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Requiem of the Rose King is one of the best manga publishing in English right now, and truly unlike anything else I've read from English manga. I highly recommend it to fans of Shakespeare, LGBT+/queer manga, BL, and/or dark Shoujo like Banana Fish.

This manga is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI and Richard III plays, and while in terms of events it does stick fairly close to what happens in the plays, author Kanno Aya adds in a lot of new material and character interpretations. One of them is that this version of Richard - a physically disabled hunchback in the play - is ... in this manga, an intersex, Bi trans man. Don't look to this manga for a morally spotless portrayal of LGBT+ characters though - Richard (alongside other men in the manga who are gay/Bi) is both the victim and the villain of this story.

Richard himself is for me atleast the main draw of this manga. He's certainly more sympathetic than the famously villainous Richard in the play, but at the same time Kanno avoids giving one simple explanation of the roots of Richard's evil. The manga strikes an interesting balance of letting us inside Richard's mind and keeping his true nature and motivations mysterious.

One of the other major focuses of this manga is the romance, as expected from a Shoujo manga though in this case most of the romance fits more into BL (originally an off shoot from Shoujo) than the typical straight romance of today's Shoujo.

As mentioned earlier, this manga's version of Richard is Bisexual, so he has love interests of multiple genders. Most of the focus is on gay romance, with a major male love interest for both the 1st and (currently ongoing) 2nd Acts, though there's plenty of options in Richard's harem if you're into shipping ;). As for the romance itself, I found myself emotionally engaged with the main romances, and there's definitely interesting contrasts with the dynamics between Richard and his various love interests. Unlike many romance manga there's also a lot of emphasis, especially from Richard's perspective, on the physical, sensual and in some cases sexual side of things. Many of the official arts and chapter covers are also very striking and sensual too.

The other major aspect of this manga is that this story, like the stage play it is adapting (original full title "The tragedy of King Richard the Third"), is a tragedy. I don't want to give any specific spoilers away, but there are some truly devastating moments that are key turning points for the story, for example vol 2 or vol 7.

The manga has a range of depictions that readers will expect from the time period - violence, murder, sexual assault, and so on - but specific to Richard being trans and intersex, he does receive hostility from people around him due to this and there are some uncomfortable situations involved. While Richard's gender identity as a man is repeatedly affirmed throughout the manga and by the author, there are some times he is drawn in quite a feminine way and/or wearing women's clothes. Neither of these were a problem for me (I think the manga and author handles Richard's queerness in an respectful way) but I mention them in case people looking for LGBT+ manga might be uncomfortable with them.


--Story--

Overall Rose King is more of a character driven manga rather than plot driven, still, the plot moves at a fast enough pace to keep you engaged, there's usually a major event or two per chapter and several per volume. One of the flaws of the manga though is on my first read through I sometimes struggled to follow the story events, without knowing the stage play or much about the real history. The manga lacks a narrator - for example at one point there's a large timeskip but it's not entirely clear exactly how many years have passed or what year the story is now taking place in. I don't think it's a huge issue but it might be a good idea to familiarise yourself with the basics of the history or stage play before reading this.

--Art--

The art is generally very good to excellent. There are some truly striking sequences and memorable imagery at key moments of the manga which compliment the story being told and emotions conveyed wonderfully. Richard himself is also very beautiful and the centre of the art's attention when he's on page - the other men and women who comprise Richard's love interests are pleasing to the eye too. I especially love the chapter covers. (there's an colour Illustration collection for this manga which is worth checking out)

--Characters--

The cast is the strongest draw of this manga. I've already talked about the protagonist Richard, but most of the main cast are interesting and distinctive characters, and its always interesting to watch them play off eachother. Many of the characters end up - like Richard himself - having other sides to them too which can lead to them acting in ways you might not expect.

--Overall--

Requiem of the Rose King can be considered a hidden gem. Perhaps due to the unusual mixture of elements (Dark fantasy, Shakespeare, BL, trans themes, Shoujo) it hasn't been noticed by many, though that might change with the recently announced anime adaptation. But if you're a fan of any of those elements, or just want to read a truly compelling tragedy of a manga, I can't recommend it more highly.

[Updated after episode 9] Since starting to watch this show I've quickly learned why Banana Fish's manga is one of the most well recieved and impactful manga of all time in Japan; Banana Fish's animated adaptation is rapidly shaping up to become one of my all time favourite anime.

-Story-

Essentially the plot is that Ash Lynx, a 17 year old gang leader and abuse survivor, is caught up in the fallout over a thing or entity named "Banana Fish", linked to his brother Griffin and the war in Iraq. Ash's boss and abuser Dino wants the drug back. Meanwhile 19 year old Eiji from ... Japan arrives as a photojournalist covering New York's gangs, but gets caught up in the conflict.

The plot, while certainly reliant on genre tropes, makes for an excellent thriller. There's never a dull moment in any of the episodes, aided by a smart and fast adaptation of the manga. Not an episode goes by without a few major developments and plot twist or three. Intelligently, the series doesn't focus *too* much on the mystery of what "Banana Fish" is, with plenty of other plot developments going on aswell. Don't worry though, there are fairly quick answers as to the truth about "Banana Fish", and it's turning out to be more interesting for the plot than you think seem at first.

While not grimdark, Banana Fish isn't a happy series - there's mentions and (non-explicit) depictions of eg child abuse, violence, and sexual assault, though it's balanced out by some typically shojo sweet or funny moments. The subject is approached with respect and isn't sensationalised or sexualised for the viewer. Rape and child abuse is depicted as an being about an abuse of power rather than sex, and is always told from the point of the view of the victim traumatised by what they went through. The show also discusses topics such as victim-blaming and disbelief of people's experiences, especially from sources of authority including government and the police - issues that continue to be as relevant today as the 1980s when the manga was written.

-Characters-

While the plot is intriguing, BF's key strength is in its' characters and the emotional impact the plot's twist and turns have on both them and we as the viewers. The cast is interesting and fresh all round, with almost every character being very likeable (or hateable for the villains) and memorable. The characters and their struggles are the beating core of this series. Honestly, I've rarely felt as emotionally invested in an anime; Banana Fish succeeds in getting you to care deeply about the characters before putting them into horrific situations - contributing to the strong emotional impact of the recent episodes.

Ash is becoming one of my favourite anime characters ever. He's overcame great adversity, but doesn't treat himself as a victim. He's sassy and confident in getting back at his numerous attempted rapists and abusers, and always resourceful in taking down his enemies. You''ll root for him as he sets out to take revenge on the men - especially Dino - who've ruined his life. No only that, but he's actually really smart and well read which goes against stereotypes for this kind of character.

Eiji is pretty much the polar opposite to Ash, being naive about and unaccustomed to the world of the mafia. He seems shy though lovable at first, but in ep 2 and 3 we see that he's a lot braver than we thought. He's already really committed to helping out Ash. Honestly you'll grow to love him pretty quickly, he's likely to be the most relatable character for most viewers.

Shorter has swiftly become a fan favourite, winning from many the accolade of best boy. He's a good counterpart and friend to both Ash and Eiji, being a fun character to watch but also quick to come to the rescue of the protags when they need it. He definitely comes across much better than the manga, with his updated design - now keeping that mohawk - and more expressive animations.

Yut Lung is introduced a bit later so I don't go into as much detail about him, but he's an interesting mirror image to Ash, and a strong presence on screen helped by his VA Fukuyama Jun.

BF succeeds in making you really hate its villains. Dino is a mafia boss and a dirty old man - but there seems to be something deeper below the surface in his relationship with Ash. One of his underlings, Arthur,



-LGBT representation-

Banana Fish is famous for being one of the formative works in the BL genre and has a good number of LGBT fans. If anyone is misled by the "Yaoi" tags this series has on some sites, there is nothing sexual in the relationship, it is purely platonic. That doesn't make it less valid though. Many viewers will appreciate the depiction of an close non-sexual platonic relationship between two men.

At the moment its only a third of the way through the show's runtime, but I'm assured by manga readers Ash and Eiji's relationship is going to get much deeper and more emotional as things go on. But already, the groundwork for their relationship has been set, and the anime is notably putting more emphasis on their relationship than the manga did up to this point.


-Art-

BF is a very solid outing from studio MAPPA, aided by the visual storytelling skill of Free!'s season 1 and 2 director. The designs have been updated a bit for animation but are still recognisably 80s, a nice change of pace from the usual modern art style. Ash doesn't look as good as his manga counterpart, but Eiji, Shorter and other characters look better or about the same as they did in the manga. The animation does good work in depicting the characters, their expressions, body language and movements, etc., as well as the show's frenetic action scenes.

What I especially love is the use of different colour palates and background art. It really adds to the world and tone BF is aiming for and makes for a lot of visually interesting scenes. The anime is really building on the manga's artwork in many places which is great to see. There's so much personality and care put into the character's expressions and body language which brings the show's cast ti life.

Overall BF is a pleasant treat for the eyes, and the visuals complement the emotional goals of the show very well.

-Sound-

Voice acting is excellent. Especially love Ash's VA, he fits the role very well, but everyone is in good form here. In particular the voice acting carries the more emotional and stressful parts of the story (like the most recent episode) brilliantly.

OP and ED are excellent. The OP is one of the best of the year so far. The OST is also one of the best in recent anime, a lot of these tracks would be good to listen to on their own. The OST really fits the tone of each scene and adds a lot on top of the animation and voicework.

-Conclusion-

Banana Fish is flying under the radar at this point, but it doesn't deserve to. It's an easy frontrunner for AOTY so far, and I wholeheartedly recommend it if what you've read pique your interest.

Contrary to almost anyone’s expectations, Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These is a new adaptation that doesn’t just exist in the shadow of the OVA adaptation; it has earned the right to stand alongside it.

DNT had an almost impossible task set before it. It had to please both OVA fans (who are as demanding and resistant to change as a fanbase as any that exists) AND try to draw in a new viewerbase in a modern anime environment not receptive to lengthy space political epics. Considering this context, it’s practically a miracle that DNT hasn’t been torn to shreds from the first ... episode onwards, and has in fact been warmly received by many old and new fans.

Before we dive into the main review, it Many when considering DNT want to know not how it stacks up by itself, but how it stacks up as an adaptation of the novels (or, secondarily, the OVA). And here, I actually think DNT has done a much better job at adaptation than many give it credit for.

As many will know, DNT sticks fairly closely to the novel. The first book is utterly dense with countless details on every page. DNT didn’t capture all of it, but it it captures a surprisingly high amount of it, both in background detail and lengthy dialogue scenes lifted straight from the novel. The attention to detail in the adaptation process is impressive. The occasional changes made were often smart too, such as showing more of Jessica, or the scenes on the planet surface in ep 11.

Overall, while not matching the range of detail and depth found in the novel, it isn’t fair to describe DNT as a “dumbed down” or simplified version lacking in detail. It packed a hell of a lot into just 12 episodes (so far) and cut surprisingly little that was important from the novel out if you actually compare the anime directly to the novel. With that out of the way, let’s discuss the story.

-Story-

Undoubtedly the most important part of GinEiDen is the story, namely the politics, space battles, and the characters. In this respect, DNT is very faithful to the (already brilliant) novel source material. Most scenes and dialogue closely follow their novel counterparts, apart from some scenes that are anime-original or taken from the OVA in order to flesh certain moments out. Overall the story is the same as the OVA, except for the rearrangement of some scenes to be closer to the novel order or for narrative effect, and also OVA-original filler is not present here.

LotGH is essentially a story about the conflict between two states - the autocratic Galactic Empire, and the democratic Free Planets Alliance. The whole story explores many different political and philosophical themes, and asks what the best form of government and philosophy to live by is. It’s truly fascinating a lot of the time, and still very relevant to the world we live in despite being written back in 1982. The sides of the conflict aren’t portrayed as black and white, and how the show proceeds to show the morality of the Empire and Alliance might surprise you. Ofcourse, much of this is well in the future for DNT, but so far the political aspects have been well-handled.

DNT has a slower pace of introducing key elements compared to the OVA, which being made for existing novel readers wasn’t concerned with introducing many elements at once. However, DNT’s approach is faithful to the novel (also, obviously, intended for new fans), and in any case, a vast world of many dozens of named characters, relationships, and locations is introduced just during these first 12 episodes, and there’s much more to come.

If you’re a military otaku, you may notice that LotGH’s tactics are often not that sophisticated. Some might see this as a flaw, and for some it may take them out of the experience. But I’d make two points. Firstly, LotGH’s battles are more of an allegory for 18th-century warfare than anything else. Secondly, the focus of this series is on politics, so the battles are mostly simple enough for ordinary people to understand.

This is only the first season which covers the first novel (of 10 + 4 side novels). So the score is only for the very first part of the story, which is not as good as that comes later. The story will improve much further in later parts, but is already highly intriguing for fans of space opera, politics or history.



-Characters-

DNT already has a cast of dozens of named characters on both sides. However, GinEiDen being such a long story as it is, only about half a dozen get a significant amount of focus in this first series. As for the characters in general, everything is well-handled and there are no characters that are out of character or handled particularly poorly compared to their counterparts in the old versions. I’ll talk about the half dozen

Reinhard is the first character to be which we are introduced, and it is fair to call him the overall protagonist of the series. He’s an ambitious upstart rising rapidly up the ranks, a genius at military strategy, but also very young (just 20) so prone to immaturity and brattiness at times. He’s also a very morally ambiguous character. Reinhard throughout this first season is rather distant and cold for the viewer, leading one to wonder what exactly is going through his head. While his performance hasn’t blown me away just yet, Miyano is one of the best possible modern voice actors for Reinhard, and he’s done a good job so far. I’m looking forward to seeing how this new version will take his character going forward.

Yang, our protagonist on the Free Planets’ Alliance side, is probably the most sympathetic character for most viewers new and old alike. Infact, Yang’s character may be the best part of DNT thus far, providing a likeable lead for the viewer to latch onto. Some of the best character animation of the series, and indeed of recent anime in general, is given to him, and it made the relatively slow episodes of 2 and 4 surprisingly engaging to watch. SuzuKen, best known as Sougo from Gintama, also pulls off a very likeable VA performance. New viewers, prepare to discover a new best boy; old viewers, say hello again to an old friend.

Kircheis is Reinhard’s best friend and also a gifted strategist in his own right. Now my reaction to Kircheis’ portrayal in DNT is a little mixed. I do actually like some of the things they’re doing to make his character more three dimensional here and maybe closer to the novel portrayal. His VA, while quite different to the OVA one, I don’t have a problem with either. Still, so far he could do with coming off friendlier than he currently is doing.

Yang ally Schoenkopf is possibly the best developed of the 2nd-tier cast, getting a 2 episode arc focusing on him, especially ep 7. His look and voice is different to before, but still faithful to the soul of the character as described. He’s definitely an entertaining presence on screen, being quite larger than life - he has some of the best lines in the series - but also with strong ideals and a moral backbone.

Then there’s Julian, Yang’s adopted son. He was always my least favourite major character, and I can’t say DNT is doing a better job with him, though perhaps there’s no way to.

We’ve also been introduced to the fan-favourite Oberstein. Hig greatest moments in the story are yet to come, but everything was present and correct as far as his character goes - including a great tribute by his new voice actor Suwabe.

Finally, the star of the show in eps 10 and 11 was Andrew Fork, played by the master of jerkish characters, Kamiya. The facial animations and vocal performance on this character was really well handled, just delightful all round, especially a standout scene with him and Bewcock in ep 11.


- Animation-

The studio behind LotGH:DNT is Production IG, one of the best in the business. While this isn’t the best work IG have put out, for a primarily “talking heads” sort of anime, this is a very strong production. The 2D work has a good level of detail and there is some very nice character animation, something IG tends to excel at. Particular noteworthy is the background art which is frequently excellent, some of the best I’ve seen in TV anime recently.

Some people hate any sort of CGI in anime, but the CGI here is pretty good. The ship models and the lighting used on them are good, and they convey a great sense of scale during the battles. There are some awkward looking shots especially the space explosions and the ships do arguably lack weight to them, but overall the space battles are visually pleasing and are easier to follow than the 80s version.

Much has been said about the character designs, especially before the show came out, as has been acknowledged by most they did look worse on paper than on screen. Now, I’m someone who read through Umineko with the original sprites, so I’m not one to get annoyed by this aspect, but it does bother some people. There have even been some people who are refusing to watch the new show because of it. But honestly, while I do miss Reinhard’s curly hair and the like, the look of DNT is not bad for most characters. The exceptions to that are Kircheis who doesn’t look friendly enough, and some of the less important admirals whose designs are kinda silly looking compared to the OVA.

-Sound-

Voice acting is very solid throughout. Lots of prominent male seiyuu in all the main roles. Minor or older characters have fitting VAs too, some of them returning from the old series. Deliveries were fine and fitted the emotional tone of the scenes they were performing. Overall, nothing to complain about in the seiyuu department.


I really like the OP for DNT, despite the Starship plagiarism. Actually I’ve been playing the single CD quite a bit since it arrived. On the one hand, it doesn’t seem to fit LotGH… But on the other hand, somehow, it actually does. The ED is much slower but is also pleasant, even if the ED animation is disappointingly limited.

As for the in-show music, it has an orchestral sound to it, though the famous stock Classical music of the OVA hasn’t returned. Overall the new music hasn’t bothered me and there are some nice tracks such as those that played during much of episode 3. Furthermore the show wisely lets there be silence during many of the dialogue scenes, similar to the OVA. The one thing that has annoyed me is the piano track that plays during the battle scenes of ep 1 and 2, which was quite distracting. Sometimes the use of music hasn’t fit a scene too well, though there’s other times it was very fitting. Overall the

-Sub vs Dub-

DNT, unlike the OVA, has a dub courtesy of Funimation. And it’s… okay, I guess, aside from the infuriating mispronunciation of Kircheis’ name. The script is pretty strong, and the series by its nature avoids the problem of other dubbed anime My problem is that many of the key roles feel quite miscast, especially Reinhard, but Yang also (while a good performance) sounds too old and deep for his character.

The dub is far from terrible, but definitely inferior to the Japanese track, so if you’re able to watch subs then go with the subbed version.



-Criticisms-

Despite my overall praise of the new series I do have some criticisms, mainly related to the storytelling:

- Kastop rebellion felt very underdeveloped compared to other versions, here it was more a vehicle for Kircheis to get a promotion
- Phezzan wasn’t introduced early enough, leaving some viewers confused about their role in the story.
- The particulars of Reinhard’s plan in ep 11 weren’t explained. This is also true of the novel, but the OVA adding some details here was appreciated.
- Most of ep 5, aside from the first scene, wasn’t that good in general
- Some awkward space CGI shots. Most definitely looked good, though.
- Not much of a “historical” feel due to modern presentation and lack of narrator for long stretches
- Can be difficult to tell time skips or the length of time between events, as the show rarely tells you how much time has passed.
- Ends on a poor cliffhanger for the 2nd part

General criticisms of GinEiDen as a whole:
- Many may be annoyed at the incompetence of the leadership on both sides
-Very slow pacing. Again this is YMMV but there are full episodes where not much “happens”. Please don’t expect a series focused on space battles
- Very soft sci fi, don’t expect explanations of how the future tech works
-Lots of elements introduced at once often with little explanation or reason to care yet.

-Conclusion-

Overall, LotGH:DNT has pulled off a satisfying mix of familiarity and freshness for old fans of the series. For new fans, well, it’s the same old excellence of LotGH with a new lick of paint. If you’re a new viewer who hasn’t watched it yet, I wholeheartedly recommend you do and finally find out what we fans have been gushing about (some people are of the opinion this new series isn’t a good starting point - I disagree, I actually think this is probably the version of GinEiDen that is easiest to ease yourself into the story and characters).

I’ve chosen to give a rating of 9. Now, I should say that the content on its own deserves in my view somewhere from a high 8 to a low 9, I’ve chosen to go with a 9 here though to represent that this page could be the first port of call for a new viewer and that the story will get even better later.

The plot is basically a mash up of most RE games up to now. You've got a mansion (RE1), arcade shooting, and OTT action (RE6). The story is ofcourse absurd and has quite a few plotholes, but you won't mind too much.

This movie isn't too scary, though I suppose RE hadn't focused on this aspect recently up until RE7 came out. There's really only one scene near the beginning that is horrific but even then I found myself laughing at the setup. This movie is more for fans of the RE6 action-horror setup.

The CGI ranges between bad and pretty okay. A few scenes ... look very PS3-ish in terms of quality, while others, especially a few of the action scenes, look adequate enough. Mostly the CGI probably won't bother you.

There isn't much music to speak of, but the English dub cast all do a solid job. I particularly liked Rebecca's voice actress.

Resident Evil: Vendetta is overall an entertaining way to spend two hours if you've played RE before. Anyone who hasn't won't get much out of this film.

"The Girl from the Other Side" is, without exaggeration, one of the finest manga I have ever read. Here's why you should read it.

-Art-

It's unusual to start with the art but here it's well deserved. This manga looks unlike any other I've read - its style is quite reminiscent of 19th century childrens books and western fairy tail artwork and it pulls off the style superbly. The colour scheme and small details perfectly compliment the simple but subtle story.

-Story-

The story of TGFTOS will be quite familiar in tone to anyone who has read a western fairy tale - innocent and sweet ... on the surface, but with far more sinister undercurrents underneath.

While the story itself is certainly enjoyable and suspenseful enough, what really kept me going through this manga was the interactions between the girl and the outsider. More is told through the artwork and silent panels than by dialogue.

*Review of first 6 episodes*

Want to watch a non-hentai "adult" anime with a well-written story that takes your intelligence seriously? In a season very light on good original shows, Kado: The Right Answer may well be the best non-sequel of the season. Here's why:

-Story-

On the surface Kado is a show about alien first contract. However, as the title suggests, the real emphasis of this anime is about whether humanity will choose "The Right Answer" - progress - or fail to grasp the opportunity because of infighting and reluctance to change.

What makes Kado great is the quality of the writing. There's just enough tension ... and mystery without descending into drama. The fact it is an entirely original story means that the episode to episode progression is mostly smooth with new reveals and information at a steady pace.

The reaction to the alien arrival is, unlike many alien stories and perhaps anime in general, realistic, nuanced, and intelligent. The reaction of the Japanese government, the public, and the international community to events seem close to what might actually happen. It is clear that a good amount of thought went into writing this show.

The only major flaw in Kado as of ep 6 is that in the most recent episode, there's kind of a cop-out regarding the reveal at the end of ep 5. This is the only time I've felt disappointed about the progression of the story.

-Art-

Kado is a CGI anime which certainly will put some people off, but it probably works better here than it has in most anime in the past. The show is mostly people sat around talking to eachother, so there's less of the usual jerky animations associated with anime CGI. The models, especially yaShunina's, look fairly good. Overall Kado isn't a visual marvel but it's animation does the job.

-Sound-

The nature of the story means the VAs don't get much chance to emote, but so far they all sound fine. The only annoying VA is the scientist girl, but that aspect of her character is I think intentional. The OP is pretty unique for an anime and sets the tone very well.

-Overall-

Despite its visuals and not being based on any source material, Kado is gaining more and more of a following and recognition, atleast in the western fandom - and for good reason. If the plot summary interests you at all, you owe it to yourself to atleast check out this very novel anime.

(Review of first 5 eps)

I had no interest in Tanya when it first aired. Its preview on ANN was poor and the story sounded bizarre to me. However, after the first few episodes I noticed this anime was recieving more and more good reviews and generating some buzz, so I decided to check it out. And I'm very glad I did.

-Story-

Tanya is an original take on the now well-tred Isekai/AU genre. Firstly, the character is born (with a different gender) into the new world instead of merely being transported, as an adult, into it. Secondly, Tanya's goal is to survive in this new ... world and make a success of her life there, not to go on an adventure or defeat some bad guy.

Tanya is evil in a sense, but not in the typical villain way. Being a salaryman in the previous life, she has a drive towards success and self-preservation, no matter the cost to others. She does occasionally demonstrate a more truly malevolent streak, which is always fun to watch.

The strength of the lead's character means that Saga of Tanya the Evil is highly enjoyable both in war scenes and long dialogue sequences between Tanya and military higherups - it is a rare anime of any sort that can claim that.

-Technical-

Tanya was animated by a new studio called NUT, and they have done an excellent job. The art is detailed, backgrounds are often beautiful, and most importantly Tanya looks like no other anime char I've ever seen. She can look both adorably cute, and terrifyingly evil, in the same episode.

Tanya's voice actor has a difficult job portraying such an original MC. It took a while to get used to the way her voice sounds but now I'm of the opinion that both her voice and performance is perfect for the role. It's also worth noting the OP song which is a catchy techno beat.

-Conclusion-

Tanya is what last season's Izetta should have been. This anime could have been a failure with worse writing, less competent production, or a lack of a unique and highly watchable main character. Instead, Tanya has all 3 and more. It is already a frontrunner for most surprisingly good anime of the year.

As a fan of the semicolon series, Chaos;Child was initially my 2nd most anticipated anime of Winter 2016 (after Rakugo Shinju). It was heartening to hear that this new adaptation was by a completely different creative team to the disastrous Chaos;Head anime, but its short length raised questions about how faithful and complete the adaptation could be.

Two disclaimers: Firstly, this is a review of only the first 4 episodes. Secondly, I haven't played the VN since it is only in Japanese. However, the very few western people who have played it seem pretty pleased with this adaptation so far. For those who haven't played ... or watched Chaos;Head - doing so is recommended to fully understand this, but there is a recap episode that pulls up the most important points.

-Story-

Chaos;Child is a murder mystery crossed with psychological horror, set within the larger SciAdv universe. That description may already mean you know this anime is, or isn't, for you. Nonetheless, so far this is a particularly strong example of these genres.

The characters aren't as immediately memorable as those in Steins;Gate, though they fit the darker tone that C;C has had from the beginning. Taku doesn't appear a typical semicolon series protag, being apparently well adjusted, though it seems with many pychological issues under the surface. The other two main characters are Kurusu, Taku's sister in law, who is more down to earth and attempts to dissuade him from his investigations, and Onoe, a childhood friend who is the main one pushing Taku onwards.

Chaos;Child excels at what it needs to: psychological horror. The murder mystery is not really a "whodunnit", instead a device to showcase ever more gruesome murders and advance the plot via the main characters's investigations. The murders and other horror elements are memorable, without overusing gore.
Such moments are about once an episode, leaving the rest to atmospheric buildup, character development, and the furthering of the investigation.

-Technical-

Chaos;Child's animation and visual design is another strong suit. The studio is Silver Link which typically does strong work; here they were given a VN to adapt, not the easiest of tasks compared to a manga. Thankfully though everything here, from the character designs to the backgrounds to the mood lighting to the environments looks very good.

So far there isn't much music to speak of, other than the (catchy) OP, more along the lines of background noises and ambience to build the atmosphere. The voice acting, both in the Japanese and English dubs, is suitable to the tone of the anime, with each VA sounding suitable to their character, apart from Takeru's English VA who IMO sounds a little on the immature side.

-Conclusion-

The first 3rd of Chaos;Child has got off to a very strong start, leaving me highly intrigued into what will come in the remainder. This certainly isn't an anime for everyone; a liking for both the horror genre and the SciAdv series is likely a requirement for enjoyment, but if the descriptions I've given so far have piqued your interest, this is an anime worth checking out.

Saiki Kusou was one of the best, yet more overlooked, anime of 2016. With each episode being only 4 minutes long every anime fan should watch atleast watch the first few and see if this is for you.

Comedy is inherently subjective, but this was the first comedic anime where I consistently laughed at the jokes. The main character is one of the most OP in the history of anime - but where much of the comedy comes from is that these powers are more of a curse than a blessing. Typically each episode will focus on one of Saiki's powers, a new character, or ... a new situation, which prevents things from getting stale or jokes being reused, a flaw of many other similar anime.

The technical aspects of Saiki Kusou are quite good. The standout is Saiki's VA - who does most of the talking (in an internal monologue - the character is almost mute) has an appropriate deadpan. The other character's voices also sound fine. The animation is nothing fancy, but is always on-model and attractive to the eye.

If you're an anime fan as of the Fall 2016 season you've almost certainly heard of and probably watched Yuri on Ice. But if you haven't watched it yet, or you're new to anime, you may be wondering - can a show about gay ice skaters really be so good? Yes, it can.

Going into this I should say that I'm a young woman - the target demographic for this series. I know straight guys who do like YoI but the female demo is likely to get more out of it.

-Story-

The story is pretty standard for a sports anime - though, unlike in ... other sports, the main character isn't part of a team. In terms of plot development there aren't any major surprises - the motivation to watch comes more from moment-to-moment character interactions and the ice skating sections.

-Characters-

As a character-driven story, where YoI really shines is with its' characters. The main 3 characters are the titular Japanese figure skater Yuri, world champion Viktor, and the young Russian Yuri (or Yurio), a rival to our protagonist. It sounds corny, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of YoI is seeing Yuri's character grow from where he is at the start of the series to where he is at the end.

Ofcourse the most famous aspect of YoI is the gay relationship between Yuri and Viktor. I'm not exactly qualified to consider this as a depiction of LGBT relationships in anime or fiction generally, but I genuinely think this is a well-written and likeable romance / love story, not just a gay one. The story in-universe doesn't even dwell on the the relationship being gay - noone in YoI ever questions that aspect. Later developments in their relationship in the second half of the series feel quite normal and believable, for me atleast, which is a sign of good writing.

And yeah, as part of the target demographic I have to say the fanservice and the development of Y/V's relationship is really good (especially eps 7/10/end of ep12). I'm not usually the biggest fan of romance in fiction but this was different - I found myself really liking the two MCs and wanting them to get together. There's some goofy homoerotic moments earlier on, but didn't feel that out of place with YoI being a lighthearted series.

For a 12 episode series YoI does a decent job with the supporting characters, especially the other skaters who make it to the grand prix. None of them have a great amount of depth, but some of them are memorable and you feel some sympathy when they lose. And then there's the Russian Yuri / Yurio - who I liked as a character, a good counterpart to the two MCs, though the story kinda struggles with giving him a role, before settling on him being the Japanese Yuri's main rival.

-Art-

The animators did a very good job with what must have been a pretty limited budget. The quality of the animation does vary with the budget clearly being lavished on some scenes more than others - also, some of the skating animations are reused - but overall YoI is pleasing on the eye, especially in the skating sequences.

-Sound-

The characters voice actors do well in giving the MCs and some of the other skaters a distinctive sound to them - especially Viktor's VA which has a kind of foreign sound to my ears, appropriate for a Russian character. The OP and ED songs are very catchy and memorable (the OP is accompanied with some beautiful animation).

As for the dub - Yuri sounds fine, but it has Russian accents on the Russian characters - which you may think makes sense, but half of the chars in the series are Russian so it gets pretty OTT. After a while though I found the Russian accents sort of endearing. I'd recommend watching it with subs the first time round, the dub's kinda amusing a 2nd time round.

- Flaws-

Despite my love for YoI, I definitely recognise it has a number of flaws.

- The ending, while satisfactory, is a bit anticlimatic. There's going to be a Season 2 so it doesn't need to wrap everything up. However, when the script was written the creators probably thought it'd be only a 1-series story so the buildup of the story up to ep12 feels a little off.
- The attempts at drama fall flat on their face. The couple of dramatic moments where one of the two MCs threaten to split up aren't really believable as we know it'll be resolved by the end of the episode. Though the first of these instances in ep 7 does get an amazing payoff.
- as previously mentioned, there are occasional dips in animation quality.

-Conclusion-

When I first heard of YoI I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near this good. On paper it shouldn't be that great, but Yuri on Ice in my view far exceeds its' elevator pitch.

It is a rare anime that is quite as enjoyable and fun, and obviously made with as much love for its' subject matter as this one is; an anime that drew back myself and countless other anime fans week after week to find out where the writers would take the characters next. While not all anime watchers will enjoy it as much as I and the rest of my demographic did, YoI is definitely an show all anime fans owe it to themselves to watch.