First Look at the New Titles for the Spring of 2025

Your Forma

     Set in an alternate world where technology is a bit more advanced, humanoid robots called Amicus are common throughout society.  They are instilled with what is essentially Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics.  At the end of a, yet unexplained, leave of duty, Echika finds herself investigating a case to safe her partner.  Her abilities for diving into peoples brains is so good that any human assistant that has worked with her has suffered mental trauma from the experience.  This has led to her being assigned a high quality Amicus named Harold as her assistant.  He is arrested on suspicion of defying the laws an attacking a human.  He is released from custody when another attack takes place while hes under supervision and the two begin to search for clues, clues to lead to another sibling model potentially being the culprit.  They have to hurry to uncover whats going on with an Amicus defying its programming.

    This new take on the classic I Robot story feels like it came out 20 years too late.  The mystery at this point feels less interesting than a number of Ghost in the Shell's plot lines.  The artwork is rather low budget, even for 20 years ago.  The studio that did this adaption is Geno Studio.  They are mostly known for doing Golden Kamui...which has its own artwork problems.  Whats frustrating is that Geno Studio was born out of the ashes of Manglobe after is bankruptcy and dissolution.  Manglobe...19 years ago, released another cyberpunk mystery featuring a female lead and her inhuman assistant, Ergo Proxy.  That series still has a high quality of artwork and atmosphere.  Manglobe also produced Samurai Champloo and Michiko & Hatchin.  Your Froma is a far step from those in quality and substance.  Beyond all of that, this is a boring plot that we have seen countless times before.  I don't know what new ideas this show could present that would make it worth retreading.  Echika is no Motoko Kusanagi.

Your Forma is streaming on...Samsung TV Plus?

Sword of the Demon Hunter

     Jinta and his sister flee their home only to be adopted by a kindly stranger and brought to his small village.  The village has a tradition of a shine princess that the village reverse and protects from the dangers of the world around.  Their adoptive father is the designated protector of the shrine princess and busies himself protecting her from demons that search her out.  Years later his adoptive sister is the princess and he has replaced his adoptive father as her protector.  But when plans outside of his control bring ruin to his home, upending everything he has worked for, he must reevaluate what he uses his sword for.

    This was a late entry into the watch list, normally not being an anime I gravitate for, but something compelled me to watch the hour long first episode when a friend suggested it.  I was not disappointed at all in the story that unfolded.  This is a gritty story that does not shy away from being realistic.  But, its hard to tell what episode two will be like since episode one ends 170 years in the future, to essentially the present time.  I don't want to get into a lot of details because there's a lot that transpires in the first episode that are best experienced.  The character design and the artwork is good, a little problematic at times with feet?  The characters are engaging and the story treats the audience with respect.  If this pans out to be solid all the way through I may have to evaluate my blanket opinion on light novels distributed through the amateur publishing site shosetsuka ni naro.

The series is being steamed on HiDive.

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?

     Yuu and Himari have been best friends since middle school when Himari developed an overwhelming passion to help Yuu acheive his dream or selling jewelry and accessories.  Their friendship is as strong as ever and their partnership has lead to early success with his business.  Himari doesn't understand personal boundaries and doesn't consider there to be any possibility of romance between them, Yuu shares this sentiment and is otherwise more of a loner.  When Himaris' best friend from elementary school, Rion, comes into the picture her feelings for Yuu come into question in the face of a potential rival?

    This is a standard love triangle anime, potentially filled with a lot of plot lines that we've seen time and again.  But there is something about the care free attitude of the story that makes it more enjoyable than it should be.  Himari is over confident and unflinching in her place in the world, her boisterousness is enjoyable and its going to be fun to see her succumb to fear.  While it probably wont bring anything new to the table for the story, something feels like its going to be an enjoyable delivery.

This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

Everyday Host

    This is a hectic short about a group of men who work at a host bar and their insane antics.

    It's hard to get a solid feel for this one just based on the first 5 minute episode.  The comedy is solid and the artwork is cheaply made but this should be fun in its short package each week.

This series is not available for streaming in English.

 Gag Manga Biyori Go

    The seminal gag anime returns for a fifth series to honor the manga's 25th anniversary.  The first episode kicks off with a beloved character, Usami-chan, the  no nonsense grade school detective, who once again uncovers her classmates perverted crimes.

    Welcome back king!!!  I am a huge fan of the Gag manga series, which sadly had little to know audience in North America.  That may change now that Amazon is apparently going to have all of them available on top of simulcasting the new series.  Lets five!!!!

This series is being streamed on Amazon Prime.

Kowloon Generic Romance

    Kujirai Reiko works for a small realtor in New version of Kowloon, the infamous densely populated neighborhood good that existed in Hong Kong until the 1990s.  She is serious and put together, a stark contrast to her gorilla like co-worker, Kudou Hajime.  Something doesn't feel right with her though as she questions the things around her.  Her vision is suddenly perfect, a man at a cafe claims to have seen her before, referencing her being Kudou's girlfriend.  Does any of it have to do with new technology developed by a powerful pharmaceutical company that is ever present in Kowloon?

    Convincing me to watch this was easy.  I'm a fan of the authors previous work, After the Rain.  Its a potential love story between two adults and it has this mundane cyberpunk quality to it.  All I can hope for is a fantastically complex mystery and a really good payoff.  Everything is pointing to Kujirai recreating herself with the new technology, represented by a futuristic geometric shape hovering above the rats nest of Kowloon.  Side note, this is my pick for the Spring Season of The Otaku Network Podcast.

This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

Lazarus

     Set a little in the future, a brilliant scientist created a drug that removed all pain from those that took it and then disappeared right as the age of panacea began.  He returned a few years later to warn everyone that the drug was also designed to kill anyone who took it after a certain amount of time passed.  He wanted to use it as a warning for humanities hubris and sets a one month time frame for anyone to find him, to receive the antidote.  A group of specialists called Lazarus, are one such band undertaking the search.  But first, they need to recruit some fresh blood.

    A new series by the legendary Watanabe Shinichiro usually draws attention.  This American/Japanese joint venture has definitely had he hype train going.  I'm not sure if its going to stand up to that hype though. Its got some great moments but I struggle a little with some of the character design choices and the inconsistent animation quality...plus I'm not that big of a heist film fan.  We shall see...

The series is being streamed on HBO and airs on Cartoon Network...currently only in English dub...

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary 2

    We pick up where last season left off and have a mystery being explored by Yuki's boyfriend, the underclassman Urino.  Yuki and Jogoro are still on bad term, not interacting at all in this first episode.

   I welcome this very dry and serious mundane mystery back to the fold and am interested to see what it can bring to the table. So far its spreading its wings by focusing on other characters for a change. Good start!

This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai 2

    Its the start of the second year of high school and Aharen and Raido are officially a couple.  But that doesn't really change the way they behave.  Their small friend group are also part of the class and the new home room teacher is the one who always exploded with joy when she encountered them around town.  Then a new student transfers in, a flashy gyaru who knew Aharen in grade school, the person responsible for Aharen being shy with interacting with others.

     I am so happy to see this fun and cute anime return!!  Literally have nothing else to say, just watch it.

 This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

Summer Pockets

    decides to spend his summer on a remote island, staying with a distant aunt, helping her clear out his grandmothers affects.   He is trying to restart his life following an as of yet explained 'event'.  As he explores the island, he begins to encounter some odd personalities in it.  While this summer retreat heal the hole in his heart?

    This is the latest adaptation of a visual game by the legendary KEY.  Maeda Jun was part of the team that developed it but I don't think its his baby entirely.   So prepare to moe archetypes, personal tragedy and twists.

This series is being steamed on Crunchyroll. 

Zatsu Tabi

    Chika is a new manga artist who is struggling to get her first series started.  On a whim she decides to take a few days off and go on a spontaneous trip to Northern Honshu, in hopes of clearing up her blues and sparking inspiration.

    This is a travel-log style iyashikei and so far its nice.  The main character is agreeable and there's some relatively realistic details around...its not dissimilar to Laid Back Camp honestly. 

This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

 MS Gundam GQuuuuuX

    In an alternate version of the events of the One Year War, Char steals the Gundam and uses it to help Zeon achieve victory.  A girl growing up on a space colony finds herself in the middle of a rebellion 5 years after Char and his Red Gundam disappeared.  She encounters a girl working as a courier for contraband and is fast tracked into the world of underground mech fighting.

    There are two things that annoy me with the majority of Gundam stories; the repetitive wunderkinds and the inability to move past Char.  This one has both aspects and so.e character design I'm not the biggest fan of.  We will see how it goes, hopefully better than Reconguista in G.

This series is being streamed on Amazon.

Apocalypse Hotel

    Set in the 22nd century the story revolves around a hotel in Ginza that is fully staffed with robots.  They have been maintaining their daily duties and have preserved the hotel for over a hundred years, following the mass exodus of humanity from the plant.  The surface has become unlivable due to a virus that was unable to be contained.  Those humans that didn't die fled.  Now the hotel carries on, hoping for guests that may never arrive until they run out of time.

    This was way more enjoyable that I thought it would be.  It's firmly in the realm of sad iyashikei.  It's cute but there is a sadness that hangs in the air as you know they will probably never be able to fulfill their duties and will just fade away in time ...forgotten buy the world around them.

This series is being streamed on Crunchyroll.

Honey Lemon Soda

Honey Lemon Soda (ハニーレモンソーダ) is a 12 episode romance based on the manga of the same name by Murata Mayu.  It originally aired during the Winter of 2025.

    Ishimori Uka is a first year high school student who struggle with self esteem.  She was isolated and bullied in middle school and struggles to become more confident.  Things begin to change however when the most popular boy in her grade intervenes in a round of abuse by her old tormentors.  Miura Kai is stern and aloof but when he intervenes for Ishimori he does so in the hopes that she will begin to stand up for herself and build some confidence.  Unknown to him, she chose to enroll in this high school instead of a more prestigious one, because of a chance encounter with Miura during exams.  He came upon her on the street when she was having a bit of a difficult moment and offered a helping hand.  She figured out what school he was applying for due to this and switched her enrollment request.  She was drawn to him for his kindness and his appearance.

    A group of classmates who hang around Miura begin to take interest in he girl who previously had been as innocuous as a statue.  One outgoing girl, Ayumi, takes charge and doesn't stop encouraging her to join them and relax.  Through both of their efforts, Ishimori gains a group of people she can spend time with and slowly the class includes her, bringing her a sense of belonging.  Though she may be growing like she wanted, her thoughts are clouded by doubt and self hatred.  Mirua is not exactly forthright with his mannerisms and causes her more doubt.  He wants her to stand up for herself but does so in a stern manner.  Its hard for her to understand if hes annoyed with her or not.  She questions every action and ever time he chides her for continuing her deeply ingrained habits.  The more time she spends with him, the more feelings for him grow.  However she doesn't know if he has any interest in her and is just being a guardian for her, willing to abandon her once either she or he is done with the arrangement.  She wants more than that but is afraid to seek it.  He's too hard to truly read, guarded as he is, she struggles to understand if there's any chance for her desires to come true.

    I went into this series with a negative attitude, which persisted through its run.  There were some moments near the end of it that were worth while but over all i still have a problem with this story.  This presents its self as a tale of hope for girl who struggle to find their voice in their peer group.  Instead its a story of a girl who is awkward and self hating who needs a strong boy to show her how to succeed.  Its a bit infuriating with how  reliant she is on Miura.  It doesn't help that hes rather obtuse in what he tells her and how he reacts to the things she does.  She created her own narrative about what hes thinking which sends her into a deeper spiral.  This stories ability to instill hope in individuals looking to pull themselves out of a similar situation isn't the best.  The message of only needing to find a strong confident man to protect you as you grow isn't the most forward thinking.

     The artwork is ok, though it has this weird fetish with making everyone's eyes urine yellow.  Otherwise, the artwork wasn't the worst.  There were tender moments where the animation team really put their effort in creating a strong impact.  Though the last few episodes felt like the series got a different director.  There was a stylistic change that took place that reminded me of His and Her Circumstance.  It was nice, but strayed from the tone of the story telling up until that point.  Regardless, it was a big of a slough for me to work through this series.  i am sure a lot of that is my own distaste before even starting episode one.  But I persisted because i wanted to see how it resolved.  t was OK...mostly stuck in the bounds of realism, but a lot of it seemed shortcut, perhaps laving out some finer details.  However, ,I'm not interested enough to see if anything was omitted from the original source material.

The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll.

Flower and Asura

 Flower and Asura (花は咲く、修羅の如く) is a 12 episode coming of age anime based on the manga of the same name by Takeda Ayano.  The series originally aired during the Winter of 2025.

     Haruyama Hana is going to be starting high school at Sumomogaoka High, away from the isolated island she had grown up on.  After watching a poem recital in her youth, she has been enamored by the act of public story telling.  Inspired by the performance, she began to hold regular readings for young children in town.  An older girl from school witnesses this one day and invites Hana to join the Broadcast Club.  Hana declines at first due to relying on someone to ferry her back and forth each day with their boat.  Unwilling to give up, Usurai Mizuki, the senior, does some behind the scenes work and negotiates for Hana to be able to stay after school for the clubs activities.  Accepting the possibility that her desires won't burden those around here, Hana joins the club as one of four freshmen members.

     Hana suddenly learns more about the club than she expected during her first days, as the other new members have either participated in similar clubs in middle school or have a greater understanding of the topic.  Everyone is driven for a different reason, some are more hungry than the others.  But in the end they are there to enjoy themselves.  Hana is constantly being pressured by her peers to conform to their ideals on how to approach the clubs activities, but Mizuki gently pushes her along, sometimes forcing her to grow out of her shell.

    This was a nice change of pace from a lot of the recent titles out there.  It was through and through a coming of age story that didn't have ulterior motives or distractions...until the last arc unfortunately.  I'm a bit of a broadcast nerd, having working professionally in the media industry for over 25 years now as well as pursuing music and video production on the side for just as long, if not longer.  In my first year of middle school I joined an after school club similar to this, a forensics club, so I had a bit of an interest in the subject matter with this series.  However...the last arc, as eluded to, kind of spun the reality of the story into something a bit more fanciful as the group of plucky teenagers face off against a Showa era matriarch.  It felt a bit forced and they might have actually excluded that part to focus more on the NHK cup they had been focused on the entire show...but I also don't know how much of that was shown in the manga.  It was an odd direction regardless.

    Aside from what I consider a blunder in the story at the end, the show over all wasn't bad.  The characters were have rather blatant personalities.  At times, during an important recitation, the viewers are transported to a visual representation of the delivery which can be fun at times and awkward at others, leaving a rather uneven tone to the story in general.  For all the criticism I have for it, its generally not a bad anime, I just would have enjoyed it more with a few alterations.  I'm not sure if I will ever re-watch it or look for the manga, but I won't shy away from suggesting it to others who may be the right audience.  In a land full of similar stories again and again and again, its a nice change of pace.  It tells a straightforward and rather mundane story and we grow with Hana.  It's no Showa Genroku Raguko Shinju however...that is an amazing piece of literature about story telling.

The series was simulcast on HiDive.

Even Though We're Adults

Even Though We're Adults (おとなになっても) is a slice of life yuri romance manga by Shimura Takako.  The manga was published between 2019 and 2023 and has been compiled into 10 tankoubon.

    Elementary school teacher, Okubo Ayano, enjoys a rare night out at a small restaurant she visits from time to time.  The night slips away and she finds herself in the apartment of a woman who sat next to her at the bar.  Overwhelmed by emotions and unexplainable feelings, Ayano is drawn to her in ways she never felt possible.  Unwilling to dive too far too quickly, the other woman, Hirayama Akari, probes Ayano's feelings, searching for signs of trouble if she goes further.  Akari has not had a good track record when it comes to finding lasting love.  She tries to protect herself as well as she can by applying a series of litmus tests to a potential partner.  Ayano confesses she has never really felt this way about a woman before, not a deal breaker for Akari, who hopes that this new and exciting woman is just a late bloomer.  The pair exchange contact information and part ways before they decide to go any further, not wanting to ruin anything that may grow between them.

    Akari doesn't have long to wait to see Ayano again, nor does she have long to wait to see if the relationship will work.  The following week Ayano returns to the restaurant for dinner, accompanied with a man.  Ayano discreetly tells the stunned woman that the man is her husband, Wataru, crushing her freshly awakened dreams of happiness and companionship.  Afterwards, Ayano begins to open up to Akari about her situation, struggling with how to proceed, drawn strongly to Akari.  Ayano has never knowingly become emotionally drawn to another woman but hasn't exactly lead a traditional wife role.  She met her husband when she was 30 through an arrangement and the two decided to get married because it didn't seem like a bad idea.  After five years together, Ayano doesn't know if there is any real love for her husband and if she is staying with him out of convenience.  A better alternative to her current situation has not presented its self until Akari appeared before her.  Now she struggles with how to proceed, recognizing that there is little in the way of love between her and Wataru.

     Akari has been involved in situations like this before and has little desire to do so again, but something about the timid school teacher stirs deep emotions in her.  She had left her previous job as a stylist due to a woman she was madly in love with leaving her for a man she ended up marrying and having a child with.  She has been in situations where someone is cheating on their spouse with her as well and has always received the short end of the stick.  She just wants to find someone she can be with long term and not have to play childish emotional games.  Ayano struggles with her feelings and quickly reveals to her husband what happened, causing panic.  She feels trapped suddenly, in part due to her mother-in-law pressuring them to get serious about having children.  The revelation leads to Wataru and Akari meeting in a tense situation and his mother finding out about the infidelity.  His mother brushes it off, as it was little more than an innocent kiss between two women, ignoring any possibility of the intense emotional waves emanating from both parties.  She also forces the couple to move into the family home, using Wataru's father hospitalization as a catalyst.  

    The possibility of the two women finding comfort in each others arms seems to be evaporating as quickly as it began.  Ayano, through being open and honest with her husband, has been backed into a situation that seems like forced domestication.  She has expressed her desire for a divorce but Wataru is refusing to agree to it.  Life within her in-laws house finds her always under the watchful eye of her mother-in-law.  She has resigned herself to her fate, but the feelings for Akari persist and grow.  Akari struggles with distancing herself from the problem that is Ayano's domestic situation.  To limit continued contact with anyone related to her, she leaves her job at the restaurant, returning to the hair salon she previously worked at.  The change leads her to move as well but this puts her closer in contact with Ayano and the Okubo family than she ever would have anticipated.  The two women, drawn to each other stronger with the passage of time, struggle to navigate the complicated and delicate situation that they both find themselves in.  No one wants to move forward while leaving a wake of misery and hatred in their path.

    I have been a massive fan of Shimura Takako's work since I read her beautiful manga Wandering Son.  When I learned of this newer series of hers and that it was about an adult relationship I was more than happy to dive into it and dive I did!  This manga and Skip & Loafer kicked off my significant increase in manga purchasing in 2023, seeing me hitting book stores every week to pick up new volumes...if not the following day.  I digress though.  I have consumed a lot of romance in the past twenty years, but largely in anime form and have a massive void when it comes to manga, as there is so much more that exists.  On top of that, there are few romance stories I have gone over that deal with adults, as most accessible titles and anime are stories revolving around high school aged children.  When it comes to a yuri romance based around adults...well that comes down to one, this one.  Even Though We're Adults is my introduction to the world of adult yuri and I don't know if it is a benchmark of the genre, an outlier or a boring and repetitive one.  Take this severe lack of exposure into consideration in regards to my thoughts and critiques of this manga as a whole.  I am coming at it from the ground floor.

    Its inevitable that you come across reviews or opinions on a story that can influence your feelings on it.  I did that after reading the first volume out of curiosity and its made me wonder about the reality of the critiques when compared to the rest of the genre that I am not yet as deeply familiar with.  The main critique is that this is a story that focuses on a toxic hetero normative complication in what should be a blossoming lesbian partnership.  Akari herself, through out the story, continues to remind herself that shes not the bad guy in the situation.  She didn't seek out a married woman to seduce over to her side.  Yet she has to face off with a growing list of passive agitators while she tries to navigate her own emotions.  She is a victim of circumstance and falsehoods, lies she was not responsible for but was party to against her own desires.  Or that was the way it was in the beginning.  As time goes on, and Ayano continues to appear in her life and reaffirm mutual feelings, Akari resist the urge to expose her continued distraction to her family.   Ayano is incredibly passive, more than willing to play along with the demands placed on her by the husband she no longer wants to be with and his mother.  Her inability to make drastic changes in her life causing nothing but strife for herself and Akari.

    The story focuses largely on the struggles of its characters as they move through the evolving situations they find themselves in.  They are all adults and try to make themselves understood as much as they can.  There is no room for agonized internal dialogue, forever fretting over fictional scenarios of doubt and regret.  There is a lot of doubt and regret though, but its less about inability to communicate and more about hesitation due to expectations based on experiences in the past.  Akari has had a terrible romantic live, always getting the short end of the stick in every relationship, unable to find someone she can keep for her self.  These past pains drive much of her hesitation regarding Ayano, even after Ayano has left her husband.  She struggles to quell her emotions for the other woman and finds herself lost every time they run into each other.  As the story progresses more people in their orbit become enmeshed in the central drama, struggling with their own issues that exist on the periphery, unintentionally instigated by a chance encounter at a bar one evening.  This is a fantastic story that has me wanting more.  I have long respected Shimura sensei's work.  Another fantastic series by her is the equally complicated adult romance Koi Iji.  Both are well worth the time...if only either of them would get an anime adaptation.

The manga was released in English by Seven Sea's, with the final volume being published in February of 2025.  A live action adaptation is slatted to premier in April of 2025 on Hulu.

I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class

I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most in Class (クラスの大嫌いな女子と結婚することになった) is a 12 episode romantic comedy based on the light novel series of the same name by Amano Seiju.  The anime aired during the Winter of 2025.

    High school senior Hojo Saito is the presumptive heir to the Hojo conglomerate a successful corporate empire.  He is the top of his class, liked by everyone and generally serious and reliable.  His classmate, Sakuramori Akane see's him as her arch enemy and eternal rival.  She does everything he can to make sure he understands her distaste for him.  Her aggression comes from an unknown place but Saito deals with it the best he can, mostly rolling with it but pushing back when her attacks become to severe.  Much to both of their shock and horror they are forced by their respective grandparents to elope.  Saito's grandfather, the current head of the Hojo conglomerate and Akane's grandmother grew up together and had a similar situation in school a their grandchildren.  In their twilight years their past has become rose tinted and they begin to regret not acting upon something that may have been.  They begin to se each other but that is not enough to satisfy their regret.  So, in order to prevent the same mistake from potentially recurring and to live vicariously through them, they are forcing the marriage of Saito and Akane.  In order to ensure it happens they threaten to remove both kinds dreams if they don't comply.  While they are currently enemies, their grandparents hope forced interaction and closeness will foster something else.

    Relenting under life altering treats both newly minter adults relent and soon find themselves living together, even forced to share a bed.  They do their best to establish ground rules and divide the duties of the household but their past can't be ignored and combat ensues on a regular basis, largely from Akane.  In reality she harbors deep seeded feelings fro her rival but lacks confidence in her determination.  She struggles with what she wants in this situation especially when he presents indifference and annoyance at having to be married to her.  She begins to question what she truly feels as jealousy begins to creep in, particularly with his younger cousin, Shisei, who is uncomfortably close with Saito.  Akane struggles with her best friend Himari and her feelings for her husband, feelings the gyaru has expressed since the first day of high school.  Saito himself is just trying to prevent as much tension in his life as possible as he maintains an eye on his future.  Of course, all of this needs to be hidden from everyone to prevent as much trouble as possible.  But how easy is it to hide that your living together, let alone married in high school?

    On the surface this is a terrible series.  The premise is terrible and haphazard, almost all of the characters are annoying and sometimes problematic.  We have seen a lot of the hooks and jokes and mysteries countless times before.  There is one that is lifted almost directly from Nisekoi in which Kaito yearns for a girl he met at a party once when he was younger, that he had a connection with.  There are a few uncomfortable moments when someone related to Akane arrives and causes a lot of...havoc. Yet, I watched the entire thing and by the end of it was watching in on release day weekly.  Something about Akane and Saito was pleasant.  Their entire circumstance and everyone around them was terrible and outlandishly stupid.  But they were agreeable characters, even if Akane was a by the book tsundere.  I don't know, I just really liked them.  Saito is level headed and mature.  He does what he can to respect Akane's boundaries and doesn't fall into the rote of being a twitchy virgin at every moment.  The story was its most engaging when it began to delve into Himari's feelings for Saito and her actions once the marriage was revealed to her.  Himari herself is a typical trope as well, the flashy, buxom gyaru who only presents herself as a bimbo but is quite intelligent in her own right.

     While over all its not a good package, it had some enjoyable parts.  The character design isn't bad and there is a healthy dose of chibi used for effect.  There is some questionable content choices at times, but over all its a wholesome story about coming to tears with your feelings.  I may have to check out the light novels, to see how much deeper the story goes, as there is quite a bit of the background that's left to interpretation.  Either way, its not good, but its better than Nisekoi or Rent-a-Girlfriend.

The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll.

Zenshu

 Zenshu (全修) is an original 12 episode isekai anime produced by MAPPA.  The series originally aired during the Winter of 2025.

     Hirose Natsuko is a celebrated young anime director who is struggling to complete the screenplay for his first movie, First Love.  AFter accidentally getting food poisoning she wakes up in  different world.  She quickly determines she is in the world of the anime that influenced her to become and animator, the derided fantasy A Tale of Perishing.  The world of A Tale of Perishing is that of near death.  The source of its light and growth, the soul futures, have been gradually extinguished by an alien menace known as the Void.  A band of legendary heroes, the Nine Soldiers, have done everything they can to protect them, but only 4 heroes remain.  They and everyone else have crammed into the last city, built around the final soul future.  Things are looking desperate because once the final soul future is destroyed the world will end as they know it.  The Nine Soldiers encounter the out of place Natsuko in the outskirts of town but consider her a nuisance and a trouble maker.  She does what she can to convince them other wise, but the leader, Luke Braveheart wants nothing to do with her.  Using her knowledge of the anime, she tries to warn them of danger only to be ignored even once the next attack happens.  As the battle rages and one of the other heroes begins to cast a spell, sacrificing himself to save the others, an item from the real world begins to urge Hatsuko to take action.

    The item is her peg bar and when she heeds its urging she goes through a fantastical magical girl transformation and finds herself sitting at a replica of her animators desk.  She formulates an idea in her head and with inhuman speed, sketches out a storyboard.  As soon as she is finished with it magic causes it to spring to life, a gigantic being with a powerful beam weapon that decimates the hoard of Voids, preventing the hero Unio from sacrificing himself.  After demonstrating her ability and usefulness she is accepted into the ranks of the Nine Soldiers.  Her prescient ability only goes so far though as the plot begins to change in reaction to her meddling.  The original anime ended in the despair and failure as Luke succumbed to the trauma of loosing everything he cares for.  Natsuko tries to intervene as much as she can to prevent this but as things move further away from what she knew this became harder to maintain.  Will she learn life lessons she was unable to learn in the real world as she struggles to protect this new world?

 

    Zenshu was a unknown given its an original piece that seemed to be part Shirobako and part every isekai out there.  What sold me with the preview was the beauty of the animation.  This is a fantastically animated series with a lot of care placed on making the characters distinct.  In the moments when Natsuko is remembering the anime version of A Tale of Perishing, the art style and quality changes to reflect a lower quality TV anime from years past.  The other characters themselves are done in different styles as well.  Luke looks like a classic fantasy character from the 80's.  Unio, a shapeshifting magical unicorn, looks like he would be more at home in Care Bears.  QJ, the strange statue-like being, is absolutely a reference to a famous figurine from the ancient Jomon era.  As the story played another thing that became apparent was how different the characters were being handled.  They didn't easily fit into traditional fantasy/isekai roles and had a great deal of interpersonal dynamics.  They were also multi faceted and realistic in their portrayals.

    But what about the story its self?  In the end it wasn't anything new or original.  We have seen this type of story countless times and there is no shame in that.  Whats special about Zenshu is how much love was put into it.  This is truly a love letter to anime with an emphasis on its history.  A lot of that is represented by Natsuko herself.  Eeach week she creates a new animated scene to help them in their battles, constantly changing style.  We see a nod to Gundam, Kinnikuman, bishonen harem, kaiju, etc.   While the story its self is well hashed the way it handles it is invigorating and special.  This is a really good anime and should be viewed by all manner of anime fans.  There is a little room with the way it ends for the possibility of a movie but I suspect it will never happen and feel leaving things as they are is the best way to preserve the shows future legacy.

The series was simulcast on Crunshyroll.

Blue Box seson 1

Blue Box (アオのハコ) is 25 episode romance based on the manga of the same name by Miura Kouji.  The first season ran from the Fall of 2024 until the Winter of 2025.

 

    Inomata Taiki is a first year high school student and student athlete on the badminton team.   His dedication to the sport leads him to practicing first thing in the morning.  He's not the only overly ambitious athlete as he normally shares the gym in the early hours of the morning with second year basketball star Kano Chinatsu.  Chinatsu is popular and well loved by everyone in school, highly sought after by many of the boys.  Taiki is another one of the admirers and struggles with his lack of confidence, relying on these early morning sessions to be in her presence all on his own.  Those fuzzy mornings are about to come to an end when he learns that her parents are moved abroad for work.  He doesn't keep; these feelings to himself however and confides in his closest friends, fellow badminton teammate Kasahara Kyo and childhood friend and star of the girls rhythm gymnastics team, Chono Hina.  Even though Hina says shes way out of his league he still tries to interact with her, wanting to know her better.  When he learns that she will be moving he expresses his sympathy for her.  Chinatsu is working hard so that the team can enter the inter-high tournament and try to win it.  Supersized, she tells him that she will be staying behind, living with her moms friend, so she can continue to focus on her goals.  His relief is soon shattered when he learns that friend is actually his own mother and the girl he has a massive crush on will be living with them.

    This is both a curse and a boon for him as it allows them to spend more time together, to learn about each other.  But he is nervous and uncertain how to act around her and what he should do regarding his own desires.  He is awkward wears his emotions on his sleeve but earnest in his endeavors.  In order to impress her and to push himself he declares his intention to become better so he too can shoot for inter-high for badminton.  Already driven to be better, he pushes his training and focus into high gear, all while suffering an internal battle over his feelings for the girl living in his house.  His work pays off and he shows rapid improvement and earns more respect from his team mates and seniors, but he is still far from his goal as the competition from rival schools belittles his efforts.  At the same time Hina struggles for her growing feelings for one of her oldest friends.  Spurned by the competition for his heart with Chinatsu, she eventually opens up to Taiki about her feelings and wants.  This revelation shakes their friendship and causes him more internal anguish as he tries to find his path forward.  Does he have that sort of feeling for his friend and does he even have any chance of success with his crush?

     I'll just put it out in front, I am quite negative about this story.   The set up and scenario is very much that found in Suzuka, a bad shonen romance in its own right that holds a special place as the series that opened me up fully to my love of the genre.  I really dislike the character design.  Their faces and eyes are unsettling and their body proportions are wrong most of the time.  The biggest problem however is the severe dislike of Taiki and the almost non-existent personality of Chinatsu.  Lets start with Chinatsu.  Her personality type is agreeable and non-committal.  For all of the input she has in the things around her she could just as well be a toaster.  Shes obedient, likeable, easy going, passive.  That passive part is the key thing, shes the gross yamato nadeshiko thing, where the perfect woman is obedient and quiet, existing in a state of subservience and vulnerability.  Its a shame because she is ripe for a lot of complexity.  She only exists in the frame of the story as the object that Taiki chases after.  She literally has zero opinion about anything around her and adds nothing to the story when it comes down to it.  Taiki himself is a bland and uninspired archetypal shonen main character.  He's the under dog whose raw determination carried him to success, no matter how many beatings he takes.  He's boring, absolutely uninteresting and useless as a character and a narrative center.

    The story literally commits suicide when it takes an episode to focus on the romance of two side characters that blows everything since and before out of the water.  In one 20 minute arc, where a lot of it is exposition and dialogue around the actual story, more conviction and personality is expressed than all of the other episodes combined. In the 13th episode, he goes to watch his senpai on the badminton team and ends up sitting with his girlfriend.  The girlfriend, a model and friend of Chinatsu, relays the story of how they became lovers after years as classmates.  I want to see this story told in full, there is so much more room that can be given to this fantastically lovely story and its wasted on this will they won't they indecision each episode.  I'll give Blue Box this though, its not full of fan service of terrible tropes about puberty and perversion.  Many of the side characters are well fleshed out and agreeable, offering genuine interest to the story.  But I just don't care about Taiki and would really like for Chinatsu to have a personality.  Its sad, you know the outcome.  There is no way it ends without them acknowledging mutual feelings, but I really don't care either!!

The first season was simulcast on Netflix and season 2 was announced to begin directly afterwards.  I will watch that one too...so stay tuned to see if my feelings change.

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

 Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (チ。―地球の運動について―,) is a 25 episode historical drama based on the manga of the same name by Uoto.  The series ran between the Fall of 2024 and the Winter of 2025. 

     The story takes place in the Kingdom of Poland in the 15th century, a time where the Catholic church controls most aspects of life.  An ex-mercenary named Nowak is employed by the local Bishop to hunt down heretic and bring them to justice, particularly a specific branch of heresy, heliocentrism.  The contemporary position of the place of Earth in the universe at this point is that it is the center of everything, with the glory of Heaven above and the torment of Hell below.  The wonders of Heavens circles the Earth, casting their mysterious splendor on humans who were not worthy in this life to experience them.  Questioning this and analyzing Gods majesty and wonder was punishable by death as an affront to his majesty and benevolence.  To do so would constitute the sin of pride in a person thinking they could judge that which is celestial.  Yet as Europe begins to expand its experiences to the wider world once again, knowledge and ideas largely lost to them begins to return.  With it the age of reason begins and those with the ability to access books and the time to do so begin to study the world around them in empirical ways.  The idea that the Heavens do not rotate around the Earth, that the Earth is just another celestial body and it, along with other objects, rotates around the Sun is counter to the Churches dogma.  Nowak is working to stamp out this poisonous thinking before it grows out of hand and threatens the order of their lives.

    One particular heretical case haunts him through his career, the case of a boy who had the entire world in front of him but defied logic and refused to refute his heretical thinking.  The boy, named Rafal, had become involved with a reformed heretic named Hubert and was helping the older man with continuing his heliocentrism research.  Huburt is arrested again and executed as a repeat offender with Rafal falling into Nowaks hands.  The man tries to convince the boy to recant but instead the boy chooses a symbolic death at his own hands instead of betraying his own convictions.  Ten years later, remnants of Rafal and his heresy once again appear before Nowak, this time threatening his own family.  Again he reacts in a manner befitting of his duty to the Church and God, but 25 years after that the specter of Heliocentrism and Rafal return, poised to destroy everything he has ever worked for in his life.  With all of the effort he has put into this solitary task, why has it persisted in the face of judgement?

     Historical drama's are not exactly common in the sphere of anime and manga, many of them are localized to Japanese history, for a number of reasons.  Orb is written by someone who has either a deep knowledge of Europe during the enlightened era or did a lot of quality research in preparation for writing the manga.  It is astonishing how cognizant this story was in relation to what things would have been like in Poland in the 1400's.  Keeping a wary eye on the accountable timeline while spinning a decades long tale of the pursuit of knowledge.  This is in stark contrast to the blunder in the Vinland Saga where Denmark is shown as being mountainous...which is pretty far from the reality of things.  The story its self is divided into 4 segments and while I presented Nowak as the main character, each section is not told from his narrative perspective.  Nowak is the constant character across all of the arcs.  The stories narrative perspective is of the heretics that cross his path.  Each arc, even after the span of years or decades, carries the burden of knowledge forward, even if the characters had no intention of taking the path they ended up on.  I can't express enough how finely crafted this story is and the way it seamlessly connects these disparate individuals.  In that path it showcases various aspects of life in this time frame, moving from aspiring philosopher to sell sword, to monk, to social outcast and revolutionary idealists.  However there is one sticking point in the time line of things.  There is a 'slight' problem with the timing of one event at the very end of the story...that I need to actually sit down and figure out if is real or perceived.  But this one error is the only bad mark in an otherwise amazing story.

    The story is on the caliber of recognized timeless classics such as Monster but what about the animation?  The characters are not realistically detailed but they are realistically designed.  They are realistically portrayed Europeans with dress to match the period.  The only sticking point and oddity, especially present in the third arc is that some of the characters hair style choices are not exactly period accurate.  But that's a miner quibble.  The art at times can be a bit jarring when its 3d base becomes apparent, particularly in some of the characters walking animation but it doesn't negatively impact the anime over all.  There is no humor in this story, it is a dramatic tale of perseverance and defying authority.  There is not a lot of action as well, as the majority of the characters are intellectuals.  The few action scenes are brief and well done.  It may be due to that old adage of something being better when its done sparingly but the few scenes of sword play were amazing!  I can't stress enough how good this story is and how finely it was executed.  This should be considered a timeless classic and a model of perfection in the industry.  I fear however, that it will be lost to most people due to the nature of its story and the presentation.  Its hard to gather a lot of momentum around it when a large portion of the anime viewing populace wants something more flashy and stylized.  Orb is not that, it tells a very realistic and grounded story in a way you don't see very often.  Well worth the viewing.

 The anime was simulcast on Netflix.

A Look Back At TV Anime From 2015

I was well invested again in anime consumption at this point, coming off of the high of 2014.  There wasn't a lot of impactful titles premiering this year but there was a lot of good story telling.

Beautiful Bones

    One of two mystery series that came out this year, this one is more a mystery of the week Sherlock Holmes style story.

Charlotte

    From story telling brulatist Maeda Jun, this series evolves the story, its telling and what its doing to its characters at an incredible pace.  Don't like the feel of a particular arc, don't worry it will change in a few episodes.

Classroom Crisis

    A rote sci-fi school based series that a lot of people apparently never watched or even know about?  It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.

Death Parade

    Perhaps the sleeper hit of the year.  An episodic examination of a souls worth in the form of a jazz lounge. Excellent series.

Disappearance of Yuki Nagato-chan

    An off shoot of the Haruhi universe by another other wanting to explore the normal world presented to Kyon in the amazing Disappearance of Haruhi movie.  This showed that the power of the Haruhi world is the subtle super natural force that is Haruhi.  I really disliked this series but should watch it again.

 

Heroic Legend of Arslan

    A second attempt to turn a sprawling epic novel series into and anime and still fails to tell its full story.  It was really nice to see this old classic get a new coat of paint and an expanded story however.

 

Homouto Umaru-chan

    Everyone dreams of a cute nerdy younger sister right?  Ok, maybe its just an otaku thing.  Umaru chan though hides her selfish behavior from the public and presents herself as the ideal teenager.  At home..shes lazy, spoiled and plain obnoxious.  Cute series largely due to the fantastic mix of chibi and reality.

 Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

    A light novel adaptation with a name that suggests the level of fan service it provides...but includes fantastic world building and an escalating story across its currently 5 seasons.   I dislike harem and fantasy but have greatly enjoyed this title.  I would love to see a proper JRPG based on this world.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

    Perhaps the best Gundam series around?  It may have something to do with the fact its not part of the Universal Century and doesn't have to tie its self into Char or Amuro. 

Mr. Osomatsu

    The reboot of a ridiculous comedy series about a sextuplet of good for nothing brothers.  The first episode lambasted popular anime of the time so hard it got banned...also they didn't ask for permission.  Epic.

 My Love Story

    This innocent high school romance between a giant kind heart guerilla of a boy and a diminutive shy girl may be one of the most wholesome and lovable romancer anime ever produced.   

 One Punch Man

    The initial premise of Saitama being the unexpectedly most bas ass person on the plant was a lot of fun when it didn't take its self seriously and poked fun at the shonen battle tropes.  When it started to actually embrace those tropes and try to tell some sort of serious story it got boring. 

Re-Kan

     A run of the mill super natural comedy about a girl who can interact with the dead as part of her daily life.  It had some fun moments and some sweat moments but didn't leave a strong impression over all.  The definition of mid-tier.

Rin-ne

    The first Takahashi TV anime since Inuyasha that started out promising but then meander way too much for its own good.

Perfect Insider

     An 11 episode locked room mystery that takes its time exploring the crime and its culprits in a deliberate and well paced manner.  Actually a pretty good detective style story.

School Live

     In the zombie apocalypse 4 school girls use their wits to stay alive inside of their abandoned school.  The series does a lot of work trying to keep it as light and fun as possible but as their plight worsens reality becomes more grim.  Perhaps the best delivery of any series in the year.

Wakakozake

    This short slice of life series that focuses exclusively on one young office worker and her love for eating delicious food and drinking delicious spirits was fantastic.  The original manga has spawned a number of life action seasons as well.  Just nice and relaxing.