Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

 Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf (狼と香辛料 merchant meets the wise wolf) is a 25 episode dramatic romance based on the light novel series Spice and Wolf by Hasekura Isano.  This second retelling of the light novel originally aired during the Spring and Summer of 2024.

    Kraft Lawrence is a traveling merchant in a time of transition from the old ways to the new.  Traversing a world that is falling under the sway of a central religious authority, focused on sweeping away historical beliefs and practices he does what he can to earn profits through the exchange of good across the land.  He travels to a small farming village during their wheat harvest in order to acquire some quality grain to trade in a city.  He leaves with more than he bargained for when the wolf spirit who has provided the village with their quality harvest for generations sneaks aboard his cart in the form of a young girl.   The wolf god Holo asks Lawrence to allow her to accompany him on his travels as she desires to visit her ancestral homelands far in the north.  She is curious how the world has changed around her after all of this time and fancies him as the perfect guide on her journey.

    Lawrence agrees to get her safely to the northern lands, something endearing the ancient wolf girl to him along with his compassionate nature.  Holo does not want to be a burden on the man and offers her abilities at his disposal.  She has an innate ability to detect untruths and a keen sense of negotiation, given her long life and unnatural abilities.  However, her long life has made her shrewd and patient, never offering her services outright, waiting for Lawrence to realize that he would be in a better position by asking for her help.  The arrangement seems to benefit both of them until the Church begins to sniff around, rumors traveling about Holo's potential unnatural nature.  Wolves have always been feared and hated by humans, so Holo does what she can to conceal her true nature, but the power of the Church means it is not as easy as hiding her ears and tail.

    The original version of the anime has long been on my list of series that I need to watch.  It has been revered for a long time and considered a quality romance as well.  The reboot seemed like a perfect opportunity to finally see what all the fuss was about.And I was pretty disappointed.  I don't really see why this is considered a romance when there is very little in the way of romantic connections between Holo and Lawrence.  Sure, she has a level of admiration for him that is evident through a lot of her actions regarding him and his safety.  But the story focuses almost exclusively on the dangers presented by the growing authority and autonomy of the 'church'.  Lawrence struggles at every turn to keep Holo's true nature hidden while protecting his own livelihood.

    This is really a story about mercantilism and the perils of making enemies in a world were its easy to be disappeared when enough power moves against you.  The art isn't bad, the character designs and world building is solid as well.  The biggest shock was Holo's attitude when I finally got around to watching the series.  I had only ever been exposed to it through still images and a narrative that belies the reality of the story and her personality.  I was very surprised to learn that she is not some subservient and agreeable teenage maiden.  Instead she is head strong, calculating and very very shrewd.  She plays games with Lawrence but when she needs him to understand that she holds all of the cards she doesn't hold back.  Holo...instead of being a male fantasy of the ideal subservient partner, is a quality representative for woman's equality and independence.  The story is good, the world is detailed but its not the story I was looking for and its not the style of world I tend to enjoy.  The problem is with me...not Spice and Wolf.

The series is available on Crunchyroll.

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

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

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

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

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

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

 The anime was simulcast on Netflix.

Returning to Ninja Scroll

 Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖,) is an action movie from 1993 created by Kawajiri Yoshiaki.  The movie was originally made available in North America in 1995.

    Set in the 16th century, Kibagami Jubei is a wandering swordsman who finds himself wrapped up in a plot to over through the Tokugawa shogunate.  He encounters a beastly man in the middle of 'assaulting' a woman.  He doesn't enjoy the idea of forced anything and does what he can to help the woman out.  She however was helping herself out as well and with some quick thinking on both their part the monster is distracted enough for them to escape.  The woman introduces herself as Kagero, the sole survivor of a team of ninja's from the Koga clan, sent to investigate a strange rumor around a port village.  As the team came to investigate the stories of a plague wiping the village out the monstrous being attacked them, killing all of the men and kidnapping Kagero for some entertainment.  She parts ways with Jubei to return and report the tragedy to her master.  Jubei continues on his way only to be attacked by the same monster, a super naturally enhanced man going by the name Tessai.  His body is made of stone he towers above mortal men, at perhaps 3 meters in height and weilds a massive double ended...sword?  The battle seems lost to Jubei, he is a normal human with some tenacious abilities and sword handling.  Tessai's stone body suddenly begins to crumble, allowing Jubei's sword to do damage leading to the creatures downfall through his own weapon being uncontrollable.  

     A wizened man appears and gives the swordsman some details about what he just faced.  Tessai is a member of 8 demonic ninja's who are working for a shadow shogun, planning on over throwing the real shogun and restoring power to a different clan.  The old man is a Tokugawa spy and forces Jubei into helping him in his current mission.  A few years earlier Jubei was part of a ninja team who had uncovered an illegal gold mine.  In a series of unfortunate actions he was forced to kill all of the members of his team due to an order to try and hide the gold mines information from being leaked.  Jubei exacted revenge for his comrades by killing the man responsible for their death, a man named Gemma.  The old man informs him that Gem,ma still lives, after Jubei cut off his head, and is the leader of the demon ninjas who are protecting the gold mine.  The old man poisons Jubei and tells him he will receive the antidote once his investigation of the gold mine is completed, forcing the swordsman to face against the demon ninjas and a man he killed once before.  Kagero returns to the area after informing her master of the failure and arrives in time to save Jubei from another of the demon ninja, deciding to join him and the old man on their mission, looking to learn more and for a chance at revenge for her teams destruction.  The three venture into the heart of the beast, facing super naturally powered beings with their only goal being survival until the next day.

    Ninja Scroll was one of the most important and influential anime for American otaku in the 90's.  It was one movie that almost everyone who watched anime saw.  I have been meaning to re-watch this for a while now, as I have not seen it since the 90's.  I wanted to revisit it and see how my opinions of it have changed over the decades as anime and myself have changed drastically.  I ended up finally watching it when we chose to do a side quest episode for the Otaku Network Podcast around it.  I wanted to have David watch it and get his thoughts on it from the perspective of someone younger and much newer to anime fandom than myself.  Listen to that episode here for his, mine and a guest opinion on this 30+ year old samurai film.  I talked about it at length but wanted to also express that here with just my thoughts to focus on.

    Ninja Scroll is absolutely a product of its time, coming at the end end of a decade of decadence in anime production.  Through out the financial boom on the 80's a lot of risky anime was produced, stuff aimed for either direct to video or theatrical markets, unburdened by censorship.  Ninja Scroll came to light from a mutual love of Japanese period drama's and American action films and it shows.  There is a lot of visceral violence and degradation.  The story is shallow and linear, being little more than an excuse to have the character fight a series of bad guys.  My love for anime has fallen heavily into the slice of life and romance genres.  I am not impressed by rippling muscles and ultra violence like I was as a teenager.  I suspected for a while that I wouldn't have any lingering favorable opinions on this movie.  I was quite surprised that I still held a somewhat favorable opinion on the movie.  I have never been a fan of the character design and a lot of the artwork is simplistic, at least in its detail.  There are some well directed fight sequences and some moments of amazing cinematography.  The sexualization of its female characters is problematic and definitely a product of its time...even if there is still a problem with that in anime as a whole.  Ninja Scroll really is the feudal Japan answer to the 80's American action film.  Jubei, the stories hero, is an enviable and noble hero and strong man.  Able to over come any physical injury and situation to win in the end.  Yet he's also vulnerable, one aspect that's not present in 80's action films.  Outside of that 'flaw' of masculinity, he is just another action hero to make the male audience swoon with envy.  While it doesn't have a lot of merit as a piece of art, it is a well enough crafted action movie that it shouldn't really slip into the sands of time.  It's still worth checking out for new and old anime fans, unlike a lot of the iconic titles from that time period.  I don't plan on ever watching it again, ever.  There is no need.

For a long time this was widely available streaming.  But it's become scarce, I believe tied to a recent theatrical return and new blu ray release.

The Apothecary Diaries - part 1

 The Apothecary Diaries (薬屋のひとりごと) is a 24 episode historical anime based on the light novel series of the same name by Hyuga Natsu.  The anime aired during the Fall of 2023 and the Spring of 2024.

    Maomao finds herself kidnapped and sold into servitude at one of the Imperial compounds.  She is the son of a lowly apothecary who grew up on the outskirts of the red-light district, under the watch of the woman who work in a particular brothel.  Maomao understands that her existence isn't worth a second thought in her new environment and is content keeping her head down and suffering through her two years of captivity, working as a lowly washer girl.  When the top concubine consorts for the Emperor begin to fall ill, with one of them loosing their young child, Maomao's training at the hands of her father kick in.  Her attempts to remain anonymous as she leaves out clues to the cause of the illnesses/deaths unravels as one of the Emperors top Eunuchs finds her out.  Jinshi is the highest authority in the rear palace, where all the Imperial consorts are housed and commands equal parts respect and envy.  Even though he is a eunuch, he is remarkably handsome and suave, causing all of the women and some of the mens hearts to flutter at his mere presence.

    Through crafty analysis he susses out Maomao as the guardian angel who pointed out the whitening makeup all the women wear as the culprit for the illnesses.  She was familiar with its poisonous properties from her time in the brothels.  After some further investigating, Jinshi learns that Maomao caries a multitude of skills that can be beneficial in other areas of the rear palace.  She has been obsessed with poisons since a young girl and has built up a deep knowledge on the subject and an amount o resistance to them...seeking them out intentionally as if addicted to their negative effects.  Maomao finds herself forced into the position of a lady in waiting for one of the top 4 consorts, one who is struggling to overcome the illness.  While at first unwelcome by the other women of the house, she quickly demonstrates her deep knowledge and abilities.  News of her continued exploits reach Jinshi who begins to rely on her to present an outsiders perspective on seeming frequent mysteries among the palace's residents.  Her natural curiosity, confidence in observation and unusual studies make her known more and more, causing her to regret all of her choices, loosing her easy life as a slave, wanting just to return to her father.

    I have usually don't find interest in historical anime, particularly historical Chinese ones, having zero interest in Chinese imperial court drama's.  While this is not actually feudal China, its close enough to be irrelevant.  The thing that kept me watching the story, especially through the first half of its initial run, was Maomao's personality and the randomly injected humor.  By all means, this could have been a dour historical melodrama but the sprinkled in super deform/comedic aspects frequently broke the ice.  Maomao is by no means the subservient maiden.  Her childhood growing up among the sex workers and destitute residents of the slums made her a realist.  She respects the need to observe societal norms, but only does so out of self preservation.  She is wilful, independent and confident.  The only reason she becomes wrapped in the levels of intrigue she does is due to her uncontrollable curiosity.

    That said, I really did not enjoy the episodic problem of the week formula of the first half of the series.  The conclusions of them did sometimes surprise me with their creativity and unpredictable nature.  What really sealed the enjoyment of the series was how the back half of the second part began to wrap everything that has transpired into one larger story.  The artwork wan't too bad, even if some of the character designs were a little out of realism.  IN the end, with everything wrapped together as well as it was, I don't regret watching the entire first season and eagerly await the continuation and some actual romance developing between Maomao and Jinshi.  A short side note as well, I was very pleased with how the characterization of someone who was portrayed as villainous through the entirety of the story was redeemed and humanized.  It was very well done.

The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll and is also available in English dub.

My Happy Marriage - anime season 1

My Happy Marriage (わたしの幸せな結婚) is a 12 episode historical supernatural romance based on the light novel series of the same name by Agitogi Akumi.  The first season of the anime aired on Netflix during the Summer of 2023.

 

    Saimori Miyo is the eldest daughter of the Saimori household but is treated worse than a servant.  In an alternate version of the world, great families exist in Japan, gaining social and political power through super natural abilities latent in their family.  Miyo's mother was married into another powerful family, looking to gain offspring that would combine their powers together.  Her mother, deathly ill for her life, dies when she was very young.  Not wanting to waste his families future, her father remarried again and sired another daughter, Kaya.  When the girls were young their father put them through a test to determine the presence of supernatural abilities.  Unfortunately for Miyo, only her younger sister passed the test.  With her no longer being a useful heir to the Saimori household, Miyo is forced into a life of squalor and service to her father, step-mother and half sister.

    While not willing to outright kill her off, Miyo's father see's an opportunity to rid himself of his useless oldest daughter.  A marriage proposal has been offered to marry her off to the head of another family who has a fearsome and ruthless reputation.  Kudou Kiyoka, head of the Kudo family and a young militry officer who leads men to fight against supernatural threats called Grotesqueries.  Unsure of what fate has in store for herself, she heads off to the house, to buy her self a short time away from her life of pain.  Kudou is a stern man who says little and becomes annoyed with his newest potential fiancees servile nature.  Miyo is afraid to let him know that she has no abilities, understanding that is really all he is after, hoping to stay in the sanctity of his house as long as possible.  She knows that when he finally rejects her, she will be all alone in a world she has little chance of living in, rejected by her terrible family and her potential husband.  But things aren't as they seem with Kudou, who is a more caring and compassionate person than his reputation and attitude suggest.  Before they can truly have honest conversations about their fears and desires, an external threat rises, looking to weaponize Miyo's familial blood and take her from her quiet happiness.

 

    Going into this I just accepted it as another take on the Cinderella fairy tale, little did i realize the importance of supernatural abilities in the plot.  While annoying to me, over all the series, at least this first season, was really enjoyable.  The character animation is gorgeous.  This story has the hallmarks of similar classic shojo romance stories, and its a welcome return to old form.  Miyo is the heroine who needs to come into her own ability through gaining self confidence.  She is surrounded by strong men who want to protect her...though some want to use her for their own desires.  The men are hansom and strong and will fight each other to the death with her as the prize going to the victor.  It's not really my place to criticize or comment on character representations such as Miyo and it's effect on gender rights in the modern world.  Miyo's personality are thoroughly explained by her terrible life at the hands of the people she calls her family.  She isn't useless or weak, she lacks confidence and authority.  By the end of the first season, she is well on her way to finding that power with in her.

    It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.  I suspect it was written originally with the idea that a single season might only be made.  The story actually ends on a really good place, with all of the plot threads being tied up in satisfying ways.  Yet, a second season was green lit, but no word yet on when that will be released.  Either way, this series was a pleasure to watch, I just can;t praise the animation and directing enough, even if some of the elements of the show are not exactly my favorite styles.  Season two can't come soon enough!!!

 

    The anime was produced and released by Netflix and is available in sub or dub formats.

Blade of the Immortal - 2019 anime

 Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) is a seinen historical action series based on the manga of the same name by Samura Hiroaki.  This adaption of the story was made available on Amazon Prime between the Fall of 2019 and the Spring of 2020 and ran for 24 episodes.

     Manji is a man cursed with immortality.  On the brink of death, after murdering 100 innocent men, a wizened woman feeds him mysterious blood worms, which allow his body to heal its self, even in the face of death.  Following the death of his sister he feels there is no longer a point to living and makes a deal with the old woman; kill 1000 bad guys to atone for the 100 good guys, then remove the worms so he can die.  A few years later the orphaned daughter, Asano Rin, of a destroyed dojo seeks Manji out as a bodyguard and accomplice in revenge.  Rin's parents were unfortunate victims in a far reaching plot of a scorned man to disrupt the countries approach to swordsmanship.  Anotsu Kagehisa has gathered a band of disaffected warriors and is systematically destroying dojo's who do not agree to join his revolution.  Under the name Itto-ryu they mercilessly murder anyone who opposes them, destroying legacies in their wake.

    Rin's father was the heir to a dojo which has previously rejected Kagehisa's grandfather, causing some animosity on his part in the attack and murder of her parents.  Not understanding the greater events in motion around her, Rin is wholly focused on vengeance.  Manji begrudgingly goes along with her plan at first due to her resebmelnce to his long dead sister.  As they track down and face the strongest members of Itto-ryu, they find themselves embroiled in actions by the Tokugawa shogunate against the murderous criminals.  While Manji's hands are too deeply soiled in blood will Rin be able to achieve her revenge and find peace in her actions?

    Blade of the Immortal takes place in an alternative history in which many things are fabrications by the author, most notably the weaponry employed by many of its characters.  The story takes place around the end of the 1700's and is primarily located in and around the Kanto plain, the site of Edo, present day Tokyo.  Due to the prohibitive nature of travel by unauthorized individuals the span of space tends to be exaggerated as they move from place to place.  What is also a bit glossed over is just how easily it seems the characters, wanted criminals, can move about in a relatively small area avoiding detection...particularly when it is the seat of national governance and power.  Those issues withstanding fans of shonen action titles will be pleased in the amount of extraordinary survive-ability by many of the characters.  What they won't get is any sort of down time or training arcs or a sense of reinforced companionship.  There are some well defined alliances that exists through out the story but individuals will choose to work with enemies at time for mutual goals.  This isn't a tale of right versus wrong, none of the characters are morally pure.  Instead what unravels is a significant series of events that only effect those at the center of them, nothing actually world changing transpires.  The story sets out with a vague goal in mind but the road it takes to get there is unexpected and enjoyable.  The cast of characters never gets out of hand and everyone is unique enough that they are easy to remember.

    This most recent adaptation is not the first time this 30 volume manga has been adapted to film but is the most complete version, essentially covering the entire story.  The first attempt was with a partial telling from 2008 that only churned out 13 episode and left much of the story untold.  It also saw an abridged live action telling in 2017 by Miike Takashi.  Neither of them come close to capturing the breadth and beauty of the original source material like the 2019 anime.  Aside from telling the story from start to finish it also has a higher quality of artwork compared to the 2008 anime, which left much to be desired.  For me, after nearly 25 years of fandom for this manga, it has finally received its adequate anime adaptation.  The story is aimed at a mature audience and deals with a lot of detailed dismemberment and rape.  That said its never done in a way that seems out of place.  Sure the violence can be a little over the top at times but these people are over the top.  Unfortunately what is lost in any adaptation is the amazing full page spreads that would be in every issue of the manga, artwork that Samura said in early interviews, would take him an entire day to do.

 The anime is currently available for streaming on Amazon.  The manga has been in print in English since the mid 90s and is currently available in a few formats.

Appare-Ranman!

 Appare-Ranman! (天晴爛漫!) is an original TV anime created by Hashimoto Masakazu.  The series ran for 13 episodes and aired over the Spring and Summer of 2020.

    The series is set in a fictional mashup of post Edo Japan, 1890's and the 1920's.  The series follows eccentric (both in thought and look) Sorano Appare as he casually flees Japan with his unwilling companion, upright heir to a samurai family, Isshiki Kosame.  In a set of random chances they end up across the Pacific in Los Angeles.  Once there they learn of a cross country car race that has a winning prize pool large enough to get them back home.

    The race is an effort by the largest car manufacturers to show off the new mode of transportation to the world.  Unfortunately for everyone the race ends up attracting a motley crew of criminals and weirdo's...Appare and Kosame included.  Appare is drawn to the race as a mad scientist inventor and quickly converts the steam ship that got them to America into an all terrain...boat.  Will the confident eccentric and his honor bound prisoner/companion be able to survive the challenges ahead of them as they race across the continent?

    The first thing you need to do to enjoy Appare-Ranman! is to suspend ALL belief.  The series is at its core a test in reason and reality.  The next biggest challenge is to not be distracted by the rampant stereotyping in its cast of characters.  From the the solitary black character who looks like Boosty Collins, to the vaguely Native American kid to the eye candy Chinese immigrant.  All of the primary characters have there own filled in backgrounds which directly relate to their motivations and personalities...accept for Appare.  He's just driven by his own sense of accomplishment and we really don't see his back story.  While the catalyst for the plot is the race a large portion of the anime focuses on other things, like character back stories and continuous plot derailments.  So while at first glance it looks to be a modern historical take on Speed Racer the race is more a McGuffin for the assembled cast.

    In general the series was watch-able.  I didn't watch it until it was done and crammed it in 3 sessions.  I don't think i would have kept interest if i would have watched it as it came out.  The artwork is lack luster, with lazy CG on many places and nothing entirely compelling overall.  What kept me hitting Next at the end of each episode was to see where everything was going as it really wasn't about the race.  In the end it didn't truly redeem its self for the time spent...but I also don't regret consuming it.  Would I recommend it...probably not.  You're not going to miss much is anything if skipping.

    The series is available in North America via FUNimation and their partnerships.

Sunny

Sunny is a slice of life manga by Taiyo Matsumoto.  The series has been compiled into 6 tankoboun.

    Sunny is set in a small town in 1970's Japan and deals with a group of children who have been left in the care of an orphanage known as the Star Kids Home.  The story moves between them over its course, exploring their past, their view points of life at the home and developing all of the characters personalities and the homes' environment.  There is no over arching plot line and no central character.  The closest to a central figure would be Haruo, who has lived at the home for many years after his mother abandoned him.  Haruo struggles with his parents rejection, continuously trying to reconnect with his mother, who makes things worse by having him visit her on weekends from time to time.

    The children have come to live at the home for many reasons; abandonment, guardian illness, guardian death and others.  The home is run and funded by an elderly man who has made it his life's work to take care of those who society has turned their backs on.  He, with his employees, try to do the best they can to provide some form of stability in the shattered lives of the youths who come through their door, whether it be for weeks or years.  The compassion of the people who maintain the home can only do so much for the shattered psyche's of the children though and the story deals heavily with how they cope with their reality.

    I have been a fan of Matsumoto's work since the mid 90's with Tekkonkinkreet (Black & White in Viz's Pulp) and Sunny is no different.  I relish his strangely detailed style and his worlds overflowing with reality and imagination.  What makes Sunny stand out is that much of it is based on his own life in a foster home and the people he knew there.  The realism is as stark as it is because it comes from experience on his part.  The story is layered deep with nostalgia and memory of a time now past but of things that are still relevant.  While I wouldn't count this as a critique on the orphanage system in Japan it's a good idea to keep that in the back of your mind.  Its a very difficult life to be abandoned in Japan, where traditionally even family members can be reluctant to adopt.

    Sunny has been translated and published either digitally or in fantastic hardcover editions by Viz Media and are well worth it.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Decending Stories

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Decending Stories (昭和元禄落語心中 ー助六再び篇ー) is the 12 episode continuation of the historical drama Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.  The series is based on the manga of the same name by Kumota Haruko and aired during the Winter of 2017.

   Decending Stories takes place a number of years after the original series.  Yotaro has come into his own as an apprentice under Yakumo.  He is now beginning to strike out as a professional rakugo performer.  Unfortunately his criminal past is coming back to haunt him, threatening his future in the arts.  At the same time Konatsu, still struggling with her hatred for Yakumo, has to realize her place in a world were women are considered less important.  Yotaro does his best to provide stability for Konatsu, who has recently become pregnant, by becoming her common law husband and adopting the stage name of her deceased father.

    Yakumo, facing his advancing age and the continuing decline in rakugo patronage is steadfast in his desire to prevent the art from continuing successfully once he dies.  Having been serious for his entire life he appears to have become even more cantankerous in his twilight years.  To make matters worse the guilt he feels for his past deeds begins to affect his mental health and he starts to hallucinate that Sukeroku is working on dragging him into the afterlife before his time.

    The original series was primarily set in the past as Yakumo detailed his childhood and rise in the world of rakugo to Yotaro and Konatsu, so I was only slightly hesitant when I learned that this was going to be focused more on the present time in the characters life.  Not that I had any distaste for Yotaru, I was really enthralled by Yakumo and his earlier life.  Though, given where the original series ended it only makes sense to continue in the way it did.  That said it was every bit as fascinating and enthralling of a story.  There is something mesmerizing in the way the characters lives are displayed for the viewer that makes this series special.

   Aside from the excellent story telling, both dealing with the characters lives and the depiction of the rakugo they perform, the artwork stands out among the crows as well.  The characters are stylized in a classic shojo manner, having qualities more homely than lustful.  There is fine attention to detail in the characters mannerisms and facial expressions, which is important to both the rakugo and making the characters more believable.  Its always refreshing to see properly done mouths!  There are really only two things that bothered me with this, the first is how annoying Yotaro's voice really is.  Loud, shrill and abrasive, sometimes on a ridiculous level.  I can't tell if its just bad voice acting or intentional, but it can sometimes dampen the mood set by the story its self.  The other troubling thing is that the series really has no room for expansion.  It ends really well with a nice and tidy final episode.  I really enjoyed both series and would like to see more in the world of these characters, because the story telling is so well done.  Oh well, I can always re-watch them!

    This series, like the original, are available on Crunchyroll in North America.  There is no word on anyone picking up the license for hard copy or dub release, which is a bit of a shame, but sadly I don't see a large fan-base for this excellent and mature story.

91 Days

91 Days is a 12 episode original period drama by Studio Pierrot.  The series originally aired in Japan over the summer of 2016.

    Set in a fictitious Midwestern American town during prohibition the story follows Angelo Lagusa as he exacts revenge on the people responsible for killing his family.  When Avilio was a child his father, mother and brother were gunned down one night by members of the Vanetti Family.  Avilio's father was a book keeper for the mob and for some reason a hit was put out on him.  Seven years after the murder he returns to his home, the town called Lawless, on an anonymous tip as to who pulled the trigger. 

    Angelo, using the pseudonym Avilio, infiltrates the Vanetti Familly in order to get closer to his targets, still unsure of everyone involved.  He, with the help of a childhood friend, work their way into the mob's lucrative bootleg business.  Unfortunately his presence and his friends liquor stir up a sleeping rivalry between Lawless' rival mafia families.  Angelo see's this as a perfect opportunity to kill the people responsible for the deaths of his family.  Time for a whiskey soaked blood bath.

    The quality of the artwork and the sometimes ridiculous characters detract from what is actually a pretty engaging story with some good development and secrets.  It does suffer at times from pacing issues, particularly when a good chunk of time is used in a story where Angelo helps the son of the Vanetti don skip town after war breaks out with a rival family.  The second half of the story seems rushed at times, but I think production was behind schedule and in serious danger of not meeting deadlines.  At one point there was a recap filler episode and the final episode was delayed and broadcast as an hour long.  Production errors aside the story its self was pretty good.  Not heavy on character development the real meat was the unfolding revenge story its self.  With its massive flaws 91 Days still ended up being a relatively enjoyable story.  It could have been a lot better in many area's but the story it's self was well done, even if it has some problems with its execution and pacing.  Have I mentioned the artwork is low quality for modern standards?

    Angelo is an emotionless uncaring character who at times can be difficult to root for.  The character I had the most sympathy was the Vanetti son, Nero, who seemed to be the most empathetic member of the entire cast.  Though at the end of the day he was still a hardened criminal and murderer.  There is no attempt at salvation and forgiveness for Angelo, he fully dirties his hands and is only driven for revenge.  Nothing else matters to him and you wonder if he even has any drive to survive his revenge.  It seems that once he has achieved it he will lie down and die, his life's purpose being complete.  Some of the other characters are interesting and note worthy as well, but over all much of the focus is on Angelo and Nero.

    The series simulcast on Crunchyroll and also received a dub treatment.  Since the dub exists I expect there might be some disc release at some point, but I wouldn't be surprised if it never actually materialized.  The series was a nice change of pace though.

A Distant Neighborhood

A Distant Neighborhood (遥かな町へ) is a slice of life drama by Taniguchi Jiro.  The manga was originally published between 1998 and 1999 and was compiled into 2 tankoubon.

    Hiroshi lives a moderately satisfying salaryman's life.  He works hard, has a devoted wife and two daughters on the cusp of adulthood.  But something nags at him as he goes through the motions of life.  After a night of heavy drinking he ends up on the wrong train on his way to a meeting.  He finds himself back at his childhood town.  To waste some time he visits his mothers grave where he begins to reflect on her difficult life following his fathers sudden disappearance.  Something overcomes him and the next thin he knows he is back in his 14 year old body, living in 1964.

    Suddenly having the body of a 14 year old and the mind and experiences of a 48 year old can be beneficial but Hiroshi has to be careful with what he says and does.  He has somehow traveled back in time to occupy his past self.  It would be close to impossible to convince anyone of what was going on but his personality and experiences are too far removed to be able to pretend to be his teenage self.  Once he accepts he is stuck in the past he decides he will do everything he can to prevent his father from leaving.  Unfortunately he seems to be altering his past little by little and he is uncertain if he can return to his rightful time, if the life he had been taking for granted will be there for him.

    I am a sucker for good time travel stories and this is a pretty good one.  The characters are well developed and Hiroshi's dilemma and concerns are easily relatable.  Revisiting the past and altering things, correcting mistakes, is a universal desire.  What would it be like for you to revisit your past life with the experience and knowledge you have gained?  How would you do things differently and what would you be able to ultimately change?  I appreciated the fact that Hiroshi was not overly occupied with maintaining the past as it was.  He was at first enjoying his new found vitality, reliving past experiences and building new ones.  Eventually the concern for correcting the one thing in his past that he regretted the most started to take form and he focused on how to change it.  It wasn't like some time travel stories where the characters focus is  on preserving the past or the search to undo their situation.  Instead it focused on Hiroshi going with the flow and accidentally/intentionally tweaking it a little.  There was no grand search for a return to his present, only concern for how he could correct this one thing while maintaining the life he knew.

    Taniguchi, having grown up in the post war years, may have used this as a little bit of his own personal life fantasy.  There is a chance that part of him was displayed in Hiroshi and his life as a child.  Given what group of artists he is part of the artwork is classic in character design and layout, very different from modern manga or even manga from the 90's.  The style, while intentionally his own, does well with the type and era of the story.  I can't think of a better way to present it, even if it isn't the prettiest looking artwork, especially when compared with some of the top names of the current generation.  It is simple, realistic and nostalgic.

    The manga has been available in English for a while now through Ponent Mon who just released a large single volume version of the manga.  Definitely worth picking up.

A Drifting Life

A Drifting Life (劇画漂流) is a historical slice of life by Tatsumi Yoshihiro.  The manga was originally published between 1996 and 2005 and was collected into to 2 tankoubon in Japan and one large compiled volume in English.

    The story follows the main character Hiroshi, who is a fictional stand in for the author himself, over 15 years of his life.  The story begins in post war Japan when the young protagonist begins to submit his manga to magazines for publication.  To his surprise some of his 4-koma manga gets published and he begins to realize a career in manga.  Quickly he is drawn into more than just drawing and writing and collaborates with a handful of other artists to create a small publication to showcase their own work.  These effort attract the help of Tezuka Osamu, who the author begins a professional relationship with over the years.

    As the author see's more of his works published he begins to want to change the boundaries of the medium.  Heavily influenced by flood of foreign films and cinema in general, Hiroshi tries to convey through his art and writing manga that isn't manga.  In order to make a living he has to publish small stories for publications aimed at the profitable rental manga world.  Usually comprised of styles the editors suggest to help boost sales of the magazines.  He also publishes single volume works but wants to do something more fluid and connected, struggling for a prolonged story.  As his art matures the manga industry is plagued with criticism from school an parent organizations for being inappropriate for children.  This pushes him further to come up with manga that is recognized as something different that is meant for mature audiences, something other than entertainment, something with meaning and depth.

    This is a fantastic look at both the struggles manga authors face in regards to their creative freedom.  But most importantly this is a great lesson in a pivotal point in modern manga.  The industry as we know it now really got its start in this time and the changes that the country went through also greatly affected the industry.  Tatsumi is one of the key players in the world of respectable and mature manga, or as he preferred it to be referred to, gekiga.  The changes he was a part of helped to usher in a new way of accessing manga, helping to keep it relevant in the TV age and beyond.  He came into his own as the medium was making the transition from 4-koma sketch manga to full blown dramatic story telling.  Publishers had to figure out how to remain relevant with the decline of rental manga and to persuade consumers to purchase publications for themselves as the economy exploded.

    The artwork is what it is, Tatsumi has a classic style for his characters, a style many younger readers will be turned off by.  But his is a master in exposition and layout as the story flow smoothly from the transitions of time and location.  The strength of the series is its fly on the wall depiction of the philosophies at that time behind the medium and the things that made it change and grow into what we know today.  If you want a detailed explanation of how to be a manga artist read Bakuman.  This manga is for a historical and scholarly look at the medium and it is a great read for that.  The story will probably bore younger readers who are more interested is impressive fight scenes but if you want to know more about the medium instead of just consuming it this is a great piece to read and enjoy.

    The English version was released by Drawn and Quarterly and should grace the book shelf of any serious manga fan.

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ) is a full length historical drama feature, the 'final' movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki.  The film is based on the manga of the same name by Miyazaki and was released in 2013.

    The film follows a fictionalized account of the life and formative years of Japanese aeronautical engineer Horikoshi Jiro.  From his comfortable childhood, dreaming of being an airplane pilot as the first world war ended.  Realizing he would be unable to fly due to his near nearsightedness, he instead turns his focus to engineering and design.  The film follows him to Tokyo to attend university.  He arrives as the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes and meets a girl, Naoko, and her handmaid, who is injured during the earthquake.  In school he questions design idea's and Japan's ability to match Western technological achievements. 

    He and a classmate are recruited to work for Mitsubishi after college and they begin working on prototypes for military aircraft as Japan is ramping up its campaign to invade Manchuria.  Jiro's intelligence and design abilities allow him to visit Germany to study their aircraft, where in turn he see's the beginning of the Nazi party.  After returning to Japan, a prototype he works on fails and he goes on an extended vacation to re-calibrate his mind.  While staying in a villa he meets Naoko again and they fall in love.  Naoko has TB and is uncertain of their future.  When he returns to work he learns the secret police are looking for him, related to a strange foreign man he met while on leave.  His boss hides him while he begins to work on the design of a new fighter aircraft that Mitsubishi will try to sell to the Navy, what would ultimately become the AMG Zero.

    Horikoshi was a real person and he did design the famous Japanese fighter plane the Zero for Mitsubishi.  He was also a known critic of war in general and the imperial government of Japan.  Yet much of the story beyond the design idea's and a few key dates is mostly fictional, some taken from a novel written by Hori Tatsuo about a woman suffering from tuberculosis.  Which brings me to the problem with this movie, it is rather disjointed and incoherent at times.  Unless you are a student of history the progression of time in the movie is rather vague and confusing.  Key historical events are mostly used to mark the passage of time, but they aren't always apparent.

    Jiro's lucid dreaming complicates things as well, causing reality and fantasy to be blurred at times.  Much of the anti-war sentiment in the movie is heavy handed.  Aside from wanting to succeed in creating an aircraft there is little motivation for the things Jiro does.  Secondary characters show up merely as a way to progress the plot, if left to his own the protagonist would undoubtedly wile away his time with his drafting tools instead of accomplishing anything remotely dramatic.  The romance aspect, while forced into existence, was quaint and cheerfully doomed and completely changed the tone of the second half of the movie.  The impact it had on the success of failure of Jiro to succeed in his job was forced and sloppy.  In my mind it really only showcased him as a caricature of the ideal Japanese worker, willing to sacrifice his personal life to fulfill his work life.

    I don't want to come down on the artwork, but the character designs in the movie were more of a regression for Miyazaki.  While not bad they seemed to show an amount of apathy towards the production of the film.  A film Miyazaki himself was convinced to make, initially not wanting to do it, stating the manga was initially to occupy himself.  There are aspects of the art that are fantastic, most notably the way Jiro's glasses distorted his face, I have never seen that done so realistically before.  But other things didn't fit, particularly the strange fantastical air craft designs from the dream sequences.  Strange designs Miyazaki seems to have a fondness for that seemed out of place in this movie.

    The last thing I want to be critical of is Anno Hideaki's voice acting.  It was rather lack luster and unimpressive.  There was little motion and little inflection to enhance the character of Jiro, making him seem rather flat and emotionless.  Anno should just stick to directing.  If you want to see why/how Miyazaki picked him to do the lead role watch the documentary on Studio Ghibli. 

    In the end The Wind Rises should have been a beautiful opus for the second most important anime director, instead it seemed like a half hearted project made only to serve the man's personal interests instead of telling a compelling and coherent story.  I was disappointed in the film to say the least.  It felt like two unrelated films haphazardly mashed together; one about a Japanese innovator and the other a tragic tale of a woman with TB.

    It is currently available via Disney in North America and features a dub with some notable Hollywood actors.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa (劇場版 鋼の錬金術師 シャンバラを征く者) is the 2005 theatrical release that concludes the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist TV series.  The movie is an original story that is derived from the TV series and is not based on anything in the manga.

    Warning: Spoilers of the original TV series ahead.

    Picking up where the TV series left off, we find Ed trapped in our world and Al back in their world, fully restored but 4 years younger and missing all of his memories from that time period.  Ed has found Al's counterpart and both are living in Munich.  It is the early 1920's and Germany is suffering under the conditions of the end of the first World War.  Ed is trying to use scientific technology in place of alchemy to find a way to return home with real world Al, working in the emerging field of rocketry.  At a country fair Ed saves a gypsy girl named Noah, who looks an awful lot like Rose.  Doing so brings unwanted attention from a group of dangerous nationalists...what will soon become the Nazi party.

    Ed stumbles upon this worlds version of King Bradly only to learn he is a kind film director, Fritz Lang, who explains to him about a secret organization the Thule Society.  Ed accompanies Fritz on a goose chase to find a legendary white serpent, only to discover it is Envy, who also survived going through the gate.  The Thule Society arrives and captures Envy, to use in a magical experiment to bring weapons of unparalleled power in the coming war they want to wage.  A war to regain Germany's glory.  Ed discovers they are using a version of alchemy and are attempting to open up The Gate and invade his own world.

    At the same time Al has been traveling the world, researching a way to bring Ed back, believing he is still alive.  In Liore he meets Rose and Armstrong just as an army of automaton armored suits burst from the ground and begin to attack the city.  By transmuting part of his soul, Al is able to control them.  He learns they came through The Gate and by sending them back through he ends up making contact with Ed for a brief period of time.  With the brothers confirming each others existence both work on their own to reconnect.  Ed works to stop the Thule Societies mad goals and to try and get back through the gate to his own world.

    At the end of the original series you are left with a feeling of loss and regret.  The brothers attained their goals but have been separated as a result.  The movie picks up with that plight and shows the story of them working to reunite.  As always their personal goals run parallel with them fighting against a grave threat to peace and stability.  Since it is a movie the artwork is higher quality than the limited animation of the TV show.  The art is good but suffers when they try to use rudimentary cell shading CG.  The best thing aside from continuing the brothers adventures is seeing what everyone who survived the TV series has been up to since.  It's also fun to see a few of the side characters alternate personalities in the real world.

    The story wraps up rather nicely by the end of the series and concludes the non-cannon version.  It does a really god job of using real events that happened as the backdrop as well.  If you watch the original TV series it is crucial that the movie is watched as well.  Unlike so many of it's peers, the movie is a continuation of the story instead of some side story that can be forgotten.  As well, the movie's license has expires and will soon be difficult to source, so pick it up while its still affordable and enjoy an entertaining historical story with your favorite characters.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist ( 鋼の錬金術師) is a 51 episode shonen action series based on the manga of the same name by Arakawa Hiromu.  The original TV anime series aired between 2003 and 2004.

    Edward and Alphonse are desperate orphans.  Using the knowledge they gained from the library of their absentee father, Hohenheim, they use alchemy to try and resurrect their recently deceased mother.  Things go horribly wrong and they realize why using alchemy to bring back the dead is forbidden.  The 'science' is guided by laws of equivalent exchange, something given for something gotten.  The price they paid for trying to revive their mother was Al's body and Ed's leg.  In an act of desperation Ed sacrifices his arm in order to bind Al's soul to a suit of armor.

    Their goal, realizing the error in their ways, is to do whatever they can to restore their bodies.  The pair is driven by the idea of a power source that will allow them to amplify their alchemy, the Philosophers Stone.  Ed chooses the path of joining the military as a State Alchemist in order to access greater knowledge and research possibilities.  In their studies and subsequent travels they begin to unravel a dark history of war and sacrifice.  The brothers realize they may not be able to atone for their sins without loosing their humanity.

    I'm not sure why I never did a review of this series.  More than likely it is because I watched it before I began my blog over 10 years ago.  So after watching it with my kids I figured I could review it properly.  As I get into it there will be some spoilers, but the series is old enough and popular enough it shouldn't matter too much.  It was nice to return to this series which I enjoyed quite a bit.  The artwork seems to of held up over the years and the story was engaging like I remember it from 12 years ago.  But in the end I remembered the one thing that was nagging on me, it loses a bit of steam.  The series had this world that it had been building up, the first half sticking well enough with the manga.  Due to the series coming out prematurely, the second half trails off course from the manga's progression.  It starts to get a bit weird in the second half and the origins of the homunculi differ from the manga.  In the end the series ties into the real world through The Gate and at one point Ed finds himself in London during an air raid.

    In the end of the series you are left on a down note.  It doesn't end nice and tidy, the good guys aren't necessarily victorious.  This is one thing that sets it apart from its shonen action brethren.  Other things that make this series stand out is it's message of humanity and lose.  Ed and Al struggle the entire time though overtly selfish desires but their compassion see's them doing everything they can to help those that are helpless.  Even one of their main enemies, Scar, earns their respect and understanding at one point.  Some people complain they don't grow and mature in the series.  That their personalities don't change enough from beginning to end.  But honestly, that's how people really are, set in their ways.  The biggest struggle they face is how much of their humanity they want to sacrifice to gain what they want.

    In the end Fullmetal Alchemist is a fantastic series, but even with 51 episodes it could have done with about 3 or 4 of them and still told the story well.  The story wrapped up really well with the feature length movie, Conqueror of Shamballa.  The license to distribute it in North America expired March of 2016, so snag up the disc releases while you can at a good price.  They won't last long and there is no word on when it will be renewed.  For the time being it is also available on FUNimations website and Hulu.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (昭和元禄落語心中) is a 13 episode historical slice of life drama based on the manga of the same name by Kumota Haruka.  The anime originally aired in the winter of 2016.

    Lowly yakuza underling Kyoji leaves prison with one goal in mind, to become an apprentice to the rakugo master Yakumo the 8th.  He tracks down and throws himself at the wary elderly man, but something causes him to consider allowing Kyoji to be his apprentice.  Something he has never done in the years since he has been a full fledged rakugo performer.  Rakugo is a one man story telling performance that saw a resurgence following World Was 2 but has almost faded in modern times.

    Yakumo the 8th see's in the energetic but dim witted Kyoji a chance to make reparations for a promise he was unable to keep to the man who grew up with him in the art form, a man who's daughter he adopted when she was young and raised as his own.  He decides to recount his life's story to Kyoji and his adopted daughter to explain how he became the person they know.  It is also a way for him to reflect and atone for his difficult life.

    After putting off the praises from all corners of the otaku interwebs I finally broke down near the end of its simulcast and started watching this series...I was sorry that I waited as long as I did, but grateful I came around.  This is an excellent drama that is driven by its characters and their lives.  The story spans decades of time and beyond the first episode and parts of the last, lives entirely in the past.  Yakumo the 8th recounts his life from when he was forced into rakugo apprenticeship after his prostitute mother abandoned him.  It details the struggles he encounters in his apprenticeship, his personal relationship with the man he apprenticed along side and the challenges the art form faced during and after the reconstruction.  It paints a vivid story of a handful of characters and how the drastically changing world affected them.

    The artwork isn't the greatest but it fits the story perfectly.  It reminded me of a cross between House of Five Leaves and Kids on the Slope honestly.  The character designs are simplistic, Yakumo the 8th is a little strange looking, but the backgrounds and directing are excellent.  What really drew me in was the rakugo performances themselves, of which each episode usually has segments of at least one performance.  I can only imagine how mesmerizing it is/was to see it in person with how entrancing it is in the anime.  The power of the story is through the performer being able to convey the different characters he is performing, separating out their personalities, as well as painting the scenery of the story through the dialogue and minute miming.  You can close your eyes, focusing on the words themselves and life with in the world that is being expressed.

    The anime handled the performances with grace, allowing the dialogue and the characters movements to paint most of the picture.  It would have been easy to drift off and fully animate the stories instead very little was done to enhance the words themselves, which added so much more to the performance in my mind.  If possible, I think the next time I am in Tokyo I may have to see if rakugo is done any longer, I would love to experience it at least once.

    Anyways, this was amazingly well done and it really sets its self apart from so many other anime out there, past or present.  It isn't for everyone though, as there is no action and a whole ton of well done dialogue.  It is a cut and dry drama about characters with unique and well developed personalities and the way they struggle with themselves and others.  It is a fascinating period piece about a unique art form and unique circumstances of Japan before the modern era and leading up to it.  I highly recommend this amazing series.

    It was simulcast on Crunchyroll and I believe Sentai will be releasing it on video at some point.  No word on the manga though, which is a shame.  However, there is fantastic news that a second season will be produced and aired at some point, this time telling more of Kyoji's tale.