Tag: Amazon

Categories
Anime Reviews Personal Reviews

To Love and Be Loved – Ash’s Legacy in “Banana Fish”

Note: This post contains spoilers through the very end of Banana Fish.

I suspect it’s common to go through periods of questioning one’s value to the world. At least, it’s common for me, because I have a terrible history of low self-esteem and imposter syndrome. If there are folks out there reading this who’ve always been perfectly confident about themselves or discovered the secret to mental well-being, well, please teach me your secrets. I spend possibly too much time worrying about what I have to offer to the world and whether I’m worthy of love, and I suspect that’s likely why I grew so attached to the narrative in 2018’s Banana Fish adaptation.

Continue reading “To Love and Be Loved – Ash’s Legacy in “Banana Fish””
Categories
Opinion Personal

What I’m Watching – Dororo (Episodes 1-6)

This post discusses plot spoilers through episode 6 of the anime.

Check out my first impression here!

While I hate to keep mentioning my recent out-of-town trip since it’s not relevant to this site otherwise, it continues to be on my mind because these types of mini-vacations (work trips to other cities where my evenings are basically free to do as I please) are great opportunities for me to keep up on my anime-watching. Aside from The Promised Neverland, the other series that kept my company that week was Dororo. For whatever reason I was getting seriously intermittent access to Crunchyroll where I was staying (I blame it more on the Android app itself, which has always worked spotty for me even with great internet and a brand new cell phone), so I stuck to Amazon Video this time around.

Continue reading “What I’m Watching – Dororo (Episodes 1-6)”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2019 First Impressions – Kemurikusa

A story about three sisters struggling to survive in a desolate world surrounded by decaying buildings and red fog. The story revolves around Rin, a girl with an updo. There’s also Ritsu, the big sister who has cat ears and is always calm, and Rina, the innocent, cheerful one dressed in a maid’s costume. Just what is it that these sisters are after in this mysterious world? – Amazon

Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Rin and her sister Rinako are out on a dangerous search for fresh water. They happen to find a hidden pool of it in an abandoned ship that’s been grounded on their island. They have little time to celebrate, because they’re constantly being hunted by the gigantic red bugs that fill the air with toxic fog. Rin dispatches one, but Rinako isn’t so lucky; though she takes one out on her own, her injuries are too severe and she fades away. Rin must take this bad news back to big sister Ritsu and the remaining four Rinas waiting back at home.

Ritsu uses her power to siphon the water into their holding tank, bringing all manner of debris with it. Soon they hear a splash and discover a very strange-looking bug swimming in the tank. This bug can talk, calls himself “Wakaba,” and almost looks human, but the sisters are cautious. Rin attempts to dispatch him by using one of their special leaves, but the glowing green power only seems to heal this strange creature. When another bug attacks, Wakaba tries to prove he isn’t a threat by leading Rin to its hiding spot. Even so, Rin doesn’t know what to do about him and finds herself confused.

Continue reading “Winter 2019 First Impressions – Kemurikusa”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2019 First Impressions – Dororo

During the 1470s after the Wars of Onin and Bunmei in the Noto Peninsula of the Hokuriku District, Hyakkimaru, who lacks as much as 48 body parts, obtains a fake body and eliminates 48 monsters that were made from his body to retrieve his missing body parts. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Sixteen years ago, a local lord made a pack with Hell’s demons to obtain power and prevent more famine from befalling his lands. In exchange, upon the birth of his firstborn son, the baby’s body parts were stolen, leaving only a skinless, barely-living husk. The midwife tasked with disposing of the infant takes pity on it, setting it on the river in a boat before being attacked and devoured by a demon, who seems to have a keen interest in the child.

As the years pass the world continues to be filled with conflict and war. A young “entrepreneur” named Dororo makes a meager living selling fraudulent wares while trying to stay ahead of the local authorities. One day Dororo bothers the wrong guys and they’re nearly murdered for it. Dororo is saved by the appearance of a terrifying demon who eats their attackers, and then saved from the demon by a silent, somewhat unusual-looking man with katana blades hidden within his prosthetic arms. Stranger still, after the man dispatches the demon, the mask covering his face falls away to reveal new skin growing over his exposed flesh.

Continue reading “Winter 2019 First Impressions – Dororo”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Karakuri Circus

Masaru Saiga is a fifth-grade boy who aims to become a puppeteer. After Sadayoshi Saiga — the CEO of the giant home telephone maker Saiga and Masaru’s father — passes away, Masaru inherits 18 billion yen. Masaru is targeted for his wealth, and is saved by two people. Narumi Katō is a man who has studied Kung-Fu and has a weird illness called “Zonapha Syndrome,” and Shirogane is a silver-haired woman who controls the puppet “Arurukan” (Harlequin). Together, Masaru, Narumi, and Shirogane get thrown into various conspiracies by those who would try to steal Masaru’s fortune. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: 36

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Narumi is a martial-arts expert, but you wouldn’t know it from his day job as a costumed advertisement for a circus. As he’s handing out flyers to passers-by, a boy runs into him with his luggage. This young man, Masaru, is on the run from several very threatening men-in-black who seem immune to physical attacks. Narumi and Masaru escape from them onto a train, but their safety is only temporary; these dark figures, who are soon revealed to be puppet-like automatons, attack their car and derail the train, crashing it into Narumi’s circus tent.

Inside, Masaru and Narumi find themselves cornered, until a silver-haired woman wearing a sparkling unitard descends from a tightrope above and takes control of the huge marionette in Masaru’s luggage. This woman, Shirogane, has a long-standing commitment to Masaru’s family, and uses her skills to rescue him. Still, she doesn’t know much about the lay of the land, so as Masaru receives medical treatment, Narumi and Shirogane reach an uneasy truce.

Continue reading “Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Karakuri Circus”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Boarding School Juliet

At Dahlia Academy, a prestigious boarding school attended by students of two feuding countries—the eastern Nation of Touwa, and the Principality of West—Romio Inuzuka, leader of the dorms’ Touwa first-years, wishes for a romance that can never be. For his ladylove is none other than his arch-enemy, Juliet Persia, leader of the dorms’ West first-years. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The feud between the Principality of the West and the Eastern Nation of Touwa is played out daily in the microcosm that is Dahlia Academy. Romio Inuzuka leads the Touwa Black Doggy Dorm, while Juliet Persia heads the dorm of the Western White Cats, and they truly do feud like cats and dogs; the confrontations between the two groups occasionally erupt into actual violence, with their passionate leaders at the center of the conflict. Romio has a secret, however – he’s been in love with Juliet since the two were children, but he’s never been brave enough to state it out loud (for obvious reasons).

When Juliet finds herself cornered one afternoon Romio manages to save her from attack, though in doing so embarrasses her so much that he believes there’s no salvaging their potential relationship. Later that night he receives a message from Juliet beckoning him to the school’s fountain, more than likely so that they can hash out their “differences.” When she challenges him to a sword duel, Juliet explains that she’s always considered Romio the rival she wants to beat; she works and trains hard so that she can one day have the power to change the world. Romio lays it all on the line and shares the truth of his feelings as their swords clash. They eventually decide to start dating – but it has to be in secret, for the sake of the school and its tenuous harmony.

Continue reading “Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Boarding School Juliet”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – IRODUKU: The World in Colors

Set in the city of Nagasaki, the story takes place in a world where a miniscule amount of magic remains in everyday life. Hitomi Tsukishiro is a 17-year-old descendant of a witch family who grew up with stale emotions, as she lost her sense of color at a very young age. Feeling sorry for her granddaughter’s future, Kohaku, a great witch, sends Hitomi to past, the year 2018. Through exchanges with her 17-year-old grandmother and her club members, the story follows Hitomi’s growth as a person. – MAL

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: TBA

Source: Original

Episode Summary: At some point in her life, Hitomi lost her ability to see color. As a member of a family of mages, this seems to have dulled her magical abilities and has left her feeling depressed and disconnected from the world. Even the festival fireworks, something she loved to watch as a child, don’t reveal their true beauty when Hitomi is watching them. Hitomi’s grandmother, a powerful mage, surprises her the evening of the fireworks with a time-turning device that she’s been bathing in the light of the moon for 60 years. She’s decided to send Hitomi 60 years in the past to 2018, and Hitomi has no time to resist before her grandmother wishes her goodbye and completes the spell.

Hitomi arrives in an unfamiliar room that clearly belongs to a young man – he arrives to change his clothes as she hides underneath the bed. As she crawls out the window, several students her age bear witness to the escape and start the rumor mill running – who’s the mysterious (and beautiful) girl that Aoi was keeping in his bedroom? When the members of the photography club discover that Hitomi is well and truly lost, they take her under their wing and bring her to her family’s magic shop, atop the hill as it always has been. Though her grandmother (her age in this time period) is off studying magic in England, once the rest of the proprietors realize that Hitomi is family, they invite her to stay in their spare room. The next day, as Hitomi searches for a lost item, she encounters Aoi who’s spending his free time drawing. Amazingly enough, the drawing appears to Hitomi in vivid color. Could there be some way to restore color to her world, and bring her magic back?

Continue reading “Autumn 2018 First Impressions – IRODUKU: The World in Colors”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Happy Sugar Life

Beautiful high school girl Satō Matsuzaka believes she has finally found the meaning of love when she begins living with a younger girl. Previously, Satō never refused the advances of any guy around her, but that changes when she meets the girl Shio. The background and age of the mysterious girl are unclear. When Satō is with Shio, she experiences a very sweet feeling, which she understands as love. In order to protect that feeling, Satō is willing to do anything, even if it means committing murder. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: Satou used to sleep around with various guys, but ever since discovering true love, she’s left the revolving door of men behind her. The object of Satou’s affection is Shio, a young girl of indeterminate age who lives with her. Now that the two are on their own, Satou is the primary breadwinner, so she quits her lower-paying maid cafe job to become a waitress at an upscale restaurant. As an attractive young lady, Satou draws the attention of one of her male coworkers, but as with all other potential male suitors as of late, she rebuffs his advances. Afterwards, she sees him entering the female manager’s office. Suddenly the manager starts giving Satou significantly more work than the other employees, ostensibly in order to make up for having declined her coworker’s advances and causing discord in the restaurant. The long days keep Satou from seeing Shio, and she begins to experience some intense negative feelings towards the manager for keeping her away from her love. Payday is the final straw – Satou doesn’t receive any pay related to the overtime she’s been forced to work. But Satou knows the manager’s dark secret and threatens to blackmail her. Satou has some secrets herself, though; her “happy sugar life” as she describes it may not entirely be based in reality, and the blood-covered garbage bags in her back room may have their own tale to tell.

Continue reading “Summer 2018 First Impressions – Happy Sugar Life”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Grand Blue Dreaming

Iori Kitahara is a college student living along in a coastal city who meets scuba-diving and fun-loving upperclassmen. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: Iori is about to start college, so moves in with his uncle and cousins so he can be closer to campus. He’s got an image in his mind of how he wants his school life to be, and that image includes none of the juvenile antics he experienced while attending an all-boys high school. Unfortunately he seems destined to repeat the past, since the school diving club members use his uncle’s diving store as a hangout – they spend their evenings drinking alcohol and taking off their clothes, and now they’re eyeing Iori as a potential new member. As much as Iori tries to resist, the guys trick him into drinking and then blacking out. He wakes up the next morning on campus in his underwear, leading to several uncomfortable situations throughout the day. Vowing never to repeat this debauchery, but in need of clothes to wear, he ends up in cahoots with his diving upperclassmen again to trick another freshman into joining the club. Their “victim” is Kouhei, an obvious otaku, who they literally grab off the sidewalk. The club welcoming party is – you guessed it – another excuse to get black-out drunk, and Iori and company end up making the same mistakes as last time.

Continue reading “Summer 2018 First Impressions – Grand Blue Dreaming”
Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2018 First Impressions – Drop Kick on my Devil!

Yurine Hanazono is a college student who summons Jashin-chan, a demon from the underworld. Now they must live together in a run-down apartment in Tokyo’s Jinbōchō district. If Yurine dies, Jashin-chan gets to go back to the underworld, so she constantly plots to kill Yurine. – ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode 1 Summary: Jashin-chan is an evil demon who was unwillingly summoned to Earth by Yurine, a human being with even more terrifying qualities. Jashin-chan wants nothing more than to make her way back home to Hell, a journey which can only occur if she’s released by her master. This means one thing – if she can kill Yurine, she’ll be free to go. Jashin-chan comes up with scheme after hare-brained scheme to take Yurine out of the picture – one time she plots to distract Yurine with a favorite movie and bean her with a crowbar, and a few days later she’s got plans to stun her with a stun gun and then stab her to death. All of Jashin-chan’s plots involve the forced participation of her other demon friends, most of whom are actually pretty nice people and don’t necessarily want to enable her (but who are thus easily-manipulated). Yurine is also constantly one step ahead of Jashin-chan’s plans, and her counterattacks are profoundly brutal.

Continue reading “Summer 2018 First Impressions – Drop Kick on my Devil!”