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officialotakudome · 3 years ago

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New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, Tech, and Geek Culture

New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/sentai-acquires-multiple-anime/

Sentai Acquires Multiple Anime

Sentai has announced the acquisition of several anime titles:

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired rights to highflying fantasy anime Drifting Dragons, produced by Polygon Pictures (Ajin: Demi-Human) and based on the manga of the same name by Taku Kuwabara.

The Quin Zaza airship sails the skies in pursuit of the deadliest (and tastiest) magical monsters in the blue: DRAGONS. While most people fear these scaly beasts, the crew of the Zaza specializes in bringing them down to earth to offer the world the medicine and food only dragons can provide. It’s a tough living, and the price for failure is all too often death, but the rewards for success are riches immeasurable — not to mention the most delicious cuisine around!

Drifting Dragons is directed by Tadahiro Yoshihira (Knights of Sidonia) while Makoto Uezu (Akame ga Kill!) provides the script and series composition. All-girl rock band Akai Ko-en performs “Zettai Reido,” the series’ ending theme song.

Drifting Dragons stars Tomoaki Maeno (Log Horizon) as Mika, Sora Amamiya (Punch Line) as Takita, Soma Saito (Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) as Jiro and Kana Hanazawa (Senryu Girl) as Vanabelle.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired IRODUKU: The World in Colors, the original supernatural drama series from P. A. Works, for audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Scandinavia, Turkey, Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

Hitomi Tsukishiro may be the child of a family of witches, but after losing her ability to see color, she also lost her sense of magic. Nothing has been able to help her regain that gift — nothing until Hitomi’s grandmother, that is, sends Hitomi back in time to the year 2018! There Hitomi meets her grandmother’s younger self. She also discovers fascinating drawings of a young man named Yuito Aoi. The moment Hitomi lays eyes on his work, colors flood back into view. But why do his drawings have this effect on Hitomi, and for what purpose has her grandmother sent her so far back in time? As Hitomi’s feelings for Yuito grow, she finds herself poised on the cusp of personal transformation, color and magic returning as she blossoms into the young woman she’s meant to be.

Produced by P. A. Works (SHIROBAKO, Another, Angel Beats!), IRODUKU: The World in Colors is directed by Toshiya Shinohara (Black Butler, A Lull in the Sea, InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time) with series composition from Yuko Kakihara (Chihayafuru 2, Asobi Asobase, Cells at Work!). The series’ music is by Yoshiaki Dewa (Flying Witch, Amnesia, Gamers!).

The series stars Kaori Ishihara (Waiting in the Summer, Gatchaman Crowds Insight, “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat) as Hitomi Tsukishiro, Shoya Chiba (Dororo, Tsukigakirei, Classroom of the Elite) as Yuita Aoi and Kaede Hondo (Val x Love, Zombieland Saga, BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense) as Kohaku Tsukishiro.

Sentai will stream IRODUKU: The World in Colors in association with select digital outlets with a home video release to follow.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired the forthcoming second season of MADE IN ABYSS, the next entry in the critically acclaimed MADE IN ABYSS franchise that captivated anime audiences around the world with its epic storyline, disarmingly gorgeous production values and hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. Sentai will distribute the latest series, together with the groundbreaking first season and three feature length films, to audiences around the world (excluding Asia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and MENA).

MADE IN ABYSS’ second season follows in the footsteps of its predecessor TV season and feature films by bringing audiences more of the stunning visuals, stellar writing and fascinating premise they have come to expect from this critically lauded production. A spectacular teaser visual for the new season was released via the series’ official Twitter account to whet the appetites of curious fans.

Sentai will release the second season of MADE IN ABYSS, titled MADE IN ABYSS: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, in association with select digital outlets in 2022 with a home video release to follow.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired Girls und Panzer das Finale parts 2 and 3, the next exciting chapters in the follow-up film series to the fan-favorite Girls und Panzer anime franchise. Sentai will distribute the movies to audiences in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands, Scandinavia and Nordic countries.

It’s time to gear up for more earth shaking tankery action times two! In the next round of the Continuous Cup against BC Freedom Academy, the tide of battle turns on a dime, leaving the Oorai Girls Academy tank combat team scrambling for a leg up on the competition! And their next opponents in the tournament bracket, Chi-Ha-Tan Academy, are going to be even tougher. But the members of Oorai Girls Academy won’t go down without a fight no matter what tactics are thrown their way. Prepare for more explosive thrills and heavy caliber irreverence with Girls und Panzer das Finale – Part 2 and Girls und Panzer das Finale – Part 3!

Tsutomu Mizushima (Squid Girl, SHIROBAKO) returns to direct the next installments in the Girls und Panzer das Finale movie series, which have been animated by studio Actas (Princess Principal, Girls und Panzer). The film stars Ikumi Nakagami (BanG Dream! 2nd Season, Glitter Force) as Yukari Akiyama, Mami Ozaki (Soni-Ani: Super Sonico The Animation, Witchcraft Works) as Hana Isuzu, Mai Fuchigami (Sakura Trick, Assassination Classroom) as Miho Nishizumi, Yuka Iguchi (Ascendance of a Bookworm, A Place Further Than the Universe) Mako Reizei, Ai Kayano (No Game, No Life, Say “I Love You”) as Saori Takebe and Kana Ueda (Fate/stay night, Maria Watches Over Us) as Momo Kawashima.

Sentai will release the second and third Girls und Panzer das Finale movies in association with select digital outlets and on home video.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired Shikizakura, the original sci-fi/fantasy anime by Sublimation Studios, for release during the Fall 2021 simulcast season. Sentai and streaming partner HIDIVE will distribute the series to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal.

Kakeru Miwa is an otherwise ordinary high school student, but a strange twist puts him on the front line in a supernatural battle against the menacing Oni. With the help of a fantastically powerful battle suit known as “Yoroi”, Kakeru joins an elite team that fights the monstrous Oni and defends humanity from otherworldly threats. The team is assigned to protect Oka Myojin, a shrine maiden who is prophesized to save the world, but she must perform a sacred ritual within Shikizakura, the horizon that connects the spiritual and physical world that lies somewhere amid the blooming cherry blossoms and the colorful autumn leaves. But in this world, the journey to destiny is hard-fought, winding and sometimes deadly.

To celebrate the setting in which Shikizakura takes place, members of the series’ production staff have all been sourced from the city of Nagoya. The staff includes directors Go Kurosaki and Shinya Sugai, art director Toshihiko Kojima, character designer Manabu Nakatake, and sound director Takumi Saito. Naruki Nagakawa (scriptwriter for Ergo Proxy) provides series composition while Asaka (Laid-Back Camp) and May’n (Ancient Magus Bride) perform Shikizakura‘s theme song.

The series features a cast of new seiyuu, also from Nagoya, who are making their anime debut in Shikizakura. They include Yudai Noda as Kakeru Miwa, Shingo Yoneyama as Ibara, Eri Sakazaki as Kaede Naruse, Natsuki Ochiai as Haruko Yamada, Shoto Mizukami as Ryo Hattori, Daisuke Nakamoto as Kippei Nagatsu and Miho Mashiro as Oka Myojin.

Sentai will stream Shikizakura in association with select digital outlets in Fall 2021 with a home video release to follow.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired magical girl anime Waccha PriMagi!, from Tatsunoko Production (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Wake Up, Girls!, Ping Pong the Animation) and executive director Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Princess Tutu, Kaleido Star) and set to premiere for the Fall 2021 simulcast season. Sentai will distribute the series to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal.

Matsuri Hibino spends her days in middle school dreaming about PriMagi, the sparkling stage show that combines song, dance and fashion with actual magic. She’d love to star in the PriMagi one day, and when the spirited troublemaker Myamu appears from another, magical world to scout Matsuri as her PriMagi partner, the pair takes to the stage to become the top stars of PriMagi hand in hand!

Waccha PriMagi! celebrates the 10th anniversary of TAKARA TOMY A.R.T.S and syn Sophia’s Pretty Series franchise, which has dazzled audiences with its emphasis on music, dance and fashion since 2010. The series is animated by Tatsunoko Production (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Wake Up, Girls!, Ping Pong the Animation) and Dongwoo A&E (Kiratto Pri☆chan, Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live, PriPara).

Waccha PriMagi! is directed by Kosuke Kobayashi (episode director for Hayate the Combat Butler and The Future Diary) while Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Princess Tutu, Kaleido Star) serves as executive director. Sayaka Toda (key animation for Usagi Drop, Redline and Ouran High School Host Club) provides character design. The series stars Riko Koike (Kemono Friends 2) as Myamu and Chinatsu Hirose as Matsuri Hibino.

Sentai will stream Waccha PriMagi! in association with select digital outlets in Fall 2021, with a home video release to follow.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired the third season of magical girl anime Yuki Yuna is a Hero for streaming and home video. Sentai will stream Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter in Fall 2021 to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Nordic countries, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and Portugal.

The magical girls of the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club have one goal: to make people smile whenever they can and to always help those in need. Through teamwork and the help of their magical powers, Yuna, Mimori, Fuu, Itsuki, Karin and Sonoko have vanquished deadly Vertexes, recovered a missing friend and balanced their lives as magical girls and regular middle school students. Now a new adventure begins, one that will test their skills and their bond as friends alike.

The third season of Yuki Yuna is a Hero is produced by Studio Gokumi (The Severing Crime Edge, Seiren, Tsuredure Children) and is directed by Seiji Kishi (Angel Beats!, Assassination Classroom, Tsukigakirei). Makoto Uezu (BORUTO NEXT GENERATIONS, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, KENGANASHURA) provides series composition while MONACA (Wake Up, Girls!, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Nisemonogatari) handles the season’s music.

The series stars Haruka Terui (Haikyuu!!, Engaged to the Unidentified, Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions) as Yuna Yuki, Suzuko Mimori (Revue Starlight, Btooom!, Kamisama Kiss) as Mimori Togo, Yumi Uchiyama (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Sabage-bu!, Brynhildr in the Darkness) as Fu Inubozaki, Tomoyo Kurosawa (Land of the Lustrous, O Maidens in Your Savage Season, BanG Dream! 2nd Season) as Itsuki Inubozaki, Juri Nagatsuma (Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!: Heart Throb, Waiting in the Summer, Tamako Market) as Karin Miyoshi and Kana Hanazawa (Senryu Girl, The Garden of Words, Psycho-Pass) as Nogi Sonoko.

In addition to the third season of the anime series, Sentai will also release seasons 1 and 2 of Yuki Yuna is a Hero as well as Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Churutto!, a collection of shorts set in the universe of the main series. Sentai will release Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter in association with select digital outlets in Fall 2021, with a home video release to follow.

HOUSTON, TX — August 20, 2021 — Sentai announced today that it acquired Kakegurui, the beguilingly original thriller anime series that wraps a dangerous world of high-stakes underground gambling in stylish visuals. Sentai will distribute the series to audiences in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

During daylight hours, an exclusive, elite private school prepares its illustrious students for careers in business, politics, and high society. But when darkness falls, the halls of this esteemed establishment transform into an underground gambling den where bright-eyed youngsters learn the timeless art of bluffing, backdoor dealings and social manipulation. In this school for the rich and elite, money is power, and the tyrant of the betting books rules with an iron fist. So when the beautiful Yumeko Jabami upsets the academy hierarchy with her voracious appetite for the thrill of the gamble, the entire student body mobilizes to send her house of cards tumbling down.

Produced by studio MAPPA (Dororo, Kids on the Slope, Jujutsu Kaisen), Kakegurui is directed by Yuichiro Hayashi (Attack on Titan Final Season, Dorohedoro, GARO: The Animation) and Kiyoshi Matsuda (RE-MAIN, Uchitama?! Have you seen my Tama?, Kuma Miko) with series composition from Yasuko Kobayashi (Attack on Titan, Claymore, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable).

The series stars Saori Hayami (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, MM!, Darling in the Franxx) as Yumeko Jabami, Minami Tanaka (Wake Up, Girls!, Zombieland Saga, Assassination Classroom) as Mary Saotome and Tatsuya Tokutake (Beautiful Bones -Sakurako’s Investigation-, THE IDOLM@STER SideM, Gurazeni: Money Pitch) as Ryota Suzui.

Sentai will release Kakegurui on home video in Q4 2021.

For Sentai’s latest announcements regarding this and other great titles, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About Sentai

A Cool Japan Fund portfolio company, Sentai is a leading global supplier of anime and official anime merchandise, distributing and curating one of the industry’s most diverse libraries of top trending and classic titles. Sentai offers thousands of hours of content across both traditional and digital platforms and is dedicated to bringing captivating stories and iconic characters directly from Japan. With hit series that include MADE IN ABYSS, Food Wars!, Kaiji and Parasyte -the maxim-, Sentai’s catalog continues to grow with new favorites like Bloom Into You, Revue Starlight and O Maidens in Your Savage Season, as well as classic anime series such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes and The Big O. For more information, visit www.sentai.com.

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paulisweeabootrash · 5 years ago

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New Year’s Mini-Review Pack 2019

Another year is over and I want to make the mini-review pack from last year a yearly tradition to announce it.

Sometimes I watch shows that I have something to say about, but I don't feel like writing a real review of them. Here are the five I want to highlight this year.

Happy New Year, nerds!

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1. Food Wars (2015)

Episodes watched: 7

Platform: Hulu

Souma is in the family diner business, trained by his father on expert renditions of “low-class” foods. He expects to continue in the family business, and even rescues the diner (via cooking, naturally) from sabotage by a developer trying to pressure his father into selling the building so it can be replaced with high-rise apartments. But despite that, his father shuts down the restaurant “for a few years” to go abroad and sends Souma to a fancy boarding school for aspiring chefs. The school is sprawling and eclectic in a way only anime boarding schools can be. And, like any self-respecting anime boarding school, it naturally has three things: an absolutely nonsensical student government, an extraordinary level of old-school elitism, and most importantly, duels. Disputes can be settled through challenges of head-to-head Iron Chef-style cooking, with wagers riding on them ranging from "you have to join this club if you lose" to "you're expelled if you lose". As far as I’ve watched so far, there are a few episodes focused on setting up the premise and main characters and a few focused on these competitions between students. Although the latter concept can be tedious because I’m not much of a tournament show person, it is nevertheless fun because this show commits to its absurdity.

Classic W/A/S: 6 / 7 / 3

Weeb: Ludicrous school setups! The main character progressing through a series of duels! Tentacles! In-depth descriptions of Japanese food! It's not the kind of weeb that makes it incomprehensible to those not familiar with the tropes, but it's certainly very Japanese.

Ass: This show has been described to me by several people as "literal food porn", and... yeah. The cold open scene to the first episode contains... uh... basically tentacle porn. I'm sorry. The feelings of characters' pleasure (or revulsion) in food is depicted metaphorically and absolutely over-the-top, often with the pleasure of delicious food being heavily sexualized. And there's plenty of sexualization of both male and female characters even outside of these scenes, although it never crosses the line into full nudity.

Shit: Very well-drawn! The food is particularly gorgeous, as you'd expect, but the other imagery is creative, and the melodramatic writing and music are not bad, even fitting for so outlandish and cheesy a concept.

PS: I haven’t actually tried making it... yet... but the gag dish introduced in ep. 1, grilled squid with peanut butter, sounds good to me, despite the negative results you can easily find... and others seem to agree, since the concept predates the show. Just make a peanut-butter-based-sauce rather than just using peanut butter and it should be fine.

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2. Hinamatsuri (2018)

Episodes watched: 12

Platform: Crunchyroll

Hina, a time-traveling middle-school-aged psychic, arrives in our time, in the apartment of a very confused yakuza operative, Nitta Yoshifumi, who takes her in. Shenanigans ensue, mostly centering around hilarious misunderstandings and the dubious life lessons Yoshifumi and other mobsters impart. Mostly, the comedy and story are propelled by Hina and two other girls we meet early on: another time-traveler, Anzu, who is sent to retrieve her, fails, and gets stuck in our time, and Hitomi, whom Hina meets as a classmate when Yoshifumi enrolls Hina in school under the name Nitta Hina (claiming she is his daughter), and who gets intimidated into taking an after-school job as a bartender that she struggles to keep secret. The show's format is two segments per episode focusing on different slice of life-ish stories (though with solid continuity and more ongoing plot than you might expect for that characterization), and is usually comedic but also veers into drama and incredible sweetness. Hina is deadpan, bad at conversation, and unable to unable to understand the context or motives of what others are saying, in a way that honestly almost makes me think autism(?), but I'm guessing is probably supposed to just be "she was raised in the creepy time travel organization and they didn't train her to socialize". Anzu is a different outcome of the same deprivation: after not returning Hina to their own time, she moves into a homeless camp and quickly takes in the life lessons of the residents, becoming earnest, helpful, and incredibly resistant to spending money, but completely baffled and amazed at how our world works. Hitomi, the only "normal" one, is just... the best. The episode about her first becoming a bartender felt like a backdoor pilot, and if it were I would absolutely watch that spinoff. The first segment of ep. 10, also starring Hitomi, is the funniest "compounding misunderstandings"-style comedy I've seen in a while... and I'm a big Arrested Development fan, so that means something.

Classic W/A/S: 3 / 2 / 3

Weeb: There are some distinctly Japanese traditions depicted, but most elements of the show could be moved to a different setting and "reskinned" for different cultures' organized crime, foods, shopping options, homeless camps, etc., without sacrificing any of the plot or comedy. Mostly, its distinctly Japanese features are that it relies on imagery and exaggerations that absolutely scream "comedy anime".

Ass: Sexual humor and references, occasionally, but not going to far. Recurring nudity, but not full and not for fanservice. Actually, it seems as if they've taken a cue from Terminator and assumed that, for whatever reason, you have to time-travel naked.

Shit: This show is practically made of reaction images. Although it's not the best animated, it's very consistent, clean, and expressive. They do well with how they did it. The show practically demands a second season in its last episode, and I think it could make it all the way down to a score of 2 or even 1 on here if they do so and upgrade the animation a bit. The characters are distinctly and pleasantly designed and rarely does a scene go by that isn't hilarious not because of some kind of rapid-fire jokes thing but because each segment is set up so well and characters play off each other. Hina's lack of affect gets a little tiresome, but the other characters are great, and usually get a large chunk of an episode's screentime.

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3. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Arrow of the Orion (2019)

Episodes watched: n.a. — movie

Platform: in theater

Picking up sometime between the first and second seasons of the main series of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon (or Danmachi for short, derived from the Japanese title), this follows the main cast of Bell Cranel and his ragtag dungeon-crawling party on a new quest. Artemis, Greek goddess of chastity and hunting, is in search, via Hermes, of an adventurer who can wield "the Orion" (a drastically OP spear with the power to kill gods themselves) to destroy Antares, a monster who keeps wiping out adventuring parties and has become a threat to the entire world because [spoiler]. A love... square... ensues between Bell, Hestia, Lili, and Artemis, and other various shenanigans happen that will make much more sense if you've seen the main show and its companion/spinoff, Sword Oratoria. I personally didn't find the affection between Bell and Artemis particularly believable, and I didn't expect the ending to go quite the way it did, but I try not to complain about a story not being the story I wanted it to be. Watch it if you're already a Danmachi fan or really really like weird takes on classical mythology. Skip if not.

Classic W/A/S: 3 / 4 / 4

Weeb: Prior knowledge of Danmachi helps immensely, but is not strictly required as there is a and although the show is another "what if we just mix a bunch of mythologies together?" and "what if a real world functioned on RPG logic?" premise, it does occasionally have an idea thrown in that will be foreign to much of the American audience (even if not distinctly Japanese), such as the Buddhist idea of gods themselves being reincarnated (something that also came up in Noragami).

Ass: As the after-credits interview feature says, they wondered whether or not they should keep -sigh- the panty shot. And they went with "yes". Also, peeping on women bathing has, unfortunately, become a running joke whenever Hermes appears in Danmachi, so be prepared for that. Without giving spoilers, though, let me just say I hope not all of the nudity comes off as sexual.

Shit: The monsters are hit-or-miss CGI, sometimes blending with the 2D animation of the rest, sometimes looking so jarring it's actually funny. The 2D art is usually beautiful, though, and as much as I love the show, this is definitely an art upgrade overall. The plot has a few dumb elements, honestly, or at least not well-enough-developed ones, that make me wonder if it could have worked better as a story arc in the show itself (actually developing a relationship between Artemis and Bell). The score is a mix of reused tracks from the show plus some new stuff that sounds pretty Jurassic Park-era John Williams to me. A few subtitle choices are noticeably different from the show, but not consequential to understanding things. There were a lot of ugly audio glitches, especially early on, but I hope that's a problem with the equipment at the theater I went to and not the editing of the movie.

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4. Supernatural the Animation (2011)

Episodes watched: 1.

Platform: Hulu.

This show follows Sam and Dean Winchester, who -- yup, you're on the right blog, and yup, that's "Supernatural" as in the long-running American live action series. For those not familiar, the original is a sprawling drama set in basically "our world except all mythologies and folklores are true", and follows the aforementioned Winchester brothers, who hunt monsters in situations that range from their straightforward monster-of-the-week investigations to meta-humor to multi-season story arcs involving multiple trips to Hell itself. My wife is a huge fan, so I've seen a lot of episodes just incidentally, and enjoyed some of them, but haven't really followed the show. She assures me, though, that this anime adaptation is loosely based on the first two seasons. So loosely that at first she thought it was some sort of interquel or sidestory. The first episode comes off feeling like you're supposed to already be familiar with the main characters -- that they're brothers, that they're monster hunters, why they're looking for their missing father -- because not much actually gets explained. It’s unremarkable and badly-executed and ugh.

Classic W/A/S: 3 / 1? / 7

Weeb: Although the source material is American (and further back, European and Middle Eastern, given the influence of European folklore traditions and the Abrahamic religions on the choice and depiction of monsters), it's presented in a very Japanese style. This is especially true in reworking the original's horror tendencies -- the blood splatter from offscreen and the writhing, lurching body horror that is the shapeshifter seem much more like what little I've seen of Japanese horror than American.

Ass: I forgot to write anything for this immediately after I watched it and I don't care enough to go back and check but I don't remember anything that would fall under the headings of fanservice or general nudity.

Shit: Variable. There are occasional moments of bad CG, occasional low-frame-rate weirdness, and disjointed storytelling compared to what I've seen of the original. The art style is pretty interesting, though, because it's not something you see animated much -- its angular faces and stark shadows remind me of the darker end of American superhero comics. Although it's certainly not the technically worst show I've reviewed in either story or art, I find it extremely unpleasant and do not want to continue past one episode. If you feel like doing so, feel free to tell me if it gets any better.

Content: Violence and horror imagery is somehow both less extreme and more successfully unsettling (at least to me) than those in the original live-action show.

#Food Wars #Hinamatsuri #Danmachi #Arrow of the Orion #Supernatural #Supernatural the Animation #weeaboo trash #mini-reviews #happy new year

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recentanimenews · 6 years ago

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Bookshelf Briefs 11/20/18

Black Clover, Vol. 13 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As long as you’re writing a series which uses every cliche in the book, you may as well go all in and write a tournament arc, and that’s what we’re getting here. Surprisingly, Asta is not paired with Noelle, but with Mimosa, who I’ll be honest I had totally forgotten about. Given that Noelle fills the ‘tsundere’ love interest bucket, it only makes sense that Mimosa is the Hinata of Black Clover, being shy and tripping over her words in front of him. As for the battles themselves, they’re all good ways to spotlight folks who we don’t really get much chance to see in the main storyline. On the downside, so far they’re all very predictable outcomes. I’d like to see some people win who shouldn’t normally win. – Sean Gaffney

The Bride & the Exorcist Knight, Vol. 2 | By Keiko Ishihara | Seven Seas – We get more of the same here—good character development and action sequences. Shame that they’re really pushing the “I am twelve years old and suave as heck” plotline, and Anne does seem to be falling for him, though thankfully we haven’t advanced quite that far. One thing that did impress me was the fate of Anne’s parents, who would normally get killed off to jumpstart the plot in tales like this, especially given Anne’s status as a magical bride MacGuffin. There’s nothing really extraordinary here, but it’s good solid fantasy romance, and it at least makes noises occasionally about Anne being creeped out about Haru’s age. For fans of shoujo starring cute, cool boys. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 6 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – Remember when this was a funny series about eating monsters? Last time I said the books were getting a bit darker. Here they take a running leap into grim as we continue to see how Laios and company are seen by everyone else around them—as reckless lunatics who endanger everyone around them. What’s more, Falin’s back, but that’s not good news—the slaughter that follows is a kick in the teeth. Honestly, after that sequence, seeing the “which is the original and which is the shapeshifter” plot was a welcome light relief, and the sequence with Laios helping Marcille with her nightmares was rather heartwarming. Still, Falin’s influence on everyone around her, death, and subsequent “came back wrong” are now THE reason to read this. – Sean Gaffney

Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection | By Junji Ito | Viz Media – The first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was originally published in 1818, so Viz Media’s release of Junji Ito’s rendition of the story is aptly timed for the two-hundred-year anniversary of the groundbreaking novel. Ito has made a few changes here and there—particularly towards the end—but for the most part the manga adaptation is very faithful to Shelley’s original and Ito’s artwork is well-suited to the more grotesque and disturbing elements of the tale. In addition to Frankenstein, the volume also collects a series of six short manga featuring Oshikiri, a young man who is very self-conscious about his short stature but whose real worries are of a more horrific and supernatural kind. (It doesn’t help that his home seems to be a portal to alternate dimensions.) Also included are two unrelated short horror manga as well as two short manga about the Ito family’s pet dog Non-non. – Ash Brown

Haikyu!, Vol. 29 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – It’s all volleyball game this volume, so there’s no real plot I can talk about. We do continue to see character growth from Hinata and Tsukishima, who gets one of the cooler moments that also made me laugh when he talks about blocking the quick set. The other team is no slouch, though, particularly the twins, and our heroes are behind the eight ball most of the time. The opponent’s band is not helping either, which is why for once it’s Saeko who gets to have the Big Damn Heroes moment, arriving with Taiko Drums to drown out the band’s odd rhythms. Other than that, this volleyball manga continues to put the emphasis on volleyball. I’m about ready for it to go to every three months, to be honest, and it will be soon. – Sean Gaffney

Love at Fourteen, Vol. 8 | By Fuka Mizutani | Yen Press – Aside from Love at Fourteen‘s main couple, who are meant to be the cute and sweet default, the series makes a lot of unusual choices for its romantic pairings. Nagai and Hinohara continue to put the “ergh” in non-consensual teacher-student romance. Shiki and the school nurse bond over being tortured lesbians in love with a straight girl who isn’t going to love them back. And we get a new one here, as Kato, the really short boy in the class, ends up getting entangled with what appears to be a cute older girl… except she’s actually eleven. He’s fourteen, so we’re not anywhere Hinohara’s level of wrong, but Love at Fourteen really enjoys giving the reader heartwarming discomfort. – Sean Gaffney

Mob Psycho 100, Vol. 1 | By ONE | Published by Dark Horse – As a fan of One-Punch Man, I went into Mob Psycho 100 expecting to be amused and I’m sorry to say that never really happened. Shigeo Kageyama is an eighth grader with superpowers who works as an underpaid assistant for a fraudulent spirit medium named Arataka Reigen. Shigeo is called “Mob” because he’s an expressionless kid who blends into a crowd, and his desire to be attractive (and win the girl of his dreams) ultimately leads him into strange situations, like being recruited for a creepy cult. My interest was piqued, however, by the meter running throughout the volume that depicts some sort of percentage and the payoff when it reached was 100% was totally worth it. Plus, Reigen’s pep talk to Mob afterwards was completely unexpected and kind of heartwarming. In the end, I think I’ve been convinced to try another volume. – Michelle Smith

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 9 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – Both Towa and Aya have now confessed to Mitsuki and she doesn’t know what to do about it. I appreciate that Anashin shows why each boy feels the way that they do, and also that Mitsuki is completely forthcoming with Towa about everything that’s happening with Aya, so that no plot line ever hinges on “completely avoidable misunderstanding.” Instead, there’s more complicated drama, like Towa feeling frustrated that Aya keeps being in a position to heroically save Mitsuki (this time pulling a ligament saving her from being hit by a car) and wondering if perhaps they aren’t destined to be together. Instead of wallowing, however, he seemingly becomes more determined. It’s nice to see Towa start to become less reserved and I look forward to what volume ten will bring. – Michelle Smith

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 3 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – About two-thirds of the way through this volume, Narumi and Koyanagi are relaxing at a hot sprint on a company trip. Koyanagi wonders if Narumi feels lonely because she’s barely seeing her boyfriend this trip, but she says that, given Hirotaka’s lack of social aptitude, she’s merely happy to see him getting along with other guy friends. Koyanagi points out that that’s a mature answer, but leaves her a little bored. I’m not bored with Wotakoi yet, but it does appear to me that it’s very dedicated to showing that our leads are all pretty happy, with most conflicts resolved over the course of a single chapter. Given the title, you’d expect a bit more, but while it’s still very sweet, love isn’t that hard for these otaku. – Sean Gaffney

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 14 | By Kiyohiko Azuma | Yen Press – Azuma does not believe in pumping out the chapters for this series—this is the second volume in five years. Still, it’s like we never went away, really. Last time we met Yotsuba’s grandmother, and this time it’s her aunt, who is meeting up with Koiwai in Tokyo so that he can get a car—which I assume will allow for greater scope of adventures in the future. This means that here we get Yotsuba & Tokyo, with much hilarity, including an alien invasion that needs to be stopped, and delicious food at an expensive hotel. Oh yes, and Fuuka and her friend Hiwatari do yoga with Yotsuba, which leads to much frustration as she’s as flexible as a young child and they are not. Yotsuba&! still has its magic; I just wish it was magical more often. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

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