...what are you watching...

Lengthy anime post ahead...


Apparently this studio is experimenting with an anime app and released the whole season at once a la Netflix-style. It'll be interesting if this release model pans out for them..I think the anime pirates like it.
ReLIFE 1-13! the end. Initially thought that this would be a time-travel anime, but it's more of a science experiment that turns a young, jaded adult, Kaizaki Arata, from a 27 year old adult into a 17 year old high school student. He will redo a year in high school, but in his current time period. His appearance is the only thing that changed which becomes apparent when he comedically struggles in gym class. It's a cute anime with some comedy and shoujo-esque drama. The minamalistic background piano music is pretty fun to listen to. I also thought it was a nice nostalgic touch that every episode ended with a jpop song that would have been popular 10 years ago. ~8/10 rating The show spent a bit of time on Kariu's problems which slowed the pace down, and there was a drop in production quality. As a warning, the anime just ends after everyone becomes friendly. I guess viewers can read the manga to see what happens to Arata. Anyway, it was a cute shoujo anime.



Orange 1! a group of high school friends get letters from their future selves telling them something in regards to a new transfer student. Girl falls in love with boy within the first episode...cue the eye roll. The show already reveals that Kakeru isn't with the group of friends in the future and that his (we can predict) death is preventable. Dropped because well, I spoiled myself below...



Orange jmovie! saw that this was made into a live-action movie last year, and decided to check it out. As the anime hinted, the main female character, Naho, is a bit of a wimp. Even with a letter from her future self with a list of regrets and telling her what to do to save Kakeru, she stumbles with the letter. As a side note, a class in time travel and parallel worlds would have been awesome in high school. ~6/10 rating~ for a fairly predictable, sweet shoujo story. The movie was about 30 minutes too slow, but well-cast. Apparently giving your past self a note with a list of regrets doesn't help when your past self is a moron most of the time. She could have made the movie last 5 minutes if she pointed out that regret #1 was the most important step. It was predictable that the group was going to save Kakeru at the very last possible moment.



Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan 1-15! is a funny 4 minute show airing during the week and then compiled on Sunday. Episodes 1-2 introduce us to Kusuo Saiki, a young high school boy with psychic, telepathy, telekinesis powers and his laid-back, kooky parents. Episodes 3 and on introduce us to his classmates and other people who are unaware of his powers.



Mob Psycho 100 1-3! is another anime about a young high school boy with strong psychic powers. It is implied that he will explode or go 100% psycho one day. Unlike Saiki, Mob doesn't know how powerful he is. He is taken advantage of by a young adult who runs a exorcism business. His boss pretends to have powers and pretends to be teaching Mob. This anime has a fairly unique animation style that is very raw in its drawings. The mangaka is ONE who also wrote One Punch Man, so the humor is fairly fun to watch. By watching Mob and Saiki, you can see how two authors approach the same type of main character differently, but still humorously.



Fukigen na Mononokean 1-2! also not on my list but looked cute. A young boy, Ashiya, starts high school by finding a fluffy animal on the side of the road that seems to suck out his energy to the point where he is missing days of school. He sees an ad for an exorcist, Abeno, who is hiring and calls him for an exorcism. The exorcist in a fashion similar to xxxHOLiC coerces the student into working for him. Episode 2 emphasized the fact thtat the Abeno prefers to work for money while the Ashiya has a soft heart. It's not quite that fun, so dropped.



Servamp 1! is about a young, motherless boy (story didn't say anything about the father), who grows up to be good at everything. His classmates tend to pawn off school projects on him since he feels it's 'simpler' to do them on his own. He picks up a cat on the street who turns out to be a vampire. Another vampire attacks, the boy and cat form a 'servamp' contract. I think I would have liked this when I was 12. Dropped.



91 Days 1-3! Ah ha, a mafia story. A young boy witnesses the murder of his parents and younger brother and years later, seeks revenge during the Prohibition era. Style and characters remniscent of Baccano, but there's no humor.



Tales of Zestiria the X 0-3! Not on my initial list but I'm a sucker for big budget anime shows and ufotable's production. There's a sword in a stone, 'LadyLake', mysterious mist, a badass-looking dragon, a badass princess, swords and guns. The prologue episode with Princess Alisha won me over.. Episode 1 introduces the main character, Sorey, and his seraph friend, Mikeo, who explore old architecture and find the princess who wanders in after the dragon destroys her comrades and the nearby town. Not sure what's going on and not really interested in the rpg game, but it's very Final Fantasy-like, and still very well-made. The last 'Tales of' series was decent, and this looks pretty good. The original game opening has a catchy rockin' opening by Superfly. The anime has a decent opening by Flow, but the original is more badass.



Arslan Senki: Fuujin Ranbu 1-4! continues that tale of Arslan. Gieve and the man in the silver mask hunt down a legendary sword that belongs to the true king, but a group from the evil Church steal it away. Arslan and his army win another battle, but in episode 2, the king, Arslan's 'father', is able to escape on his own and tracks Arslan down. He orders him to raise an army of 50k which is supposedly a banishment. No worries as Arslan's friends decide to help him. This really needs a bigger budget.



Bananya 1! is a 3-minute show. The banana cat bounces around looking cute.



Magi: Sinbad no Bouken 9-13! the end of this season. In episode 9, Sinbad and his crew are trying to trade with a country that has precious metals. After technically defeating the king who also has a dungeon weapon, Sinbad gains another companion in the form of the king's enthusiastic son. Episode 11 starts their adventure in a country run by women. He is also able to draw up an alliance with them. Thus, the season ends with Sinbad trading with three elusive countries, and gaining a good number of new companions. ~7/10 rating for a good-natured adventure anime.

There isn't anything airing this summer that I really wanted to watch, but hey, anime is fun to have playing in the background.

Here are some new shows:



Gangsta. 1-2! Based on a manga, in episode 1 the mafia hire the police who in turn, hire a couple independent contractors to take care of some troublesome drug dealers. They end up also helping out a prostitute. The contractors are made up of a one-eyed blond character and a sword-wielding deaf character. This is probably the first anime series I've seen where sign language is prominently on display. It's a gritty street anime, so if you like that sort of genre, this might appeal to you.



Aoharu x Kikanjuu 1-2! Another anime based on a manga, the class president is an overzealous fighter of evil and is female dressed in boy's clothes. Hotaru moves next door to Matsuoka, a club host. Have I already mentions how crappy FUNimation stream quality is. The rest of this progresses somewhat like Ouran Host Club. She accidentally does damage to the club and the host gets her to repay them by playing gun survival games. So there must be a PSA somewhere in this show...but hey, it's Japan. Kids wielding guns and shooting at each other is not at all a bad idea.



Charlotte 1! Is about a young boy who can possess other people's bodies for 5 seconds at a time. He uses the power to get to the top of the class, into an elite high school and win the interest of a girl. He gets caught by other students who have special powers and they force him to attend their school. While episode 1 sounds pretty unoriginal, the show is well-made and there were cute & funny moments.



Rokka no Yuusha 1! This is a fantasy anime about a young man who claims to be the strongest. He interrupts a ceremonial fight, gets thrown in prison and befriends a young girl. They talk about becoming one of the six flowers and defeating some legendary demon. She turns out to be the princess and one of the six. Kudos for pretty ombre hair, but the premise is rather uninspiring.



Akagami no Shirayukihime 1-2! based on the manga is a sweet shoujo story about a young red-headed herbalist/pharmacist and a head-strong prince. She runs away from her hometown since the prince there wants to make her his concubine. She inadvertently meets another prince and befriends him. There are pastels and sparkles.



God Eater 1-2! The premise of this also doesn't sound very original, but the execution is pretty good. This is based on an RPG game. Humans live behind a wall to protect themselves from Aragami. From the brief flashbacks, it appears that humans created the monsters themselves. A young boy, Lenki Utsuki, joins the elite task force who kill the Aragami. The first episode is about him joining, training, getting a special weapon, and then disobeying orders to kill some Aragami. The animation style is a little unusual, but interesting. ufotable is the production company so I think the continuous action is what will keep people interested, since the characters themselves are absolutely not unique.



Junjou Romantica 3 1-2! The third season and continuation of the yaoi manga. Misaki has passed his third year of college and is approaching a time where he'll be finding a job. His brother assumes he'll be moving out of the comfort of Usagi's home. Misaki is unsure of his future. A relative of Usagi comes to visit bringing out Misaki's jealous streak. This is still a mildly cute BL anime, but after so many volumes of manga, you kinda wish the mangaka would get Misaki to accept his feelings and well, end the manga. From the opening visuals, we'll get to see the Junjou Mistake couple this season.



Sailor Moon Crystal 26! the end. Well, Chibi-usa and Sailor Moon defeat Nemesis and all is well. While this really can't compete with any anime made today due to the simplistic story, gaping plot holes and lackluster animation production, it was a nice nostalgic return to the franchise. Hopefully, they plan on continuing the anime since the next story arcs are definitely more interesting. ~7/10 rating~ Despite the original anime's monster-of-the day formula, the original gave more depth to the characters and the background songs were cheesy, but sweet. This version folllows the manga more accurately, but only minimally added to the overall likability. I think most people are disappointed by this reboot's poor quality.

and continuing...
Arslan Senki 13.5-15! 13.5 was a rehash of the first half the series, and episode 14 brings in new theme songs and a new battle against a very stupid prince of the neighboring country. Narsus is able to easily about to come up with a plan to defeat the army, and uses the prince to help Arslan. So far, Narsus is able to plan far enough ahead to overcome their obstacles, and Daryun is able to prevent Arslan from getting killed. It'll be interesting to see if they ever encounter any set-backs.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 18-22! Poor Lancer...there has to be an version of Fate/Stay where he gets to win. Archer versus Shirou continues in epic ramblings and some cool fighting. Gilgamesh finally shows his true colors, and Shinji gets what he deserves.



Arslan Senki 5-10! I like the world building as Arslan continues to gather allies and tries to figure out a way to save his kingdom. Neither Pars nor Lusitania are countries with rulers or ideals worth rooting for, so it'll be interesting to see how this works out. The humor between Narsus and Daryun begs for fanfics. In episode 10 Arslan see that freeing the slaves isn't quite the easy fix he thought.

Kekkai Sensen 6-7! Thought that the underlying plot would present itself but so far the episodes have only been mostly episodic. Still waiting for the characters to develop some. May drop this now or marathon this later.

Sailor Moon Crystal 22-23! Sailor Moon saves her friends but loses Chibi Usa and Tuxedo in the process. This part of the story is dragging a bit. Usagi's jealousy and general incompetence is a negative rather than the usual intended 'cute'.

Durarara x2 5-12! the end of the first part of season two. I decided to marathon the rest of this to pass some time and it was better as it went on. Shizuo and Celty are fun to watch. The weaknesses are Masaomi's indecisiveness and Izaya's arrogance, but episode 12 throws a twist into their bland characters. Thankfully, the second part of this starts back up in July.