Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Girlfriend - light novel

      Rascal Does Not Dream Of His Girlfriend (青春ブタ野郎はガールフレンドの夢を見ない) is the fourteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keeji.  The fourteenth volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2025. 

     The following synopsis may spoil some aspects of the first thirteen novels in the Rascal Does Not Dream series, if you do not want to ruin those stories stop reading until you have.  

Book Twelve: Rascal Does Not Dream Of Santa Claus here!

    Sakuta finds himself in the throng of people heading to the concert in Yokohama that, according to the Dreaming Hashtag, Mai will reveal that she is Kirishima Touko.  While heading to the venue he notices the knapsack version of Mai flitting through the crows and chases after, failing to catch up with her.  Giving up, he heads to the venue, diverting his course to the backstage area where a chance encounter with Mai's manager allows him access to her trailer.  He does his best to ensure that Mai won't do what everyone is expecting her to do.  She assures him its not going to happen and ushers him out so she can finish preparing.  Once out of the backstage area he reconnects with Akagi and they join the massive crown for the performance.  Everything plays out as he dreamed and the bottom falls out from his stomach when Mai takes the stage and performs the Kirishima song.  Against his wishes, Mai goes along with the script and tells the audience that she is the mysterious YouTube singer, completing the Dreaming Hashtag and sending Sakuta into a spiral of confusion and betrayal.

    After the concert he again approaches Mai in her trailer to find out whats going on.  She tells him that everything was a secret from her agency and she is sorry she couldn't tell him sooner.  He leaves, stunned, unwilling to believe it, understanding it to be a lie.  He was unable to stop it from happening and according to the message from the other reality, he fears the worse for his girlfriend.  Returning home, numb, he encounters something even more confusing when the Kaede that greets him is the Kaede from her period of memory loss.  He calls his parents house and when the real Kaede answers real confusion set in for Sakuta.  Both versions of his sister currently exist.

    In the morning, after trying to clear his head, he rushes off to his parents to see for himself is Kaede is there.  On his way to the train station he runs into Nodok and Uzuki who are frustrated by Mai's announcement undercutting their group set to perform at the Budokan.  He doesn't argue too much with this drastic change in their fortunes and heads off.  Once he does, he uses the excuse of having to cover a shift to leave again and heads back to his neighborhood.   At work a conversation with Koga confirms that every aspect of his life has been altered as she talks about going to his college instead of the all girls school she was recommended for.  He knew he needed to track down the real Kirishima Touko before things got too far out of hand.  As if he willed into existence a friend from the past makes a sudden appearance, Shouko, wearing the same high school uniform he first saw her in years earlier.  This was the real Shouko, who is about to begin her high school life.  But she was supposed to be in Okinawa?  

    She informs him that she is healthy enough to move back, as she really wanted to attend the same high school he did.  But she came for a more important matter...she wants to take him to meet Kirishima Touko.  Much to his disappointment, he has to spoil his first trip driving on Shouko instead of Mai as they head on a trip to Touko's home.  After a while Shouko felt compelled to find and connect with the family of the person who's heart was inside of her.  Much to her surprise that person was the Kirishima Touko, meaning that the woman Sakuta has been chasing after this entire time has been dead.  The visit with her mother is tense and somber.  But in the course of looking at her preserved bedroom Sakuta learns a very important clue to understanding what is going on...Touko's best friend has been the one uploading all of her songs online and is closer to him than either of them could ever imagine, now its a matter of confronting them and putting a stop to all of the madness before his future slips away from him.

     The second to last entry into the Rascal Does Not Dream series starts to pull everything together, at least in regards to the college arc and everything revolving around Kirishima Touko.  I keep repeating myself with each volume...but it just gets better with each new one.  SO in theory, the final volume should be the best of the series.  Thats a hell of a task to accomplish.  Anyways, this volume is significant and impactful, echoing across all of the story that has preceded it.  I read this about halfway through the broadcast of the second TV series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus.  The series covers light novels 9 through 13 and the story took on a very different tone when with the information learned in volume 14.  In reality not a lot occurs in this volume when it comes to a complex story.  This is all set up for the final show down in the next volume and we get a lot of details out of the way, very important details.  In reality only three things happen.  Mai's announcement, Shokou's confrontation with the Kirishima family and Sakuta's confrontation with the person upholding Touko's memory.

    Volume fifteen has a hige task ahead of its self and I am eager to read it.  I wonder if the story will dive back into unresolved things from the high school arc as it wraps up the college arc.  What sort of release can we expect?  How does the essence of Kirishima Touko play into widespread adolescent syndrome?  The obvious conclusion is the disjointed reality that Sakuta encounters in this volume will become resolved when he tackles the problem at the root, but what will that mean to his world as it comes to its narrative conclusion?  I really love this series, it has grown into a passion of mine and has supplanted some legacy titles for me in importance.  It is what got me to finally dive into light novels and has made me rethink the quality of my beloved Haruhi series.  The emotions have been intense over its course and I may be setting myself up for disappointment if the conclusion does not blow me away.  But...a few months from this writing, I will have my answer.

See You Tomorrow at the Food Court

 See You Tomorrow at the Food Court (フードコートで、また明日) is a 6 episode slice of life comedy based on the manga of the same name by Nariite Shinichiro.  The anime originally aired in the first half of the 2025 Summer season. 

     Wada, a reserved and understated girl, who everyone assumes is a model student and Yamamoto, a tall and flashy gyaru, make an unusual pairing.  The two high school girls wile away their time together at a local malls food court, consuming various food items and chatting about their lives and interests.  While everyone assumes she's reserved and studious, Wada is irrational, academically deficient and vindictive.  Yamamoto, given her fashion choices, is presumed to be a sexually promiscuous airhead is reserved, considerate and driven by a goal to move to America.  The two of them reconnected once in high school after developing an unusual friendship in middle school and cherish their idle time together.

    Wada rages about anything she sees as a slight against her and battles popular opinion online.  Yamamoto does her best to reason with the unhinged girl but doesn't let it bother her when her friend refuses to accept logic.  Yamamoto doesn't follow pop culture as much as people would suspect, instead focusing on studying and enjoying Wada's company.  What do they spend their time doing every afternoon?  Whatever topic pops into their head, as there is never any plan outside of meeting.  They truly just enjoy the company of the other to that degree. 

    This was a surprisingly fun and endearing series that unfortunately only ran for half the season!!!   If any anime has ever hit me in the nostalgia nerve this one might be the most notable.  It reminded me of my teenage years spent aimlessly wasting time with friends at restaurants and coffee houses with nothing planned outside of spending time with them in public.  To make thing 'worse' I couldn't help; but seeing a lot of my own personality deficiencies represented in Wada...  I felt called out!  The way she made snap judgements on emotion over reason and tried to establish her world view in opposition to popular opinion out of reflex more than anything.  In the beginning it is established that she rages about the popularity of a specific idol figure in a popular mobile game but it comes out that hatred only comes from her being temporarily locked out from accessing his character in a way she wants.  Once she is able to join the elite's that can access him, her tone changes completely.

     In reality there is not a lot going on with the series.  Over its course some world building is done, but largely the setting is the two girls sitting at the same spot having casual conversations about their lives.  Some world building occurs, particularly revolving around a girl in Wada's class that she utterly despises.  She attacks the girls looks and her attempts at establishing a makeup routine but in reality the girl doesn't deserve the venom.  There is a boy who Wada went to grade school with who through a series of misunderstandings we learn holds a crush so hard on her to this point that he is dating a girl who looks like her.  Yamamoto goes along with all of these oddities, understanding that she won't really be able to change her belligerent friends mind once set on something.  But...there's not as much substance as a lot of people would like so this isn't really for everyone.  It was absolutely for me and I cherished each episode, I might have to pick up the manga. 

The series is available n Crunchyroll. 

A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof

 A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof (忍者と殺し屋のふたりぐらし) is a 12 episode comedy series based on the manga of the same name by HundredBurger.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2025.

 

    Satoko is a failure of a ninja.  When she becomes entangled in a plot by her superior to run away from the authority of their ninja village, she finds herself starving, alone and being hunted in a city shes not familiar with.  Her fate changes when a ninja sent to kill her is killed by a serious girl who she quickly learns is an assassin.  The professional killer, Konoha, decides not to kill the helpless ninja when she learns her only ability is instantly converting inanimate matter into leaves.  She see's this as a sure fire way for her to improve her ranking in the assassin world.  She is a highly skilled killer but gets bad reviews from her customers based on the messiness of the aftermath.  If this ninja can be convinced to clean up all of her messes the bad reviews should go away.  With that, Satoko, who knows nothing of the world outside of her closed off village, moves into the small apartment of a cold blooded paid killer.

     The ninja village continues to send their own assassins after Satoko and her superior, Kuro.  Satoko is less than useless when it comes to combat let alone survival and Konoha has to intervene during each attack.  Kuro, who has thrown away her ninja ways, is trying to live a normal wife with a woman she started dating and living with.  Unfortunately she has become addicted to pachinko and is more of a freeloader than Satoko is.  Kuro, feeling responsible, does try to help her underling become more self sufficient but in the end remaining in contact with her only brings more trouble.  In their time together a strange relationship blossoms between the lost ninja and the calculating assassin.  Neither of them are certain if its love or not.  Konoha's cold, dismissive and largely abusive attitude towards her freeloader acts as a road block to any break through. 

    This is a really weird and hectic comedy..that turns into a yuri pretty quickly.  But its a mundane almost not yuri yuri.  If I recall correctly...there are essentially no male characters in the entire run of the anime, everyone is female.   Most of them, if there is any notion of anything romantic, is gay.  A strong point of the story is how nonchalant the fight scenes are handled.  This isn't a battle anime and theres very little of anything shown.  Usually Konoha one shot kills and the next thing we know theres a pile of leaves in existence.  So if your looking for people sparing for episodes on end, shouting out special moves...this will be sorely disappointing.  If your looking for a quirky comedy that runs the line of a yuri romance, this might just trip your trigger.

     A strong point with the anime is the artwork and the sequencing of events.  The characters are bold, simply drawn but very expressive.  A lot of the comedy comes from their reactions and the timing of scene jumps.  But...there's a lot of innocent fan service making one wonder, who exactly is the audience for this show?  Its for otaku, otaku who love cute girls doing weird things.  I suspect its a cross over between those who drool over girls with guns stories and iyashikei featuring girls doing normal fun things.  In the end I enjoyed the comedy and the main characters were a lot of fun.  The personality and design traits of some of the side characters were not to my liking and in the end...the story really doesn't do anything.  But, who said something has to happen to be enjoyable.  I wouldn't mind a second season but I don't think I can be bothered to read the manga. 

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

First Look at the New Titles for the Summer of 2025

July brings yet another new batch of anime.  Here are the initial thoughts on the premier episodes of the titles that attracted my attention. 

Detectives These Days are Crazy

    Nagumo Keiichiro was a famous detective in his youth but has lost his touch as he ages.  Tha is until he is forced to hire a perculair high scholl girl named Mashiro-chan.  Mashiro wants to be a great detective herself and has traind hard to aquie various skill she belives will benefit her future career.  Will this nw blood put some spark in Keichiro's life and work?

    I am a fan of gag manga and this one is quite strange but nothing too out of the ordinary.  Its an aburdist comedy that could be likended to...what would happen is Conan grew up (again) and started to be a terrible detective.  Mashiro is perhaps the most interesting character so far but i do look forward to moe weird tales of stupidity from this show.

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Nyaight of the Living Cat

    One cat developed a mutation that would allow it to turn anyone who it touched into a cat as well as spread the ability to other cats...patient zero in the nyandemic.  Now, humans have a much different reality in which they either do everything they can to avoid the worlds more prolific hunter or join their ranks.

    This is a weird half serious entirely ridiculous post apocalyptic anime directed by the legendary Takashi Miike.  I don't know if this is a story that can really carry its self through an entire season of episodes instead of an hour OAV or something...but we're about to find out either way.

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll.  

With You and the Rain

    On a rainy day an unnamed woman finds an abandoned...dog?  It particularly agreeable aura leads her to bringing it home.  Unsure if it really is a dog she goes with it and decides to let it live with her.  Lucky for her it understands Japanese and can write to communicate ideas with her.

     Its clearly a tanuki...but so far the world of the story is presented to us as if no one knows of the existence of tanuki.  This may be one of the cutest iyashikei I have ever seen and I can't wait to see more of it!! 

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Hotel Inhumans

    In the underground there is a hotel that specializes in assissting those who murder for their profession.  The hotel provides all of the tools nessicary to assist their cliantel in their complicated wark environment.  The first episode is a boy turned killer by the gang holding his sister hostage.  Just as he is on the cusp of buying her freedom, the new head of the gang decides hes no longer needed.  In a last ditch effort he arrives at the hotel, seeking their support in finding his sister.

    So there is this great drama series called Death Parade about a limbo where the recently dead are judged based upon their deeds while alive.  The limbo is an upscale coctail launge where the staff assist the dead in reaching their judgement.  Hotel Inhumans felt similar to that fantsastic show, but instead of the recently dead its those that live shadow murderous lives gthat happen to be stuck it problematic situations.  This show is no where near as compelling as the older one and there is just too high of a moe level to make it any better.  I may give this one another two episodes before passing final judgement though....but its not looking good. 

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Watari-kun's *** is About to Collapse

    Watari is a high school student who only cares about his 10 year old sister, especially after their parents died two years earlier.  They are lucky enough to stay with a woman in her late 20's and live a relatively serene existence.  That is until a girl from his past returns and turns his life upside down.

    This is mash up of the old neighbor girl that you were close with returning and a dark secret story smashed into one.  Not sure what to make of this.  Watari absolutely dislikes the girl from his past, since the day she disappeared from his life she destroyed his families ample garden.   Now the girl has returned and refuses to tell him why shes obsessed with him or what was up with the garden murder and her disappearance.  Le sigh...we will give this one a few episodes but so far its not very engaging.  It seems like the only reason you would want to continue this story is to find out the secret shes hiding.  the characters are not very interesting and did I forget to mention there's a love triangle already established?

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Rent a Girlfriend season 4

    We dive right back into the story as Kazuya tries to get back into routine with the start of the new semester.  The emotional damage and stress of making the movie for Chizuru's grandmother took a huge toll on both of them...especially after her grandmothers death.  Ruka wants more attention from him after all the leeway she gave over the summer.  He doesn't know how he will let her down easily while he has his eyes only on the girl hes not sure he can get.

    Well, we are back here again.  Interesting start to the fourth season with Kazuya masturbating.  They did a half way decent job of refreshing that audience with a bunch of the main characters and the most recent/relevant plot points as we move into the continuing waltz of  Kazuya being a weak bitch.  At this point I'm in it until the end, but I'm not happy about it.

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Dan Da Dan season 2

    We pick up right were we left off in season 1 as Momo is about to have a bad time at the hot spring.  Things get worse when relatives of the people attacking her are giving Jiji and Okarun the 3rd degree.  All in the name of the giant serpent god.

    Welcome back Dan Da Dan...but I do miss the Creepy Buts opening from season 1.  Science Saru still comes with the high intensity animation and directing.  Let's goooooo!!!!

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus

    Sakuta is in college now, same as Mai, but he still doesn't get to spend a lot of time with her.  The campus keeps an eye on him as their relationship is well known.  Even if he can't see the most beautiful woman on Earth as much as he wants, he's gathering more people around him.  But even though they are young adults, they still can't outrun problems brought on by the final throws of puberty.

    This is defiantly the series on the top of my anticipation list.  The Rascal Doesn't Dream Series has been a favorite since the original series came out and I'm 1 volume off from being up to date with the English releases of the original light novels.  I always say this, the story just improves on its self with each successive arc.  Can't wait to see how much the second TV show covers.

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

The Summer Hikaru Died

    Yoshiki's best friend Hikaru went missing on the mountain near their small town.  When he returned a week later something was different.  Months later, after continuing his life as normal, Yoshiki asks Hikaru if he's the real one.  Hikaru then admits that his friend is dead and he has inhabited that body, experiencing life as a human for the time being.  It retains all of the dead boys memories and experiences but every new thing brings wonder and emotion.  The new Hikaru wants nothing more than to be with his best friend Yoshiki...threatening to kill him if that changes.  Yoshiki doesn't understand whats going on and fears the thing puppeting his friend but goes along with it, because at least his friend is still there...even if its not the real Hikaru.

    This is a highly anticipated adaptation of a well regarded horror manga.  I have been picking it up since it launched but have only read the first volume, wanting to wait for the anime to come out instead.  The production company has stated they want to enhance the terror in the story compared to what the manga elicited.  We shall see...its really hard to make manga or anime scary by any stretch.

The series is being simulcast on Netflix. 

City the Animation

    Set in an average city in modern Japan we follow the mundane exploits of various semi interconnected characters as they go about their ordinary lives.  But these eternally positive individuals are anything but ordinary and the way they approach life can sometimes be a bit...weird.

    This is the second anime adaptation of a manga by the genius behind Nichijou.  It could take place in the same universe?  But we really don't know.  All we are doing is sitting down and learning about the weird quirks and mundane adventures of our cast.  My soul is ready!!!!!!!!  Bring on the normal weird.

The series is being simulcast on Amazon. 

My Dress Up Darling season 2

    We jump right back into the lives of Marin and Gojo and their awkward relationship.  he first episode sets us up for cosplay work that Gojo decides to do for her based on a ridiculous action comedy series where the main characters where bunny-girl suits.  The episode ends when the series began, with Gojo in the depths of his self doubt when Marin invites him for a Halloween gathering.  Gojo is still petrified by the rejection from his youth for being into dolls and accessories.  But this group of peers seem to crack that shell when they don't see any issue with him doing Marin's makeup.

    Aside from the obvious sexualization concerns over its 15 year female lead, this is a fantastic and beautiful show about growing up, building confidence and finding yourself.  I am very happy for this to return and wonder what the road will look like as our lovable almost couple journey onward. 

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

See You Tomorrow at the Food Court

    This is an unformulated show about two girls from different schools that don't fit in.  Aside from the obvious appearances saying they shouldn't click, they try to meet up each afternoon at a local mall food court to idly chat.

     I enjoyed this first episode significantly more than I expected.  The main characters and they banter remind me not only of how I was with my friends as a teenager...but honestly, how we still are.  Its a fun and endearing look at two people who are conformable with each others company and don't put on a fake face.  I hate to admit it...but I see way to much of my self in Wata,

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Bad Girl

    First year high school student Yuu has a crush on a third year who helps enforce the schools rules.  In order to gain her attention she decides to start acting like a delinquent.  Unfortunately she is too much of a unconscious and well behaved person that she's only pretending to be bad...and her definition of delinquency is rather...mundane.

    This is a yonkoma comedy that doesn't work hard to hide being yuri bate.  I'm not sure if its fun enough to keep watching though...ill give it a few more episodes but so far its not really that compelling. 

The series is being simulcast on HiDive 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

    Hana is failing at making any friends in high school.  She is painfully shy and has low self esteem.  Her school life becomes...complicated, when the most popular boy in class discovers a secret.  Or at least what she thinks is a secret.

    This is yet another entry into the long line of ugly duckling becoming the object of affection of the model student.  At least this one is goofy but these tend to be pretty painful for how self abusing the main characters are.  We shall see how long this one lasts and if it can offer any merits other than the MC being voiced by the beloved Hayami Saori. 

The series is not legally streaming anywhere that I am aware of. 

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

    Wataru has always been feared for his features.  It has caused him to accept this as his disposition but he just wants to get through life with as little fuss as possible.  A chance meeting with a girl at his families cake shop opens up his eyes to a different outlook when she doesn't see anything wrong with his looks or personality.

    Yet another black sheep and a princess romance...except this first episode was really good and the characters, especially Rintaro are more compelling than you normally see in this type of story.  I am not sure what about it has spoken to me....but I'm actually excited to watch this show, even though I've sene a dozen other titles exactly like it.

The series will be available on Netflix upon completion...sadly.

Solo Camping for Two

    Gen finds his one escape from the pressures of life, solo camping, utterly ruined by a surprise companion in the energetic Shizuku.  The younger woman forces herself into his life, joining him on his camping adventures, in order to become more adept at camping herself.

     Iyashikei normally center around adolescent girls, but this one deals with a middle aged man and presumably a 20-something woman.  Not sure if it will have enough innovation in its story telling to elicit any interest though...as Yuru Camp has pretty much set the bar for camping iyashikei.

The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll.

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? (男女の友情は成立する？（いや、しないっ!!）) Is a 12 episode slice of life romance based on the light novel series by Nana Nanana.  The anime original aired during the Spring of 2025.

    Natsume Yu has a dream, a dream shared by his indisputable best friend Inuzuka Himari.  That dream is to open a store selling jewelry and accessories centered around preserved flowers.   Yu has a deep love and appreciation for the beauty and hidden meanings of the floral world and over time has developed a method to preserve that for 'eternity'.  Himari became enamored with his vision and eye for detail when they were in middle school during an exposition.  She decided then and there that she would be his assistant in every way possible, putting herself before his dream.  In the process of this arrangement she demands that they be best friends as she has no interest in romance.  Yu, focused on his goal with all of his attention, gladly accepts the arrangement and pushes forward with his vision.  As they near the end of their high school career...things begin to shift in their relationship that begin to cause problems with the shared goal.

    hings become complicated when a girl who Yu encountered earlier in his life, by the name of Enomoto Rion, transfers to their school.  She was the first girl he fell in love with and she has mutual feelings for him.  Unfortunately for her, he has moved on and is focused exclusively on he and Himari's goal.  The arrival of a rival puts Himari on edge and she struggles with letting Yu know her true feelings for him.  To complicate things even more, a long time friend of Rion's is stirring the pot, causing all manner of drama, hoping for his friend to get her wish.  All of the adults around them understand that Yu is going to need to reassess his goal and try to make him understand that hes far from the potential he needs to be successful.  As older, more experienced individuals, they try to convince the kids to slow life down a little and enjoy the time they have.  But can Yu really chose the path that will be the best outcome for him?

    Terrible title, somewhat likeable character but really annoying tendencies and muddled internal conflicts.  This story had a lot of problems and self imposed set backs that made the story struggle.  Everything comes down to Yu and Himari refusing to accept the future together that makes sense and has the highest chance of success.  Instead they are focused on a naive sense of professionalism that increasing emotional turmoil impacts the quality of.  Himari is the most problematic character, but I still really enjoyed her as a character, even though I wanted to slap her everything she fucking things up by being too indecisive.  Consistently she would begin to reveal her true feelings and intentions with Yu then blow everything off as a joke, then stress about what Yu really thought about her.  She sabotaged herself at every opportunity.  She didn't need any of the obstacles that other people intentionally put in her way to stop her from being true to herself and Yu, she did that as much as she could.

    Yu as well was so focused on a flippant promise he made with Himari that he didn't even consider how she could have either changed her mind or been lying the entire time.  The distractions did little to impact him compared to what his internal dialogue did.  Literally the entirety of the drama in the story was self inflicted by the main characters.  Everything else, all of the opposition from outside players, had little to no impact on the outcome of their plight...it was all self inflicted.  The story can be summoned as self sabotage the series.  Yet, the characters did not truly learn from their stupidity and in the end they win.  Sorry...did I spoil the series...be honest you aren't going to watch it.  The only reason I continued to watch it was because I did like the characters outside of their relentless sabotage.  Himari was a fun character, brash, forthright and unapologetic.  Unfortunately, Yu was a bit of a wet paper bag and the relationships between all of the other characters barely resonated.  I guess....pass on this story?

The series is available on Crunchyroll.   

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

 My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (ヴィジランテ -僕のヒーローアカデミア ILLEGALS-) is a 13 episode super hero series based on the manga of the same name by Furuhashi Hideyuki.  The first season aired during the Spring of 2025.

    Himawari Koichi is a college student in the city of Naruhata who wishes his quirk was good enough to be selected to be a hero.  His ability allows him to glide across surfaces when making three points of contact.  Due to his own internal limitations, he is only able to do the speed of a brisk walk while using his quirk.  Not willing to let his dream of helping others go to waste, he moonlights some nights as Nice Guy, going around the neighborhood being helpful.  Giving people directions, picking up trash, taking photos for tourists, etc.  One night he encounters a girl who performs as a street idol being harassed by three delinquents.  Koichi tries to intervene but the boys relentlessly beat him.  Before they assault the girl, Pop Step, a man falls from a building into a pile of garbage and begins to beat the delinquents.  The man...a masked and muscle bound bruiser, calling himself Knuckle Duster, acts as a vigilante.  He sees promise in Koichi and makes him his apprentice.

     Knuckleduster begins to give the young man lessons on fighting and street smarts, all the while scoffing as the hero association and their lack of attention to the crimes that happen all of the place.  Knuckleduster is the rare person who doesn't gave a quirk, instead he uses brute force and tenacity to enact his own brand of justice.  Pop Step, intrigued by the two vigilantes, begins to participate and hang out as well.  The three of them get dragged into a conspiracy by unknown villains to spread a drug that rapidly enhances the users quirk as well as enhancing any latent rage, leading to instant villains with devastating effect.  

    I have never been a fan of the original My Hero Academia, from the character design to the fact it is 'just' another massive shonen action series that's probably way to long for its own good.  But that's unfair as I have never watched it and understand very little of its world.  Something about the trailer for Vigilantes spoke to me in a way that MHA never did.  It made me think of the comic books of my adolescence, the early 90's 'golden' age of American super hero comics.   These days calling me a fan of super heroes would be a blatant lie.  Its just not my thing.  I did X-Men back in the early 90's due to the cartoon.  That lead me into the underbelly that was Image comics.  Beyond that...I could really care less for super heroes.  Never liked Batman, but I have watched almost all of the movies.  Ive watched all of the MCU out of...curiosity...a desire to be informed when hating on it?  So with that entrenched negative reaction to super heroes, I really did enjoy this first season and am happy to see it get a second one.

    This story works really well isolated from any knowledge of MHA in general.  The small cast is well developed to be the thing that carries the story.  There is a story, largely a lose association of events that not all of the cast is aware of.  Out of the new characters for the story, Knuckle Duster is the only one that knows the full extent of how everything is connecting.  The story is well put together, with nothing really being pointless, all culminating into a climax as the season reaches its head...a climax that two of the three characters had no idea was even occurring.  The series was fantastic, but in no way has convinced me to dive into the original.  I do eagerly await the second season in 2026!!

The series is available on  Crunchyroll. 

Lazarus

 Lazarus (ラザロ) is a 13 episode original anime by Watanabe Shinichiro in conjunction with Adult Swim.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2025.

    The year is 2050 and the world has become a better place due to a miracle drug called Hopna by a once in a generation genius named Dr. Skinner.  The drug eliminate all pain for those who take it and it quickly becomes an integral part of society.  Shorty after its release, Dr. Skinner disappears from the world.  When he next surfaces, in the form of a video message broadcast throughout the world, he comes as a portent of doom.  Dr. Skinner feels that the gift he has bestowed upon humanity has been squandered.  No one has decided to change the fate of the species for good, instead continuing business as usual.  Since, as he feels, humans have shown little reason to continue running the planet, he has enacted a kill switch in his medicine...or perhaps it was there the entire time.  He warns the world that soon everyone who has taken hopna will suffer a generically encoded fatality.  He has left it up to humanity to save themselves and find him in 30 days in order to get the antidote.

     Under the direction of the NSA a rag tag team of specialists is put together to form LAZARUS to track down Skinner.  This disparate group offers unconventional talents to the task.  Axel, broke out of prison when offered clemency in exchange for being a part of LAZARUS.  He possesses unnatural balance and aptitude for parkour and has been serving over 800 years for routine prison breaks.  .Doug takes on a lead role within the group and has a cold calculating demeanor and excellent marksmanship.  Chris is a bit of wild card who is running from her past.  Leland is a teenage tech wizard who specializes in drone piloting.  Eleina is one of the best hackers on the planet.   Together they begin to methodically track down any clues as they race against the clock to save humanity.

     Few anime directors carry the respect and gravitas as Watanabe Shinichiro.  His name attached to a project ensures it will get a lot of eyes on it.  Lazarus is no exception and the excitement for a new series by the famed creator of Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy was well earned.  Unfortunately Lazarus fell short of expectations.  The premise of the story is straightforward and easy, group of misfits are put together as a team to track down a man who is hiding really well but also wants to be found.  They have a limited time to find him and unlimited resources to accomplish their goal.  Where does that leave the narration?  In many heist stories, as this is essentially a heist story, it leaves the meat of the story to build the characters up for the audience.  They may be on the wrong side of the law in many cases but through the course of the story they become lovable and sympathetic characters that the viewer wants to succeed.  In the case of Lazarus and their goal of preventing the extinction of humanity there are really only two outcomes; success or misdirection.  Its implausible that the ending of the story would lead to the death of 99% of humanity.  So their success is guaranteed from the beginning.  What does that leave?  Determining what characters survive until the end?

    Since the success of the venture is encoded into the threat presented to them all that's left is to build compelling characters and/or a compelling environment.  I strongly feel that Lazarus failed to deliver on both.  The course of the story, especially the first half, has the team fruitlessly chasing one dead lead after another, never getting any closer to their goal.  During the course we get some background context about the lives of the team but never enough to be impactful.  Axel, the face of the series, is barely discussed and in the last few episodes, when his past becomes pivotal in a new narration, his role in the events are merely coincidental instead of impactful.  He just happens to be a random survivor of a project that becomes the real plot of the story...too late to make any difference.  This plot diversion even diminishes the climax of the team trying to find Skinner and save the world of Hopna.  Largely the series felt like a critique of modern society by Watanabe.  The early episodes, where the team was spinning its wheels, focused on different problems humanity openly ignores.  Inequity, global warming, tech-bro hubris, etc.  Yet all of that just feels like window dressing for a series that doesn't tell an interesting story in any manner.

The series is available for streaming on HBO. 

Kowloon Generic Romance

 Kowloon Generic Romance (九龍ジェネリックロマンス) is a 13 episode mystery series based on the manga of the same name by Mayuzuki Jun.  The anime aired during the Spring of 2025.

     Kujirai Reiko goes about her mundane life in the dense accumulation of humanity that is the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong.  She works for a small realty firm, helping the towns residents find the perfect place to lay their head.  When she begins to develop feelings for her coworker, Kudo Hajime, things begin to become less mundane.  While visiting a tea house she see's a picture of what appears to be her and Hajime but she does not remember anything about it.  For that matter, she really doesn't have any memories.

    She learns that she is a different person than the Reiko that came before her.  That Reiko wore glasses and was engaged to Hajime.  Sinister forces are moving in the background, she and her world are part of their unknown plan.  Somehow it is tied to a pharmaceutical company the Hebinuma Group and her encounters with its young co-director leaves her skin crawling.  With the help of a fiend she decides to investigate the strange circumstances around her environment, struggling to understand a woman she resembles and her connection with the people around her.

    What really drew me to this series was the author, who did the fantastic slice of life romance, After the Rain, but I really had no idea what to expect.  The first episode clearly established that something was...off...and it wasn't going to be a straightforward girl falls for boy story.  Instead we get a well executed near future sci-fi story about revenge, pain and regret.  The only thing that can be relied on is that nothing is as it appears on the surface.  Everyone has their side that they keep to themselves and much of that controls Reiko's existence and fate in their hands.  Reiko may be the most sympathetic cool character in anime, or one of them.  Instead of being a trope her calm and collected personality makes a lot of sense when you begin to unravel her past.

    This was a very satisfying story and series.  The artwork is a bit odd, at least with the character designs but that doesn't mean its not jam packed with beautiful people.  I have heard that the manga is a bit more...explicit.  So if that's not your thing maybe steer clear of that but do greatly enjoy the anime.  I will have to check out the manga at some point, to see what was different in the story between both versions. Either-way, this was a fantastic watch and i can't wait to see what else she has in store for the world in her next manga.

The series is available on Crunchyroll 

mono

mono is a 12 episode slice of life anime based on the manga of the same name by Afro.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2025.

     Following the graduation of a senpai she highly regards, Satsuki falls into a depression.  She and another 2nd year student, An, are the only remaining members of the Photography Club.  Unwilling to let her senpai's legacy be forgotten they forge a plan to save the club by merging it with the Cinema Club, absorbing its few members as well.  The newly minted CinePhoto Club now has to figure out what it wants to do.  Sakurako, the former president of the Cinema Club, suggests that they actually do the things the club would suggest.  Satsuki decided to buy a used action camera and ends up befriending a lazy manga artist named Haruno in the process.  Haruno decides to 'sponsor' the club and the store her grandmother runs becomes a de-facto club room over summer break.

    The CinePhoto club joins Haruno on trips researching things for her manga, which leads to them taking gastronomical tours all around  Yamanashi Prefecture.  Their focus on capturing film and photo for their club activities falls by the side as they enjoy a summer they will never forget and befriend a handful of other weirdos associated with Haruno.  As the Summer comes to a close they realize they didn't really produce anything they could use for their clubs projects...instead they ate way to much food and climbed a lot of mountains and drove many miles with Haruno and her friend Kako.

    I went into this series blind, not realizing it was by the same author as the modern classic, Laid-Back Camp.  It took a few episodes and some fun cameo's to even learn that this manga exists in the same world as that one!!  I was already hooked before that realization based purely on the character design and sheer joy of the narration.  Its interesting how quickly the series switches its focus from being about a few weird kids trying to save their club to a travel vlog of sorts, showcasing many delightful events and sites in central Honshu.  One things for sure, these kids have a lot of expendable income...especially with how much food they consume at restaurants along the way.  The other thing is...their parents are very much absent from their lives!

    The characters are lovable with amusing designs and antics.  Laid-Back Camp feels like a warm fluffy scarf while mono feels like a neon colored tank top.  The hi-jinks and antics are upfront and center as the band of misfits wander around the country side.  Even the resident responsible adult, Haruno, feels like a kid willing to get up to trouble at the drop of a hat.  Yet they don't do anything remotely dangerous of problematic...well except for the episode where two of them bomb a massive hill on long-boards.  Instead they move from one mundane adventure to the other but bring a level of energy that makes it seem like something extraordinary.  The best way to sum up the series and its tone...making mundane and normal tourism feel as exotic and exiting as visiting an active volcano.  This was a fantastic series and greatly overshadowed a similar themed series, ZatsuTabi, much to that shows detriment.  Two for two, Afro knows how to tell a really fantastic fluffy iyashikei story!!

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

Apocalypse Hotel

 Apocalypse Hotel (アポカリプスホテル) is an original 13 episode sci-fi series produced by CyberAgent and Cygames.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2025.

     In the 22nd century, humanity has fled Earth, escaping a deadly virus.  One hotel in Ginza, Tokyo, still operates due to the diligence of its renaming robot staff.  Yachiyo, a humanoid customer service model, is the acting-acting manager of the hotel and runs it with efficient professionalism.  Over the century many of the robotic staff have fallen into disrepair and the half dozen or so remaining staff do their best to keep the guest-less business open and ready for humanities return.  After a century of working their shifts without any patrons, an alien arrives and stays for a few days.  Yachiyo does her best to interact and communicate with this new life form but is unsure if she is able to impart upon it their gratitude and dedication after it leaves.

    They do not see another guest for fifty years until a ship crashes and the occupants claim to be humans.  Their ruse is uncovered quickly and their identity as space tanuki is revealed.  The family fled their home world in search of safety.  They stumbled upon a derelict ship from Earth, with no survivors, and used the knowledge gleaned to find Earth.   Since they are able to communicate with Yachiyo they are able to help her improve the hotels abilities to engage with other species who may visit from space.  Infact...they decide to settle down on Earth and their daughter Ponko begins working t the hotel.  Over the centuries, with the long lived tanuki's help, the hotels reputation grows in a galactic sense, bringing in species from all walks of life to enjoy the robot crews dedication to service, all will hoping for the return of humanity.

     With the 2025 Summer season, we have seen a single series over the past 3 cour focusing on a hotel.  Tasokare Hotel from the Winter season, this one for Spring and the pending Hotel Inhumans for the Summer.  By and far, this one is the best of the three.  It is the only original story out of the three, and once again shows how good Cygames is at content creation.  Yachiyo is a fantastic character and the takunki family was a great addition to the central characters, further carrying on the plot in unusual directions.  Instead of being episodic focused on dealing with different alien species each week, it meanders between different concepts that build up the stories background.  I never would have imagined we would see the formation of a taunki space program.  At one point they go through a decades long process of establishing a whiskey distillery for the hotel.  The antics pile on right up to the very end.

     A story that features no humans does a really good job of imbuing humanity in them. The pacing and directing are fantastic as building the world and making you love its few recurring figures.  Comedy, sorrow, wonder, excitement...this series has it all.  We really need more original content in the anime production landscape.  It feels like there has been more of them recently, with Astro Note and Zenshu.  All three of these titles should prove to everyone that original content should be encouraged and sought after as bringing high quality and fantastic stories to the medium.  Apocalypse Hotel is one of the best anime that has come out in 2025 so far and I highly recommend it to many fans of the medium.

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey

 Zatsu Tabi: That's Journey (ざつ旅 -That's Journey-) is a 12 episode slice of life comedy based on the manga of the same name by Ishizaka Kenta.  The series aired during the Spring of 2025.

 

    Suzugamori Chika is a young manga artist, struggling to produce her first real published work.  After a series of rejections she decides to take her editors advice and take a trip to try and get some inspiration.  Unsure of where she wants to go, she posts a poll online and ends up traveling to a random area in the norther region of Honshu.   The experience doesn't exactly spark inspiration for a future manga, but does reinvigorate her in general.  She falls in love with the thrill of going some place new and unknown and experiencing the sites and sounds, meeting new people and trying new things.  Instead of settling in to try and force her creativity, she decides to go on another trip, and another...and another.

    As Chika continues to take random, poll dictated trips, around Honshu, some of her friends join on her journeys.  Between her friends from school and fellow manga artists she has gotten close to, Chika has even more unusual experiences exploring her homeland.   Each time though, will gaining valuable insight into different approaches to live, she struggles to spark the narrative inspiration she in so desperate to find.  But that doesn't dampen her excitement as she plans the next trip, hoping that this time, something will click along the way. 

    This is a straightforward and cute iyashikei.  The characters are stereotypical, filled with the standard trope of dere type characters common in low key slice of life female cast stories.  You can't help but suspect that the manga and the anime were green lit as an excuse for the author and production staff to take trips across the country on the companies tab.  None of the characters are disagreeable and their adventures are amusing and somewhat informative.  Nothing is out of the ordinary...its rather mundane.  The artwork and character design its self is mundane and inoffensive but not memorable.  This will be something that easily fades into the mists of memory as the next seasons roll in with more impactful shows.

    Though not all of the meh factor for this show is its own fault.  If only it wasn't up against a superior series of a similar vein, Mono.  Mono, by the creator of Laid-back Camp, pigeon holes a secondary character, who is a manga artist, into many of the main casts travel adventures around Yamanshi prefecture.  Comparing Zatsu Tabi to Mono is unfair to Zatsu Tabi, as the other is a far superior product, filled with a lot of life.  Zatsu Tabi is acceptable as a slice of life story but really lacks the spark that Mono carried in its cast and delivery.  That said, Zatsu Tabi didn't feel like a waste of time, Mono just highlighted its lack of quality in comparison.  Or the kinder way of putting it...Zatsu Tabi is a product that could have had more work done to it, to make it more entertaining. 

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary season 2

  Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary (小市民シリーズ) season 2 is the 12 episode slice of live drama continuation based on the Shoshimin novel series by Yonezawa Honobu.  The anime aired during the Spring of 2025.

    For a recap of the first season, you can see the review of that here.  The story picks up about 5 months after the end of the first season.  Yuki and Jogoro are still avoiding each other, doing their best to live ordinary lives.   Both are dating other people and Yuki's boyfriend, underclassman Urino Takahiko.  He is a juniour member of the schools newspaper club and has ambitions greater than the publications is set up for.  He convinces the head of the club, Kengo, to allow him to do an article on a series of recent arson attacks.  Urino, who's older brother is a firefighter for the city, believes he can crack the case and uncover the identity of the arsonist.  His plan stretches across the months, gaining him attention among his classmates, the caution of faculty and Jogoro's inquisitive interest.  The climax of the investigation leads Jogoro and Yuki burying the hatchet and resuming their strange partnership.

    The second half of the story deals with parallel hit and run incidents.  Jogoro is struck by a car on Chritmas Eve, setting him up with a prolonged stay at the hospital.  The incident reminds him of a similar situation three years earlier that lead to he and Yuki becoming...friends?  As he takes a trip down memory lane and goes over the series of events that lead him to figure out who the culprit was in the first case, Yuki is working diligently to uncover who hit her friend.  The truth of the incident is far stranger than they could have imagined, leading the sins of the past to return with a vengeance for blood.

     The original season of Shoshimin has some issues with its pacing and story telling.  It was difficult to become invested in the story when you didn't understand the characters.  When what should be a juvenile Sherlock Holmes turns out to be little more than mundane problem solving for extraordinary problems, the viewer can lose focus and interest.   The first season does a lot of work to make the viewer understand its two lead characters, slowly setting up their personalities against the backdrop of pointless problem solving.  The final arc of that story however was more exciting as it included an amount of danger.  All of the groundwork laid out in the first season pays off in the second season where we don't have to re-acquaint ourselves with the main characters.  In fact, the first of the two arc, has a new character as the primary focal point, with Jogoro and Yuki playing background roles.

    The two arcs that cover the second season deal with uncovering legitimate crimes and do it in a creative and engaging way.  The story is more dynamic, especially with more people becoming involved without directly being included by Jogoro.  The second arc does a fantastic job of incorporating the origin story of our duo with the present day mystery they are trying to solve.  Also...it doesn't hurt that the mystery is about who ran over Jogoro and fled the scene, something a bit more enthralling for the audience than discovering methods for efficiently making hot cocoa.  As with the first season, the artwork and direction is cinematic in its quality and greatly appreciated.  This is an anime made for film snobs.  Sadly, this is the last we will see of this world and unfortunately the original novels have not been made available in English.  Time to watch Hyouka...

The series is available on Crunchyroll.

The Fire Hunter

The Fire Hunter (火狩りの王) is a 20 episode post apocalyptic fantasy anime based on the novel of the same name, written by Hinata Rieko.  The first season aired in the Spring of 2023 and the second season aired in the Winter of 2024.

 

    Far into the future of humankind, many centuries or millennia after the modern age, humans live in a state of fear.  In the unremembered past, a change was effected in humans that caused them to burst into flame and burn to death when near natural flame.  At the same time a twisting of beasts in the wilderness caused them to take on monstrous appetites and spread fear into the surviving humans who cowered in the darkness.  Wilderness reclaimed the land and humanity was almost eliminated from the face of the planet.  Humans, with god like abilities, were able to fight against the natural horrors.  A weapon was crafted that would allow a brave warrior to kill one of the changed beasts, revealing that its blood was replaced with a liquid that could be used to create artificial fire, a fire that would not cause humans to self immolate.  With this discovery and guidance of the god clans, humans began to carve out safe spaces for themselves in the wilds.  The warriors who were granted the means to fight the beasts and collect their blood are known as Fire Hunters and are humanities best chance at reclaiming any sense of safety and society, along with their highly trained hunting dogs.

    Touko is a young orphan, who lives in a remote village that is known for its exquisite paper production.  Her parents has died in a natural fire accident, leading to the partial blinding of her aunt and caretaker.  Out of desperation, Touko ventures beyond the protective barrier of her village one day, in search of a strange race of forest people, hoping to receive medicine from them to help her aunt.  Instead she is attacked by one of the fire beasts, as the monstrous creatures are called, only to be saved by a wandering Fire Hunter.  The man defeats the beast but is given a mortal wound in the process, with his dying words he tells Touko the name of his dog, Kanata and unknowingly yokes the young girl with a dangerous responsibility.  Based on customs and honor, Touko's aunt instructs her that she must travel to the capital city to return the dead Fire Hunters belongs and dog to his family, to atone for the man dying to save her.  She is entrusted with a few pages of the villages most valuable paper, an item reserved for the Gods, and is given passage on the next transport vessel back to the capital.

    The transport vessels are used to ferry goods from the scattered settlements in the wilderness to the capital, delivering much needed fire beast blood.  The trip is long and dangerous, given that its path takes it through the wilds of the land, only finding refuge in the scattered villages, each protected by local deities and wandering Fire Hunters.  Touko finds herself in the company of three woman, of varying ages, who have all been offered up as brides by their families to other villages, in order to rid them of perceived curses.  The three women take a liking to the girl and try to help her on her long trip.  The men who run the vehicle that plows through the wilderness, powered by the blood of fire beasts, are less than enthused with this new passenger and her unruly canine companion.  Touko is tasked with assisting one of the ships engineers, Shouzou, to do the mundane jobs he would rather not do.  A Fire Hunter is accompanying the vessel and commandeers Kanata to join him on a hunt for more fire.  The woman realize that the youngest of the brides, Kaho, has run away.  Desperate to find her, they notices that the beast the Fire Hunter is facing off has her in its clutches.  Touko runs to try and rescue her, putting herself directly in danger, only to be saved by the Fire Hunter and the two hunter dogs.  The badly wounded, but safe Kaho is returned to recover in her quarters, but the captain tells Touko that she will be kicked off at the next village, still far from the capital.

    Before that can happen, the transports are attacked by an enraged beast, one that resembles the guardian deity of Kaho's village.  Unable to deal with its incredibly strength, the transports are destroyed, its crew scattered or killed.  Touko, the remaining brides and Shouzou run into the forest, trying to distance themselves from the enraged creature, hoping to make it to the safety of a village.  Their dangerous journey is assisted by a band of forest people, who shield them from belligerent forces that may otherwise over power them, leading them to a nearby village and leaving them to their own designs.  There in the village they encounter a Fire Hunter named Akira and her diminutive hunting dog.  Akira is on her way back to the capital and offers to protect them on their journey, offering them the ability to make the trip faster and safer by way of the sea on a Fire Hunter ship.  Before they can make it to their destination they begin to unravel a plan by a rebel deity clan that threatens to shake up the order of humanity and might possibly destroy it for good.  The group, known as 'spiders' are gathering to attack the other deities that run things from the capital and are willing to use natural fire to achieve their goals.  Touko, desperate to deliver the dead Fire Hunters possessions to his family, wants nothing more than to complete her task and return to the quiet safety of her home, but she finds herself in the center of events that may spell the end of humankind.

    I was clued into the existence of this series while looking into the series airing for the 2024 Winter season.  I was drawn in by the artwork in the original trailer and dove into it, to catch up before the second part premiered in January.  The preview was a partial lie though as the artwork has frequent issues.  The series is full cg and the characters are done in a natural style, with an attention to the natural world that acts as the silent character in the series.  But over the course of the series the consistency in quality and proper physics continuously breaks down.  This is particularly noticeable in the battles between Fire Hunters an the flame beasts as the motion of the participants becomes detached from the background and odd camera pans.  There are ever present continuity issues in the artwork as well when characters move in the background of a shot.  The quality of the art and animation is only apparent in close ups and scenes of mostly dialogue.  The designs of the fire beasts as well is less than inspiring.  They are dark and have bodies that seem more like undulating fluids and or flesh and bone, but this could be a stylistic choice?  Hard to tell honestly, but its not good.  In all, the animation is abysmal more than it is enjoyable.

    The real strength of the show is the world and story its self.  The terrible animation choices are overshadowed by the unique tale.  My initial thoughts before starting the series and with little knowledge, was to think of the amazing Shin Sekai Yori, which is not as far off as I thought.  The journey of Touko is only part of the enjoyment, the unveiling of the worlds story and its workings are the strongest parts of the anime and original work.  This is a fascinatingly creative fantasy world, with darkness and horror at its edges, just outside of view.  Running parallel to Touko's journey is the story of her dead saviors oldest child, the studious Koushi and is increasing involvement in the growing unrest against the god like powers that control the countries fragile society.  A powerful merchant is manipulating him into a plot to weaken the rulers and the rebel spiders in hopes of building a new future, with he at the helm.  The characters are interesting and multi faceted, building upon a rich world and history.  I need to track down the original material and see how much was left out of this poorly executed but still enjoyable anime adaptation.

The series was simulcast and is still available on Crunchyroll.