Real Account Vol. #01 Manga Review

Let the game begin!

Creative Staff:

Art: Shizumu Watanabe

Story: Okushou

Translation: Jonathan Tarbox & Kazuko Shimizu

Lettering: Evan Hayden

Editing: Ajani Oloye

Kodansha Cover Design: Phil Balsman

What They Say:

Like many of his peers, Ataru Kashiwagi has found himself addicted to the newest social networking service, Real Account. But one day, Ataru and almost 10,000 other people, get sucked into the Real Account Zone, where they have become players in a series of deadly games. The basic rules of these games are simple -- if you lose all your followers, you die in real life, and if you die, all of your followers die with you.

As these depraved games decimate the players around him, Ataru must use quick thinking and his knowledge of Real Account to win each round and return to the real world. But when true friendship determines whether he lives or dies, can Ataru really survive when the only people he can count on are his Internet friends

The Review:

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

With the rising popularity of Pokemon Go and the ever-increasing Twitter account list climbing on a daily basis, I don't think I could have chosen a more apt time to check out the first volume of Shizumu Watanabe's "Real Account." Set in a world where a new social networking system (Real Account) is sweeping the nation, the manga explores a plethora of societal themes that easily parallel what life in the real world has become -- a neverending battle between reality and social media. The story centers around Ataru Kashiwagi after, for some strange reason, he and 9,999 other people get sucked into a virtual manifestation of the social network itself, lead by the DeadMau5 looking mascot of the system, Marble.

From this point on, Real Account rapidly escalates into a hyperviolent cross between Mamoru Hosoda's "Summer Wars" and Reki Kawahara's "Sword Art Online." It is revealed that if any of the "players" sucked into Real Account die, all of their followers will die along with them. What's even more intense, however, is that this entire game is being broadcast throughout the nation. This, of course, leads to widespread societal panic and the expected mass-unfollowing for many of the people sucked into the virtual world. As if losing their fans isn't devastating enough, it is immediately revealed that should a player lose all of their followers, they just flat-out die on the spot. As our protagonist's followers begin to deplete, he comes to the realization that there isn't anyone in his life that actually needs him. That is, no one other than his younger sister, Yuri. In a last-minute attempt to sever any connection she may have of potentially being murdered by an Internet mascot, Ataru blocks his sister on Real Account with the complete expectation that he will die along with pressing the button. However, to his surprise (And ours) he has one more follower that we're not particularly sure of. If only Real Account allowed you to view your own followers...

Anyway, as if the situation wasn't bad enough, our beloved Marble announces that the surviving members of the virtual world will participate in a series of games that will ultimately determine whether they live or die. The first of these games will be one our protagonist is quite familiar with, "No Answer." This game divides everyone into groups of 500 as five judges selected from within the groups assemble a jury that votes on whether a contestant is: ugly, average, or cute. If the judges' decision matches the contestant's guess as to what they will be labeled, the contestant survives. If not...they're decapitated in front of everyone -- you know, typical Japanese game-show stuff. In addition to that, if any of the judges are caught lying (Via lie-detector attached to their noggins), all five of them will be slaughtered. In the midst of the growing chaos, Ataru comes across a girl(?) identical to his sister. In fact, she was so identical to her that Ataru was convinced his sister was sucked into the game for a good two pages. Eventually, we find out that her name is Koyori Kanda and that she loves cats.

After our protagonist and Koyori the cat lady survive the first game, the second one starts right away. This one is a little easier -- all the contestants need to do is Tweet something. If the contestant is retweeted, they get to live and receive 100 yen for each retweet. If they are not retweeted...well, they die. Immediately, some of the contestants begin to use their looks or jobs to their advantage. One woman goes up on stage and tells the audience that if she reaches 10,000 retweets, she will strip nude right in front of them. Another man, a manga artist, claims to reveal the ending to One Piece should he receive 50,000 retweets. Ataru, however, overanalyzes this situation and spends a good 95% of his allotted time just trying to figure out something to write. Eventually, he elects something as stupid as, "I'll do one pushup for every RT" and winds up just barely surviving with three retweets. Unfortunately for him, he now has to do THREE WHOLE PUSHUPS.

As the volume begins to come to a close, our protagonist's sister makes one more appearance as she is visited by a very..."special" guest.

In Summary:

Real Account starts off rather quickly with only several pages of exposition before Kashiwagi is thrust into the alternate dimension of Real Account. Without much time to get attached to him or his sister, Yuri, Real Account centers solely around its general plot points, backed up by lots and lots of blood. Like, surprising amounts of blood that I was totally not expecting at all. Don't let the book's vibrant cover design fool you, as this series gets rather dark. That being said, though, the cartoonish virtual world and even the character designs themselves at times begin to distract from what's actually happening. Even though the world of Real Account pits thousands of normal people (As well as their followers on the outside) against the face of death, it never really seems all that terrifying. The constant fluctuation between comedy and horror just makes the mood shift too often for this volume to be particularly great. That being said, it's still an exciting story that becomes more and more interesting as it progresses and I'm sure will wind up being something entertaining, to say the least.

Content Grade: B

Art Grade: B+

Packaging Grade: B-

Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 16+

Released By: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: March 22, 2016

MSRP: $10.99

Rewrite Episode #04 Anime Review

Mom told me that becoming an adult meant becoming able to eat bitter things.

What They Say:

Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.

Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.

The Review:

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

Just like any normal male, I love me some eyepatches. Suffice it to say, when I realized this week's Rewrite episode centered around Shizuru Nakatsu, I was pretty darn excited. I mean, we've already seen quite a bit of her in comparison to some of the other heroines, but who doesn't like an extra dose of twintailed loli eyepatch goodness, am I right?

Anyway, this week's installment begins with the occult research club (Mainly Kotarou) trying to figure out, once again, how to prove the existence of the paranormal in Kazamatsuri. Working off of his memories of Esaka from the night before, Kotarou sets out to find the antique shop the older gentleman originally told him about. The main problem is that Kotarou has no idea where this place could be and the one person who might be able to help him (Shizuru) is completely MIA. So, Kotarou sets off into uncharted territory all by his lonesome in an effort to uncover to mysterious antique shop, ultimately stumbling upon the slums of Kazamatsuri. After bumping into some suspicious dude who definitely knows who Kotarou is for some reason, our protagonist stumbles across a bunch of thugs in the heart of some random alleyway. Luckily for him, these thugs answer to none other than good ole' Yoshino, who is finally more than just a side character Kotarou picks on.

With the help of these thugs, Kotarou uncovers Esaka's antique store and -- Oh, look, it's Shizuru! After scolding her about the proper usage of modern-day cellular devices, Kotarou heads home with the loli, stopping at random thrift stores along the way that showcase how economically responsible she is. One thing leads to another and Shizuru eventually winds up in Kotarou's room (In a totally platonic way) and he gifts unto the joys of the MP3 player, which soon after becomes her favorite thing in the entire world. The next day, the two embark on a journey into Shizuru's past which becomes surprisingly depressing and equally as moving.

Shizuru takes Kotarou to her old home and asks him to wait there with her. Some time later, an older woman shows up -- Shizuru's mother. However, there isn;t a heartfelt reunion or a hug or anything like that. Shizuru's mother doesn't remember her. In fact, neither does her father when he shows up just moments later. As it turns out, Shizuru also has a supernatural ability -- the power to erase one's memory. For many years, Shizuru enjoyed a happy life with her parents. However, that all came to a close after some giant dragonfly thing destroyed their home and nearly killed her father. As she weakly stumbles over to his body, we see a shard of glass lodged deep into her right eye. A group of men (Who we can assume to be a supernatural task force of some sort) find the remnants of the Nakatsu family home and take the entire family to the hospital, where Shizuru's powers are discovered for the first time. Following the accident and utter destruction of their home, the Nakatsu's slip into an economic crisis. So when that supernatural task force shows up and offers an incredibly large sum of money in exchange for the studying of Shizuru, the young girl (Who has since begun to understand her family's position) accepts.

But when Shizuru returned home a year or two later, she discovered that the relationship between her mother and father had only gotten worse. In a last-minute attempt to "fix" her family, Shizuru attempts to wipe the memories of her parents back to a time in which everything was happier and better. In doing that, however, she wound up erasing all of their memories of her, forcing her into a life aided only by the organization that conducted studies on her.

In Summary:

This emotionally-driven episode drives up the backstory exposition that the past several KEY animations have been lacking, becoming a step or two closer to series like Air and Kanon while still possessing an endearing modern-day charm. With the gates into the supernatural aspects of Rewrite finally beginning to creak open, it's only a matter of time until the show propels down the familiar road of tragedy and drama. Shizuru's character shines throughout this entire episode and fans of this particular heroine will be quite happy to watch how it progresses. Episode #04 is powerful on all fronts and I'm once again excited to see how things continue from this point on.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Rewrite Episode #03 Anime Review

The moment I saw you, I felt as though I had met my fate.

What They Say:

Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.

Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.

The Review:

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

Now that the Kazamatsuri Occult Research Club has reached a substantial amount of members, it's about time to go hunting for crazy, paranormal stuff. But, before that, what's more important is dealing with the...random butler who appears in the club room? Okay. After a quick back and forth between Kotarou and the butler (Sakuya), it is revealed that he is moreover the manservant of Chihaya, who may or may not be a spoiled rich girl. Regardless, this butler is going to be a reoccurring character from this point on and he had to be introduced sometime, right? After said introduction ends, Kotarou and the others set out to find some weird paranormal creature I can't remember the name of and ultimately wind up finding out that it doesn't exist after all. The groping will have to wait for another day.

Or will it? On the way home from school one night, Kotarou sees Kagari (Silver-haired loli girl) perched on top of a building and doing some weird ghost stuff. Out of nowhere, some random giant hound appears and begins chasing her. Even though Kotarou wants this girl completely out of his life, he decides to activate his accelerated physical state and chases after them anyway. As he's about to kick his abilities up to the next level, he loses sight of both Kagari and the beast and is instead greeted by a suspicious blonde man who can make red bubbles appear with his arms. From out of those red bubbles spawns another large hound that takes off after Kotarou and prompts another chase scene laden with beautiful backdrops that once again showcase KEY's world building. Eventually, Kotarou loses his race against the beast and, instead of being eaten by it, he respawns at a nearby ramen shop.

This ramen shop is apparently owned by a man named Gennady who allegedly rescued Kotarou from a park while he was passed out in the middle of the night -- alongside another older man named Esaka. After telling them that he was being chased down by a monster, the two men are visibly taken aback, yet not seemingly surprised. Instead of asking him what kind of monster it was, Esaka asks Kotarou who he is aligned with, quickly prompting Kotarou to be like, "Uhhh, the occult research club?". The two men leave it at that and dismiss Kotarou's claim as quickly as it had been brought up. Shortly after, Shizuru (Who is apparently a regular at this ramen shop) shows up and everyone has a nice old-fashioned noodle dinner. Yay.

On his way back home, Kotarou bumps into Sakuya yet again. After another snarky exchange, Sakuya reveals his hatred toward our protagonist, claiming "The moment I saw you, I felt as though I had met my fate". This cryptic message could be interpreted in a numerous amount of ways, but the way I looked into it decoded it into, "Yo man, stay away from Chihaya or she won't need me anymore". I could be completely off-base with that assumption, but that's just how I read it. Shortly after this exchange, the episode comes to a close.

In Summary:

Episode three picks up the pace a little while still finding time to introduce several new characters. As the occult research club continues their journey toward uncovering paranormal secrets, the time begins to tick down until things actually start happening. For now, though, I'm glad that we're receiving a steady influx of exposition. From what I've gathered, the Rewrite story is one of the most incredibly vast and expansive ones out there, so we're going to need a slow build-up in order for it to become the colossus it deserves to be. The only downside to this is that if the series doesn't wind up gaining ground soon, it may fall into the same critical slump the past two KEY series have wound up in, not ever telling the story they truly needed to. All in all, the episode was still well-rounded and interesting.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Rewrite Episode #02 Anime Review

I could carve out a place to belong all on my own.

What They Say:

Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.

Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.

The Review:

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

When we last left off, Kotarou Tennouji was face-to-face with who we assumed to be the witch of Kazamatsuri, Senri Akane. Well, as it turns out, Akane is the witch -- but she's a little different than those of us who haven't played the game expected her to be. Even though she's the leader of the Occult Research Club, Akane seems a bit...disinterested in the paranormal and says things like that can't possibly exist. Regardless, she makes Kotarou a few charms out of paper that he can use to "Fend away the spirit/girl that has been haunting him." Luckily for him, it actually works for a little while. On the first night that the white-haired girl visits him while he has the charms in his possession, she's turned away after one...flies into her mouth? Huh. Obviously, Kotarou sees the charm in the morning and is immediately convinced that Akane is actually a real witch with magical powers or whatever.

Upon returning to her and freaking out about how he needs more charms, Kotarou winds up telling Akane that she shouldn't be taking the paranormal lightly. After a quick back and forth, the two strike up a deal. If Kotarou is able to prove that the paranormal actually exists to some extent...he get's to touch Akane's breasts. Great choice, Kotarou. You speak for all of us. Anyway, from this point on, our protagonist has to figure out exactly how he is going to win this bet. His first course of action -- recruiting more members for the Occult Research club. His first choice is [obviously] Kotori, who promptly learns what is on the line for this bet after Kotarou drags her into the clubroom. Regardless of the sheer lewd desires that are driving forth this pretty intense topic, Kotori agrees becomes the third member of the club. Wait, did I say third? I meant fourth. Apparently, Chihaya is a member as well since she "has ties to Akane". What does that even mean? Eventually, our other two heroines (Shizuru and Lucia) join the team and we suddenly have a motley crew of amateur ghost hunters.

Apart from that, nothing else really happens. This episode is almost entirely exposition and a set-up for how things are going to play out from this point on. We already have all five of our heroines united, so there won't be any "Kotarou goes out and convinces girls to hang out with him" like there was in Little Busters. There's a line at the end of the episode where Kotarou mentions something along the lines of, "There's more than meets the eye for Akane" and I think that pretty well sums up the general idea of this episode. Considering she didn't have much time (In fact, she didn't have any time at all) in the first episode to get her character across, this second installment does a good job at demonstrating exactly who she is -- or at least who she is right now.

In Summary:

Rewrite tones it down a notch and throws in some more lighthearted comedy and exposition as a set-up for the next several episodes. After uniting all of the heroines, our protagonist is ready to move on and advance toward his final goal of touching Akane's boobs. In all seriousness, though, even if nothing really happened in this episode, it still felt refreshing being exposed to some good old KEY character and plot building. This expository episode provides a nice break in terms of pacing in comparison to last week's 48-minute pilot and does an excellent job at propelling us toward episode three.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

ReLIFE Complete Series Anime Review

It's like Welcome To The NHK and Erased had a baby.

What They Say:

Arata Kaizaki quit the job he landed after graduation after only three months. His life didn't go well after that. Now, his parents are threatening to stop sending money and want him to come back to the country. He has no friends or even a girlfriend to share his troubles with...as he hits rock bottom, a strange man named Ryo Yoake appears. Yoake invites Kaizaki to join a societal rehabilitation program for NEETs called ReLife. This program uses a mysterious drug to make him look younger and sends him back to high school for a year.

The Review:

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

If you had the chance to go back in time, would you? Of course, you would; we all would. Nearly every person I've ever asked that question to (Which is actually a surprising amount of people because I'm weird) has answered the same way. We're all filled with regret and we're all struggling to truly find our place in the world. For Arata Kaizaki, nothing seems to be working out the way it should. After graduating college, he learned that the real world is a lot...darker and misleading than it appears at times.

Animated by TMS Entertainment (Also known as the dudes who do all the Detective Conan stuff), ReLIFE is the adaptation of a full-color manga series of the same name written and drawn by Sou Yayoi (Creator of Yowamushi Resound). One of the interesting things about ReLIFE is that all 13 episodes of the show were released in one go, similar to how most original Netflix series have been being pumped out in the last few years. Does this say anything about the future of the anime industry? Probably not. But I feel like more and more shows are going to begin being released like this in the coming years. For ReLIFE, specifically, I feel like the full-series release is just one of the many reasons it's already being so well received by critics.

ReLIFE is a very binge-friendly show. In fact, I finished the whole thing in just two sittings (It would have been one but work and stuff). And not only is it very binge-friendly, it's very consistent. Each episode follows a similar formula and, in a weird way, it still feels like a manga. The artwork is simplistic, yet alluring. The characters are unique, but not complex. Everything is so easy to understand that in just the first episode, you can already feel the bonds forming. There's something nostalgic about ReLIFE. Maybe, one of the reasons so many people are falling in love with it not even a week after its creation is that it tailors to a part of us that wishes we could live in their world. Once high school is over, life starts...declining. Nothing will ever be the same. Obviously, you don't need an anime or a manga to teach you that, but seeing that particular idea enacted through a likable protagonist when we literally know where he's already ended up is disheartening and powerful.

Fans of the slice-of-life genre are going to love this show as it contains each and every element required to craft ideal real-life scenarios. The characters are multidimensional and filled with unique pasts and inner struggles. The comedy is surprisingly hilarious and doesn't let up...well, ever. The romances actually go places. The people actually change. Hell, there's even a colossal plethora of haunting flashbacks and moments of heart-clenching drama that will make you want to scream at your television. Everything is there. Being able to witness all of that in one go is truly a treat from TMS. Mix that with thought-provoking, psychological themes and BOOM, you have something special.

As ReLIFe progresses, Arata begins [expectedly] becoming attached to his new friends. Even though he's having trouble assimilating with a bunch of teenagers (Which is bound to happen considering he's ten years older than them), he still manages to connect and provide sound advice for all of them, learning things about himself on the way. As he continues to help out all of his new friends with their issues and typical teen drama, he's stalked by the lingering idea that when this experiment is over, he'll be forgotten. He'll have to start his adult life all over again. He'll have to fight away the demons keeping him from moving on in life and just power through. But, perhaps the harder part of all of that will be letting go of the people he just met? The most immensely frustrating thing about this series is that you actually feel Arata's desire to tell everyone about who he really is. But, if he does that, the experiment ends right then and there. It's a double-edged sword. No matter what he does, there's no way for him to maintain the relationships he's formed and be himself. It's painful.

But the underlying point of the ReLIFE experiment is to change Arata. That is the one thing he clings on to. When it comes down to it, he knows that his life will never go anywhere if he continues to jump between part-time jobs and fear commitment. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but all throughout the series, there's the creeping dread of Arata's ReLIFE time running out. It feels like he can go back to being 27 years-old at any moment, and that makes each and everything that happens to him and his friends hit ten times harder. It's like watching memories as they're being formed, knowing that things like this will never happen to him again. It reminds us of our own memories from back in high school and how...well, things aren't like that anymore. And the unfortunate truth is that they never will be. ReLIFE parallels real life.

There is one thing I don't get, though. What the hell is up with the background music?

Anyway, I'm almost 100% positive that this series will be getting a second season. Critical reception combined with a semi-cliffhanger ending leaves exponential room for growth, not to mention the manga is still publishing. There's just so much left to learn about everyone. If this was it, I might actually be heartbroken.

In Summary:

ReLIFE blends excellent writing with tinges of hard-hitting nostalgia, all wrapped neatly together in a clean, beautiful package. With so many topics to relate to and so many chances to connect with the unique, endearing characters, it's not hard to say that forming bonds with a series of this caliber is just as easy as bingeing all thirteen episodes. Even though character development and themes are easily the focal points of the series, everything about it still comes across as nothing short of fantastic. ReLIFE deserves every ounce of positive critical reception it is getting. I am no exception to that. Watch it.

Grade: A

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Ten Years Later: Welcome To The NHK

"If you don't see her, you won't fall in love. If you don't fall in love, you won't get hurt."

Oh man, here we go. Welcome To The NHK! (Or NHK Ni Youkoso!) is one of those shows that wildly succeeded when no one imagined it would. Airing at a time when realism was still finding its niche cabin within the anime industry, NHK explored themes that were a little...self-parodic -- especially considering that it was parodying the exact people who would be watching the series. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of checking this out yet, Welcome To The NHK follows the life of Tatsuhiro Satou, a xenophobic NEET living off of his parents' allowance money that refuses to venture out into the real world. Satou, however, is a little different from your average day anime NEET, though. It becomes quite evident early on that, well, there's something actually wrong with him. He's shut himself away because he's afraid of everything else. It's an idea that many of us relate to...but it's also something that most of us are fortunate enough to not fall into.

One day, Satou answers his door and comes across a girl his age by the name of Misaki Nakahara. After some quick fated eye-contact between the two, Satou slams the door in her face before wandering off to imagination land, only to be greeted by more visions of the same girl. In fact, everything he does from this point on leads back to Misaki -- and it scares him half to death. That being said, when he receives a request from the girl to meet her at the park near his house in the middle of the night, he's a little...suspicious. Regardless, he summons the strength to meet her. However, once the two rejoin, Misaki has a strange request of Satou. As it turns out, she's been keeping an eye on him for a while now. She wants to "fix" him and ultimately cure him of his hikikomori lifestyle. Reluctantly, Satou winds up eventually submitting to her and the two embark on the long road to his recovery.

Without completely spoiling everything that subsequently happens from this point on, I'm just going to say that there are bumps in the road. In fact, there are a billion bumps in the road. As we watch Satou struggle to get his life back together, we're tossed in so many different directions that we forget where we even are at points. We forget who's side we're even on this first place. Part of you wants to root for Satou, part of you wants him to just get over his fear and move on. But, as many of us know, that isn't always as easily said as it is done. After all, Satou's fear stems from a long, daunting past. What NHK wants you to realize, though, is that everyone has a past like that. It's easy to get lost in fear, it's not easy to climb back out. This becomes even more apparent when we find out that Misaki is hiding something from us as well.

To flash back to something I said earlier, Welcome To The NHK's ability to prey upon its viewers is what goes on to make the series so memorable. For many people, including myself, this show hits as close to home as possible. In fact, the show hit so close to home for one of my friends that he wasn't even able to watch more than two or three episodes. The thing is, he isn't the only one that's happened to. There have been so many people who have attempted to watch this series and haven't been able to finish it due to the uncanny resemblances to actual otaku, hikikomori culture. Satou exemplifies time and time again how easy it is to get lost in fiction, and honestly, it's scary. As he hides behind masks of conspiracy (Inspired by an old senpai of his) he just starts blaming the world around him instead of himself. That inability to account for his own actions is what tore apart his life to begin with. Watching him being unable to recognize that becomes physically taxing at points.

We all have secrets to hide, we all have parts of our past we'd rather forget, and we all have different ways of dealing with that. Some people shut themselves away, some people look down on others to disguise their own pain. The point is, every character in Welcome To The NHK is hurting. Only through banding together are they able to cover up that pain. Thankfully, the series is a full 24 episodes, so our time spent with the characters makes their pain resonate within us so much more. We have time to get attached, and we have time to let our attachment feel real -- another key feature NHK demonstrates on it's way to becoming one of the most subtly psychological anime series of the 2000's.

There's a special word I reserve for shows like Welcome To The NHK -- important. Even if you aren't able to get past the art style or the sometimes painful parodies of the NEET lifestyle, the lessons there are to be learned from this series are on another level. The demographic it reached out to is just one of the many reasons it's become such a phenomenon. This is one of the few anime series with a gigantic cult following. That following is essentially the group of people that this particular series was able to change. As the show goes on, Welcome To The NHK begins to seem like less of an anime and more of a journey of self-discovery, constantly paralleling the real world for those of us that have a hard time finding our place within it, all before wrapping up in a painful wake-up call that tells us, "Sometimes, everything won't be okay."

If you haven't seen the show yet (Or if you have and don't own it), Welcome To The NHK is part of the Funimation S.A.V.E collection for a little over $20. If there is anything in that collection that you literally have to own, it's this. Welcome To The NHK was and always will be one of the most surprisingly touching series of all time. Nothing I can say about it will do it proper justice.

Rewrite Episode #01 Anime Review

One day, I realized I had nothing.

What They Say:

Kazamatsuri, a modern, well-developed city renowned for its burgeoning greenery and rich Japanese culture, is home to Kotarou Tennouji, a high schooler least privy to the place's shared values. Content to fill his pockets with frivolity, the proud and nosy boy whiles away his time pestering the self-proclaimed delinquent Haruhiko, and indulging in his amorous feelings toward the oddball Kotori.

Equipped with the superhuman ability to permanently rewrite any part of his body to multiply his strength or speed, Kotarou is naturally drawn to the supernatural. One special meeting with the lone member and president of the Occult Research Club, the "Witch" Akane Senri, leads to Kotarou reviving the Occult Club by recruiting Kotori and three other members: the clumsy transfer student Chihaya, the strict class representative Lucia, and the unassuming Shizuru. As Kotarou unveils hidden secrets of each member of the Occult Club through their shared adventures, he will inevitably encounter a fate that only he might be able to rewrite.

The Review:

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

I feel like I've been waiting years for this. After first being introduced to KEY many years back with shows like Air, Kanon, and Clannad (Which, to this day, is still my absolute favorite anime series) I've been following nearly every step the company has taken up until now. As many of you may know, Rewrite is the animated adaptation of the company's 2011 visual novel of the same name. And while I haven't been able to play the VN (Due to my inability to read Japanese), I've been keeping my eye on the reception of the series for years. With the original game totaling over 101,000 lines of text, it's safe to say that the story is nothing short of an epic. That being said, I'm a bit skeptical of the decision to only have 13 adapted episodes of Rewrite, even with the first one being nearly an hour in length. However, I am still hopeful for a second cours, but we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, Rewrite follows the life of Kotarou Tennouji, a high-schooler with the ability to slow down time and accelerate his senses. Taking place in a semi-fantasy world overflowing with greenery, Rewrite's landscapes and visuals have the ability to leave long lasting impressions on viewers right off the bat. With an opening sequence highlighted by the formation of the universe, the show's scale becomes colossal immediately before tailing off into Kotarou's perspective. Immediately, he ventures outside into a remarkably beautiful dystopian setting laden with crumbling buildings and immense forestation amplified ten times more by the mystical and seemingly tragic background music. This upsettingly brief scene gives us a glimpse into what may, perhaps, be the future of the Rewrite series and it's nothing short of glorious.

When the scene ends, we're thrust into Kotarou's present life as he ventures out to find a friend (Kotori Kanbe) of his at the behest of her mother. From this point on, the series begins to introduce each of its heroines one by one, giving each of them a scene or two to showcase their personality. There's Kotori (The aloof, playful childhood friend), Lucia (The uptight class rep with an adorable soft side), Chihaya (The rambunctious transfer student), and Shizuru (The kohai with an eyepatch). Apart from these four, there are several other heroines/semi-heroines who make an appearance. The one who winds up appearing the most, though, is someone we're never formally introduced to.

Flashing back to the nightmare (Or future, knowing KEY) sequence, the girl who pierces Kotarou's heart continues to somewhat haunt him throughout the first episode, appearing in his room each and every night and leading him to believe he's been cursed. Each appearance she makes reveals more and more about her true nature. Eventually, she helps lead our protagonist on a sort of scavenger hunt as she lays clues out for him all over the school building. Terrified, once again, Kotarou begins running away from the unknown girl and ultimately stumbles upon a hidden passageway leading to god-knows-where. In the midst of his confusion, he comes across two fairies (Gil and Pani) who wind up trying to help him escape. Unfortunately for all of them, they wander into the nest of some giant mystical creature and wind up waking it from its slumber. Just when things begin to bleak, the mysterious ribbon-girl shows up once more and fends off the monster, showcasing that she is not one to be reckoned with and that she isn't actually out to kill our main character.

After the monster is fought off, Kotarou is transported back into the real world, making it safe to assume that wherever he wandered off to was a sort of alternate dimension or something along those lines. Of course, as soon as he wakes up, the fairies are gone and he is instead greeted by a Colonel Sanders mannequin, beckoning him back to a club-room he came across with Kotori the day before. Having visited this room several times up until now, we're well aware that there is something amiss about it. In fact, one of his last trips to this club-room ended up with him filling out a questionnaire left there by someone we're not entirely sure of at this point in time. But, the more important thing about this questionnaire is the last question on the sheet, which asked Kotarou, "If you were given the choice to change the world or yourself, which would it be?"

On his final trip back to the room, we're introduced to our final heroine -- Akane Senri, the academy witch.

In Summary:

Rewrite comes across as equal parts mysterious and stunningly beautiful in just the first episode alone. With a likable protagonist and a roster of heroines that are already endearing and intimate, it's safe to say that many viewers will become attached to some of the characters before even learning everything about them. KEY once again exemplifies next-level storytelling and world-building techniques in a faithful adaptation of one of their most popular games to-date. I've waited years for this anime and I'm not even close to being let down. This is going to be powerful; I can feel it.

Grade: A

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

High School Fleet Complete Series Anime Review

Comrades at sea are all family.

What They Say:

Living by the sea, protecting the sea, and journeying across the sea…They’re the BLUE MERMAIDS! Because of a shift in tectonic plates around 100 years ago, Japan lost much of its area to submergence. To preserve Japan’s territories, Coastal Cities sprung up, one after the other. Eventually, they became Marine Cities, and along with the expansion of sea-lanes to connect them, the need arose for a sizable staff to protect the seas. At the same time, maritime jobs were becoming more popular among women. Hence, the Blue Mermaids had become every female student’s dream job.

The Review:

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

Okay, so I don't know much about boats apart from what I learned from Kantai Collection (Which was still literally nothing) but I'm pretty sure it isn't ideal to have an entire crew comprised of fifteen-year-old girls. That being said, High School Fleet dives (Pun intended) into a world in which roughly 75% of the Japanese navy isn't even old enough to buy cigarettes. The result from this isn't an economical boom in the naval industry or increased maritime production, it's a complete, utter mess in which no one really has any idea what the hell they're even doing on a ship in the first place. But that's fine as long as you throw in scattered fan service, right?

Wrong. High School Fleet (Or Hai-Furi if you're that guy) seems to have no idea what it's trying to do throughout its entire 12-episode voyage (Pun intended Part. 2). What starts off as an interesting concept (That totally wasn't piggybacking off the success of KanColle), quickly becomes a jumbled battle or friendly-fire and some girl with twintails that was completely misplaced in an aptitude test and should never be driving (Piloting?) a boat ever in a billion years. Oh, and it's all caused by an alien rat or something. Yup.

Allow me to elaborate on that last sentence...Oh wait, I can't! High School Fleet never even attempts to clarify why there are weird alien rat creatures that are able to infect and consume the minds of Japanese schoolgirls and force them into attacking literally everything that they see. Instead, the mature doctor-type fifteen-year-old is just like, "Hey guys, I figured it out. It was the rats, lol" and everyone else is just like, "Ohhh yeah, that makes sense" and they just leave it at that. WHAT?! You can't just throw in a plot device like that and not ever explain anything about it! Did they leave that episode out or something? Or were the alien rats simply just a means of forcing teenage girls into naval combat with actual boats instead of just cute girls with cannons on their backs in order to tailor to the twenty-five people in the anime industry that are actually interested in that.

If there is anything High School Fleet succeeds in, it's making naval combat look like a complete cakewalk. Misaki Akeno, the "captain" of the Harekaze, has literally no idea what she's doing and her entire crew knows it. Hell, even Akeno knows it and, at various points throughout the series, is just like, "Hey can someone else do this please?" but none of the others girls ever step up -- probably because, I don't know, they're teenage girls?! Instead of actually commanding her ship, Akeno just yells, "Hard right rudder!" over and over again until the series ends and the Harekaze still somehow manages to come out on top of every battle -- further proving that teenage girls shouldn't be in command of the navy.

What High School Fleet should have done instead of relying so heavily on boring naval skirmishes would be to focus more on its characters because, in all honesty, most of them were pretty great. The Harekaze had an incredibly lovable roster with tons of unique, cute girls that could even compete with Kancolle in many aspects. This, of course, brings me to the question of, "Would I have liked this series more if it was just a straight up slice-of-life?" Strangely enough, the answer to that question would probably be "yes". The fact of the matter is that everything in High School Fleet apart from the characters is just flat-out bad. I think the real sin is that the writers actually knew this and threw in swimsuit-filler any chance they could get before reluctantly saying, "Okay, time for another battle," and begrudgingly getting back to work.

When the screen isn't completely taken over by the ocean (So probably around 30% of the series), the artwork is actually nice and refreshing. Character designs are clear, vivid, and overflowing with moe. The diversity of the girls is a huge plus and, I hate to keep making this comparison but you literally have to, harkens back to Kancolle and how its different artists were able to design different, specific types of boat girls. The only problem with this is that the majority of the girls in High School Fleet should have never set foot on a boat in the first place.

In Summary:

High School Fleet is essentially what happens when you try and turn Kantai Collection fanart into a full-blown anime series. While the characters are endearing and absolutely adorable, everything else (Particularly the naval skirmishes) falls flat. When you get down to it, this entire series is built on a plot that is not only confusing but straight-up stupid and inexplicable. If you take away the alien rat things, High School Fleet would have just been a bunch of teenage girls sailing around on boats all day which, in all honesty, would have been better than what it actually was. Even the niche fans that watched this show for all the boat-stuff will easily be able to decode how hard this series tried to cater to them. But when all you know about boats is the term "Hard right rudder," it's probably best to stick to slice-of-life.

Grade: C-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll/Funimation

Kiznaiver Complete Series Anime Review

Everyone wants to connect with someone else.

What They Say:

There is an experiment being conducted in Sugomori. Deep beneath the concrete that holds the city up lies the base of operations for the Kiznaiver test, a utopian concept meant to link people together both physically and emotionally. Katsuhira Agata is your average teenage protagonist with only one thing strange about him -- he can't feel anything. However, once Katsuhira and several of his classmates are selected as the newest participants of the Kiznaiver system, they become linked together and suddenly share each other's pain and suffering. Now, they must live their lives being careful not to harm one another.

The Review:

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

Many years ago, when the young me was still trying to figure out what exactly anime was, I stumbled upon a title many of you may be familiar with, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The way the characters essentially jumped out of the screen and beckoned for attention left such an impression on me that I actually cited it as my favorite show of all time for a little while. What I didn't know at the time, however, was that the mastermind behind the series, Hiroyuki Imaishi, would go on to form Studio Trigger several years later and, as many fans of the studio say, "save anime." And while I don't necessarily believe that anime needs "saving", I believe it's pretty easy to say that Trigger has definitely established a name for themselves. After completing Kiznaiver, I can understand why.

Kiznaiver follows the lives of a group of teenagers that are thrust into an experiment in which all of them become connected by an implant known as the "Kizuna" system (Kizuna meaning "bond" in Japanese). Following the implant, our protagonists are told that any pain any of them receive from this point on will be evenly distributed amongst the entire group. Obviously, the teens take turns freaking out but ultimately accept their fate. I mean, how long can this possibly last? It's just an experiment, right?

Well, as things progress, the Kizuna project begins to look a little too in-depth to be considered "Just an experiment". The pain that everyone shares, which is purely physical at first, snowballs into a system that connects not only their nerves but their hearts and minds as well. Not only can the group feel each other's physical pain now, they can feel each other's, well...feelings. This creates an atmosphere in which each individual is afraid of even thinking, let alone doing anything harmful. As interesting as that sounds, the real beauty of Kiznaiver lies in the after-effects this implant system has on the group.

Each member selected for the experiment is vastly different from the next -- each being specific embodiments of anime tropes or stereotypes (Interesting fact: Each member actually represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins). Having these completely different people thrown into a singular group and forced to cooperate with each other is obviously going to have its ups and downs. Despite that, many of the characters find ways to look past their differences and form their own unique bond, separate from their forced one. This bond, however, winds up unintentionally amplifying anything that the Kizuna system forces on them, resulting in a giant mess of emotions easily visible to themselves and us viewers.

THIS PARAGRAPH IS SPOILER HEAVY. As the series progresses, we begin to uncover more secrets of the Kiznaiver experiment. Sonozaki Noriko, the girl who acts as the figurehead for our protagonists' Kizuna group, is actually an experiment herself. In fact, she and Katsuhira have their own unique Kizuna that leaves long-lasting impressions on both of them. Basically, Sonozaki was selected to carry the burden of everyone else in the original Kiznaiver group, which was comprised of children given up by members of the lab. What this essentially means is that Sonozaki was feeling the pain of around twelve children at once, while none of them felt anything. And, as if that wasn't enough, the system amplified itself within her and could only be subdued by large doses of drugs that had to be administered to her nearly 24/7. The end result was Sonozaki becoming almost as much of a zombie as the other kids, who were left with no original emotions of their own.

Katsuhira, also being an original child, has not felt anything in years. But, as his Kizuna system with his new "friends" begins to dissolve, those feelings come rushing back. Little by little, he remembers what it's like to be alive; he remembers all of his old friends. In fact, he even visits them in one of the last few episodes and goes on to create possibly the most emotional moment of the show when he realizes that they've become more like dolls than actual humans.

Following several group-disbanding fights, our characters must fight battles with themselves in order to determine what exactly they want to do from this point on. However, these battles aren't easily fought as each of them still have residual pain from the experiment left over. Eventually, they all meet up again and, after a few more fights, it is revealed that this pain is actually not from the experiment at all -- it's the pain of actually being connected to one another. The experiment was a success in that manner, considering that each body remained linked in a unique and personal way.

Kiznaiver teaches us a lot about friendship, bonding, and free will. It demonstrates that forced friendships are nothing more than artificial, worthless creations while, at the same time, showing us that sometimes you can find beauty in unexpected places. Even though our characters were unlikely candidates for friends, they wind up becoming just that. It shows us a lot about how being judgemental can tear something apart before it even begins and, honestly, it's really beautiful. The characters were so well fleshed out that their relationships seem to parallel real-world friendships and romances. It becomes nearly impossible to root against any of them.

Kiznaiver teaches us that even in our darkest moments, there is still light. It's just that sometimes you might need a little help finding it.

In Summary:

Trigger demonstrates that they're more than just good looks and comedy in this well-written and incredibly beautiful original series. Kiznaiver utilizes a realistic, intimate cast in order to lure the viewer into a fall sense of security that may just wind up tearing them apart from the inside out. With themes and lessons that parallel real-world friendships and what it's like to be miserable, it's quite hard to not take something away from this series. Don't watch this with a friend, as you will be compelled to awkwardly hug one another after it's over. Kiznaiver is a fantastic anime that shows us the true meaning of friendship while still having time to remind us of what it means to be alive.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll