Madman present to us a new anime series; Yurikuma Arashi which is from the creators of a number of insanely popular Manga series. Kunihiko Ikuhara being a highly prolific figure involved. They both share similarities but are thankfully very different. Kureha Tsubaki is a happy high school student in requited love until one day, bears suddenly start terrorizing the school, two mysterious transfer students appear, tragedy strikes, and things get... well, weird. A long time ago, a far off planet known as Kumaria exploded, resulting in its shards falling upon Earth and causing the bears to attack the humans, resulting in a large wall being erected to separate them from the humans. In the present day, two bears, Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki, disguise themselves as humans and enrol in Arashigaoka Academy, where Ginko takes an interest in a girl named Kureha Tsubaki, becoming jealous of her relationship with Sumika Izumino. When their favorite lily garden is butchered, the class president Mitsuko Yurizono offers to help Kureha and Sumika, who all become cautious when they are attacked by a brick out of nowhere. The next day, as Sumika mysteriously disappears, Kureha receives an anonymous call asking if her love for Sumika is real, leading Kureha to the rooftop where she is attacked by bears. Meanwhile, Ginko and Lulu undergo a "Yuri Trial" held by the mysterious Judgemens of the Severance Court, who grant them "Yuri Approval", in which they transform into half-bear half-human form and lick nectar from a lily flower growing from Kureha's chest. As Kureha recovers, wondering if what she saw was a dream, Mitsuko discovers Ginko and Lulu in their bear forms eating a girl behind the lily garden. Wall of Severance was built to prevent bears attack. One thing to note about the series is that it has its own unique animation style, very unlike any other anime currently being produced. The episode begins in Arashigaoka Academy with Kureha Tsubaki smells the scent of the Lilies she just planted at the special mansion of the school owned by Kureha and Sumika Izumino. Sumika, her classmate come to see her at the mansion's yard and both of them declare their love to each other. Suddenly, the peace is broke down when bears attacking the school compound and a girl's scream for help because of the bear attack can be heard not far away. The academy immediately issue a bear warning with Katyusha Akae one of those placed the banner across the academy, evacuating students and teachers outside. Sumika seems worried as Kureha ensured that she will protect Sumika no matter what. A monologue of Lulu Yurigasaki and Ginko Yurishiro in the sky said that they love and hate humans the same time and cross the wall to be friends. Lulu and Ginko then described the fall of Kumaria planet resulting in shooting stars falling upon Earth and causing the bears to attack the humans, resulting in a large wall being erected to separate them from the humans. One day, Lulu and Ginko arrived at the academy as transfer students. Lulu and Ginko sense the taste of Kureha's flesh which makes them wanted to eat even if she is sitting at the corner of her classroom. During recess time, Kureha race to find Sumika everywhere in the school, only to find her at the rooftop waiting her. Kureha's stomach growl for hunger after she found Sumika who shares the fish tempura in her lunchbox with her. They eat the food together at the rooftop and lay side by side together sitting on the bench on the rooftop. Meanwhile, Lulu and Ginko turn into their bear form and starring at Kureha at the rooftop side because they long tasting Kureha and becoming jealous of her relationship with Sumika Izumino. Suddenly, a mysterious person butchered favorite lily garden from the mansion of Kureha and Sumika, which Kureha and Sumika knew and claimed that it was the act of the Invisible Storm. Mitsuko Yurizono then visits Kureha and Sumika at their mansion, also admit the aforementioned fact and offers to help Kureha and Sumika, while having chat with them. Soon afterwards, a brick out of nowhere attacks and lands on a ground near them prompted the girls to be cautious. Meanwhile, walking down the rooftop, Lulu and Ginko wonder if they can started eat humans or not. Back at Kureha's house that night, she recalls her memories she has with her mother who is killed by bears, and resolve to protect the ones she loves, never to forgive and kills the bears. She is seen practicing shooting the bears with her rifle. The series at this point does not appear to be facing any pacing issues and reminds steady throughout, keeping us engaged and never feeling bored with the madness. The next day, the bears attack the school compound again and eaten a student, leaving traces of blood and a shoe. It become a hot issue discussed among students of the academy, Kureha unknown of the incident denies that her friend, Sumika is eaten by the bears. Until her phone rang, a mysterious voice tells her that if she loves her friend, she must go to the rooftop immediately with the bears are waiting for her. Although Kureha did not know anything, she takes her snippers and go up the roof, only to find the two bears are attacking her and only Sumika's spectacles remains. Before she could do anything, the bears charge after her and their giant paws pushed Kureha down the infinite stairs. The "Yuri Trial" is held with Life Beauty, Life Cool and Life Sexy lead the judge. Ginko and Lulu acts as the accused and undergo "Yuri Trial" held by the mysterious Judgemens of the Severance Court. Beauty and Cool debates in which Cool's issue accepted and with that, the life judgement guys grant Lulu and Ginko "Yuri Approval", in which they transform into half-bear half-human form and lick nectar from a lily flower growing from Kureha's chest and the three of them held their hands together. Kureha wakes up asking Mitsuko where she is only to be told she was passed out at the rooftop and now in the nursing room. Kureha started to worry that something happened to Sumika only to be calmed down by Mitsuko and wonder if this was a dream hope for Sumika to be okay. While going out, Mitsuko heard a voice at Kureha's garden only to find out Sumika is dead and her corpse was eaten by Lulu and Ginko. Mitsuko started to affirm that Lulu and Ginko are bears disguised as humans and possess threat to humans. Ginko slobbers. The series has a very offbeat feel to it, drawing you into this world of animals and humans and the confusion of not being able to identify. The characters themselves are intro cued to us as students with more underlying. A second year student at Arashigaoka Academy who has a strong hatred of bears. She was in love with her friend, Sumika, who was eaten by bears, and is defiant about making other friends. After forming a friendship bond with Ginko with the yuri approval from the Life Judges, Kureha is transformed into a bear by Lady Kumaria, and delivers to Ginko her promise kiss. Kureha and Ginko are last seen heading on a journey beyond severance; Lulu states that no one knows what has happened to them afterwards. The other protagonist is Ginko Yurishiro who is a bear who takes human form and transfers to Arashigaoka Academy, where she sets her sights on Kureha. It is later revealed that, as a bear, she was once friends with Kureha and her mother. At the end of the story, Kureha gives Ginko her promise kiss, and the two head on a journey beyond severance, guided by the "star of love".In her human form, Ginko has a dark purple bob with a pink fringe and purple eyes. She wears the pink variant of Arashigaoka Academy school uniform with red necktie and dress, a hat consisted of a red band with pink bear and yellow star badges attached to it and a pair of white boots. All very quirky in terms of fashion and appearance. This series is very different and if you have interests in animal transformations, a strong array of characters and beautiful stunning art, check it out! Special Features
Overall: 4.5/5
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Madman brings us a new and very quirky anime, Its a highly unusual concept of gender transformation which also creates an interesting array of characters and setting. Sōji Mitsuka is an ordinary high school boy who has an obsession for twintail hair. Thouars entrusted Sōji with Tail Gear, imaginary armor initiated by powerful Twin-Tail attributes. With the armor, Sōji transforms into Tail Red, a twin-tail warrior girl, to protect Earth. Twintails: the glory of all mankind—or at least that is what first-year high school student Souji Mitsuka believes. when monsters from outer space attack Earth and claim the world's twintails for themselves, a strange woman named Twoearle enlists Souji to fight back using twintails of his own! By transforming into the twin-tailed warrior Tail Red, Souji combats the vicious alien organization known as Ultimegil, whose main goal is to colonize Earth and steal everyone's spiritual energy, or "attribute power." Alongside fellow twin-tailed fighters Aika Tsube and Erina Shindou, Souji must find a way to defeat the invading army and defend the twintails he holds so dear. So if this sounds weird, well its because it is and things are about to get stranger. Sōji Mitsuki is the protagonist of Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu. Sōji is a student at Yogetsu High School, and has an obsession with the Twin Tails Haircut. He is the only male who knows how to use Tail Gear. When he uses the Tail Gear, he turns into Tail Red , a young girl who is a Twin Tail Warrior. Appearance of a young man with a height of 164 cm (5'4") with dark red spiky hair and orange eyes, usually seen wearing his school uniform, which consists of a white shirt, a blue tie, a cream-colored blazer, black shoes, and trousers. His character starts of quiet but then ultimate develops once things get going. As Tail Red Edit As Tail Red, he becomes a short and thin young girl with a petite appearance. She is very short, standing at a mere 129 cm (4'2") making her extremely short compared to Sōji and the other Tail Gear users. She has red eyes, unlike Soji's completely orange eyes. She wears a red necklace around her neck with a crystal in the center. On her legs she wears black tights that are red at the top and over her tights she wears long metal boots that are red, black, and white. In Episode 4, the Tail Gear malfunctions and only makes it halfway through the transformation back into Sōji. Because the Tail Gear adjusts the users DNA to fit the armor, it tries its hardest to work, and the best it can create is Sōra, a fusion of Tail Red and Soji. She stands at a height of 146 cm in between Sōji and Tail Red. A bit unlike Soji, Tail Red's eyes are slightly redder than her male counterpart's. Sora, like Soji, is also at the age of 15, meaning that her chest and breasts are much larger than the young Tail Red's. This makes Aika very jealous of Soji's new breasts being noticeably larger than hers. Humour wise this show is very quirky and appears to nail it quite well., conflicts like this show the offbeat nature and surrealism of it all. Tail Red behaves much like Soji in the way that they both have a sense of justice, but a sense of blitheness as well. Tail Red's little girl side showing while she is afraid of one of her enemies While in Tail Red form, Soji does have moments where she (he) behaves like a young girl would, although she still uses masculine honorifics such as 'ore', a very masculine way of saying 'I' in Japanese. This can sometimes have an effect on Tail Red's confidence in battle. Furthermore, Soji does not seem pleased with the fact that Tail Red was getting extremely famous, as he considers it embarrassing. Soji has been shown to have a liking towards his Tail Red form and often plays with her Twintails when he has transformed into her using the Tail Gear. Ever since Soji was a child he had an obsession with the Twin Tails haircut to always wanting them but could not have them because he was male. Aika would often tease him about it she even changed her hair style to twin tails just to annoy him. "Whats happened to me?!" - Soji transforms into Tail Red for the first time. On his first day at Yogetsu High School, The School council president Erina Shindō was attacked by the Ultimagills, who wanted to steal her Twin Tail Attribute. It was at this time that Thouars came to Soji and Aika, claiming that Soji is the only known male in existence that could use the Tail Gear. She gave him the "Red Courage" Tail Gear, and Soji complimented to the cute little girl with Twin Tails in the car only to realize it was his own reflection and the bracelet transformed him into a short little girl with red hair.. Much to his shock, an army has now targeted him as one of the Twin Tails they had been searching for finally appeared. Red Tail flapped her hands in cowardice, and, much to her shock, hordes of the beasts flew across the sky and she couldn't believe the power she now had. She could jump great distances, though she was a little thrown off by the new power. After defeating the Monsters, with her new found abilities, she was thanked by Erina Shindō, who at the time didn't know that the little girl was a boy she went to school with. Erina asked who she was, and the girl called herself "Tail Red”. Soji turns into Tail Red to play with her Twin Tails when nobody is looking Soji, now back as a average teenage boy, came to school the day after and felt embarrassed how famous Tail Red now was. On the bright side, Soji loved (his) new Twin Tails and would often transform into Tail Red to play with her Twin Tails while she thought nobody was looking. Although she may appear weak because of how physically small she is, Tail Red is considered by some to be the strongest Twin Tail. She can use the Ribbons on her head to summon weapons, such has her signature weapon, the Blazer blade, a long Red sword that can send even the heaviest opponents flying. The strength and powers add to ultimately add to the character development of the series, its keeps us engaged seeing which direction it will take. Her strongest attack however, is the Aura Pillar when all the gems on Tail Red's armor glows she is capable of firing a giant red energy beam from her cuffs. In this form, both Tailred's speed and strengh are incredibly increased. Of course this series does indeed have its show of sidekicks and characters, along with transformations and "evolutions". Tailred's Ultimate form by using two Tail Gear braces. She gained the Tail Gear and transform into Tail Blue the time Sōji gained his power. Aika has dark blue hair and red eyes. As Tail Blue, she has sky blue hair and eyes, her twintail become extremely long and her suit is more revealing than Tail Red's. However, her body size remaining the same as her human form.Aika has the personality of a normal high school student and is by far the most down-to-earth member of the main cast, often finding herself speechless before the ridiculous antics happening around her and takes more time than anyone in the Twintail Club to accept the supernatural elements appearing in her world, leading her to become the 'straight man' of the group. She is also pretty abrasive when she feels that her position with Soji is threatened or when Thouars is doing something 'stupid' (sometimes both at the same time), resorting to violence and threats against the perpetrator. Overall a highly energetic, amusing and unique anime, please check this one out if you are interesting in a gender bending tale* (no pun intended), with great characters and style. Special Features
Overall 4/5Madman brings is a very interesting anime from our good friends in the East. Now this is a series I had never heard of; it apparently has a large cult following due to the Magna. Well it's a detective series so let's jump in. Private Investigators Nice and Murasaki each take two job requests from Koneko to investigate the recent kidnapping of college girls and another by Shinji Toyosaki to protect a safe from thieves. With help from Art, Nice deduces that the kidnappers were targeting the girls for information and theorizes that his and Murasaki's cases may be linked. Nice then calls Birthday and Ratio for confirmation just as the pair is attacked by a Gravity Minimum Holder who forces their client, Azuza, to reveal a code. Afterwards, Azuza reveals that she and some of her friends had been in a sexual relationship with the somniloquous Toyosaki patriarch from whom she accidentally learnt the code while he was sleep talking when they were in bed together; Realizing that the kidnappers and thieves are the same group after the safe, Nice, Ratio, and Birthday head over to the Toyosaki mansion just as the thieves make their move. While Ratio and Birthday take out the thieves, Nice shows up during Murasaki's stare-down with the hired Gravity Holder and defeats the latter with his Holder ability. However, even with his happy-go-lucky attitude, Nice can sometimes act rather opportunistic and seems to lack any sort of heroic ideals. this in turn leads others to distance themselves from him. The series does have these moments of action which do break the routine detective structure. Being a Minimum Holder, Nice possesses supernatural abilities of "seeing" sound and uses it to travel in the soundwaves itself. Nice is ranked first of all the Minimum Holders to graduate. These elements of supernatural abilities are very cool because they put a nice spin on the series. Nice is the only known Minimum Holder who possesses two abilities because normally Minimum Holders cannot possess more than one ability or there body cannot withstand it. Sonic Minimum: Nice is able to perceive sound, which allows him to travel in distributed frequencies. However, when Nice snaps his fingers, the snap creates a pitch frequency that travels in circular soundwaves in which Nice can see and travel through. Therefore, one can say Nice can move at the speed of sound by using sound as a medium to transport his body. Noted that when Nice can only travel as far as the sound of his snap can be heard; Also, it seems that Nice can also produce sonic punches and kicks that also travels at the speed of sound in which it makes him stronger. Nice, with his Sonic Minimum, is also able to exceed Moral's "Forbidden Minimum" (a highly classified Minimum protected and hidden from the public by the police) which was regarded as the most powerful until Nice defeats Moral. The deeper the series goes the more we get to learn about Nice, so there is an incredible amount of character development and you behind to become personally connected. The series has an excellent overall pace and you never feel bored by it all. Murasaki is Nice's empathetic partner at the Hamatora detective agency and also graduated the Facultas Academy with the second highest scores. He possesses an underlying bitterness stemming from being bested at everything by Nice, but he is strong enough to push it aside to have a pleasant existence and positive relationship with Nice. Sometime later, Art summons Nice and Murasaki after discovering the murdered Kitazawa in a burger restaurant and explains the serial murder case to them. Nice also steals Kitazawa's phone from the crime scene and obtains the six photos of Theo's bullies supposedly leaked on the internet. Nice then traces the poster's IP back to Kitazawa's home and deduces that he had been using his Realism Minimum to turn descriptions of the bullies' exploits into pictures which he then used to further his reputation over their exposure. Afterwards, as the Hamatora PI's establish a link between the photos and the recent serial bombings, Theo stumbles upon his former bully and the serial bomber, Kojima in his latest bombing attempt at the school using his Time Acceleration Minimum. However Nice and Murasaki show up just in time to foil the bombing. Moral explains his warped interest into a world where everyone possesses Minimum abilities and taunts Art on his graduation from Facultas despite not possessing a Minimum. Afterwards, Nice blames Itou for Takahiro's change. Realizing that he was being challenged however, Nice approaches Takahiro while Moral also comes to the same conclusion as Takahiro, that it would be worth challenging Facultas' top graduate—Nice to see if he had surpassed natural Minimum Holders with his abilities. However in the end, Nice makes quick work of Takahiro. Not to give anything away but in the epilogue, Moral burns down his facility and escapes before Gasquet can arrest him. Overall this is a fascinating dark and wonderful little detective series, it was well paced, had two of the most interesting protagonists is seen in a while. Please seek it out.
Overall 4.5/5"God created the world on Monday, from a place of nothing into something. God separated order and chaos on Tuesday, defining freedom and oppression. God sorted each and every number on Wednesday, giving rise to wonderful and varied things. God allowed time to flow on Thursday. God looked at every corner of the world on Friday. God rested on Saturday. And God abandoned the world on Sunday." Since that day fifteen years ago, no more men can bear children nor able to die. This passage gives you an immediate idea behind the philosophy and ideals of a new wonderful little cult series brought to us by the always brilliant distributor Madman. Well lets meet Ai; She lived a quiet life with her kind adoptive parents and the other villagers, but one day, a young boy calling himself “Hampnie Hambert”, a man-eating toy, appeared in the village with a gun in his hands, forcing Ai to witness how cruel reality can be…Ai is the protagonist and has a very fragile and petite look to her body and face, with a flat chest, long goldish-brown hair, and big bright green eyes. She looks more like a younger version of Alfa, with messier hair as the bangs that fall beside her cheeks have a few strands being longer then the others, unlike her mothers whose hair is well kept and neat with Cleopatra style cropped bangs beside her cheeks. In medias res, Ai Astin confronts a mysterious stranger in her town who seemingly kills all the villagers. A flashback shows a 7-years old Ai, being made the village Grave Keeper upon her mother, Lady Alfa's death and that she had been carrying out her duty ever since, explaining that Grave Keepers are the only ones that can help the dead rest in peace. although Ai believes that her father, Hampnie Hambert will visit one day. Introducing himself as Hampnie Hambart, Ai claims that he is her father much to his objection. Afterwards Hampnie asks Ai for her Grave Keeping services. While passing through the village, Ai terrifyingly notices all of the dead villagers before being approached by the wounded farmer, Yūto. Still walking despite a fatal gunshot to the head, Yūto defends Ai while drawing a gun on Hampnie. Ai then charges at Hampnie in a fit of rage. Afterwards, Ai follows Hampnie out of town where he shatters her reality by revealing that she isn't a true Grave Keeper since she possesses both parents and emotions, before introducing her to a true Grave Keeper. Gravekeepers are born in the Story Circle, a place where gravekeepers are born. The mythology it creates is really quite epic, placing its own religious universe and laws. Hampnie introduces Ai to Scar, a true Grave Keeper and questions her on the whereabouts of Hana, but upon yielding no results, tasks her with burying the villagers. Scar reveals that Ai is indeed a Grave Keeper since she already took care of the burials much to Hampnie's surprise. Afterwards Hampnie mercilessly questions Ai on what she intends to do now that she has nowhere to go. Unwilling to listen, Julie threatens Ai and demands a duel from Hampnie, who seems to accept. Ai resolves to remain being a Grave Keeper and leaves the village with Hampnie who disregards the duel with Julie. That night, Hampnie realizes that 12 year old Ai is an anomalous human/Grave Keeper hybrid, since humans were denied procreation after God's abandonment 15 years earlier. Finally Ai asks Hampnie why he killed the townsfolk and he reveals that she would eventually find out, along with the secret hidden within her village. This is when we become very intrigued as a mystery begins to develop, making us want to continue on this journey. A flashback shows Lady Alfa and her daughter Ai overlooking their village, with the former expressing a desire of changing their village into a place equivalent to Heaven where the dead can be happy. As their travels continue, Ai learns that Hana had seemingly abandoned Hampnie ten years previously and in addition that Hampnie is searching for a way to end his life, since the thought of being the last living human terrifies him. Just as Ai deduces that he merely acts cruel to hide his pain, they are discovered and Hampnie kicks Ai off the bridge into the river below. Ai awakens to find herself on the bank with Julie who reveals Hampnie had saved her from an ambush but was hence kidnapped. Julie also notes of knowing Hampnie isn't a bad person and shows Ai a picture of Hampnie's lover, Hana, who Ai shockingly acknowledges as her mother. Julie later decides to help Ai rescue Hampnie when they are approached by Scar. Just then, Scar and Ai come to Hampnie's rescue much to his objection. Ai walks into the room and reveals a shocking revelation to Hampnie that she is in fact the daughter of Hana and also of realizing that everyone in her village had died long ago but they had pretended to be alive for her sake. These key elements are revealed throughout to get a better understanding of the characters; it takes its time pacing wise but never drags.After accepting this revelation, Ai and Hampnie have a tearful reunion, with the former revealing his true name: Kizuna Astin and as his wish is finally fulfilled, Kizuna dies the death he always wanted. It does get quite dark at times as the bright animation is hiding a secret meaning behind it all. There a dreamlike surrealism as all these characters are well in an afterlife. In the epilogue, Kizuna reawakens as an undead person much to Ai's joy, and along with Julie and Scar, make their way back to Ai's village in the valley while spending as much time with each other as they can. Finally, at the village's graveyard, Ai buries her father, Kizuna next to her mother, Hana and mourns their passing. With the burial over, Ai states to Julie and Scar that if God abandoned their world, she will become a true grave-keeper and save it. The series progresses with more twists and turn but that is a general overview for what is ultimately instore. It's certainly unique and is recommend. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall: 4/5'So, I can't play H' is a new series that madman has brought to us from their wonderful catalogue of imports. This new series is a another nice surprise; it may look similar to say something along the lines of 'high School DXD' but thankfully its nothing like it, offering to us its own unique world and characters. To start, Ryosuke Kaga is the main protagonist of the story. He's a perverted second-year student at Momozomo Academy who uses his perverted spirit-energy to give Lisara energy. Lisara uses the Broken Sword, Gram, which used to belong to the God of War, to form a contract with Ryosuke. However, it was revealed later that Ryosuke has the other half of Gram (which was thought to be lost), thus gaining full power of the sword. He is in love with Lisara, and can only fully charge his perverted spirit energy if it is her body alone or with his "Invisible Dictionary." He lives all by himself (until Lisara moved in) while at the meantime his mother works overseas in Germany and sends him money from time to time. He considers them as "treasures" and vows to protect all girls. There are a series of hilarious circumstances involving him, showing the underlying humour of the show. Then we have the other side of the scale, Lisara Restall she's a Grim Reaper who made a deal with Ryosuke and uses his perverted spirit for energy. She used the hilt of the Broken Sword Gram (belonging to the Restall family) to form a contract with Ryosuke. She usually wears a school uniform, but in battle, she wears a black tight robe that covers most of her body except her head, and arms. When transformed she wears a black, tight robe with a cape that extends to the floor, with an accompanying pair of matching, thigh high length boots and gloves that extend the full length of her arm. Her head is adorned by a pair of, black head-wings. The series creators has made her a sassy redhead and showing that she is not your typical 'sexualised' anime character with no purpose. Mina Okura is Ryosuke Kaga's childhood friend and currently the human with whom Quele Sellier has a contract. Though she knows of Ryosuke's perversion, it doesn't bother her. After finding out the truth about Lisara Restall's identity, she seems okay with it and lets Lisara continue her "business" with Ryosuke. To charge her energy for Quele, she talks about Ryosuke. She made a contract with Quele so she can help Ryosuke. She has very strong feelings for Ryosuke as he protected her a lot when she was younger and showed that he really cares about girls. In the Anime it was revealed that her bust was 92 cm the same as the Idol Iria Fukumunes bust (Iria alters her breasts to this size.) Mina wears glasses over her purple eyes and has shoulder length brown hair with medium to long bangs. The glasses combined with her modest caring nature and gifted body gives off that innocent hot teacher feel that we see in a lot of teenage anime dramas. I think this is all self aware, and almost parodying the high school genre. Iria Fukumune is Lisara's rival Grim Reaper during her school years at Grimwald, and is also a famous pop idol in the human world. Despite being 2nd in the school (Lisara being 1st, ranked top of her class), she has the biggest bust size of the main cast (92.5cm - G-cup). However, her large breasts are revealed to be a result of infusing breast pads with magic, and her actual bust size is smaller than Lisara's. She claims to be in love with Ryosuke, but it's likely that this is just a feint and can be reduced to her inclination towards competing with Lisara. With her well developed body and sense of fashion she has earned herself the title "Idol" among the men in this anime. However, is it revealed in the anime that she alters her bust to be more desired and to "out preform" her rival. The series takes a number of tests and turns but overall we though it was very enjoyable. With a strong cast of characters and an engaging plot, this one we can recommend , kudos to madman on bringing this to our Australian shores. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall: 4/5When we reviewed Space Dandy early last year, we knew we had discovered something very special. It had a brilliant storyline, characters and shock...was actually hilarious. Well we have been anxiously awaiting Season Two and it is finally here. This season expands the universe and we get to know the characters a bit more as they are developed and ready to go. The series picks up immediately where season one ended. As we know, there's a Dandy in every universe, and Space Dandy is about to meet them all! He just needs to pull the nearest Cosmic String, and he'll find himself face-to-face with himself. After another failed attempt from Dandy to deceive her, Scarlet suggests to him that he and his friends look for another career. While discussing the matter, Dandy pulls a strange string sticking out from his hair that drags them to an alternate dimension where they find alternate versions of themselves that seem to be far more skilled alien hunters than they are, including Honey who seemed to idolize skilled hunter version Dandy. They are quickly attacked because they thought that the crew is undiscovered aliens, until the crew managed to get away by pulling a mysterious string on QT. Soon after, they are pulled in another dimension where Dandy is a space trucker and Meow and QT his traveling partners. Following that, the original trio keeps pulling mysterious strings that bring them to several other dimensions, always meeting alternate versions of themselves, until one of the alternate Dandies asks him to bring him and his friends to their own dimension. The original Dandy and his friends return home, but accidentally bring all the other versions of Dandy, QT, and Meow with them. As more alternate selves appear at the Aloha Oe, strange events start occurring in their own dimension. The alternate Dandies, QTs and Meows keep increasing since they're keep pulling the popping out cosmic strings, even the Narrator also had his alternate version of him. Dandy finally try to solve by discussing until it stopped by a gloomy Dandy and his stranger Meow and QT, Dandy decides to fix things by burning the cosmic strings that linked their dimensions, and all incarnations of Dandy, QT, and Meow returned to their own dimensions, except for the gloomy Dandy and his friends who have replaced the original crew in their own dimension. This series is a lot more complex in terms of the environment, we truly get to understand this wacky universe. and their place. During the routine, Brown Meow says that he will be the greatest cat, until then, Meow impatiently tells other Meow that he is not a cat. In the end, the planet was once again saved. Thanks to a nifty, handheld teleportation device, Dandy and Meow get mixed up with a fishy little alien whose planet is teetering on the brink of obliteration!There In Season two we learn more about Space Dandy Himself. in the Season 2 episode "Dandy's Day in Court, Baby", a simple DNA scan revealed that Dandy's body has no DNA whatsoever - instead, his body is made of Pyonium, an extremely rare and godlike particle. It is possibly due to his biological nature that Dandy is the only one who possesses the extremely rare ability to traverse between multiple dimensions and still retain his identity. An example to this is when he tries to fix the Aloha Oe while Dandy and Meow goof off with Mamitas. An example was when he stopped a zombified nurse from biting Dandy and being very concerned about Meow when he was sick. To conclude without giving too much away, this is a very, very entertaining season, making nerdy references to sic fi and even 80s culture. It remains solid and thankfully has not gone off the wall. Thats why we give the series an approval, its unlike anything really coming out of Japan right now. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall: 4.5/5Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions also known as Chū-2 for short, is based on a Japanese light novel series written by Torako, with illustrations provided by Nozomi Ōsaka. The anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks for release in North America and Madman here locally in Australia, it has gained quite a cult following spawning a franchise . An animated film was released in September 2013, and this is the second anime season, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions -Heart Throb. We previously reviewed Season 1 here on the site and were impressed by it overall. Season 2 follows on immedetly afterwards, picking up the events of the original. As the new school year begins, Rikka Takanashi ends up having to move out of her apartment, since Tōka Takanashi no longer lives there, and is temporarily living alone with Yuuta Togashi whilst they search for a new place. Meanwhile, Shinka Nibutani, who has dyed her hair black in pursuit of a non-chunibyo second year, continues to be at odds with Sanae Dekomori. Interested in their relationship now they are living together, Shinka Nibutani, Sanae Dekomori, and Kumin Tsuyuri keep an eye on Yuuta Togashi and Rikka Takanashi, the latter of which has ended up spending nearly all of her monthly allowance. After Yuuta reveals they had yet to even get to even hold hands, Shinka takes him to meet her friend Kazari Kannagi, who arranges for Yuuta and Rikka to go on a date. As Rikka states her uncertainty over what lovers should do, Yuuta decides that he is fine with their relationship staying the way it is for now. Later that night, Rikka meets Satone Shichimiya who had moved into Rikka old apartment. After Yuuta Togashi is left reeling from a lewd dream about Rikka Takanashi, he ends up losing a bet against her and is forced to dress up as a magical girl. Later that day, Rikka encounters the girl from before, who is revealed to be Yuuta's old friend during middle school and the one who led him to enter his chuynibyou phase, Satone Shichimiya. The imagination of the protagonist as well as the spectators, come off not too short.. Rikka, the little girl with the fertile imagination and Yuuto, the boy who really wants to be an adult - to accompany a great couple where it's fun and their stories become more complex. Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! may also act on the images that produces more than you see. In addition to the series natural colours, it a wonderfully vibrant series that visually keeps you engaged. As Satone is invited over to dinner that night, Rikka becomes over her getting awfully clingy to Yuuta, particularly when she does her old habit of rubbing her nose against Yuuta's. Its moments like these that keep you not hedge as its pure romantic drama and conflicts. When a Hobby Group Representative Meeting is held to determine which hobby groups should be allowed to keep their rooms, Rikka Takanashi's failed presentation of what the 'Far Eastern Magic Napping Society in Summer' does exactly leads their supervisor, Nanase Tsukumo, to investigate what they actually use their room for. Nanase points out the 'napping' part of their group is actually a notable pastime, suggesting they have a 'siesta match' against Maple Hill High School's Siesta Club to serve as an official activity for their group. Some moments like this just come off absurd and hilarious. On the way home, they are approached by Maple Hill's Sui Nemuri, who sparks a rivalry with Kumin Tsuyuri, with Rikka rushingly adding she will disband her society if they lose. This is when the magic elements come into play and boy, this is when Season two begins to pick up, even without these elements as a stand alone series it makes a great drama. This season I felt overall had much better character development, as we previously got to know them, this time around it fleshes them out through back stories. Rikka Takanashi is a "chūnibyō patient" who enrolls into the same high school as Yuuta Togashi. Unlike Yuuta, she still suffers from the eighth grader syndrome. She wears a medical eyepatch over her right eye to seal her "Tyrant's Eye". She moved in to the apartment above Yuuta's apartment to stay with her sister, Tōka Takanashi. Rikka has cyan-colored eyes and wears a yellow color contact lens on her right eye, over which she wears a medical eyepatch. She only has 5 contacts on her phone, which include Tōka, Yuuta, Shinka Nibutani, Kumin Tsuyuri and Sanae Dekomori. With it, she can cast special attacks. As shown when Yuuta convinced her to give up her chūnibyō behavior, the real reason for her chūnibyō was to "protect" herself from the reality of her father's death, as she still can't accept it. Shinka is currently the freshman year representative for her high school and get to know more about her. Shinka appears to have feelings towards Yuuta Togashi, but this later turns out to be false. She was once a "chūnibyō patient" and used to call herself "Mori Summer". Shinka still retains some of her fantasy personality, and also has some of the items she valued as Mori Summer,, such as her bangles and head piece. Overall this was an entertaining series, it was actually a bit slower and more mature than season 1, but is that a bad thing. Not at all, it was a warm, enjoyable and interesting romantic comedy series with an underlay of magic. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall 4/5Tokyo Ghoul is a new anime series that is brought to us here locally by Madman. I had heard quite a bit of hype surrounding this one; it has an appeal due to its dark atmosphere and horror themed elements. The series starts off (obviously in Tokyo)with Kaneki and Hide listening to the news about ghoul attacks in the 20th ward while in Anteiku. Hideis a normal human and the best friend of Ken Kaneki. Hide briefly comments that the murders happened nearby, but then asks who the girl is, if it is the waitress, while Kaneki agrees she is cute, explains that it isn't her, The girl in question then asks what they want to order, and Hide asks for her name, which is Touka, he then asks if she is seeing anyone, which causes her to blush and run away. Then, a beautiful girl walks in, whom is the girl Kaneki is pining for. Kaneki then notices she is reading the same book as him, and is trying but failing not to stare.The girl, Rize, then notices him staring at her and smiles at him. Later on the phone with Hide, Kaneki shares that they're going to the bookstore on a date, after Hide states that sometimes you get lucky. Hide then wishes he had a good time and hangs up. On the date while eating in a restaurant and discussing their shared favorite author, he comments slightly flustered that she doesn't eat much, and Rize explains she's on a diet and excuses herself to the restroom, and Kaneki glances on her barely touched food. Ken Kaneki is the protagonist of Tokyo Ghoul Formerly, he was a human studying Japanese Literature at Kamii University and living a normal life. As a child, Kaneki had all the same features he has now as an adult with black hair and black eyes. In his free time, he wears casual clothes . At work, he wears the standard Anteiku waiter uniform, consisting of black trousers and a grey waistcoat over a white dress shirt, and a brown necktie. Later after the bookstore date, Rize with tears in her eyes, confides in Kaneki that she lives near where all these ghoul-related crimes are taking place and is really scared of those sort of things, so Kaneki comforts her telling Rize that he'll walk her home. While walking together, the waitress Touka from earlier at the café walks by with her friends and glances suspiciously at them before she continues walking away. Rize then points him in the direction of a dark road and tells him it's that way, and after brief walking he stops and confesses that he likes her and wants to see her again, and she says she likes him too before suddenly getting red/black eyes and starts biting his shoulder and Rize starts saying about how the only thing she likes better than reading is slowly pulling out the organs of her prey after Kaneki runs and keeps on saying "No way no way, no way" repeatedly. After being cornered on a construction site, and being impaled by her Kagune through his stomach, she complains that he appears dead, and commenting that she really did like him. Suddenly there's a big crane above Rize and the wires snap crash down onto Rize resulting in her supposed death. While Kaneki is being lucid, we hear doctor's shouting in the background, and one says to give him her organs and that he'll take full responsibility if shit goes down. Kaneki in his mind doesn't really comprehend anything yet, but we see an image of him floating, before Rize hugs him from behind, and beacomes emerged in blackness, before opening his eyes to reveal one red/black eye. Later, he tries to eat but can't, and wonders what's happening. A nurse then comes in and worringly asks if that's all he's going to eat before telling him that Hide was there again, yet he remains under the blanket, quiet. Is he becoming...a Ghoul? Then while speaking to the doctor, he confides that the food tastes slimy and weird, and that his sense of taste is off. The doctor smirks before telling him nothing's wrong, and since it was a serious accident, it could be psychological. After being discharged, Kaneki walks home and thinks that something's been strange since the incident with Rize, and that it feels like a dream, before he finds a bag of groceries and a note from Hide at his door, telling him amongst other things, that he brought his favorite burger. Sitting on his bed later he's watching a show on the TV, in which a ghoul-expert explains that ghouls can survive for a month or two on one dead body, that their tongue also works differently, and that human food tastes awful and slimy to them. He wonders what it is before remembering Rize, and punches his mirror in a state of panic and anger. He states he knows what is happening, when he remember the doctor's words about transplanting Rize's organs into him, and also remembers that kitchen knifes and utensils have no effect on ghouls, so Kaneki proceeds to take a sharp knife and while holding his shirt up, tries to stab himself in the chest. I guess as a viewer introduced to this world, what is a Ghoul? Ghouls are a carnivorous and cannibalistic species that are only able to feed on humans and other ghouls. If certain rare conditions are met, ghouls and humans may even be able to have offspring and a ghoul's organs can be successfully transplanted into a human. They are also able to jump several meters high.Under normal conditions, ghouls have a high regenerative ability: Small wounds and fractures heal in a matter of seconds to a day,and even grave wounds heal after few days, as long as the ghoul has adequate food supply. They also have a tougher body than most regular solid materials. They can smell people or meat from afar and can tell apart humans and ghouls by their smell. They also have a heightened sense of hearing that even allows some ghouls to discern individual footsteps from far away. Ghouls seem to age at the same rate as humans, further allowing them to blend in. Its certainly a highly unique concept and keeps this series standing out due to its originality. Touka: "And that makes this your feeding grounds?" She picks up the discarded arm that Kazou was planning to give Kaneki, and asks if he wants it, holding it out, Kaneki reaches for it, before stopping himself, being conflicted between his ghoul-side and human-side, Touka then, too, comments on his eyes, before realizing he was the one who was with Rize, asks why he wasn't eaten and yet again comments on his eye, her own eyes widening. Kaneki then asks for her help, claiming that even if she didn't believe him, he was still human, yet he wants to eat so badly, but that if he ate it, he wouldn't be human anymore. The series begins to progress and more characters get introduced, we really don't want to spoil it, as it will really suck you into to its world. She asks if he won't eat it, and he hesitantly reaches for it before he smacks it away, shouting no way over and over, and that he wouldn't be able to it something like that, asking what it means to be ghoul, like killing people and each other, that he wasn't like that, allt the while still crying. .The bolts sticking out of his neck and the fact that he is an artificial ghoul reminds a Frankenstein theme. After being tortured by Yamori for a period of ten days, his hair became white and his nails turned black due to heavy stress, anxiety, and continuous bodily regeneration. He also began wearing a form fitting black outfit when he had the intention of fighting as a ghoul, both for intimidation and practicality. Not to get ahead, you can begin to see how and what a ghoul is, within this universe. Overall this has to be one of the most original and dark anime of 2015; highly recorded to not only Anime fans but also horror fans. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall: 4.5/5Magical Warfare is a new anime series which came out of the blue, I had not heard of it, but am glad we discovered it here on the DSC. It story is surprising deep, so we will begin to get underway what it is about. To start; Takeshi Nanase is an ordinary high school boy until the day he comes across a girl collapsed on the school campus. Mui then apologizes to Takeshi because she turned him into a magician, too, and what Takeshi once thought was just one world is actually two — the world where magicians live and the world where humans live. Takeshi Nanase is the main protagonist who was an ordinary high school boy, with a somewhat dark past, and, due to certain circumstances, he is "dating" his childhood friend Kurumi Isoshima. So as confirmed, he is also a pureblood wizard from a family lineage point of view. Inside The Ruined World, in a dilapidated train station, Mui Aiba and Tsuganashi Aiba are shown, as Mui pleads for her older brother to come with her. A motorcycle of some sort is seen accelerating across the tracks, as Mui gasps and it cuts to The Living World, as Takeshi Nanase walks down his stairs, and Gekkou Nanase blankly walks right up them. We get introduced into most of the characters int he first episode and thankfully avoids confusing us and muddling up the development. He greets Takeshi outside of his kendo practices, to which he informs her that she doesn't have to come to his morning practices, but she states that it's normal as she is his girlfriend. While walking, Takeshi admits that he can't wait for school to start, due to him wanting to be out of the house. Kurumi gets onto the topic of Gekkou, and asks him if he wants her to talk to him, but Takeshi refuses. Mui later faints after he explains it to her, and collapses onto Takeshi which causes them to accidentally share a kiss. Takeshi prepares to defend himself from battle against Takao Oigami with his wooden kendo sword. Takao charges at him, and leaps at him to attack, but Takeshi blocks it with his sword, and they go into battle. Eventually, Takeshi jabs at him in the chest, thus angering him more and Ushiwaka admits that Takeshi has skill, and Hotaru Kumagai claims that it's rare to see Oigami getting beaten. Takao attacks him with much more fury and strength, and snaps Takeshi's sword. This triggers Takeshi's Evasive Magic, allowing him to read into the future about Takao's next move which gives him the upperhand, and after ordering Mui to duck, he launches at Takao, and uses his broken kendo sword to knock his sword's grip out of his hand, which swings out and breaks through the ice which had been blocking the window. He later spots Mui and Takeshi running past a building, then out of his view. Mui and Takeshi flee to a corridor, and she apologizes for getting him caught up in this and reveals that she is a magician, and that she's accidentally turned him into one and that she didn't think this would happen. Takao challenges him to another fight, and he takes Isoshima's kendo sword, and he informs Takeshi about his magic, and tells him that he and Mui should come with them. Now taking a step back; one thing to note is that this anime is very dialogue heavy, almost to the level of a drama. The pacing can be a bit slow, but it is never boring, when the actions scenes pick up, you immediately become interested. The action begins when Takao immediately attacks Takeshi, who continues to block the attacks with the wooden sword. However, Isoshima drops onto the floor, revealing to have been hit with Ushiwaka's magic too, and a lipstick tube falls out of her pocket, causing a pink magic to surround her which rapidly increases her breast size, and Mui informs her that she has the power to transform, with Corporeal Magic. Takao and Takeshi's fight continues, and he uses his Evasive Magic to dodge another few attacks. While the charge at each other, Mui uses her magic to summon a light screen called Melt Projection, which blocks out both of their views, allowing Takeshi to lunge at him in the throat with his bamboo sword, as Takao spits out blood and drops onto the floor. At the end of the series Kazuma Ryuusenji, the main villain of the shown, holds a picture of Kurumi Isoshima in his hand that was given to Takeshi by her, he also saves Youko Nanase from wounds inflicted by Gekkou Nanase. He also calls Youko mother signifying that what Youko meant by killing Gekkou before he can become Kazuma means that when the two brothers are sent back in time one year before the first great magician war, Takeshi & Gekkou, Gekkou eventually takes control of Kazuma's body and starts the first great war and the time Kazuma is sleeping for the 16 years is because body is recovering from Takeshi taking over and destroying his brother. Kurumi had been assaulted by a stalker in the past and Takeshi had gone to see her, she had then told him that he is the only boy she could trust and asked him to have a 'fake' relationship with her, so that boys will no longer hit on her. However, Kurumi seems to have genuine feelings for Takeshi, it's hint that he also has feelings for her but he holds himself back because he doesn't want to be in even deeper conflict with his brother Gekkou. In the academy, Kurumi Isoshima and Mui Aiba get their wounds treated from the Hornets, from Nanami Hyoudou who has healing magic which shortens the amount of time something takes to heal. Overall this is a series with a very interesting concept. Even though it takes a while for characters to develop and also this may not seem as action oriented as the title suggests. Its worth a look for all fans of supernatural anime. SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall:3.5/5MICHIKO & HATCHIN is a brilliant little series from the weird and wacky world of cowboy bebop, well not world..but minds of the creators. This is a fantastic series that takes many twists and turns, also showing the strong female lead of anime without being over sexualised. When she suddenly enters Hana's life, these two very different people set off on a journey across a lawless land in search of a missing man from both their pasts. Michiko is a free-willed "sexy diva" who escapes from a supposedly inescapable prison fortress for at least the fourth time. Michiko rescues Hana "Hatchin" Morenos from her abusive foster parents and claims to know her father--- Hiroshi Morenos--- that according to her, was a good man and "made her fall in love with him right away". Michiko and Hana happen to have the same mysterious tattoo on their stomachs. Michiko first meets Hiroshi as a young woman in a house where a person named Sascha may live as a hide out. This may be where they "fall in love". The episode starts with Michiko Malandro, the “sexy diva”, escaping from a high security prison known as Diamandra. As she gives the helicopter a smirk and thumbs down the propeller goes her way and the screen goes black. Elsewhere the next morning Hana Morenos brings milk back to her home (a church) where she hears the report of the prison break over the radio. As her foster parents sit for breakfast Pedro (foster father) notices the burnt underside he drops the food on the floor and told Hana to make it again. When they all sit to eat, Pedro says a prayer while Gabrial flicks and eventually throws his food a Hana. immediately you are brought into this world with it extremely unique art style, no other anime has come close to the vibrant and classic nature of the animation. Continuing on; Meanwhile, Michiko gets closer as she walks through the streets still with a gun and her prison uniform and takes food from a homeless man without asking and thanks him. Hana is cleaning the floor when Maria comes along and messes with the mop in bucket of dirty water. Hana asks her to stop but Maria takes out the mop and uses it to hit the bucket toward Hana. With a rug ruined by the water Hana takes responsibility and Joanna (foster mother) locks her in a small room. Being released later she takes a bath as she sits in the tub letting the water fall on her, it suddenly turns off. Hana pulls the curtains back to see if someone did that when she noticed her clothes were gone. Hana walks by until she feels Maria tugging on her towel. Hana fights back only to be kicked down the stairs and left alone. Michiko enters a bank and fires at the tellers glass. She fires back only to run out of ammo and flees as the officer is still shooting. This is when the series begins to gear up the suspense and we find ourselves love in on these characters worlds. In the chapel of the church, Pedro gives Hana books that and talks about God in a way to make her feel bad. Hana states that she was bought out with Maria's items. Later, a man who gives Hana's foster parents guardian's payment comes to visit. She goes on saying how all the kids take turns caring for him, except for that it is Hana who does everything. Joanna asks whose turn it is to care for him today, and Maria and Gabrial kick Hana's legs to take the job. Joanna then goes to Hana's room and throws a sack on her floor and says get rid of it. It is not shown but Hana releases Blonco to go free. The character development begins to thicken a few episodes in, we start to understand the motives for these two characters and see the behaviours that follows, its certainly unique and one of the best friendships developed in anime history. The next morning, Hana washes the dishes under Joanna's watch when Gabrial comes in and asks where Blonco is. Joanna says that Hana was the last to see him. She takes out a spray bottle of detergent and sprays it towards Hanas eyes so she will back up towards a plugged in hot iron. Hana goes up missing the iron but causing Gabrial to fall off her hit the ground and cry. Maria angered grabs Hana's hair and drags her to the door where she kicks her off the stairs saying she wasn't needed. Hana gets up and runs towards Maria knocking her down and slaps her while reprimanding her treatment of her and finishes with a punch. Hana runs following the road looking excited. It was only imagined as she states that that would never happen. Back at the Church they receive a call from Michiko saying to get Hana ready to leave tommorow because her mother is coming to get her. Joanna is confused, but Pedro says that it must be someone who knows about his money scam with Hana and orders to have his shot gun ready. The next morning, as they eat breakfast Hana notices the gun behind Pedro. When the time is right, he gets the gun and tells Joanna to hide Hana. Michiko looks around noticing Maria and asks if she is Hana. Michiko unaffected asks Hana if she wants to stay here. The episode ends with Hana driving away with Michiko who smiles as she sees the cops in her mirror and drives even faster scaring Hana. The series does flash backs from 12 years ago, jumping around the backstories and giving us an idea into the past for example , with Michiko being carted off in a police van to Diamandra. So what more can I really say, this is a great series and I'll leave it there. We highly recorded you check it out for its masterful storytelling, unique art sytle and drastic character devlopment. Not only is this housed in a beautiful slipcover boxset but there is also a tonne of great extras: SPECIAL FEATURES
Overall: 4.5/5 |
AuthorThe DSC team dig into Anime . Archives
September 2016
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