I think to center the story around that. Also the day I started watching this anime coincidentally was Easter. Just wanted to share that. Watching this anime there are definitely motifs and ideas comparable to “Hunter x Hunter”, but by no means are they the same story. Gon and Yusuke are near polar opposites and while “Yu Yu Hakusho” never goes as deep as “Hunter x Hunter” did it also manages to pull off things that in other shonen would have pissed me off. I really enjoyed the Dark Tournament episodes. I am someone who isn’t always very engaged when watching fights that drag for episodes on end, but not here. There was just something to it all that felt right, this felt like how a battle tournament arc should be. I was also very happy to see that even in a series like this Togashi was still willing to create characters who are not intended to be placed on a pedestal purely because they’re main characters. In this and in “Hunter x Hunter” he makes it clear to you that your main characters will make mistakes, they will do things that aren’t virtuous, and you are not supposed to ignore them just because these are your main characters. But all of that is fine because your characters need flaws in order to feel dynamic. Just like with its younger brother these are characters you still feel very invested in. Much like “Haikyuu” all your characters are cute. And I really loved seeing all of them grow. Yusuke feels very unique compared to other shonen protagonists, Kuwabara underwent great development, Kurama felt like a character the shonen genre doesn’t have enough of, Hiei was always fascinating. In the hands of someone else Hiei would have been boring and that’s just not acceptable. No one writes characters like Togashi. And this seiyuu cast. Yusuke is voiced by Nozomu Sasaki who was Tetsuo in the film “Akira” and Julian in “Legend of the Galactic Heroes”, Shigeru Chiba who I fucking adore was Kuwabara, Megumi Ogata as Kurama was fantastic, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hiei was perfect, Mayumi God damn Tanaka was Koenma, there’s so much talent in this cast. I also want to give the series credit for including some romance. Granted Yusuke and Keiko’s relationship wasn’t handled in depth like say Kagome and Inuyasha’s, but it does develop and feel believable. I was so happy seeing them kiss in the end especially after everything Keiko saw him get involved with. The fact that she wasn’t in the dark about everything was also appreciated. i know her involvement in the plot was only so much, but I liked that she wasn’t out of the picture entirely. In between this anime and “Hunter x Hunter” its really difficult to say which one I like the most, but I will honestly say that “Yu Yu Hakusho” is one of the greatest shonen anime in history. It might even be the best in history. It accomplishes all of the things I expect from a shonen while at the same time providing me with plenty of surprises and concepts I did not see coming. Arigatou gozaimasu.

[persephone-damnedqueen]

Final Thoughts on Spring Anime Season 2017:

Spring Season has finally ended, and with that, I can honestly say I’m left feeling very . . . disappointed.  For anything not a sequel, this season was just average at best, and nowhere near as strong as Winter was for anything.  With only a handful of shows worth watching this season, I’m actually fairly glad it’s ended.  That being said, here are my final thoughts about shows I watched/dropped this time around.  Please keep in mind I did not watch every show airing this season, and these are merely my own thoughts and opinions, and if your opinions differ or if you agree, please let’s chat.  Anyways, without further delay, here are the shows I watched and dropped.  

Renai Boukun:  EMT^2

Annnnnnnnd dropped.  I mean really, I don’t think I dropped a show faster than this.  I actually managed to make it to episode two of this awful show!  Can you believe that?!?!  I’m just as shocked.  What made this show so just terribly bad you ask?  The god awful art style and animation, and the freaking annoying as hell characters.  The voice acting was alright, but I preferreed the dubbing to the subbing, but even that wasn’t enough to save this trainwreck.   What started out as an interesting premise, a magical notebook only instead of the power to kill people, it has the power to make people fall in love.  Cool concept right?  Too bad it turned to shit.  I probably might be a little biased on the art style since I’ve been watching the Monogatari Series the last few weeks, and that is like crack for your eyes, but whatever.  I wouldn’t even recommend this show to someone I hated.  

Eromanga-Sensei:  A-1 Pictures

Dropped.  “But Persephone, how could you drop Eromanga?!?!”  I know right, it’s shocking, I am not on the Eromanga Hype Train.  Usually, I’m all up for a moe-blob where I can just sit back and turn off my mind while watching something pleasant. add in some incest shipping, even if they aren’t technically blood related, and I’m all in; but in this case, I was left feeling bored and just slightly annoyed.  I ended up hating the main girl so much in just a few episodes that I had to drop it.  I honestly am just left feeling “blah,” about this series, and this series is just going to be dropped into the pit of “Oh yeah, that,” alongside most of this season anyways.  

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?:    C2C and Satelight Studio

World’sEnd, because fuck that long title.  Also, Dropped.  Why Dropped?  Simple.  It bored me, much like the majority of this season.  The dub was also better than the subbed in my opinion.  I really have nothing more to say about this other than it was pretty bland, so moving on.  

Quan Zhi Gao Shou:   G.CMay Animation & Film

This series is fucking unique.  It’s honestly a must at least try from this season, since it’s so different.  It’s a Chinese animated series, about gaming, with main characters who are actually adults, and no harem! Shocking right?!  Honestly, the only bad thing about this series is that because it is Chinese, the dialogue takes a bit to get used to, but even that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Either way, it’s worth it.  

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine:  Studio Bridge

“But Persephone, how could you drop Eromanga, but keep watching this show?”  I know, I know, I kept watching this show.  Why right?  Well, what started off as some bad Ouran High School rip off, quickly turned into something more by episode three and four, and boy am I glad it did.  I started watching it fairly late in the season, so I was able to binge the first five or so episodes in one go, and before I knew it, I was hooked.  How?  I honestly have no idea.  The only thing I can say is that it’s entertaining.  Yes, the art style is pretty generic, and the plot isn’t exactly riveting, but hey, if you’re looking for something to watch while you kill some time, then give it a shot.  Also, Kai is best boy of the series, and the Seiyuu Live Action Singing Ending in episode 7 was freaking amazing.  

Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records:  LIDENFILMS

Eh.  It was entertaining.  Alright, in all honestly, had this show aired last season, there is no way it would have gotten as much attention as it has now.  The show has its very obvious flaws; from it’s generic plot, it’s generic plot armored badass, with a generic look, the generic tsundere like love interest, generic villians and just a whole fuckton of generic, but with how weak this season was, this show quickly became watchable and entertaining for the lot.  I mean in my case, this was one of the few shows that was actually watchable, despite being so generic.  At the end of it all, I can say two things: one, at least it was entertaining, and two, Re=L is best girl.   

Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2:  Witt Studio

Second Best Thing To Air In Spring.  What’s first?  We’ll get there.  Honestly, this season was just good.  The animation was good; they followed the manga very accurately, except the bit with Ymir.  The voice acting, both subbed and dubbed, was great; everything about it made it just a very strong season.  I have very little to complain about.  Well, except two major things.   First thing, are we really going to just pretend that the Colassal Titan’s animation was good?  Really?  Second, NOW THAT THIS SHOW IS OVER, LET BOKU NO FREAKING HERO ACADEMIA SHINE LIKE IT WAS MEANT TO ALL SEASON INSTEAD OF BEING OVERSHADOWED BY STUPID SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.  

Little Witch Academia: Studio Trigger

Literally the best thing Trigger has made since Kill La Kill.  This show is literally Trigger at its finest.  The animation is amazing and screams Trigger at every corner, making it literally the only studio capable of producing such amazing work.  The tributes they do throughout are so well done and make the anime just that much better; everything from the Gundam moments to hell even the Star Wars moments were just so well done.   If the awesome animation wasn’t enough to convince you to watch, then the characters are surely enough.  Watching every character, even the minor ones,  get not only wonderful development, but even episodes were dedicated solely to them.  Watching Akko’s journey from Episode one all the way to episode 25 was honestly endearing, and I could rant for hours about Diana and how she’s Best Girl, or honestly about how amazing any character is because that’s how good the series was.  The plot twist around episode 22 and 23 were amazing and so well done.  Without a doubt, this is my favorite from this studio, and one of my favorites from this season.   

Boku no Hero Academia - Studio Bones

Hello, Best Thing of Spring 2017.  Psssht you thought SnK was good?  SnK ain’t got shit on BnHA this season.   Damn, Studio Bones has outdone themselves truly.  Right from the start they brought it with Episode One of Season Two.  Flawless.  Perfect.  Stunning.  I mean hello, the animation alone is fucking breathtaking, and that TodoDeku Fight?!  A fucking Masterpiece.  Go Ahead and Try to find something wrong with it because I can promise you, you won’t be able to.  I never realized how much I needed a good ol’ classic Shounen Tournament Arc until it was given to me in the form of this masterpiece.   I could go on and on about why this is fucking amazing, but instead I’ll sum it up with one thing:  

That’s still relevant right?  Oh well, whatever, regardless, Thank You Studio Bones.  I love you.  You’ve Gifted Us With This.  We Are Not Worthy.  

Ending Thoughts:  Honestly, I’m fairly glad this season is over, and I’m looking forward to the Summer Season and the around 14 shows I will be at least trying out.  But, once again, these are purely just my opinions, and I was not able to watch everything this season; so if I missed a show this season, and you think I should go back and watch it, or if your opinion differs than mine (and I’m sure it will), please tell me!  So yeah, thoughts?