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First Impressions Reviews

Summer 2019 First Impressions – The Ones Within

Akatsuki Iride and seven other charismatic game streamers wake up in the world of a mysterious free-to-play game called Naka no Hito Genome. Now they are competing in real-life games with life-or-death stakes, but clearing several game tasks could earn them 100 million lives.  – ANN

Streaming: Funimation and Hulu

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: One fateful night, several “Let’s Play” video game streamers are offered the opportunity to participate in a special top-secret gaming session. Streamer Akatsuki awakens in a forest soon afterward, and he and a fellow streamer are soon pursued by a giant panda. Akatsuki’s thoughtfulness wins out when he identifies that the panda isn’t hostile. After clearing the obstacle, they’re approached by Mr. Paka, and alpaca-headed individual who fills them in about their special status.

Akatsuki and seven others were chosen to participate in this real-life streaming event, the goal being to grow a viewership of 100,000,000 individuals. They’ll be completing tasks in small groups to obtain genomic objects for some unspecified purpose. The first goal is to complete the 3 requests of “Kokkuri-san” (the Japanese equivalent of using a Ouija board to summon a spirit). While the others in the group are rightfully spooked when the spirit appears, Akatsuki’s kindness and offer of friendship allows them to fulfill the ghost’s desires.

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First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2019 First Impressions – Mysteria Friends

Mysteria Academy is a prestigious magic school that teaches magic without discrimination to the three factions (men, gods, demons), who usually are engaged in battle with each other. Two of the academy’s students are Anne, a princess and honor student, and Grea, a princess born from a dragon and a human. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 10

Source: Game (offshoot of Rage of Bahamut)

Episode Summary: Anne and Grea are two princesses who are as different as can be. Anne is confident and talented, with magical powers befitting her high status. Grea is the child of a human and a dragon and a quiet, sweet soul. Together the two form a bond of friendship that benefits from their differing personalities and makes their time at Mysteria Magic Academy much more fulfilling.

One day Anne is dragged away to aid in the quelling of an angry library spirit, and the aftermath keeps her there for some of the cleanup. Loyal Grea waits at their meeting place until the sun begins to set. Anne is surprised and touched that Grea waited, and the two go off to have their evening meal together.

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Winter 2019 First Impressions – Grimms Notes: The Animation

Set in a fairy tale world in which everyone receives a book when they are born. These books determine every little detail of that person’s life. Written by the mysterious storyteller, each book traps that individual into a preordained fate. The story, however, stars a hero without a story, someone free to decide his own fate. But since he has only blank pages he can only wander to find his purpose. Our hero travels to lands and meets characters straight out of the pages of some of the most famous fairy tales. He must work together with the characters he meets to fight to get back his story. – Crunchyroll

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Mobile Game

Episode Summary: Every person is born with a book, its pages telling their life’s story and guiding their fate. What of those whose stories aren’t defined? Ex is one such individual, whose fate and destiny have been left blank. He joins a traveling band of individuals whose purpose is to battle “Chaos Tellers,” enemies who re-write reality and corrupt people’s stories until they become twisted and evil. He hopes to discover what his purpose is as he fights alongside his companions.

As Tao, Shane, Reina, and Ex arrive in Little Red Riding Hood’s world, they discover that she’s gone missing. Eventually they learn that her anxiety over her fate to be eaten by the wolf, as well as her apprehension over the prospect of the Woodsman marrying her mother, have left her open to a Chaos Teller’s corrupting influence. It’s up to this band of fighters, along with their magical fairy tale partners, to set this story straight once again.

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First Impressions Reviews

Winter 2019 First Impressions – Pastel Memories

Akihabara is a mecca for otaku culture everywhere. But that culture is on the decline due to a mysterious affliction causing widespread memory loss. Izumi and her comrades hatch a plan to restore lost memories and return “Akiba” to its former glory. – HIDIVE

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 12

Source: Smartphone Game

Episode Summary: Izumi and her coworkers at the Rabbit Shed Shop cafe in Akihabara are some of the few remaining folks who remember what their area was like at the height of the fandom boom. After a strange fog descended on Akihabara one day, most of the manga magazines stopped publication and this created a domino effect where the many colorful book stores, video game arcades and maid cafes of Akihabara shut down for good. When they discover that a previous customer was looking for a particular favorite manga series, the cafe employees tear through their storage area to find a copy. Unfortunately, they only have multiple copies of volumes 2 and 5; not very useful if someone would like to read the entire series. After being joined by some of their compatriots, they all embark on a quest to find the missing volumes at the few remaining used book stores in Akihabara.

It takes some digging, but they manage to find most of them, except the all-important first volume. When everyone’s back at the cafe mulling over their options, another three employees appear out of the blue, having vanquished a memory virus threatening to destroy the very existence of a favorite piece of media from the past. When a new virus threatens the manga series they’re attempting to reassemble, Izumi herself offers to go and ensure that this treasured memory is not lost.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Conception

Itsuki Yūge is a high school student who finds out on the day of his graduation ceremony that his cousin and childhood friend Mahiru is pregnant. Immediately afterward, Itsuki and Mahiru are taken to a magical world called Granvania, which is currently being invaded by monsters. The only people who can fight and exorcise the monsters are the “Star Children,” and the Star Children can only be produced by the 12 “Star Maidens.” In order to defeat the monsters and return to his own world, Itsuki must father the Star Children with the Maidens. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

Episode Summary: Itsuki’s cousin Mahiru has some news for him, and it’s a surprise to them both: Mahiru is pregnant, though having never had intercourse the mechanism is truly a mystery. As she reveals the news, both the teens are drawn unwillingly into a magic porthole that connects to another world. After battling with a demon, they’re met by someone from the royal court who escorts them them to the castle.

As the King himself explains, Itsuki was brought to their world to be its savior, and Mahiru is one of twelve zodiac priestesses who play an important role in the world’s survival. It’s not Itsuki himself that’s destined to purify the world, but instead the offspring he creates with each of the priestesses have the power to save them all. As a relatively innocent guy, this weighty task seems somewhat daunting though perhaps a little fun, too. When his potential coupling with Mahiru is set to become a reality, it’s then that Itsuki is under the gun to prove what kind of man he is.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Merc StoriA

Yuu, a young healer with the power to heal the hearts of monsters, receives a mysterious bottle from his father as a gift. When Yuu touches the bottle, Merc, a girl made of liquid, appears from it. Merc has no memories from before she met Yuu and wants to learn more about who she is, so the two of them set out on a journey through various countries. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

Episode Summary: Yuu is a young man with a developing ability to heal agitated beasts and monsters. His adventuring dad brings him home what looks like just a weird bottle of water, but inside is a magical water fairy named Merc with a snappy personality and a desire to lead Yuu out on his own adventures.

As Yuu and Merc plan to embark on a quest (since Merc’s horoscope leads her to believe that it’s the best time to do so), they get involved with a small, fluffy monster who seems insistent that they follow him. Their fluffy friend leads them to a large monster in need of healing. Though Yuu’s abilities may be somewhat untrained, his natural talents are able to calm the beast. To show thanks, their fluff ball companion elects to join them as they adventure into the unknown.

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Summer 2018 First Impressions – 100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams

In the dream world, dreams give people the power to live, but the world is threatened by dream-eating beings known as “Yumekui.” In order to save the world, princes from all kingdoms must join their power. The butler Navi and Prince Avi of the knight kingdom Arstoria travel the world in order to save it. – ANN

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: TBA

Source: Smartphone Game

Episode 1 Summary: The Dream Royalty bestowed the ability to dream upon the people in order to brighten their lives, but the Dream Eaters soon came to steal it away. If a Dream Eater were to consume all of someone’s dreams, then that person would be cursed with eternal slumber. In order to fight the advance of these terrifying enemies, a group of princes banded together to defend their kingdoms. One by one, the princes were sealed inside of beautiful rings, only to be awakened by the right person. When the right person appears, however, she doesn’t believe a word of it. Having lived her entire life in our world, she’s not inclined to believe the words of a “butler” (who looks like a stuffed animal) telling her that she’s the Princess of Traümere, a member of the Dream Royalty who has the ability to unseal these princes. But soon enough she does just that, awakening Prince Avi to accompany her. In a nearby town they identify a flamboyant young man peddling ill-gotten wares, including another such royal ring. After a battle with some Dream Eaters, though, it appears that Kiel, as he’s known, might have some royal history as well.

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