"Torno shrine maiden", episode 17 Synopsis · Preceding scene cut & announcement movie released!

From the TV anime "Torno shrine maiden" (broadcasting only), episode 17 Synopsis · Preceding scene cut & preview movie is released. 

"Torno shrine maiden" is an original animation work whose main character was the shrine maiden of God Nagi that exudes the existence of the irregular shape which has threatened the world of human beings from the ancient times · The sword is exiled by the sword. Directed by Mr. Hiroki Kakimoto who served as an assistant director in the "Aoi Steel Arpeggio - Ars Nova" TV series & theater version, Mr. Takahashi Ryuya who composed a series of "Idol Master Cinderella Girls" series series composition · Characters The draft is Yoshikuni Shizuma who worked for Yamato and Musashi of "Fleet Scouting", and the production is "Studio Yuuki is a Brave", "Kinro Mosaic", "Saki - Saki - National Edition" Studio Five pairs. 
⇒ Women's Junior High School x Japanese Sword's original animation "Torno shrine maiden" starts! Director Hiroki Kakimoto 
⇒TOP 10 ANIME 2018 

This time, the summary of the 17th episode "Madness of the Goddesses" broadcast from May 4 (Friday) · Synopsis of the scenes and preliminary scene cut and unreviewed video "Tsuyoko! The 17th episode "Madness of the Goddesses" (Front Ver.) Has been made public, so let's introduce. 

Also, in the official website ( http://tojinomiko-tomoshibi.jp/ ) of the smartphone game "Torno shrine maiden engraving and flashlight" official website ( http://tojinomiko-tomoshibi.jp/ ), another version of the preview video "Takeoji! 17th episode "Madness of Goddesses" (Ura Ver.) Will be released on Friday, May 4. Please check this together as well. 

[17 story, "Goddess to prosperous" Synopsis] (※ titles omitted) 
<staff> Screenplay: Takahashi Tatsuya Storyboard: Fudezaka AkiraTadashi Director: Fudezaka AkiraTadashi animation director Hiroshi Kosuge, Kojima Tadaka, Sonminju 

KanaYoshi And Himekawa was on board the Pacific Ocean with Akane.
It is to meet with purple which hides inside the submarine. There was also a former Mutual Guardian Maki, Sushi flower. 
All of them will hear amazing facts.

【Broadcasting information】
■ "Torno shrine maiden" 
· TOKYO MX: every Friday 25: 05 ~ 
· MBS: every Friday 26: 55 ~
· BS 11: every Sunday 25: 00 ~ 
· AT - X: every Friday 21: 30 ~ 
　Repeat broadcast: every Sunday 22: 00 ~ / every Monday 13: 30 ~ / every Wednesday 29: 30 ~

Read More ->>

Top 10 ANIME WHERE MC DOESN'T CARE AND KILLED ANYONE

Read More ->>

TOP 10 HIGH SCHOOL ACTION ROMANCE ANIME

Read More ->>

Tokyo Ghoul:re Episode 1: "Those Who Hunt: Start" Review

After an extremely divisive season two that skipped over key material from the manga, it didn't seem like a season three of Tokyo Ghoul was ever going to happen. If it did, what would it look like? A fresh adaptation of the tokyo Ghoul:re Premiere, it's clear that this is most likely a straightforward adaptation. "Those Who Hunt: Start" not only acts as faithful recreation of the opening chapters of :re, but also defiantly distinguishes itself from what came before by significantly changing up the tone of the story and focusing on an unfamiliar cast of characters.

For starters, the white-haired elephant in the room that must be addressed is the new protagonist, Sasaki Haise. Voiced by the same actor as previous hero kaneki and sporting the iconic white hair, the

similarities between the two largely end there. Whereas Kaneki was a soft-spoken, tragic character who i found was easy to relate to, Sasaki is a laid-back and comedic leader who doesn't seem to take anything too seriously when it comes to managing his quinx squad, a group of half-ghoul, half-human investigators tasked with taking down rogue ghouls.

The whole plots revolving around the rebellious nature of a couple of characters that totally falls flat due to lack of any real exposition whatsoever. The fighting scene also lack in acton. But the at the end when ken kaneki started to show is true self.... it made feel wow....

THE VERDICT

At a glance, the first episode of Tokyo Ghoul:re fits the expected aesthetics of the series. The intense action and moody visuals are some of the most impressive that Studio Pierrot has done, but the shaky tone belies its signature style. Opting to focus on introducing too many characters at once, most of the episode falls flat. Regardless, the surprising cliffhanger ending has me excited to see where it goes from here.

what do you thing about these episode..?

let me know in the comment section.... 

Read More ->>

Special News For All

Hello Guys... 

I have started a Youtube Channels.....

To share animelist, upcoming anime, game, review, etc on these channel..So please subscribe, share and like my video ....

My First Intro

Also Follow me on instagram @deep_dnm 

Read More ->>

Spoiler Alert !! Boruto Manga "Related To Jiraiya"

If you were to ask Naruto fans about its most tragic death, they’d have to mull it over. The franchise did not shy away from killing off important figures, but few moments hurt as badly as when Jiraiya passed. The Toad Sage was a fan-favorite character and a beloved father-figure to Naruto. Even today, fans continue to rank the ninja’s death on their most-upsetting lists.

So, you can see why fans were stunned by the latest chapter of Boruto. Spoilers below! You have been warned!

                               

                  This month, Shueisha rolled out the 22nd chapter of Boruto, and the update put Team 7 up against a truly formidable opponent. After being cornered on a mission, the squad was forced to fight the former Mist Ninja Ao who fans met back during Naruto. The enemy was set on killing the group to protect the mysterious organization Kara, but Ao began to waver when Boruto pulled out his family’s Talk no Jutsu. However, the tech-infused villain didn’t get a chance to repent before he was apparently killed by Kashin Koji and his Toad summon.

Yes, the baddie whipped out a Toad. One of the Kara leaders signed the Toad Summoning Contract, and fans are freaking out over Koji’s presumed ties to Jiraiya.

In order to kill Ao, Koji summoned a massive Boiler Toad to crush the man under its weight. Konohamaru and Boruto were shocked by the summon’s appearance, and fans were as well. The man introduced himself to Team 7 before chapter 22 ended on a cliffhanger, and his Toad connection isn’t the only thing connecting him to Jiraiya.

There’s no telling how old Koji is, but his disdain of a former elder in Kara makes fans think he isn’t senile in any way. The man seems as agile as ever despite having stark white hair and facial markings. His appearance alone bears resemblance to Jiraiya as is, and if Koji can summon Toads, then he must have met the Sannin at some point. After all, Jiraiya was the holder of the Toad Summoning Contract for a long time, and Koji doesn’t look like he is old enough to have signed the scroll before Jiraiya did.

In the past, Koji has also hinted at his mysterious connections to the Leaf Village. A previous chapter saw the Kara member look over the village with a serious expression before revealing his ties to the homeland. “The Land of Fire... Konoha Village... It seems I am truly to be linked by fate to that village.”

Right now, there is no telling how Koji could be tied to Jiraiya, but fans are already speculating the worst. Boruto’s latest chapter has readers wondering whether the villain may be Jiraiya’s brother or even son given their physical similarities. Of course, Koji could also go the route Nagato did by being a former student to the Sannin, but one thing is for sure. Koji’s summoning surprise has thrown a major wrench into the story, and fans are dying to know how the terrorist is connected to Jiraiya.

How do you think Koji is connected to Jiraiya? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Instagram @ deep_dnm to talk all things Manga, k-pop, Game and Anime!

Read More ->>

Land of the Lustrous Episode 12

At the beginning of the final episode of Land of the Lustrous, Padparadscha awakes from a 231-year nap and after some fleeting conversation, they collapse into sleep again all too soon. This is a mirror for my experience of the show as a whole—so much beauty intermingled with so many unanswered questions. While every gem got a cameo in “New Work,” these glimpses of their personal dramas were as much a culmination as they were a new beginning. This season finale quietly but thoroughly summarized Phos' journey to this point while setting itself up for a sequel that I truly hope arrives.

Phos wants badly to speak to a Lunarian in order to continue their investigation on the true nature of Kongo Sensei. An impulsive chance encounter with one shows us how powerful Phos has become—even when they've forgotten their sword, their arms are more than a match for the flimsy Lunarians. The clash that follows is certainly one to remember. Cornered in a golden vault of Phos' own making, the Lunarian's eyes roll back into focus, instantly giving them an animate look. But were the melting mouth and strangled syllable an attempt at speech or simply a final gasp? Phos' answers won't come so easily when Cinnabar comes to their “rescue.” Phos' decision to thank Cinnabar at this moment is their kindest lie of the season. How far Phos has come since their days of mouthy, impetuous reactions. They've both gained (strength, popularity, responsibility) and lost (security, innocence, and memories) so much.

In fact, it takes Cinnabar to remind Phos of their earliest promise. It's tragic and a little funny that Phos has forgotten why they started on this journey of self-development in the first place—and it's adorable that aloof Cinnabar remembers every word of it with a blush. Their relationship certainly takes a step forward this episode, even with so much lost ground to recover. It brings back one of the most upsetting moments of the season for me: the moment a newly gold-limbed Phos asked who Cinnabar was. In the background of this budding relationship, we're treated to another pair—Yellow Diamond and Zircon. As Zircon strives to be good enough for Yellow under Bort's tutelage, Yellow and Rutile reminisce tenderly and humorously about the old days. (With these gems running around and Phos chasing Cinnabar later, this episode has two great examples of the one-two punchline, in which a gag is replayed immediately for great effect.)

But even though this episode nixes the opening theme, there's only enough time to focus in depth on Phos and give us a tantalizing glimpse of the daily lives of so many of their fellow gems. We've never seen so much emotion from Rutile as when they're speaking with Padparadscha, somebody they've attempted to revive more than 300,000 times. Zircon's desperate resolve to protect Yellow results in a revealing conversation with Phos, in which they psychotically consider amputating their own arms and legs in order to experience the rapid growth of their junior. And when Phos asks Alexandrite—in full Sensei cosplay—why they are so devoted to the study of Lunarians, we learn that Alex has lost somebody too: Chrysoberyl.

Season one of Land of the Lustrous was Phos' coming of age story, but episode twelve was all about hinting that every other gem has a story just as important, beautiful, funny, and tragic. The season ends the same way it begins, with Sensei giving a new assignment to a changed Phos, and the cycle is complete. Unanswered questions and all, this tense and compelling first season stands well on its own. But I'd be remiss if I didn't add that I'm hoping for more to come.

Rating: A

Land of the Lustrous is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.

Read More ->>

Yuki Yuna is a Hero Season 2 Episode 12

I came away from the series' penultimate episode with very mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is the most dramatically dense and intense episode of the franchise to date – which is saying something. On the other hand, I was left wondering if Yuki Yuna wasn't finally pushing things too far.

It's not like the story is straying into territory beyond its normal boundaries, nor is it suddenly pulling out a crisis from nowhere. We've had overt hints for a couple of episodes now that Shinjyu-sama is waning, and subtler hints have been dropped that the girls' power is now limited from the start; before, they had to make sacrifices of bodily functions in exchange for power boosts. The reason Shinjyu-sama is bothering with those restrictions at all is because it's clearly not a limitless source of power. So it's not a surprise that a bigger sacrifice is required to renew it, leading to the whole business of Yuna “getting married” to Shinjyu-sama. In ancient times, making sacrifices of young women to appease the gods was often couched in terms of marrying the young woman off to the god, and since she has to ascend from the mortal realm to be with the god, that means she has to die in the process. What Yuna has to do ritually is merely a modern extension of that practice. It has to be Yuki because she's a Misugata, though I suspect that her greatest Hero aptitude probably plays into this too.

Yuna's struggle to convince herself to accept the situation forms the first part of this episode's drama, which can be a little difficult to watch. But it should be difficult, as she's being asked to take on a burden that goes beyond mere heroism for a cost that she doesn't deserve, even if it's considered the only way to save everyone. Naturally, her friends are fiercely unwilling to roll over and accept this, which results in the second part of this episode's intense drama. Watching the girls passionately try to talk Yuna out of this decision as she resorts to using the Hero Club tenets as verbal weapons is painful to watch, because we've been given ample evidence of how deep and strong the bond is between these girls, and we know that they all deserve better, especially Yuna.

But the series isn't done throwing weighty stuff around even after Yuna runs off. The girls meet the Taisha representative at the graveyard where Gin is interred, and there we learn another bitter truth; that whole graveyard is heroes and shrine maidens – girls like them - who have given their lives over the past three centuries. It's hard to imagine a stronger visual cue for the magnitude of what the girls have done.

Something else doesn't sit comfortably with me in all this. The whole scenario with Yuna performing the Shinkon is couched in frustratingly vague metaphysical terms, but there's a strong suggestion that the entire population will become something other than human as a result, since that's the only method that will get the attacks to stop. “Living with the Shinjyu-sama eternally”, becoming “people of god”, and Shinjyu-sama “managing” everyone are all vaguely ominous concepts, even though the Taisha doesn't seem to have insidious intent. Who exactly was angered enough by the girls' proximity to Shinjyu-sama to curse Yuna also remains vague. Even at this late point, we still aren't seeing the whole picture because we're still constrained by what the girls themselves know.

One thing is quite evident, though. The flaming wall is fast approaching and the girls have to fend it off just so that Yuna can sacrifice herself. This at least assures that the finale next week won't be dull.

Rating: A-

Yuki Yuna is A Hero Season 2 is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

Read More ->>

King's Game The Animation Episode 12

Like the theme song goes: "This is the end, this is the end." For a series that revels in hilariously shallow attempts at suspense, probably the biggest mystery was which version of King's Game would show up for this finale. Would it be the amazing self-immolating dumpster or the depressively dragged-out LiveJournal rant? Thankfully, this finale is mostly the former, though the added burden of closure proves to be too much for this show's storied stupidity.

This resolution begins with easily the most outrageous order yet. The kids are supposed to cut off parts of their body and build a ‘human doll’ out of them. On the surface, it's just more senseless grimdark edginess, but the actual mechanics become purely nonsensical when you consider them for more than a few seconds. This seems to have the same effect on the characters in the show as well. Previously meek little Ryou has a breakdown that leads him to dismember himself so he can prove that he's ‘strong’, while Riona goes the opposite direction into outright refusal. I honestly enjoy Riona's characterization throughout this show, the way she's perpetually 100% donewith how stupid this has all gotten; it effectively mirrors what the audience must be feeling by this point. In general, the whole thing comes across like the characters are losing their minds less because of exposure to all this death and darkness, and more because of how ridiculous the situation has become.

But of course Riona's protests fall on deaf ears, and Ryou jumps right to lopping his own leg off to prove that he's a big strong man. The failure of the series' execution is exemplary in this scene. Everything from the cinematography to the voice acting results in a scene equal parts baffling and hilarious. For our stomach's sake at this point, maybe that's for the best.

Only when Nobuaki awakens to this scene does he finally question why the King would give an order like this, which seems like a point that should have been brought up earlier. Questioning what the King has to gain from these specific tasks seems salient, and the fact that Natsuko doesn't care could create an interesting contrast. But it's less interesting that they're only bringing this up now, and then they completely abandon the question once they dredge up the Game's infamous virus origins. They explain this to us for a third time and it still doesn't make any sense, actually raising further questions now that the question has been raised about the King's motives. This absurdity makes it unclear if there even is a King actually sending orders or if it's just a procedurally-generated facet of the hypnotic hypervirus. Nobuaki and Riona seem to think it's interesting at least, enough to start discussing it with the maniacal Natsuko after she just chainsawed two of their friends to death in front of them. But that ends up moot after they finally unscramble the jumble of cell phone messages and reveal the true solution to the King's Game: they must kill themselves!

That's right, the last big twist this triumph of storytelling has in store for us is that the King's Game virus will continue to spread unless all participants kill themselves, otherwise humanity itself will eventually be destroyed! It's almost as if the show realized it had desensitized us to obscene violence and was desperately trying to up its stakes for the finale at the eleventh hour. Ignoring the severe logical fallacies in this so-called ultimate solution, can these kids really kill themselves to save humanity?

Natsuko obviously isn't willing, and her subsequent rant actually comes the closest this series has been to compelling. I almost even liked her “someone has to be the bad guy” rationalization, and it even gets punctuated with an absurdly dramatic chainsaw slash from Riona. Everything after this point is a ridiculous daisy chain of the trio almost dying to end up killing each other anyway, complete with near-perfect comic timing as Natsuko cuts Nobuaki down just as Riona's confessing her love to him, followed by Natsuko revealing that she did it because she loves Nobuaki too! Enough girls have fallen for Nobuaki over the course of this thing that it practically qualifies as a harem fantasy for its namesake author.

So then we get to see Nobuaki go to Heaven to be reunited with all his dead friends! Maybe Teruaki can give him another haircut in the great beyond. Heck, even Natsuko is there, apparently sorry about the whole chainsaw-murder thing. What's bizarre about this sequence is that it's presented as some sort of happy-end resolution, completely glossing over the point that they all died pointless deaths. The King's Game was trying to kill them, and they put so much effort into surviving only to fail over and over again, and now the narrative is now celebrating that failure? What's the takeaway here? I know the flashback storyline didn't work because we already knew everyone died at the end, but now that the surprise is apparently that everyone dies again, there's even less sense of closure. It ends up feeling just as pointless as Riona finally kills herself to end the King's Game as the decoded message advised.

After all this, at the very end after the credits, King's Game's attempts at horror actually pull through, and it finally manages to be truly terrifying! In its last frame, in the same manner as the deadly messages sent to a new group of unsuspecting students, the series torments us with the scariest words to grace our screen:

To Be Continued...

Rating: D

King's Game The Animation is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Read More ->>

Just Because! Episode 11

As an unabashed member of Team Ena, this week's Just Because! was an absolute disaster. The episode was essentially constructed as one long visual parallel, contrasting Eita and Mio's journeys toward each of their entrance exams. As a dramatic conceit, it was an absolute success, one of the more tightly composed episodes of the show so far. As potential justification for Ena's romantic victory over Mio, it was basically the apocalypse.

More than anything else, what stuck out to me in this episode was Just Because!'s subtle but consistently effective musical cues. The show's main musical motif is a simple synth melody contrasted against a gentle rim pop sound, a light tapping that adds structure and a sense of building momentum to a melody that wavers between hopeful and resigned. That song feels like the show itself—slightly melancholy, fundamentally warm, and building ever so gently toward something bigger. Contrasted against Eita and Haruto offering friendly goodbyes, the overall effect felt like Just Because! in total, a fond goodbye and a glance toward whatever comes next.

That sense of the music leading the action carried through this episode's following scenes, where Mio and Eita both worked their hardest to not confess to each other. Mio's sister was forced to act as an unintentional negotiator, as her chance meeting with Eita resulted in both him and Mio reaffirming their dedication to not actually tell each other anything until after the exams. Mio's and Eita's infuriating attitude is a big part of why I fell so much on Ena's side in the first place, but for this episode, their synchronized hesitation definitely worked—particularly since Mio's absurd expressions facing her sister were one of the show's best comedy beats so far.

The mirroring of Mio and Eita locked fully into place the night before the exams, as the two of them each spent a moment staring out across the town toward the other. Just Because! has always drawn great dramatic mileage out of its sturdy sense of location, and this sequence felt like a final validation of how well the show has built up their Tokyo suburb as a living place. From the train sliding past in the distance to the wooded houses and sparse fields of the town proper, Mio and Eita's feelings have always been tied to this place, with its well-worn alleys and familiar convenience stores. Just Because! isn't just “teens figuring out love,” it's moments like this—two kids looking out over all the streets and sidewalks that divide them, treasuring these last moments in the place they know so well, the place they seem to be leaving behind.

A building violin-led melody followed Mio and Eita to their exams, contrasting shots shaping their journeys into a kind of shared conflict. I've never seen a show try and turn a college entrance exam into a big romantic turning point (well, I guess that was actually Love Hina's premise), but Just Because! did a stand-up job of that here, layering Mio and Eita's most emotionally charged conversations over them struggling to answer test questions. It was very in-character for these two that this climactic union would involve them sitting in entirely different towns, working quietly by themselves, trying to pass an exam they were only taking due to their refusal to actually communicate. Infuriating yes, but also in character.

In the end, it seemed like Mio, Eita, and even Ena all succeeded in their grand trials. This episode didn't really sell me on Mio and Eita being the pair that “deserve” to be together, but it was a smartly constructed episode all the same, and it certainly illustrated the depth of their feelings. The Ena ship may be sinking on the horizon, but Just Because! is still sailing gracefully to the finish.

Overall: B

Just Because! is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.

Read More ->>

GARO -Vanishing Line- Episode 12

This week's episode of Garo is called “FAMILY”, which is about as perfectly literal a title as could be. Not only is the Horror of the week centered around a down-on-their-luck family running a motel in the middle of the desert, but the thematic crux of the episode is all about how Sophie, Sword, and Gina are growing into their own family unit. While there's nothing especially surprising or mold-breaking for GARO -VANISHING LINE- here, the show has really grown into the strengths of its cast, its themes, and its setting. I think there's a tendency for people to look at more episodic stories like this one and dismiss them as filler, but I don't think that's entirely fair. This adventure has enough of its own share suspense, atmosphere, and charming character interactions to make it worthwhile in its own right.

After the cold open sets up the creepy motel (fashioned after the Bates motel) that will become the main setting later on, we get a few good minutes of Team Garo simply making their way through the western expanse, but where last week played heavily into the “Western with a capital W” imagery, the mood this time around feels more apocalyptic than anything else. Gina informs Sophie that the government of their nation has failed many of the people living outside of Russel City, and thousands have been forced out into the broken streets of cities out in the lawless zones. When we learn later that the main antagonist of the episode is also a victim of financial hardship, the whole story feels so much in touch with current American struggles that I found it almost disarming. While I've never been to a place that felt quite as bad as what Team Garo drives through, I've spent plenty of time traveling through some of the areas of the USA hit the hardest by recession, industrial collapse, and the inevitable drift of communities and opportunities. In a year where ideas like “economic anxiety” have been burned into the cultural dialogue, I never expected for GARO to be the anime that approached America's relevant current struggles.

All of this gets put into sharper focus when Team Garo finds the Bates-esque motel, and the rest of the episode does a mostly excellent job of balancing the suspense surrounding this horror of the week with the more lighthearted moments of Sophie, Sword, and Gina simply acting like a family on a road trip. Sophie exudes her characteristic glee at simply having a shower and a bed, while Gina takes on a more matronly role as she bonds more with Sophie and keeps Sword at bay. Sword has the least to do character-wise, but the episode does give him a monologue that explains his almost spiritual reverence for women's breasts, which is so enthusiastic and impassioned that it manages to be genuinely funny and incredibly stupid.

However, the overabundance of levity brought by this speech does make for one distractingly jarring transition. Before Sword goes on his boob rant, we see how the motel's owner has become broken by his financial woes, and he spends his days obsessed with earning enough money to restore his old life in Russel City. This character and his fate at the hands of the Horror that eats his motel's guests feels like an even more pointed critique of the egotism that leads to people making poor decisions based on the desire for economic prosperity alone. All Matthew's wife and son want is to remain together as a family, but Matthew won't be satisfied until he can make his own life feel great again. The town around them is as dark as pitch, and while the show doesn't immediately cut from Matthew beating his wife to Sword waxing poetic about the historical significance of breasts, the tone does feel mismatched all the same. I understand that the point was probably to break the tension up, but after watching something so thoroughly unpleasant, I think the transition could have been handled better.

Outside of that off note, this is a tightly written and genuinely suspenseful episode that worked well as a standalone story for Team Garo to fight their way through. The animation was a little wonky in places, but the strong character interactions and interesting themes made up for it. Sword was at least able to turn his breast obsession into something funny, and Sophie and Gina getting more screen time to spend together is always a good thing. Even the horror of the week was refreshing, eschewing the overly sexualized design choices of past monsters and instead going with a sentient pool of murderous water, which becomes all the more menacing in its simplicity. Even if it lacks any significant plot developments about El Dorado, to call this episode “filler” does a disservice to it as a successful example of episodic storytelling. Seeing Sophie, Sword, and Gina grow closer and stronger over the course of their journey is becoming a key feature of GARO -VANISHING LINE-'s story.

Rating: B+

Garo -Vanishing Line- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.

Read More ->>

Dies Irae Episode 11

Though Ren has been the central character since episode one, he's not been the exclusive focal point. Nowhere is that more evident than in this episode, where he doesn't appear at all in the current timeline; instead we focus on Shirou, Rea, and some of the bad guys, leaving us hanging about where the proposed alliance from the priest last episode will end up going, at least for another week. That wouldn't be a problem if the content from this episode made much sense. Once again, I can't shake the nagging impression that all these gaps would be filled in by familiarity with the source material, and some VN spoilers I've looked into do help to make sense of at least some of what we're seeing in the anime. Still, making a series that's nonsensical to anyone unfamiliar with the source material is bad planning.

The anime story does actually clarify a few points, though. Most importantly, it finally establishes that Rea is Riza's great-granddaughter, which means she's directly connected to the swastika-based plot, as evidenced by her stomach pains. It also reaffirms that Kasumi's father was a total bastard who had insidious intent on wooing Kasumi's mother for bloodline-related reasons. Shirou's déjà vu ability is also at Mercurius's will and Schreiber – the gaudily-eyepatched one who fought with Bey back in episode 0 – also finally makes an appearance, complete with his own giant skeletal thing.

Beyond that, things get almost incomprehensibly weird. The bombshell this episode drops is that Shirou was responsible for stabbing Kasumi's father to death to stop some experiment on Ren as a child. Where did that come from? Nothing of the sort has even been hinted at before this point. Presumably, Shirou sprouting up out of Rusalka (the redhead) Alien-style had something to do with her killing him, which raises the question of where Shirou's girlfriend Erii might be. (As a side note, the name that Bey calls Rusalka by, Malleus, is a reference to Malleus Maleficarum, a late 15th-century book that set the standard for witch persecutions in Europe. All of the villains in the series are apparently associated with items like these.) Equally out of nowhere is Rusalka's profession of love to Schreiber; this is presumably a ploy to save her own life, but we know too little of their relationship for such a manipulation to seem convincing. There's also Bey sprouting a girl out of his body who's supposedly his mother AND sister. We're probably not going to get any elaboration on that, since Bey gets offed quite easily by the newly-arrived Schreiber before the episode ends.

All of this is delivered through some fairly neat visuals and a strong mix of orchestral and pounding metal music, which makes me think once again that a better series could have been made from this content. As it stands, this anime hasn't done anywhere near enough work in forming a solid foundation for its world-building or connecting its puzzle pieces in a comprehensible way. For those intent on trying to weather out the rest of the series, I highly recommend checking out this Wiki page, where the character profiles will fill in some of the blanks for you.

Rating: C

Dies irae is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Read More ->>

Inuyashiki Last Hero Episode 11

The finale of Inuyashiki will doubtless leave most viewers with mixed feelings, and I'd be curious to hear the directors, adaptive writer, or original manga author comment on whether or not this effect was intentional. My suspicion is that it wasn't intended to be as unsettling as it may come across, since for all the emotional richness that the series has delivered, it's never been that thematically complex either.

The biggest point of contention will no doubt be the actions of Hiro, though I didn't find his portrayal in this episode to be problematic myself. While he unquestionably became a monster, he was never portrayed as being truly emotionless or uncaring; he was just very limited in who he cared about. I don't believe that the story was trying to redeem him through his act of self-sacrifice in trying to divert the asteroid, nor did I see Hiro as seeking any kind of redemption. His efforts to save everyone were just a side effect of his desire to save Ando and Shion – the two surviving people he did care about – rather than any substantive change of heart. His inability to single-handedly divert the asteroid could be seen as an indication that not even that could make up for all the people that he slaughtered in cold blood, but I'm not convinced that the series was trying to be that thoughtful. It seemed much more like a ploy to require that Ichiro follow Hiro's efforts with a more genuine heroic sacrifice, now that he knew how to self-destruct as well.

But was that ending avoidable? Probably not. After all, the asteroid had been at least vaguely hinted at throughout the series, and even though Ichiro used his abilities to save people, he didn't fit in that world anymore, especially without a foil like Hiro to combat, and he wouldn't be able to remain anonymous forever. Besides, this was more than some vaguely-defined sacrifice for him. Though he loved his family and fully intended to return to them if he could, he also understood that this was something he had to do to safeguard their future. For a man who had always felt small, this was the ultimate expression of both the heroic role that he had chosen for himself and the life that he had lived so far. Still, it would have been nice to see him survive.

What sells the impact of this sacrifice most is the emotions tied to it. The episode opens with Ichiro finally revealing the truth to his whole family, and both his wife and Mari won't hear his concerns that he isn't the Ichiro that they knew. His son, who's never been given much attention, was more thrown by the revelation, which was why I appreciated that the series took at least some time to round things out between him and Hiro. The scene at the end implying that his son might have finally been inspired to fight back against the bullies by his father was a simple but great inclusion, as was Ando's anguish when he immediately realized what Ichiro had done or Shion's reaction to her presumption about Hiro's demise. Moreover, Mari's discovery at the end that she had won the manga contest strikes a final note of validation for the role Ichiro played in encouraging her efforts.

That emotional honesty and impact more than makes up for the episode's most significant flaw: rushed pacing. Even though the asteroid has been foreshadowed, the scenario feels like it is plays out too quickly. The portrayal of the American president, clearly intended to be Donald Trump, was also uncharacteristically cheesy, though it still fits with the sharply opinionated social commentary tone of the series. Besides, it's practically tradition for anime to poke fun at American presidents.

Overall, the final episode delivers strongly enough for me to rank this series among the season's best. In the ways that matter, it doesn't falter in playing its strengths through to the end.

Rating: A-

Inuyashiki Last Hero is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

Read More ->>

Konohana Kitan Episode 12

“Time travel” isn't necessarily a concept you might associate with Konohana Kitan, and yet this finale manages to once again surprise and delight its audience with an unexpectedly emotional story that revolves around the twisting of time. For a series that started off feeling like just another fanservice-driven yuri-flavored slice-of-life, this final episode is a thorough reminder of how powerful and resonant Konohana Kitan turned out to be.

It all starts predictably enough, with the foxgirls travelling to the shrine in order to usher in the new year. The way the different quarters of Konohana Kitan's run have reflected the four seasons of the year has always been charming, but the past few episodes have felt especially timely with their wintry tones and palettes. The palling around doesn't last too long, since our clumsy Yuzu inevitably drops the mysterious scroll she found while cleaning out Konohanatei, and in chasing after it, she inadvertently stumbles onto the road of the gods. If the plot this week has any weakness, its that Yuzu's habit of literally stumbling into ghostly pathways and spiritual shenanigans has become a stale trope within this series, regardless of the excuse this adventure taking place during the Miracle of New Year's Eve. It's also unfortunate that we don't get to spend much time with the other girls this week, especially since this is the end of the season. While they all definitely have a presence in the story, since much of the emotion comes from Yuzu reflecting on how much she loves her home at Konohanatei, I personally wouldn't have minded a couple more scenes of this adorable cast playing off one another.

These complaints are easy enough to forgive when we get to the meat of Yuzu's Excellent Adventure, her arrival at the bustling headquarters of the kenzoku, who are the motley crew of fox spirits that work to grant the wishes and prayers of humans on Earth. These girls are all immediately likable, and I could imagine an excellent spinoff about the daily grind of trying to manage the impossible number of wishes that the kenzoku must receive every day, to say nothing of New Year's. Of particular note is Tsubaki, the fiery kenzoku who accidentally brings Yuzu to her place of work, only to get caught up trying to help her find her way back home. This task initially seems insurmountable, but eventually all of the kenzoku help Yuzu find her path back to Konohanatei, wherever and whenever it may be.

At first, the episode plays up this kenzoku plot as one final deep dive into Japan's culture and mythology, but the more time was spent focusing on Tsubaki and Yuzu's relationship, the more suspicious I became that Konohana Kitan was once again trying to pull a fast one on us. Rarely does a single figure stand out so much in an episode, unless the story is setting up one of the show's signature low-key revelations. Given how heart-wrenching these moments could be in previous episodes, I braced myself for the worse. That is, until the episode started laying on thick how Yuzu had gotten the kenzoku's patron goddess so into the idea of constructing her own hot spring inn for the gods. Combining that with the already established notion that these spirits were operating in a time far removed from Yuzu's present, the episode's end became clear to me fairly early on.

That's not to say I was disappointed or bothered by figuring everything out; it just made the whole episode work that much better. Just last week, I noted how much I enjoyed getting to see Okami take part in the action more, and this week we learn that the feisty young fox who accidentally spirited Yuzu away is the same woman who would come to be the head of the Konohanatei household. Tsubaki's touch eventually unfolds the ancient scroll that Yuzu has been carrying around and, far in the future, her desire to summon her surrogate family home ends up giving Yuzu a clear shot back to her own time. The old fox's look of stunned recognition cinches it, and suddenly what seemed like a one-off adventure for Yuzu becomes a key moment of understanding for the least developed member of the show's cast. This is a spirit who has been wandering from home to home for thousands of years, and only in Konohanatei has she managed to root herself to a sanctuary where she takes care of other hardworking girls. Yuzu isn't just another fox rounding out Konohanatei's staff; she's the friend that Tsubaki never knew she needed, a stranger whose heart is always filled with love, who wished for nothing more than for Tsubaki to find her place in the world. In planting the seeds for Konohanatei's inception, Yuzu is directly responsible for building the home and family that she has come to hold so dear.

It's a ridiculously powerful and heartfelt note to end the season on. Sure, Yuzu admits that her life at Konohanatei can't last forever, but time with her friends has changed her for the better, and she couldn't bear to live in a world without them. Yuzu truly loves and is loved by Satsuki, Tsubaki, and all the others who have come into her life. Thanks to the wobbly magic of time travel, the power of those bonds even stretches back thousands of years into the past, and it will continue to last as long as Konohanatei exists to give people a place to call home, even if only for one night. I never would have imagined that the colorful show about gay foxgirls would be able to conclude on such a rich and satisfying note, but here we are. Iyashikei anime are all about providing their audience with a subtle yet profound form of mental rejuvenation, a sense of healing that only well-written stories can provide. After twelve weeks of providing the coziest emotional comfort food, with a healthy side of genuinely moving pathos, I'm pleased to report that Konohana Kitan stands at the top of the iyashikei class. Simply put, this was a wonderful show.

Rating: A-

Konohana Kitan is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

source:- Anime new Network

Read More ->>

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 38

With the titular character's Academy days at an end, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations starts its young heroes down the path to becoming professional shinobi. Although the preceding feature film and companion manga have already made it clear that Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki would make up a three-man cell, this week's episode shows fans exactly how the new Team 7 came into being. Despite the general predictability of the story beats and several choppily-animated action sequences, episode 38 is a solid entry point for the next phase of Boruto's ninja journey.

Following one of their usual arguments, Boruto and Sarada are none too pleased to discover that they (and Mitsuki) have been placed on the same team: Team 3, led by Konohamaru. Convinced that they won't be able to work together effectively, the bickering duo sets out to submit a formal reassignment request to Naruto, who's overseeing a training session in the surrounding woods. After Mitsuki informs his teammates of the Seventh's location, the trio hits a snag when a teenage Mirai (whom Konohamaru describes as “an expert personal bodyguard”) refuses to let them see Naruto. Although the ensuing battle gets off to a rocky start, Boruto and Sarada are able to subdue their opponent by playing off one another's strengths. By the time the kids make their way to Naruto, Sarada has a new request to submit: the re-naming of Team 3 to Team 7.

Episode 38 is arguably Boruto's most Naruto-ish episode to date. Tonally and thematically, the story elicits memories of the parent series pre-Shippūden: three inexperienced Genin (two of whom are constantly arguing) set out to accomplish a goal, disagreements ensue between the team's most outspoken members, compromise is reached, and a valuable lesson is learned in the end. Of course, the mild disdain between Boruto and Sarada is considerably more subdued than the complex love/hate relationship shared by their fathers, but on the surface, it's a reasonably similar dynamic. However, since they don't have the same level of deep-rooted emotional baggage as their dads and seem to be happier people in general, it's easy to see Sarada and Boruto eventually getting over their issues with one another and working well as teammates. (Though for the sake of comedy, it's unlikely they'll ever stop trading barbs.) The subversion of the infamous Naruto/Sasuke kiss is a great callback to the parent series and one of the show's funniest moments to date. Seeing Mirai as a Chunin is another cool continuity nod to Naruto Shippūden, and she poses just the right amount of challenge for the young heroes to make things interesting. (The joke about her being forgotten on the bridge is weak though.)

Aside from the awkwardly-animated Mirai fight, the only real issue with this week's episode is how Sarada's actions undermine important events from recent story arcs. There have now been several high-stakes situations in which Boruto and Sarada have worked well as a team and acknowledged one another's good points, so Sarada's dismay at being assigned to Team 3 is a little perplexing. Her ardent insistence on being reassigned comes across as downright hurtful, even if some of her concerns about Boruto's approach to ninjutsu are valid. Still, the name change being her idea is a touching bit of mea culpa.

While the idea of an entire series set at the Ninja Academy represented an interesting departure from the original Naruto, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations seems to heading in a fun albeit familiar direction. Whether the show will stick to shorter stories or dive into lengthy arcs is anyone's guess, but we can certainly look forward to what adventures await the new Team 7.

Rating: A-

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Source:- Anime New Network

Read More ->>

URAHARA Episode 12

“It's fun to create stuff” is a positive message but not a revolutionary one. So for the final episode of URAHARA, “Goodbye Parfait” to hinge on such a simple theme is a bit of a letdown. This show was always beautifully drawn and well-styled, but when it came time to make its final impression, it harped on a message of creativity that viewers are already familiar with. Like URAHARA as a whole, this finale had some good moments but was mostly just okay.

The shrimp is not an intimidating final boss, but the show sure treats him that way. Rito, Mari, Kotoko, and Misa are unconvincingly running for their lives while Misa tries to use her burgeoning creativity to summon more than just beads. But thanks to the power of friendship, the girls all work together to think outside the box and transform the beads into something that's stronger than so many individual shiny pieces of plastic. It's a very basic metaphor for the way the girls amplify their creativity with teamwork time and again. And since they've had so much experience doing this for the duration of the show, it's no surprise when they defeat the Big Bad halfway through the episode. Commence the sluggish falling action.

“Creativity begins with imagining what you want to create” so dreaming is okay, Kotoko blandly deduces. Perhaps that's why the girls allow their fantasy version of Harajuku to linger on a little longer while they gorge on a massive parfait—which they created together, nudge nudge. By now I'm beginning to suspect that Misa's idea of creativity is just “glue two different things together:” She attached a shiny star to Super Bead Kitty, and she dumped shrimp tempura on the parfait. But either way, her creative awakening is a milestone in Scooper evolution, indicating that even these dull-minded thieves can be inventive if they're willing to learn. Sure enough, our trounced and reformed Ebifry is among that group. It's an indication of how URAHARA's theme of creativity can be downright bland when it's reiterated over and over like this.

Finally, it's time to say “Goodbye, Parfait” and shatter the illusion. Without the veil of imagination, Harajuku is looking pretty busted. But with the help of the Scoopers, Harajuku denizens, and the real Sayumin, we're led to believe it'll be back to normal in no time. I'm not entirely sure what the significance of the cat being trapped in the fantasy world with them means—maybe that their time wasn't wasted because not all of it was fake? I do have to give URAHARA kudos for making a wrecked Harajuku look just as lovely as the fantasy one. Even when the animation is choppy, like during the Ebifry fight, the show's most enduring consistency is the stylistic beauty of its art.

With that, URAHARA is done and dusted without even hinting at a second season. By the time this episode wraps up, everything has been explained, partly because of the show's slow pace and basic thematic message about creativity. The rest of the credit is due to the artists and animators who transformed URAHARA into such a pretty self-contained fantasy world that admittedly didn't have much going on under the surface.

Rating: C

URAHARA is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

source:- Anime New Network 

Read More ->>

Food Wars! The Third Plate Episode 12

At least we know why that specific reveal was left out of an earlier episode—Food Wars was saving it to end the season on. That's not entirely surprising, nor is it a particularly bad plan. For a split-cour series, there needs to be something sufficiently compelling to whet our appetites for the next half, and Tsukasa and Soma's impromptu pseudo-shokugeki wasn't quite enough.

Of course, that's partially because of how rushed it was. I don't always like to make comparisons with the source material, but there was some serious abbreviating this time that didn't do the storyline any favors. The manga gives this battle almost an entire volume when you add up the pages, so this much-streamlined version of events feels a little lackluster. In part this could be because the audience isn't likely to be familiar with the properties and flavors of venison—unless you live in a rural area, it's not a meat many people have sampled. (I find it usually just gives people gas; I'll take moose over venison any day.) Therefore, we're a little more in the dark than with some of the other main ingredients—I'd really have liked for the episode to go over venison and how to prepare it in more detail, such as we saw in season two with the turtle Hisako cooked.

Despite this, the reactions of the tasters—Megumi, Hisako, and Erina, who Soma knew were there all along—are particularly interesting and do a good job of highlighting the differences between Tsukasa's venison and Soma's. We've seen Food Wars use foodgasms to show us the nuances of people's reactions to a dish before; the most notable is the difference between a good meal and one of Soma's creepy experimental foods. That's largely gone away since season one, so it's nice to see how starkly different the girls' reactions are this time. Soma's dish causes the usual “violent” reaction that we see in the show—clothes explode off (except Tsukasa's which just sort of open) and there's a real sense of surprise on the part of the tasters, as if they weren't prepared for the flavors of Soma's cooking. When the girls eat Tsukasa's dish, however, they're transported to a gentle woodland paradise, clothed in translucent white dresses symbolic of purity when contrasted with the nakedness of their Soma reactions. The implication is that Tsukasa's cooking somehow tastes more natural, gentler on the tongue than Soma's surprising use of ingredients. While I would argue that both are valid cooking methods and that “gentle” doesn't always trump “surprising,” it makes sense given Totsuki and its history that Tsukasa would be declared the winner—even before Central, experimentation was looked at somewhat sideways.

The real takeaway here (before the big reveal at the end) is that Soma's cooking makes Tsukasa distinctly nervous. He's unpredictable, which is a detriment to the anxious chef himself, but also to the worldview espoused by Azami. Soma's dish forces Tsukasa to question his own views, and that's not something he's at all comfortable with. While he doesn't quite manage to express that to Azami, it's clear that it concerns him, which is likely to resurface at some point further down the line.

This may not have been the best episode of this season, but it does manage to wrap things up while still preparing us for more Food Wars fun in April. If nothing else, we can now see Erina as a wounded soul trying to cope the best she can rather than an irredeemable jerk, and the scene of all of the Polaris kids protecting her from her dad is heartwarming. How she'll change further knowing who Soma's dad is remains to be seen—but I'd wager that her father has no idea what he's in for now that Erina is finding her own voice.

Rating: B-

Food Wars! The Third Plate is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

source:- Anime News Network

Read More ->>