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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – We Rent Tsukumogami

Fukagawa ward of old Edo (present-day Tokyo) is prone to fire and flooding, so residents rent everyday items like pots, futons, and clothing from shops instead of purchasing them, so as not to impede them when they flee. Okō and Seiji, an older sister and younger brother, run one such rental shop called Izumoya. However, mixed in with their inventory are tsukumogami, objects that have turned into spirits after a hundred years of existence. The siblings sometimes lend these sentient items to customers. Both Okō and Seiji can see and talk to these spirits, and other tsukumogami often come to the store after hearing of the famed siblings.ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Novel

Episode 1 Summary: Siblings Okou and Seiji manage a rental shop in Edo called Izumonya. While their bread and butter is based around renting everyday objects to customers, they also hold onto an inventory of tsukumogami, well-loved items that have gone on to develop souls. Though they try to keep a lid on this strange specialty, word tends to get around; they’re called upon by a man about to marry into a wealthy family who’s lost a particular family heirloom. The mouse netsuke (charm) that’s gone missing is said to have sprouted legs and run away, and while the siblings are coy about the possibility of it being a tsukumogami (or even acknowledging that tsukumogami are real), they soon employ their own tsukumogami to gather information about the situation. What are eventually discovered are some half-truths about the impending marriage, as well as some fuller truths about the groom’s relationship with his older brother. There might also be some complicated feelings between Seiji and Okou, who aren’t related by blood.

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Revue Starlight

“Starlight” is the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they’re young that one day they’ll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other “Stage Girls” will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue.ANN

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 13

Source: Original Multimedia Franchise

Episode 1 Summary: Karen Aijo, despite being a goofball and a little bit of a sleepyhead, is one of the elite students at Seisho Music Academy, a training ground for musical actresses and theater professionals. She made a promise with her friend Hikari when they were children that they’d each become actresses, and Karen has been living that promise to the best of her abilities. It’s been years since Karen has seen Hikari, but as fate would have it Hikari has recently transferred to Seisho after having lived several years overseas. Karen is overjoyed, but Hikari seems distant. When Karen follows Hikari back to school one evening, she discovers a secret hidden below the halls of Seisho. There, Hikari is involved in what appears to be the battle of her life with another of the students as part of an audition for the role of top actress in the Starlight musical. Karen, being who she is, can’t help but don a costume herself and intervene.

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs

Kogarashi, a high school boy cursed with misfortune to see ghosts since birth, finds a haunted inn offering rent-free room to anyone able to exorcise a ghost. When the ghost turns out to be an innocent young girl, Kogarashi decides to help her move on rather than purify her. While he works on that, Kogarashi is pulled into the paranormal hijinks of the other residents of the inn and even his new school mates.ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: After living in poverty and without a home for much of his recent life, Kogarashi has finally found an affordable place to hang his hat. After being abandoned by his relatives he spent some time apprenticing with a medium, perfecting his exorcism punch attack to get rid of ghosts and spirits. Now he’s found an inn offering incredibly cheap accommodations, though it’s due to being haunted. With Kogarashi’s skills, he figures it won’t be haunted much longer and he can then live his days there cheaply and comfortably. It isn’t long after his arrival that he encounters the ghost, but he realizes quickly that a psychic punch isn’t going to do the trick this time – the ghost isn’t some terrifying spirit, but a sexy girl his same age named Yuuna. Kogarashi muddles over this conundrum, but his purpose becomes clear when a traveling monk attempts to forcibly send Yuuna to the afterlife. Kogarashi rescues Yuuna and vows to help her ascend to Heaven on her own terms.

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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Lord of Vermilion: The Crimson King

Tokyo in 2030. In a suburban area, suddenly a high-frequency resonant sound is heard, and at the same time a red mist shrouds the area. Anyone who hears the sound, be it human or animal, loses consciousness. The government estimates that it might be an unidentified virus, and fearful of an epidemic, blockades Tokyo and moves its base to Osaka. However, six days after the incident, those who lost consciousness from the sound awaken for no apparent reason. Those blockaded in Tokyo slowly start to get the city functioning again, but after that day strange incidents start to occur at the blockade border. Those who have awakened a hidden blood power arise, are drawn to one another, and must face a cruel fate.ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

Episode 1 Summary: Chihiro is a typical college student who lives with his adoptive family at their dojo. Though he’s a good swordsman, he has an aversion towards aiming for a killing blow, something his instructor (and adoptive father) warns him about repeatedly. Kotetsu, the instructor’s son as well as Chihiro’s friend and adoptive brother, dreams that the two of them will take over the dojo together someday. While they’re both on their way to university, a terrible noise rings out across the city. People begin to collapse in the street as the noise permeates the atmosphere.

Chihiro awakens in a hospital bed, where the doctor (and his moody nurse), inform him that he’s been comatose for the better part of five months. He’s in fact the last of the people affected by the incident to wake up. While he was asleep Chihiro dreamed of a void space filled with spinning architecture and a mysterious young woman with a parasol, but when the doctor asks him about his dream, he finds the images have begun to fade. Once Kotetsu retrieves him from the hospital, Chihiro begins to learn about the things that happened while he was asleep and how Tokyo is now isolated from the rest of the country by a mysterious red fog. When the two return to the dojo, they once again hear a terrible sound ring out – and discover a terrifying monster that has absorbed their father!