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If you love cats or gourmet anime, or both cats AND Food, look no further than Ramen Akaneko, an anime I feel was specifically made to appeal to people like me who love cats and food!

Our protagonist Tamako is recommended to apply for work at Ramen Akaneko, a Ramen joint run by cats. Cats that can talk. And cook. And serve customers. Like some kind of fever dream come true. Her job - to take care of the cats, by brushing them (!!!) And they decide to hire her because she isn't a cat lover who will be unprofessional and fawn on them (!!!)

Soon ... she gets to know all the cats, and like any cat lover will tell you, they all have different personalities. Seriously though the characters (cats specifically) are the best thing about this anime. Apologies in advance but I'm going to describe them using terms familiar to the cat lover types.
* Bunzou - the orange "ginger" kitty, instead of being the feisty one orange brain cell, is the semi gruff, professional chef
* Sabu - the black "void" Kitty is the sous chef, with a hobby most will be surprised to learn about
* Hana - the white "cloud?" kitty is so dang adorable she's in charge of customer service
* Sasaki - the bicolor silver and white tabby is the moneybags Boss of the operation, and
* Krishna - the "muscle" tiger is the shy, sweet, ramen maker!

Watching each character's story get revealed while they live their daily life is mostly comforting. This is a slice of life, that happens to have a found family of felines plus one human worker who regains her confidence after working for a different kind of business, one that is kinder to their employees than her previous place of work.

Initially I thought this had an Iyashikei slice of life with lots of comedy BUT some of the stories are a bit too hard hitting for that, involving bullying, workplace drama, internet fame, consent, legal issues and death. This anime just happens to use the vehicle of cute cats to try and take some of the sting out of what would otherwise be seriously traumatic issues. After the credits there are short vignettes of behind the scenes type footage, most are comedic in nature.

The biggest downside of this anime is the animation is inconsistency between the 3D and 2D styles. The main cats look great, but sometimes the tiger's anatomy seems a bit wonky, the humans too. Thankfully all the food looks good so there's that check mark for the gourmet watcher in me, but ... the food doesn't look mouthwatering delicious like some of the better gourmet anime I've watched.

Overall, this would be a good show to introduce the older, younger or food or cat lovers to anime since it's PG with none of the fan service cringe stuff that will turn some viewers off. Personally I enjoyed watching this every week, with one of my cats on my lap getting treats while I went Aww and pet the kitty, all the while WISHING a place like this existed because as a former Persian caretaker I am eminently qualified and I want that job!

TLDR: Guilty Pleasure for Men of Culture with fun 80s Metal references makes for prime Drinking Game experience. If you're not into this type of anime, you might not enjoy it.

This is another Netflix reboot of an older, popular anime with new graphics that manages to buck the trend by being (OMG Gasp) GOOD instead of disappointing like some others I won't mention. A large part of this is because it is 100% completely on brand with the original and in the spirit of the manga from way back in the late 1980s when things weren't as politically correct as they are today. The anime ... is tagged Ecchi for good reason, and it's not even tasteful Ecchi, but rather, no apologies no f---s given Ecchi. Expect every episode to feature titillating glimpses of one or more scantily clad or unclad females in compromising positions, you have been warned!

Protagonist Dark Schneider is an anti-hero Bastard!! He's handsome, spends a lot of time semi nude showing off his 12 pack abs and toned physique. Believing he is God's gift to women he shamelessly chases, gropes and attempts to charm into bed any attractive female within reach while loudly proclaiming how great he is. He also happens to be overpowered and dressed in plot armor like you wouldn't believe, so things go his way a lot of the time. In today's updated parlance he would have graduated from Bastard!! to F--- that F---ing MF'er, if the censors only allowed it.

The plot is largely predictable, the characters well drawn stereotypes, nice animation and a decent OST that fits the vibe of the anime. Female characters are barely dressed with gravity defying boobs while the males are GAR type muscleheads that seem brainless. The dialogue is cheesy and cringe in parts.The fights are over the top with more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. It's not going to win any Oscars, but if you like this sort of anime you're going to enjoy the hell out of watching this enjoyable guilty pleasure series.

To make it more fun, here's a drinking game for the Bastard!! series. For the braver ones, substitute sips with shots.

Take one sip (or shot if you're brave) every time:-
* Dark Schneider boasts about how powerful, handsome or awesome he is
* a female character loses portions of her armor or pieces of clothing
* Dark Schneider says or does anything lecherous (groping, fondling, suggestive tongue stuff)
* there's a heavy metal reference in city name, character name, spell name whether it is by a band, or song. More well known ones include Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi etc.
* Netflix close captions say "Rock Music playing"
* Seemingly defeated characters get up and return to the fight!

Bonus extra fast drunk - take a sip or shot every time:-
* A female character says "Darsh ~~ "
* Any character starts chanting a spell
* there's an explosion that breaks a part of any built stone structure like a castle or bridge
* Dark Schneider is bleeding

Drink a bottle or multiple shots) to celebrate every time:-
* Dark Schneider does the deed with a female character

I am a super-fan of the gourmet genre and try to watch all gourmet anime. It's a mixed bag. There are some older ones that really teach you about food, like Oishinbo, some that teach you how to cook and others are slice of life with some degree of cooking thrown in. The 3rd category describes this donghua. Honestly this anime is a solid 7/10 until the last episode which is an amazing 20/10 it elevates the entire season.

The premise: a talented chef accidentally poisons herself. She is sent back in time to ancient China, waking up in the body of a woman who has ... been kidnapped on her wedding day by bandits and set to marry a bandit lord! Unbeknownst to her the bandit "Lord" is actually an imperial prince spying on the bandits. Shenanigans ensue, with our heroine using her cooking skills to get herself out of many predicaments. I don't know about you, but if I lived in ancient times and someone came along who could make DELICIOUS food, I will admit I might also be easily bribed.

Seasons 1 and 2 follow the same formula - an issue or misunderstanding, cooking fairy transformation, reveal of fantastic food, everything ends well. It's predictable but charming as we travel around China with the protagonist, watching her marvel at things and managing to cook food even when there are seemingly no ingredients worth eating. The mostly nice characters are wholesome, the music is lovely, the art is beautiful and all the food looks mouth watering. Everything is done well, as I said a solid 7/10.

Then today I watched the last episode and to say it is a masterpiece of an episode is under-selling it. This episode is one of the best, most satisfying, conclusions to an anime I've ever watched in 30+ years. Everything that I, as a viewer, wished for, they gave me. Food, Family, Friendship, Love. That. And more. This is the ultimate in Wish-Fulfillment (at least for a whole demographic of women). This had one of those "spoil the market" scenes that I'll remember for a long time after. The enjoyment factor of this episode was so great, I had to add +1 to the 7 rating making this a 8/10.

I am not joking when I say I cannot think of the last time I watched an anime finale this satisfying that at the end I was going awww, aaah and sighing in bliss. Now THAT is how you end a series.

Went into this expecting an anime type treatment of Idol anime mash-up with Phantom of the Opera and was pleasantly surprised to find there was something new and different in this story with a lot of heart.

Animation - Sub Par - 5/10

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. The CGI 2D/3D animation is a little wonky and not great. The high water mark of 2D rotoscope or motion capture would be Yuri on Ice, and possibly Dance Dance Danseur. This anime is maybe 30% of that. It's visible and obviously not the best. The only good thing I can say is they ... at least got the dancing right, plus it's ULTRA obvious the Yoshino dancer guy is a much better dancer than Niyodo, he's got all the right flourishes at the right places to give that extra Oomph to a dance performance. Kudos to him! So the animation is a problem but the character designs are great. Asahi (the ghost) is personable and cute, Yoshino is adorable and Niyodo is the tall, handsome one. In short, good character designs, rotoscope but animation could have been handled better at least to Idolish 7 standard.

Music / OST - Slightly above Mid - 6/10

Music wise all the songs are nice and catchy, but not necessarily memorable. I'd dance to them if they came on though.

Story and Characters - 8/10.

The story and characters are where this anime breaks new ground. Character wise, we have Niyodo who became an idol because he was lazy and wanted a way to make a quick buck. He makes no bones about being what he is but that's not the normal mold of idols, which Asahi and Yoshino fit. They try their best to get him to at least like his career, which is what good friends do because his initial wave slave mentality was honestly off-putting at the start. Still, it's refreshing to actually see an introvert succeed as an idol with support from his partner, management and fans.

Where this anime shines is in its examination of fans, FANDOM and all that entails, good AND bad. Obsessive fans. Stalkers. Haters. Devoted ones with high expectations. Idols having zero break or privacy as everything these days is instant news. Where does one draw the line between work and private time? What is the true cost of success if an idol has to have a "fake persona" to please fans 24/7? These and other themes are explored in a non judgmental, light-hearted manner that still gives the viewer plenty of food for thought.

And of course, the shining stars and best part of this anime were the "nerd" fans. They were LIFE!! The nerd fans provided so much comedy I wanted another season just so I can vicariously "squeee" and be FANS with them. The Calendar episode had me in stitches. It's hard not to identify with some aspect of those fans as there are some bands I was 100% fan-girling at so I really identified with them and they're the real reason I enjoyed this anime so much.

Recommended if you like Idol and Music Anime, with a message that is subtle but wholesome.

This is a solid follow up to Season 1, continuing the adventures of the Exorcists.

Story - 8/10

The story is a smidgen better than season 1 with plenty of mystery, betrayal and politics elevating the stakes.

Character - 7/10

Season 2's story suffered because they did spend a lot of time on character development, which I actually don't mind. We get detailed backgrounds of the other members of the exorcism squad, with a lot of backstory for the Wolf guy! The only thing that could have made this better is more paint brush guy.

... Art - 8/10

The CGI is actually detailed and good, with the high resolution version it actually stalls on streaming because of the amount of processing power needed to render things beautifully. The battle scenes insanely beautiful. The wolf looks realistic, dragons, all kinds of shape shifters and Paint brush master's scenes are always a treat. Action is fluid and gorgeous.

Sound 6/10

This was just fair, there wasn't that incredible scene like in Season 1 (with the Shamisen fight) in this season, so I was a bit disappointed to realize lightning didn't strike twice. Awww.

Enjoyment - 7/10

I had a great time watching this and will be starting Season 3 as soon as there is enough content to binge!

Overall - 7/10

The unexpectedly funny comedy and a good story make this a series worth watching if you're a fan of bishounen (handsome, handsome men everywhere doing awesome stuff). Love the whole exorcism crew, and it's not the standard cultivation CGI show so it's a breath of fresh air that is worth watching. There just wasn't a memorable stand out moment like the Shamisen fight in Season 1.

As a fan of horses, and horse racing, I was extremely happy to see they finally made a real horse racing anime that wasn't Uma Musume pretty derby. This anime has decent visuals and a Sawano OST, but unfortunately due to one scene in Episode 1 with semi BL vibes a ton of homophobes ended up dropping the series, not realizing that (1) most sport anime are "fruity", consider the Top Gun volleyball scene and (2) this is definitely NOT a BL anime.

Story - 7/10, Character - 8/10

Our main character, Yuu, decides to drop out of his idol group to become a Jockey! A semi ... implausible premise unless he really loves horses because while being an idol is hard work it's also very glamorous and comes with a huge fan base of girls! The jockeys in the show are distinct in personality, background and looks, which let this anime actually have a good story with lots of different types of friendship.

There are many subtle themes interwoven in this coming of age anime that will resonate if you've ever been through the type of situations these boys are facing, some of which are fairly common, like:-
* Living up to your parent's or society's expectations of you vs. choosing your own path
* Pressures for a female to "set the bar" for others
* Money is a constant concern
* Do what Daddy wants and life will be easier
* After trying hard at something, maybe this isn't really the field for you?
* How, when and under what conditions is quitting the right decision?

Art - 7/10

The visuals in this are inconsistent. Overall the look of the anime is pretty, with some bits being ground breaking and gorgeous which actually elevate the profound philosophy sections of the anime designed to make viewers go "aaaah my heart". If the entire series were like this it would be an easy 10/10!

Unfortunately some of the horse CGI is sub par and looks wonky, especially the bits where they are going into the gates. That CGI looks like some gambling game in terms of quality - staid, wooden and unrealistic. Then the horses start running and it looks like real racehorses. So I have mixed feelings because it's either great or wonky, hence inconsistent.

Sound - 10/10

This anime with Sawano OST would have been the best OST of Spring 2022 if not for the existence of Paripi Koumen / Ya Boy Kongming! Second place to that is good. The Op, Move The Soul by J01 is an amazing bop! The ED is an amazing bop! Listening to those brings to mind J-pop or K-pop idol songs. They're contemporary and excellent! The Insert Songs and instrumental songs are top notch, especially when paired with the amazing visual bits. The OST is probably the best thing about this anime.

Enjoyment and Overall - 8/10

Overall I really enjoyed this hidden gem. Yes it's a niche subject matter even for sports anime but it does expose some of the dark side of horse racing in a limited fashion, there aren't much in the technical aspects of running a successful stable but the jockey parts are done well.

This is bishounen which I enjoy immensely, with the resolution of their stories and the relationships with Episode 4 having one of the best training arcs in a sports anime because of several profound conversations that were had. This isn't going to be for everyone, but if you like decent looking anime with sports, friendships and deeper thinking on themes set to an amazing OST then this will be right up your alley.

It's really hard for an anime to stand out in the stellar field of Spring 2022 Anime that had a great mix of heavy hitters with under the radar fresh hits that went viral, but Love After World Domination (you realize this abbreviates to LaWd!) manages to do it because if its interesting premise combined with a top tier waifu!

Fudou Aikawa, portrayed as Red Gelato, the main tank in Gelato 5, clearly a parody of the power rangers falls in love with Desumi Magahara, the "Reaper Princess", a combatant leader of "Gekko," an evil secret society bent on world domination. Their organizations are at war, ... so the two try to "date" IN secret, in Public!!

Story - 6/10

The story is fairly predictable with the characters falling into tried and true stereotypes but kudos to the mangaka for inventing really interesting situations and putting just that slight twist into everything that provides the comedic bits for the anime. One example is how Gekko is actually a decent place to work with a good training program, great benefits and lots of paths for career advancement, if they existed IRL they would rank pretty high on a list of "great places to work." The only drawback is their organizational strategy isn't always as effective as they planned.

Art and Character - 7/10

The animation is nice and fluid with spectacular character designs for the women. By the end of the first episode I was googling where to buy Desumi's garter belt (with the bow ribbons on the string bit) and wondering when we will see a Desumi cosplay because the costume will not be easy to make. Desumi is not just cute, but she's hot enough to be Anime Waifu of the Season if only Yor from Spy x Family wasn't in the same season.

She's not just all looks, there is some character depth here! She ended up in Gekko because her mother applied for her to join the villain academy. Then we find out her father is a staunch corporate villain salaryman whose specialty is doing everything "with artistry!" Her family are all pro-Gekko! THIS, and her innate gifts, are why she ended up on the "wrong side of the law."

It's not surprising Fudou loves her, in fact his unswerving devotion and loyalty are just #relationshipgoals that would make any woman happy. She's his first girlfriend so there's the whole falling in love for the first time vibe that reminded me of my angsty teenage years enough to ** Squee ** at certain scenes.

Sound - 8/10

Honestly the sound effects are realistic with very good voice acting. This coupled with a very catchy OP and ED make it an easy anime to watch.

Enjoyment and overall - 7/10

This was a ton of fun to watch. Yes, some bits are predictable but when the humor hits, it slaps hard. Up until the last episodes I thought I'd be rating this a 5 or a 6 but they did a fantastic last episode in which the supporting cast, plot and events all came to a head (Sanderlanche style) and worked really well! It elevated this anime to a solid 7, so now I join those who hope this will succeed enough to get a second season.

Dedicated to the Beautiful Dreamer inside everyone.

This anime came out of nowhere, I wasn't going to watch another generic isekai but then the OP went viral so I thought I'd try an episode, got HOOKED by the awesome OP and this ended up being my favorite anime of Spring 2022.

Story and Character - 10/10

Zhuge Liang, premier general from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is reverse isekai'd into modern day Japan during Halloween. It's hilarious how they drag him around getting him drunk, and he is later picked up by Eiko in an act of kindness that he repays ten thousand fold by announcing he will ... be her tactician and help her attain a lofty goal after listening to her sing.

We all know he's smarter than heck, but this anime also showed his funny soft side, making him one of the most lovable Isekai protagonists out there. Eiko is supportive, wholesome and cute, she's one of the best waifus this season, and a great friend to have. The supporting cast is equally amazing from Kabetaijin (what a great rap name, just rolls off the tongue sounding epic), the club manager, the IT guy, other singers and Azalea.

Idol anime are normally generic but this one kind of broke the mold a little by showing the trade offs for fame (over-production, skimpy clothing, sex sells vs. talent) in a realistic grounded way. We understand, empathize and basically have no choice but to root for Eiko to succeed.

Art and Sound - 10/10

The art probably has some motion capture underlying that as the dancing looks real. This coupled with the overly catchy banger OP song, the viral Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of the key reasons this anime went from hidden gem to contention for top 3 anime of the season. There are tons of react videos to the OP, and I predicted the dance to the OP song would get videos, which happened before the last episode aired.

The one song Eiko was working on the entire season is revealed in the last episode, and Dreamer is so well performed I'm sure I wasn't be the only one who shed tears as all the pent up emotions boiled over. The singer's voice goes well with the song and the lyrics are ... something that most people can relate to or aspire to. For me, the Dreamer performance is that one EXTRA factor that elevated this anime to masterpiece status.

The ED, the OST, the Rapping, the Voice acting, the lights, the stage, the crowd's enthusiasm was enough to make me cheer, fist pump and weep at home. This rarely happens with isekais or music anime, but somehow they got to me. Dreamer is my anime song of the season for Spring 2022.

Enjoyment and Overall - 10/10

I enjoyed every single episode of this anime which has one of the best season ending episodes. This is one I'll re-watch, and I might have already listened to several songs from this anime more than 10 times. This anime is only surpassed by Dance Dance Danseur when it comes to the anime making me FEEL the Passion to chase a dream. There are lots of good anime in the Spring 2022 season but only 2 have moved me so much they've made me cry. If an anime can touch something in a person to cause that much of a reaction (the Feels) I usually love it.

This is my #2 anime of the season for Spring 2022, it's unlikely another anime will come along that will grab my heart, blow softly on it to nurture hope and budding feelings, then toss it around with angst and drama until emotions overflow into tears.

Story and Character 10/10

Initially I thought it would be one of those generic sports anime but this time with ballet. And then, episode 1 employed several hooks that grabbed my attention and never quite let go. The story and characters are gripping, with both coming of age and adult/mature themes:-

* A young boy "hides" his passion for fear of being ... judged by his classmates / society as "sissy" or "gay". In reality Ballet (for men) is a sports form requiring grace, flexibility, speed, strength and endurance, and is technically harder than martial arts, soccer, football and 95% of sports out there. The training is so rigorous, classically trained ballet dancers can pick up other styles of dance and tend to do well in dance competitions. For example Alex Wong who should have won So You Think You Can Dance after that "Outta Your Mind" hip-hop performance with Twitch if only he hadn't gotten injured.

* Murao is unashamedly a teen who just wants a girlfriend. Most teenagers can relate to this part. For some reason this was really important when I was a teen, but when a person "finds themself" they also usually are not as hung up on "getting a partner." Life changes and goes on, but when you're a teenager this is the be all end all. Relatable.

* At some stage a person has to grow up, decide what it is they want to do and choose whether to give up their passion to fit in, or do what makes them happy. The best career is when Talent, Passion and Skill intersect, very few people actually manage this.

Skill can be taught and learned. Talent is inborn. Passion cannot be faked.

I reflected and realized I don't know if I even made the right choice in this respect, as culturally, we are raised to do well in school then get a job that utilizes skill for $$ and forget the other 2. Does this mean when we work were "dead inside" and unfulfilled? Should we have made a different choice? What would a person have to give up to make the right choice for themselves?

* This anime has one of the best love triangles I've seen, not contrived but something that happened naturally with the second male lead and girl being compelling characters in their own right. This might also the most controversial part of the story in how it plays out. Delicious drama!

Art and Sound 10/10

Mappa did a great job animating this series. So yes, I hated the eyes with that pupil thing but I was told this is the style in the manga, so I guess I have to forgive it and I eventually got used to it. And the eyes are even a plot device! There's one character that spends most of the anime with her eyes closed, so the audience is waiting to see if and when they will open their eyes.

The animation is done most likely using motion capture but with 2D drawing. The dance scenes are an animation achievement, similar to Yuri on Ice, with everything from head to toe accurately portrayed. This in combination with the piano or orchestral Ballet Music make the dance scenes phenomenal.

Words cannot express how moved I was ... at the ballet performances. I have seen Swan Lake live, but it was never as dramatic as the ones performed in this anime. Not just once, but there are several jaw dropping dance sequences that I ended up IRL clapping to. Wow. The last episode moved me to tears, TWICE.

Enjoyment and Overall 10/10

#1 hidden gem and second best anime of the season. The youth. The angst. The overwhelming Passion. An anime this good which makes one reflect on their life choices that is also exhilarating and moving shouldn't be a hidden gem, it should be watched and enjoyed by many more people.

A half demon child is sent to the human world to perform 3 tasks, but one of them is botched when the head of the Exorcism section breaks the heart lamp he is supposed to give to someone else. He ends up joining the Exorcism division, making friends along the way while solving cases.

Story - 8/10
There's a good story here that blends family drama, a fish out of water protagonist, his joining the Exorcism Division and making friends, the beginnings of coming of age, solving mysteries with some difficulty and getting embroiled in Imperial Politics plus all the pain in the ass crap that ... entails. There are comedy bits that work really well once I got used to the stylistic artistic choices made by the team.

Character - 7/10
The characters are not the usual archetypes and we don't know everything about them (yet) so there's plenty yet to be discovered in subsequent seasons. The author does a good job of developing a rich world with some hints to the magic system and each character has something that sets them apart, plus all of them are super attractive so this probably falls in the bishounen category of show that I enjoy watching. As of the end of Season 1, I find the paint brush wielder to be the most fascinating one.

Art - 8/10.
The CGI is actually detailed and good, with the high resolution version it actually stalls on streaming because of the amount of processing power needed to render things beautifully. The battle scenes insanely beautiful. There is one part in the last episode that did something different that I've never seen before, it is one of the 2 special things that elevated this show to a 8/10 rating overall, and that is the paintbrush guy's contribution to the bathing pool fight. My mouth dropped open in a "wow, they did that ... and it looks great!" when it was playing. Moments like this are what make me love anime.

Sound 10/10
I would be hard pressed to find this level of sound quality in many anime. The OP and EDs are wonderful. The battle and ambient sound effects are accurate. What sets this anime apart is a Shamisen Duel in Episode 10 that is just phenomenal to watch and listen to. I may have replayed it several times because of how impressive it was as a spectacle. While the lady had a good singing voice, the male singer's voice is so next level that if he is a real singer, I would purchase tickets to hear him sing live. It made me an instant fan. That's impressive. This sequence was the second standout sequence in what would have otherwise been a 6 or 7/10 series.

Enjoyment - 9/10
I had a great time watching this and will be starting Season 2 shortly!

Overall - 8/10
The unexpectedly funny comedy and a good story make this a series worth watching if you're a fan of bishounen (handsome, handsome men everywhere doing awesome stuff). The 2 things that set this apart from other anime in a "new and different" way are the standout Shamisen Duel and the Paint Brush guy's final fight. Both make this memorable, and it ended up being much, much better than what I initially expected.