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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Requiem of the Rose King

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 24

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The “War of the Roses,” so named because of the family crests of those involved, consumed the houses of Lancaster and York as they both sought the highest seat in England. Young Richard admires his father above all others, and longs for nothing more than for him to ascend the throne. When the battle ends in an unsatisfying truce, Richard begs his father to return to battle and win a decisive victory and become king. As the fighting draws on and things begin to look dire, Richard begins to believe the rumors of his own demonic nature and whether his “honeyed words” may have sentenced his father to death.

After escaping his cell, Richard encounters a mysterious man in the woods; a beautiful, melancholy person who claims to be a shepherd named Henry. Though Richard is nearly enraptured, he realizes that it’s not a friendship that will satisfy him, but a victory for his father. Soon afterward the tides turn and the Yorks achieve victory, putting this Henry, in reality the now-deposed King Henry, at the mercy of Richard’s wrath.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Girls’ Frontline

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

Episode Summary: After the horrors of World War III, Earth civilization is on the brink of collapse. Due to low population and the resultant labor shortages, much of the work has since been taken up by artificial android life forms called “dolls.” These dolls have found an important place within the military sphere, with Tactical Dolls or “T-Dolls” using their superior physical strength and other heightened abilities to fight battles that humans wouldn’t dare.

When the AI of an entire fleet of T-Dolls owned by the Sangvis Ferri company rebels against their human masters, a group of elite T-Dolls owned by Griffin and Kryuger investigates. What they find when traveling to a remote location to obtain some classified data from an old computer is a dangerous, extremely violent, and intelligent group of T-Dolls who give them a run for their money. After defeating a trio of heavy artillery models, T-Doll M4 is tasked with taking the retrieved data to safety. Meanwhile, back at their base, a new commander joins the organization.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Fantasia Sango: Realm of Legends

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Taiwanese RPG

Episode Summary: As a nation finds itself on the decline at on the cusp of war, the people find themselves vulnerable to attack from a much more supernatural force. The wangliang, vengeful spirits that prey upon the darkness in people’s hearts, begin to multiply and wreak havoc among the populace, and only warriors with very special skills are able to fight against their powerful dark magic. Unfortunately the 6th unit, which was comprised of such people, was wiped out under mysterious circumstances.

As the situation becomes more dire, the need for the 6th unit grows as well, and four warriors are chosen to comprise the group: Ying Ji, who can cast spells using ink magic, Xun Qiao, whose music draws forth the wangliang, Ding Yan, who has some connection to the former 6th unit, and Xiao Ling, who is a Gui Zhan – a warrior who draws power from the wangliangs’ miasma. Working together they help dispel a wangliang from a village who’s been singlehandedly defending his village from invasion, and the group gets a first-hand taste of the power wielded by a Gui Zhan.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Tokyo 24th Ward

Streaming: Funimation and Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Note: episode 1 is double-length.

Tokyo’s Far Eastern Special Administrative Region, also known as ward 24 was built on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, and has been seen in the past as a lawless region. Now on the cusp of being officially acknowledged, political tensions are high. One year previous, three childhood friends born in the 24th Ward are witness to a fire at a school, and afterwards go their separate ways until they’re reunited at a memorial service. All three are navigating life differently; Ran dabbles in guerilla protest art and hacking, while Kouki remains a rule-follower who everyone expects to go into politics like his father. But Shuuta has struggled in the year since the incident, wondering if the heroic goals he once had were just childish fantasies.

The three keep meeting by chance around town, and as they’re settling down to lunch all of them receive a mysterious phone call from someone who sounds like their late friend Asumi, who was lost in the tragic fire. The voice warns them of an impending accident in which their friend Mari will get stuck on the train tracks. Their choices are to reroute the train, causing it to derail and likely killing the 150 people onboard, or to let it continue on its current path, thus killing Mari. Asked to make the choice yet unsatisfied with both outcomes, the three young men use their know-how and physical prowess to achieve a solution that saves everyone. But who was the voice on the phone? And can it truly see into the future?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Police in a Pod

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 13

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kawai is on the verge of quitting her job as a police officer. It was the only civil service position that she could qualify for, and that in itself is no way to choose a career. Just before she submits her resignation, however, she’s partnered with Detective Fuji – a beautiful, if somewhat unorthodox, officer who’s been demoted into the position. Kawai struggles to see how Fuji’s attitude toward their work has somehow managed to survive the near constant verbal abuse they both receive from people who get caught in their traffic raids and other arrests.

After a very unusual (and enlightening) interrogation session with a local thief, and a safety presentation at at nearby elementary school, Kawai begins to see the facets of her job that she didn’t previously appreciate. While it’s true that issuing citations on a regular basis sometimes cultivates an adversarial relationship with members of the public, there are always those who take those citations to heart and try to change their behavior for the better. Maybe Kawai can hold off a bit on submitting that resignation.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: In the world of Ark Earth Online, a group of mages, deemed the “9 Wise Men” distinguished themselves from the pack by gaining power and fame – in spite of many players who preferred a simpler, more straightforward playing style. Danblf was one such mage, named the “One Man Army” due to his incredible summoning abilities. When the mage kingdom he and his IRL friend established becomes a fresh target, he travels to the battlefield and dispatches the attackers on his own.

After the battle, however, Danblf disappears completely from the face of the game. In the meantime, a beautiful young woman awakens wearing Danblf’s robes and with the ability to wield a small amount of his power. Who is this mysterious woman, and might she have anything to do with Danblf’s disappearance?

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – My Dress-Up Darling

Streaming: Funimation and Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Wakana Gojo lives with his grandfather, a craftsman who creates the Hina dolls used to celebrate the Hinamatsuri holiday. Ever since he was a child, Gojo harbored a deep love for the craft and the beauty of the dolls, a passion that resulted in the loss of a childhood friendship. Since then he’s spent all of his energy focused on honing his craft rather than trying to make friends, because he’s become sensitive about revealing his love for creating Hina dolls.

One day, after his grandfather’s antique sewing machine breaks, Gojo brings some of his doll costumes to school to work on them in the home economics classroom. As he’s enjoying the luxury of a modern sewing machine, the door swings open and in walks Marin, Gojo’s very beautiful and popular classmate. When she sees him using the sewing machine, she’s nearly ecstatic and asks to show him something. What she reveals is an in-progress cosplay she’s been working on that could definitely use some… finesse. Gojo critiques its shortcomings, but also admires Marin’s commitment to her goals. When she asks him to help her realize her dreams of embodying a favorite character, Gojo feels inspired to help her, and happy that he may have found someone to share his skills with who won’t make fun of them.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Akebi’s Sailor Uniform

Streaming: Funimation and Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Komichi Akebi is looking forward to starting junior high school at her mother’s alma mater, in part because it means she’ll finally get to wear a sailor uniform like she’s seen in her mother’s old photographs. Komichi and her mother pick out fabric at the fabric store so that her mother can sew together a uniform just for her, with each detail just perfect. When it’s finally finished and Komichi gets to try it on, it brings tears to her eyes – her dream is finally coming true.

Her world comes crashing down during the entrance ceremony, when Komichi learns that the uniform for the school changed to a blazer some years ago, making her the odd one out. Though she gets permission from the school principal to wear her uniform (since it was the school standard at one time and the principal seems to have some nostalgia for it), she struggles with how much attention her decision might potentially dump into her lap. But some unexpectedly wise words from her little sister convince her to keep wearing the uniform, and when the first day of school rolls around, it turns out that it might be the perfect icebreaker, as well as an opportunity to display Komichi’s strong will and integrity.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Prince Wein has been handling the affairs of his small country in his sick Father’s absence. His ultimate goal is to build the value of the kingdom to the point that he can sell it off and fade away into obscurity, but he suffers from a peculiar issue – his decisions made throughout the course of his tenure as de facto leader have only proven his innate gift for leadership, meaning that those around him are unlikely to leave him alone long enough to make his plans into a reality.

When a neighboring nation starts making moves to invade, Wein would much rather put up a minimal fight in order to keep from depleting the country’s modest war funds than to launch a large-scale counterattack, but decisions he made months earlier, including one providing top-notch training to the army, means that the soldiers are raring to defend their nation to the death. One major victory later (and a secondary one to secure a valuable gold mine near the border of the two nations) and Wein finds himself even more entrenched in the country’s affairs than before.

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Anime Reviews First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2022 First Impressions – Sasaki and Miyano

Streaming: Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Miyano is a male fan of BL manga – a “fudanshi” in the parlance. This is something he generally keeps under wraps until he meets the rough-and-tumble Sasaki, who intervenes to stop a fight Miyano witnesses. Miyano is happy for the intervention, and even happier that Sasaki seems interested enough to appreciate the BL stories that Miyano loves (even if Sasaki is a bit freer with his attention that Miyano tends to like).

Sasaki, for his part, not only finds that he enjoys spending time with Miyano, but also seems to appreciate Miyano’s soft features and earnest nature. The longer that the two maintain their friendship, the closer that Sasaki is to coming to terms with the fact that his admiration is steadily becoming closer to affection. He eventually realizes that he has feelings for Miyano, but does Miyano reciprocate those feelings?

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