After 17 years and 16 conventions, MechaCon, the longest and largest running convention in the state of Louisiana has ended. Join Rizwan as he bids farewell to the convention attendees, staff and supporters.

Frankie and Patrick discuss the Digimon Cyber Sleuth and Hacker’s Memory games in this edition of Anime Declassified.

2020 is a year that many will remember, but sadly for wrong reasons, as the world struggles to handle pandemics, civil unrest and job losses, the following games allowed for an escape and a break from the craziness of the world around us, join us as we count down the top five games of the year so far.

Miguel and Kara discuss the Weathering with You Movie released earlier this year.

In todays episode of Cinematech we are counting down our top ten games of 2019. We interview various people getting their opinions on what they thought of the year as a whole and what their personal picks were. Comment below what you thought of the year 2019 as a whole and what your personal Game of the Year was.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind might be over, but the gang is back with a new anime for review! Dr. Stone. Lets get down to SCIENCE!

After following the saga of Giorno Joestar for the last half a year, we have arrived at the end of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5: Golden Wind. Join us as we discuss the season as a whole, break down that confusing ending for everyone, and bid farewell until Part 6 surfaces! 

Miguel, Connor, and Anthony discuss Episodes 26 – 28 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Connor, and Anthony discuss Episodes 24 – 25 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

2019 is halfway through the books and while there are still many titles left ahead, its always fun to look back at whats come out here is our list of the best games of 2019 so far.

Miguel, Connor, and Anthony discuss Episodes 20 – 23 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

E3 2019 has come and gone, although some notable companies (such as Sony) decided to skip out on this years conference, that didnt leave any shortage of announcements. Come and watch as we countdown our favorite games from E3 2019!

Miguel, Connor, and Rizwan discuss Episodes 17 – 19 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Connor, and Rizwan discuss Episodes 14 – 16 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episodes 12 & 13 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episodes 10 and 11 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Welcome to the maiden episode of Gaming Debriefings. Inspired by a old G4TechTv show, Cinematech, Gaming Debriefings pays homage to it by showcasing video games using in game footage, cinematics or trailers, with each episode following a different theme, todays theme, the top games of 2018. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Miguel, Anthony, Mason, and Connor discuss Episode 09 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Anthony, Mason, and Connor discuss Episode 08 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episode 07 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Kara, Connor, Mitch and Rizwan take a few minutes to give first impressions on the upcoming Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie coming out next year. Check it out and get ready for Mr. Mime!

Miguel, Rizwan, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episode 06 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Rizwan, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episode 05 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Rizwan, Anthony, and Connor discuss Episode 04 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Rizwan, Anthony, Connor and guest podcaster Mason discuss Episode 03 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Miguel, Rizwan, Anthony, Connor and guest podcaster Mason discuss Episode 02 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind.

Rizwan, Miguel, Anthony and Connor discuss Episode 01 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Part 5, Golden Wind. This will be part one in a series of podcasts following the latest addition to the JoJo’s anime series. 

Kara, Riz, Mitch, and Kimi get together to discuss various facets of fandom and etiquette within fandoms.

Kara, Miguel, Nikki, Riz, and Connor have a chill discussion on all things anime including thoughts on viewing anime then vs now, Anime Strike, and what they’ve been watching/looking forward to. Cuddle up for some Anime and Chill!

The Anime Declassified Crew discusses the recent Video Game Voice Actor Strike, and the meaning of the strike as well as how it effects the industry and consumers.

Voltron Legendary Defenders Season 1 Review, by Rizwan, Anthony and Special Guest, Shamus Kelly from No Pink Spandex.

The Staff of Anime Secrets breaks down their experiences at Project A-Kon 27.

Round Table discussion on E3 2016’s Sony Press Conference.

On this episode of Anime Declassified, Rizwan, and Lexi discuss their weekend at Louisiana Comic Con: Lafayette 2015.

Rizwan, Anthony, Patrick and Ronald watch the Digimon Adventure Tri: Saikai 5 Minute Teaser and discuss it live, along with their hopes and theories for the 6 Movie Series.

Today we go back in time to 2007 to MechaCon IV in Lafayette, LA for MechaCon’s Cowboy Bebop 10th Anniversary Panel with Steve Blum, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Beau Billingslea the voices of Spike Spiegel, Julia and Jet Black as they talk about their experiences on the show, and favorite moments.

Round Table discussion on E3 2015’s Nintendo’s Press Conference.

Round Table discussion on E3 2015’s Sony’s Press Conferences.

With summer nationals still many months away, there’s plenty of time for character growth; most of it goes to Rin, but everyone else gets much more development than they had in the previous season, as well.

From something that started as an H-game with questionable writing, the Fate franchise has grown incredibly. This adaptation will be the third anime adaptation of Fate/Stay Night, and all in less than ten years. However, as many fans will argue, it’s a necessary one.

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here! The Sailor Moon reboot we’ve all been waiting for. It seemed almost impossible that a franchise as big and as popular as Sailor Moon had gone so long without any sort of extra story or remake (as fantastic as the stage shows and live action series are, they’re just not quite the same), but after 23 long years, the anime is finally getting a modern treatment!

As much as I hate to say it, with so many lovable and colorful characters, even a series as meta as Nozaki-kun can start to feel predictable in its gags after a while. After all, those who are genre-savvy enough – or, at least, familiar enough with the series – can guess what it is they can expect once the premise has been introduced.

The final confrontation is at hand for Captain Earth. There were a few surprises here and there to be had, but the series is still wrapping things up for the most part, and there were some resolutions that seemed to be surprisingly rushed that could have been spread out more evenly across episodes.

The story is moving quickly to the final battle in Captain Earth. The perpetually arrogant kiltgang, now thoroughly frustrated by humanity’s fierce resistance, conspire to launch an all-out offensive to take the planet once and for all.

“Moe” anime is a pretty broad term, but Is the Order a Rabbit? is that particular type of moe series that has always confused me. The shows is classified as seinen, so is primarily directed at older men (who are assumed to enjoy the “woman child” archetype). However, the vast majority of episodes are completely tasteful and don’t really exploit the archetype at all.

Persona 4 Golden is now moving along into uncharted territory, with the Adachi arc concluded. It seems there is still very much left to do, and the series has kept its fun, humorous tone even as events of a darker sort are about to emerge, once again involving the tragic heroine Marie.

Streaming Allegiance: Crunchyroll Reconnaissance Report by: Dr. Magnanimus Progress: Episode 07 One of the main reasons I was drawn to the Persona series in general was its central theme on the denial of self. On one hand, denying the aspects of the self that we abhor about ourselves is the surest way to lead to self-destruction. On the other hand, self-acceptance of our failings and reaching out to others with love and selflessness is how...

Although he was likely already aware, Yanagi finally explicity confesses her love to Yukinari in episode 05. It seems that she has already accepted that her love will not be returned since Yukinari confessed to Touko, and although Touko rejected him, Yukinari is still hung up over her.

As I mentioned in the last review, the characters are very well-defined. I already feel attached to most of them, and even without the plot twist, their everyday “adventures” are interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Romance and Fantasy are tricky genres to craft a story into. It takes a lot of finesse to overcome tropes and bring a well-balanced story to the table. I believe Kamegaki is on the right track with The World is Still Beautiful. The characters are engaging and interesting, especially Princess Nike and King Livius.

La Corda d’Oro: Blue Sky follows the Seisou Academy ensemble’s participation in Japan’s national ensemble competition. After receiving a mysterious letter at one of her violin performances that reads, “Is this where you meet your limit?” Kanade and her friend Kyoya are pulled into joining Seisou Academy and its ensemble by their childhood friend Ritsu. They, of course, encounter many fierce competitors on their journey—many of whom they befriend—but one in particular, Myoga Reigi, possesses a passionate hatred for Kanade. This merely adds to her troubles, for she and Ritsu are struggling to make their own sounds blossom. They cannot help but think that they should have been more prepared than this before the competition.

Love Stage!! introduces the audience to Izumi Sena, a college student who dreams of becoming a manga artist in a family where entertainment is the career path of choice. Despite all of the opportunities and offers for help Izumi has received, he declines them all because his heart lay in pursuit of manga; he even joined the Manga Club at school to better his drawing.

I noted in my last review that the personality of the main characters has not been expanded upon much yet, but it is clear to me now that this is so because the characters are holding back so much of themselves. Futaba is only beginning to come out of her shell, and Kou has a lot of barriers put up.

Not an awful lot has been revealed plot-wise thus far, but this is not a bad thing in this case. So far, the main character, Toko, goes to watch fireworks with her friends during the summer break of their senior year at high school.

Having watched more episodes, thus far, I am nopersona postert surprised to find that Persona 4 Golden has been made in the image of a slice-of-life comedy. The audience is expected to know who the characters are already, and nearly all the jokes refer back to events in both the original anime and game.

You would assume, from its title and watching the first minute of the show, that Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun would be a something along the lines of your stereotypical shoujo romance anime. And you’d be right, in a sense. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun does kicks off with our high school girl protagonist, Chiyo Sakura, confessing her feelings for the titular schoolmate Umetaro Nozaki in the typical, blushy-blushy, “oh, I’m so nervous I hope he likes me back” way, but that’s about where the shoujo-ness of this series ends. Once Umetaro gives his response to Chiyo’s confession, you’ll know instantly that Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun isn’t going to be at all anything involving shoujo bubbles and sparkles (unironically, anyway).

If someone had told me ten years ago that an niche genre video game series combining dating sim and dungeon crawl mechanics would emerge as one of the most-hyped Japanese role-playing game series since Final Fantasy, I would have thought said person was under the influence of some mind-altering substance (alternately I would have begged said person to join my scarcely-attended university anime club that I reigned over, but that’s another story).

I swear, this series is a serious roller coaster. I’ve gone from confusion to utter boredom to annoyance to mild interest twice now in full cycles. I won’t say things are spectacular, but the series is waaaaaay better than it was at the end of episode ten. Why, you ask? Well, we’ve finally advanced to the beginning of the Nine Schools Competition after three episodes of painfully boring filler. With the start of the competition, drama unfolds.

Agent Bialock writes about his experiences from his interview with the convention organizers of DashCon 2014, and offers his insight on the matter as a convention organizer.

I’m starting to think The Irregular at Magic High School is fated to be an overall dull affair for me. At some points, it teases me by perking my interest for a few minutes—like in the last set of episodes I reviewed, for example—but then my hopes are crushed into dust. Sound excessive? Well, I’m sorry, but when I try to watch this anime three times and literally fall asleep during the first two attempts, we have problems.

One Week Friends remains sweet, but I’ve lost interest. The memory problem that defined earlier episodes has degenerated into a circumstantial plot tool and any weight it once held is gone; Yuki Hase reduces the progress he and Kaori Fujimiya have made together to acts that he is solely responsible for, and a grudge-holding boy from the past enters the scene and conveniently resets Fujimiya’s memory from the beginning. The more this series has progressed, the less and less it’s appealed to me, unfortunately.

There is a lot riding on this latest batch of episodes of Captain Earth, now that the second act is in mid-arc. The antagonists, having suffered major defeat by the newly-minted Midsummer’s Knights team led by “Captain Earth” Daichi, now seek to increase their own ranks by awakening more Kiltgang. Each episode introduces a new antagonist, as well as new challenges that put the heroes to the test and allow their individual skills to shine.

Princess Nike is forgiven by Livius and is back in his good graces. The rival for her affections, Prince Bard, is still imprisoned by Livius’s command. Seeing Prince Bard as an important figure from Livius’s past, Nike works to help both Prince Bard and Livius to see past the bad memories they have together and move forward. Nike is called back to the Principality of Rain due to her ailing grandmother.

Episode seven features the semifinal round of the competition. After this round, Kanade receives additional responsibility for the ensemble (I know this is a bit vague, but I don’t want to give too much away).

By now, Haikyuu!! has made sure we all know that its focus is on Karasuno as a team. Hinata and Kageyama are the center of attention, sure, but it’s refreshing that the last three episodes have centered on Karasuno’s dynamic as a team.

A year has gone by, and Eiichiro is once again competing in the Kanagawa Junior tournament. He’s made a lot of progress, but his third-round opponent this time is Miyagawa, the tournament’s fifth seed.

Tokusatsu is a unique genre that has many components used to create a cohesive formula for an action-packed adventure. One of these components that is often overlooked are the men and women behind the suits.

In this group of episodes, Murakami uses his picture-perfect memory to relay the map from the device onto paper. While the group is researching the topography and potential location of the marked place on the map, Kazumi comes over to help. After Murakami tells her it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to hack and find out the information, Kazumi strips and attempts to seduce him. The group also encounters Nanami, a memory-altering witch.

Well, nothing can last forever. I hoped that while digging into the gods’ backstories, KamiAso would keep the same tone we’d seen earlier, with visual gags breaking up some of the tension, if nothing else. Last time, episode seven started to break from that pattern, but I still hoped—since Loki was involved—that they’d drag it back to a more mischievous tone, since the split ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The second act of Captain Earth has finally arrived. Although the major plot points are finally coming into focus in these latest episodes (i.e. lines between heroes and villains clearly drawn, backstories and explanations wrapped up, relationships established, etc.), it may be too little too late for the casual viewers who most likely lost interest already.

I found episode five to be primarily dull. The story line was simply mundane. However, I found episode six to be the more interesting episode thus far, primarily because I really like Aoyama….

True to the promises I was given on the internet regarding Episode 11 of Ressha Sentai ToQger, we have had some new developments in the form of learning the identity of and meeting the Emperor of Darkness, Zett. Zett is by far the weirdest villain I have encountered…well, ever.

As KamiAso progresses, we get to see a little more about each of the gods – we started this with Hades in Episode 04, and continue with Susano-o, Tsukuyomi, and Baldr in episodes 5, 6, and 7 respectively. Unfortunately, while KamiAso still keeps straddling the line between taking itself seriously with its ridiculous concept and making fun of itself, it’s starting to lose some of its charm.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the unthinkable has occurred! Things are actually happening in The Irregular at Magic High School, and I actually was genuinely interested in what was going on. I expected this to happen eventually, but I was not prepared for it to kick off in episode 5.

Haikyuu!! is starting to fall into more of a rhythm now as the volleyball season starts in earnest. Karasuno has their first real match (even if it is just a practice match) against Aobajousai, a high school in their area with a highly-ranked team.

Chatting with ‘tokubros’ online is one thing, but what happens when you put a gaggle of us in Northern California? Lots of fun! Here’s an overview of the tokusatsu presence at this year’s FanimeCon!

Nike and Livius must announce their engagement to the Sun Kingdom through a ceremony conducted by the priests of the Sun God. When there is an attempt on Nike’s life, the truth is revealed, and they change traditions. With the nation accepting of Princess Nike, Livius’ affections for Nike also grow.

As I mentioned in my last review, the ensemble competition begins with episode five, so a big highlight of the series takes place rather early on. The preceding exposition was very effective, though, so the series is not too rushed. Rather, it is moving at an extremely interest-maintaining pace.

A ghost playing video games in your room will have a side effect on your electric bill, as Juugo finds out the hard way. After turning down an allowance from his father, he visits a secret club dedicated to helping students find a little extra work on the side.

As an American, I’m used to schools of all grade levels offering an in-school meal. These options are not always healthy, but they’re provided. American students generally eat in a cafeteria, dividing themselves into peer groups that reflect their social circles.

I have to say, I think Brynhildr in the Darkness is smoothing out the hiccups I encountered previously this season. The characters have established themselves, and the plot is finally rolling.

Eiichiro’s first tournament is here, and he’s matched against the fifth seed! He may not realistically stand a chance, but he’s not going to go down without a fight, or without gleaning copious amounts of new information. After the tournament is over, he must determine what to do with what he has learned, both in competition and in practice.

Ten episodes in, and things for Ressha Sentai ToQger are starting to feel stagnant. Nothing really significant has occurred so far, other than new Support Ressha acquisitions (extra zords, for those unfamiliar) and some character development. The plot has remained more or less stationary since the start of the series. Despite this, I’ve been enjoying this sentai series a lot.

The self-proclaimed “master detective” Tensai Ikkyu and her maidservant, Daruku, enter the island school, hot on the trail of the treasure stolen at the end of episode one. They cross paths with Juugo Yama, their suspect, and the trio joins the school’s Adventure Club, tasked with hunting down Nanana’s lost cache.

Lots of new characters are introduced between episodes two and four, but their introductions help further the plot. Primarily, we meet many of Seisou Academy’s rivals from other schools that are competing in the ensemble competition, including members from Amane High School and Shiseikan High School.

It’s also easy to say we should thank the male fans who bought Dragonball Z fifteen times over and buy the premium boob-shaped box sets of harem series, but I don’t believe they were enough on their own to stem the tide of the industry’s downturn, and they certainly weren’t the only viable sustaining customers in the companies’ minds. And this holds true both for North America AND Japan.

2014 has been an immensely landmark year for the North American anime industry, particularly as of May 16th, when Viz announced the streaming and home video rights to Sailor Moon. To get a better glimpse of how and why this is a big deal, we need to take a look at where we were a decade ago.

Mostly I find myself constantly amused by how far into tropes and caricatures the characters get. They could play everything straight, and with Apollo they get dangerously close to doing so, but then Hades will physically back away quickly if anyone gets too close to him, everyone strips at the beach to flowery backgrounds and borders, and Zeus changes the seasons at the snap of his fingers. We literally go from spring to summer to fall in one episode. Everything’s so ridiculous and over the top that you can’t help but laugh.

I would have expected a series about a gigantic planetary defender to promise a plethora of gut-wrenching space opera and/or exhilarating metal-on-metal battles four episodes in. What I got instead was snail-paced exposition, more enigmatic political intrigue, and less indication of when (or even if) that alleged Earth-threatening interstellar war was ever going to get underway.

The Heisei Era brought on a new string of heroes and themes, many of them quite dark. Here’s a rundown of some of Heisei’s darkest Kamen Rider themes!

Haikyuu!!’s strength lies in its cast – with Hinata’s inexperience comes an easy set-up to explain volleyball terms and techniques, but it’s his enthusiasm and pure love for the game that shines through and makes it clear that the series will be about Karasuno’s growth as a whole team.

There is excitement in the air in the world of cosplaying this weekend, as the 2014 World Cosplay Summit US Finals will be taking place this Sunday at Anime Central in Chicago, Illinois. Anime Secrets is proud to be working with the World Cosplay Summit US Staff to bring in-depth coverage on all the finalists competing this weekend. The competition is looking really stiff, and it is extremely difficult to root for just one team.

Hello, my name is Jo! I work full-time as a floor manager for JoAnn: Fabrics and Crafts. Among the things I love are sewing, general crafting, wig-styling, designing, prop-building, and makeup (not necessarily always in that order!). If it’s creating garments, jewelry, or just big messes, I love it!

I’m Lauren, a self-proclaimed jack-of-all trades. By day, I work as a chemical engineer building training simulators for power plants. By night, I am a costume-making, cupcake-baking, game-playing, corgi-taming lover of life and things!

After putting it off for a few weeks, I finally mustered up the energy to watch the next three episodes of The Irregular at Magic High School. As you would remember from my first article on the series, I was really bored with the characters and story, and the show’s saving grace was pretty animation. Things thankfully begin to change slightly after the first episode, but not as much as I hoped.

I remember the first time I went into the women’s bathroom and saw two of my new coworkers lined up, waiting for a toilet…even though two stalls were empty. There was nothing wrong with the toilets. My co-workers were simply reluctant to use what they called (in nervous, giggly voices) the “squatty potty.”

Brynhildr in the Darkness is an anime that is pantomiming a depth I’m not sure it possesses yet. The plot is thickening, and I’m enjoying some aspects while being leery about others. They mystery behind the witches’ creation is what I’m most anxious to see. How did all the girls become witches? How is the lab still in operation? These are questions I’m interested in the show addressing.

I found myself at several points thinking to myself what all the sports anime tropes are. The early ultimatum-based skills test, the final chance to succeed before being forced to quit the sport forever, the academics suffering because Our Hero is pouring himself into his newfound love….Nope. Not here.

Thematically, Kamen Rider started off as a darker science fiction series with a moralistic core. As time went on, we eventually saw series released under the Kamen Rider name with a more lighthearted approach. However, the grimier roots of Kamen Rider seem to remain fan favorites!

Attack on Titan has garnered a reputation as a feminist anime, one that I don’t believe is entirely deserved. It’s true that it has many feminist-friendly elements to it, but it is also deeply problematic in many ways. After so much build up, I admit I was disappointed by what it had to offer.

I am utterly enthralled by The World is Still Beautiful. Princess Nike as a character is shaping up to be one of my favorite characters this season, and there’s no doubt why. She is the epitome of what all girls see in a princess, but she is also tough, brave, and intelligent. Although this sounds like a recipe for a Mary Sue, a character of complete perfection, there are flaws in her character that fit to the setting she’s placed in.

Yukari’s success is due to her initiative, yes, but she is helped along amply by those around her, with no real obstacles other than her mother’s obstinacy. While this is preferable to a salacious soap opera where she is exploited at every turn, it all just seems a bit too glossed over. There is, on the other hand, a distinct advantage. Yazawa’s version of the fashion world is one dominated by women, allowing Yukari to meet and be mentored by accomplished women in her field.

As you all know, over the past few weeks I have been following the latest Super Sentai series coming out of Japan, Ressha Sentai ToQger. After seeing the first episode, I was really excited to see where things went from there. Episode 2 picks up directly where Episode 1 ends….

The Spring 2014 Anime Season is upon us, and I have decided to investigate one of Aniplex of America’s new acquisitions, The Irregular at Magic High School. After reading a synopsis online, this anime sounded interesting. Since it took place at a magical high school I hoped to have something in the same vein as Little Witch Academia, but I was sorely mistaken. To be bluntly honest, this anime bored me within the first five minutes.

While Yukari’s story is a wonderful coming age story of a girl learning not to be defined by those around her, the female secondary characters, Miwako and Isabella, are not so lucky. Although they too are coming of age in their own right, their storylines are severely lacking compared to Yukari’s.

As an American, my biggest living-abroad concern was learning to drive in Japan. While Americans drive on the right side of the road, Japanese drive on the left. As my company reminded everyone in a one-hour PowerPoint presentation, forgetting this fact is a great way to get into an accident.

Nanana Ryuugajou was a special girl – she and her friends together tracked down some of the world’s most ludicrous treasures. However, one day, in her apartment, Nanana was killed. Ten years later, Juugo Yama moves to the man-made island Nanana called home and only has enough money to rent her former room…which she still haunts to this day.

The exposition of this series is conveyed very effectively; necessary backstory is delivered in a fast-paced, yet mostly believable manner. However, Ritsu suddenly asking his friends to join the academy just to help with the competition seems to be a bit of a cheap move to tie the plot together.

Spring is here, and with a new season of anime comes new a opportunity for growth in the industry. The mecha genre has always been in the periphery of my circles of interest, even while acknowledging its essential contribution to the medium as it exists today.

Cocoa Hoto has just moved into a new town, and she enters the Rabbit House Cafe in a wonder-filled daze. Inside she meets Chino Kafuu, the granddaughter of the cafe’s owner, and they eventually realize that Cocoa has previously made arrangements to be living there – but little did she know that her residence doubled as such a cute cafe!

You can’t just have a regular old dating game anymore. You’ve got have a catch these days—vampires, monster girls, pigeons—some sort of hook to pull people in beyond the usual tropes that separate each route. Kamigami no Asobi, true to its name, pulls gods from all sorts of pantheons, reimagining them as attractive high school boys.

Inspired by a match on TV in which the “small giant” from Karasuno High jumps to amazing heights, even getting over blockers, Hinata gets his middle school friends together to form a volleyball club and sets his sights on one day getting into Karasuno and playing volleyball in the footsteps of the small giant he idolizes.

While there’s plenty of modern hustle and bustle in Tokyo, one of my favorite places I visited was the Ueno district, which is home to the famous Ueno Koen. This park is one of the largest and most popular in Japan, with thousands of visitors showing up every year for the springtime tradition of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing.

If there’s one thing that I knew I had to do while in Japan, it was visit a real onsen, or hot spring. Luckily for me, there were actually quite a few in the region of Akita where I was staying, and the particular one that I visited was apparently one of the best. For a first impression, I’ll definitely say that it’ll be very hard to beat, and it was one of the most relaxing and revitalizing experiences I had in Japan.

One Week Friends is a bittersweet shoujo story of friendship and understanding that follows Yuki Hase as he attempts to befriend his classmate, the quiet and withdrawn Kaori Fujimiya. Fujimiya, however, isn’t so keen on entertaining friendships because she suffers from a memory problem that resets her memory every Monday, forcing her to start over each week.

Nike, the fourth princess of the Principality of Rain, has the ability to summon rain whenever she pleases. After losing a bet with her sisters, Nike must travel to the Sun Kingdom against her wishes. In order for her country to continue being autonomous, she is promised to wed the King of the Sun Kingdom, Livius I. When she arrives at the Sun Kingdom, Nike bids farewell to her escorts and enters the country alone. Soon realizing how different the Sun Kingdom is from her home, Nike passes out due to hunger, and is rescued from thieves by a pair of sisters.

Paradise Kiss could easily have been a standard “Girl meets boy, girl’s life is changed forever” narrative. Luckily, in the capable hands of Ai Yazawa, it instead becomes a beautifully drawn, thoughtful meditation on adulthood, ambition, and the ways we hurt the ones we care about. With the issues of agency, identity, and non-conformism front and center, Paradise Kiss has the potential to be a powerfully feminist narrative, and while not an unqualified success, it certainly succeeds on some levels.

In Japanese, “sakura” means cherry blossom. Each year, thousands of sakura trees become awash in white and pink as their little flowers bloom. The trees are planted everywhere: often in parks, but along roads, near shrines, and even along the entire perimeter of a military base in Ibaraki, as well. The resulting explosion of flowers creates an atmosphere of wonder and enchantment across Japan.

This first episode has left me with so many questions, and I have only a few answers. Brynhildr in the Darkness, judging from the opening credits, is obviously aiming for a mystery with some misery generously sprinkled on for good measure.

Eiichiro Maruo is a first-year high school student, and he’s at the top of his class. In fact, he’s known as “Ei-chan” (A-chan) for his grades and his painstaking meticulous notes. After deciding to join a sports club to balance his otherwise sedentary academic lifestyle, he settles on taking advantage of a free trial at the local tennis club. Little does he know that one year from now, he’ll be competing in the Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit!

This year marked the start of the 38th Super Sentai Season in Japan, called Ressha Sentai ToQger. The story starts off with Bag Shadow, a minion of the Shadow Line, abducting children with imagination and taking them aboard one of the evil Kuliner trains.

I’m Kitnichi, I’m from Florida. I grew up wanting to become a singer but ended up going to school for Medical Records and Billing. Now I just like to make costumes and play dress up. I started cosplaying in 2012.

You’re here because you want to know the same thing I have for what may be half my life: What’s it like inside Japan? For many fans of anime and manga in the Western world, Japan is a sacred dream, a known source of wonder and delight, yet very much shrouded in mystery.

Despite their positions of power, the members of the Student Council are largely self-destructive. Saionji has no control of his emotions, to the extent that it leads to his eventual downfall at the end of the Student Council arc. Miki is so idealistic and naïve that it poisons his relationships with those who don’t adhere to his views. Juri’s cynicism blinds her to the potential in others. Utena is able to defeat them not necessarily because of her own talent, but because of their fatal flaws.

I’ll be totally honest: after the first episode of Kill la Kill, I watched the second and gave up hope of having the motivation to go on. I just wasn’t very interested. The plot was lacking, the characters were god-awful obnoxious, and the fan service was too blatant to be taken seriously.

The start of high school always means selecting a club for new students. For Onoda Sakamichi, it seems like an easy choice. Being a closet otaku to whom Akihabara is the promised land, and wanting nothing more than to have friends he can talk about anime and manga with, it’s definitely be the anime club.

Kyoukai no Kanata is this season’s offering from KyoAni, based on a novel series. While it does hit a lot of their normal tropes—mainly Kuriyama and her endearing klutz personality—there’s a lot that seems to be going on in the background that is promising.

From its description, Galilei Donna has the potential to be either amazing or a glorious train wreck: three moons, inhabiting the female bodies of Galileo’s descendants, are pursued by international agencies.

Sometimes even the most persnickety among us anime connoisseurs desires to mellow out and seek refuge in the warm bosoms of guilty pleasures, and this ridiculously long-named anime promises to be just the thing. Thus begins my report on I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job, or the Japanese shortened title Yu-Sibu.

Miki, the secretary of the Student Council, is in seventh grade and the youngest member by far. He is also the most “normal” (as far as that goes in this series) and likable of the student council, and throughout the show usually treats Utena and Anthy with dignity and respect. He is highly intelligent and sometimes serves as the innocent, virginal foil to his compatriots. But innocence can lead to black and white thinking and one being easily manipulated, as is the case with Miki and his virgin/whore complex.

We first see Saionji through Utena’s eyes. Unnoticed, she watches as Saionji and Anthy quarrel outside of Anthy’s rose garden, until Saionji slaps her across the face. Utena is horrified as Saionji prepares to strike her again, but Touga catches his hand before he can, ending the confrontation.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite anime of all time. As a teenager, I fell in love with it for its beauty, its surreal story, and Utena’s incredible strength…I’ve come to realize that Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of the most honest commentaries on gender roles and agency I’ve seen in any medium, from any country.

The only reason this anime even came up on my radar this season is due to the breathtaking animation photos of the scenery in this world circulating the internet. I’m really not a huge fan of the slice of life romantic anime genre. In my experience it’s always some kind of coupling of two characters who are childhood friends about to enter a new school and must overcome the challenge of….

I was drawn into watching Kill la Kill for a few different reasons. First and foremost, the creators of Gurren Lagaan, Director Hiroyuki Imaishi and Writer Kazuki Nakashima are involved. Secondly, it comes from Studio Trigger who recently released an amazing one shot anime, Little Witch Academia.

Kyosuke is confronted with the reality that he does, in fact, love his sister in a very unnatural but romantic way, and realizes that he must now tell the other potential girlfriends in his life the truth. One by one, he rejects their advances and confesses to them his love for Kirino, thereby sabotaging any potential relationships. Eventually, Kyosuke proposes to his sister in public, and she accepts……

The name is Dat and I’m in Atlanta, Georgia, sucking every drop out of life like a starving leech and having fun while I can. My slow tunneling into this amazing rabbit hole of cosplay started at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2012. Not a single bone in my body regrets it but instead all are begging for more like crack.

My name is Alexis and I run Shattered Stitch Cosplay. I’ve been cosplaying since I graduated high school; I’ve recently spread my wings into the cosplay community at large and am really enjoying the experience.

Yui, Yukari, and Yuzuko are in their first year of high school, and haven’t found a club to join yet. They’re stopped while wandering the halls by a flyer for the “Data Processing Club,” and their homeroom teacher, who happens to be the advisor for this club, comes across them and asks them to join. Unable to resist the teacher’s cuteness (or breasts, depending on the member of the trio), the three girls agree. Their club meetings consist of sitting at computers and randomly searching for information on the internet on any variety of topics, but the range of their friendship stretches far beyond the confines of the tiny club room, their school grounds, or the sheer absurdity of Yuzuko’s mind.

Danganronpa has some serious star power in its cast of characters, but that doesn’t mean the visuals or story can be ignored. The episodes following the first are full of melodrama, and while the voice acting is great, the characters themselves are way too over-the-top.

Danganronpa: The Animation has finally hit the summer season, and this much-anticipated anime has a lot of hype to live up to…Thus far Danganronpa has been…mediocre. I already know some of the plotline for Danganronpa, and while that knowledge is intriguing, this first episode isn’t great at selling its story to me.

We have arrived at the end of another season of Oreimo, and there is still much work to be done tying up the loose ends in the last three episodes…Season Two of Oreimo pretty much met the kind of expectations I had at the onset of watching it. Every character had a significant amount of development and started really interacting with each other in very amusing ways.

Sunday Without God is very interesting, from an animation standpoint. The saturated and sometimes blown-out colours continue, with glows and colour washes that create a whimsical atmosphere to contrast with the macabre nature of the show. Episodes two through four see Ai gain and lose her father, and some details about the world come to light that prove deeply disturbing and highly intriguing, marking the beginning of a plot arc I anticipate with delight and dread.

Gatchaman Crowds has gotten pretty interesting in the last couple episodes, and surprisingly, it hasn’t devolved into a “monster of the week” show, but actually has some interesting stuff in it.

After the events of episode seven and the angst race, Free! has definitely taken a turn for the angstier, with lots of side glances, snide smirks, and glares. Rin is still an insufferable asshole, obsessed with winning, and even the addition of more backstory in episode ten can’t help him (in fact, it just made it worse, since there wasn’t much of a reason for his actions). However, Free! has made it clear just how amazing the rest of the Iwatobi Swim Club is.

First and foremost, Prisma Illya is a parody. A parody of magical girl genres, card game shows, and Fate/Stay Night itself. It’s easy to remember this when the show does things like Illya calling Ruby out on teasing her by stating that “a magical girl’s greatest weapon is her cuteness,” or the way Illya stumbles about her first battle (and runs away).

Gatchaman Crowds is the latest installment/spin-off of the famed Gatchaman franchise, first started by Tatsunoko in 1972. It’s a fresh, modern take on the series with a slick new look and an interesting design.

After Lord Kannagi loses his Hayagami, he decides that his best course of action is to travel with Arata Hinohara and guide him to rule the world, even if the Earth boy doesn’t know if he wants to do so. They enter the land of Lord Yorunami, but before they progress any further, Kannagi tests Arata’s mettle….

Seven episodes in and it’s pretty obvious that KyoAni knows their main demographic. We all knew from the start, but these recent episodes have definitely played right into the hands of the fujoshi crowd.

Silver Spoon has easily been my favorite series this season, from the fantastic art to the characters that really grow on you, and I’ve been digging it above all the others. Main character Hachiken has been developing and catching on to farm life pretty well, and his friends make for a colorful group of characters. Mikage, the girl he has a crush on, meshes well with him, and their personalities really balance each other.

Leviatan is a water wielding mage with a missing brother living in a quiet village populated by dragon-scaled, elf-eared people. It is during her daily magic lessons that Leviatan meets a fairy named Syrop bearing dire news: the planet is being invaded by monsters bent on world destruction. To counter this, Syrop invites Leviatan to join the Aquafall Defense team and repel the invading insectoid creatures. Along the way she meets fire mage Bahamut and the axe wielding Jörmungandr. Together they embark on adventures, befriending Guardians, restoring temples, and pondering ways of getting stronger.

Things are going two small steps forward and one step back for Karneval. Like Valvrave, this show tries to be too many things at once, and the Circus/Karneval motif is still largely tacked on for stylistic and filler effect.

Imagine a vampire. Tall, pale, mysterious, in a big cloak, and completely unable to control itself around humans because it wants their blood, right? Meet Staz. Staz is a modern vampire, which means he has a slightly different obsession: manga, games, and anime.

Still backed by a dubstep background piece that comes in at the most giggle-worthy moments, Free! jumps from serious rivalry and competition-based angst to girls ogling muscles and guys trying on swimsuits that seem to become more and more ridiculous (and when you’re starting off with a pair of rainbow-striped jammers, you’d think it would be hard to top).

Some time long ago (before people saw things in color, apparently), there was a lab where subjects were put through harmonization tests with Relics in order to return the power of the Relics to human control. Like the Japanese laboratory, not every subject survived unharmed… or possibly alive at all.

Genshiken: 2nd Generation doesn’t miss a beat. The running commentary on the events in the show is back, and so is the relatability of the new characters to the viewer.

Gifuu Doudou has started to impress me now, finally picking up after a somewhat slow start. With the first two episodes consisting mostly of exposition about the first meeting of Naoe Kanetsugu and Maeda Keiji, it has started to actually go into their adventures and some of their fights.

When I first picked Silver Spoon (also known as Gin no Saji) I wasn’t really sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was about a city slicker out in rural areas, in over his head, and that was it. This first episode has proven particularly enjoyable and expands that basic premise to a refreshing twist on the usual high school setting.

The summer season of Attack on Titan picks up with an oddly-cut and remixed summary episode, which can be skipped entirely if you’ve watched the first season, but it does its job for newcomers to the show. Afterward, we’re dropped into a trial for Eren’s life as the Military Police and the Survey Corps vie for his destiny….

This one had me pretty interested just because of the premise itself, and I’m pretty intrigued by it. It’s about a boy who goes to an agricultural boarding school in rural Japan, something that you really don’t see too often. Along the way he makes new friends and has to prove that he really can be cut out for the hard work of country life, with plenty of laughs along the way.

The premise of Sunday Without God is one of the more unique settings I’ve encountered – the world was created by God, who was present as a great light in the sky, but after resting upon completing the creation of the world, God declared it a failure and abandoned it.

The city of Kyoto, from the days it was founded as the capital of Japan, has involved a mix of tanuki (racoon dogs), tengu (mystical crows), and humans. It is this mix and the way they interact with each other that has allowed the city to continue on as it has into modern day.

Il sole penetra le illusioni~ Day Break Illusion is one of the latest additions to the mahou shoujo genre this summer. Despite how much I sometimes complain about this genre being one of the dominating forces in the anime world, I can’t argue that it also includes some fantastic series; Madoka Magica and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha come to mind for me.

Gifuu Doudou is an anime based off of a manga created by Tetsuo Hara, famous for Fist of the North Star, and I could tell when I first saw the character designs. It’s a pretty interesting little show, and I’ll have to see how it develops. It’s about two Sengoku Era heroes, Maeda Keiji and Naoe Kanetsugu, who were best friends, and it probably is going to cover their history and exploits. I was interested in the idea of this, so here’s my first impression!

William Twining’s family has it all – wealth, British noble lineage, large estate, genius heir at a prestigious school – until his uncle makes some bad investments and loses everything of value in the house except Kevin Cecil, the family’s loyal butler. Lurking behind a locked door in the basement, however, is a summoning circle that brings the Demon Duke Dantalion over to the real world when William’s blood is spilled on it, activating a millenia-old contract….

To anyone who knows Type-Moon, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya might seem strange – a happy, super-moe magical girl show with a young Ilya von Einzbern as the center. It’s a total AU, where the Holy Grail Wars don’t exist and the servants we’re all familiar with exist as cards.

There’s been so much buzz about Free!, from the first announcement to the first episode, that it’s almost impossible to really know what to expect going into the show. I’ll also say it straight out: no one was as excited for this show as I was. As a long time competitive swimmer and a long time sports series addict, the lack of a series about swimming (even if Golden Boys’ swimming scene is classic) was a huge hole to me that needed to be filled.

While deciding on the anime to cover during the summer 2013 season, I came across the title The Going Home Club. That on its own was reason enough for me to question just what this anime was even about.

The characters have all been pretty well-established at this point, and the majority are at least somewhat memorable. Since that’s been accomplished, watching “Aiura” has kind of been like visiting a familiar friend.

I’ve concluded that Sparrow’s Hotel is now actively trying to crush any minuscule hope I place in it to turn around. This anime remains pretty terrible and overall disappointing. Continue to avoid it. You’re better off, I promise.

The intense feelings I felt after episode one quickly diminished as I awoke from my ideal dream of what Valvrave would be, and I was left with what it actually was. The two are pretty different. I expected the anime to continue on with Haruto following a path to work….

I’m Matt. I’m 26. Originally from Zwolle, Louisiana and now residing in Olympia, Washington. I’m currently a junior at The Evergreen State College with my degree focuses in Communications and Japanese Language.

This anime has so little impact that it is immediately forgettable, which is unfortunate considering the popularity of its source material but also begs the question that if the anime is this flat, what’s the original app-game like?

I just finished Episode Ten of Majestic Prince and I must say, I am really satisfied. In a nutshell, in the last three episodes we have been treated to beautiful battle scenes and good character development, but we also got details of the plot we’ve yearned for since the start.

Gargantia’s had a pretty even keel in its story up until this latest round of episodes, where it’s added several twists to the mix that have left me wondering just where this show will go. After Ledo kills the whalesquid in episode seven, he is faced with the social backlash such brutality of a sacred creature incites.

It’s business as usual for Yuyushiki, though the lesser characters show up more often in this stretch of episodes and get some more development… until they don’t show up in episode 10 at all.

The makeup of the Gargantia and the direction of the series take a significant turn over this span of episodes. Relics from Earth’s distant past inform Ledo’s understanding of how humanity reached the point of his own situation, and they weigh heavily on him.

Valvrave is still very much a balancing act, with this spread of episodes bouncing from aspect to aspect of the show. Episode 8 was largely Dorssian backstory with some action, 9 was student development development with some action, and 10 was all school life and virtually nothing else.

After some fancy strategizing by Armin and a startling revelation about what could be humanity’s best chance against the Titans, the last two episodes largely take place in the exact same corner of the city in one of the stupidest standoffs in anime history.

After being taken into Circus’s care, Gareki and Nai try to find out more about Nai’s bracelet and end up discovering more about Nai himself instead. Afterwards, more of Gareki’s past is revealed, and we discover little to nothing else new about the eponymous Karneval.

We’ve gone from desperate fighting with our backs up against the wall and mysterious titan-on-titan fighting to the hope of humanity rising and a (somewhat) clear path being revealed. Attack on Titan is shaping up to be one epic storyline with what feels like the first overarching story hitting its pinnacle.

We now arrive at the heart of Season Two’s plot at long last. Much of the previous episodes was made up of filler and fan service before, but things are really starting to heat up.

In all seriousness, this anime is still going nowhere. There are attempts to give a slice-of-life look into working at a hotel, however that slice of life is ruined when, during a crazed week of tourism, a great deal of emphasis is put on Sayuri’s breasts.

Devil Survivor is definitely living up to the expectations put on it, coming from a best-selling game from a huge-name franchise. Since episode one, Hibiki, Nitta, and Daichi have gone through a number of battles – a lot for only three days in the series – and learned a lot about their situation.

For a show we all expected to be full of lolicon and hair porn/innuendo, The Severing Crime Edge is turning out to be one of the better shows this season, if not one of the most all-around entertaining. In the first episode, we were tantalized with the idea of Killing Goods,

The series is starting to grow on me. It has an extremely loose storyline – just the main characters’ daily lives – but it’s starting to pick up as the characters begin to develop.

The shape of events in Amawakuni after the loss of the princess is becoming clearer as Akashi, one of Kannagi’s fellow Shinsho, starts trying to gather other Hayagami as his own. Arata Hinohara figures out more of his role, and how he’ll go about fulfilling it.

Arata Hinohara, in the place of the Amawakuni Arata, is captured and charged with the murder of the princess and sentenced to a prison island (along with Kotoha, the girl from Arata’s tribe) where random executions keep the populace there on edge.

Gargantia remains a vibrant story about high-tech war meeting low-tech cohabitation. There’s not too much to report on here as the story continues to follow Ledo’s efforts to fit in, map the sky, and understand the strangeness that is Gargantia.

After episode 4, the show was meandering in all kinds of directions. Was it a mech show? Was it just a sci-fi school rom-com? It finally has meshed the two together into what this show should have been from the beginning.

Valvrave isn’t a very good roller coaster. It’s a buffet of sorts, a smattering of servings of different tropes and themes, and the chef preparing the feast is only good at one or two of the offerings. There’s isn’t a really good sense of whether or not this is a mech show, a school drama show, a politics show, or a mysterious powers show.

Nestled deep in the heart of Tokyo, Roppongi is an eclectic, upscale district with an atmosphere almost the polar opposite that of moe-pop capital Akihabara. Yet, on the 52nd floor observation deck of the Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, an unexpected event is being held in an area that is better known for its classy bars and provocative art scene.

When we last left Team Rabbits, they had just successfully completed their mission and surpassed all expectations during the process, especially mine! At the end of the first episode, we were left with many different questions.

The security forces at Wall Rose, the middle of the three walls protecting mankind, are surprised by a renewed Titan attack, sending the newly commissioned forces into battle. As usual for Titan attacks, the human forces don’t fare very well.

The low-key, meandering plot hits its lowest and highest notes thus far in these episodes, and Ledo finds his place on the ship thrown into genuine uncertainty.

Attack on Titan has remained gripping, brutal, and masterfully woven in episodes 5 through 7. It spotlights deep-running weaknesses in each of the characters present on screen, be it cowardice or arrogance, and meets that with the often fatal results of such weakness.

Three episodes later, humanity has been forced inside the next of three concentric walls, Wall Rose, since the outermost – Wall Maria – was completely overrun by the Titans. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa have made their way through military training along with a partially colorful group of other students.

It’s been a slow but impressive learning process for Ledo – but he’s finally getting the hang of the culture and the language. He’s made faux-pas that have put the Gargantia in jeopardy, he’s taken the care to learn from those mistakes and fix them. Uttering his first words in the Earth language was a particularly endearing moment as well.

It’s been a slice-of-life slog for Yuyushiki, but an ADD one to be sure. Most of the humor, as the show goes on, involves equal parts totally random gags, the pink and dark-haired girls fawning over the blonde one and their teacher, and the search-engine free association I was hoping would be the focus of the show.

Season Two has so far shaped up to meet the expectations of fans of the series, and then some. Episode One reinstated Kirino as the eroge otaku that she is, much to the chagrin of a supportive Kyosuke. Episode 2 was an Ayase-centric story, in which she had to come to terms with Kirino’s eroge obsessions as it related to their long-term friendship.

When we left our discussion of Sparrow’s Hotel, I was thanking the creators for only giving me three minutes of this train wreck to watch. Since then, I’ve watched an additional three episodes, which brings my time lost to this anime to twelve minutes. Let’s just say I’ll be sending the creator my invoice for time that I would like back.

This series began strong and has continued to tell its story with impact and aplomb. It is brutal, gritty, and simply does not shy away from the terrible implications of a society trying to flourish under threat from nearly invincible predators.

I’m three more episodes (so like 12 more minutes) into the series now, and nothing very memorable has happened. The main character’s name is Ayuko, and she is basically devoid of personality, merely serving as the voice of reason for her two friends, Kanaka and Saki (who really aren’t even that frivolous…just somewhat annoying).

Gargantia began with a sci-fi bent and a cleverly written juxtaposition between new and old, and culture and utility, and it’s grown into a wonderful comparison between strife and life. Ledo remains confused by the concept of culture and the seemingly wasteful traditions of the fleet for which he’s become a feature.

Zettai Boei Leviatan is, in a nutshell, incredibly boring. Going on episode five, the story has yet to develop… there are random, awkward scenarios thrown at the characters with arbitrary obstacles and nonsensical, easy-out solutions that do nothing to foster a sense of fear or tension.

I will say that the artwork is very beautiful, however – it’s shaded more than a typical anime and looks a lot like watercolor. It has a very illustrative feel, which makes me hope that the story itselfwill be very smooth, atmospheric, and interesting.

I just completed episode 1 of Valvrave the Liberator, and all I can say is ‘WOW!’ and ‘OH MY GOD! WHAT EVEN?’ Suffice it to say, this anime blew my mind away in ways I never expected, and completely took me by surprise. Instead of being the typical run-of-the-mill giant robot anime, like Majestic Prince was last week and the many others that came before them, this anime is already displaying some themes that just hit home on many levels.

The year is True Calendar 71. Humanity has moved 70% of its populations to space colonies known as “Dyson Spheres” (no, they are not styled after vacuum cleaners), and on the neutral colony of JIOR, at least, things seem to be at peace. However, teenage agents from an aggressing force invade the colony and the academy found there in search of some sort of secret base.

Without being aware of too many of them, I get the feeling that “slice-of-life school club comedies” are a dime a dozen now. After Azumanga Daioh set the standard for the genre (well, without the club bit) in the early 2000s, it’s difficult to call the rest true “copycats” – they all explore different clubs, even if the style of humor is largely the same. It’s not like a ton of these all run concurrently, so it’s kind of like a burger that you keep ordering over and over again. It was great the first time, and it’s still good the other times, except for the occasional bad lettuce or old bun or something like that.

Suffice to say, the ringleader and his sidekick, a blonde martial artist with a bulletproof cloak, are members of a secret defense organization called “Circus,” butts are kicked, the hostages are freed, and more is discovered by the viewer about the organization the Lady in the beginning was working for, which Circus was sent to investigate in the first place but arrived too late. The first few minutes were interesting, gripping, excitingly scored, and all-in-all a very fine piece of directing, and the rest of the episode tied itself up plot-wise with the absolute neatest of bows, while still leaving the ends of the ribbon trailing off for you to follow for later episodes.

My name is Meghan Haas AKA MehanChan, I am 25 years old from New Orleans, Louisiana. I got into cosplay because, I was in love with Anime since Sailor Moon came on UPN in 1994 or so…It was just a crazy love story from there. I just got to this point where I just wanted to be the justice seeking characters that I had grown to respect so much.

First, the animation was just plain awful. Its only possible mark of quality was that it was in color. The movement was terribly awkward and the character designs did not fit the environment. The musical opening was also pretty unmemorable and did nothing to even remotely explain the anime. Once I regained my composure from the animation and accepted it, the plot – if we can even call this a plot – kicked in.

One boy named Arata is tasked by the matriarch of his tribe to stall for time at the ceremony to become the next princess of the fantasy world of Amawakuni so a more suitable candidate can be found. The other is a first year high school student bullied and betrayed by his “friends,” first back in middle school, and now by someone else he trusted.

A narrator begins the Blood Type Quiz and asks which blood type doesn’t show their feelings when in love. What follows is a series of VERY short scenes, giving each anthropomorphized blood type a chance to show their characteristics.

I picked up this anime not expecting a whole lot from a show about rainbows, dancing, and singing featuring a thirteen year old. Set in modern day and very much geared for the pre-teen or teen demographic, Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live (PRRL) is a show blending the magical girl and music idol genres with a bit of a twist. It’s bright, it’s happy, and it’s fun, but it lacks much depth which means one must be content with the what-you-see-is-what-you-get sparkles, copious amounts of rainbows, and numerous hearts.

I initially agreed to pick this up because of the director, Hiroshi Nagahama, who directed two of my favorites – Detroit Metal City and Mushi-shi – and the premise sounded interesting – psychological slice-of-life teenage drama. There’s a lot here to turn off potential viewers – the art style contrasts highly detailed backgrounds with character designs

This is a tricky series to classify. From the name, The Severing Crime Edge, as well as the font that the title is in, you’d think it’s a horror show. From the artwork, something lighter and sweet. From the description, a romantic comedy. I mean, come on. A guy who loves cutting hair a little too much and a girl with supposedly cursed hair that can never be cut? Match made in anime heaven.

I’ve gotta admit, this was the show I was most looking forward to this season. I’m a big Shin Megami Tensei fan, and I’ve always been disappointed in myself that I never got around to playing Devil Survivor 1 or 2. The fact that the anime is an adaptation of the second game might be a little off-putting to people, making them think that they missed something or need to have played the first game. However, it actually stands alone, so there’s no reason not to jump in.

The epic bro-meets-sis romantic comedy continues on in Season Two. When we last left our heroine, Kirino had returned to Japan with the encouragement of big bro Kyosuke after a brief time attending to a track camp in America (for anybody keeping score of things from season one, this is a continuation of the season one True Route Ending, NOT the Good Ending).

Shingeki no Kyoujin comes out of the gate strong. Its style, design, and sound are all superb, as is the attention to detail in animating even highly dynamic sequences. There are a few odd choices regarding what doesn’t get animated but that’s a minor bump in the road for the first episode. The story begins with the reveal of a titan more than 50m tall and the decided lack of sound that fades into eerie music is a fantastic choice to develop instant foreboding.

Coming from the mind of Gen Urobochi, the creator and scriptwriter of recent fan-favorites Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet has big shoes to fill, and in its first episode does an admirable job of doing so. Ledo is a pilot for a group of humans that have built a space colony far, far away from Earth, which now only still exists as a rumor (Battlestar Gargantia?)

It begins in deep space where soldiers are taught through dream sequences and peaceful life is the reward for duty well done in the face of an all-consuming war. The Hideauze are a race of aliens locked in mortal combat with humankind and Ledo is an Ensign of the Galactic Alliance of Humankind tasked with piloting a Machine Caliber in a last ditch effort to end the war. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned and the show drops you into the last few moments of the military fleet with spectacular space combat, nonstop action, and a flurry of information delivered in in-world communications.

The Titans have largely been dormant, or have stayed away from the city, for a century. The city guards are ridiculed as freeloaders, but at least the Recon teams they send out to observe the Titans have some respect… until one day, a Recon team returns battered with several missing members.

Based on a mobile game by GREE in Japan, Zettai Boei Leviatan is set on the water planet Aquafell and is populated by elf-eared dragon people. So far, in this first episode, it appears to be setting itself up as a magical girl adventure story, introducing the world, the world’s Creation Myth, and three main characters who wield staves and call upon elemental magic. Leviatan is a water magic user with a…

Leviatan is a water wielding mage with a missing brother living in a quiet village populated by dragon-scaled, elf-eared people. It is during her daily magic lessons that Leviatan meets a fairy named Syrop bearing dire news: the planet is being invaded by monsters bent on world destruction. To counter this, Syrop invites Leviatan to join the Aquafall Defense team and repel the invading insectoid creatures. Along the way she meets fire mage Bahamut and the axe wielding Jörmungandr. Together they embark on adventures, befriending Guardians, restoring temples, and pondering ways of getting stronger.

I just started watching Red Data Girl. It seems really cute. It’s about a young girl by the name of Izumiko Suzuhara who has a strange power – whenever she touches an electronic device, it breaks. Because of this, her guardian recommends that she attend a new school in Tokyo. Accompanying her is his son, Miyuki Sagara. Miyuki has been asked to watch over Izumiko during her stay at this new school.

Well, the Spring 2013 Anime Season is upon us, and the first series to step up to bat for me was Majestic Prince. Initially this anime was nowhere even close to my radar, but then I stumbled across a trailer. It sparked my interest with promises of amazing mech battles, stunning animation, and an interesting story. Needless to say, I was pretty excited and quickly added it to my queue on Crunchyroll. I’m so glad I did.

Hello, my name is Kiki! My cosplay company goes by KannonKosplay. Right now I am currently located in the Florida area, I just moved across country this year. So far I love the conventions and people out here. I first started to cosplay in 2003. However I started to take my costuming more seriously in 2010. Meaning putting a lot more money and time into them and try to make it more of a lifestyle than just a hobby.

Results of the 2013 World Cosplay Summit Nationals Round held at Anime Matsuri 2013 in Houston Texas via Live Stream.

My name is Chris White, but I’m also known as ShadowGlaive. I am a gamer, and a Cosplayer who lives in Southern California with a passion for all things geeky, nerdy, or just plain awesome. I started Cosplaying in 2010 for Anime Expo. I ended up throwing together a pretty bad closet Cosplay somewhat resembling Kakashi from Naruto XD.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today set off a global zerg invasion with the launch of StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm™, the next chapter in the epic saga of StarCraft® II.

My name is Brittney Cutrer, most people call me Kio. I am 21 years old and I live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I am a graphic design student at University of Southern Mississippi.

A particular rumor that started floating around during the second week of February has caused some concern. This is something that wasn’t a highly discussed topic during the week and got very little exposure, but can be very chilling for anyone who uses an XBox. We will offer you the short synopsis…..

When most people think of Japan, they think of either the advanced super-metropolis of Tokyo, or the historical sites in areas like Nara and Kyoto. However, there’s far more than meets the eye; anyone who’s been there can tell you Japan is a pretty interesting place. There are a lot of places where old and new kind of blend and you can see a different way of life depending on where you go.

My name is Allison, I am 21 and I live in southern Ohio. I am currently a senior computer science major in college. I started cosplaying in 2008, when I was 17 years old. I grew up loving anime, and once I got into high school, video games became a love of mine as well. A friend of mine asked me to go to Ohayocon with her, so I cosplayed because she was, and I have been cosplaying ever since!

My name is Nicole Luke, I am 21 years old. I often go by my cosplay name: Ashta Nightrayne. I have been cosplaying since 2004. I have lived in various states and finally settled down in Southern Louisiana.

As early as the 1970s, Nintendo was already at work making a dent in the then-early age of the gaming industry with the Color TV Game series in 1977 and the development of games like Donkey Kong for arcade cabinets and Game & Watch on handhelds. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that the Nintendo Entertainment System was launched, which gave Nintendo dominance in the industry’s console and handheld wars. Although this was challenged when Sony entered the battlefield with the PlayStation in 1994 and its successor console, the PlayStation 2 in 2000, which topped Nintendo’s sales, the birth of the Wii once again gave Nintendo the edge, and they’ve held their ground ever since. Through the years, Nintendo has picked up and maintained a loyal fan base that grew up with classic characters and game series like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Kirby.

At the end of day 1 at E3 2010, Ubisoft held a press conference to showcase their latest projects. They came out with what can only be described as a two prong attack on the industry, the first phase being to keep a firm hold on the market with their franchises, and the second phase to start finding new, innovative ways to integrate the latest gaming technology into people’s lives, both in interactivity and by taking gaming away from the console. From the looks of it, Ubisoft has effectively succeeded in both objectives.

One thing was clear in the EA Press Release at E3 2010: they are coming back to reclaim the shooter crown and set the bar higher than before. However, many question if it be done. Can EA topple the reigning king of the genre, Activision, with its Call of Duty Franchise? Just to give an idea of how different EA’s approaches are, let’s jump back to last year. EA was geared towards more family-oriented games such as The Sims 3 and Charm Girls Club, as well as the sports demographic with the announcement of EA Sports MMA and Fight Night 4.

First up to bat this year is Microsoft, and I must say their video left me with mixed feelings. After last year’s major announcement of Project Natal (or, as I call it, The Origins of Skynet ), I was expecting quite a few major announcements to reinforce last year’s incredible display previewing the capabilities showcased through Milo and Kate.

By Dante Agent Dante opens the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Collector’s Edition box for all to see...

Sony has now officially made their apology to the consumer, and with a big price tag that’s likely to further dent their already weakened profits. To say the least, this is an apology that is long overdue… but may well lessen the chances of the class action lawsuit growing any larger than it already is. If you’re a PlayStation user, then you’ve probably already gotten the email, unless you aren’t religious about checking it. It’s time to come home, or, as Sony has put it, Welcome Back!

My job at Anime Secrets is to report to you guys the gaming news that goes on in our region. Do I really get to report all the gaming news out there? Of course not. That’s because I wouldn’t have time for a life, or work. I’m keen on getting you the small yet juicy nuggets that don’t get out there as well as really big news provided no one talks it to death before I get to it. Sony’s security breach was just that: talked to death before I could really sweep in on it.

Ever since the birth of Portal in 2007, gamers across the world have eagerly been awaiting a sequel game, myself included. This video game is slated to be one of the most anticipated games of 2011, however nothing we dreamed up in the weeks leading to this moment could have truly prepared us for the return of GLaDOS. Not only has she returned for Portal 2, but she has infected thirteen other video games developed by Indie Studios; titles such as Defense Grid: The Awakening,

On March 30th, it was announced that Hideo Kojima, famed writer/director/producer of the beloved Metal Gear Gearand Metal Gear Solid series, had achieved a massive promotion within Konami, the company that he works for and that covers his games. The change became effective on April 1st (hmmm……just in time for April Fool’s day), but it was no joke. Before I get into the details of Kojima’s new job, though, let’s have a small recap of who Kojima is.

Today, I went in to GameStop, my coveted gaming hidey hole, to trade in some old games that were collecting dust on my entertainment center and I got a surprise. Sure, I’m like everyone else and watch TV, but hadn’t seen any of the commercials about their new rewards program. How does it work? What is it? Are there options? Does this make my EDGE card completely useless? Is there anything new? If you’ll hold on to your controller long enough, I’ll

I have been a member of the anime fandom for about a decade, if not longer. In this time, I have attended my fair share of conventions and even hosted a few meet-ups of my own. At these events, I’ve come across more cosplayers, or people dressed up as their favorite characters, than mathematics can actually calculate a number to describe.

When visiting Japan for the second time in March 2010, I was reminded of the interesting duality of culture there. Many of us see Japan and think of technology, high fashion, and modern pop culture. J-pop idols, maid cafés, anime, and manga are all prevalent, of course, but it’s really interesting to see just how seamlessly Japan’s old culture is integrated into the vast urban sprawl of Tokyo.

Akihabara, the Electric Town. This is the crown jewel for anime, manga, game, and tech fans in Tokyo. Located only a scant 5-10 minutes from Asakusa, the famous temple district in Tokyo, this place has absolutely anything you could ever want, and there’s so much to see it took two trips to see everything I wanted to (or at least had time to). Akihabara has an interesting little history.

Some people stop watching an anime or reading a manga for several reasons. Sometimes it’s because a title is just so nightmarishly bad that they can’t bear to watch the rest of it to completion. Sometimes it’s because there are just too many episodes/volumes that it seems insurmountable. I stopped reading MPD Psycho for neither of those reasons.  For anyone that’s never heard of MPD Psycho, here’s the basic rundown, at least as of the...

Anyone Can Be A Hero Originally Posted: July 27th, 2012 by Rizwan Merchant As many of you know by now, last week tragedy hit the midnight premier of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, as a gunman entered a theatre and shot down many movie goers. As of the time of this writing, twelve attendees have been murdered, and close to sixty others have been injured, some severely. Details surrounding the case are still unknown, but the man...

Hello Agent Bahamut and Agent Petals here, and today we will be giving you readers a simple guideline to the Dos and DON’Ts of attending a convention!

Everyone dresses up for Halloween, or at least they did when they were a kid. And what was it that you wanted to be? Outside of the traditional clowns, death and vampires, most kids would want to be a character from their favourite TV show, which was usually a cartoon, or comic book. These days there are kids dressing up as characters from anime and video games as well. So we’re going to go into a little more depth on how you can properly make and choose your costume. And give you some pretty pictures along the way.