Aho Girl

Its rare for me to make a posting after a series just came out with one episode, but the new anime "Aho Girl" was enough to warrant me making this short blurp.

The series revolves around the high school freshman, Yoshiko, who is the most stupid student (who garner 0 points in all her exams....I don't even know how she got into that school in the first place), and her childhood friend and neighbor Akutsu, who is a tall, studious lad and always being forced by Yoshiko's mother to marry her daughter. Adding to Akutsu's worries are the additional cast of characters that seems to augment Yoshiko's stupid attitude, and a female student official who stalks and harasses him. 

The premise of the story is quite humorous, the development of the characters are downright funny, and there are no boring parts in the whole episode (so far) thanks to the "4-panel manga"-esque approach of dividing each chapter. The humor is fast paced, but still does a lot of play on words that would be more funnier if you understand Japanese.

But underneath this slap-stick, physical approach to humor, I still get unsettled at times with the way Yoshiko is brutally punched or slammed to the ground by the irritated Akutsu. When Yoshiko was listing her best qualities (which she came up with "none"), I think she should add that her indestructibility adds to her charm, and her hyper energy helps her come out unscathed after their encounter. I would like to add that her charm also includes  her.... innocence?... but... naaah, she is a a bit lewd with her lewd jokes, puns and "exhibitionist tendencies".

So far, the series is very enjoyable and highly recommended to light viewers and to those taking a break from all the mental mind fuck anime that;s been going through a boom recently.

Frame Arms Girl (the animation)

First time I saw Gou-Rai was on an ad I happened to see in Japan a few years back, I was so in love with the concept (maybe partly because of the rise of the "Armored Musume" in cosplay...like feminized Zakus and Gundam Unicorn) but I never knew what it was. Only on my return to Japan that I found that it was from a toy line called "Frame Arms Girl". 

I wasn't able to get one because of my tight budget.

Fast forward 2017, I saw Gou-Rai again but as part of then to be released anime for "Frame Arms Girl". I was so psyched.

I've seen a few episodes and the animation was clean and dynamic. The combination of vibrant cell animation and computer generated motion for battle scenes are sewn together almost perfectly, something I wish was also done to "Ajin". The story was presented in seemingly unrelated chapters (in a way likened to "Nichijou") but the plot was not at all ground breaking. 

Its like the "Busou Shinki" anime with a partially disinterested and irresponsible female version of Rihito (the male HS guy that owns the small gynoids), but with a more modern twist in character, quirks and mannerisms that sure got me to like these girls even more.

Now all I have to do is wait for this weekend...there is a Kotobukiya sale happening in a local toy convention. I can finally get myself a Gou-Rai.

Mujaki no Rakuen

無邪気の楽園
Mujaki no Rakuen
(Paradise of Innocence)

author: Uran (雨蘭)


If you want school life/ slice of life series along the lines of "Kyou no Go no Ni" (Today in Class 5-2), with a mixed premise of "ReLife" and "Toki wo Kakeru Shojou", but more intense than "Kodomo no Jikan", while not as crossing over too much like "Boku no Pico", then the series "Mujaki no Paradise" may just be for you.

Be warned though, there are a lot of lewd and naked scenes concerning 5th graders here. A bit more intense visuals of getting into compromising positions than "Kyou no Go no Ni". Its essentially over sexualization of elementary students.

Its the story of Handa Shouta, a 25 yr old NEET who, after being ridiculed in his class reunion, fell into the school swimming pool, then transported 15 years in the past to his old 5th grader self. He is determined to change his ways with his 15 years of experience while going through life as a 5th grader. But the innocence of his classmates (especially the female ones) gets him in a lot of trouble, and ends up changing the relationships he had in the past as a child.

The art is average for a seinen-style manga (with detailed and above average rated drawings in nude scenes), and the story can be wrapped up with a short series, but what gets me interested is the way the characters started to develop romantic feelings or such, with the main male protagonist being oblivious to it. I wanted to find out how all these changes he made with his life would actually affect his future.

And the various portrayal of children being that innocent about the opposite sex at that age is, in my opinion, exaggerated. Well, it may differ from each individual's upbringing or the environment they were exposed to, but it does make for some funny situations.

The nude scenes may be set up as eye candy for the readers, but the more vulgar ones I think the series can do without.

Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!

Shuri Komori is a 14-yr-old high school girl who just can't say no to her classmates asking for help or favors. She gets into these situations with her friends while going on about doing various things she has to do for them.

That is essentially the gist of this short series. Going through different scenarios like an animated 4-panel comic about everyday life. Its a bit amusing, but they seem to overcompensate for the lack of impact of the comedy by adding a ginormous set of mammary glands on the main character. Sort of what "Tawawa no Getsuyoubi" did, but at least 'Tawawa' was a bit more humorous. 

Rokujouma no Shinryakusha

Koutaro Satomi started living alone at the start of highschool as his father was transferred because of work. Not wanting to be a financial burden, he did his best to find a very cheap apartment. He finds a 6-jou (jou refers to the same size as 1 tatami mat... traditional Japanese measure of area, usually for living spaces) in an old apartment building for only 5,000 yen.Things get crazy when suddenly, there is a ghost, a magical girl, an intergalactic princess and commander of a subterranean civilization, all vying to take over the small space that is Satomi's apartment.


At first, I just leisurely watched, not intending to finish the whole series. "...just gonna be one of those trying-to-be-cute harem series that I was getting sick of..." I thought to myself. But each episode draws me in to find out more. There were episodes that I think were not needed to further the story, but the character development in these made me still care enough to watch... kudos to the production team.

Until I was in the last episode, the final scene made me think everything appears to come full circle...with a twist (well, for majority of the characters at least), and made me realize, "...whoa, this thing appears to be deeper than it seems...", in the same way "Mahou Sensei Negima", "Ah! My Goddess" and "DNA" made me feel.

And with a little more digging, it began to appear that the light novel/ manga adaptation seems to contain a more interesting and mature story line than the anime. If the anime was suppose to draw interest to the main series, giving out a hint of the twist of the plot with a cliffhanger, while making the anime stand alone in terms of story without giving away much of the light novel/ manga adaptation plot.... then good job!

Although with a mix of the supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy and school life in the fray to get a multi-genre thing going, the anime will only get you by so much. To get the real gist of things... and if you want to go deeper into the characters, you still might need to see the light novel/ manga adaptation.

Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san

Quite an interesting word play with names, as Inugami (lit. trans.: dog deity), a highschool girl who loves cats, meets Nekoyama (lit.trans.: cat mountain), another girl from the same school who loves dogs. They are instantly attracted to each other, as the other shows features of their favorite animal. Nekoyama has unkempt hair that looks like cat ears, and has cat-like demeanor, while Inugami has a ponytail that wags like a dog's tail when happy.

Their story is further made interesting as they interacted with other schoolmates who have the same wordplay of animals in their names, while showing the identifying traits of those animals as well. Quite a brain teaser for non-Japanese viewers.

Its a short series with an interesting slice-of-life tale of  friendship, with underlying tones of "yuri" love in its purest form (just like "Sakura Tricks" without the intense girl on girl kissing action).

Quite an enjoyable series for light viewing.

Okusama ga Seito Kaichou

If watching the large bosoms of petite highschool girl being fondled is your thing, along with many crazy ecchi ways to bring out the 'dere' in cute and sexy 'tsundere' characters, all while having a romantic comedy theme underlying the whole shebang, then the "Okusama ga Seito Kaichou" series is for you.

The lucky bastich, Hayato Izumi, the student council vice-president, is surprised to find out that he is promised to wed the small but voluptuous Ui Wakana, the president of the student council of the same school.

You would think that this is a run of the mill "promised-to-wed-between-two-families" kind of series, but wait... there's more.

Izumi is going through as tough time; finding the arrangement unacceptable, but at the same time, having some sort of feelings for Ui. Trying to keep the fact that they are to be married and living together a secret at school while Ui is getting all jealous with the girls approaching Izumi, which makes her want to announce that fact. Keeping his modesty and composure, with Ui's chastity in mind, while Ui is making all these advances and desire for 'skinship' (or intimacy) in hopes of deepening and progressing their relationship as husband and wife. I wouldn't be surprised if Izumi didn't just dropped dead from aneurysm one day.

Production wise, the series is animated and drawn well as to blend the serious romance parts with the hilarious parts. Although I think there was much attention paid to detail with Ui's breasts, nipples and "underwear over" the nether region fan service, making the audience feel the excitement while watching... really enjoyable R-18 stuff here, border lining to softcore porn. And they have a really catchy opening theme with  "Koi suru Hyoko" by Reika Katakiri

Its a fun series for light viewing and you actually might get around to rooting for Ui to bring their relationship to another level.

Koe de Oshigoto

Kanna Aoyagi is a first year high school student, who just turned sixteen, and was asked to help in her older sister's work in the company by being a voice actor (seiyuu). But her older sister, Yayoi, works in a company that develops "eroge" (erotic games). Kanna ends up embarrassed almost all of the time due to the racy and intense nature of the lines she had to read, and the sounds she had to make in order to make the character believable. She then finds it hard because she had to "be" the character, although she has no experience in love nor sex.

Her innocence is slightly stripped away as co-workers explained certain aspects of the game, involving intimacy and sexual relations... while others still did their best to expound on the subject without getting too graphic or vulgar (like trying to explain to a child), to get her into the right "groove" of voice acting. But it got hilarious when her "sanitized" older sister gets into explaining, making Kanna flustered at every moment.

Its a very funny ecchi-comedy anime, making you giggle most of the time because of the situations Kanna goes through in getting the job done for her sister. But there are the WTF moments where Kanna gets "too much" into the groove... entering a trance like state where she gets a blank look in her eyes while doing erotic voices and moans, licking and slurping, and climaxing... literally.

You also get to familiarize yourself with the underlying aims and hardships of voice acting, whatever the genre (I should know... I tried out once to dub for a major network and failed miserably).

The character design and animation production is average... very nicely done, but suits the theme of the anime very well. The two-episode OAV handles the pacing of the story very well, leaving no dull moment, without sacrificing the flow of the story, and not spreading the plot out too thin.

I would recommend this one for light viewing, but due to some hentai scenes imagined by Kanna (although censored), a bit of restraint is advised.

teeheeeee

Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo

In the "Mondaiji" universe, 3 troubled teens from various parallel planes of time and existence are summoned into the world of the "Garden" to join in various "Gift Games" being held. But beneath this story that the trio was told to believe is a defeated community that needs their help to reestablish themselves again as a relevant part of their society, and reclaim their honor and dignity.

Making the character development within the series interesting is the different "abilities" each teen possessed that sets them apart from the other. Asuka is an aristocratic beauty that has the gift of "Authority", which gives her reign over the mind of those of weaker persuasion than her. Yoh is a quiet, yet very strong girl, that can talk to animals and use their abilities in her attacks and defenses. Izayoi is a smart guy but easily resorts to violence, has immense attack strength, and has an unknown ability that seems to nullify other gifts.

Seeing this anime much later this year, it seems to posses many fantasy anime tropes within itself. It has the "summoned into the fantasy world" premise like "KonoSuba" and "Re:Zero", the eclectic mix of of folklore and mythology like "Danmachi", with the same mind game attitude displayed in "No Game No Life".

It doesn't mean this title derived its plot from them (evident in earlier release date of this light novel than the others). The story of the series does makes it stand on its own. And their interactions either in light moments and the tense moments does balance out the situation, making the whole series amusing. There's not much twists in the plot, but it does give interesting points throughout the series making it a good selection for casual viewers and anime fans alike.

Production-wise, nothing is ground breaking, average at best, but it does serve the theme and the mood of the story well.  I am not too fond of the opening and ending theme, though.

Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru

 

Everywhere in the world, everyone is hounded by decisions they need to make. And those decisions can affect them either in the near present, or for their whole lives. This is the premise of the story of "Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru" (I swear, there anime titles gets more outrageous from time to time) , or  "My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy".

In the series, a not so normal high school student by the name of Kanade Amakusa is inflicted with a rare disorder called the "Absolute Choice" syndrome. Its where extreme choices are set in his head and he has no choice but to choose or else he experiences an  excruciating migraine or headache. The choices are between "licking a porn magazine" or "sniffing a porn magazine"... or ... "stripping upper garments" or "Stripping his lower garments". Either way, He embarrasses himself and causes a lot of misunderstandings ever to those close to him. One day, after deciding that a girl should fall from the sky, a sort of airhead angel falls on him and proclaims herself as a helper to Kanade so he can get rid of his curse.

Each episode focuses on a choice or mission a certain "god" instructs Kanade to do so he can be free from the curse. And like a peek into the parallel universe... within the multiverse theory, there is a cute epilogue of what could have been... if the choice was different than the one chosen for the episode. A laughable bit but a cool "Inception" like outcome in the end.

A short series close to a harem love comedy, this is good also for casual viewers and moe character specific lovers alike. It has an average style of animation and character design, with a complete range of anime girl stereotypes represented in the group. Tsunderes, airheads, energetic ones, weird ones, shy ones, academic types. All of them developed feelings for Kanade because of his curse, which is cute in some ways, in terms of character development. But be prepared for some twist in at least one of the characters, as she is not as she appears to be. She seems to hide her true self, and has an interest in Kanade for some hidden agenda.

I definitely recommend this series as a light viewing anime... there's not much twist plot-wise but it is open ended, with no definite conclusion but that doesn't affect the story in general.

Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi ni te, Kaku Tatakaeri

I wanted to watch this series since I saw some vines about it, and with a short glimpse starting at episode 12, I got hooked immediately. It seems to have all the elements that I am so wild about; wizards, warriors, dragons, inter dimensional travel, cute moe girls, cute tsundere girls, demigods, military stuff, tanks, jet fighters, explosions, guns, military deployments, sieges... this whole series essentially is a big nosebleed fest for me.

"Gate" is about a portal that opened in modern day Ginza, where an army of knights, ogres, monsters and dragons went through and waged war on the humans. After the initial onslaught on the civilians, the military was able to fight back. Caught in the middle of saving the civilians is a self-confessed otaku and JGSDF office Itami. Although with the help of their modern equipment, the JGSDF was able to fight back and occupy the gate on the other side, Itami became a central figure of peace negotiations as he uses his knowledge of fantasy games to maneuver himself around the new surroundings.

As good as an otaku geekout series this was, there were a lot of things bothering me as the series progressed.

One is the obvious similarity of the situation of the occupational forces in Afghanistan and the JGSDF as they occupy a stronghold of the holy mountain where the gate portal is located. The villages around it also developed in the same way as other communities that surround a US base in modern times.

And much of the progress and display of might portrayed by the military is by the sheer advancement of their weapons over the primitive clans and races. The only redeeming fact is that Itami has a moral obligation to be valiant, pure and true to the spirit of inter-gate peace and interactions. Without him, the series would just be a big show of modern age man bullying a more primitive race.

I was also dumbfounded at the scene where the JSDF Special Forces, cut down the CIA-backed Special Forces/ Operators into shreds... along with other Russian and Chinese Special Forces that infiltrated Japan because of the magic word... "oil". Well, I have no proof to disprove that premise... after all, not all Specials Forces capabilities of nations are known. But, man.., talk about floating your own boat.

But all in all, the series is a good watch for its balance of action, slice of life play, comedy, and other fun stuff... after you get past the grim realities of all that diplomatic backstabbing, family back stabbing and a destructive spiral into despair caused by feelings of anger and vengeance.

Anime: Sakurasou no Petto na Kanojo

For a mix of "feels" and "squeals", this series is a good match for you.

In "Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo", "Sakurasou" is a dormitory for problem students of the Suimei University for the Arts Affiliated High school. It means when someone doesn't fit the bill as "normal", they get transferred there from the normal dorms.

And this is where the main male protagonist, Sorata, was unfortunately thrown into as he refused to throw away the stray cats he picked up and kept in the normal dorms. With a normal mind set than his 'artistic' co-inhabitants, which drags him into their weird ruckus everyday, he often refers to this place as a loony bin.

But fate has so much instore for Sorata since the day he met Mashiro, a genius artistic painter who seems like she lives in a world of her own, with not much skill in taking care of herself or interacting through the social norms. Like how he takes in cats, Sorata is forced to take in Mashiro... waking her up, helping her get ready for school, feeding her, doing her laundry, it became known in the dorm as "Mashiro Duty".

With a very well designed animation production and character development, the series advertises itself as a romantic comedy series, but it delves more into facing your insecurities, and personal development. A coming of age story hidden behind a mask of 'slice of life' romance comedy.

If you are hoping for a smooth love story, there are a lot of twists in relationships due to the friction caused by their difference in thinking and talent. Hoping to finally prove themselves, only to be dealt with a flurry of bad hands and twists in circumstances that pull their personal progress to a screeching halt.

But the story makes you anticipate the release of the next episode... keeps you glued to the series until it comes to a final realization..a trip of self discovery of sorts.

Anime: Mayo Chiki

Kinjirou Sakamachi is a highschool student with an abnormal fear of female that causes him to nosebleed and, in extreme cases, pass out , when he comes in contact with girls. While keeping this a secret, rumor began to spread that he is a homosexual because he always runs away from girls and keeps a close relationship with the others boys at school (teh!... thats not what homosexual boys do). One day he accidentally steps into the toilet stall with Konoe Subaru, a butler famous throughout the school, and discovers that he is actually a girl. He is then persuaded by the sadistic mistress Kanade Suzutsuki (man, that name is hard to say at first) to keep Konoe's secret. Kinjirou's life of peace is then shattered as he enters a seemingly friendly love triangle with the two as well as the affection of various other girls from the school.

A light comedy  story derived from your typical "girl disguises herself as a boy at school for a special someone" cliche with some twists of romance. One may be confused with the character of Kanade as she is caring and warm, as she is cunning and sadistic (a ball gag on Konoe? she's your childhood friend for Christ's sake). And the girls seem to mistake Kinjirou's aloof behavior towards women as a valiant gesture to protect their chastity and stuff... like to show that he cares for their well being. Teh, ... don't get me wrong, Kinjirou is still an all around good guy.

This has a good animation production and character design, but I fell as though some character development are rushed so you care about those characters, relying on the viewers adaptation to anime cliches to set them in.

There are a lot of funny (and giggly) moments within the series, but what got me the most is that few seconds where some of the girls dressed up as characters from other series of the publisher "Media Factory". Being a fan of "Kampfer" and... okaaaay, I kinda like "Aria the Scarlet Ammo", that scene really stuck to me.

In the Net: Adult Wednesday Addams

Came across a little gem in YouTube...

Imagine if Wednesday Addams (from the Addams Family) grew up and tried to be an independent modern woman.

Created, written and starred by actress Melissa Hunter, its a funny take on a girl like little ol Wednesday facing the woes and troubles of a modern woman.

Anime: Hanasaku Iroha

Whew!... haven`t really wrote anything here in a loooong time. Well, life has been a roller coaster ride of mostly downs...but anime always somehow gets my ass off the pity couch and experience the world once more.

I have myself a list of anime titles I collect from Facebook with the various anime and cosplay groups I belong to, mostly cute and light hearted comedies, but this one I got from a fellow blogger and photographer Mack-niisama. On the top of his recommended list is a series called "Hanasaku Iroha".

Its a slice of life - school life - coming of age - love - comedy story/ tale of a girl, who was brought up to rely on no one else, to suddenly be plunged into the world of the service-hospitality industry by being a waitress in a traditional inn run by her grandmother.

Aside from dealing with the detached relationship she has with her grandmother, she also has to deal with the wide variety of personalities of the staff she had to work with, which pretty much looks negatively at her "do it all/ know it all" attitude. Add to that the seemingly whirlwind romance and love triangles she gets mixed with...especially with her childhood friend whom she left behind.

With so much stacked against her, she always gets herself and the people around her into funny and "kilig" (yes...its a valid word now in 2016...look it up in the dictionary) situations that makes you yearning to see more each episode. Unlike most anime, this one is not open ended. But it does leave room in the end of its 26 long episodes for a sequel or a few "omake" OAVs at best.

The production, animation style and character design and development is really superb. PA Works, the animation studio that worked on the series, did a very good job with the animation. Its reminiscent of their past works such as Angel Beats and Another. Very human like motions that exudes frailty, motion, action and emotions. Just the thing that added to my "addiction" to the series.

In the end, you can never get enough of the misadventures of the characters in the series. although it was a long series by its standard. You will be glad you went through the journey with them.

Anime: Denki Gai No Honya-san

Based on a light novel, this slice-of-life anime follows the day to day activities, interactions and mis adventures of the employees of a doujinshi shop in a fictional "Electric Town" (while making obvious reference to the Akihabara city skyline and its association to manga otakus and Comiket).

Its contemporary production themes and cute character design, along with its light hearted non-linear storyline and comedy is inter-connected with the underlying romance rising from the relations of the employees.

The motley crew of characters ranging from your stereotypical manga freak, camera maniac, struggling comic artist, closet fujoshi, zombie maniac to the silent strong type makes their daily interactions interesting.

Mix it up with fan service like innuendos and misunderstandings of the intentions of the characters, plus various comical reference to pop culture, makes it more hilarious.

                                                                                                       

Anime: Tamako Market

Tamako is a daughter of a mocchi maker, that soft sweet and tender Japanese traditional confection, that is well loved by the people at Rabbit Mountain shopping district. Living an almost carefree and innocent life, until a mysterious bird came into her life. A bird that could talk and is looking for a bride for the prince in their royal court. The series goes into the daily life and grind of her family, friends and members of the shopping district.

Tamako Market is a slice-of-life/ school life anime good for light viewing, with almost no plot twists and a feel good plot surrounding the story.

The characters and their development is well produced throughout the series, with looks and attitudes comparable to Yui,Ui, Ritsu, Azusa and Nodoka from the "K-On" series (so does the character design and art production).

There is an underlying love story that viewers would likely love to see come into fruition, a bit of yuri-love in the beginning, but was concluded early on.

The series also contains a lot of traditional Japanese celebration due to the fact that the family business delves into traditional Japanese culture.