Postwar skeletons emerge from the closet…

What They Say:
A ceasefire is suddenly called between the Royal Empire and the Republic of Frost. Three years later, the lower class of the Empire faces starvation, many of the military units have turned into petty bandits, and those in power are corrupted by greed. To aid in the war relief effort, the Pumpkin Scissors unit is created. The unit’s path is soon crossed with Randel Oland, a mysterious former member of the 901 Anti-Tank Troopers, one of the Army’s top-secret units.

Contains episodes 13-24.

The Review:
Audio:
Pumpkin Scissors features a very solid English and Japanese voice cast.  The original Japanese stereo mix is encoded at 224 kbps while the English 5.1 mix is set at 448 kbps.  For our primary viewing, we listened to the English version which has a great group of actors and has more bass and enhanced directionality. In listening to both language tracks, we had no problems with dropouts or distortions.

Video:
Originally airing in 2006 and 2007, the transfer for this series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is enhanced for anamorphic playback. As a Gonzo production, I was expecting great video quality.  The video quality is solid for a standard DVD release.  However, don’t expect to see any “Wow” effect that you get with your typical Gonzo release.  That is not a bad thing in that this series really doesn’t need to “WOW” visual effects.  The video quality holds true to Gonzo’s reputation.  The colors look solid and rich.  Darker scenes look appropriately colored as well.  Cross coloration is minimal with some brief instances of aliasing. Background noise is also minimal.  Overall the presentation was very eye-catching and appealing to watch.

Packaging:
The packaging for Pumpkin Scissors is comprised of a cardboard case that house two thinpack DVD cases.  The front of the cardboard case features Warrant Officers Orledo and holding rifles. The back cover is tightly laid out with quotes from various reviewers at the top with a synopsis of the series taking up the middle portion.  The bottom of the back cover features a few images from the series.  The technical specifications are on the bottom of the case itself.

The first thinpack cover looks exactly like the cardboard case.  The second thinpack features Alice and Oland as seen in one of the last scenes in the collection.  The backside of each thinpack features 2 screen captures of each episode on the disc.  When opening the thinpacks, you will find different images of the Pumpkin Scissors team and Alice.  Overall, the packaging presentation is nicely assembled

Menu:
The menus for the discs are straight-forward. You will not find any bells and whistles on these as each disc is packed with 6 episodes.   The menu system is pretty much a select and go menu system.  Select the episode and it starts playing.  The background appears to be what one would find on a desk as there is a picture of one of the main characters covered partially by several dossier files.  The episodes are placed onto the top dossier file.  Some bullets are placed off to the side in the upper-right-hand corner while the Pumpkin Scissors logo is placed on the bottom-right.  Overall, the menus were easy and quickly accessible.

Extras:
The extras are minimal in that all that is here are clean versions of the opening and closing sequences.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers).
In the first set of Pumpkin Scissors, the main arc is the development of Section III and the integration of Oland Randal within its body.  There were a number of short stories that highlighted specific team members or short arcs that emphasized the team’s development.  The second set of episodes takes on fewer story arcs, but ramps up the action and drama.  It even seems to set up a few hints for a possible continuation of the series.

The empire’s troubles and corruption are more prevalent and serious within this set.  The first of the two story arcs immerses us immediately in this knowledge.  Section III is ordered to clear out the city’s sewer system.  It has become home to war refugees.  To solve this social crisis, these people are offered a new home and work at a community farm.  Some individuals readily accept the offer, but a vast number refuse.  In trying to deal with the matter, it becomes apparent that the employees of the waterworks are preying on the inhabitants by acting as dealers (of drugs, not art).  The evidence of corruption soon leads to a local lord.  In trying to stop the illicit activities, Section III finds more than they bargained for.  The sewer staff not only has advanced weapons but the lord also employees, ‘Hans’ of the 908; an HTT or High-Temperature Trouper.  As Section III attempts to work its way through this web of corruption, literally under their feet, Oland finds himself face to face with his past.  He seems to crumble under his inability to help another comrade move on to change.

The weight of the events seems to hang in the air at Section III as they attempt to go back to duties as usual, including manning a chow line.  The disparity between the elite and the working man is portrayed as extreme, and the tension comes to a head.  Locals plot to overrun a local gathering of the gentry to make a statement about a corrupt government official and noble.  Unfortunately, it is the same one that Alice is attending with her sisters.  The protestors are going with an intent of killing everyone who is there, and don’t expect to leave alive.
The situation quickly becomes complicated.  Oland finds himself saved from being sledge-hammered by Oland, and the lackeys quickly tell of the plot under a little persuasion.  Section III quickly roles out.  Meanwhile, the Army is informed somehow of the plot.  Section I takes the matter in hand, and sees the situation merely as an opportunity to gain a larger budget and greater power.  Possible collateral damage isn’t an issue to their section leader.  Section III finds itself again in the middle of corruption from all sides, the nobles, the army, the protestors and evil they have yet to be aware of.  Only they can prevent a tragic bloodbath, but will their luck and skill be enough this time?

Summary
The second Pumpkin Scissors collection builds upon what made the first collection so enticing.  The plot takes a whole new twist as we learn more about the secrets of the nobility and the military.  Alice and Oland are put into situations that draw out their character flaws, while Oreldo and Machs must stand at the wayside.  In the end, the team becomes even more tightly connected as Captain Hunks comes through in the nick of time.  Pumpkin Scissors closes on a high note that is somewhat conclusively satisfying, yet it leaves the viewer wanting more as the rest of this pumpkin has not been quite carved out yet.  Highly Recommended

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 5.1 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Opening, Clean Closing

Content Grade:
Audio Grade:
Video Grade:
Packaging Grade:
Menu Grade:
Extras Grade:

Released By:
Release Date:
MSRP:
Running Time:
Video Encoding:
Aspect Ratio:

Review Equipment
Hitachi 62VS69 62″ UltraVision LCD Projection HDTV, Samsung BDP-1000 Blu-ray Player with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

A romantic triangle gets complicated as three high school students try to figure out what they really want.

What They Say:
Ken Amafuji has lived a dark life. He’s had to fend for himself as long as he can remember, selling himself to strange men just to pay the rent. The one ray of light in his life has always been his childhood friend, Ritsurou Yoshinari. Bright, upbeat, Ritsurou has always been everything that Ken is not, and Ken loves him like he loves none other.

Ritsurou has a girlfriend, Moeko, and studies hard, hoping to live a simple, conventional life. But then Ken learns that Ritsurou has been unable to bring himself to consummate his relationship with Moeko, and he feels a spark of hope. Ken seduces Moeko himself to get closer to Ritsurou and starts the three of them down a path of no return.

The Review:
With this being in the boys-love category, Media Blasters naturally opted to save a bit of money on it by leaving it just in its original Japanese language version. With no English language adaptation, we only get the single stereo mix which is at a low but standard and unsurprising 192 kbps encoding. The single episode is mostly dialogue and some ambient music so it isn’t a huge issue. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout and while there isn’t anything there in terms of directionality it comes across well. With the focus on the characters, the dialogue doesn’t really have anything to do other than to be there. We didn’t have any issues with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.

Video:
Originally released in 1996, the transfer for this OVA is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio. Though I’m sure they could have maxed out the bitrate on this, it’s still kept mostly in the sevens for the show with a few dips into the sixes. Due to its age, I’m suspecting that some of the issues with this are related to the source in that there is a good bit of softness in some of the busier scenes which leads to some mild artifacting. A bit of cross coloration does crop up in a couple of scenes but is generally minimal and unobtrusive. Colors look good and there is a certain warmth to the presentation with its traditional animation style. Lacking in the digital wizardry of today’s shows, there is just a bit more of a natural feeling to it as well as simply being far less processed.

Packaging:
The cover artwork is somewhat gloomy in its color design but appropriate for the show as it features the two male leads against each other. Of course, you have to play off the traditional roles with one being all proper in his school uniform suit and the other with his shirt falling off of him. Their designs look good and there are some nice design elements and details to how it’s all put together. The back cover carries over the same kind of background as the front cover with a few more purple hues to it. The summary covers the bulk of the episode, which isn’t a surprise since it’s just one episode, as well as some good sized shots from the show. The production info and disc extras are all clearly listed and the technical grid covers everything perfectly.

Menu:
The menu design as is expected is minimal but works well as we get a static image. The background is pulled from the cover design as is the two sections of character art that are shifted around in the layout with the title and navigation strip. With a bit of the vocal piece from the show playing along, the menu is simple overall but it manages to set in a relaxing tone for what is a character drama piece. Access times are nice and fast and everything is easy to navigate. With only one audio track here, player presets are basically a non-issue though they do provide two subtitle tracks.

Extras:
Only one extra is included but it’s an interesting one as it’s an interview with the voice actors that runs about ten minutes in length.

The story is simple as it revolves around three lead characters in high school. Ritsuro is your studious young man, Ken is your happy-go-lucky type with family issues and Moeko is the attractive girl next door. Ritsuro’s been interested in Moeko and finally asked her out and she gladly accepts. At the same time, Ken is dealing with some family issues where his divorced mother has been dumped by her latest boyfriend and she’s intent on just living by herself for awhile. Ken ends up dropping out of school and working at a host club. Ritsuro is quite concerned for his friend and ends up doing all sorts of odds and ends at Ken’s apartment. The two are close but we don’t realize just how close for awhile.

The introductions all come quick and the show then moves things forward a year. Moeko hasn’t seen Ken since he left school and is surprised to see him. During that year that she and Ritsuro have been together, the two of them haven’t been physical even though she’s obviously open to it. Something in Ritsuro keeps him from doing this and it looks to go back to his previous girlfriends. The three before Moeko had all apparently been “stolen away” by Ken and it appears that history is going to repeat itself once more. To the viewer, it’s obvious that there are strong feelings between the two young men and Moeko is getting caught up in all of it. The drama revolves around Ritsuro trying to figure out what’s really going on as the other two engage in some tomfoolery.

With this being a snapshot of a decent length dramatic manga, we get bits and pieces of how these characters are being developed overall but never the full story. The single episode does provide some conclusion to what’s going on but it’s also open-ended in how they act. It’s actually where the show could go that makes it interesting and wanting to see more of it. As much drama as there is in this, it looks like it could be all the more interesting with the way the relationships change. The episode revolves primarily around the three leads though there are a smattering of other people that get involved but are little more than peripheral characters. In some ways, you can easily imagine this being a high school play put on with just a couple of actors in a larger show.

The animation for it is pretty good and it avoids much in the way of very obvious shortcuts or shortchanged scenes. There are obvious pans and the like in order to save money but they’re also done well in order to add a bit more sense of drama to those scenes. The character designs don’t have the kind of waif nature that a lot of them seem to have today though they are terribly thin in general, but that’s always been a part of the appeal in the boys-love genre. Moeko brings a nice balance to things both in her design as well as the way she acts when all these events occur. It’s her reactions towards the end that spark my interest in seeing what happens next.

In Summary:
I Shall Never Return certainly won’t light up a firestorm of interest in the boys-love genre, nor would a dub bring in a trove of new viewers to it. This is a very small targeted release that’s done competently but could be done a bit better. Boys-love anime is an area where there is potential for growth but I still don’t believe that the two markets (manga and anime) are the same. This isn’t a generalization but it’s always seemed like that people who read manga in this genre are far less pre-disposed to check out anime versions of the same genre. There is crossover there, there is no denying that, but not to the level that would make a show like this profitable in any other form. I Shall Never Return is priced right (after discounts) and was an enjoyable brief viewing.

Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Interview

Content Grade: B-
Audio Grade: B
Video Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B-

Released By: Media Blasters
Release Date: February 13th, 2007
MSRP: $19.95
Running Time: 30 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Vol. #04

The minions finally get to show off their special skills.

Creative Staff
Story: Fuse
Art: Taiki Kawakami
Character Design: Mitz Vah
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul

What They Say
A living disaster in the form of an Orc Lord and his 200,000-strong force of monsters threatens the residents of the Great Forest of Jura. In response, Treyni the dryad, protector of the forest, asks Rimuru to vanquish the Orc Lord and his army. Rimuru accepts, but to take on this new, formidable enemy, he’ll need help. Unfortunately, it looks like he’ll need to enlist the aid of the lizardmen, which might be difficult after his last encounter with one of their leaders …

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The orc army is on the move, devouring everything in their path, and it’s up to one tiny slime to stop the unstoppable advancement. Rimuru has been able to handle whatever his new world has thrown at him so far without issues, but he only really had himself and a handful of followers to worry about. Now the entire forest is relying on him to save them, and Rimuru has to plan to avoid as many casualties on his side as possible.

Which makes this the perfect opportunity for the supporting cast to show the reader what they’re made of. Rimuru doesn’t bring everyone to battle, just the kijin and his hobgoblin tempest wolf calvary. The kijin are outfitted with new weapons and new outfits and get to hone new skills that combine their unique abilities with the new ones bestowed on them by joining with the Tempest clan. Ranga is able to power himself up to a more ultimate form which can summon a rain of tornados. The fact the warriors do this without instruction or help from Rimuru is promising. 

The orc army itself is more terrifying than I initially expected. Mainly because they share a similar ability to what Rimuru has which allows them to use the creatures they eat abilities and skills. If allowed to devour the dead they only grow in power. Plus, the army didn’t just emerge from nowhere. A man named Gelmud ordered the attack, and he wasn’t alone. Another strange looking, clownish man named Laplace was there as well, and both were working for a demon lord who goes by Clayman.  

Gabiru was originally played off as a joke. While he is easily swayed by his followers and easily tempted to power, he does have some skills as a warrior. He just makes poor decisions and is overconfident in his abilities. The king is wise, his daughter is wise, his son not-so-much. If Soei hadn’t been present or aware of the situation then the king would have seen his son’s mistake doom all of their people. Whatever occurs after this battle, I don’t see Gabiru inheriting the crown.

This volume is full of fun little throwaway moments where Rimuru is sitting around being a very undignified leader. The meeting with the dryad Treyni has Rimuru resting head down on the table and everyone eating potato chips. (He seems to forget that in a human form everyone can see how lackadaisical and surprised he acts. Lucky for Rimuru his followers don’t seem to care.) At one point the girls on staff ambush and dress up Rimuru in cute little dresses and he just goes with it for the most part. Maybe it’s just that his followers take his good-natured attitude for extreme confidence and benevolence. 

I was pleased to see the Lizardmen ladies don’t actually resemble humans, they still look like lizard-people. It’s a trope of fantasy to have the female humanoid race monsters look more human. That being said, I’m going to absolutely die if Rimuru powers-up the head guard and she turns sexy. I wouldn’t be surprised, just disappointed. 

As for extras, this volume continues with Veldora’s diary. He continues his shogi games with Ifrit inside of Rimuru while thinking that the Sage’s voice is actually Rimuru’s internal direction. If and when Veldora is finally analyzed and able to be freed, I wonder if he’ll be humbled enough to finally play nice with everything else, or if this miscommunication will continue. There are also some gag comics and bonus illustrations, as well as translation notes.

In Summary
Strategy, betrayal, and special attacks abound in Rimuru’s first war as leader of his own tiny kingdom. I’m happy to finally see what all of the side characters are able to do when they get to fight, and some of Rimuru’s minions are insanely powerful beasts. It’s all a learning experience for the newly powered up monsters on Rimuru’s side, but for the lizardmen, it’s very much a matter of survival. The most interesting part of this volume is when we get a look at the first enemy mastermind that is going to give Rimuru a real fight as well. I wonder what the Clayman is plotting to do to our hapless all-powerful slime.

Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: A –
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A

Age Rating: Older Teen 16 +
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: February 20, 2018
MSRP: $12.99 US / $16.99 CN

Shika stumbles upon the Tsukishima family secret.

Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Hinako Ashihara

What They Say
Sweet 16-year-old Ann returns to rural Shimane from Tokyo for the summer, eager to reconnect with her boyfriend Daigo. But will the allure of their close friends – wealthy brother and sister Fuji and Shika – sunder the romantic ties that have bound Ann and Daigo since they were 12?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having been through an LD relationship myself, I find Daigo and Ann’s struggle to maintain emotional intimacy across the distance convincing as well as compelling. Ashihara-sensei does a wonderful job conveying the eagerness and awkwardness of the moments they do get together and the lengths they feel they must go to prove their commitment. And of course there is the tension that comes from others trying to get between them. Fuji is the main guilty party in this volume, but another looks like she’s about to make her move.

Shika has been the most carefree of the four main characters until now. I find it implausible that her great-grandmother would blab such a sensitive secret without verifying whom she was talking to. Even more unbelievable is that great-grandma would know where Shika’s mom’s secret stuff is (considering how hard Fuji has been trying to find it). At any rate, it serves the purpose of turning Shika as morose and insecure as her brother and ultimately drives her in Daigo’s direction. It wouldn’t be shojo manga without a love quadrangle, but it’s getting more soap opera-ish with Ann’s best friend falling for her man.

In Summary:
This volume is rife with angst, not only the adolescent boyfriend-girlfriend type between Daigo and Ann but that of identity and purpose. As Shika’s and Fuji’s personal crises threaten to pull Daigo and Ann apart, it’s getting to be a bit of a soap opera, but the characters are so compelling you can’t help but get swept in.

Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: September 2nd, 2008
MSRP: $8.99

To Your Eternity Vol. #01

Stranger in a strange land.

Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yoshitoki Oima
Translation/Adaptation: Steven LeCroy

What They Say
An orb was cast unto the earth. After metamorphosing into a wolf, it joins a boy on his bleak journey to find his tribe. It learns and evolves, transcending death, even when those around it cannot…

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
To Your Eternity is a big departure from Oima’s other work, A Silent Voice. This is about as far from that genre-wise as you can get. Which make me wonder why Kodansha slapped the “From the creator of” tagline on the cover. Anyone expecting more of that is in for a weird surprise.

In both Japanese and American comics, there is no lack of stories which place humans into fraught survivalist settings and put their characters through hell in order to live. Take any current horror movie and it will show you what the current population fears the most. Humanity, collectively, is always thinking about the end of civilization. Although To Your Eternity never comes out and says that it is post-apocalyptic, it begins with a boy abandoned in a winter that appears without end. 

Actually, it begins with some entity (god?) dropping a sphere down to the earth. The sphere is unexplained and can do only one thing, replicate other things. It begins by turning into a rock, then some moss, then finally a wolf. It does all this without fuel or power. Eventually it encounters the unnamed boy who mistakes it for his long-missing wolf and welcomes it into his home. Thus begins an unusual relationship in an unusual story.

The narrator (god?) occasionally takes a moment to explain what the orb is capable of, which turns out to be not much. It has a few key drives, one of which is to constantly take in new experiences. However, it’s unusual following a comic where the protagonist has no personality or humanity whatsoever. That starts to change by the end of the book, but it brings to mind questions of AI learning and what makes a person a person. (Or an animal, or sentient in general.)

By the second half of the book the sphere has moved into a civilized area which resembles ancient Japan. We meet a little girl named March, who at first glance has a very strange look to her because the face paint she wears makes her look even more cherubic. She really stands out against the designs of the other characters. She’s a typical little girl whose rambunctious and has a loving home. At least she does until those from another village arrive and declare that it’s time for a human sacrifice.

From there on out this volume falls into an obvious clash and the scenario plays out about how you would expect. An escape is attempted, a rescue is attempted, and a run in is had with the sphere. The sphere follows March for a bit before being driven off. It’s only when the god which is meant to be appeased arrives in a rage and attacks the sphere for the second time that the sphere-being chooses to fight back for the creature which fed it. Thus March, Parona, and the sphere in wolf guise, whom she names Fushi, end up being taken away to the other village to keep up the ruse of human sacrifice.

Oima’s art is light on textures and right with detailed backgrounds once the story moves from the snowfields to the forest. The characters are simple but evocative and full of emotion. The cover is actually a disservice to the content of the book. Perhaps the only complaint I have with the artwork is that the wildlife, especially the wolf, looks strange more often than not.

This volume doesn’t contain any extras beyond a page of translation notes, but Kodansha does include the color opening pages.

In Summary
To Your Eternity takes readers away to a world that is both the past and the future, where a grand experiment seems to be playing out. What does it mean to be human? Can something artificial and alien learn how to become human, or is it just mimicking behavior? Or perhaps the orb will only encounter pain and death on its journey. A bigger question would be why the orb is on its journey to begin with, and to what end?

Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B +
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –

Age Rating: 13 +
Released By: Kodansha
Release Date: October 31, 2017
MSRP: $12.99 US / $16.99 CN

What They Say:
“Eden” and “When the Sakura Blooms”
Having seized Gran Crevasse, emissaries are sent out to demand the surrender of the klaxosaurs’ leader. Meanwhile, the Nines visit Squad 13, and there a shocking discovery is made. Squad 13 is told they will be abandoning Mistilteinn soon, and they decide to go out with a bang by making one last memory of their lives there.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)

The end is nigh for their time in Mistilltein. Miku gives Zero Two a flower crown just as Zorome beckons them inside. The 9’s have shown up on Papa’s orders which has everyone but Zero Two relieved that they weren’t abandoned. They explain that all the other parasites have been gathered into one place, a camp or sorts; the Franxx are being worked on as well. Ichigo wonders why they were left out and they say that they should ask Nana and Hachi. In Zero Two’s room later, we see that Hiro is growing some horns of his own. Kokoro runs into Delta (green hair) while washing up and Delta finds the book she dropped then shows it to the others. She comes on to Mitsuru while in the greenhouse, trying to seduce him, before he stops her and Zorome calls him for water duty. When asked why she did that, she tells Mitsuru hat she’s wanted to do that for a while. Hiro and Mitsuru have a chat while they swim and Mitsuru realizes his feelings for Kokoro. Back at the residence, Kokoro has told everyone about it and then the 9’s show up asking for the meaning of the book. Ikuno gets mad as Alpha lectures the and slaps him. Before things escalate Hachi and Nana appear to stop things. They interrogate Kokoro about her interest in wanting a child and learn things about the adults and the children. Nana has some sort of relapse and is out of commission. Alpha saw everything and will report their activity, even that with Doctor Franxx. Hachi informs the doctor about the predicament surrounding any further tests. APE members visit the Princess of the Klaxosaurs to ask her o surrender but she ends up killing them when one tries to assassinate her. Kokoro and Mistru have a moment in her room as she cries after the interview. He holds her and they kiss, later they are in bed together.

So, first thing’s first, Kokoro and Mitsuru are the most adorable thing, aside from Zero Two and Hiro of course. It seems that the latter has been on the backburner for a little while since the beginning of this new stage in their relationship, though they are still getting screen time for some fluff every now and again which is appreciated. Now that the main romance has come to fruition and has comfortable consistency, it’s time for a new couple to bring flowers into our eyes. It’s been going on for a little while now since about the time Kokoro and Ikuno switched partners, but it’s only hit major headway since episode 16 where Kokoro took Mitsuru by surprise by kissing him. This episode she tries to seduce him into having sex with her. The obvious underlying reason, that we have known since she found that book on childbirth in the abandoned town, to make a baby. Mitsuru is caught off guard and moves away but it seemed like he was interested, but didn’t understand what was going on. It’s obvious that he cares about her, with his remarks about wanting to make her happy, but this was just something that he, like all of them, don’t understand yet.

This is a consistent theme in this episode since it leads to their undoing in the next episode. Delta finds her book and they confront the group about it where Kokoro tries to plead her case about children and leaving a mark on the world Having children is outlawed and isn’t needed in their current society. Ikuno even stands up to Alpha as he lectures them and Nana and Hachi make an appearance to cool things down. They take Kokoro aside and she has a bit of an argument with Nana about why they have reproductive organs and Nana says they are necessary for piloting franxx. Nana reveals that adults don’t have them which is why only children can pilot them. When Kokoro fires back about why they have these emotions, something is set off inside Nana’s brain that might have been some sort of puberty thing. I don’t know exactly what it was but Nine Alpha comes in later and calls it that. Perhaps the adults have puberty suppressed when they have their reproductive organs removed. Nana is out of commission now so she can’t be involved with anything else Doctor Franxx wants out of the children and Kokoro is devastated. This reveal was not a surprise but helped in understanding what adults are truly like and what they are required be. This all also proves that franxx are powered, somehow, through sex as we have known.

The most adorable scene though is when Mitsuru finds Kokoro in her room after the interview crying. They had all been waiting for her to come back and he knew exactly where to look after she didn’t even make it out to the greenhouse. She feigns that she wants to be alone and that he won’t understand but he declares that he wants to make her happy and kisses her first this time. They then end up in bed at the end implying that some…interesting things went down. I want to say right now, I am very impressed with the development that these two characters have experienced, especially Mitsuru who has shown on multiple occasions since resolving his inner grudge for Hiro that he’s more than just the stoic, mean guy that they made him out to be. He’s kind and has fallen in love with Kokoro over the time that they have been partners. I do feel bad for Futoshi because he has been in love with Kokoro since the beginning, but I think that had always been one-sided and Kokoro has had feelings for Mitrusu the whole time. She is the one who has helped him become the person he is today.

I did like the chat that Hiro and Mitsuru had in the water because it was the first time that they have had the chance to talk since Mitsuru forgave him. It was nice watching them chat about love and whether it was what Mitsuru felt for Kokoro. Hiro basically explains to him what his experience was and Mitsuru could take from that, in turn, realizing he loves Kokoro. It was a nice moment.

The confrontation between the members of APE and the Princess of the Klaxosaurs was interesting. We finally find out who this mysterious girl with the tentacle-things is and what it means to the plot. They were sent to negotiate a surrender and one of them tries to assassinate her garnering a hostile reaction where everyone else dies. It’s weird having a leader in the klaxosaur part of this war because I did prefer the mysterious aspect to it where the klaxosaurs just came out of nowhere and the war was about human survival, so this is a new ballgame now. She also seems to have something with Zero Two where she can manipulate her mind. I think it was her that prompted the weird vision/dream where her dead partners came out from the floor and held her down to be crushed by a giant hand. Something in her Klaxosaur blood must have something to do with that connection.

So, it’s evident that with Hiro growing horns, there are still some lingering effects from riding with Zero Two and perhaps what happened during the big battle a few episodes ago. We knew that things would still be happening to Hiro but I wasn’t sure what they would be. Nothing drastic has been happening, just the horns so far so we’ll see how that goes of course. It’s also significant that she voices her feelings about what’s going on with Hiro, mainly that she feels bad. Last time she didn’t say much at all, just that it was happening and that she seemed oddly proud of it, especially when Hiro had the growth on his chest. Things have changed a lot since those episodes. I also love the idea of Zero Two reproducing the picture book as something they can cherish together.

Episode 18 picks up where the other left off with Mitsuru and Kokoro as they wake up. Ichigo is informed by Hachi that they will be abandoning Mistilltein and that they should be ready to leave anytime. Ichigo wonders where this comes from after they ignored them for a month. They will be taken to the parasite camp. On the walk back Goro reflects on their lives there not being too bad. Hiro stops and tells them he wants to do something before they leave. They gather the others and explain what a wedding is and that Kokoro and Mitsuru will get married and that will be their lasting memory of the place. They spend the rest of the time preparing. Ichigo finds Ikuno in their room lying on the bed. She thanks her for standing up for Kokoro and Mitsuru but Ikuno says she didn’t do it for them. She confesses her love for Ichigo. She sees her old self in Ikuno so she comforts her in her inner turmoil surrounding her feelings. They all gather outside for a group picture after decorating the place. Zero Two is in her room when she senses something and has a hallucination where her dead partners old her down for the giant hand to fall on her. Hiro wakes her up. Hiro and Zero Two are walking before the wedding and she reminds him of their promise to get married when they were children. The wedding goes on as planned until the Nines show up with an army and take the couple away just before they kissed. Zero Two tries to fight them off but is unsuccessful and Hachi runs out to the scene but does nothing. The children are then carted off to the Bird’s Nest, unsure of where their friends are. They see them again at the camp where they don’t remember anything nor whom each other are; they remember everyone else though. Zero Two points out that the same thing was done to them as children; their minds were altered. Hachi visits Nana in her cell and we get some backstory from their time as parasites as he wonders what he could have said to help the children if he had emotions and that Nana would have been better suited in her condition.

I think this episode is ultimately one of my favourites, even though it frustrated me by the end. It was bittersweet all around. It was sad that they would have to leave the place that had been their home for so long and that we had seen them grow and flourish in while enduring the craziness and danger that is being a parasite. The whole idea of a wedding was adorable and watching them all setup and plan it together as a last memory was very sweet. At first, I did expect it to be Zero Two and Hiro being married because they had promised they would as kids, but I was glad when I learned it wasn’t. It would have been way too cliché for the main couple to be the one to be married if there were to be a wedding and it also wouldn’t have been as good. Their relationship has already reached a threshold where it is perfect the way it is for now and it was time for another couple to take the spotlight, as I’ve already mentioned. This was Kokoro and Mistsuru’s time to shine, and damn did they. Kokoro looked beautiful and they both looked just so happy; it was a perfect moment. They all just felt like a family, as they always do in these episodes where they work together towards something for one of their own.

Of course, in true Darling fashion, things just cannot be happy for too long because something has to come around and mess it up. The 9’s come in with troops and they take the couple away as the others, other than Zero Two, have to sit and watch. It way heartbreaking to watch the 9’s come in all chill and nonchalant because Papa’s way is not this way and they are heathens. They used to be kind of cool in my eyes but the underlying sinister nature they have would make itself known. I knew they would come in during the wedding, even though I wish they didn’t but that’s how these stories go; the enemy comes at the most inopportune moment to remind you of their power.

Hachi even runs out to the scene but does nothing because he didn’t know what he could do. We actually get some great backstory out of this when he goes and visits Nana in her cell to tell her about it. This is also where we learn that they have their emotions taken from them as they age since Hachi asks her what he would have said had he had emotions. So, it turns out that Nana and Hachi were parasites together on the same squad where her partner died on a mission and she had her memory altered, or so it seems. I find it interesting that Nana and Hachi knew each other before all of this and know what the children have been going through. It also proves that the children can, in fact, become adults if they survive long enough; parasites grow up. This is so essential. Of course, I figured that the adults used to be children at one point, but not that most of them used to be parasites. I just assumed they were children during the time before the monsters attacked and they tasked children with protecting them. It’s cool to learn that the two people that have been watching over these kids were once in their same boat.

Once the kids are finally picked up and brought to the camp, they wonder what has become of their friends. Soon enough, Ichigo gets a message that they will be coming out and when they do they remember nothing of whom the other is and have no memory of the events leading up to this point, only who their squad are. This was an infuriating moment for me, but again not surprising. Of course, the punishment for what they did was going to be getting their memories altered; what else could have happened when we already know what happened to Hiro and Zero Two. Zero Two also knows for sure that she knows that Kokoro and Mitsuru’s memories were altered much like theirs were. This is horrible, but also means that they can remember again. Hiro and Zero Two remembered that they knew each other when they were younger and Hiro also remembered the promise he made to Mitsuru. The evidence of this is also clear in Kokoro’s reaction to seeing a cherry blossom during her walk because the wedding was at a time where there were lots of cherry blossom petals blowing around so there is hope. This will definitely spark a sort of distrust and rebellion among the rest of the squad. All they wanted was a good send off for their old home and Papa ordered it to be ruined simply because rules had been broken. It shows his true colours to them and hopefully, they will realize that Papa may have built a life for them that was comfortable, but that doesn’t mean that he is the revered man they have made him out to be.

Now, it’s time to talk about Ikuno’s confession. Ichigo finds Ikuno in their room during the wedding preparations and while they talk Ikuno pushed her down on to the bed and confesses her love for her. In this scene, Ichigo truly understands the position she had put Hiro in while she was crushing on him and she sees a lot of herself in Ikuno at this moment. Ichigo was apparently the one that gave Ikuno her name during the time when they were kids that everyone was following Hiro in naming themselves and each other, and that moment was the one where Ikuno fell for her. She doubts her feelings and wonders whys he is the way she is, but Ichigo reassures her that she is perfect the way she is, not quite accepting her advances, but making her feel better about who she is and why she feels this way. Ichigo has grown a lot as well, going from being love struck for Hiro to accepting that he is in love with someone else only to have that person nearly kill him, and having Goro confess to her out of the blue. I think Goro’s confession prepared her a little bit for this scene because she knew how to react and also knew Ikuno well enough to know what could comfort her. I love Ikuno a lot more now for her courage. She can pilot a franxx no problem, but voicing her feelings to Ichigo was very brave. Even though it came out when she assumed that Ichigo was saying she was interested in her,I believe that it was the right move for her to just lay out her cards because Ichigo reacted perfectly so that her friend wouldn’t feel alienated.

In Summary:
I like how now that Zero Two and Hiro’s relationship has hit a point where other couples can have their time to shine. The wedding was beautiful but it was cut short at the worst time, but necessary for the narrative. Kokoro and Mitsuru finally fleshing out their relationship was great, but having it all disappear felt very deceptive. The Nines are not very nice, but we knew that going in. Nana and Hachi actually have a bit of character now. A possible rebellion could occur and I am curious as to how that would play out. Both episodes were very good, though of course, they weren’t without flaws, there was more good than bad. They made me care more about their situation outside of a battle for once. The princess is intimidating too and I wonder how things will continue to work out with Zero Two while the princess seemingly puts images in her head. I also liked how we finally got to see the Nines, at least a few of them, in their entirety and even give them speaking roles instead of being background to Alpha.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Imagine the seven deadly sins all wanted to bang you. This is that, but also good.

What They Say:
Things have been looking sunny for Arata Kasuga lately. Unfortunately, it’s been the wrong sun in the sky, and the mysterious Breakdown Phenomenon that accompanied it destroyed his town and stole his beloved cousin Hiijiri, leaving Arata in a fantasy world of his own creation!

There’s still a chance to save her, however, as the appearance of the Black Sun also revealed Arata’s potential abilities as a mage, placing him in the powerful Demon Lord class.

But first, since Arata and his newfound magical talents are far too dangerous to leave to their own devices, he’s immediately whisked off to the Royal Biblia Academy. That’s where he’ll meet seven beautiful female mages whose powers are intrinsically tied to the same sins that Arata has to master to put his world back together. Of course, the tricky part is that they have their own plans for him as well! The lessons in sin are about to begin as Arata takes on the Trinity Seven!

The Review:
Audio:
Let’s be real for a second. No one goes into a DVD release expecting to be blown away by audio quality anymore. It’s not like Dolby Digital 2.0 is dreadful or anything- I’m just so spoiled by Blu-ray quality everything that DVD audio always seems lackluster after immediate jumps. This just so happens to be one of those unfortunate times where I move from Blu-ray to DVD so quickly that imperfections and impurities jump out at you like a rogue camel cricket. Apart from lackluster audio, however, both dubs are viable for viewing. The staff isn’t packed with huge names or anything like that- but it does have Brittney Karbowski and I will easily seize any opportunity put in front of me to rave about her. Other than that, there are no major dropouts and the majority of the series has equalized levels. Things can get kind of quiet at random intervals but it’s nothing to cry over.

Video:
Much like the audio portion, the visuals on this release aren’t anything to write home about. Trinity Seven was never the most aesthetically pleasing show to begin with but seeing everything dialed down really hammers in its simplistic color palate and lack of detail. Of course, 480i doesn’t help at all and from a sheer visual perspective, this is on the low side even for the DVD spectrum. If you’re going to buy this series, just get the Blu-ray. Yes, this is something I would say for literally every DVD with a Blu-ray copy available, but this time I’m highlighting it. The video quality really isn’t great here.

Packaging:
The standard DVD collection of Trinity Seven leaves everyone but Lilith off its main cover. Considering that she was the poster girl for the series, this really isn’t all that surprising. And even though it’s clear that a more simplistic approach was taken in designing this particular graphic, its distinct lack of detail leaves something to be desired. In many cases, the rear cover will make up for this. Unfortunately, the rear of this release suffers the same issue. Lack of detail is compensated by several fanservice-heavy thumbnails and one character design that would be off-putting to the typical viewer. Trinity Seven is in no way a wholesome show, but I believe that its posterior design paints it as a lot trashier than it really is and may be slightly misleading.

Menu:
As always, the menus on this Sentai release are pretty darn boring. This section of the review is honestly getting kind of irrelevant considering no one even pays attention to menus beside me anymore…but look where we are. I get that there are better uses of money than creating interesting designs that people will just skip over immediately, but that doesn’t change the fact that the menus are flat-out boring. This is no exception.

Special Features:
As has become the industry norm for standard releases, Trinity Seven’s complete series comes with nothing more than textless themes and trailers for more Sentai shows. The trailers included for this release are Magical Warfare, Wizard Barristers, Blade Dance of the Elementalers, and Log Horizon 2. There is no commentary or anything cool.

Content:
Harems are a magical thing, aren’t they? The beta protagonist, the girls who exist only to fall in love with said protagonist, and the giant evil sun that steals your childhood friend and tosses the world into utter ruin. Oh, also, the protagonist in Trinity Seven is totally not beta, but I felt obligated to toss that into the mixture because that’s how harems are probably 99% of the time.

Trinity Seven follows the life of Arata Kasuga after, you guessed it, his childhood friend is taken from him. But just before she meets an untimely demise, she gifts him a relic that he can use to ‘reshape humanity’. In this particular case, that relic happens to be a grimoire which bestows incredible magic power unto him. How his childhood friend got that grimoire? Not a big deal. What is a big deal, however, is that Arata’s new world is filled with a plethora of hot girls that are essentially lining up for him the moment he gets there. Instead of acting like any other anime protagonist would in this situation (IE: Not even realizing it’s happening), Arata totally accepts it and borderline seduces these girls any chance he gets. Now, before you interpret that persona in the smuttier fashion, it is important to note that the driving force of Trinity Seven is comedy rather than ecchi stuff. Sure, the ecchi stuff is probably a close second, but you can’t dismiss Trinity Seven as pure smut without seeing what else it has to offer.

Each of the girls in Arata’s new school represents one of the seven deadly sins. I don’t think they ever come out and say who is who but it’s relatively easy to surmise and theorize for the most part. In addition to being personifications, these girls are instrumental in Arata’s journey to save humanity from….something (The sun, I guess?) and bring his semi-girlfriend back to life. Each of them possesses a certain skill set that, through the power of his grimoire, he is able to learn at a surprisingly quick rate. Of course, it wouldn’t be any fun having just twelve episodes of training, so things start going off the rails rather quickly when it is revealed that Arata is damn close to becoming some sort of demon.

At the end of the day, friendship prevails and we’re left with plenty of room for a sequel that will probably never happen. I’m not really sure how this series fared in Japan but if it’s anything close to how it was treated in the US, I think it’s safe to say it may have been overlooked. You see, Trinity Seven sounds pretty bad and cliche on paper but, in all actuality, it’s one of the most well-rounded harems I’ve seen. The soundtrack is tight, the characters (Despite being very archetypical) are all fun and interesting, the story is an actual story, and the protagonist is pretty damn awesome. For an ecchi comedy, Trinity Seven somehow manages to never feel like senseless sex-pandering and, instead, comes across simply as a damn fun time.

If you’re into harems, magic, or both then I definitely recommend giving this series a shot. There really isn’t any part of it that’s inherently bad. That being said, don’t expect anything to blow you away either. It’s memorable and likeable enough to purchase but I can’t imagine anyone ever citing it as their absolute favorite. With that in mind, I say give it a shot. If worse comes to worst you can just go back to watching Dragonball Z or whatever it is you do.

In Summary:
Trinity Seven sports a memorable character roster and one of the more interesting and entertaining harem protagonists out there. While the story may seem overly convoluted or nonsensical at times, the series possesses a lot more substance than others of the same genre and it’s important to keep that in mind when evaluating it. Based on the sheer enjoyment I was able to leech from this series, I’d go ahead and say that it’s pretty darn good. And for a studio as small and new as Seven Arcs, I’d also say this is a solid glimpse into the type of product we should be expecting from them. Both this series and the studio itself has immense potential for growth and, based on Trinity Seven alone, I’m excited to see what the future may hold.

Features:
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio, Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio, English Subtitles, Textless Opening/Ending Songs, trailers from Sentai Filmworks.

Content Grade: B
Audio Grade: C-
Video Grade: C-
Packaging Grade: C
Menu Grade: C-
Extras Grade: C+

Released By: Sentai Filmworks
Release Date: August 16, 2016
MSRP: $59.98
Running Time: 300 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i Anamorphic
Aspect Ratio: 16×9

Another pair of charming vignettes from the world of Japanese izakaya food served to beings that belong to a fantasy world.

Isekai Izakaya Nobu Episodes 7-8

What They Say:
Episode 7: “The Burglar”
Upon hearing that Nobu’s been robbed, Deacon Edwin pays a visit to the pub with Nikolaus. Much to their shock, the place is open for business as usual. Nikolaus begins to ask Shinobu questions, and she tells the tale of a small thief that showed up during the day. Just who is this criminal…?

Episode 8: “After Work Tonjiru”
It’s a freezing winter night… Only a handful of customers have swung by Nobu, and there’s an abundance of tonjiru left in the kitchen. As Nobuyuki and Shinobu are about to call it quits, they find Nikolaus passed out in front of the pub. They quickly bring him inside and tend to him as he starts telling them about the disaster he faced and the hardships that followed. Just what kinds of painful things has this man been through? What’s his secret to overcoming it all?

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The cast makes a modest new acquisition in the form of an ultra cute teenage girl (who looks younger, but then 1) this is anime and 2) in a pre-modern society such as Aitheria, nutrition is not as good as it is in the modern world and one can actually to some degree buy into the idea of a poor 14-year-old girl who might look closer to 11-12) named Eva. She was discovered by Shinobu attempting to steal the faucet while the Master was out and had left the door open. Yes, all of us know that stealing a faucet isn’t going to get you a seemingly magical (to the people of this fantasy world) and endless supply of water you can drink, but the people of the medieval fantasy world know no better. It is also why Shinobu and the Master are extremely lenient towards Eva, whom they decide to take on as a dishwasher as their increased business has made it harder for just the two of them to run Nobu.

Mystery solved

The report of a burglar, however, brings Nikolaus of the Palace Guards and Edwin the Deacon to investigate. Which means sitting down to eat, of course, and we have yet more good izakaya food brought before us, including some bonito (a very common food fish in the tuna/mackerel family) dishes. The upshot of the investigation is that Edwin, even though a man of the cloth who is supposed to follow a simple life including simple food, is actually a regular of Nobu, often coming in early before any of the Palace Guards do.

In the first Nobu Plus, Ryuuta Kijima offers a fried rare bonito dish (fried on outside, still raw inside).

In the second of our usual bi-weekly pairs of episodes, it’s a cold day so no customers are coming. Nikolaus does appear late, collapsed in front of the restaurant. He had to deal with some ruffians the day before, but what has him looking near death was what happened the next day. After getting the worst of it from the ruffians, he is chewed out by his boss (Berthold) and forced to stay for extra training. He survives it by thinking about food from Nobu. His reward is tonjiru, a pork soup. What is notable about this episode is that Eva is now a regular and here we hear the most talking by the owner in the series’ entire run.

As usual, the second Nobu Plus finds Kenichi Nagira going in search of the food from the episode and he goes to Tameikesanou to find a place that specializes in tonjiru. He declares it impossible, but there is one, a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant.

Isekai Izakaya Nobu continues to adhere to its staple formula of quick little vignettes focused around common izakaya dishes. We get a small infusion of cute with the addition of Eva into the cast but it doesn’t mean that the focus, tone, or aims of the show will change at all. The Japanese, after all, simply like cuteness. The food continues to be delicious looking and what I really wish is that I could taste some of these things for myself.

In Summary:
Isekai Izakaya just keeps doing what it does: introduce us to yet more common Japanese pub dishes. They make a small addition to the recurring cast with Eva, a young girl who looks pretty much abandoned in the much harsher world of a pseudo-medieval society, desperate enough to try to steal the faucet from the restaurant (not knowing that won’t be enough to have drinking water all the time). But the focus of the show doesn’t change. It’s all about the food.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 12GB RAM, Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra

© Yoshimi Sato / Futabashi / Crossing Time Partners

What They Say:
“Clank, clank, clank, clank…” Today, the railroad crossing bar goes down again, stopping someone on their way somewhere. The various stories of youth, eros, art, first love, etc that occur during the time spent waiting at a railroad crossing… All railroad crossings, all the time. Bringing you a variety of short stories about railroad crossings!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While the first few episodes were mostly traditional in a lot of ways, Crossing Time has veered into the odder side of events at the crossing sign spot. This episode adds to that kind of oddness as we get the latest high school girl who, while at the crossing, comes up with poetry/haiku material there. It all serves as inspiration and there’s an amusing kind of concept behind it that you could see it being something that would catch on. It’s played largely serious but with a kind of pleased approach by our lead as she comes up with it all in her head and works through the structure of the haikus themselves.

In Summary:
With a lot of fun and weird episodes so far, Crossing Time essentially disappoints this time. Our railroad poet isn’t bad per se and the show isn’t exclusively about romance at the crossing signs, but the single character focus puts a lot of pressure on the character and what she’s doing to really make a connection with the viewer. I’m sure it did with other people but it didn’t do anything for me since I just have frustrated memories when it comes to haikus and having to work them and other poetry structures over the years. It has its cute moments but that only goes so far here for me.

Grade: C

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

© Hiroto Ida / Shinchosha

What They Say:
Kamitsuki ends up having to move from Chiba Prefecture to Gunma Prefecture. He decides to do a little bit of research about Gunma on his way over, and everything he finds out is terrifying! For example, “The world’s only remaining unexplored area,” and “Make sure you take all your best equipment.” What kind of place is Gunma? What kinds of things are going to happen to him while he’s there? The Gunma-born author brings you the real truth about Gunma in this series.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With Kamitsuki having survived some of his experience so far he’s now experiencing a different part of Gunam in how the winter season is with bikes. There’s a kind of enjoyment that he’s getting from being out there with everyone else while riding home but the headwind is intense and we see some kids getting into bad accidents. One young kid he comes across is going into the wind rather than riding with it and is going on about how hard life in Gunma is, which reinforces his own belief in how terrible this place is to comedic effect. A dried potatoes dinner only makes it worse when he gets home!

In Summary:
Kamitsuki’s big advantage in all of this is that he tends to forget what’s bothering him as soon as something new bothers him, making it easier to survive. He’s fully on board with Gunma being hell and dealing with all of its instances but there’s some fun to watching the windy season aspect of it as he and others ride home after school because you can imagine it being a whole lot of fun. This episode thankfully gets us away from everything it’d been dealing with for a few episodes and that helps a good deal in working through some standalone Gunma humor.

Grade: C+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

© Waka Kakitsubata / Kadokawa

What They Say:
The childhood friends Akkun and Nontan are boyfriend and girlfriend. But Akkun is always saying ridiculously harsh things to Nontan as well as being cold with her and is frequently moody. But that’s just how Akkun expresses his love for Nontan. This is a high school love comedy about Akkun and Nontan, who doesn’t seem to care at all about how Akkun acts toward her.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After getting a handle on the parents the last time around it helped to explain away a lot of what’s going on with these two crazy kids. With this episode the focus is on Irie, an outgoing pinkhaired girl with the fang teeth that lets you know she’s trouble, particularly since she’s flirty with the male teacher. She’s just oblivious to reality with how she interprets everything as advancing a relationship with her teacher, though he makes it pretty clear that he’s not crossing this line. She’s certainly amusing in how she presents herself here and his weariness in dealing with her is definitely quite apparent. The problem is that in trying to figure out how to deal with her he sees Akkun and Nontan and gets his own weird little education.

In Summary:
Having him trying to figure out what Akkun and Nontan are like is definitely amusing and you can see him trying to use it to deal with Irie, though his approach with it is easily misunderstood at the start here. This episode works a touch better since it doesn’t deal with our two leads hardly at all and leaves the Irie and teacher material as something that’s definitely familiar and filled with the usual problems. It’s a bit cuter because Irie isn’t as bad as the kind of dynamic the other two have so it has a little more potential.

Grade: C-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

© Naoki Shigeno / Shinzumi Shinka · Nobunaga’s Production Committee

What They Say:
The year is 1555, the middle of the Warring States period, and one young man holds on to a very big dream. That young man, known as an empty-headed fool, is none other than Oda Nobunaga. Enchanted by his dream, a certain young girl who admires Nobunaga swears that she will become his ninja one day. Nobunaga has one goal: to unify Japan by military might! Decorated by a colorful cast of characters, including the airheaded Kichou, the errand boy Hideyoshi, the tsundere Nene, the straight man Mitsuhide, and the half-dead Hanbei, this heavy-hitting wartime gag anime is about to begin!!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the attack on Nobunaga directly, it’s a chance for Chidori to shine a bit as she steps in to deal with Endo and what he managed to accomplish. Endo’s made more progress than most in trying to go after Nobunaga and it turns into a pretty good fight because Chidori’s insistence that she be listened to. She’s trying to stop future fighting because of how events have turned and I rather liked her impassioned plea to surrender so they can all move forward. These two definitely have a history and Endo, who has been amusing to watch so far, plays it well here because he has come to this fight to win and/or die by going as big as he can.

In Summary:
The opening salvo is definitely strong but it’s Chidori’s attempts to do things right by both Endo and Nobunaga with the larger fight that lands so well. She’s playing to the right sense of honor in giving him an out but it’s not one he can take and it’s something that she has to step up and really deal with. It’s a quieter episode in a lot of ways than one might normally expect but that works very much in its favor, particularly in the final fight.

Grade: B-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Chi Goes To A Meeting

What They Say:
Chi is a sweet playful kitten, always full of energy. She gets milk from Yohei, and is relaxing at home, nice and full. As she searches around the house for something exciting, she comes across Yohei walking with a handful of rubber balls. The balls bounce everywhere as he drops them, and Yohei and Chi can’t get more excited. The day ends with Chi and the family making a great memory together.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a more mellow and relaxed episode previously that focused on Blackie watching over the neighborhood, this one brings us to the latest cat meeting. The previous cat meeting episode was one of the weaker things for me so having another one so soon didn’t inspire me with a lot of confidence. While Blackie had intended to bring yem to the cat meeting they’re showing their youthfulness a bit more than expected so both Chi and Come-Come end up with Old Lady Calico as she teaches and watches over several kittens. Yet as much as Chi wants to participate in the singing she’s just a playful mess with it in so many ways while Come-Come just doesn’t want to be involved at all, making for a really rough experience for Old Lady Calico.

In Summary:
With just the last couple of minutes focused on the party itself, which felt like a simple repeat of what we had seen before mixed in with some new stuff, it’s light and simple. It still doesn’t work for me but I enjoyed seeing Chi and Come-Come together again. The fun is in watching those two and Old Lady Calico along with some bits of oh Blackie watches over the neighborhood that worked for me.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Amazon

”A contest. To see who can awake out sleeping Alice.”

Creative Staff
Story/Art: Ryoko Fukuyama
Translation/Adaptation: Casey Loe

What They Say
Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! Luckily, Nino reunites with Momo and Yuzu in high school, but things haven’t played out the way anyone expected…

Nino takes the stage at the school festival, ready to deliver the message held fast in her heart. Both Yuzu and Momo have composed songs for her, but which piece of music will be the one to awaken her? Meanwhile, Kuro’s secret feelings seem to have reached a turning point as well… And is In No Hurry finally ready to take things to the next level professionally?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Back when I read exclusively shonen titles, I remember having some mixed feelings about the whole trope of non-fighter characters essentially serving as narrators for fights. On the one hand, it’s nice to have side-characters serve a role while main characters throw punches at each other, but on the other hand, I’d rather the fight speak for itself. Anonymous Noise takes these gripes, pits them in a shojo/musical setting, and fixes them almost effortlessly.

While no literal punches were thrown, and the general feeling of a school festival is lost entirely (the cast remains way too talented to still be in high school), Fukuyama completely nails the pop music club’s 20-minute performance—stretching for four of the volume’s six total chapters and working all the better for it. Fukuyama’s sense of scale and consideration for every key character during live performances continues to be spot-on every time she depicts them in the series. Like your over-the-top shonen battles, she makes a point to alternate between the performance itself, and characters commenting on the performance. Unlike your over-the-top shonen battles, we at least get those comments from the performers themselves—getting in the heads of each pop music club member rather than an outsider’s opinion on what’s currently unfolding. It makes for a much more intimate experience, and elevates the performance itself into something far more explosive. Yuzu breaking down the technicalities of song order, and Nino at odds with her voice, and even smaller moments like Nino and Miou’s high-five between songs all work together to form a page-turner and overall roller-coaster ride of emotions.

And unlike in past performances, the objective going forward is simple and clear—to get better. Both Yuzu and Nino reach the conclusion that they’d rather not coast on their base-line talent and wish to find ways to preemptively break out of any ruts they may face in the future. This transitions perfectly into Yuzu’s insistence on writing music for someone other than Nino, and Nino singing songs outside her own comfort zone. The series continues to sync up the two’s love life with their music-life, while blurring whether or not one necessarily reflects the other. It’s a nice dynamic that I’m sure can keep the series going a lot longer than your standard “will they / won’t they” shojo trope.

I just wish Momo had a lot more to do. Rather than having an arc to follow through on, he tends to simply react to everyone else’s arcs. Even Kuro’s current side-plot of sorting out his feelings towards his brother’s wife is more interesting. Add to this the sudden inclusion of two unnamed characters closing out the volume, and it feels like the series may have a bit too much on its plate for later volumes to resolve in an economical manner. Still, I prefer this over the bare-bones-iness of past volumes.

In Summary:
For a medium not best suited for conveying music, Anonymous Noise’s 7th manga volume is somehow able to pull off the feeling of experiencing a rock concert firsthand. Fukuyama expertly navigates each character’s head-space for maximum drama all while the concert unfolds, making for this explosive performance that lasts for as long as it needs to. Characters leave the performance yearning for more, working to the benefit of the series. And while subplots peppered throughout the volume are getting a bit numerous for as underdeveloped as they feel, it is good to see the series really feasting on its plot over starving itself on minimal story like in previous volumes.

Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A

Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: March 6, 2018
MSRP: $9.99

© 梱枝りこ・KADOKAWA／シスコン製作委員会

What They Say:
It’s time to battle! Big Brother has to decide who’s café is better: Kisaki’s or Yamiry’s.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The introduction of both a rival and a rival cafe the last time around didn’t exactly thrill me as it’s just far too overdone, especially with it being a Dark Cafe. With the challenge set, the two restaurants are now facing off with big brother judging it, which they’re all fine with even though they shouldn’t be. What they come up with is a trio of christmas oriented contests to run with different types of food to work through. There’s some amusement to it overall with the way it’s handled but there’s nothing unfamiliar here as it ends in a tie going into the third piece where the sensuality is ramped up a bit before we get the obvious ending that prolongs the competition for life.

In Summary:
Alice or Alice wasn’t great before the Dark Cafe arc but this definitely sucked out some of the energy of it for me. The competition between Kisaki and Yamiry is at least simple and fun in a basic kind of way here as the two places compete to please big brother, which means going at it through his stomach and his libido. There’s cute bits to be had but it’s overall just kind of there without the energy it needs to really make it engaging and fun.

Grade: C+

Streamed By: HIDIVE

© Hiromi Morishita · OOP / Team Goma

“Ashibe’s Pockets”

What They Say:
A comedy manga, “Shonen Ashibe,” that follows the friendship between baby spotted seal Goma-chan and first-grade student Ashiya Ashibe. First serialized in 1988 and adapted to anime in 1991, the adorable Goma-chan created a massive following and a spotted seal boom. This spring, Goma-chan returns to “Tentere Anime.” A cute, pleasant story of Ashibe and Goma-chan and their unusual school and their neighbors. Sometimes endearing, sometimes bizarre, it’s a fun anime for the whole family!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a focus on physical comedy the last time around we got a lot of material with Goma-chan trying to save his froggie friend. It was cute but it did stretch the nine minute running time a fair bit because it was something that, while amusing, was simply too padded for my taste. Goma-chan episodes can be a bit hit or miss but more so when it’s just Goma-chan and with little in the way of human presence. So this episode, amusingly named Ashibe’s Pockets, brings in our other title character for a bit more fun. This actually provides some good stuff with his mother at first as she’s cleaning out his pockets for the wash and discovered that there were pillbugs in there, which freaks her out as one would rightly expect. The things in little kids clothes should always be approached that way.

With Ashibe only sorta listening to her and Pa going with a boys will be boys kind of thing, Ashibe’s shocked when he gets home from school the next day and discovers a massive pillbug on the floor – which is just Goma-chan in an outfit that Mom is doing some ventriloquism through. It’s a lot of work but we’ve seen parents do more complex things than this to deal with kids. And Ashibe always needs dealing with. There’s a lot of fun back and forth with this as she plays the role and as we see Ashibe basically ignore what’s suggested by her through the pillbug. Ashibe, of course, goes in the complete opposite direction and just makes things worse, which is exactly what you’d expect.

In Summary:
Ashibe episodes work best for me when he gets to play off a range of supporting characters but an episode focusing on him and Mom working off each other plays out very well. The pillbug thing is comical and creepy at the same time and seeing how Ashibe pulls one big fake out on his mother at the end is just beautiful. I love the parents in this series and getting as much time as we do with Mom here is very much worth it.

Grade: B-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Having an unattractive heroine doesn’t help make a story more realistic–at least not when she’s surrounded by an entire hot boy band–and it doesn’t make her more appealing, either.

Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Shin JiSang / Geo
Translated by: Jackie Oh
Adapted by: Jamie S. Rich

What They Say
Kum-Ji may have started following Yo-I to get close to her favorite boy band, DDL, but it’s E-Wan of Yo-I that she can’t get out of her head! With E-Soh’s confession still heavy on her heart, a confused Kum-Ji joins her fellow fan girls in strategizing for the next tour. But Barbie, the fan club president, has other plans. When a surprise attack leaves Kum-Ji bruised and beaten, E-Soh charges in as her knight in shining armor! Will this dashing rescue be enough to change Kum-Ji’s affections?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As Kum-Ji continues her membership with the boys of Yo-I, she finds her life becoming more and more complicated.  A confession from E-Soh hasn’t helped matters, but only served to increase the tension between him and E-Wan, the true object of Kum-Ji’s affections.  Other fans of Yo-I are still on their quest to drive Kum-Ji away from the boy band, resulting to increasingly violent acts such as attacking her in the park and cutting off her hair with a razor blade.  She can’t decide what to do when E-Soh comes to rescue her and forces her to go to the hospital.  This heroic intervention doesn’t help our heroine’s internal conflict at all, and she even agrees to go on a date with the boy she previously turned down.  Thoughts of E-Wan continue to follow her everywhere until she comes to see E-Soh and is stuck waiting for him to come back while in a room with only E-Wan.  What’s a girl surrounded by hot boy band members to do?

Well, she’s going to do exactly what you expect, but it‘s going to take a volume full of boy-band drama for Kum-Ji to get around to it.  E-Wan’s confession of torturing and killing an anemone when he was a child is rather sad and a shade creepy, until he calls Kum-Ji his “new anemone.”  Then the comparison is just flat-out disturbing, even if E-Wan turns it into something of a joke, telling the easily-teased E-Soh that he is “nothing but an anemone” as well.  Seeing a girl who is obviously capable of obsessing over boys (her method of joining a fan club to get close to DDL is a prime example) continue to have a crush on one who compares her to something he once killed sets off all kinds of alarms for me. The series seems to be playing towards the shoujo concept that you can’t pick the person that you fall in love with, as E-Soh offers a viable alternative.  It’s hard not to feel for the boy who rushes to her aid even after she’s rejected him when compared to the jerk who is capable of ignoring her for hours on end… when they’re the only two people in the room.

In the end, Chocolat is just too far removed from reality to hold a person’s attention while the heroine continues to make foolish decisions.  Sure, it’s nice to have a female lead who‘s considered unattractive by just about everyone, but few people can relate to being surrounded by a famous boy band.  Even worse, Kum-Ji comes off as just plain unlikable in several moments at the book, particularly when she takes advantage of E-Soh’s affection despite having turned him down already.  She also tells Barbie, the beautiful fan club president, that the members of Yo-I are like older brothers, but confesses to E-Wan just a few hours later.  The authors can’t seem to decide what they want her personality to be, either.  When she snaps at Barbie, Kum-Ji is labeled in a side-note as having a “short fuse,” but she also puts up with everything E-Wan does with only the usual token measures of shoujo heroine resistance.

In Summary:
If you’re looking for something that qualifies as melodramatic shoujo drama, then Chocolat may be right up your alley.  It’s not as good as many of the other offerings on the market today, mainly due to the fact that it has no lovable characters to latch onto.  Kum-Ji’s friend Hyo-Sun and her new boyfriend Jung-Yun offer, in the first few pages of the volume, what would make this series worth reading if it were more highlighted: a cute high school romance between two people who actually like and appreciate each other.  Unfortunately, this is shoujo drama, so we get five pages of that in a volume that’s otherwise filled with exactly the opposite.

Content Grade: C+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: June 30th, 2008
MSRP: $10.99

Never underestimate a young witch … even when she loses confidence in herself.

What They Say:

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirted Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes the beloved coming-of-age story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt.

It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on a ne journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside village, where her unique skills make her am instant sensation. Don’t miss this delightfully imaginative and timeless story of a young girl finding her way in the world, featuring the voices of Kirsten Dunst, Jeaneane Garofalo, Phil Hartman, and Debbie Reynolds.

The Review:
Audio:

The audio display for this delightful release is available in English or Japanese subtitled DTS-HD 2.0 lossless codec or French subtitled Dolby Digital 2.0, and the wonderful fullness of this sound presentation helps to flesh out the film acoustically. We are enveloped through this embracing ambiance to propel the audience within a presentation which is wholly dependent upon each seiyus’ performance to carry their weight and allowing the audio surroundings to reflect a sense of everyday normalcy. It is a marvelous aural display as the subtly of this natural soundtrack allows the audience to submerge themselves within a world of magic and smothering civilization. While people begin to forget the simplicity of a child’s innocence and all the joy it brings, Kiki helps those she touches via her charming repartee and enamoring need to help anyone which brings the delight to this narrative. As such, there is a noticeable lack of music, using orchestral melodies only during emotional moments or to introduce and close the film. However even with this absence, the movie does not suffer, in fact it becomes more prevalent to the audience, allowing them to focus on the actors interpretation. It is their verbal renditions which communicate the characters’ feelings and as such, making the viewers all the more inclusive in the happenings and how they relate to each other. This interaction culminates by bringing about a fuller and richer film, projecting Kiki’s confidence and showing how one can find yourself through hardships and it is how you deal with those obstacles which shows us the truth within ourselves and how other see you as a person and an individual.

Normally I try to review a series or film by viewing in its original format, however this is one of the few exceptions in which I opted to watch it again in a secondary language track, namely English. The translation of this film is truly enticing with the use of familiar Hollywood voices, allowing each actor’s own personality to shine through into the character on the screen, especially the duo of Kiki voiced by Kirsten Dunst and Jiji by the impeccable stylings of the late great Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live fame. To hear his snarky attitude reflected through this small witch’s familiar made their interactions all the more appealing, making you miss is talent all the more. It was nice to see the studio also add a posthumous dedication for him and his hard work, I only wish he could have been here to see the popularity of his little black cat.

Video:

It is hard to believe Kiki’s Delivery Service is almost three decades old, considering how well the studio was able to reformat the visuals into modern day standards. Viewers can watch this film in either standard DVD encoded MPEG-1/2 DVD media format with 720×480 anamorphic resolution or a Blu-ray remastered edition in 1080p using AVC codec for anamorphic playback, with both formats remaining in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. However even with the daunting task of having so much amazing animation for this film, the visuals are outstanding, for the most part. Since this movie was originally distributed in 1989, the video format is in keeping with standard definition of the time, which was 480p. As such, the playback is fine on the past generation disk, however when the studio tried to update the resolution for Blu-ray, they did run into some minor problems. While you can be dazzled by the individual elements composing onto a whole, there are times when you do see some digital artifacts of pixillated colors or components which appear out of focus when the scene moves to fast, but overall, these minor mistakes can be overlooked in favor of the film in its entirety.

When you see the opening sequence of Kiki laying within a vast open field, you cannot but stare in disbelief, pondering how long it took to animate this pasture, with the detailed flora rustling in the breeze. It is this gentleness of the images which makes the mind wander, then follow in excitement as we watch the amazing adventures of this young girl progress from countryside and past the sea until she finally arrives in her new home. Every location is a star unto itself, essential to the movement of the movie as much as the actors are to telling of the tale. This is the foundation for Studio Ghibli, no element is unimportant, even if they only appear for a few seconds or less within the film. Panoramic vistas serve to magnify the passing of events, from the tranquil nature of Kiki’s village in the northwest of Koriko to a magnificent view of her flying over pastoral scenery all until we reach the sea. It is this magnificently depicted composition which entices us to continue, with a dazzling array of colors breathing life into each rich composition, being the essence of the movie. Though we may gloss over the generality of natural settings and seascapes, it is not until Kiki arrives in her new home do the artists make their true talents known, encapsulating the richness of a Swedish medieval village into rich joy through the screen. It is amazing to see how they have merged the past with the present – old fashioned colored tile roofs, cobblestone streets and yet, you still see the influences of cars and television aerial antennas dotted across the area. But then the impossibility of thinking all of these components have been painstakingly hand drawn and painted upon individual animation cels, it is this thought that makes the audacity of the film seem ever more wondrous in the reach and scope as to how long it took to complete, all for the enjoyment of the audience.

Packaging:
The case packaging is the first thing a buyer notices about this product and thus, it should project the proper attitude for this film, with GKIDS doing a great job in creating an appealing mood. You cannot but smile seeing a welcoming image from the movie plastered upon the front of this disk combination’s cardboard sleeve: Kiki and Gigi flying across a majestic aerial view of their new home, a rich blue sea, warm green meadows and houses dotted with red roofs jutting from the mainland, with white seagulls flying in front, together they all invoke the happiness of the story. And while the same delightful display is repeated on all important media within and upon the interior Blu-ray disk case, it not until we open the box do we see a new vista of imagination with the central anchoring point of the movie – Ursula’s Painting. Although its importance is a bit muted by viewing it through neon blue plastic, its impact still makes an impression to the viewer, allowing us to wonder how it plays a part as we make a choice between the two disk formats held within. However even as that choice may be essential, it is the exclusive information booklet held within which leaves an impact the purchaser, allowing us to absorb insight and wisdom from the Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki and the master himself Hayao Miyazaki. Their thoughts and reasoning into creating Kiki’s Delivery Service are enlightening, allowing us to understand how ideas developed into such a beloved and now classic movie.

Menu:
GKIDS once again makes a favorable impression upon the viewer once they load a disk by displaying the same joyous image we were presented from the welcoming presentation case – Kiki and Jiji flying happily over their home. However this time it is a bit strange to see this portrayal since the studio missed restoring a small portion near the menu bar, making it appear as if there is a storm front coming in from the lower right quarter of the screen. This discrepancy gives us a grainy disgrace for both Blu-ray and DVD formats, even when this presentation is a supposed to be a digitally remastered edition. While it would normally not be a problem for most people, once you become absorbed within the many delights held throughout this opening menu, each dark pixillated artifact becomes magnified with every second spent gazing at this embarrassment. Although we still have standard menu selections etched along the lower screen, emblazoned in white appropriately within Kiki’s red ribbon, GKIDS once again made a tactical error with an absence of any musical accompaniment to make our choice less boring. To stare at this aforementioned screen in silence may not be bad, but with each minute spent musing as to which of the many bonus features you wish to view, it only makes the wait all the more strenuous and tedious.

Extras:
This bonus selection has some of the best choices I have ever seen for any anime presentation, and this is all thanks to Studio Ghibli’s need to please their audience. While we may be satisfied with obligatory movie trailers, this is where the collection diverges from the norm and presents the viewer with a range of programs concerning behind the scenes documentaries about the film. Although most may be only a few minutes in length and contain interviews with Miyazaki-sensei about various aspects of the movie, which in retrospect seem gleamed from a longer conversation, they all contribute to an understanding of how much work was put into creating a diverse world for Kiki’s Delivery Service. However even within this diverse assemblage of information, there are still a few gems which shine through all the exhilaration and prove to be ones which you must watch for a greater insight into this masterpiece.

While most of the video discussions may be interesting, the show called The Locations of Kiki’s Delivery Service delivers some of the most fascinating views of how the Studio Ghibli team transformed real life sights into scenery for the film. However even with this revelation, it cannot top the true treasure of the bonus section, which is the full length storyboards for the movie itself. Although some production companies may endeavor to piecemeal this for their own features, Miyazaki-sensei himself drew most of the individual pictures which exactly follows the entirety of this wondrous film, from beginning to end. And if this wasn’t enough, they also included the entire movie soundtrack with every Japanese seiyūs reproducing their performances for this sketch based artist walkthrough of the presentation. This is one time I wished for two copies of the Blu-ray and accompanying televisions, all to watch both versions in a side by side comparison, allowing full enjoyment of seeing the differentiation between roughs and the final product – that truly would have been a delightful treat.

Night has come too soon and it is time for Kiki to leave, even as the town gathers at her home and the other children barrage their friend with questions out of curiosity. But as the cool night breeze blows through the trees and tiny bells ring to sound this departure, her mother has one more gift – her personal broom. While her daughter may have crafted a new one for the trip, it is only with insistence does she finally give in and begrudgingly accept this welcomed possession, allowing for reliance, practicality and safety to overrule pride. Sternly mounting the trusted instrument with her faithful black cat familiar Jiji by her side, cheers from the crowd accompany her as a magical gale begins to form beneath their feet and thrusts the young witch skyward, barely missing and brushing by trees as they surge toward the coast and new adventures. With tears and smiles on all the gathered faces, everyone carefully listens as the tintinnabulation slowly fades in the wind, knowing this will be the last time they will hear this indicator of Kiki’s flight training for a long time to come.

It is not with sadness but a big grin by which the young girl leave home behind, happily drifting in the air, listening to her father’s radio as witch and cat watch the pastoral scenery quickly pass below them. Not knowing where she wants to go, Jiji inquires with his friend as to their destination – her only response being she wants to see the ocean. But as soon as they fly further inland, a sudden summer storm engulfs the pair, wind and biting rain pelting from every direction. Trying not to panic, they take a much needed rest stop within a livestock train, only to wake up the next morning amid laughter as munching cows eat up their impromptu mattress of straw. Now fully rested, Kiki glides toward the nearby shoreline as they follow the train tracks, an upbeat attitude overcoming any sadness from the night before, with the sight of a friendly seaside city greeting them on the horizon.

Confident and full of hope, the novice witch serenely surveys the busy port below them, fishing boats bringing in the day’s catch, quizzically looking up to see a black dress flapping in the calm morning breeze as its owner waves cheerfully in greeting. Her heart now full of hope, Kiki stares down at a scene she has never seen before – that of a bustling city with sights and sounds in stark contrast to the calmness of her home village. Still confident these people will treat her with kindness, the young girl swoops into the chaotic streets, not knowing traffic does not yield to a broomstick, with cacophonous horns the only greeting she has once barely avoiding several near tragic accidents. Coming in for an unsteady landing, the poor child still does not understand why this place is so different from what she knew, only now realizing the rules are different after a policeman chides her for reckless behavior. It is only after a convenient cry for help does she manage to escape this encounter and wanders into a nearby alley to leave this frightening event.

The peaceful side streets slowly calm her frayed nerves and are reminiscent of home, but it is not long before a new problem arouses her interest – a concerned pregnant woman is shouting at something on a lower terrace. Quickly making her way to the balcony Kiki and sees the person of interest, a woman pushing a stroller and the rotund lady next to her is waving a missing pacifier. Voicing her concern of what will happen once the baby awakens, she calmly opens the nearby bakery door and informs the people inside she will be back after returning the much needed toy. Seeing a chance to help, the happy girl asks if she can take it instead after seeing how much this poor woman is straining to make it down the steep cobblestone roadway. With no objections, Kiki takes the teether, leaps upon the nearby ledge with Jiji on her shoulder, climbs aboard her broomstick … and jumps off. With an obvious gasp of surprise, the shopkeeper watches in fascination as she sees the young girl slowly drift into the distance toward her intended target, with no concern of falling off and every intention of making her important delivery.

Once the charming girl promptly returns and all of the shoppers have been take care of, the woman named Osono gives thanks and small token of appreciation. Not wanting to accept charity, the owner of Gutiokpan Bakery warns off any rejection and reminds Kiki that she did a job, and therefore she needs to be paid. Graciously accepting the coins, the obviously weary woman escorts her back into the kitchen and offers a cup of coffee, thus opening a new line of communication. Stating her stunned disbelief after seeing the young witch leap off the balcony, Osono asks what would be her next task for the evening, to which Kiki states she needs to find a place to stay. Happily declaring they have an attic room she could use, the girl wishes to pay for rent, but is promptly denied any reimbursement, as long as she helps around in the store.

As a new morning begins, Kiki is up bright and early, cheerfully helping in the kitchen and assisting customers at the store front. Once the breakfast rush is over, Osono asks if she has any plans, to which the girl states she wants to find a way to help people and also something to aid in her witch training. Since her only talent is flying, Kiki is unsure what she can do in such a busy city, allowing the owner to state the obvious solution, reminding both of their first meeting. Why not start her own delivery service? After all, there are places which are too isolated to reach by car and the narrow streets are far too convoluted to allow any vehicle to reach in a timely manner – so flying would be the best choice. Delighted by this simple answer, Kiki cries out in joy and gives Osono a big hug, surprising the woman and opening up new possibilities and adventures for both the young witch and her spirited cat.

In Summary:

Kiki’s Delivery Service is one of my favorite coming of age movies. The thought of having to leave a loving home at thirteen must seem frightening, after all, most girls her age would be more interested in other things like meeting boys. However the sense of an ingrained heritage is at the heart of the film, the tradition of mother passing down old ways to her daughter, the discipline of being a witch, all in the face of a modernized world where most people would not believe or think these people still existed. This in itself is charming, watching how Kiki wants or at times needs to hold onto those values, even in times when those same strengths threaten to isolate her from others own her age, and also make her feel vulnerable when those same aspects which define her are lost due to lack confidence.

And yet Miyazaki-sensei composes a film which weaves all of these factors into a intricate tapestry of heartfelt emotion and tenderness, all while keeping in mind this is a young girl who at times wants to rebel against those same values. You cannot but smile when Kiki, while donned in her traditional black dress but still wearing a childlike bright red ribbon, takes longing glances in the dress shop to see herself in other clothes or shoes. But when Tombo and his friends are introduced, every time she sees them and their different life style, it makes her feel jealous or out of place. It is this encroachment of new into old ways which rattles her to the core – she loves being a witch but also wants to be a modern girl, but can she have both?

However when she has those doubts, this little witch looses all which defines her character and falls back into the innocence of a young girl. While independence and the strength of valuing her mother’s teachings may project Kiki as being strong, it is the shyness of avoiding strangers which still shows her being a child, and these two elements seem to contradict each other, giving her a false sense of hope and courage. When she begins to accept both sides and realizes that being vulnerable does not lead to failure, it is only then when she draws her greatest strength.

Tradition does not have to be lost to a modernization, in fact it can coexist in harmony by showing both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses which can balance each other out to a level playing field. Kiki is a modern girl who wants to live in both worlds, and while she may have her doubts at times, it is the strength of spirit and belief in friends which carry her forward … onto a brighter and happier future.

Features: Exclusive Booklet, Feature Length Storyboards, Behind the Microphone, Creating Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki & Jiji, Flying with Kiki & Beyond, Producer’s Prospective: Collaborating with Miyazaki, The Locations of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ursula’s Painting & Original Theatrical Trailers

Content Grade: A+
Audio Grade: A-
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A-
Menu Grade: B+
Extras Grade: A+

Released By: GKIDS
Release Date: October 17th, 2017
MSRP: $34.95
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen

Review Equipment: Sharp LC-42LB261U 42” LED HDTV & Microsoft Xbox One S Blu-ray player via HDMI connection

© Kohei Horikoshi / Shueisha · My Hero Academia Production Committee

What They Say:
In the future, mankind is blessed with superhuman abilities called “Quirks” and in response to the growing crime rate, superheroing becomes a viable profession. Izuku “Deku” Midoriya dreams of one day becoming a great hero like his idol, All-Might, but he was born completely quirkless with no powers at all. However, when Deku ends up having a chance encounter with All-Might in the flesh, it changes his destiny forever.

The Review
Content (warning some portions of this review may contain spoilers):
It’s time to dive into a new arc as the race to rescue Bakugo begins. Before the fists can start flying though, there’s still quite a lot to deal with in terms of some of the fallout from last week and what exactly that means for our heroes-in-training. Sadly that means a bit of a longer wait before we can get to the action, but where this one may be lacking in head-to-head brawls, it mostly compensates in a battle of ideals.

Continuing from last week, Deku, Kirishima, and Todoroki are still determined to follow through on rescuing Bakugo, while Iida and the others are still determined to stop them. Iida knows first hand from how the Stain incident played out that acting on their own has consequences, and that Deku and Todoroki are the ones throwing themselves into danger this time just makes it all the more frustrating for him since they were the ones who brought him back to his senses to begin with. Not helping matters is a talk Deku receives from his doctor essentially telling him that if he hurts himself again like he did in the battle against Muscular, then he’ll never be able to move his arms again. While it’s a bit of a wake-up call for Deku, it’s even worse on his mother as the phone conversation he has with her afterward gives a pretty clear indication that she’s quickly reaching her breaking point with the number of injuries he keeps sustaining.

Even with all of that weighing on him though, Deku still can’t resist the instinct to come to Bakugo’s rescue. Realizing that he won’t back down on it, Iida and Yayozoru decide to tag along with Deku and the others in order to make sure they stick to rescuing Bakugo rather than fighting the villains, even if they know there’s likely no separating the two. It’s a pretty hefty conflict and one that’s thankfully a little less straightforward than usual. The ideas of pure heroism v.s. sticking to the rules are things that the series has presented before, but this is the first time they’ve butted heads so severely and Hokoroshi does an excellent job of allowing the audience to really feel where both sides are coming from. Personally though, while it’s pretty easy to what’s driving Deku here and I’m typically in his corner, this time I’m actually more inclined to lean towards Iida’s point of view since their involvement is far more likely to cause problems than to be helpful, especially with what’s at stake.  Thankfully the story itself seems to at least be in agreement when it comes to the idea that the kids really may be in too over their heads this time, and that their earnest desire to save Bakugo is equal parts matched by them just wanting to not feel powerless like they did when they saw him get taken away.

While the kids work their way towards Bakugo’s location, UA is still busy dealing with the media outlash from their failure, and being demonized by the public at large. While Shigaraki continues to laugh over his gradual victory in this whole situation, he also rightly points out that the heroes are essentially being blamed for not being perfect, and how it’s unreasonable to expect them to have the right response to every crisis. It all boils down to the idea of heroism becoming a paid profession rather than just something that people do because it’s the right thing, and while Shiragaki’s methods are pretty despicable, they’re also demonstrating the consequences that idea brings, and it’s helping to turn him from a whiny loon into a truly compelling antagonist.

With hero society on the verge of a massive defeat, Shigaraki, and the league attempt to use that loss as a way to lure Bakugo over to their side since they think he’ll side with the “winners” on this one. Unfortunately for them, he’s not buying what their offering and attacks them at the first opportunity. Problematic of a kid as Bakugo may be, he’s always been genuine in his desire to be the #1 hero, and he’s always looked up to All-Might as someone who never loses no matter how dire the situation. Much as he might act like a bully, his sense of pride would never allow him to betray the ideals he’s spent his entire life working towards and it’s really refreshing that Hokoroshi chose to embrace this side of the character when pushing him into this kind of a crossroads scenario rather than attempting to make him into a villain for the sake of dramatic tension. Of course, while it’s now pretty obvious Bakugo won’t be putting on any evil capes anytime soon, how he’ll get out of the situation is another matter entirely, and with two groups of heroes still well on their way to rescuing him, it’ll be fun seeing how this all unfolds.

In Summary:
As the Bakugo rescue arc begins, we’re presented with another heavy clash of ideals this week as Iida and the rest of the class try to stop Deku, Todoroki, and Kirishima from acting on their own. This is the first time we’ve ever seen the class so divided and it’s nice to see the story tackling things from this angle. It was also pretty nice to get a good idea of where Bakugo stands as far as any villainous temptations go, and it’s cool to see things go the route of him being a jerk who also can’t be easily swayed into betraying his own worldview than making him into the villain to keep things exciting. With that settled it’s now just a matter of how the actual rescue’ll go down, and with all the cards in place for that, this is ramping up to be one exciting showdown

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, VRV

Today is about making memories.

What They Say:
Aya Asagiri lives a life of torture. Bullied by her peers and physically abused by her brother, she contemplates suicide as a means of escapism. One particularly harsh night, her laptop abruptly turns on and beckons her toward it. There, a website known simply as the ‘Mahou Shoujo Site’ offers her a chance to sculpt her own fate with the help of a stick that will grant her powers. But will something as simple as a magic wand truly be enough to save her from a life not worth living?

The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
If you had asked me a few weeks ago, “DJ, what show is least likely to have a beach fanservice episode this season?” I would have answered Mahou Shoujo Site without even thinking. However, it’s clearly apparent that the writers of this series are just going to do whatever the hell they want until the cour ends so…here we are. But hey- this anime is filled with adorable girls and I am not about to be that guy complaining about seeing each of them in swimsuits. By the way, when did Yatsumura get so adorable?

Anyway, in case you haven’t guessed, this week’s episode is a bit lacking in terms of plot when compared to the rest of the series. And while it may be filled with a different type of ‘plot’ (Albeit relatively lacking in that department as well), there are still several moments that add to the story overall. Of course, it is finally confirmed that (SPOILER) Yatsumura will probably die if she uses her stick again. Yes, this was hinted at heavily at the end of last week’s episode (And is actually the reason all of the girls went to the beach in the first place) but now that’s out in the open- it’s safe to say that her days are numbered.

It isn’t just Yatsumura who gets the short end of the stick (Pun not intended) this week, though. Remember how Aya stole Nijimin’s panties last week? Well, apparently, she’s still hanging on to them. And even though I’m pretty sure this is an offense that could warrant legal recourse, Nijimin is pretty much useless for the time being. That is, until Aya’s brother friggin’ breaks into her locker and steals them back because that’s a totally normal thing to do. At the end of the day, we discover that Kaname and Nijimin have formed some weird sort of alliance that thrives simply off of the fact that she wants to bone him.

The problem is, Kaname is a little busy screwing someone else this week. That stalker dude who’s been following Nijimin is finally fed up with life and decides that the only way to preserve his sanity and the sanctity of his idol is to, you guessed it, kill Kaname. Normally, this would have worked. Unfortunately for the stalker, Kaname not only stole Nijimin’s panties but straight-up wore them as well. And given their power…Well, I’m sure you can figure out how that predicament ended up.

In Summary:
Mahou Shoujo Site’s beach fanservice episode is…well, a beach fanservice episode. Don’t go in expecting a heavy dose of plot and I’m sure you’ll come out at least slightly satisfied. It’s definitely fun seeing the girls not overcome with despair, even for a brief period of time, and I honestly enjoyed checking out a different side of both Yatsumura and Aya. But with Kaname becoming more of an antagonist every episode and the administrators starting to get a bit more mysterious, I can’t imagine the lightheartedness of episode eight will last another five minutes. Of course, this series never ceases to jump all over the place, so there’s no true way of confirming where it goes next. If I had to take a guess, though, I think it’s safe to say that someone will probably die next week.

Episode Grade: C+

Streamed By: Prime Video