I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class

 I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class (クラスで2番目に可愛い女の子と友だちになった) is a 12 episode romantic comedy based on the light novel series of the same name by Takata.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2026.

      Maehara Maki is a loney who spends his time obsessing over horror movies, the cheesier the better.  During introductions for the first day of school he lets that fact about him slip out.  He wasn't hoping to change his life around in high school anyways so he lets it go, comfortable in his isolation.  Then he runs into one of the girls in his class, Asanagi Umi, the so called second prettiest girl.  She wants him to be her guide to the world of schlock horror films, much to his surprise.  Quickly the two fall into a comfortable pattern of watching terrible movies after school on Fridays, growing to enjoy each others company.  While they try to hide their friendship from their classmates, Asanagi's best friend, the s called prettiest girl, Amami Yuu, suspects something is going on.  She quickly injects herself into the mix, seeing Maehara as a good person that everyone else ignores.

    Maehara, used to being the outcast loner, is suddenly the center of attention for the two most important girls in his class.  Unfortunately not all is fun and games.  One of the things that drew Asanagi to him was a sense of unease and isolation when it came to her friendship with Amami.  The more outgoing Amami always did everything she could to include everyone in everything.  Asanagi, whose popularity is partially due to her long friendship with Amami, does not tend to enjoy large boisterous gathering with everyone.  Beyond the initial connection with Maehara over horror films, she realized that she could use the time spent with him truly being herself.  With Amami suddenly in the mix her true moments of relaxation are suddenly in danger and she has to resolve unspoken issues between her and her best friend.  All the while, Maehara tries to be a person that both girls can rely on as a confidant and companion.

   During the 2026 Spring season we had 2 titles that told a very similar story about a well meaning loaner becoming friends with the two most popular girls in his class.  A wish fulfillment trope. The other series was Gal's Can't Be King to Otaku?  In both, the hapless protagonist finds himself in his enviable position through no effort of his own.  What starts as innocent curiosity turns into admiration and trust once the beauties recognize the nerd for his good qualities and generally agreeable personality.  In reality a far cry from reality.  Too often said outcasts are bitter and arrogant and the popular girls typically will swing wide due to a variety of reasons, many of them being unconsciously accurate.  Maehara is largely devoid of personality, making a good vessel for self insertion by the viewer.  Asanagi and Amami are largely unrealistically genuine and honest.  The story becomes interesting when it begins to do something that rarely occurs in similar titles, the characters parents become involved in whats going on and broader relationships add to the story.

    Aside from the early conflict between how Asanagi and Amami define their friendship, we begin to learn about Maehara's less than perfect home life.  His parents divorced relatively recently, and his mother has been burdened with the fall out of that coupled with her high self respect.  In recent months she has been working herself ragged, not out of a necessity, as his fathers alimony is enough to allow them to life comfortably.  His mother is driven to be truly independent, capable of supporting she and her son on her own, closing the door on her failed marriage.  As Maehara and Asanagi's friendship blossoms into something else he begins to feel the pressure of his own guilt when compared to her family life.  He struggles with his parents divorce and the stress its put on his mother.  To compound his tension, reuniting with his father reveals a point of contention that he was unaware of that might have contributed to his parents separation.  Outside of the impossible set up the series does tell a decent story and has some honest character growth.  It never really becomes about Maehara choosing which of the girls he wants to be with and focuses on building everyone's friendship while growing Asanagi and his closeness and deepening emotions.

The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

Kirio Fan Club

 Kirio Fan Club (霧尾ファンクラブ) is a 12 episode romantic slice of life based on the manga of the same name by Ponchan Chikyū no Osakana.  The series originally aired during the Spring of 2026.

    Miyoshi Aimi and Sometani Nami are best friends who both have a deep infatuation with their classmate Kirio Ken.  His very existence fills their day with wonder and yearning.  They have decided to fight each other to see who will be the first to ask him out on a date.  Their game borders on problematic stalking as they do things like take selfies with his sport coat or write songs about loving his body parts.  Kirio doesn't really notice their existence, interacting minimally in class, largely with his friends Momose and Satsuki.  Realizing they need to up their game, to make Kirio notice them, the employee the expertise of their occult expert classmate, Manda.  Manda, uncomfortable with the sudden attention, begins to expose the pair to his arcane knowledge.

    Their supernatural approach appears to work as they begin to be brought into Kirio's small circle via Momose inviting them.  One thing leads to another and they gain access to Kirio via messenger, unlocking their chance to confront him with their feelings.  What they don't realize is that Kirio is living in a world of darkness and pain.  Prior to high school he watched his best friend die slowly from an unspecified ailment.  Since then Kirio has existed in a state of ennui as he struggles with his loss.  He has convinced himself that he has no right to be happy when his friend can no longer be happy with him.  The interactions he has with people are school are instigated by them, as he does the minimum to exist, contemplating whether he should continue doing so.  As the girls work at getting closer to him their blindingly loving friendship begins to work against their efforts as Kirio begins to resent them.

    This was my pick for the Spring Season of the podcast and I chose it based on the apparent insanity of the trailer.  I was anticipating something as unhinged as Asobi Asobasi.  What we got instead was a story about believable teenagers, focusing largely on their awkwardly flawed nature, as they exist in their own insular realities.  While Aimi and Nami's behavior and fascinations feel exaggerated, lets be honest, we all said similar dumb stuff while teenagers.  The characters being largely blinded by their own self interests is something that usually doesn't become a major factor in similar shows.  Until the very last minute, no one really knew that something was gravely wrong, something that is far to real.

    While I was disappointed the show was not insane and off tilt, what we got was a surprisingly real story about love, friendship and grief.   It was just masked under a thick layer of antics and comedy.  The artwork is probably the weakest portion.  I was not a fan of the character designs over all and there was a lot of simplicity to the detail work.  The series did the thing I greatly enjoy, facial features were over the top to enhance certain emotions.  One other negative aspect is that out main characters don't really see any growth through the story.  How we are introduced to them in the beginning is largely how we see them at the end, which is a bit of a shame, but it only has so much room I guess.  Honestly well worth the watch if you're a fan of slice of life romantic comedies and want something a little outside of the norm.

The series is available on HiDive. 

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend - Light Novel

 Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend (青春ブタ野郎はディアフレンドの夢を見ない) is the fifteenth volume of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novels written by Kamoshida Hajime featuring artwork by Mizogushi Keji.  The fifteenth and final volume was originally release in 2024 and in English in 2026. 

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

Book Fourteen: Rascal Does Not Dream of His Girlfriend here! 

    Sakuta does the only thing he can think of to cure Mai from thinking she's Kirishma Touko...have Miori Mito take her place during the debut concert in Yokohama.  Even though she believes in her heart she is Kirishima, Mai agrees to the plan and Miori takes her place on stage, singing the final song that Touko ever penned.  But this time instead of allowing it to fade off after the well known lyrics, the song continues and reverses course, giving a new, hopeful meaning to the lyrics.  With this new material unleashed on the world, the spell if broken and Mai realizes that she is truly just herself.  But Sakuta can't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.  Mai appears to be the only one back to normal.  Ikumi from the other world contacts him and has him meet with a strange person dressing in a large bunny costume...hm from the other world.  They warn him that everything is his fault, that Miori's adolescent syndrome was something different.  He, Sakuta, is the reason everyone around him appears to be having his idealized versions of their lives, including both versions of Kaede.  He is the observer, causing these oddities to linger and exist.  He needs to change his perspective in order to correct the world and return those misplaced to their right realities.

    The following day, his twentieth birthday, he and Mai travel to school together.  As the head towards their classes he spots Miori...all by herself.  This strikes him as off, given how quickly her identity was revealed from the footage of her performing as Kirishia Touka the previous night.  As he approaches her, his fears are confirmed when she expresses gratitude over being seen.  She is suffering from the same thing Mai did when he first met her.  Mai doesn't see Miori and bluntly tells Sakuta that he needs to solve his issues because she wants them to both be able to see the same thing.  She wants him to grown up and leave adolescent syndrome behind.  Desperate to keep Mai and the world he knows he struggles with how to undo the damage he has done.  He understands he is no longer a child and needs to leave childish things behind but the idea that much of what he's experienced in the past three of four years, even going as far back as middle school, not being real....scares him.   He knows he needs to face the reality of an adult and move beyond adolescent syndrome but he doesn't want to lose the people he has and the memories he's built with them to evaporate in the process.  As he is officially an adult now he needs to face the adult world and take the mistakes and regrets with him if he is ever to find peace.

    I wasn't sure how this final chapter in Sakuta's story would resolve or what road it would take.  The story does kind of end on a quiet not though, which is a bit of a let down, given how intense some moments in the story have been.  But it isn't bad, just maybe not what I was hoping for.  But I also am not sure what I expected.  I really enjoyed the extensive afterwards that showed the life Sakuta was living about a month after resolving everything.  I feel if that was absent the story might have been disappointing.  Instead it helped frame the entire series into a nice package.  Sakuta, and those around him, those he touched, will go on living their lives to the best they can, leaving behind the world of the child and embracing adulthood.  There is contentment in knowing that everyone will continue their lives, even if they may grow apart as the years roll by.  Whats important is that Sakuta himself found the truths he needed to find to move on with his life and truly enjoy himself.

    I am sad to see it end, but not disappointed.  I can't wait to see the anime adaptation coming later this year in Japan and there is the side story that's pending English release as well!  Farewell friends.
 

Witch Watch - season 1

 Witch Watch (ウィッチウォッチ) is a supernatural comedy based on the manga of the same name by Shinohara Kenta.  The first season aired 25 episodes over the Spring and Summer of 2025.

     Otogi Morihito comes from a long line of witches familiars.  The Otogi family carries ogre blood within them and use their supernatural strength to protect members of the Wakatsuki clan.  When they were young Morihito did everything he could to protect Wakatsuki Nico, even before he understood his familial obligations.  As he enters high school he learns that Nico, who he has not seen in years, is returning and will be living with him to complete her training as a witch.  Nico has incredible potential but her abilities are unrefined and potentially dangerous.  She moved away at a young age to a refine her abilities and has now returned in order to grow as a magic user.  Morihito's father instructs him about the situation and lets him now that it is his responsibility to act as her familiar and protect her with everything he has.

     Nico has always been a bit oblivious to a lot of the thing around her and approaches to using magic.  She often times uses it without understanding or thinking about the adverse reactions to the spells.  Morihito has lived his life seriously and regimented and the return of his childhood friend injects a heavy dose of chaos into his otherwise organized life.  While his exterior is controlled and lacking of humor, he is glad to have his old friend back, even if he has to act as her guardian and protector.  Nico on the other hand is excited beyond words to be back with the person she has the strongest connection with, she only hopes that she can break through his stony demeanor and make him fall for her as much as she has fallen for him.  Their time together won't be fun and games however as Nico's mother begins to send prophetic warnings to Morihito, alerting him to threats against Nico.

    Right out of the gate Witch Watch sets its self up as a series that is more goofy than anything else.  The interactions between Morihito and Nico are pretty much manzai skits.  Look it up on Wikipedia if you're unfamiliar with the term.  At almost every instance Nico's magic is the set up for a series of punchlines that deliver most of the time.  Many of the episodes are split into smaller vignettes, sometimes focusing on auxiliary characters, which works well to fend of stagnation in the plot.  There isn't really any over arching plot beyond wondering is Nico will ever be able to express her feelings to Morihito.  They encounter conflicts randomly, sometimes spread across multiples episodes, overcome the conflicts and gather more weirdo's to their friend group.

    There are small amounts of action and combat and threat, but the vast majority of the series focuses on slice of life, romance and absurd comedy.  It felt weird that it got a two cour run and even weirder that it got green lit for another run in the future.  By the time i wrapped up episode 25 I was eager to go through more antics with these lovable idiots...and idiots they most certainly are.  The humor is continuously fresh as it doesn't rely much on jokes that have already been used.  There continue to be more ridiculous ideas and situations, sometimes building on the established lore of the characters and their antics, but you really don't see anything repeated....mostly.  A lot of the joy is seeing what type of stupid the characters get into through, mostly negligence, and then how it effects things around them.  I ended up enjoying this way more than I expected and grew to enjoy it as it went on....with the exception of the segments showing the shonen TV series that two characters are absolutely obsessed with.  Those segments put a roadblock on the fun I feel. 

The series is available on Crunchyroll.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - anime

 Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (青春ブタ野郎はサンタクロースの夢を見ない) is a 13 episode continuation of the Rascal Does Not Dream light novel series by .  The series covers light novels volume 9 through 13 and aired during the Summer of 2025.

    Azusagawa Sakuta has begun his perfect college life with his older girlfriend Sakurajima Mai, one of Japans most beloved actors.  As they enter into adulthood they struggle to escape the complicated world of adolescence.   Right away strange things begin to occur around him, evidence of people he meets suffering from adolescent syndrome, a supernatural manifestation of internal stresses around growing up.  Unlike the issues he dealt with in high school, the new problems he works to solve seem to be centering around a strange woman dressed in a mini skirt Santa outfit calling herself Kirishima Touko.  In the past year, Kirishima has been uploading haunting songs on the internet that have been gaining traction.  Sakuta is the only one who can see the mini skirt Santa, a form of adolescent syndrome he suspects is similar to what Mai went through when they first met.  She tells him that she is handing out presents to everyone around him, various forms of adolescence syndrome, that deeply concern the compassionate Sakuta.

    As Sakuta works through the new cases of stress and uncertainty around the new people he comes into contact with, elements from his past return to warn him of a threat to the most important thing in his life, Mai.   A version of him from a more idyllic reality, warns him that unless he is able to stop Kirishima, Mai is in danger.  As he helps resolve each related adolescent syndrome he digs deeper into the psyche of the mysterious woman who threatens his love and happiness.  Could the unidentifiable songstress have a strong enough jealousy over Mai that she is able to super charge the stresses of those she comes into contact with?  An internet phenomenon around prophetic dreams begins to reveal to extent of the threat to Mai and other around him as he tries to get Kirishima to open up to him about her motivations.

    The 'long awaited' continuation of the Rascal Doesn't Dream franchise does not disappoint.  With the exception of one thing...the bungled release in North America.  The original 12 episode series was followed by three theatrical releases, all of which cover the first eight light novels.  The story is progressive and interconnected and the second and third movies were not available legally for English speaking audiences until a few episodes into the broadcast of the second series.  This means that most audiences, who missed the opportunity over a two day period over a year earlier to see those movies in the theater, were missing vital contextual information.  Events specifically in the third movie directly relate to a lot of the central plot of the Santa Claus series, particularly the existence and Sakuta's interaction with the other version of his world.  Fortunately, those movies were eventually made available for streaming, so people who had not seen them before nor read the light novels, could catch up with what was going on.

     The mistake and issues for English speaking audiences aside, this series does exactly what we should expect.   With out a change to the aesthetics or delivery it flawlessly continues the story of Sakuta and his efforts to help those around him overcome their misgiving and hesitations.  The story does a good job of translating what appears in the light novels, as it has done in the previous adaptations.  The only real complaint is...were not done.  There are still two light novels that needs to be animated and Santa Claus ends in a bit of a cliff hanger.  As we have seen in the past, it will probably be a while for those to more than likely be turned into at least one movie...and then become available for English speaking audiences.  The only resolution is for everyone to at least jump into the light novel series for those last two parts of the story.  Though...its a great idea for fans of the anime to read all of the light novels as there are aspects of the story that are interesting that they had to omit from the anime, for understandable reasons.  For more details on that, check out the series of review on the Rascal Doesn't Dream light novels.  Either way, I am very pleased with the results so far and eagerly await the finale of this story being animated!

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

The Summer Hikaru Died - Season 1

 The Summer Hikaru Died (光が死んだ夏) is a 13 episode adaptation of the manga of the same name by Mokumokuren.  The series originally aired during the Summer of 2025. 

 

    During the winter Indo Hikaru becomes lost on a sacred mountain outside of his village.  The men of the village search for him, with no luck but the boy returns to town a few days later, as if nothing wrong occurred.  His best friend, Tsujinaka Yoshiki knows something is off and brooches the subject at the beginning of summer.  He outright ask him if he's not the real Hikaru.  In a moment of panic the thing that is pretending to be the teenage boy begins to unleash its supernatural essence, threatening to take over Yoshiki but pulls back before any harm can be done.  Thus begins the strange relationship between an eldritch being posed as a boy that was lost in a dreary winter night on a sacred mountain and his best friend in the entire world.

     Yoshiki struggles with the truth of his friends death but isn't ready to let go and tries to maintain the status quo with the thing puppeting Hikaru.  It has the majority of the boys memories and has an understand of his mannerisms and countenance, but it is noticeably different.  This version is filled with a greater sense of wonder and excitement as its experiencing things for the first time, things it knows Hikaru had experienced countless times in his own life.  Yoshiki appears to be the only one that notices the difference but the village senses something if out of place.  The thing that is Hikaru lacks any understanding of life and the consequences of death and when it feels threatened by an elderly woman who believes the boy is a manifestation of an ancient god Nonuki he murders her in cold blood.  Her death sets off a series of events by the towns elders, fearing an ancient curse come to reclaim its price.  Out of desperation they begin working with a strange man who specializes in exorcisms.  Hikaru and Yoshiki try to understand the things nature, as Hikaru has no recollection of its existence prior to taking over the boys body.  The longer he stays among the human population, the more they understand that his presence brings danger to those around them. 

     I picked up the first volume of the manga shortly after it came out due to the hype around it.  I enjoyed it and continued to pick the other volumes out as they became available.  Once I learned that it was getting an anime adaption I stopped reading the manga so I could have it as one of the shows on The Otaku Network Podcast.  That time has now come and gone and I can finally return to the source material.  I enjoyed this slow burning mystery.  Its hard for anime and manga to be scary and this one was no exception but I feel that wasn't it's purpose.  It told a story that we have seen again and again but this time it added a complicated human side to it.  The medium is full of tales about the dark things people do in remote locations that pop up unexpectedly later on, causing...concern.  In this case the manifestation of that shameful legacy decides to pretend to be human for a while.  In doing so that human it emulates comes with more baggage than it bargained for and it has a yearning for acceptance and continuation in the process.

    There is just one thing I feel the anime was lacking and that was truly knowing the characters.  Outside of some exposition conversations and indirect hints, we honestly didn't get a lot of information about them.  We don't really understand what the real Hikaru was like.  We don't know what Yoshiki's goals in life are outside of removing the stressors around himself.   Tanaka may have the deepest mysteries and it may be interesting to see a spin off series about him.  In reality the most fleshed out character was the town itself, which was central to the neurosis' of the towns folks in relation to what was pretending to be Hikaru.  But even then we really didn't get an explanation for what he was and why he was, left to accept that at some point it changed and the towns attitude towards it changed and things began to become twisted and dark.  Regardless of the lightness in the depth of story telling it was still an interesting tale and a refreshing spin on the premises we have seen countless times before.  Fortunately, we will be getting a second season and hopefully more depth will be expounded upon!  Only time will tell and my manga volumes might stay lonely for the time being.

The series is available on Netflix. 

My Dress-Up Darling - season 2

  My Dress-Up Darling (その着せ替え人形は恋をする) is the second 12 episode season a the slice of life anime based on the manga of the same name by Fukuda Shinichi.  Season two aired during the Summer of 2025.

     Marin and Gojo's relationship has cemented its self as one of comradery based around cosplay but she spends much of her free time with him, even being a regular guest at his house for dinner.  Their time together has enhanced her feelings for him but she struggles to express them to him.  Gojo himself is very conscious about his relationship with her even though he struggles with feelings he has for her.  Not wanting to ruin her reputation or embarrass her, he refuses to accept that they could be anything more than friends and work partners.

    In between them overcoming their personal roadblocks, they set out and make friends with more cosplayers.   Marin, partially due to work obligations an partially due to concerns about recent weight increase, has put off new cosplays and instead is enjoying events as a spectator.  She and Gojo spend the entire day with an guy in college who crossplays and helps them increase their skill knowledge but discussing how he convincingly sets up his cosplays.  Due to Gojo trying to up his game they also get wrapped into a trio of college girls who have their own cosplay club/group and eagerly invite them to join them.  Marin in turn drags in the Inui sisters for a big group event centered around a beloved horror game.  The event brings many of the participants to a new awareness of themselves and their feelings...but can Marin bring herself to vocalize her feelings to Gojo?

    The first season was full of love and beautiful character development, even if it struggled with  over emphasizing Marin's body in uncomfortable ways.  Season two quickly sped past the first part of the story too deepen the love of Marin and Gojo as it reinforced their companionship.  The first part of the season really fell back on the central issue with Gojo's self doubt.  It was wonderful to see care put into the outside world convincing him that there is nothing wrong with his passions, even if he's unable to express that concern out loud.  Marin is an open book and this season begins to show her that not everyone around her shares in that exuberance.  But while she's expressive on the outside she struggles to tell Gojo, the most important person in her life, her true emotions.

    The series is really half romantic slice of life story and half cosplay 101.  A lot of details about technique and problem solving coat the series as it did the first time around.  This time we have our duo meeting with more experienced hobbyists that super charge their enthusiasm and dedication to the past time.  The friend group grows to include different personality archetypes and backgrounds, further fleshing out the depth of the story.  Things are not always rosy but My Dress Up Darling still exists largely in a reality free of tragedy.  My emotions welled up with the final episode of the season to cement it in my head as a truly lovable and fantastic tale.  I can't wait for the next season to come out and Marin...of poor sweet Marin... Also, great to not be focused on the ick factor with this season.

The series is available on Crunchyroll. 

Dan Da Dan - season 2

 Dan Da Dan season 2 (ダンダダン) is the continuation of the super natural comedy romance series based on the manga of the same name by Tatsu Yukinobu.  This season ran for 12 episodes over the Summer of 2025.

    The story picks up right were season one left off...so if you need to, you might want to check that out before cotinuing.  Momo and Okarun have been tasked to investigate what's going on with Jiji and his parents by Momo's grandmother.  The small village where he's currently living has a dark secret perpetrated by a creepy family.   The house Jiji is staying at is the sight of a centuries long sacrificial ceremony perpetrated by the Kito family.  They have been sacrificing people to an underground worm god they believe is keeping the volcano outside of the village dormant.  Their plan backfires when they attempt to sacrifice Jiji and his friends and everyone falls into the cavernous recesses below the house.  They find a history of their crimes in sunken homes that span the decades and their god...a mythical UMA that has gone crazy with its thirst and size.

    There is something lurking below however that is a problem, a long forgotten darkness built upon pain and neglect of a tortured child from centuries ago.  That pain manifested into a powerful spirit known as Evil Eye and before they can stop him, Jiji merges with the being.Jiji's incredible physical strength and spiritual energy allows Evil Eye to have a powerful vessel for enacting his revenge on the world at large.  Momo, Okarun and Turbo Granny struggle to defend themselves and the ensuing battle leads to the eruption of the volcano.  As their demise seems to be guaranteed, Momo's grandmother arrives with the cavalry to contain the problem.  Evil Eye is contained but Jiji is still possessed so they bring him back to their home to keep and eye on him while they figure out how to proceed...concerned that if it comes out again they wont be able to contain it, let alone defeat it.  The series wraps up with a prolonged introduction to the cliffhanger to make everyone thirsty for season 3!

     The first season was a tour de force by Science Saru that also came with a concerning amount of fetishization of teenage girls bodies.  It ended with what appeared to be an attempted sexual assault on Momo, so those that had only watched the anime were very concerned for how season two would start out and what kind of tone it would set for the continuation of this fantastic series.  Those fears were quickly squashed and we were treated to a single episode that has more story, emotion and bad ass fight choreography than some other shows are ever able to squeeze out in 13 episodes.  The first half of the story goes hard as our beloved awkward heroes battle for their lives.  Then it shifts back to their version of the mundane and we see further development between Momo and Okarun and it was way to cute to handle!

    This season was fantastic even though it contained a more connected story that thread through the entire run, as opposed to the first season that seemed more episodic.   As with the first, the artwork is top tier with fantastic directing and choreography.  But there is something more important and that's heart.  These characters are all just normal teenagers, dealing with normal teenage problems who also happen to have to devote way too much of their energy correcting super natural messes they get dragged into.  But at the end of the day, they just want to be seen and be loved like everyone else.  This season was better than the first with the exception of episode 8, where I feel the story stalls and spends way too much time dealing with a pointless conflict with terrible character designs for the antagonists.  Other then that...one of the best anime of the year!

The series is available on Crunchyroll and Netflix. 

Gundam GQuuuuuuux

Gundam GQuuuuuuX is a 12 episode original mecha series in the Gundam franchise.  It originally aired during the Spring 2025 season. 

Click HERE for a discussion about this series on The Otaku Network Podcast. 

    Set in an alternative version of the Universal Century, through the help of Char capturing the Gundam RX-78-2, the Principality of Zeon wins the One Year War.  Unfortunately for them, they lose Char in an incident where his Red Gundam disappears in an event called a zeknova.  A few years later his partner Chalia Bull finds himself at the Side 6 colony in his search of Char's Red Gundam.  As luck would have it, the Gundam appears and his team sends out the experimental GQuuuuuuX Gundam to capture it.  The battle doesn't go as planned and both are lost in the colony as security steps in to tamp down on the incursion.

    After becoming entangled with a refugee girl working as a black market courier, Nyaan, a disaffected upper middle class high school student, rebels hard.  After stumbling upon the GQuuuuux and syncing with it easily, she decides to participate in illegal mecha fighting called Clan Battle.  She find a partner in a weird boy names Shuji who happens to pilot a Red Gundam and share a love for the emotional release of piloting  Together they begin to achieve victory after victory in the Clan Battles but not without notice.  Chalia wants to reclaim both the GQuuuuuuX and the Red Gundam, hoping it will lead him closer to Char.  But unknown to all of them a dangerous plot is unfolding that will absorb all of them as the head of Zeon attempt to punish Earth once and for all. 

     I have not watched as much Gundam as I should have over the years but I have a general understanding of the world building.  This series however is a deep dive into the core story and nods at every chance it can to under served characters from the original.  While it is not set in the Universal Century it relies heavily on the viewer having watched and original series at the very least, demanding it for all of the context.  Since I have yet neglected to watch the original and its direct follow up stories, I spent a lot of time on the Gundam Fan Wiki...recognizing that there was a lot of context I was unaware of.  That missing intimacy lead to less than ideal viewing experience.  The story shifts about 2/3s of the way through to a a complex plot that becomes engaging.  The first 8 episodes had little resonance with me partially due to me not being familiar with the legacy characters that appeared.  But is that my fault or the stories?  A problem I have had with some Gundam stories is the heavy reliance on a deep understanding of the franchise its self, pushing out more casual viewers or people new to the fandom.  Reconguista in G is a prime example of this problem.  GQX suffers from that to less of a degree but after talking with die hard Gundam fans about the show, a viewer with intimate deep lore will get more out of GQX than casuals.

     That said, the last third of the story when everything culminated and the disparate threads started to connect grabbed my attention but its sadly was a bit late for me to fully appreciate what was going on.  The creative team behind this series really did it as a love letter to Gundam its self, as a whole, pulling references from a long line of UC stories, spinning them into a newer narrative.  GQX is in many ways, fan fiction and a love letter to Gundam in general.  They did a good job with it, especially once I understood the references and nuances of what they were showing.  But that under-serves the casual viewer and its only strong point from there is its short length and tight story telling.  It does do a good job of character development and narration to get its core point across, sans all of the references and homages.  That said...I really disliked the character designs for the unique cast.  Most of the characters who appear that exist in legacy Gundam titles retain a design philosophy closer to their original versions, but the brand new characters have a strange and out of place design.  This does serve as a gateway into Gundam fandom though as its easy to access, short and teases you with a far deeper lore than you could imagine...luring you further into the woods if you so choose.  You can enjoy it as a stand alone story without any of the context, but it plays differently and more emotionally when you do know the context. 

The series is available on Amazon Prime.  

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 Thirteen: 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.

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.   

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. 

A Town Where You Live - manga deep dive part 2 - First Tokyo arc

 A Town Where You Live (君のいる町) is a shonen romance by Seo Koji.  The manga ran from 2008 until 2014 and has been compiled into 27 tankoubon.  It also received a 12 episode anime adaption in 2013 that covered the first two arcs of the story, with the first arc being largely glossed over.  The series and its characters are indirectly related to Seo's prior work, Suzuka, and the ending leads directly into the continuation of that series with the manga Fuuka.

Click here to read the first part, the Hiroshima arc if you have not already.

    With that Haruto heads off to Tokyo.  He will be staying with his older sister, who lives in the same all girls dormitory that was featured in Suzuka.  He has doubts about moving to Tokyo, purely to find Eba.  Its caused a lot of trouble at home and he may be jumping to conclusions.  he has literally uprooted himself and everyone around him for the off chance that she really doesn't want to remove him from her life.  He meets another weird girl his first day there after she attacking him, fearing he was a burglar.   The girl, Mishima Asuka, lives next door and is in the same class as Haruto in his new school.  That same night he meets another classmate, a boy named Kazama Kyousuke.  Both of them try to befriend Haruto in their own ways

    Haruto doesn't have any time to bother with getting chummy though.  AFter the first day of school ends he heads directly to Eba's home only to run into her sister Rin and be rejected from meeting Eba.  Each day he repeats the process, desperate to run into her, becoming a stalker in the process.  he is bound and determine not to take her note on face value and wont be satisfied until she tells him to his face.  He suspects there is something wrong and he wants to be there to help him.  His obsession is hurting his social standing with his class.   On a day off from school Kazama wakes him up early, with Mishima in tow.  He takes them both to a race track outside of Tokyo where he pracites racing on his crotchrocket.  He tells Haruto about his dream to be a pro level racer when hes older.  Mishima tells him when they are alone the reality of the situation.  Kazama is battling some unspecified illness and theres a good chance it will prevent him from acheiving his dream.  This gives Haruto a new perspective about his brand new friends and causes him to slow down a little bit and interact more with those around him for the time.

     When one of his classmates invites Kazama with her to an event put on at the all girl high school Kyouou, Haruto jumps at the opportunity.  This is where Eba goes and he thinks this will be his best chance of running into her.  Desperate, he begs his classmate to take him with her instead.  Reluctant at first, she makes him help her put away a large collection of books donated to the schools library in exchange.  He becomes embarrassed when he sees her panties while helping her.  She misinterprets it as him being shy around her due to liking her.  After cooling of over the idea of being more popular than she though she agrees to let him go with her, as a trial for dating.  Unsure what her plans are he agrees even though it could be a problem is Eba see's him with another girl.  Kazama confronts him about his desperation to go to the all girls school, astutely figuring out its related to a girl.  left with no choice, Haruto tells him the basics of why he transferred to Tokyo.

    The classmate is in full proctor mode and considers this a date, with a grading system planned out.  Haruto is distracted however and neglects the needy girl.  As her frustration builds, she forces him to go through one classes haunted house, even though both of them are not into scary things.   The tour ends horribly and she runs off, considering him little more than a sex crazed pervert.  Unfortunately for him, Eba did see him with her, as she was part of the haunted house.  As hes makes his way out of the school grounds she confronts him and tells him what he had been waiting to here since he decided to chase after her.  In no uncertain terms she tells him that she truly did decide to break up with him and has a new boyfriend.  Now with his reason for coming to Tokyo evaporating, Haruto has to figure out what to do with him self.

    The following day in school Kazama quickly figures out what transpired.  He determined that Haruto was able to meet the girl he was chasing after truly did reject him.  In order to try and cheer him up he takes Haruto out on a ride on the back of his bike.  After driving for a while they stop to chat and reflect.  Before they can head back Kazama collapses onto his bike.  Fearing the worst, knowing hes dealing with some serious health issues, he calls an ambulance.  In the hospital Kazama chides him for over reacting, telling him it was just a bad case of anemia.  Mishima comes rushing to the hospital and confesses that she told Haruto about his health issues.  To distract them he reminds Haruto that he is going to help him fight for the girl that dumped him, just as he does Eba walks through the door, leaving Haruto speechless.  Kazama eagerly greets her and introduces them to his girlfriend.  Haruto and Eba pretend that this is the first time meet each other.  What is Haruto to do?  His new best friend is dating the girl he is chashing after.  The girl he himself said Haruto should take back from her boyfriend.

    Wanting to wrap things up he waits for Eba the following day at her home.  This time he is able to talk with her and she tells him whats been going on.  When Kazama learned she moved back to Tokyo he came to her, telling her that he had a terminal illness and wasn't expect to last a year.  Out of desperation he asks her to go out with him, hoping that being with hr can improve his attitude and work towards healing.  Caught between the long distance relationship with Haruto and giving the boy who has been chasing after her for 4 years a glimmer of hope, she decided to go out with him and leave Haruto to his own devices, not anticipating him chasing her back to Tokyo.  Haruto isn't ready to throw in the towel yet and after spelling it out to Mishima in a few words, he decides hes not going to hide anything from the man he considers his friend.  The next opportunity he has, he rushes to the hospital and lays down the challenge to Kazama.  He knows he doesn't have long to live but isn't going to let that stop him from taking Eba back from him.  Now with the secrets out of the way for everyone, Haruto feel's he can look his friend in the eye and not lie to him as he lives out the last of his days.

    In the battle to win Eba's heart, Haruto does the only thing he can think of, get to gere through her stomach.  Each day he cooks a food item, which Kazama eagerly consumes, while Eba tries to resist.  One day he shows up to find a new girl, a series girl named Kiyomi.  Kazama tells Haruto to leave but he has already overheard Kiyomi castazing him about refusing to go through with a surgery that could save his life.  The next time he sees her, Eba is there as well and the other girl digs into her, calling her a murderer, convinced that she has changed Kazama's mind about the surgery.  Haruto takes her outside to cool down where she explains why shes so made at Eba.  Haruto realizes that she is also in love with Kazama.  He now has a partner in his mission to get Eba back and he encourages her to tell Kazama about her long held feelings.  After a failed attempt she decides to give up, knowing that he is happiest he has ever been, even as he stares down his mortality, all because he finally has Eba as his girlfriend.  Haruto is not so easily dissuaded and continues the battle.

     Kazama decides to go ahead with the surgery, hoping that if its successful it will give him the opportunity to truly steal Eba way from Haruto.  He's convinced that she is only dating him out of pity and he wants to prove that their relationship is real.  Before the surgery Haruto cooks a meal and they gather for a celebration.  Kiyomi breaks down and assaults Eba, finally confessing to Kazama about her feelings for him.  As everyone is leaving, he pulls Haruto aside and tells him to try and go after his childhood friend, sicne he will have Eba for a long time.  As to be expected...he dies shortly after the surgery.  The day after the funeral, Eba drops off Kazama's motorcycle helmet to Haruto.  Kazama was serious when he said he wanted Haruto's restaurant to be the front and center sponsor for his pro racing team.  As she leaves, she tells him that they need to stop seeing each other.  Leaving him by himself, with the memories of a good friend and better rival in the helmet.

    Following the passing of Kazama, Haruto and Mishima become closer friends.  Just before winter she tells him that she likes him, but follows it up with more, obscuring her true intentions.  As winter break approaches they meet with Kiyomi for coffee.  Kiyomi notices tht something is off when Mishima excuses herself to take a phone call.  She tells haruto that she likes him and that he needs to figure it out before it ruins their friendship.  He tells her that the final confrontation with Eba has put him off from relationships for the time being.  Out of an off handed comment he ends up inviting Mishima with him back to his home over the break, due to her fascination with snow.  To make things less awkward he forces Kiyomi to join them.  Everything is going well on their first day back in Hiroshima...until Akari arrives and everyone goes to a hot spring.  Mishima knows that Haruto and Akari had kissed at one point and she sees her as a rival for his affection, even though she hasn't been honest with him about her feelings.

     Someone he didn't anticipate seeing was his first love Nanami.  After a day of everyone playing in the snow she sat down to have a deep conversation.  Akari had filled her in regarding the drama Haruto was involved with in Tokyo.  She also notices something with Mishima and tells him that he needs to make a decision sooner than later, given he has feelings for her even though he can't admit it.  That idea seeps into his brain and he begins to ponder the truth of it.  Mishima and Kiyomi decide to return to Tokyo after only a few days and the eve before they leave Mishima asks Haruto to talk in private.  She tells him that he should move back home after graduation instead of going to college with her in Tokyo.  He counters saying he wants to be with her and asks her to go out with him.  They don't do to well in keeping their relationship hidden as his friends force him to join the girls on the way back to Tokyo, so he can spend time with Mishima.

    Now that they are a couple how much will things change for them?  They bicker over everything but seems to be doing well enough, each finding comfort with the other as they move beyond the lose they have endured.  What will the future hold for them, we will have to wait for the next arc of the story as they enter college.

Part three, the college arc.

Bucchigiri?!

 Bucchigiri?! (ぶっちぎり?!) is an original 12 episode shonen comdey anime created by Kishimoto Taku and produced by MAPPA.  The anime originally aired during the 2024 Winter season.

     Tomoshibi Arajin returns to his hometown to find is overflowing with juvenile delinquents.  His high school life will be quite difficult surrounded by threatening muscle bound, fight obsessed men, but a cute girl in his class gets his attention and sends flutters through his heart.  The girl, Jin Mahoro, has ulterior motives in mind and invites him to a date only to have her brother Jin Marito challenge him to a fight before his gang.  Little does Marito suspect, Arajin has a secret weapon at his disposal.  A local legend exists around a race of super beings who imbue their strength to worthy individuals, honki, or genies.  Revaling it as a child, hes waved it away as the fantasies of youth.  While attempting to evade being beaten by members of a different gang, he hides in an abandoned shrine which is at the center of the legends.  As he desperately tries to defend himself he sets off an event that leads to the vessel of a genie named Seya to be embedded in him.  The genie appears, eager to merge with the weak young boy and become a legendary brawler.  Arajin tries to escape the genie and his strange expectations but is unable to.  While facing down the older and stronger Marito, Arajin agrees to join forces with the genie in order to lose his virginity.  Powers granted, the physically inferior Arajin delivers a clean shot on his opponent winning both his safety and respect.

    Arajin's childhood friend, Asamine Mataraka, is excited for the boy he admired to return.  He is desperate to rekindle their friendship and have him join him in the pursuit to be a honki.  Arajin wants nothing to do with him, brushing him off at every turn, focused only on dating Mahoro.  Marito is impressed with the new kid and invites him to be a member of his gang, the rival to Mataraka's gang.  Arajin, wanting only to be close to Mahoro, eagerly agrees to the invitation, pleasing Senya.  Senya only wants to fully merge with the boy and take on the mantle of honki, seeing the sudden immersion into youth gang life as the perfect outlet.  Arajin doesn't suspect anything form anyone and is purely driven by sexual desire.  When rival factions start to set up a major conflict between his school two gangs, he finds himself in the middle of what might become a blood bath.  But the real fuel behind the carnage is Senya and a another jinn with a rivalry for the ages.

    This is a strange anime all around.  Its a story about gangs of savage high school kids, most of which you can't take seriously because of how over the top their appearance and personalities are.  Then you toss in a tale around two jinn souls who have traveled time and space to continue their rivalry in modern Japan.  Not to mention the homeroom teacher who frequents a hostess club at every opportunity as a side story.  Arajins mom is ridiculous, hand waving everything that shows up at hr doorstep as a natural part of adolescence.  AT its core its about Arajin trying to come to terms with his own inadequacies and the guilt he struggles to express about his past.  Its a world were authority doesn't exist and hooligans are free to do whatever they want, with only their twisted honor as a safety mechanism.

    I had a lot of fun with this show.  The artwork is amusing and the directing goes a long way to enhance the absurdity of the story.  It is not as joke laden or brain melting as Cromartie High, but it is a good choice for fans of that older show.  A show about super naturally powered delinquents who are trying to straighten out personal issues that aren't earth shattering for anyone not living their world is best served with a smile.  If this series took its self seriously it would be boring and uninspired.  Instead it winks at the audience and gives us a ridiculous damn near steamy yaoi action comedy.  Tell me this isn't a boys love story...I dare you.

The series is available on Crunchyroll.