Mayoiga: The Lost Village Episode #4 Review

What is there to discuss? We need to leave as soon as possible.

What They Say:

A shady bus tour of young men and women are headed to an elusive village called Nanakimura. A destination where people can partake in a utopian existence, free of the world's obstacles... or so goes the rumor. Heading deep into the mountains, the bus is carrying 30 different individuals, each harboring their own expectations and troubled hearts. What they had arrived to was an uninhabited village with lingering, faint scents of life. It was falling apart. Just what is the secret of Nanakimura?

The Review:
Content:(Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

After Mitsumune and Maimai spot Yottsun's body floating down the river, the group organizes yet another search party to scour the area and uncover his body. In the midst of their search, a loud noise resembling a roar of some sorts is heard off in the distance, prompting the search the end and beckoning the group back to their camp. Upon arrival back in the actual village, tensions begin to rise between several members of the camp. People like Dahara and Mitsumune think the best course of action is to stay where they are until they can figure out what's going on, while Mikage, Hayato, and most of the others think they should leave as soon possible. Needless to say, the increase in tension and difference in ideas sparks two separate groups instead of one large conglomerate. Dahara's group will stay in Nanakimura; Mikage's group will leave in the morning.

On Dahara's side, things remain relatively calm. The biggest concern, however, becomes the bus driver (Who had elected to stay in the village). After Koharun mentions that she has noticed said bus driver acting a little strangely, she and Valkana begin to follow him. Eventually, he stops at what looks like a grave or a shrine or something and starts chasing after a little girl. In the midst of his chase, he is stopped by the rest of the group and forced to tell them what he was chasing after. As it turns out, that little girl was nothing more than his deceased daughter. As if random roars and floating bodies wasn't enough, now we have to deal with hallucinations and ghosts. GREAT.

On Mikage's side, things are a little more interesting. During an earlier conversation between him and Valkana, Mikage raises the question, "What if one of us is trying to kill the others?" Valkana isn't immediately dismissive of this and seems to hear Mikage out as he begins to list his reasons for suspecting Koharun. Unable to convince Valkana to come with them, Mikage and his group set out to look for help in the morning. This group, being the larger of the two, winds up on a lengthy trek in the forest that...doesn't really go as planned. The bus, which the group had planned on taking, was not going to budge even slightly. And, as if that wasn't enough, more noises start being heard off in the distance. As the noises get closer and closer, Mikage's group starts to speed up and, after going in a giant circle, they finally come to a set of train track that they decide on following. Even if those tracks don't lead them where they planned on going, it will still lead them away from Nanakimura -- and that's pretty much the only thing that matters at this point. 

Eventually, those train tracks lead Mikage's group to a tunnel. Of course, this is where the next cliffhanger ending comes into play as whatever the group saw at the other end of the tunnel sends them screaming and frantically running back outside. And, according to Maimai, what they actually did see was...a giant Mitsumune? What?

In Summary: 

This is, in my opinion, the best episode of Mayoiga so far. Tensions finally build up enough to cause a fissure capable of separating one large group into two smaller ones. That being said, we get a steady dose of two linear plots at once that both begin to pick up suspenseful steam. The mysteries become a little less typical with the addition of hallucinations (On Dahara's side) and a [possibly looping?] landscape surrounding and closing in on Mikage's group. Either way, it's definitely unclear what's going on at this point in time and it really makes Mayoiga something to look forward to in the coming weeks. I'm getting flashbacks to Lost while watching this series, and that's totally a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Mayoiga: The Lost Village Episode #3 Review

Why are you sticking up for a criminal?!

What They Say:

A shady bus tour of young men and women are headed to an elusive village called Nanakimura. A destination where people can partake in a utopian existence, free of the world's obstacles... or so goes the rumor. Heading deep into the mountains, the bus is carrying 30 different individuals, each harboring their own expectations and troubled hearts. What they had arrived to was an uninhabited village with lingering, faint scents of life. It was falling apart. Just what is the secret of Nanakimura?

The Review:
Content:(Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

At the end of last week's episode, we were left with the cliffhanger ending of Yottsun and Masaki being totally MIA. Luckily for us, though, Masaki is discovered huddled against a tree in the woods after a search party is formed. Completely terrified (Or at least acting that way...dun dun dun) Masaki goes on to retell the events of yesterday in a brief, possibly true yet possibly false story. According to her, Yottsun had just decided to wander off for no reason as the two were walking through Nanakimura -- disappearing into the woods and not being seen again. However, several members of the group are quick to denounce this tale of Masaki's and, instead, create some theories of their own. Regardless, Yottsun is still missing -- but who cares about that guy anyway?

Considering one of the more prominent Yottsun-theories is that he tried to rape Masaki and then ran way after feeling bad about it (Something not very commonly done by rapists), the group decides to split into four smaller groups to better flesh out sleeping arrangements. However, one of these arrangements puts eyepatch-ponytail-man and Jack in the same room. Ponytail then goes on a rant about how Jack is stealing his image and after one thing leads to another, Jack attacks ponytail man with a garden hoe and ruins his jacket. Devastated by the loss of his favorite jacket, ponytail man states that Jack must be killed or something like that. Needless to say, the group decides against killing Jack and instead locks him away in a nearby jail Valkana found while looking for Yottsun and Masaki. One thing we learn about Jack, though, is that Maimai actually used to go to school with him. Turns out that Jack once attacked another student in school as a result of constant bullying. Of course, this doesn't matter to Lovepon and she cries about how he needs to be executed either way.

As the day comes to an end, Mitsumune is left with an uneasy feeling about leaving Jack all alone in his jail cell. Filled with sympathy, he makes his way toward the cabin Jack is kept in and ultimately comes across Maimai on the way. As it turns out Maimai isn't actually a bitch -- she's just tsundere! Who knew? Mitsumune and Maimai talk for a bit before they are joined by Lovepon, also on her way to see Jack. Well, actually, she's on her way to ensure that Jack is executed...but it doesn't look like that is going to happen tonight. After Maimai and Mitsumune confront Lovepon about how you can't just kill everybody, she throws a temper tantrum and tackles Mitsumune literally off of a bridge and into the water. After fighting off being drowned by Lovepon (And seeing her bra. Woo.), Mitsumune starts running away -- only to find Yottsun's body floating down the river.

Good.

In Summary:

Mayoiga's third instalment has more of the same stuff we've been seeing since the series began. With things beginning to heat up a bit, I'd say it's only a matter of time until this show starts getting really Lord Of The Flies-ish. The tension growing amongst some of the characters is definitely going to keep this series interesting, even if the plot (For some reason) begins to slow down. With glimpses into the pasts of characters like Valkana and Jack, it's safe to say that we're finding out more information about the group each episode. I'm just curious to see why Lovepon is...the way she is.

Grade: B

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Grimgar Of Fantasy And Ash Complete Series Anime Review

There are wounds that even magic can't heal.

What They Say:

Fear, survival, instinct. Thrown into a foreign land with nothing but hazy memories and the knowledge of their name, they can feel only these three emotions resonating deep within their souls. A group of strangers is given no other choice than to accept the only paying job in this game-like world—the role of a soldier in the Reserve Army—and eliminate anything that threatens the peace in their new world, Grimgar. When all of the stronger candidates join together, those left behind must create a party together to survive: Manato, a charismatic leader and priest; Haruhiro, a nervous thief; Yume, a cheerful hunter; Shihoru, a shy mage; Moguzo, a kind warrior; and Ranta, a rowdy dark knight. Despite its resemblance to one, this is no game—there are no redos or respawns; it is kill or be killed. It is now up to this ragtag group of unlikely fighters to survive together in a world where life and death are separated only by a fine line.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

What would you do if you woke up in a mysterious land, surrounded only by others in the same exact predicament? It's a generalized story that has been pulled out for generations now, but it never seems to lessen the impact and urgency in terms of the grand scheme. They say that fear is the most primitive human emotion out there -- that it surpasses even joy or desire. That being said, fear of the unknown may, perhaps, be the most commonplace mindset to ever find its way inside us. Needless to say, when Haruhiro wakes up in the uncharted land of Grimgar, he is stricken with not only fear but the complete and utter need to survive. And how can you survive in unknown territory? By teaming up with others.

And so begins the tale of "Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash." Right off the bat, Haruhiro falls into line with who can be assumed to be the misfits of the initial group. With many of the stronger, more brazen members breaking off into units of their own, we are left with a small group of people more confused than determined. But, I mean, who can blame them? No one even knows why they're here at this point let alone where they even come from to begin with. Without any money or a means of survival, Haruhiro and the others make it a priority to do anything it takes to survive. Luckily for them, the inn nearby is able to provide a few tips for new adventurers looking to get out into the world. After receiving recruit badges and choosing their respective combat classes, Haru's party sets a course for their new lives, lead by a priest named Manato.

At first glance, this series seems like just another adventure/fantasy anime. (MAJOR SPOILER INCOMING) But after Manato dies in battle one day, both the party and the viewers receive a bit of a wake-up call. Death isn't specific to just humans, it can be felt by all living things. What makes our party different than the goblins and other monsters they are trying to combat? With major tinges of Darwinism and even broken economical structure, Grimgar launches headfirst into a beautifully animated depiction of society, war, and loss that parallels everything good and evil in this world. In my opinion, the most hard-hitting line of the show came in just the first arc when Haruhiro and the others are trying to lay rest to Manato. After bringing his body to an elder priest to try and have him resurrected, the priest states that the dead can not be brought back and that they must perform a burial for their fallen comrade -- to which Haruhiro replies, "And I guess that costs silver too?" This single line perfectly demonstrates the harsh realities of this world. Even though their friend and leader just died right in front of them, the dual problem of having no money to even perform a proper burial for him creeps up and plunges the series toward a path that seems devoid of all hope whatsoever. Haru's party is left in shambles.

After this, everything in Grimgar is just about redemption -- how if the group is going to survive, someone needs to step up and take charge. Eventually, Haru falls into the place of the leader, despite being inexperienced and extremely unsure oh his own ability. In addition to this, the party takes on a priest with baggage of her own -- Mary (Or Merry as some people call her). Mary, being accompanied by the traumatic experience of having her previous party slain due to her lack of mana, struggles to break free from her shell and be the priest that Manato was. This, of course, leads to a series of mental breakdowns as our main characters come to terms with the abruptness that, at many times, rushes in alongside death. It is evident that everyone has their own problems and that these problems will never be put to rest without the help of others. And even though this seems like such an obvious solution, nothing remains obvious in the face of peril. Instead, our party struggles just to get by and has an incredibly difficult time for what seems like months.

Instead of detailing the content from the final arc (Which was absolutely phenomenal if you want a two-word synopsis), I'm going to talk about a method Grimgar consistently uses to further the emotional impact of the series. The use of music is a surprising tool Grimgar pulls out to better expose the nature of the world. At several times throughout the series, things basically turn into a sort of music video that slowly details the calmer parts of the world over the course of a few minutes. And I don't mean the characters break out into song -- it's a lot more subtle than that. Essentially, the characters break up for brief periods and just go on with their lives, whether it be shopping, eating, or drinking. But whatever it is, there's a short period of solace accompanied by expertly selected music to better illustrate the mood. This, in itself, begins to contrast dark with light -- showing that there is no sorrow that comes unaccompanied by joy, even if said joy is shortlived. These moments, though hated by some, are an extremely important part of the series that I firmly believe were executed flawlessly.

There is a lot to be praised about Grimgar, I think I've made that clear. But one more thing that needs to be noted before we wrap this up is just how real some of these characters are. In terms of having actual feelings, it seemed like the cast of Grimgar was a few leagues above a lot of other anime. When tragic things would happen (Which they do rather frequently), each character would deal with it in a fashion anchored to no one but themselves. It's weird, these drawings felt like real people that were actually being affected by these things instead of just characters written in to showcase artificial feelings. And even though each character had their own unique take on the world, when things got bad all of the sorrow would become congruent and coalesce into a single idea -- that sadness is universal.

In Summary:

With an enchanting soundtrack and beautiful, watercolored backgrounds, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is an endearing adventure series that is a thematic colossus. So many of the lessons jam packed into this anime parallel our world as a whole while, at the same time, raising many thought-provoking questions. In a way, Grimgar itself may be a symbol for purgatory. This theory is just one of many that can be brought up in an effort to describe what the show means to a specific person. But just the fact that viewers can devise their own take on things and pull their own meanings out of everything makes Grimgar something special. With a brief course of only 12 episodes that stays interesting and important throughout the entire duration, I would go on to recommend this to anyone. This is a sleeping giant.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Funimation

How To Raise A Boring Girlfriend Vol. #1 Manga Review

That was the day...I met with destiny.

Creative Staff:

Original Story: Fumiaki Maruto

Art: Takeshi Moriki

Character Design: Kurehito Misaki

Translation: Kumar Sivasubramanian

Translation Consultant: Chitoku Teshima

Lettering: Phil Christie

What They Say:

Aspiring visual-novel game designer Aki Tomoya thinks he's just met his dream girl, but reality comes crashing down when he finds out that this girl is none other than his beautiful but boring classmate Megumi Kato! Fueled by a desire to make Megumi the heroine of his dating sim game, he recruits two more beauties - Eriri, his artistic childhood friend, and Utaha, a genius writing prodigy - to form Blessing Software. The road to making a dating sim game is full of fun and romance - especially when life begins to imitate art!

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

Back in early 2015, I was immediately hooked on a show titled "Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (Or "How To Raise a Boring Girlfriend") so as soon as I caught wind up the manga adaptation being published in English, I kind of freaked out. The thing is, I didn't catch wind of that until about two months after it had already happened. So it was kind of like someone threw a surprise party for me that I never showed up to and when I finally did, like four people were still there. Regardless, I grabbed this right away in hopes that the manga would be able to deliver an experience that could parallel my relationship with the animated series. And boy, I was not let down. In fact, this could wind up being even better -- and that's saying a lot considering just how much I love the original series.

Saekano (Which is what I'm just going to refer to this as because there is no way in hell I'm typing out the full title more than once per article) follows the same basic plotline that the anime did. Tomoya Aki has a chance encounter with a girl (Megumi Katou) whose hat flies off her head and lands right in front of our protagonist. The downside to this fated scene from a visual novel turned real is that Katou is essentially the most boring person of all time. She has almost no expression ever, she speaks monotonously, and she doesn't even really have any interests. At least not yet. Tomoya, being a super otaku, has big plans of transforming her into a girl that will melt the hearts of everyone (Albeit a video game version) -- hence the title of "How to Raise a blah blah blah." 

So, what Tomoya plans to do is create a visual novel with the help of a few select individuals, each of which is reluctant to join him. The first of these is his childhood friend and famed Pixiv dojinshi artist, Eriri Spencer-Sawamura (Also known as best girl). Second is his senpai, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who has already built up quite the following due to her light novel series "Metronome In Love". This visual novel can't be started, however, until everyone is on board for the project. So, first thing's first, Tomoya needs to get Megumi to accept and appreciate the culture of dating sims and visual novels. After literally forcing her to marathon a few games and books with him, she begins to understand Tomoya's interests. This is probably due to the fact that she has no personality and her brain is essentially devoid of fun. Either way, it winds up working and she and Aki quickly become a determined duo. Well, at least Tomoya is determined. Katou is kind of just there.

The next hurdle is going to be Eriri (I hate typing that name, by the way). However, this hurdle winds up being less of an obstacle than expected thanks to some good old-fashioned blackmail. Tomoya apparently replaced the last disc in a bluray set that Eriri had borrowed with some insanely grotesque horror material that caused her to have a bit of a mental breakdown. This, of course, leads to Eriri spending some time in Aki's room with him and Katou because, you know, childhood friends and jealousy and stuff. After the three marathon a series that both Tomoya and Eriri are clearly fond of, it's evident that the tsundere childhood friend will ultimately wind up joining the project. At the same time, though, she must protect her reputation at school. So obviously the best thing to do in order to preserve said reputation is to threaten Katou with unbridled violence that will be unleashed if she utters a word about the "real" Sawamura. Scary.

The third and final girl that must be forced/brought onto the project is Kasumigaoka. Tomoya winds up approaching this hurdle in a more sly manner, however. After getting Katou to read through "Metronome In Love," she winds up becoming pretty infatuated with it. As it turns out, Aki planned on bringing Katou to an autograph signing the author is holding nearby. What Katou didn't know, though, is that the writer of the series goes to the same school as her. Being shocked by not only the situation but that Kasumigaoka is friends (Kind of) with Aki, she winds up talking about how much she loves Metronome to her in a pretty fangirly way. This winds up prompting Utaha to be less harsh considering that Katou was generally happy to meet her -- as opposed to Tomoya just being Tomoya. It was actually pretty cute. In the end, Tomoya and Katou somehow manage to get Utaha to at least think about joining their project. However, nothing is clear at the moment and we must wait until the next volume to see how things progress.

In Summary:

I'm not being biased when I say that the first volume of Saekano is impressive on all fronts. The art is some of the cleanest I have ever seen, which is extremely impressive due to the slightly unpopular nature of the series. The text is incredibly detailed and clear as well, sporting a massive word total for the 160ish pages the volume has to offer. Massive word totals, which can very easily become something that forces a manga to grow boring and uninteresting, actually wind up working in Saekano's favor and force the reader to move on through well-written comedy and a plethora of popular allusions. To top it all off, there's even an extensive list of those allusions (As well as some Japanese words and references) located in the back of the volume. It's evident that an extraordinary amount of care was put into this series and I'm extremely happy with the overall outcome. I highly urge anyone into romantic comedies and gaming to pick this up.

Content Grade: A

Art Grade: A+

Packaging Grade: A-

Text/Translation Grade: A+

Age Rating: 14+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: January 26, 2016

MSRP: $13.00

Black Bullet Vol. #3 Manga Review

The further we get away from fighting, the more we suffer.

Creative Staff:

Art: Morinohon

Original Story: Shiden Kanzaki

Character Design: Saki Ukai

Translation: Nita Lieu

Lettering: Abigail Blackman

What They Say:

After being invaded by viral parasites known as Gastrea, the people of Japan have had no choice but to encase themselves within colossal monoliths designed to repel the beasts. The Gastrea, however, have still managed to slowly trickle through the barrier and infect some of the population. In order to fend them off, humanity has created a "Civil Security" branch trained in the extermination of the parasites. Rentarou Satomi and Enju Aihara are just two of many Civ-Sec officers fighting to keep humanity safe and fix what has become of their world once and for all.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

When we last left off, things were looking a little bleak for Rentaro Satomi. In fact, all signs were pointing to his inevitable death. But, no fear! In the beginning of the third volume, Rentaro wakes up in a hospital and is greeted shortly after by Kisara and Enju who are both ecstatic to see him alive. Turns out that Rentaro's plunge wasn't enough to finish him off and, after a very touch-and-go surgery, he came out triumphant. In fact, according to Kisara, the doctor almost gave up on him. I'm glad she didn't, though. That would have made this volume pretty darn depressing.

Anyway, this isn't the time for things to calm down. Hiruko is still on the loose after all -- and he has the inheritance of the seven stars in his possession. After a quick phone call from Lady Seitenshi, it becomes evident that Hiruko is now able to summon a class five gastrea, also known as a "Zodiac" gastrea (Only eleven of these things exist and they're the reason the world is in shambles in the first place). So, yeah. Things are looking pretty grim. After a quick inner debate about whether or not it's even worth it to chase after Hiruko, Rentaro decides that he must. Kisara, on the other hand, is even more worried about this than he is. The two wind up exchanging some dialogue about how if Rentaro died, everything would be over. But, according to him, dying isn't part of his agenda. He then takes his leave and embarks on an assault mission with Enju and several other civ-sec squads.

Several hours into the mission, our dynamic duo comes across Shougen Ikuma's initiator, Kayo, who has apparently been separated from her partner after a gastrea attack. Now, Kayo isn't your average cursed child and is essentially the polar opposite of Enju. Being labeled as a dolphin-class initiator, Kayo possesses an intellect on par with a...well, dolphin. Dolphins are smart, we all know this. The cool thing about Kayo, though, is that she's able to debate with Rentaro about why cursed children fight in the first place. In her eyes, they are simply tools of destruction that must be used in order to attain victory. After a relatively lengthy debate on the purpose of war and fighting, the trio heads toward the village where the attack on Hiruko is planned. As Kayo stays back on the cliff to protect the rear from gastrea attacks, Rentaro and Enju make their way down. Before leaving, though, Kayo asks them that they simply just protect Shougen and make sure he comes out okay.

Long story short, that doesn't happen. By the time the two make it down the hill and into the village, everyone is dead except for Shougen -- who somehow has his own sword stuck in his back. Being caught up in the delusions that accompany death, Shougen seems to see Enju as Kayo and slowly makes his way toward her. With his last words, Shougen reveals that he not only sees Kayo as a tool but that he seems himself as one as well, prompting Rentaro to change his opinion on their overall relationship which, to this point, seemed cold and harsh. With a new type of anger welling up inside him, Rentaro decides to proceed with the mission and take Hiruko and his daughter on in a good, old fashioned two vs. two fight. The fight is almost entirely in Hiruko's favor. That is until we find out something new and mysterious about our protagonist...

In Summary:

Lead by more action and further development of characters, Black Bullet Vol. #3 remains as interesting as the previous installment. The addition of Kayo adds a sense of philosophical flair to the series in that she sees war in an entirely different way than our main characters. Apart from just the characters, though, the plot itself begins to act like a boulder and is quickly picking up an excitingly fast pace. With just one volume left in the series, things are going to need to wrap up in a very neat manner for it to have a strong finish. The one thing I'm afraid of is that the ending may seem as rushed as the preceding actions. Either way, thanks to another cliffhanger ending, I'm excited to see what happens next in this series.

Content Grade: B

Art Grade: B-

Packaging Grade: A-

Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 14+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: March 22, 2016

MSRP: $13.00

Mayoiga: The Lost Village Episode #2 Review

So we've finally found it...

What They Say:

A shady bus tour of young men and women are headed to an elusive village called Nanakimura. A destination where people can partake in a utopian existence, free of the world's obstacles... or so goes the rumor. Heading deep into the mountains, the bus is carrying 30 different individuals, each harboring their own expectations and troubled hearts. What they had arrived to was an uninhabited village with lingering, faint scents of life. It was falling apart. Just what is the secret of Nanakimura?

The Review:
Content:(Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

As you may have guessed from the tagline of this review, the group has finally reached the lost city of Nanakimura. Of course, that didn't happen until they abandoned their bus driver, gave away all of their money, hiked like one million miles and nearly died. You know, normal stuff that everyone does right before going on vacation. But, despite all these hardships, they did make it. So that in itself is applaudable. I guess. Dude, I don't know. 

One thing to note, though, is that Mitsumune and Hayato/Speedstar are totally not gay. We know this because Mitsumune says it like four times while talking to Lion on the way to Nanankimura. But even though the two boys are not, nor will they ever be romantically involved with each other, they still have a strange friendship that stemmed from Hayato claiming that he would protect Mitsumune from bullies back in school. And we know the flashback is legitimate because it had that gray tint to it that all good flashbacks have. You know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, upon reaching the village, the tour group finds that the previous inhabitants seem to have vanished, leaving several traces of life behind them. Just how they vanished, though, is still uncertain at this time. Of course, this leads to everyone devising their own theories about what possibly could have happened. Most of the theories seem pretty G-Rated for the most part -- until Lion (Also known as best girl) raises the question, "What if they all died?" This, of course, spirals into a burst of more grotesque ideas and prompts Lovepon (Also known as second best girl) to say, "Well what if they were all executed one by one?" Uh-oh. Things could be getting intense. Well, at least they could have gotten intense. The director wound up breaking up the discussion. Buzzkill.

Eventually, the group splits into several smaller groups and each one heads off in a different direction. The largest of these groups winds up heading toward an abandoned, run-down house. Remember that dude who rapped on the bus? Yottsun, I think it was? Well, now he and that one unmemorable guy in the yellow shirt are talking about taking advantage of some of the girls in their group -- mainly Masaki. Of course, no one notices when Yottsun (Or whatever) basically forces Masaki to come with him to one of the private rooms. At least, not until the all the smaller groups coalesce and those two are still missing. Dun dun dun. The episode ends on that note and leaves us with a pretty solid cliffhanger to hold us over until next week.

In Summary:

Despite my comic breakdown of the episode, the second installment of Mayoiga impresses once again as it furthers the mystery surrounding the village. It is still unclear whether or not the series will take a much darker turn but, once again, I would not be surprised if it did. The whole thing with Rapmaster Yo and Masaki is definitely a little weird, and it's hard to tell exactly what happened and why the two have not returned yet. Characters who didn't receive sufficient screen time back in the first episode wind up receiving more in this one, but I worry that overall character development may suffer because of the projected 12-episode length of the series. That is...unless everyone dies? Gasp. Someone save Lion.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

KONOSUBA: God's Blessing On This Wonderful World! Complete Series Review

Yes, I'm Kazuma.

What They Say:

After a traffic accident, Kazuma Sato’s disappointingly brief life was supposed to be over. Instead, he wakes up to see a beautiful girl before him. The girl claims to be the goddess, Aqua, and asks if Kazuma would like to go to another world and bring only one thing with him. Kazuma decides to bring the goddess herself, and the two are transported into a fantasy world filled with adventure, ruled by a demon king. Now Kazuma simply wants to live in peace. But the demon king will only turn a blind eye for so long…

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

The age-old question of, "What happens when you die?" can be answered in a multitude of ways. However, being transported into a world of fantasy and assuming the life of a character in an RPG isn't normally an answer to that question. Directed by Takaomi Kanasaki (Is This A Zombie?) and based on the light novel series by Natsume Akatsuki, KONOSUBA plunges us headfirst into a world in which everyone is just trying to make a new living for themselves. But that is a lot easier said than done.

After being hit by a car and dying in an attempt to be a hero for the first time in his life, Kazuma Sato is killed and is promptly transported to the realm of gods. Upon entering said realm, he is greeted by a rambunxious, blue-haired goddess named Aqua. Aqua, after relentlessly making fun of the way Kazuma died for a good five minutes, states that she is going to transport him into a new world and he can only take one thing with him. In order to get back at the overly spunky goddess, Kazuma elects to take Aqua herself and the two are quickly transported into a new world with nothing but the clothes on their backs. However, instead of separating upon entry, the two wind up sticking together because, you know, teamwork and stuff.

From that point on, the real problem becomes making money and building up their party. The whole money part never really works out. Like ever. BUT, they do meet a couple new faces that they [reluctantly] decide to add on to their party -- Megumin, the destruction mage who can only cast one spell a day, and Darkness, the masochistic crusader tank with an affinity for embarrassment and cabbages. And so begins the journey of these four misfits and how Kazuma is so fed up with everything ever.

The world of KONOSUBA can be compared to the likes of anime series like Sword Art Online, being that everyone must assume the role of a particular class and use their abilities to rise in power. The driving force that propels the characters of KONOSUBA is their desire to kill the demon king who rules over their new world. Well, that's SUPPOSED to be their motivation, but no one really cares about it at all. They just want money for beer and food and stuff. But hey man, PVE isn't for everyone. Some people just want to quest and AFK and whatnot. Anyway, enough of the RPG talk, I'm getting sidetracked.

KONOSUBA isn't about the story. In fact, the story doesn't even matter. There are two reasons to watch this show (Three if you count fanservice): the comedy and the characters. For those of you that watched Kanasaki's "Is This A Zombie?" be prepared for the same style of comedy. With a large bulk of it stemming from how defeated Kazuma is for having to put up with his three female party members, KONOSUBA never stops being hilarious. In fact, it's like an endless onslaught of callbacks to running jokes that gradually become even funnier as the series progresses. In all honesty, the humor in this series is some of the best I have watched in a very, very long time, and that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the characters.

The three main girls in this series have personalities so strong that watching them becomes a sort of self-satire with each of them being walking punchlines. Aqua is always yelling or crying about how she's a goddess or whatever, Megumin is just the best and that's all there is to it, and Darkness is thirsty. (Very thirsty). The fact of the matter is that, at all times during KONOSUBA, something will always be happening in the foreground-- and, at many times, in the background as well. With a sufficient mix of both in-your-face and subtle humor, it's no wonder why this show is so damn funny. And, I know I've mentioned it before, but Kazuma is literally the physical manifestation of "Done". Instead of fawning over these beautiful girls like any other male anime protagonist would do, he's just like, "Dude these b*tches are crazy," and continues to hate what his life has become. If he was real, I'd totally hang out with him.

The major downfall of KONOSUBA is its length (Which I guess is actually fine now that a second season is announced). Being only ten episodes long, we don't really get sufficient time with our beloved party members. This also creates an environment in which the story must progress at an alarming rate, but for this particular series, it kind of worked out. The fast pacing of the show sort of paralleled the comedy of it, moving at the pace of lightning relatively often. Certain plot points just randomly appear and things get all crazy for a good ten minutes before they are resolved and everything just goes back to normal. It's a lot of "Rinse-repeat" but it literally never becomes boring. I'd say that's pretty damn impressive.

In Summary:

KONOSUBA is extremely accessible to all anime fans. It's short, its fast, it has great characters, and it's hilarious. Being a series focused purely on comedy gave the writers enough resources and enough freedom to do whatever they wanted and it wound up spectacular. It sounds a little cliche, but KONOSUBA has something for everyone. I can't tell you if the adaptation is loyal to its light novel predecessor, but you can bet that I'll be picking that up if it's ever published in English. The second season of this series is already in development and my excitement for it is nearly identical to my excitement for the second "Is This A Zombie" back when that was announced. I can only hope that KONOSUBA 2 works out a little better than that did. If you're looking for a quick, light-hearted binge watch, go check this out right now. Yes, right now.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Shoujo-tachi Wa Kouya Wo Mezasu (Girls Beyond The Wasteland) Complete Series Review

This world is a wasteland.

What They Say:

Haunted by career assessments and his lack of a real plan for the future, Buntarou's days are occupied by his part time job and lazing around with his friends. But when his aloof classmate Saiyuki asks him out, he has no clue he's about to get the most random career counseling session ever. Completely certain that creating a lucrative bishoujo game would set Buntarou on the path to success, Saiyuki challenges him to go beyond this wasteland of a world.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

Any time a visual novel gets turned into an animated series, I tend to sign up for it. I mean, not only do I thoroughly enjoy the medium, but it intrigues me to see how a director and studio can condense a good thirty hours of material into like...four. Sometimes the outcome is great. However, sometimes it gets a little messy. But that's fine. It's cool. I can look past messy to a certain degree. I mean, all anime has its flaws. Well, okay, not all anime -- but you get the point.

Girls Beyond The Wasteland, if you couldn't guess by now, is based on Minato Soft's visual novel of the same title. The impressive part of this lies in the fact that the game came out several months into 2015 (March, to be exact) and was animated less than a year later, premiering in January of 2016. Woah, that fast? It's got to be good then, right? Meeeeeehh, we'll see. This all-ages anime series comes to us from the director, Takuya Sato, who is also behind titles like "Say I Love You" and even one of my all time favorites, "Steins;Gate". Now, this series is literally nothing like either of those two. Instead of witnessing things like forced, incompatible romance or time traveling bananas, we instead get to follow the life of Buntarou Houjou as he is roped into writing a visual novel of his own by some pretty girl (Sayuki Kuroda) who looks like Kuroyukihime from Accel World.

So right from the start, we already have an interesting plot in terms of the whole visual novel thing. The amount of VN related material in anime is lacking when you consider just how close the two things really are to one another. It's like how that one family member never shows up at family reunions and so people never even really mention him apart from, "Oh, where's Dan?" You know what I'm saying? Anyway, it's clear that Buntarou is a dependable guy right out of the gate. The dude has a job, he's a leader when it comes to group activities, and he even rescued a cat from a tree (I think. I might be just making that up in my mind based on his personality). The one thing to note about Buntarou, however, is that he isn't really sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life. Up until now, he's just kind of...existed.

Being incapable of making a game amongst just two people, Kuroda tasks Buntarou with scouting out the remaining members of their game development team. Bunta, never having even played a VN before, is kind of confused by this idea and winds up just finding a bunch of weird looking dudes that, in no way, are we ever going to see again. After an episode or two of searching for more members, Buntarou and Kuroda finally manage to tack on the rest of the squad -- even if several of them are just Bunta's friends. But that's okay! Because one of his friends is voiced Kana Hanazawa and, get this, she plays an actress! Now that's typecasting at it's finest. In all honesty, though, her character (Yuuka Kobayakawa) was easily the best part of the series.

From this point on, things proceed exactly the way you'd expect them to. The rookie game developers struggle with completing their tasks in an orderly fashion, overcome their problems through hard work and friendship, and then more problems of similar nature arise. But when it is revealed that Kuroda has had an ulterior motive this entire time (No, I won't tell you what it is), the team disassembles and must figure out a new way to move forward in life. That is until Buntarou kicks it into superhero gear and gets the band back together. If this school had a football team, I would bet you money that Buntarou would be the quarterback. This dude is literally too dependable. I hate him. Also, the two cutest girls in the series have a crush on him and I just want to punch him in his stupid, dependable mouth. Ugh.

So, we have all these building blocks that should -- if executed correctly, lay out the foundation for what could be an excellent series. We have lovable characters, an interesting story, various plot checkpoints in terms of drama, Kana Hanazawa, etc. However, something was still missing. I was literally NEVER excited to watch this show. I never in the past three months thought, "Wow! I Can't wait to see what happens next in Girls Beyond The Wasteland!" Instead, each episode would end I would just think, "Okay, that's fine" and then forget about it. Plus, the fact that the series streamed exclusively on Hulu made it seem like more of a chore than anything. But why? There were so many things that could have made this show the next Saekano (One of my favorites from 2015 -- similar story, just much better) but none of them were able to come together and actually make something. Maybe it was just the elitist in me subconsciously telling myself that if a show's artwork isn't great, the show itself can't be great. Which is untrue -- I mean, look at Lain. But maybe, it was more of a culmination of so many things just being "Okay".

Character development was just okay -- Buntarou was incredibly static and any development his character was actually supposed to have just seemed unnecessary and forced. The comedy was very hit or miss most of the time, usually ending on "miss". The artwork, as I mentioned before, was rather undetailed and just flat out boring. Even the characters themselves, apart from Yuuka, were boring and unoriginal. In fact, everything was just so okay that I tried to justify telling myself that I really liked the series because, in all honesty, any problems it had could be overlooked when I diverted my attention to other departments. But, here's the thing, when you wind up having to persuade yourself that you like a show, something is clearly going wrong. I was able to figure that halfway through the series before finally coming to terms with how I didn't really love it and that it was just normal. There's really nothing about this series that something else hasn't already done better.

Oh and don't even get me started on the whole Bunta x Yuuka thing because that's an entirely different issue.

In Summary:

Girls Beyond The Wasteland has many of the pieces that could normally shape an interesting, exciting series but fails to put them together in a timely manner. In fact, it fails to put them together at all. If you're looking for a school-life comedy with a lovable cast and an enjoyable story, there are literally hundreds of other shows out there that do it better than this one. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it (Despite all of my complaints). It's just so average that it's really hard to try and get people hyped up for it. I will say, though, for fans of visual novels and bishoujo-game culture, you can definitely get something out of this. Just...don't try and force yourself.

Grade: C-

Streamed By: Hulu