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As someone who has the attention span of a small rodent, it’s very rare that I stumble across a show that manages to keep my attention for hours and hours upon end; eager to lose myself in its story, visuals, and characters. Parasyte is one of those rare gems that hit almost all of the right notes and kept me hooked for the entire series.

It’s hard to call this show “new” and “refreshing” since it’s almost three decades old. The manga originally ran from 1988 to 1995, but it is only now getting an anime adaption. However, it seems to have been updated slightly to ... fit modern times, seeing as everyone is running around with smartphones and tablets.

The show starts off with some sketchy moments that made me doubt the direction that this anime was going to go in. The very first scene of the anime shows a parasite infected husband eating his wife’s head off, then proceeding to kill their daughter. And after the main character, Shinichi Izumi, has his right hand infected with a parasite, his errant hand grabs his lady friend’s breasts. Being the cynic that I am, it honestly made me think it was going to be THAT kind of anime: full of extreme violence and sex with not an ounce of substance in sight. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Out of place sexual fanservice is almost non-existent. In addition, while the anime is pretty violent, it doesn’t feel gimmicky and ham-fisted. There’s nothing in Parasyte that is on the level of the fingernail scene in Higurashi or the scene with the puppy in Elfen Lied for example.

The first thing you’ll notice about this anime is the amazing art and vivid animation. The character designs are all very realistic (barring some funky hair colors): no impossible proportions or humongous eyes. Of course, sometimes anime with such an art style can fall into the trap of making the characters look too similar, making it hard to differentiate between even the important members of the story. This isn’t the case in this anime. Each character has a simple yet unique and memorable design. Whether it is Reiko’s intense look and striking beauty, Nobuko’s prominent scar, Mamoru’s rosy cheeks, Satomi’s funky yet cute hairstyle, Kana and Mitsuo’s sense of fashion, or Gotou’s intense facial features, each character has a unique trait that sets them apart from the rest. It’s interesting to note that Shinichi’s distinct feature changes over the course of the anime. First it’s his glasses, then his hairstyle, then the scar he acquires near the end of the anime.

The story is an intense, well executed, and well-paced psychological horror that keeps you hooked from the very beginning. Strange creatures known as parasites kill and hijack a human host’s body and then must sustain themselves by killing and feeding on other humans. However Shinichi Izumi’s parasite fails to hijack his brain and instead lodges itself in his hand. They reluctantly band together in order to protect themselves from other parasites who are beyond reasoning with.

The premise is pretty simple but this works in the anime’s favor. The parasites are creepy, yet fascinating creatures and seeing their evolution throughout the anime serves as the core of the series. The series never really seems to reach any slow, unexciting points. There always seems to be something going on yet it doesn’t feel like it moves too quickly either. There are some hidden messages in the story dealing with environmentalism. The parasites frequently compare their feasting on humans to humans killing and eating other life forms such as cows and pigs, as well as their casual disregard for the environment. While this makes Shinichi and the viewer think about and question the value of a life, it’s a plot element that’s mostly just sprinkled in. It’s never really developed into a message that will stay with the viewer after they’ve finished the anime.

Despite being a horror/sci-fi film, it develops and handles romance a lot better than some actual romance anime. Romantic relationships in anime are frequently unsatisfying. If two characters even end up being together at all, you rarely see them show each other any kind of affection. They’re usually too shy to do something as simple as holding hands. Then the anime ends before we can even see their relationship grow to the next level. Parasyte however, does an amazing job of building and showcasing relationships and sex, all without being childish or having its characters act like five year olds with crushes. It truly showcases a mature romantic relationship.

The ending does a fairly good job of tying up most of the loose ends. Although you can’t help but wonder about certain plot points that were never concluded or clarified. For example, learning more about the parasite's origins and body compositions would have been fascinating.

While the characters aren’t bad, most of them are very static and are either killed off, ignored, or barely change throughout the story. Shinichi and Migi are the two characters that change the most. Being infested with a parasite changes Shinichi and slowly saps away his humanity, empathy, and emotions. Most of his development involves trying to regain these qualities, while clinging to what little humanity he has left. Migi is the exact opposite. Migi is initially a life form with no remorse, empathy, or emotions. Migi only really cares about learning and surviving, it doesn’t matter who dies or who gets hurt so long as he and Shinichi live. It's interesting to see how interacting with Shinichi and observing other humans changes Migi for the better.

Another parasite with a similar development is Reiko Tamura (known earlier in the series as Ryoko Tamiya). This creepy, emotionless, woman is cold and calculating at the beginning of the series, much like all the other parasites. Changes to her character come about when she is impregnated early in the series and gives birth to a human baby. The treatment she gives this child is abhorrent at first, but slowly she too develops both a genuine maternal instinct and a true understanding of the relationship between humans and parasites.

Other characters of note aren’t given such treatment when it comes to their character development. A lot of the characters introduced either die or are largely ignored in the overarching story. For example, we barely learn about Mamoru Uda, a crucial ally to Shinichi and Migi. Satomi Murano also makes the most appearances behind the main characters and main antagonists. But we learn nothing of her life, backstory, or interests other than her complicated relationship with Shinichi. She is little more than a love interest for the main character. Cute and sweet as both these characters are, their lack of development was a wasted opportunity.

We also never learn why Mitsuo is such a douchebag, why Kana has the powers that she has, or why Nagai and a few of his fellow classmates have beef with the rest of Mitsuo’s gang. All of these are interesting plot points that the writers could have AT LEAST made a small nod to.

Last but not least is the sound. The soundtrack is a pretty mixed bag. There are some very good tracks that perfectly convey the anime’s creepy, intense mood, and then there are some really horrible, out of place dubstep tracks. The voice acting is great, with a diverse and lively cast of veterans and newcomers alike.

Parasyte is a rare gem of an anime that clearly sets itself apart from your average, run of the mill, throw away series that blends in with the giant mass of anime that gets thrown at us every season. It’s a memorable anime that doesn’t show its age in the least; an amazing example of great execution and engaging storytelling. And its full of memorable meme worthy scenes that you’ll be laughing about long after you finish, including (but certainly not limited to) the “Why are you talking to your penis” and “Who in the world holds a baby like that” scene.

Even despite its small flaws, it’s an anime that hooks you in keeps you interested for all 24 episodes.

Sequels to any body of work have a reputation to uphold; a certain quality it must meet to please its viewers that are eager for the return of their favorite characters and stories. This is especially the case with this little nugget of a series here.

The Monogatari Series Second Season had quite a bit to live up to. The original Bakemonogatari provided a very unique take on the ecchi/harem genre, coupling sexy fanservice with unusual animation, lengthy dialogue, and individual arcs focusing on Araragi’s interaction with different characters and their supernatural problems. However, its sequel, Nisemonogatari, while still good, was a step down from Bakemonogatari. ... Its arcs were missing the pizzaz and interesting character development of Bakemonogatari’s arcs. To make things worse, for whatever reason, they tried to remedy this by piling on more fanservice. Nekomogatari as well, overdid the fanservice and somewhat felt like a recycled version of the previous Tsubasa arc from Bakemonogatari. Well…that and an excuse to show Black Tsubasa in her underwear.

With all this in mind, it’s understandable that one might be wary of the Second Season. Well, rest assured, it delivers everything that was great about the original series and THEN SOME. Brand new arcs are given for many of the characters who appeared in the original, revealing all new sides to each of them. Its execution is excellent and the animation, dialogue, music, and voice acting are better than ever.

The first arc focuses on Tsubasa, and once again deals with the cursed cat that inhabits her body. It in some ways mirrors her initial arc from Bakemonogatari and Nekomongatari, so this definitely isn’t the strongest arc. But it’s got just enough originality, namely her encounter with the tiger apparition and her having to cope with her house burning down, to not feel recycled or boring. Not only that, but this arc wraps up her story nicely and gives her a satisfying resolution.

The second arc is a bizarre yet insanely interesting arc that focuses on Araragi and Shinobu messing with time and suffering a number of unforeseen consequences as a result. This arc in question gives us a peek into the mysterious Shinobu, portraying her as more humane and emotional. We also get to see a bit of Mayoi’s past.

The third arc focuses on Sengoku Nadeko. This arc was great because it expanded on her character. In the original Bakemonogatari, her arc seemed more focused on fanservice and getting her half naked or in a school swimsuit than on her individual character. This time around we see a focus on her personality. There’s a focus on her looks but it’s highlighted in an interesting way that surprisingly connects to her personality and behavior. This arc ends on a cliffhanger and continues in the final arc.

The fourth arc is a bittersweet one, and will probably cause you to shed a few tears. The final arc is a bit underwhelming compared to the previous arcs. It’s disappointing that the anime goes out with a bit of a whimper. But on the bright side, it’s pretty fun at times and focuses on Hitagi Senjogahara, everyone’s favorite tsundere. Her insane threats delivered in her calm, even voice are as funny as ever. Oddly enough, Suruga Kanbaru doesn’t get her own arc. In fact, she barely appears and is only mentioned a few times. Fans of her character will have to wait for the next installment in the series.

With each arc you grow closer to the main characters and it’s a guarantee that you’ll grow to love them a little more. There are a few quirky side characters that come in to the mix. But they’re just that: side characters. There isn’t a big focus on them, aside from being beacons of information or comedic relief. After each arc, a summary is presented to refresh everyone’s memory of the previous three series. These are helpful for those who want to recall some things they may have forgotten about the previous installments, but can be skipped if you don’t care to see them.

The animation is as perfect as ever: The bright backgrounds littered with reds, whites, yellows, and blues, weird camera angles, head tilting, and quick little blurbs flashing across the screen are all back. The music maintains the same quality as the previous series as well.

The Monogatari Series has come back with a bang. What sets this anime apart from other ecchi/harem anime is its unusual presentation and amazing execution. It does have fanservice and a bunch of girls vying for the same guy, but each girl isn’t simply some generic, boring, archetype. It may seem that way at first (the bookworm, the loli, the cute shy girl, and the tsundere are all here), but by now we’ve seen these characters grow and develop into interesting and unique individuals. The well-handled and occasionally symbolic supernatural elements sure do help out quite a bit as well.

Fans of the original Bakemonogatari will be more than pleased with this installment, even if they’ve been disappointed by Nise and Nekomonogatari. Shaft hit all the right notes with this anime and hopefully its future installments will maintain this quality.

Mawaru Penguindrum is a zany, wacky, twisted, messed up jumble of an anime that is so absolutely insane, yet it surprisingly turns out to be an interesting and compelling story in the end.

Penguindrum is the brainchild of Kunihiko Ikuhara, who also conceived Revolutionary Girl Utena over a decade earlier. Penguindrum bears many similarities to Utena: the repetition, the odd humor, the heavy handed symbolism, and the silly yet loveable characters are all here. Fans of Utena will definitely feel right at home with Penguindrum.

The story goes a little bit like this: Two brothers, Shouma and Kanba Takakura, have a sweet little sister, Himari, who is ... unfortunately dying from a terminal illness. On a trip to the aquarium, Himari collapses and dies. But she is oddly revived by the penguin hat that Shouma had bought her minutes before. The penguin hat’s miracle does not come without a price though. After having their sister’s body temporarily hijacked by the Princess of the Crystal in a flashy over the top transformation sequence, the brothers are informed that they must find the mysterious Penguin drum in order for their sister to keep the life she was so graciously given back.

But that only scratches the surface. Soon, the brothers get involved with shady organizations, a stalker schoolgirl, the homeroom teacher she’s stalking, his nutty celebrity girlfriend, a cold rich girl barring their path, magic mumbo jumbo, and a mysterious man who holds power over Himari’s life.

The diverse cast of characters is what really shines about the show. Aside from Himari, who scarcely seems like more than a plot device, equal development and care is given to a number of characters in this anime. They’re all a little nutty, but they’re also all unique individuals with their own goals, personalities, and beliefs. It’s also impressive to note how the anime ties all the characters together. Not since Monster have I seen such a large cast of characters who seem like they’d normally have nothing to do with each other tied together so intricately.

The two brothers, Shouma and Kanba are polar opposites and serve as each other’s foils. It’s also interesting to note how this plays into their roles in the family. Everything about Shouma screams maternal figure: He’s kind, caring, level headed, rational, and even takes care of the cooking and housework. Kanba can be seen as the more typical masculine father figure. He is smooth, articulate, hot headed, popular with the ladies, and also the sole breadwinner of the house.

Both love Himari dearly and want to save her, but they have drastically different methods of doing so that fit almost too perfectly with their personalities. It’s almost scary seeing Kanba’s apathy for the world and even his own body swell up as the story proceeds, blinded completely by his desire to save Himari.

We also have Ringo Oginome, a high school girl who is as obsessed with curry as she is with Keiju Tabuki. A big chunk of the first part of the anime is dedicated to her stalkerish obsession with Tabuki and her plan to win his heart, as told by a mysterious diary she holds. Her sworn enemy and rival for Tabuki’s affection is a pretty actress named Yuri Tokikago. Unbeknownst to Ringo, this woman has a far more sinister side than her well groomed façade lets on, as well as a hidden connection to the both Tabuki and Ringo’s pasts.

Masako Natsume is another character whose brother also has an unknown illness, but is being kept alive by another penguin hat. She seeks out the penguin drum as well, interfering with the brother’s attempts to get it. All these characters are revealed to be connected to each other in some way, as well as to the main villain Sanetoshi and Ringo’s deceased older sister Momoka.

Surprisingly, three small penguins are what really steal the show. These little buggers are hilarious; doing the most insane things even while the main characters are having a serious conversation. Whether it’s reading dirty magazines, putting panties over their head, trying on blond wigs, or spraying errant cockroaches, these hilarious little guys are always up to something. It’s also interesting to note that the 3 penguins’ actions, appearance, and mannerisms closely resemble the three Takakura siblings. The fourth penguin, belonging to Masako, is the same. Some may find them distracting as they act out in scenes that are supposed to be serious. And you’d be right to assume that they are there just for the cute factor. But they add a bit of charm and humor to the story. It’s hard to imagine the anime without them.

Now the story itself can be a bit of a confusing mess until the very end when mostly everything is resolved and cleared up. It keeps you on your toes and guessing until the very end, slowly unveiling one twist after another without being too ridiculous.

The first part of the anime seems more like a wacky slice-of-life, while the second part heavily leans toward the metaphysical and supernatural. That of course means the second part of the anime can be quite difficult to grasp at times. And that right there is one big problem with the story: it can be incredibly pretentious at times. Similar to Utena, some of the symbolism is very clever, while some of it just seems like it was thrown in there just because, making some concepts and plot elements needlessly complicated and confusing. The dialogue can be a little too much as well, with its constant rambling about fate, fate, fate. Like the symbolism, sometimes it’s clever, other times it just sounds pretentious.

As an anime heavy in symbolism, it’s important for the visuals to be sufficiently up to snuff. And it definitely does not disappoint. The animation is high quality, colorful, flashy, and smooth. The soundtrack is phenomenal, containing a plethora of great tracks for any given situation. The character designs are all beautiful and unique. No two characters look anything alike.

Overall, Penguindrum is an amazing anime that was clearly made with a lot of care and heart. It’s got almost everything, flashy visuals, amazing characters, a silly yet enjoyable story, and a great soundtrack. It’s understandable that some will be turned off by its confusing story and heavy symbolism at first, but sticking with the anime to the end is well worth it. Watching it again is well worth it; you’ll see all kinds of things you may have missed the first time.

This crazy, mysterious, psychological rollercoaster is one hell of a ride, and once you get on you won’t want to get off.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon is a staple in the history of anime. It’s a classic that even non-anime fans will recognize and has gone on to become an immensely successful franchise even outside of Japan. But the question is: how does it hold up today?

Even today Sailor Moon is still a very enjoyable anime. Though not without flaws, it’s a classic still worth viewing. Sailor moon is the story of Usagi Tsukino, a normal, clutzy, fourteen year old middle schooler with awful grades. One day she saves a cat from being harassed by some kids. The cat, named Luna, later gives her a magical artifact ... which gives her the power to turn into the Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. She is later joined by other girls, Makoto, Rei, Ami, and Minako, who all band together to fight the Dark Kingdom, evil supernatural entities who seek to suck the energy from humans. At first, the premise sounds a little typical, maybe even a little silly.

The “teenagers saving the world with superpowers” premise should be a very familiar concept to any anime fan, new or old. The story itself isn’t really much to write home about, though it’s not terrible either. It walks a funny line between shounen and shojo, showcasing intense fight scenes and drama while also having light hearted moments and romance. A lot of the episodes also contain little messages and lessons in them, akin to something we’d see in your typical Saturday morning cartoons for kids.

Each episode focuses on the girls fighting a different Youma, so the anime is mostly episodic. Each episode pits the girls against a new Youma, requiring them to transform and defeat the enemy. The battle scenes follow a specific pattern: Youma appears, girls transform, dodge Youma’s attack a little, and then defeats Youma with their powers. Sometimes Tuxedo Mask will appear to give the girls a hand. Only in the last few episodes is the pattern broken, showcasing the best fight scene in the entire show. It’s understandable that they would save the best for last but one has to wonder why they couldn’t give the earlier fights even a fraction of the last fight’s pizazz. The individual episode’s villains aren’t very memorable and they usually go down pretty quickly. The recurring villains aren’t much better, being cartoonishly evil and hardly memorable as well.

However, the main characters are where this anime really shines. The main girls are all unique individuals with distinct personalities. There’s the clumsy and silly Usagi, the shy but intelligent Rei, the brawny tomboy Makoto, the bold and beautiful Rei, and the responsible and cool Minako. You’re going to end up loving at least one of the girls. Although they fight evil in tiny miniskirts at night, the anime also puts a spot light on their personal lives, including their love lives, crushes, pasts, personal struggles, and relationships. They’re all feminine and girly in their own little way, but they’re also strong, cooperative, and compassionate. These characters exemplify girl power.

There are also some fun side characters that include Usagi’s classmates, an arcade employee named Motoki, and Mamoru who is forever teasing Usagi. Seeing the character’s interact is always fun too, especially the hilarious bickering between Usagi and Rei. Other characters like Makoto do silly things as well, like falling for any guy who even remotely resembles the upperclassmen that rejected her. Or Mamoru’s constant teasing of Usagi by calling her “dumpling head.” They are all fun and likeable characters.

The character designs are excellent, with each of the sailor soldiers having a distinct look that suits their personalities. Even the lesser characters have some pretty unique designs. While the animation is great, it uses a ridiculous amount of repeating footage. The footage used for their transformations, attacks, and Sailor Moon’s catchphrase are used again and again in all 46 episodes. The transformations are very cool, with Sailor Moon’s being the longest and flashiest. But it’s the same exact thing every time. It would have been nice to have some variety, maybe changing up the look of the girl’s transformations. It also would have been nice to give the girls more attacks. The best we get is a mix and match when the girls all transform or attack together. As stated before, the setup of each fight is basically the same as well. The anime uses a little too much repetition, and would have benefited from some more variety in its action and story.

The soundtrack has a number of catchy tunes, but once again, a few tracks are used over and over again. The same song is used when the girls transform and attack. On the bright side, there are some good insert songs that don’t get overused.

Overall, Sailor Moon is a very enjoyable anime. It’s a fun, cute, and generally lighthearted watch. Not everyone is going to enjoy it; some will find it repetitive and others may be turned off by the shojo aspects of the show. But Sailor Moon is still a great show and a classic. The first season ends on a pretty high note, setting the stage for a wonderful second season with room for improvements.

As a big, humungous, obnoxious fan of the Hyperdimension Neptunia video games, I was overjoyed to hear that it was getting an anime adaption.

Studio David had us believing that they were going to do pretty well by this adaption. And in the first few episodes, that’s the impression you get. But from there on, it all goes downhill. It’s unfortunate, but the end product turned out to be a bit of a rushed mess that only captured a fraction of what was so loveable about the games.

The first thing that’s noticeably off about this adaption is the character designs. Tsunako, the original character ... designer, is practically the master of detailed and attractive moe character designs. These designs don’t translate too well into this anime. The designs just don’t look as good as Tsunako’s. There were even some shots where the characters looked sloppy, uneven, and oddly proportioned. To be fair, it can be difficult to adapt designs from a game into an anime using a completely different character designer. But it isn’t as if it’s impossible. The anime adaptions of Tales of the Abyss and Persona 4 are two in particular that succeeded in looking very close to their original character designs. And AIC did a much better job of adapting Tsunako’s designs in the Date a Live anime.

The animation is not bad, but nothing spectacular. There are some flashy transformation scenes that we’re treated with that are never to be seen in the later episodes. The backgrounds are bright and colorful, fitting with the spirit of the series. The fight scenes are very minimal, not serving as much excitement in terms of action.

Another gripe I had with this adaption is how they portrayed the characters. The girls of Hyperdimension Neptunia are loveable and hilarious. There’s a girl out there for everyone to love: the tsundere, the yandere, the genki girl, the little sister character, the rich girl, and much much more. It’s true, they are typical anime archetypes that we’ve seen time and time again. But what made them fun was the comedic banter and playful interactions between the characters. In the anime, these interactions aren’t always as fun or funny as they were in the game.

Not only that, but Studio David literally shoved two games worth of characters into a twelve episode anime. Yes, over twenty characters had to duke it out for screen time in an incredibly short show. So to remedy this, they gave the most popular characters, Noire, Neptune, and Nepgear the most screentime, while neglecting and sometimes outright ignoring other characters. Fans of the three most popular characters won’t mind at all, but it sucks for those of us who are bigger fans of the other characters.

In the game, the girls may have been typical archetypes but they rocked it and even made fun of it several times. There’s no self-awareness in the anime so they just seem like generic characters, and to make it even worse the anime sometimes wants us to actually take it seriously. What is this sorcery!?

The Neptunia games have always been about jokes, good fun, parody, and humor. But here we go with the melodrama in this anime. Cringeworthy melodrama at that. The Neptunia games have never been about being serious. Even in moments that seemed serious, someone would crack a joke or do something silly to remind us “Hey! This is a parody you know!” The melodramatic moments aren’t handled well, and they stand awkwardly next to whole episodes that involve silly humor and jokes. It’s off putting and it’s just not Neptunia.

Here’s a fun fact: One possible ending in the second game was one that was incredibly shocking, dramatic, way too serious, and a bit disturbing. The fans hated it so much that Compile Heart chose not to include anything like it in the third game. Okay. So it’s been established that the fans don’t like that sort of thing. So what made Studio David think it was a good idea to put seriousness in the anime as well?

My last gripe with this adaption is the overall execution. It’s a mostly original story, only loosely following the events of the second and third game while adding some new scenarios. This gave the story an enormous amount of potential. Unfortunately, as stated above, this story had no flipping clue what it wanted to do with itself. It jumps from serious to silly at the drop of a dime. It can’t decide if it wants to be an action anime or a slice of life anime. Characters are severely neglected to give the three most popular characters screen time. In turn, we get characters who we meet for one or (if they’re lucky) a few episodes and then quickly forget about, such as CFW Trick, Linda, Abnes, and Anonydeath, who were hilarious characters in the game. Their origins don’t resemble what they were in the game; in fact, they are sometimes not even mentioned at all. So they appear then disappear and we aren’t supposed to care or even notice. Good god, I could have directed this anime while drunk.

Now despite my harsh criticisms, I did enjoy this anime a little bit. And it does have some redeeming qualities. The voice acting is as good as it’s ever been, with most of the voice actors reprising their roles from the game. The soundtrack is a mix of original tracks with the splendid music from the game. The transformations, though only appearing a few times in the beginning are flashy and much nicer than the simple transformations they introduced in the second and third game.

There is a small sliver of the Neptunia spirit in the episodes that focus on parody and silliness. The video game references and jokes are still there and although the animation is subpar, it is nice to see your favorite Neptunia characters up and at ‘em. After all, the cutscenes in the games were mostly visual novel-esque scenes.

Overall, this adaption is not good but not terrible either. It’s hard to recommend this to anyone who isn’t already a diehard fan of Neptunia. One who is just being introduced to the series through the anime might not have a positive impression of the series at the end. The second and third games would be an ideal starting place if you’re looking to get in to Hyperdimension Neptunia and experience it in its original, silly, over the top glory. If you’re going to watch the anime first anyway, it’s imperative that you keep an open mind and not write off the entire franchise due to this anime. Studio David really did try, but the end product just wasn’t as good as it could have been.

From the minds of the zany, wacky folks at Kyoto Animation (who, as you may recall, brought us K-ON, Clannad, Chunibyou demo koi ga shitai, and Tamako Market) comes Free, a swimming sports anime that can be described as many things.

Free is the secret love story between a boy and his water. Free is also the story about the manly trials and tribulations of being an adolescent male. Free is about the bonding brofest that is high school team sports; it is a testament to the payoff of hard work. But most of all, Free is the story of love and friendship with the ... fires of youth blazing in the background.

Glistening muscles, dramatic hair flips, wet bodies, gorgeous backdrops, and immensely attractive character designs practically burst out at the viewer, probably to draw our attention away from the other areas where Free is lacking. You see, Free can pretty much be classified as a fanservice anime. Only this time instead of panty shots, jiggling breasts, and I’m-gonna-walk-in-on-you-in-the-shower-and-you’ll-slap-me scenes, we get half naked teenage boys in swimsuits, perfect muscles, flowy hair, and rock hard abs. Yes that’s right, fanservice for the ladies this time. But guess what? It’s still selling sex.

Free is a pretty enjoyable and lighthearted slice of life show. However, it falls short for several reasons. The first problem with Free that you’ll notice is its characters. They’re very cute, but their personalities can pretty much be summed up in a few words. They’re almost lifeless, never really doing much to break out of their generic character archetypes. This hurts the show severely, seeing as in a slice of life anime, characters make or break the show.

Haruka Nanase is a stoic young man who’s passionate about swimming and not much else. His deadpan delivery and expressionless face sometimes serves as fodder for comedic moments. Ironically, Nanase is boring and uninteresting for the same reasons. Hazuki Nagisa is the energetic and mischievous one of the group. Rei Ryuugazaki is the braniac who comically attempts to treat everything like an equation. Makoto Tachibana is the kindhearted and gentle one of the group. Rin Matsuoka is the Tsundere-chan who acts aggressive and rude towards the other four but secretly wants to be their friend deep down inside. Aw, how cute.

The connection between the boys is explained to us right away. Nagisa, Makoto, Rin, and Haruka all used to swim together when they were kids. They were the best of friends as well, until Rin moved to Australia. Now Rin is back in Japan to swim for a rival high school, and the other boys team up with Rei to form their own swim club to compete against Rin. Aside from this, we don’t learn much about the other character’s pasts. Rin and Makoto are the only two who really get some kind of backstory. It’s not much, but it at least tells us a bit about how an important experience in their past shaped the characters we see now. The side characters are hardly even worth mentioning, aside from the hilarious Gou who is probably the manifestation of every fangirl watching the show.

In addition to being poor characters, it’s just not that much fun to see them interact. In many a great slice of life anime you can tell the characters play well off each other and interact in fun and interesting ways, much like the playful jabs, laughter, and fun we’d experience with our own real life friends. But in Free, it’s pretty hit or miss, with most of the character’s interactions feeling overdramatic or empty. There’s almost no chemistry between the characters. Haruka seems especially cold and unwilling to interact with the other characters. Only in the very last episode do we see the characters show some heartwarming affection towards each other, but of course not before KyoAni forces a healthy dose of melodrama down our throats. Oh boy does KyoAni love their melodrama. It’s there, it’s in full blast, and it’s as cringeworthy as it has ever been.

The overall story was another missed opportunity. What could have been a strong story about friendship and teamwork turns out to be a directionless anime that sometimes seems like it doesn’t know what it wants to do with itself. In that regard, Free is much like KyoAni’s previous work Tamako Market. It’s a fun and enjoyable watch but deteriorates as the plot and characters zigzag this way and that a way before finally ending with a whimper.

The art and animation are excellent, much like all of KyoAni’s work. Backgrounds are bright, detailed and gorgeous. The character designs are sexy and attractive and the animation is very fluid. You almost feel every breast stroke, every butterfly stroke, and every movement when a character is swimming. And that water, dear gosh, have we ever seen such gorgeous water!? This anime is an absolute treat to look at. The sound is pretty standard mellow and calm slice of life tunes. Though there is one terribad dubstep track that appears a few times throughout the anime.

Overall, Free is a highly polished anime that is mostly just for fun and giggles and not much else. It is an enjoyable anime but it’s very hard to deny its faults. Free attempts to sell you with its character’s physical attractions and animation, not with its substance, story, or with great character development. KyoAni’s grand scheme this time was to hook in the ladies with hot guys, and it’s commendable that they’d try to appeal to women for once. But no matter how you paint it, Free is, once again, still selling you sex. It’s the same old broken down car with a new paint job.

And there’s nothing wrong with a little sexiness and fanservice, regardless of if it involves men or women. But using sexiness as a crutch while neglecting story and characters doesn’t make for a good anime…well…unless of course it’s a hentai. Unfortunately (and I really do mean that) Free is not a hentai. It’s recommendable to anyone who just wants a feel good and lighthearted anime, but not exactly for anyone who’s looking for something more.

There’s something about reboots that invoke equal feelings of worry and excitement. Rebuilding on a premise from scratch opens up an enormous amount of potential to tell a brand new and exciting spin on an old tale. This is especially the case when the world is as interesting and layered as Ghost in the Shell. But that’s exactly what makes reboots so worrisome. It’s up to the creators to capitalize on that potential, but they don’t always do. Which one did Production I.G do, you may ask?

Ghost in the Shell: Arise Border: 1 Ghost Pain is the first part of a series of movies reimagining ... the original Ghost in the Shell series. This new series is an origin story for Section 9, detailing what happened before they became the ass-kicking vigilantes of Stand Alone Complex. The story starts with Public Security Section 9 investigating the death of a high ranking military officer who may have been involved in some shady dealings. It turns out that this man is the superior of Motoko Kusanagi, who is currently working under a special unit of the military. Throw in a mysterious virus, some politics, some action, some self-reflection, and a number of shady individuals and you’ve cooked yourself up a GITS mystery.

All the important characters of Ghost in the Shell make a comeback, though the spotlight is definitely on Motoko. Batou and Pazu play a part in solving the mystery, while Chief Aramaki, Borma, and Togusa are sort of pushed to the side. Many of the characters look and act noticeably younger.

Motoko has undergone a drastic change. She’s given an entirely new backstory this time around, the most noticeable change being that we get to see her family. She is also far less experienced than her SAC counterpart. Of course, she is still a calm, collected, and capable woman. After all, she’s still a fearless combatant and a superb hacker. But keep in mind that this was before she was in command of Section 9, so there’s an absence of leadership and cooperative qualities in her character. She clearly wants to be a lone wolf, though that’s impossible considering the military branch she’s tethered to. Being in the position she’s in, there are times when she must rely on her superiors instead of confidently calling the shots like she did in Stand Alone Complex. Her character still has aspects of her previous personality, yet it’s slightly altered and molded into a much younger Motoko that fits with the setting of this reboot.

The other characters aren’t really explored as well as Motoko. But it’s hinted that they’ve gotten the same treatment she did. Batou is still a tough and capable fighter, yet his brash and emotional side is hinted at with the “attack first, ask questions later” approach he takes when he thinks Motoko killed one of his partners. We are allowed to take a small peek in the lives of Pazu and Togusa during the movie as well. Togusa too doesn’t have much of the influence he had in GITS, and is frustrated over his treatment as a lowly detective.

The story stays consistent for the most part, but seems to be a bit more action oriented than the movie and SAC. However, this does not detract from the story too much. It follows the previous formula of “crazy mystery involving viruses and shady characters” but it’s told in an interesting enough fashion to keep you glued to the screen until the finale. This is due in part to wanting to know all about the rich world and these fascinating characters that parade across the screen.

GITS has always contained a fair amount of politics and philosophy. In Arise, these aspects are mostly dabbled in. Political conflicts and important bills that affect the world and characters are sort of briefly mentioned as an afterthought. The role of politics in the grand scheme of things isn’t actually revealed until the tail end of the movie. The questioning of one’s humanity is also not explored nearly as much as it was in the original film. This time around, it’s more like “what is real and what is not real” due to the mysterious virus affecting Motoko’s brain and altering her perception of reality. The story also ends a bit abruptly, leaving the viewer with quite a few questions.

This is forgivable for a couple of reason. The first Arise film is shorter than the original movie and far shorter than SAC. For a 60 minute film, they were able to stick in quite a bit of content, but obviously they couldn’t fit in everything. This is also only one of four films in the Arise saga. The full potential and scope of this reboot has yet to be seen. This is only the beginning.

Production I.G has outdone themselves with the art and animation in this movie. Every mech, every vehicle, every backdrop is given vivid color and detail. The fight scenes were given just as much attention, being fluid and sometimes a little over the top. The character designs have undergone some significant changes, with Motoko and Batou being changed the most. Almost everyone has less muscle definition, giving them a skinnier and more youthful appearance. Chief Aramaki looks closer to his character design in the original movie, albeit with no grey hair. Batou’s eyes and hair are different, while Motoko was given an almost complete overhaul. She is given a far more conservative look, with brighter and shorter hair. Those accustomed to the style of the movie, anime, or even the manga will probably be a bit taken aback by the altered character design. None of them are bad, but they do take some getting used too.

Arise isn’t completely on par with its juggernaut predecessors. But it’s still an immensely enjoyable film, a fine piece of animation, and a worthy addition to the Ghost in the Shell franchise.

It started strong, so let’s hope the rest of the Arise films can keep it going.

Hataraku Maou-sama, aka The Devil is a Part Timer, is an amusing little comedy from White Fox, the studio that brought you Jormungand, Steins;Gate, and Katanagatari.

It follows the exploits of Satan himself, along with his loyal servant Alciel, after being transported from their world to the human world by the hero Emilia. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues. Having no money, no magic, and no knowledge of the language, they naturally run around causing all sorts of trouble in the human world. After getting some basic grasp of the language and an incredibly tiny apartment, Satan is forced to work at the local fast ... food joint MgRonald’s to make ends meet. Going by the name Maou Sadao, he attempts to adjust to life in the human world. All while avoiding the vengeful wrath of the hero Emilia, as she’s followed him to the human world.

What makes this show so entertaining is perhaps its endearing characters and their often hilarious interactions with each other and the world around them. It is in no way deep and complex, nor is its story even anything to get excited over. But keep in mind that this is a comedy. Hataraku maou-sama is silly and unserious from beginning to end. Or rather it is for the most part. But more on that later.

Satan, or Maou Sadao as he goes by in the human world, was a ruthless conqueror in his dimension. His foray into the human world reveals another side to his personality. As a human, he actually shows affection for his friends and cares about their well-being. He’s also laid back and a bit of a ditz, only occasionally showing off his true general colors when MgRonald’s needs him. Alciel, or Shirou Ashiya, is a frugal, responsible, and loyal servant of Maou. He’s everything Maou isn’t, leading him to frequently chastise Maou for his irresponsible behavior (namely with their limited finances).

The hero Emilia, or Emi Yusa, is a nice, proper young lady to her human friends, yet hostile and borderline obsessive in her quest to destroy Satan. Her extremely hostile and oftentimes hilarious fixation with destroying Maou brings about quite a few laughs over the course of the series. There’s also Chiho Sasaki, mostly there as eye candy, who has a not so subtle crush on Maou.

In addition to the four main characters, there are a number of side characters, most coming from the same world as Emi and Maou. They all end up having extremely odd personalities, and even less knowledge of the human world than Maou when he first comes. This includes Lucifer, who comes to the human world, is curbstomped by Maou, then for some odd reason, freeloads off of them and becomes a NEET in the process. There’s also Suzuno, walking around in a kimono after having studied the wrong era of Japan and coming to the conclusion that this is what everyone wears. They also happen upon some very quirky villains that cause all kinds of mayhem to the unsuspecting citizens of Tokyo. There’s also the hilarious landlady Miki Shiba, whose appearance is used as the butt of some jokes that involve sending Maou and Ashiya some interesting postcards, much to their horror.

These characters don’t develop or grow much over the course of the anime. Most of the characters don’t get a lot of backstory either. In other words, many of the characters remain largely static throughout the entire anime. That doesn’t mean they are bad characters though. As stated above, their interactions and vivid personalities are what make the show. Some of the characters such as Emi do fall into some clichéd archetypes, like the tsundere. But again, they’re entertaining and lively enough not to be annoying or too generic. Although one glaring problem with some of the characters is the discrepancy between how they act in the human world and how they acted in their original worlds. Satan in particular was a ruthless conqueror, but who’d have guessed that based on his sweet, laid back, and caring demeanor through the duration of the show? It is never really explained why these characters had such a change of heart either.

The story is character driven, mostly revolving around the daily exploits of the main characters. In a way, this is simply a slice of life comedy with a fantasy twist. The show thrives on the jokes revolving around the naïve otherworldly characters. It’s nothing “laugh out loud until there are tears in your eyes” funny. But the anime is entertaining enough with what it presented, taking care not to rinse and repeat too many gags too often.

A little pet peeve of mine is when comedy anime takes a turn for the dramatic and tries to have this thing called a “plot.” It just doesn’t work out most of the time. It’s too abrupt a shift from comedy to angsty drama. It usually ends up spiraling downward into painful, forced melodrama. Maou didn’t do this…for the most part. There were times where it seemed like it was going to go that route. One part in particular that stands out was when giving Emi her backstory. Yes, it was meant to tell us why she pursues Maou so relentlessly. But in a way, this disturbing reveal about what Maou did to make her hate him so much actually ends up making their antagonistic relationship a lot less hilarious.

The art and animation are good, sporting quite a few great actions scenes. The character designs are a bit plain, though that was probably to contrast the flashy designs of the characters in their previous life. The opening theme is an upbeat poppy number while the ending theme is more relaxed and mellow. The insert songs weren’t really noticeable or special in any way.

It is by no means flawless, but Hataraku Maou sama is still a funny and entertaining little comedy that will keep you entertained for all thirteen episodes. It’s a very light watch that seamlessly blends comedy and action. It’s an interesting little fantasy twist to the slice of life comedy. It is definitely worth a watch.

Everybody knows that dogs are a man’s best friend, am I right?

They are cute, intelligent, affectionate, and loyal until the very end. Now what does that have to do with the movie Fuse: Memoirs of the Hunter Girl?

Fuse (pronounced “foo say”) is the story of an energetic hunter girl named Hamaji who moves from the mountains to the bustling city of Edo after the death of her grandfather. Hamaji is taken in by her older brother, who is also a hunter himself. Shortly after arriving, Hamaji is greeted with a rather gruesome site of bleeding dog’s heads put out on display for the entire town ... to see. Taken aback by the display, she lashes out in horror. The citizens tease her a bit and then explain that they are fuse; half dog and half human menaces that terrorize and murder the human residents of Edo. A hefty bounty is put on the heads of these fuse, so every third rate samurai across the city is after their heads for the money and the glory.

Well gee, so much for being man’s best friend.

Hamaji’s brother wants to hunt down the remaining two fuse. Little does he know that Hamaji had already met and befriended a fuse named Shino on her way to his humble adobe.

The thing that stands out the most in this movie is most definitely its art, animation, and sound. The movie has a highly detailed, colorful, and polished world. Backgrounds are bursting with life and vibrant color. Beautiful Edo will amaze you with its sights and sounds, from the chaotic red light district, to the elaborate feudal castles, to the beautiful foliage. The character designs themselves are also quite interesting, vaguely resembling the characters from a Ghibli film or perhaps an older anime from the 90s. The soundtrack is also given equal treatment, with a traditional flair pulsing from its chords.

The movie’s story is an interesting yet rather simplistic tale. It’s an engrossing, character driven story from beginning to end, though it is not without its flaws. Character development is rather minimal, aside from what’s given to the two main characters, and the ending to the movie felt rather abrupt. Which was a shame, because it had such an epic buildup. The pacing for most of this movie was just right, with no scene feeling like filler, nor were any of the scenes dripping with an overabundance of cheesy melodrama. And thankfully that is the case, considering the movie’s focus on romance. Now the romance of the movie could have been handled better as well. Like the ending, it is given a rather unsatisfying conclusion. Throughout the movie, it’s built up in a rather subtle way, not feeling as if it were awkwardly shoehorned in.

The relationships of the characters were the main focus of the movie, though it does have its moments of brutal and bloody actions scenes. These scenes are rather fluid and detailed, down to every drop of blood, every bullet, every swift swing of a sword.

However, the characters, not the action, are what make this movie so interesting. The main character Hamaji is a country bumpkin at heart, illiterate and quite ignorant of city life due to her upbringing that took place exclusively in the mountains. This gives the viewers a convenient window to learn about the city of Edo and its culture. Her relationship with the fuse Shino is the main focus of the movie. Shino is revealed to be somewhat of a tormented and deeply troubled character later on. They grow closer and closer as the movie progresses despite the people of their respective races being bitter enemies out for each other’s blood.

The other characters include a cast of lively and fun individuals. There is Hamaji’s older brother Dousetsu, a somewhat childish bachelor that appears to be far less responsible and much less humble than his little sister. There are also Dousetsu’s neighbors, a young man and his son, and a round heavyset man with a not so subtle crush on Hamaji. There is Dousetsu’s love interest Funamushi. There’s also Meido, a talented artist and writer. She is the grandchild of a famous author who attempted to paint the fuse as something more than the monsters they were made out to be through his revered novels.

In a way, perhaps the movie was trying to convey a message of acceptance and understanding. The humans would mercilessly hunt down fuse without a second thought, all for the sake of protecting their own people. Although it’s also clear that some were only hunting fuse simply for the money and fame. Likewise, the fuse hid amongst the humans and ate soul after soul, like animals making no effort to restrain themselves. Neither side made much of an effort to call a truce. Neither side tried to come to understand each other. Instead, a vicious cycle of killing turned without any hope of stopping. It presents an interesting “chicken or egg” argument. Did the Fuse start eating human souls because the humans were killing them? Or did the humans start killing Fuse because they started eating human souls?

Of course, that conclusion was drawn up with a generous amount of personal interpretation. There was far more room for them to convey their message a lot more cleanly.

Fuse is an interesting little feudal fantasy tale that comes together as a wonderful experience bursting with life. It has its obvious flaws, but it’s a great little lighthearted watch.

It has a very feel good vibe to it and is definitely worth your time.

When entering the ecchi genre, you generally know just what you’re going to get: a heavy reliance on fanservice and a ton of slapstick and sexual humor. Obviously, it doesn’t usually make for a compelling and intelligent show. But that’s not to say that all ecchi anime are bad. In fact, some ecchi anime can end up being pretty funny and charming; with at least a few characters that don’t make you want to shove knives in your ears every time they open their mouths. And then there’s the other kind of ecchi anime. It’s the kind that is self-aware if its suckiness and tries ... to compensate with over the top, sometimes fetishy, fanservice that straddles the line between ecchi and hentai. In the end, you won’t remember its story, characters, or humor. Instead, you’ll only remember its shockingly inappropriate fanservice that practically screams “trying too hard!”

Can you guess which type Hagure Yuusha no Aestetica is?

Hagure Yuusha is a tale of silliness, fanservice, and magic. Its conception was handled by studio Arms, perhaps most (in)famous nowadays for their other sexually charged series Ikkitousen and Queen’s Blade. Hagure Yuusha shares many similarities with both of these series.

The story begins where the typical fantasy tale usually ends: at the end of an intense battle with the demon king. After our hero Akatsuki Ousawa’s triumphant victory, he takes the demon king’s daughter, Miu, and heads back home to his own dimension. Now fully equipped with magical powers, he and Miu are sent to a special high school for magic users named Babel. Dramatic duels with mysterious opponents out for Ousawa’s blood, magical mayhem, and high school hilarity ensue.

To be honest, Hagure Yuusha had an excellent setup. Its story had a vast amount of potential with a world whose lore and politics are completely pushed to the side in favor of panty shots and tits. The creators had a lot of room to work with the world but they refused to. For example, we don’t learn much about the differences between the dimensions. Apparently Babel is a special school where kids returning from another dimension are stuffed so they can be monitored. Therefore, we can assume that Akatsuki’s world is one where magic users are the exception, not the rule. Yet we never hear about the other dimensions that the other characters come from, or how their worlds influence their personalities or mannerisms. And what of Akatsuki’s relationship with Queen Risty? None of this is ever expanded upon. Even if the creators had half-assed some backstories and explanations on the lore and world, it still would have been a much better show than what it is now. But instead we get tits. It’s one thing to give bare bones explanations when it’s an ecchi comedy, because then you expect mostly humor and not much else. But Hagure Yuusha sporadically jumps between wanting to make us laugh, wanting to turn us on, and wanting us to take it seriously. But the plot resembles something from a really bad JRPG, so when it wants to be taken seriously, its pretty hard for the viewer to do that.

The characters don’t fare much better either. They are all extremely bland and boring, making it very hard to care about them or this show for that matter. Akatsuki Ousawa is indeed the one who steals the show here, though that’s not really hard when you have such a pathetic cast. He is lauded as a “badass” and “refreshing” simply because he’s not some wimpy male lead and can actually back up all the smack he talks. True, he isn’t your typical “super skinny or super fat loser who plays video games well, then has girls throwing their panties at him” archetype. But that doesn’t mean he’s a good character. He is one dimensional, obnoxious, and showcases throughout the anime that he may even be intellectually inept.

Take the second episode for example. He and the other female protagonists get locked in a gym closet. Kuzuha has to pee quite badly. They say out loud that she could use earth magic to make a toilet. Instead, Ousawa uses his magic mumbo jumbo to make the other two girls feel what Kuzuha is feeling and really have to pee too, because…because. After biting Kuzuha’s ear, all three girls pee themselves. They then proceed to beat him up. Honestly, this is probably one of the most memorable scenes in the anime, but for all the wrong reasons. Why the hell couldn’t they just make a toilet like they said literally a few seconds ago? Oh right, omorashi fanservice.

Then the justification used for his actions (“he made himself the bad guy so I could make friends!”) is almost insulting to the viewer’s intelligence. Remember kids, if you want to make friends, pee yourselves in unison!

Face it; he’s only a small step above your usual wish fulfillment protagonists. The only thing that puts him slightly above the typical wish fulfillment protagonist is, once again, that he’s not some frail looking little flower that is overpowered for some inexplicable reason that defies logic.

The female characters aren’t much better. Miu is a girl who is very shy about her body, but somehow always ends up groped or exposed. It would have been interesting to learn about her backstory. Something worth noting is that she’s a demon but looks human. Could her mother have been a human? Clearly the creators thought, “Who cares about that! Let’s get her naked!”

Kuzuha is the loli class chairman and Chikage Izumi is the raging tomboy lesbian. Her actual introduction in the show is her molesting another female student in a gym closet. We learn little to nothing about these characters. The rest of the supporting cast are unimportant and hardly worth mentioning. Their only real purpose is to be curbstomped by Akatsuki and nothing more.

In addition to being one dimensional and boring, the character’s motivations and actions aren’t really given reason. Nor do they make any sense. One example: Akatsuki kills Miu’s father. Why in the world does she not hate him? Why does she end up falling in love with him? It’s also hard to pinpoint a character’s motivation when we get little to no backstory on them or when they have such boring and flat personalities. The characters don’t seem like much more than dolls.

With all this disappointment, we should at least be able to turn to the action and violence for comfort right? Wrong. The animation is pretty bad, looking quite dated for its time. The character’s heads look far too small for their bodies. And they all look like pallet swaps of each other with different hairstyles and varying breast sizes. The coloring looks incredibly flat and unreasonably bright. The fight scenes are lazily animated and unexciting. Couple that with the fact that Akatsuki dominates every opponent fairly quickly and you’ve got yourself some boring fight scenes. The music is also nothing spectacular, ranging from mediocre to bad.

Overall, this show is pretty terrible on all counts. It had so much potential to be something excellent. Or at least decent, if they had just tried a little. Or it could have been one of those ecchi shows that you know isn’t all that good, but it ends up being humorous and charming nonetheless. Unfortunately, Hagure Yuusha isn’t funny, it isn’t endearing, and it’s just not enjoyable. It’s like a bad JRPG in anime form that tries to pull off a laughable plot with a straight face. Or a bad hentai without the sex. The only thing you’ll remember when you’re done are the inappropriate fanservice scenes, because those definitely push the envelope.

There are better ecchi anime out there. There are far better action anime out there. There is also porn, which has sex, which Hagure Yuusha acts likes it’s going to show you but never does.

Go find those splendid titles and leave tripe like this where it belongs.