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Nov 7, 2025
*tumbleweed passes by*
*looks around*
Hello...?
Anyone here...?
Hmmm...
...
Welp, looks pretty empty and barren here. I'll be the first to review, and luckily, I can keep it short and sweet. Also I WILL spoil the twist at the end of chapter one. It's so important that I almost feel obligated to talk about it, but I won't spoil anything else after that. Hope that's okay. If you care about spoilers, go in blind, read the first chapter, then come back. Trust me.
Ki ni Naru Kurumi-san. Kurumi is such a smart, talented, and dignified student. She's at the top of her class, and all of her peers adore and admire her. She's beautiful, difficult to approach, and has a ice-cold demeanor. A proper ice queen. Fujimori is just your typical, nerdy schmuck who longs for Kurumi from afar. We've all been there, amirite? Fujimori loves Kurumi and she looks eerily similar to his favorite anime character, Tsumetan from Magical Sorena. Just in case you're wondering, yes, that last part was worth mentioning. He wants to talk to Kurumi, but unfortunately for him, he blends into the crowd seamlessly like a modern-day Kagerou Usui. No one in class ever takes him seriously and he usually gets bullied. He later ends up losing his gym clothes and out of nowhere, Kurumi helps Fujimori. She finds and returns his lost gym clothes, supposedly through a random act of kindness. At least that's what you initially think...
Now this is the part of the story that I'm reluctant to spoil. It's revealed at the end of the first chapter and it's the main draw of the manga. Kurumi is not exactly the girl you think she is. She's far more "off-putting" in her personal life. She's obsessed with Fujimori and is a complete stalker. I'll admit, I was aware of the twist going into the manga. It's the reason why I wanted to read it in the first place. Pictures of Fujimori plastered all over her room, pillows in the shape of Fujimori, and even voice recordings of him on her phone. Kurumi is quite creepy or hot depending on who you are. Matter of perspective, really. I was debating whether or not to mention this, but I thought it was a neat reveal. She does an excellent job at masking her obsession.
The artwork is passable. Nothing of real note to mention. Although the way mouths and teeth are drawn stand out in my mind. Besides that, nothing noteworthy. Now I'm only six chapters in, so I don't have that strong of an impression just yet. I just thought this manga was worth speaking about. If I had to point out one thing that does bother me, I wish there were a little more substance to Kurumi's character. So far, her personality is simply just, "I'm madly in love with Fujimori," and nothing else. There's not much more to her. However that is a very minor complaint. Apart from that, it's a cute or creepy manga depending on who you are. I think it's worth reading. Hopefully it doesn't get stale and overstay it's welcome. Light recommendation from me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 16, 2025
It's always a joy to have casual conversations with friends. Speaking your mind freely without being harshly judged and ridiculed. Especially when your conversations are sponsored by KFC and Baskin Robbins. "Food Court de, Mata Ashita" or "See You Tomorrow at the Food Court" was a delightful little slice of life anime wrapped up as a thinly veiled, glorified KFC ad, and a six-piece combo meal. Wada Nolastname and Yamamoto Nolastname (no relation) are our two main characters, and really, the only two characters that matter here. Looking at you, guy who put Yamada in your favorite characters list. Seriously? Why? The plot for this
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show is quite simple, actually. Wada and Yamamoto meet each other at a food court and chit chat about, well, literally anything. That's the entire plot of the show. Go home, everybody. In all seriousness, I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging and entertaining this show was despite being so bare bones in plot. Not that that's inherently a bad thing.
On the surface, Wada and Yamamoto are an unlikely pairing. You wouldn't really expect these two to be good friends. And once you learn more about their personalities and character traits, it's even MORE unbelievable that they're friends. Based on Wada's appearance, everyone in her class believes that she's a quiet, standoffish but well-behaved honor student. When in reality she's kind of a bratty gremlin rather than a model student. She isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. She's obsessed with mobile games and addicted to social media. I love her. Not for those specific reasons, I just think she's a joy to watch. Yamamoto is also misunderstood by her peers. She's an atypical, gyaru stereotype. She looks the part but she's intelligent, calm, composed, and mature for her age. She loves conspiracy theories, UFO's, and has a weird infatuation with America. Even during this dark, intense, political climate. If you know, you know. She was born in Japan but those tits were made in America. **INSERT BALD EAGLE SCREECH HERE**
Between the two, I definitely prefer Wada over Yamamoto. I've had a few discussions about this topic. Yamamoto doesn't feel that real of a person to me. I mean, none of these characters are real, duh. What I mean is her personality, hobbies, and overall demeanor just feel somewhat foreign to me. I can't really compare her to anyone else in my life. On the other hand, I've definitely met more women who act exactly like Wada. Wada almost feels too real, which is why I'm drawn to her moreso than the robotic Yamamoto. Yamamoto is objectively best girl, but she's too good to be true. Maybe it's because I've never seen a gyaru in real life? I don't know?
The dialogue and conversations are the main appeal here. Unfiltered yet somehow down-to-earth exchanges that are genuinely interesting to listen to. It really does feel like I'm eavesdropping on the conversations of two highschool girls. These girls talk so much that they chatter during the ED. The character designs are adorably simplistic. Large, spherical heads with big, round, bulbous ears. They resemble monkeys or mice if you're an idiot ;). Another thing that made me enjoy Wada's character is that I really like her voice actress, Hiyori Miyazaki. Who has barely done anything else outside of this show. On Myanimelist, her one and only credit is for Food Court de, Mata Ashita as of me writing this review. And on IMDb, she only has five roles under her belt. Shockingly, she's done very little. Hopefully this part of the review doesn't age well because I really like her voice. I want to see her in more anime in the future. Her voice fits perfectly with Wada's annoying but endearing personality; juxtaposed with Yamamoto's ice cold delivery. Don't get it twisted! Yamamoto's voice actress, Yoshino Aoyama, does a great job here as well. It's just that the character she's playing is not the most expressive and emotive, that's all. She's still a very likable character, despite everything I've said. Every character in this show is likable to some extent. And yes, that includes Yamada and her skirt flipping boyfriend. That last part sounds bad but trust me, everyone is cool.
So should you watch Food Court de, Mata Ashita? Yes. Is it a good show, yay or nay? I would say yay. I'm glad they snuck in a quick fifteen second beach segment near the end. Much appreciated, KFC. If you enjoy low-stakes, slice of life anime with likable main characters, and neat dialogue about everyday things, you'll enjoy Food Court de, Mata Ashita. There really wasn't much else I wanted to mention in this review. It's a six-piece combo meal, so it won't take long to consume. I'm not really expecting a season two, though.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 31, 2025
Roujin Z is good. It surprisingly spoke more to me than what I was expecting. Roujin Z was created by Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of one of, if not the most widely acclaimed and impactful anime movie of all time, Akira. I just want to preface that while I do think this movie is good for more personal reasons, don't go jumping in thinking it might be on the same level of quality as Akira. Although it really doesn't need to. Roujin Z is a "dark" comedy, sci-fi movie themed around cherishing and sympathizing with our elderly population. More specifically, Japan's elderly population. And it's
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pretty damn solid.
The three most important characters we're introduced to are Takashi Terada, Kijuro Takazawa, and Haruko Mihashi. Haruko is a college student and a student nurse who takes care of Mr. Takazawa. Mr. Takazawa doesn't speak much in the film, but he plays a major role within it. His mind is mostly gone, and he's just catatonic for the majority of the film. Mr. Terada works for the Ministry of Public Welfare. He takes Mr. Takazawa away from Haruko to be his test subject for a new, revolutionary invention. The Z-001. Created by the Japanese government and the Ministry of Public Welfare. A futuristic, robotic bed that takes care of every single need for any bedridden senior citizen. Helps with food, exercise, and entertainment. Even helps with using the bathroom and cleaning. Early into the film, I thought it was genius how the presentation of the Z-001 would foreshadow future events, and what the bed was truly capable of. Every single feature and function of the Z-001 mentioned in the demonstration, would later become relevant in some way. Very clever.
Haruko is concerned for the moral and ethical implications of the mechanism. It's a fascinating machine, but it's cold and soulless. It can't replace the love and compassion friends and family can offer. It would only give people another reason to neglect them. The message is crystal clear, and I strongly resonate with it. I've been, and still am, a caregiver like Haruko. It's a very stressful, time-consuming job that requires a lot of patience. More so if you have a full-time job on top of that. So the idea of having this miracle contraption is tempting, but there's no warmth and love here. It would be the easy way out. A somewhat problematic way to handle life. Partway through the movie it takes a freaky, Akira-esque turn. The bed slowly becomes sentient and gradually evolves. The robot even takes on an interesting persona that I won't spoil, but I thought it was a neat twist.
Character designs range from goofy to cute. Haruko really being the only conventionally cute character in cast. Most of these characters have some silly faces. (Personally, I’d also give Nobuko a good poke, but that’s just me.) The cast reminds me of early Naoki Urasawa character designs, like Yawara. Best comparison I can think of. Artwork and animation isn't anything spectacular, but anything involving the robot looks good. It slowly accumulates metallic parts and becomes larger and more intimidating. We also get a little robot combat near the end. Like I said, Roujin Z is good. A decent recommendation and a solid 7 out of 10 anime for me. If you like Akira, you might also like this. Maybe. Probably. Perhaps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 16, 2025
This is probably the lightest of light recommendations I will ever give a show. This is a featherweight recommendation. A good friend of mine recommended this show to me. Call of the Night! I was already somewhat aware of the show's existence. Kotoyama is the orginal creator of Call of the Night, and this other little series called Dagashi Kashi. I recognize those awkward looking character designs from a mile away. Everyone looks like they're squinting with beady little pupils. I watched Dagashi Kashi while it was airing back in 2016, and realized that learning about Japanese candy is not that intriguing to me. It
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wasn't my niché at all haha. That's why I was reluctant to watch Call of the Night because I wasn't a fan of the creator's previous work. My friend called this show one of the best anime of the decade, so far. We're already halfway through the decade, and the roaring twenties have been pretty promising for anime. So I decided to give it a shot.
Kou Yamori is kind of a badass, in my opinion. A middle school kid who doesn't care for school and plays hooky. I would've never had the balls to do that at his age. Especially spending most of my freetime walking around downtown in the middle of the night. While getting a drink at a vending machine, Kou has a peculiar encounter with someone. A beautiful, young woman named Nazuna who just so happens to be a vampire! OooooOooooOooo spooky. I don't really care for Nazuna as a character. I'll get more into this later, but the show has a motif going on about nightlife and sexual deviancy. How nightlife can be liberating for so many individuals who are sick and tired of their daily routines becoming mundane. That idea is explored a lot here, and Nazuna is the perfect representation of that. She's constantly telling dirty jokes, she's lazy and doesn't want to work, and her demeanor is dark and mysterious just like the night. I totally get it. I just...don't care for her as a person. She's mystifying, but I don't find her charismatic in any way. I view her as an annoying troublemaker that I would never want to be around. And this is more of a personal preference, but in comparison to the rest of the girls introduced, she's not that attractive to me. I'm bringing this up because I was told that sex appeal is a very important aspect to Call of the Night. Goes hand and hand with the sexual deviancy thing I mentioned earlier. I just don't find her attractive at all. Very subjective, I know. I just feel that if your show is going to having this theme of provocativeness, your poster girl should be attractive to everyone. Maybe I'm just an outlier. That's probably it. She's the centerpiece of the show and I don't particularly care for her. Nazuna and Kou end up having this weird relationship that I can't fully describe. Thinly veiled, sexual innuendos, that aren't too explicit. All for a blood sucking ritual. The show is never actually explicit, but it's on the borderline of being explicit. Kou wants to be a vampire like Nazuna and decides to stick by her side until that happens. Very cute. There are a few requirements that come with becoming a vampire.
Rule #1: The person who wants to transform must fall in with the vampire. The feeling must also be mutual.
Rule #2: The two must fall in love within a year. Otherwise the transformation will be invalid. No transformation for you!
So yeah, stakes are somewhat high. I think my first major issue with Call of the Night is that the first-half of the this season is just Nazuna and Kou pussyfooting around. Nothing interesting happens in this show for a long while. It's not until episode seven where I'm finally engaged with what's happening on screen. A good chunk of this show is just Nazuna and Kou, and I don't care for both of these characters. I wanted to see more vampires, badly! You can't have a show with one single vampire! Of course there's going to be more introduced. And guess what, they're way more interesting than Nazuna. Also way more attractive. I want to follow them. Nazuna and Kou are a bunch of fucking herbs. Dorks and losers yo.
I know who Tomoyuki Itamura is. The man is responsible for directing some of the best parts of the Monogatari series. Especially Nisemonogatari, which holds a special place in my heart. Karen is always welcome to sit on my face :^3. This show doesn't have the writing and dialogue chops that Monogatari has, but the visual directing in this show is splendid! Overall, the show is beautiful to look at, a strong positive I'm happy to mention. The OP and ED look fantastic and I never skip them. Part of that is the music choices. Creepy Nuts made some excellent music for this show, and I didn't even realize that they made cameos within the show. I believe it was episode six, the party episode. That was really cool.
Okay. What I'm trying to get at is that I didn't enjoy the first-half of Call of the Night. Although, I did come around to it during the second-half of the season. Seeing the other vampires, understanding the rules of and regulations of being one, and being introduced to probably my favorite character in the show. Anko Uguisu. Detective/Vampire Hunter/One helluva woman! She's great, and it's so unfortunate that she's only in three of the thirteen episodes. She's beautiful but rough around the edges. Flirtatious but has a cold exterior. Has big mommy milkers but smells like an ashtray. She's perfect. Kou wants to become a vampire due to these vague feelings of freedom. His reasoning is quite flimsy. Anko is the antithesis for what this show stands for, and is against Kou's stupid idea of becoming a vampire. "Who in their right mind would want to be a vampire willingly?" Well said. I mostly stand by her. I find it funny how this older woman is challenging the ideals of this kid who is half her age. Is it really worth your time and energy to do this? Guess she's teaching him a valuable lesson. Anko is clearly the MVP of the show. And I can't forget Hatsuka! The dominatrix femboy was also entertaining to watch. Having a very similar Tsukihi butt shot in the final episode. Good job, Itamura. The last few episodes made me reconsider my initial score of a 6 out of 10. I brought my score up to a 7, but that first-half was a slog to get through. And I said this before, but I don't really care for the overarching message of Call of the Night. I don't find it appealing and I can't relate. I don't like social gatherings, parties, and I don't like the nightlife. I respect the show's ideology but I have difficulty connecting with it in any meaningful way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Would I call Call of the Night one of the best anime of the decade, so far? Not really. However, I was enjoying myself near the end. I might've set my expectations a bit too high going into this, but it's not bad. I already know my friend is reading this and seething with rage. Hi, thank you for reading. I know what I'm dealing with now, and will definitely check out season two. Call of the Night is alright, just don't expect too much from it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 29, 2025
Well would you look at that! I just looked at my calendar, and it says April 29th, 2032. So I guess it's finally time to talk about this. About five-ish years ago, I made this incredibly long and virtriolic review of the original Ranma ½ from 1989. And when I say "five-ish years ago," I mean 2020. I was making a reference to something in the beginning. It's not important. I haven't fully reread that review in years, I just remember the strong emotions I felt while writing it. Since then, I've kind of mellowed out. Ranting and raving about anime and manga is a
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little exhausting. It feels very old hat. I haven't encountered anything recently that would bring out that same level of fervor within me. I decided to come back to Ranma ½ for a few reasons. One, I have history with this series. Two, I've already reviewed the orginal, and now I have the rare opportunity to review the reboot, as well. And three, bringing my reviews home full circle. Giving me some sort of closure, so I don't have to talk about Ranma anymore. I don't know. The way I approach things is over the place. My modus operandi is amalgam lol. I'm taking this opportunity to better communicate why I orginally wanted to love this series more, and what this new reboot did correctly.
Ranma Saotome and his father Genma Saotome study the art of "Anything Goes Martial Arts." A never-before-seen form of martial arts that Genma probably made up. They travel all over the world just to train and make their way to Jusenkyo. Some place in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, China. It was just a normal day of training until both Ranma and his father were afflicted with oddly specific curses. Quickly falling into these springs related to death. Springs of the drowning girls and drowning pandas variety. So sad. When poured with cold water, Ranma transforms into a girl. Same thing applies to his father, but instead, he transforms into a panda bear. Now, unrelated and many years prior, Genma made a promise to an old friend of his. That friend was Soun Tendo. Genma and Soun made an agreement that Ranma would end up marrying one of Soun's daughters one day. And after falling into a cursed spring that changed his body irreversibly, now is the perfect time to fulfill that arranged marriage. Ohhh boooy! Ranma and Genma make their way back to Japan. They finally meet with Soun and his three daughters. Kasumi, the oldest. Nabiki, the middle child, and Akane, the youngest. Everyone except for Akane and Ranma, believe that Akane and Ranma would make for a good couple. Akane has a strong hatred for men and Ranma finds her personality brutish and annoying. The two are always at each other's throats. A perfect fit <3.
In my Fruits Basket review, I briefly mentioned that I immediately love this reboot more than the original. Simply because it adapts the early episodes, i.e., the best ones. These early episodes that center around the Tendos and the engagement of Akane and Ramna are some of my favorites. Admittedly, it's a mish mash of early and later episodes. I'm almost positive that Mikado and Azusa (the unlikable skating duo) don't show up this early in the series. I'm not sure, I could be misremembering. While watching the orginal anime, I didn't enjoy many of these characters all that much. Kodachi, maybe even Shampoo, and Duckman were not some of my favorite characters. Duckman isn't even in this season. I just wanted the excuse to say "Duckman" in this review because I'm stupid. Unbelievably, I enjoyed Shampoo here. She shows up near the end of the season, and I was surprised by how much I liked her. Kodachi is only in a couple of episodes, and Happosai isn't here at all. Thank God! Thank Jesus! Thank Buddha! Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma!
This reboot was quaint. A small dosage of Ranma ½ that I wanted/needed. Ranma ½ is a long-winded, goofy romcom that loves to shove this potpourri of characters down your throat that range from "great" to "absolutely dreadfully bad, please don't bring them back." Homer wrote shorter odysseys than this; it's so damn long. Having it all separated by seasons with twelve episodes each really helps with digesting it. A tiny bit of poison helps the poison go down. I'm still throwing playful jabs at this show, but don't get it twisted. I liked Ranma ½ (2024). It was able to condense mostly what I love about the series. I ended up having a lot of fun, and I started to rewatch the whole thing again. The OP is great. I still adore Ano and her adorble quasi-rap singing. She was introduced to me through one of the Chainsaw Man ED's and I still think she's killing it here. Fight scenes are beautifully animated and choreographed. Not all the time, but typically they're outstanding to watch. I think they're on par with the orginal show, at times. I also love how in the beginning of each episode, they'll introduce the premise of the show by letting Ramna and Akane act out skits. It's very clever and creative. This is something the original show didn't do. And even after all these years I still love Akane, and her bickering with Ranma. Like an old married couple who are completely fed up with one another. It's fairly obvious the two care for each other, but once you add that love hexagon it gets messy. Which thankfully, also isn't in this reboot! Weirdly enough, this season ends on a very sad and sombre note. They did the impossible and made me sympathize with Shampoo. I deeply felt sorry for the girl and I desperately wanted to see more. Gloomy ending, but I enjoyed myself.
I was hoping I would have more to say here. Ranma ½ (2024) was good. Distilling almost everything I liked about the series into a nice, compact, twelve episode package. Good job. I plan on watching the subsequent seasons, as well. Whenever those come out. I'm glad I took the opportunity to give Ranma a second chance. I've been talking about Rumiko Takahashi for so long now. All I need to do now is talk about Maison Ikkoku and I can finally die peacefully. Until they reboot Ranma again in 2057. I'll be here, I don't care. If you're even remotely curious about Ranma ½ (2024), give it a watch. Don't watch the orginal anime, though. The first twenty-three episodes are great, but after that, it is a mixed bag of quality. Sucks my Kim Dong Hwan and my Michio Kaku.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 16, 2025
I'm on a roll when it comes to this specific breed of romance anime. I wrote out an entire intro making comparisons to the last obnoxious anime I reviewed. A young, insecure dude who was faced with rejection and finds solace in a young lady who is meant to be the "perfect girlfriend." That's where most of the comparisons end, because Video Girl Ai is an actual good romance anime. It's not even that compelling of a story. I was just pleasantly surprised by what I saw. And I apologize if I'm starting this review in a bit of a confrontational way. I'm still recovering
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from the tonal whiplash of my previous review. And no, I will not be naming it. I'm just glad I got to experience something more enjoyable and less complicated.
Youta Moteuchi was rejected by his crush, Moemi. In a very oblivious yet depressing manner, mind you. Moemi was in love his Youta's best friend, Takashi. Takashi popping up in the middle of their conversation made the whole situation awkward. On his way back home, he encounters a mysterious video rental store. A Hollywood Video! Pretty creepy, I know. I'm kidding, it's called Gokuraku Video. An ominous video store for troubled souls. Business is horrible because Youta is the third person to even step foot in that store. He rents a video, makes his way back home to watch the tape, and a beautiful girl pops out of his CRT! That girl's name is Ai Amano, AKA Video Girl Ai. She's tomboyish, full of spunk, and is all-around super positive. I love her cinnamon roll hair, very adorable and delicious. Ai's job is to be the perfect girlfriend for Youta. An unreachable ideal, as one brooding asshole put it.
Video Girl Ai is a story about unrequited love. At least that's my interpretation of it. Admittedly, it's a little more complex than that. The themes of rejection, loneliness, and self-soothing are also present. It's a six episode OVA, so I didn't expect the story to be all that gripping. I also wasn't expecting to get all that attached to these characters. Both of which are true, however I still enjoyed myself. Until I got to episode six, but I'll get to that in a second. Our four main characters: Youta, Ai, Takashi, and Moemi. I love them all so unequally. Between these four characters, Moemi is definitely my least favorite. Being indecisive between Takashi and Youta, in terms of who she loves. I won't spoil any specific plot details, but she clearly doesn't understand her own feelings, and isn't self aware enough to realize how much harm she's bringing to Youta. Youta, despite being the main focus of the show, is my third favorite. He has many of the common tropes and character traits a young male lead would have in a romcom. His own obliviousness is on the same level as Moemi's. Whenever he's around Moemi, he's a mess. Although he does shine more whenever he interacts with Ai. He even has a passion for illustration. I think that's a nice hobby to have. Takashi is acutely aware of what's going on here. The dynamic between these three is pretty unpleasant, and we hardly have anytime to truly explore it. Takashi gets it, and he wants Youta to be with Moemi. Personally speaking, I think that would be a bad idea. From a writing standpoint, Takashi might be the best character. He cares a lot about his friend and gives him multiple opportunities to be with Moemi. He isn't my favorite character, but he's a close second. Despite her faults, and not being the perfect girlfriend like her job description states, Ai is my favorite character. She's fun, energetic, and always finds a way to lighten up the mood. Her entire purpose is to bring comfort to lonely deebs like Youta. One of the most important rules of being a Video Girl is that you can't fall in love with your client, it is strictly professional. GUESS WHAT HAPPENS! Yeah, she broke the most important rule, but I'm fully in support of Youta and Ai being a couple. Ai is a bit of a goofball, and one major downside to being a goofball is that she's a klutz. She makes meals for Youta, but isn't a very good cook. They go on dates, but she doesn't have any money. Although she does improve her cooking skills throughout the episodes, and she finds a way to earn a ton of cash during their date. She's very resourceful and she does all of this for Youta. I acknowledge her hard work, even if she's not perfect. She's a great character.
Now, everything up until this point was good. I'm speaking with more positivity, and I have a little hope in my heart. Episode six is the outlier here. It took some time for me to gather my thoughts and put them into words, but here we go. Ai is now faced with the consequences of falling in love with her client. Her creator gets involved with the plot, and the entire last episode turns into a fever dream. It's unlike any of the previous episodes up until this point and it's baffling. I can't say if it's good or bad, it's just flat-out confusing. So vague and ambiguous. So, yeah, I'm going to go read the manga now. This ending was the most "Fuck off and read the manga" ending I've seen in a while. That's usually common with many anime. Typically the anime serves as an advertisement for the manga. Which is why so many shows never get a second season or a follow-up. With Video Girl Ai, I was getting Akira flashbacks. Ending abruptly and leaves me more confused than anything. Seriously, nothing is truly resolved. One other thing I want to briefly mention is the soundtrack. It doesn't standout in my mind that much, but one particular track caught my attention. "Message" is great! It perfectly sets the lonely, melancholic tone the anime is going for. I don't know if everyone will love it, but I do. Just had to get that out there quickly.
With the exception of episode six, this OVA was good. I'm glad I got the chance to watch Video Girl Ai. As long as you're not bothered by seeing Ai's butt sometimes, you'll probably find some enjoyment here. Or maybe you're into Ai's butt, I don't know. 7 out of 10 for me. A solid recommendation. Now I'm off to read the manga! :P
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 14, 2025
What a goofy little, lovey dovey romcom to review just in time for Valentine's Day. Half a decade after everyone stopped caring about it. Oh boy. In my mind, I made a promise to myself that I would lean more towards positivity in my reviews this year. For this, I just wanted to throw my thoughts and opinions out into the ether. I'm torn on Rent-A-Girlfriend. I vaguely remember the negativity surrounding this anime during 2020. Anime fans have the tendency to either harshly judge an anime that doesn't fully deserve it, or overpraise it to high heaven. Reading reviews now, it seems more divisive
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than anything. Just a wide range of opinions that are slightly leaning towards terrible. I probably consider myself to be in the middle. However, as I'm writing this review, I am a few episodes into season two, and my overall score for this show is dropping fast. Things are going downhill pretty quick, but I will try my best to only speak about the events of season one. I was in the mood to watch a show like this. So I brought this upon myself.
Kazuya Kinoshita is a twenty year old college student who was recently dumped by his girlfriend, Mami. Despite only dating for roughly a month, this shatters Kazuya's heart. Young love, I guess? Shortly after this, Kazuya finds an interesting app called Rent-A-Girlfriend, and it's exactly what it sounds like. You rent a girl to go out with you so you can mitigate the emotional pain. Out of desperation and loneliness, Kazuya does it. He's gonna Electric Wind God Fist the hell outta this woman. Enter Chizuru Mizuhara. She's essentially the perfect girlfriend and my personal favorite girl in the show. You could argue she's the only good one, but we'll get into that later. She works for the agency that runs the app. At some point, Kazuya realizes how emotionally manipulative the Rent-A-Girlfriend app is and takes his aggression out on Chizuru. Chizuru blows up on the guy even harder, and at this moment, the anime introduces a common trend throughout the rest of the show. Well, not a trend, but the idea that Chizuru is acting. Because of course she is! She's putting up a front to seem like the perfect girlfriend. She does it for her job, duh! One thing leads to another, with Kazuya introducing his fake girlfriend to his family. The only noteworthy reaction was probably from his grandmother, who immediately takes a liking to Chizuru. Kazuya is such a loser that the idea of having a girlfriend moves his grandmother to tears. And what a little cowinkidink! Chizuru's grandmother goes to the same exact hospital and is good friends with Kazuya's grandmother. WOW! Long story short, Kazuya and Chizuru must put on this charade of acting like boyfriend and girlfriend, because it'll might make both of their grandmothers upset? I'm adding a question mark to that because it's pretty stupid and baffling as I'm saying it out loud. Especially with how long and drawn out the lie is. It's really exhausting to watch after a while. I'm trying my best not to speak in hindsight after watching part of season two.
Let's get this out of the way first and foremost. This show is not good. There. I said it. Although, it is engaging. Orginally, I was going to refer to Rent-A-Girlfriend as a guilty pleasure anime. Then quickly remembered that guilty pleasures shouldn't exist in the first place. No one should ever have to feel shameful or guilty for enjoying something. It also doesn't concisely describe my overall feelings towards the show. A 5 out of 10 is not a good score. It's mixed feelings. And it's sad, because I legitimately enjoyed the first five episodes of Rent-A-Girlfriend. Everything after a certain major event in episode five feels redundant and annoying. The show just becomes an ordinary, dime a dozen, generic, romcom anime. I've seen them all, okay!? The only difference here is that Rent-A-Girlfriend has the gall to introduce four girls to it's non-harem, and three quarters of it is just flat out bad. Okay, maybe not that last girl. She just doesn't seem cut out for her own job, and she's in a total of two episodes. Maybe three. And yes, I called it a "non-harem." I don't view Rent-A-Girlfriend as a harem anime, even though it's disguised as one.
The first girl introduced is Mami Nanami. A complete and utter sociopath. It's a real shame too, because I think Mami is really cute with an adorble character design. She's just horribly two-faced and actively tries to sabotage Kazuya and Chizuru's relationship. Now, admittedly, Mami kind of being an agent of chaos was entertaining to watch for a while. However, she's not a good person, and this is a major plot point. Kazuya, for whatever reason, what's to hook back up with Mami!? Despite Mami being a morally dubious person, and never treating Kazuya with respect! What!? Even by the end of season one, I still didn't fully understand why Kazuya wanted to patch things up with her. And he thought the Rent-A-Girlfriend app was emotionally manipulative. Mami is far worse and just so nosey. I guess you can say that Mami is the antagonist of Rent-A-Girlfriend.
You wanna know who else is just as bad, if not worse? Ruka Sarashina. The next girl who is introduced. It's strange because when she's first introduced, she's seemingly a nice, normal, inconspicuous girl. Then later on, it's revealed that Ruka is also working as a rental girlfriend just like Chizuru. Ruka is my least favorite character in Rent-A-Girlfriend. She uses a heart monitor to scout out her ideal boyfriend. I believe her criteria is at least 90 BPM. I can't quite remember. Kazuya is able to make Ruka's heart race like crazy. Mazel Tov! Immediately after this, she becomes obsessed with Kazuya to a frustratingly annoying degree. Constantly shoving her way into the plot and his face. She insist that she's Kazuya's girlfriend, when the only reason why he chose to date her, was out of pity and through Chizuru's suggestion. She's also a saboteur similarly to Mami. Ruka's antics only get worse as the series goes on. She's awful.
Finally, Sumi Sakurasawa, the last girl introduced in this season. I was alluding to her earlier in the review. She isn't a bad girl at all. She's actually quite sweet. I love how we get a brief peek into Sumi's daily routine, and surprise surprise, she's also a rental girlfriend. She views Chizuru as a role model and someone to look up to. Despite the two being very close in age. Chizuru has been far more successful in the rental girlfriend business compared the Sumi. At some point, Chizuru asks Kazuya to go on a date with Sumi. Sumi is extremely shy and she doesn't like to speak much. Because of that, she's been getting a lot of negative reviews on her dates. Kazuya is the only guy Chizuru trusts with Sumi, because she believes that Kazuya can help Sumi come out of her shell and interact more. Sumi is not a bad girl, I just don't think she's very well suited for her job.
Explaining the rationale behind these characters and the show itself gives a headache, but I need to dump these thoughts somewhere. The main plot of Rent-A-Girlfriend is for Kazuya and Chizuru to pretend to be a serious couple for the sake of their grandmothers' happiness. IT'S THE LYING THAT KILLS ME. The lie goes on for so long, evolving into this needlessly convoluted mess. The incessant bluffing from these two is another thing I find irritating. Kazuya and Chizuru are always planning to tell everyone that they broke up, and will never be seeing each other again. It never happens. They just never go through with it, or there's some sort of interruption. Another thing that's so strange is that Mami and Ruka easily have the power to ruin their relationship. Ruka is in an even greater position to do so. And they just never do it because there would be no story. Fine. Okay. Sure. Cool. Whatever. Even the ending of this season was bad. Episode twelve reverts all of the "PROGRESS" between Kazuya and Chizuru back to zero. That ending scene was pretty bad, not gonna lie. And yet, in spite of all of that, I still can't hate all of it. Like I said earlier, I genuinely enjoyed the first five episodes of Rent-A-Girlfriend. There were no glaring issues that I had with it. Mami was genuinely entertaining to watch in those early episodes. She was like a devil trying to tempt Kazuya at certain points. Like some sort of devil gene, I don't freaking know! At that point, I wasn't even sick of these characters just yet. I didn't even mention Kazuya's stupid friends, Kibe and Kuri! On the surface, Kibe and Kuri seem pretty shallow in terms of personality and character. However, they truly do care for Kazuya and want what's best for him. Hell, Kibe even calls out Mami for being an asshole and has a meaningful conversation with Chizuru. Probably my favorite scene in the show, a heartfelt moment that I really liked. All of episode five is great, too! There's a good amount of positivity in this season worth mentioning, and I feel somewhat obligated to defend it. Although! The exact moment where things started to get rocky was when Ruka was introduced, and I already explained why that was a problem. The second-half of this season was rough. So as a whole, I'm split on Rent-A-Girlfriend. The show starts off as a strong 6, then fizzles into a 5, by the end. Straight down the middle. It's passable yet frustrating. I don't have a strong desire to speak about the production values of Rent-A-Girlfriend. Visually speaking, everything is fine. Nothing stands out in any way. This looks like your run-of-the-mill modern anime. Same goes for the music; nothing of note. Not really what I wanted to touch upon in this review. I just wanted to ramble about the silly writing choices and the story. Orginally, I had plans to review season two and season three after this. Uhhh, that ain't happening anymore. I can defend some of season one, and that's it. 5 out of 10.
By the way, here's my ranking of the girls. I had to do it.
1.) Chizuru (Best <3)
2.) Sumi
3.) Mami
4.) Ruka
Also I've read chapter 218 of the manga. It essentially cemented my current feelings with the series. Pathetic...
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 11, 2025
Mugen Tengoku, as a one-shot, is fine. I understand there are some limitations considering it's a single chapter. But the overall experience was underwhelming for me. It has an intriguing premise, with a lukewarm twist/ending. Mugen Tengoku is about a woman named Yanagawa. She was cursed with the ability to multiply herself every six months. This came after she accidentally broke a cursed stone. These are perfect copies with her exact memories, by the way. There are no subtle differences between the original and any of the copies. Now, in the beginning, she isn't all that concerned about what's happening, but after a couple years,
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they start to take up more and more living space. Yanagawa then has the morbid idea to ask her friend if she could kill her clones for her. Her friend is the one narrating the story and going through all the details. And keep in mind, they don't always dispose of the body. Sometimes Yanagawa enjoys making art pieces out of her clones. It's mildly disturbing.
I have some mixed feelings when it comes to the artwork and character designs. The anatomy of these characters look slightly off to me. More specifically the limbs. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel this way. The characters have this almost "sloppy yet adorble" look to them. The eyes are also a little weird. Yanagawa has very long and thin eyes, while her friend has huge ones. It's definitely unique, and I'll give it props for that. Lots of gore and body horror imagery, as well.
Later on, Yanagawa's friend was curious to see what the cloning process looks like. And this moment leads to something pretty interesting. I won't spoil the twist for you. Although, I was expecting something a bit more mind-blowing. In the end, I was somewhat let down. I want to be nice and give this a "Recommended." But I don't know if I can do that in good faith. Mugen Tengoku seemed really cool. It's a 6 out of 10 for me. Give it a read. You might like it more than I did. Hopefully.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 1, 2025
If I had to pick the best way to describe Fruits Basket with a single word, it would be "Delightful." I know I'm derailing the review almost immediately, but for the latter half of 2023 and early 2024, I was having a bitter relationship with anime. Part of it was burnout, admittedly. I have a list of last protocol anime I thought I would enjoy. To rekindle my passion for the medium, and to bring me back into the anime sphere once again. Fruits Basket is one of the shows I had on that list. So was Fruits Basket able to relieve the burnout?
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Well, I'll save that answer for the end of the review. I've been meaning to watch this anime for many years now, and I finally got to it in May of 2024. Took me a while to get to it, but hey, better late than never.
Tooru Honda, age sixteen, dead mother, and homeless. Tooru has had a pretty turbulent life up until this point. After her mother passed away, she ends up staying with her grandfather. For about a nanosecond. Due to some home renovations, and not wanting to be a burden to anyone else, she now lives in the woods. Until she encounters the most popular boy at her school, Yuki Souma. He's quiet and aloof, but doesn't seem like a bad guy. Tooru has been living in a tent for a while now, but once the tent is destroyed due to a landslide, Yuki invites her to stay at his home. We're then introduced to Shigure Souma, a member of Yuki's family. He doesn't give the best first impression, mostly because he was laughing his ass off at Tooru for living in the woods. Not cool dude. Then out of nowhere, we meet Kyou Souma. Channeling his inner vertical Kool-Aid Man by busting through the ceiling. He's short-tempered and quick to violence, but under that rough exterior he has a kind heart. I will quickly mention that later on, he does judo flip an adorble school girl who just wanted to be his friend. That was mean :(. But I promise, deep down he cares! He just doesn't want other people to see his sensitive side. He does have a strong hatred for Yuki, however.
Kyou's disdain for Yuki revolves around the most important theme of Fruits Basket. That thing your girlfriend won't shut up about. ZODIACS! Specifically the Chinese zodiac. Every blood relative of the Souma family is cursed with the ability to transform into one of the Chinese zodiacs. They transform if overly stressed or touched by someone of the opposite sex. Which begs the question...how does their family continue to have sex? Uhhh, well, now that I think about it, I don't really want to know. I'm not entirely sure if it's explained. If it was, it went over my head. Due to some ancient animal drama, and a race to determine who would be a part of the Chinese calendar, the Rat kinda screwed over the Cat by not allowing him to participate. In order it goes Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. With the Cat being the unofficial thirteenth member. Also, this is all wrapped up in a faux reverse harem romance drama. Almost forgot to mention that. Sorry.
I'm skipping a few details, but that is mostly the overall plot without delving deep into spoiler territory. There are many more characters introduced throughout the show's run. Most of which are members of the zodiac. Some good, some great, and some Ritsu. Kagura is a personal favorite of mine. And Tooru's mother, a character who doesn't even show up, is also one of the best characters in the cast. Ignoring the very Ranma ½-esque premise, I thought Fruits Basket was pretty great. After all these years, I'm still ranting about Ranma ½. I think I have a problem. Cut to me in 2032 still ranting about that disasterpiece. Just in case you're curious, I've been watching the Ranma ½ reboot. I have no strong feelings one way or the other. At least, that's what I was originally going to say. I'm actually having a fun time with it. Mostly because so far it's only adapting the early episodes, i.e. the best ones. Anyway, I had a fun time with Fruits Basket. It shifts between silly, pleasant, and dramatic exceedingly well. It doesn't feel like a Kyouran Kazoku Nikki or a Futakoi Alternative. All of the tone shifts feel natural and organic. Just like all of the Fruits I have in my basket lol. I described Fruits Basket as "Delightful" in the beginning of this review, but now that I'm thinking about it, this anime has a lot more tragedy than you would expect. Not just with Tooru, but with other characters introduced later on. One of the strongest aspects of Fruits Basket is probably the characters themselves. I find almost all of them to be loveable in their own unique ways. Especially Tooru. A hard working little lady who has been put into many sad situations, but never faltering in the face of adversity. She reminds me a lot of Sana Kurata from Kodocha. And I mention Sana Kurata because they both have the same English voice actress, Laura Bailey. I watched the English dub for this, mostly for Laura Bailey. Personally, I think she's fantastic in almost every role she plays. Her voice makes Tooru even more adorable than she already is. As a matter of fact, every girl in this anime is really adorble. They all have such cute little faces.
I'm not exactly sure how people feel about the dub. As a whole, I think it's just okay. There are a few weak links, but Laura Bailey carries most of it for me. Although, for a long time, I've had this pet peeve about people ragging on dubs. People have this collective mentality that dubs are bad, m'kay. All dubs are bad and have always been bad. When in reality, most people think of the awful dubs of the 90's. Which were terrible. That can't be denied. Back when "actors" were never actually actors to begin with. It was just your Uncle Todd, who was going through a rough patch and needed a thirteen dollar check. He played Yuji Whatshisfuck in some obscure OVA so he could fuel his crack cocaine addiction. You can make the argument that it's an inferior way of consuming anime. That's fair. However, in terms of quality, they're not inherently bad. Especially in the past sixteen years or so. I think English dubs are infinitely better these days. When it comes to the "Sub versus Dub" debate, I'm essentially on both sides. It doesn't matter to me. It all depends on my mood and what I'm feeling at that moment. I know it also comes down to a personal preference for people. Both have pros and cons. Okay, rant over.
The directing and visual presentation of the anime is very neat. From the stylish eyecatches in between episodes, to the fight scenes, to just general comedic bits that look great. Like the Yuki Girls, for example. Seeing their little Yuki chant and quirky bit of animation is always a treat. Even when nothing interesting is happening, the animation is still solid. Also any moment involving Shigure is pretty great, as well. I mentioned earlier that he was a bit of a jerk, but after finishing the show, that was definitely an exception. He's most certainly the funniest part of the show for me. Bit of a mischievous character.
Both the OP and ED songs are wonderful. There is an English version of both songs if you choose to watch the dub. In all honesty, I think both versions are great. Especially both versions of the OP. The song "For Fruits Basket" is beautiful yet somber. You wouldn't expect it, but the OP aptly sets the tone for the roller-coaster ride of drama you're going to experience later. Between Ritsuko Okazaki and Meredith McCoy, I might actually prefer the Japanese version slightly more. Ritsuko Okazaki has such a superb voice, and sings the ED, as well. Laura Bailey also sings the ED in the English version, and that version is lovely.
I love Fruits Basket! 8 out of 10! It's great! I'm thankful for having such a positive experience during that time period. Was it able to rekindle my passionate love for anime? Not...really. I still care about this medium and I'll continue watching, but my drive is "mostly" gone for now. It's like that one lyric from "If You Could Read Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot. You know the one. Maybe it's for the best I don't binge watch a lot of anime. I should take my time, at least for now. Also, I've never watched the 2019 reboot. From a distance, it seems like it lacks many of the creative directing and production choices the original has. It looks like watered down Fruits Basket. I could be wrong, but that's how I perceive it. Now, let's see how 2025 treats us. Happy New Year!
Peace.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 16, 2024
Jesus H. Christ! That twitter profile was right! Or X, if you're an idiot. The sheer aura and charisma of "Daily Irene Sanders" convinced me to watch Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse. Simply because Irene Sanders is best girl! Without a doubt! Don't question it!
So, Mariko Rosebank is the commander of an all female team of counter terrorists called C.A.T. (Counter Attack Terrorism.) Fight fire with fire, as they say. Just a group of badass ladies who kick butt. Mariko despises terrorism after her husband and son were killed in an airport explosion. Her deep-rooted hatred would inspire her to create this group. Bit
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of a moral quagmire there, but hey, I didn't make the OVA.
Women empowerment is the name of the game for this one. Seems like almost every guy featured in this OVA is either a total scumbag, a misogynist, or a creep. A total weirdo. What the hell are they even doing here? They don't belong here. One of these creeps is completely decimated halfway through. Eats fucking lead so hard, and is swiftly turned into swiss cheese. That was a satisfying moment to watch. Keep in mind, not all of the men are like this. The main characters and action animation kinda remimds me a lot of a Riding Bean. If you like the 1989 OVA Riding Bean, you'll definitely like Desert Rose. Gunsmith Cats is also a great comparison. Considering all of the women are packing heat, and it's just an enjoyable pulp action OVA. Quick little fun fact, Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats takes place in the same universe. Just thought that was a neat piece of information.
I'll be real for a minute, this OVA is nothing truly remarkable. Even the plot itself is quite basic. If anything, it's a 6 out of 10. The only reason why I brought my score up to a 7 was because of Irene. She is easily the best member of C.A.T. and definitely the most provocative. Seeing Irene in that maid unifom was something I didn't think I needed until I actually received it. The tit grab in the beginning, that short scene of her working out, and trying to hook up with guys while on the clock. She's so goofy in the best way possible. Hands down, the best character in the OVA. Sadly, you don't get many scenes with her. Well, the entire OVA is only 45 minutes long, so you don't get many scenes with anyone. But those few scenes are great, I assure you.
Desert Rose was fun. A quick and easy watch. 7 out of 10. I would give it a light recommendation. Check it out if you have the time. Or if you're madly in love with Irene. :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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