Summer 2017 Anime Awards

Technical Awards

Best Original Soundtrack/Score

Koi To Uso

Music by Masaru Yokoyama and Nobuaki Nobusawa

Sound Direction by Youta Tsuruoka

Best Insert Song (New Category)

"Confessions" (Koi To Uso)

Music by Masaru Yokoyama and Nobuaki Nobusawa

Best Opening Song

"Hello! My World!!" (Knight's And Magic)

Performed by fhana

Best Ending Song

"Junjou Emotional" (In Another World With My Smartphone)

Performed by voice cast

Best Adapted Story

Koi To Uso

Created by Musawo Tsumugi

Directed by Seiki Takuno

Best Original Story

Sakura Quest

Written by Masahiro Yokotani

Directed by Souchi Masui

Best Artwork/Animation

Welcome To The Ballroom

Animation Direction by Takashi Mukouda

Character Designs by Takahiro Kishida

Acting Awards

Best Supporting Actor

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

For Tasuku Uehara in Gamers!

Best Supporting Actress

Maaya Sakamoto

For Makagami Chikujoin in Re:Creators

This is her second win

Best Leading Actor

Nobunaga Shimazaki

For Haruto Tsukishiro in 18if

Best Leading Actress

Kana Hanazawa

For Misaki Takasaki in Koi To Uso

Character Awards

Best Supporting Character (Female)

Magane Chikujoin (Re:Creators)

Played by Maaya Sakamoto

Best Supporting Character (Male)

Yuusuke Nisaka (Koi To Uso)

Played by Shinnosuke Tachibana

Best Main Character (Female)

Ririna Sanada (Koi To Uso)

Played by Yui Makino

Best Main Character (Male)

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji (Classroom Of The Elite)

Played by Shouya Chiba

Best Character Ensemble

Tsurezure Children

Character Designs by Etsuko Sumimoto

Created by Toshia Wakabayashi

The Final Awards

Best Director (New Category)

Seiki Takuno

For Koi To Uso

Best Anime

Koi To Uso

Directed by Seiki Takuno

Produced by LIDENFILMS

Horimiya Vol. #08 Manga Review

If not now, then some day...

Creative Staff:

Art: Daisuke Hagiwara

Story: Hero

Translation: Taylor Engel

Lettering: Alexis Eckerman

What They Say:

The Kiri High crew dives into the sports festival...and thanks to some fighting words from Hori, even phys ed-phobic Miyamura is fired up and raring to go?! As Sengoku's apathy, Sakura's lack of rhythm, and Hori's manly cheerleading take center stage, his fellow third-years might get some great last memories out of their final sports fest, but for Miyamura, they'll be his first!

The Review:

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

The time has come for the first (And most likely the last) sports festival in the lives of Hori and Miyamura! Unfortunately, the couple has been separated -- Hori represents Team East alongside Sengoku and Yoshikawa, while Miyamura represents Team West with Remi and Tooru. While being torn apart at a sports festival may be a bit of an obstacle for most couples, it fuels the competitive nature of our protagonists and, in a roundabout way, brings them closer together. This whole volume really does its best to shy away from the romantic aspect of the couples' relationship and instead focuses on their friendship with not only each other but everyone around them. The downside of this, however, is that this installment goes on to be a bit underwhelming in terms of actual content.

The eighth volume of Horimiya is easily the most action-packed book thus far. Though, that doesn't really say much considering it's a romantic comedy. Either way, expect a hefty dose of some traditional Japanese sports-festival trials. Relay races, relay races that are also scavenger hunts, and relay races where two people are tied together are all present at this event. And if there's anything I learned from this festival, it's that the Japanese really love racing each other. At the end of the day, Hori's competitive nature propels Team East to victory and she forever wins bragging rights that she can use against Miyamura. After field-day comes to a close, we jump back to our standard, slightly-spontaneous formula of different, unconnected events being weaved together to create an enjoyable high school romance. And while these brief, yet hilarious scenarios all add a little bit to the story, the most important one would be the glimpse we get into the mind of Tanihara -- one of the kids who used to bully Miyamura around.

As it turns out, Tanihara's thoughts have been weighing down on him lately. As he continues to move on with his life, the one thing that haunts him is how he treated Miyamura when they were younger. Hell, he even starts dreaming about it. At the same time, Miyamura's memory of this period in his life begins to emerge as well. After stumbling upon Hori's yearbook, Miyamura begins to recollect a time in which he wasn't even a fraction of as happy as he is now. Several pages and one heavy conscience later, Miyamura and Tanihara are reunited, albeit very briefly. It's apparent, even to Miyamura, that Tanihara wants to apologize. However, boys will be boys and even though Tanihara is begging for forgiveness, he can't really bring himself to actually say anything. For him, though, this is a huge step forward and I expect it will pave the way to a much more significant event later on in the series.

In Summary:

Even with this being an underwhelming volume in terms of content, Horimiya's lovable character roster and excellent sense of humor go on to create another incredibly enjoyable addition to the series. Each character has taken on a life of their own and there isn't a single one that becomes a chore to watch. Considering just how large this roster has grown to be, I'd say that's pretty damn impressive. As of right now, I'd imagine that the ninth volume will be a bit heavier plot-wise, but I've expected things like that before and been let down, so we'll just have to wait and see. Regardless, Horimiya is just as great as ever and fans of the series will love this book just as much as the other seven.

Content Grade: B+

Art Grade: A

Packaging Grade: B+

Text/Translation Grade: A+

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: July 18, 2017

MSRP: $12.99

NTR: Netsuzou Trap Episode #08 Anime Review

I'm not leaving here without you.

What They Say:

Yuma, a high school second-year, is enjoying every day now that she has her first boyfriend. After she asks for relationship advice from Hotaru, her beautiful long-time friend who has had many boyfriends, Hotaru teases her for her inexperience and playfully does things to her that even her boyfriend doesn't do. Yuma and Hotaru's secret relationship continues to escalate, and Yuma finds herself unable to deny how it makes her feel. This school drama tells the story of the interwoven lives of these two girls with boyfriends.

The Review:

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

Okay, so, Hotaru works at a maid cafe now. I know this might be a little too much for some people to handle (Considering just how heavy the plot has gotten thanks to this turn of events), but I can assure you that NTR remains just as dull as ever and that there is nothing to worry about. One thing to note, however, is that Yuma completely disagrees. In fact, she apparently puts working at a maid cafe on the same level as prostitution -- something I'm sure we can all safely disagree with. That being said, it doesn't make much sense when she is persuaded to work there as well for a whopping thirty minutes. In fact, I'm pretty sure this episode only exists because the writers wanted to see what the girls would look like in maid outfits. To be fair, they would look pretty attractive if it weren't for the fact that the actual outfits have more personality than the girls wearing them.

After we get our traditional minute and a half of fan service, we are reminded that Fujiwara is also a character in this show -- a character that [unsurprisingly] agrees that a job like Hotaru's really isn't all that bad. Of course, he then goes on to announce that she's only doing it so she can save up enough money to move out, and we can all imagine just how frustrating it is to live right next door to your best-friend/sex-friend. However, the idea of Hotaru earning enough money to afford a small, one-bedroom apartment off of her part time work at a maid cafe makes almost as much sense as the friendship between our protagonists. At the end of the day, we have another carbon-copy episode of NTR: Yuma figures out something weirdly sexual about Hotaru, Hotaru acts aloof and seduces Yuma, Yuma thinks Hotaru is weird and that there is no possibility that she actually has feelings or anything, and Fujiwara throws out a suspenseful tag line for the end of the episode.

In Summary:

I would have already dropped this show if I didn't like bashing it so much. And really, this isn't me just bashing this series for the sake of it -- this show is just honestly horrible. I don't know how anyone can put up with it. Like, yuri is the greatest thing ever. I'll buy any anime series under the sun if there are girls kissing each other. But having to put up with such nonsensical, forced plot twists and a roster of characters who probably need a diagram in order to tie their shoes is just physically taxing. I said a lot of things in the early stages of this series about how it would greatly benefit from being long-form instead of short-form. Well, now I understand why it's not. I can only imagine how hard it is to put together a full-length series when you don't have a story.

Grade: D

Streamed By: Crunchyroll