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.

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.

Anime: Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

Background:

Love is pretty much ruined for Kidou Eita, an ordinary highschool student when his parents split up with new lovers and left their only son behind. He then steels himself up, concentrates only in studying and refuses to be trapped in the unnecessary ploy called "love".

Twist:

Eita's world is turned into a battlefield when fellow "love-hater" Natsukawa Masuzu, the popular white-skinned, silver haired beauty, blackmails him to be her "fake" boyfriend. As word gets around school about the new couple, various childhood friends that developed and harbored feelings for him for the longest time comes out of the woodwork.

In a Nutshell:

A harem ploy filled with mind-fuck circumstances between Eita and Masuzu that leaves you wondering which is real, which is fake. A dive into various philosophical premises that challenges what it takes to really be in love.

Afterthought:

First off, won't Eita's parents be in jail by now for what they did? If not for his kind-hearted fujoshi-like aunt who took over taking care of him.

Nicely animated, with good character design and development. The theme was a bit heavy at the beginning of the series (due to Masuzu's mind games), but the middle part becomes lighter, with each of the character's background story explored, leaving nothing unresolved.

A very serious theme is inserted into the story near the end of the series as it turns out that Masuzu's made-up life of lies led her to develop bi-polar disorder. Almost appearing that she is "broken" (as Eita puts it).

The recurring plot device used in the story reminds me of the hentai-anime "Otohime", where a young boy gave a promised to marry the 4 fairy princesses who were his childhood friends.

Anime: Kampfer

Background:
Kampfer are girls with special abilities respective of their weapons (gun, blade, chained weapon or elemental summoning ability) who are chosen by a race of aliens called "Moderators" to fight to the death.

Twist:
Natsuru Senou is an ordinary highschool guy who one day woke up as a girl as he was chosen to be a Kampfer (although he is a guy). When another Kampfer is present, or he needs to use his ability, he transforms into a girl.

In a Nutshell:
A sexy-cute yuri fan service if I ever seen one. There's a lot of girl-on-girl turn ons and harem ploy (but in this case, all of them are girls, with the main "girl" Natsuru as the harem master). A confusing, gender-bending love story for the un-initiated...but a light hearted treat for yuri fans.

Afterthought:
Very nice character design and animation. A lot of inside jokes about "seiyuu" actors in the beginning of the series that might tend to alienate those not closely following seiyuu actors.

A lot of exagerrated circumstances that, thinking about getting into the same in the real world, would seem too much.

Only the main character's backstory are developed, leaving you to wonder what happened to the other supporting characters.

Story is crammed into the 12-episode series. I wish they developed that characters more, and their relationships with each other.

Weird dance moves by the main characters on the ending theme.

Highschool of the Dead

I used to hear about the series 'Highschool of the Dead', but it was only recently that I came around to watch it.

A group of students (with some teacher) trapped in the city that is over run by the undead (referred in the series as "Them"). As the 'monsters'rise up and run over the lives of the living, a different kind of monster emerges from the hearts and minds of various antagonists that are introduced within the story.

The anime series based on the manga by Daisuke Sato and the art of Shouji Sato, it brings about a deep, dark, melancholic storyline as the series progreses.

A sort of Survivor/Harem/Fan Service Overload type of anime with dark overtones as the group of surviving students go through the ordeal of locating their loved ones amidst a zombie pandemic happening around the world.

Along with the abundance of boob, ass and upskirt fan service, the ragtag team of survivors also fit your common stereotypes which a lot of otakus find 'moe'. Take your pick; a blonde bombshell airhead of a teacher/nurse Shizuka, the genius tsundere Saya, the slick and cool sword weilding Saeko, the tough but softie of a 'childhood friend' Rei, and the innocent lolli Arisu. Mixed into the fray is your typical all around good guy Takashi and the gun and mecha otaku Kota.

Takashi tries out one of those new comfy sniper mats

Aside from the tons of eye candy every few seconds, the storyline is a pretty decent one to keep my interest in the progression of the story. You can't wait to see how their adventure progresses on. Character development also takes you through some twists and turns as they appear twisted in some ways.

Semi nude apron covered sword weilding warrior chicks: AWESOME

Although watching only a few episodes, It was enough to make me look forward to watching other episodes.

Sekirei

Gaudily dressed buxom beauties with various elemntal powers and a knack for mixed combat capabilities. Welcome to the world of Sekirei. In the near future, the new Japanese capital of Shintou is threatened to be bought out by the gigantic MBI company, whose goals are larger than simply setting itself as a financial power.

at the same time, Sahashi Minato is a 19 yr old rounin who fails to enter his desired college twice. On his way home, a girl literally fell from the sky fighting two lighting weilders and accidentally gets mixed with these people. Minato ends up taking the girl home gets thrown out of their apartment (because its only a single's apartment).

The girl, Musubi (number 88), turns out to be a 'Sekirei'. They are powered beings discovered from an island that rose up from the sea with containment units that suggests a race more advanced that humans. Sekirei's are search and fight for their 'Ashikabi's who are said to able help them ascend to heaven. When a special bond with their Ashikabi's come to fruition, they are capable of unleashing a great power within them. Their 'prayer' can only be activated when the Ashikabi 'wings' their Sekirei's (usually with a passionate kiss). If an 'Ashikabi' wings a 'Sekirei', they are to stay together forever...like being married.

The more Sekirei's they 'wing', the more powerful an Ashikabi becomes, which complicates Minato's life as it turns out he was destined to become the Ashikabi of 3 more Sekirei's. With this he ends up 'wing'-ing the shy but impulsive child called Kuu (number 108), with the power to control trees and plants, Matsu (number 02) the computer geek with the power of technology at her side, and the violent, stubborn and possesive Tsukiumi (number 09) with the power of water (she is adamant in declaring that she is the legal wife, despite living a life of hatred towards Ashikabi's).

As majority of Sekirei's are winged, the MBI corporation reveals its plan to pit Sekirei's against each other until only one is left. It is said that the remaining Sekirei will ascend along with their Ashikabi. The losing Sekirei wouldn't be able to be with their Ashikabi again and collected by MBI. As this plan comes out, Minato is determined to protect Musubi, the Sekirei who he develops strong feelings for.

Along with having an averagely good animation and upbeat overtones with an underlying love story, Sekirei has a interesting storyline and concept. The only thing that looks out of place is the Sekirei's center of gravity jacked up way high (a minimum of HH cups I think). Although Sekirei was included with a lot of 'fan service' to make it more popular, I feel that it can do without too much of it. The fight scenes are not that cool, except for some 'single number' Sekirei's.

This anime plays around the 'harem' genre as Minato is coupled with almost every 'girl flag' in anime. The air-headed, kind and bubbly girl in Musubi, the quiet and scheming geek in Matsu, the strong willed but mushy type in Tsukiumi, and Kuu for the 'Lolli' fans.

And the funky ending theme is very catchy. There were also a lot of cliffhangers and unclosed issues that suggests a second season.