Archive sorted by title. Feature reviews titled in blue. Hall of Shame titles in red.
An orphaned slave becomes a top military academy student, and then a convict pursued by the Empire. While in hiding, he discovers secrets about himself, the church, and his connection to a dethroned king.
Satsuki Kakeru lost his sister due to suicide and has been living a dull life ever since. One day he’s transported, along with his friend, to an alternate world called “Red Night” and must confront adversaries to escape.
Ah My Goddess: Tatakau Tsubasa
This is a 2-episode special taking place after the second season of the TV series. An Angel-Eater has been released in heaven, and since losing one’s angel for a Goddess throws her into shock, this is bad news indeed. This special focuses on the character Lind. I admittedly know next to nothing about the entire Ah My Goddess universe (by choice), so any subtlety or important character interaction is going to be lost on me. So forgive me for any uneducated thing I might say about it.
The series known for its low-angle camera work returns. Aika investigates some mysterious school girl disappearances and nearly ends up a victim herself.
A bevy of beauties and an arranged marriage between a bodyguard and a girl. Hmm...
Daichi Kakeru is a student who has never had a girlfriend, that is until he drinks a melon soda that turns into a beautiful girl. Someone kill me now.
This series is based on two light-novel creations set in the same world by the author of Kino’s Journey.
A boy named Tokidoki goes to a high-tech museum to do some make-up work for class, when the simulation becomes all-too-real and he finds himself trapped in Edo-period Japan.
Angelique – When the Heart Awakens
This anime is part of a continuing series of games, novels, manga and anime, made by women for women. The main premise of the series is that a Queen, with the help of nine guardians, helps keep harmony in her domain of planets. However, this queen loses power over time and a new queen must be chosen to replace her. The candidates for queen are given a land to populate – whoever finishes first wins the contest and becomes queen. In this installment, a girl named Ange is summoned to a sacred land to become the Legendary Etoile, whose mission is to defend the Cosmos of the Sacred Beast with the help of nine guardians who represent the elements.
The newest anime to air in Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block is a Boy Love title based on an award-winning shoujo manga. Will it contain a compelling story to match the attractiveness of its bishounen cast?
In this “heartwarming comedy,” the Mikogami sisters enjoy cosplaying as animals. One day they find a magic compact that allows them to transform into real animals.
Six Japanese literary works receive animated adaptations with character designs provided by various high-profile manga artists in this series.
Fumi and Akira, best friends ten years ago, reconnect while in high school and help each other deal with their respective romantic problems.
A gag series about a tokusatsu hero named Sunred who battles the organization Florsheim’s evil creatures, in turn bothering the neighborhood.
The washed-up superhero Sunred and the pleasantly-antagonistic Florsheim organization, led by the ultra polite Vamp-sama, return in season 2 of this superhero gag comedy series.
A boy named Yoichi is training martial arts in the mountains with his father. He stays in a lodge with four girls and experiences a training regimen of an entirely different nature.
A young boy living on his own and haunted by the ghost of a dead girl manages to come into chance possession of a mecha.
Season 2 continues the story of a boy, his ghostly female friend, and a magical item left to him by his brother.
Koyomi Araragi is a third-year high-school student who briefly became a vampire. One day a girl falls into his arms who weighs almost nothing.
Bamboo Blade is about a high school Kendo teacher who makes a bet with his friend and fellow Kendo instructor at another school; if he can assemble a girls’ kendo team that can defeat his friend’s girls’ kendo team, his friend will treat him to free sushi meals at his father’s restaurant for a year. I can definitely see the appeal in this setup.
In a faraway galaxy on the planet Earthdash, basketball, as played by giant robots, is an extremely popular sport. Except with a boy named Dan, who blames the robots for injuring his sister.
The women of the world all aspire to win the World Beautiful Skin Competition, in this anime based on a series of Japanese advertisements for beauty products.
An unsuspecting student named Tsutomu finds himself in an odd situation when his body is accidentally injured by an interplanetary agent named Birdy, and they end up sharing her body until his own can be repaired.
The body-sharing continues as interplanetary agent Birdy shares her body with unfortunate student Tsutomu.
Manji is a samurai cursed with immortality for murdering 100 men. To atone for his sins and have the curse lifted, he pledges to use his sword to kill 1000 evil men.
A motorcycle racing champion named Gerd is in a horrible accident and ends up confined to a wheelchair. A mysterious woman offers him a solution to restore his physical abilities, but there might be some unintended side-effects.
Blue Drop is a sci-fi story based on a short one-volume Yuri manga series. Need we say more?
A group of unrelated people are brought together by bizarre events that have worldwide implications.
The cybernetic warrior Casshern returns in a series that’s hopefully better than the dismal OVA of years past.
A high school student named Takumi witnesses a murder scene on his way home. Mysterious happenings and more gruesome murders begin to plague the area from that point on.
Charady, a fictional graduate from from Kyoto University, delivers jokes from around the world in daily five minute episodes.
Russia’s national character Cheburashka appears in this anime comprised of 3 minute shorts.
The adventures of everyone’s favorite kitty return, as Chi’s family finds a way that they can live with Chi permanently.
This series is about a kitten who is separated from his mother and ends up being taken in by a kind family – a family who unluckily happens to live in an apartment that bans pets.
In the future, the planet becomes polluted and humans are forced into domed, mobile cities called “Regios.”
Clannad is the next highly-anticipated adaptation of the software company Key’s visual novels, animated by the talented Kyoto Animation studio (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star). Key is also known for Kanon and Air, other recent anime hits. There are some very high expectations.
The sequel to the original (and incredibly popular) Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, this takes place a year after events of the first season. Lelouch, whose secret alias is Zero, seeks to defeat the oppressive Britannian Empire.
5th Grader Koh Kitamura lives next door the Tsukishima family, who own a cafe and a batting cage. Their daughter, Wakaba, dreams of Koh pitching at Koshien stadium, and when tragedy strikes, Koh vows to live up to that dream.
In the near future, a detective named Shun meets a girl with amnesia who will change his life forever.
This show is a sequel, and I apologize for not being familiar with the original source material. Wikipedia describes the series as a comedic school romance adventure, and this incarnation takes place 53 years after the original on the same fictional Japanese island, "Hatsunejima." On this island, the sakura trees are always in full-bloom, and there’s a magical tree which can grant wishes The previous story focused on the conflict between some of these wishes and the people who made them.
Another Season centering around the island of Hatsunejima and its magical tree that has the power to grant wishes.
An OVA production released with the series boxed sets featuring Kotori Shirakawa as the main character.
Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini
Hei and Yin are on the run after betraying the Syndicate, and in Russia they meet a young girl who becomes embroiled in the conflict between various factions vying for power.
Chiko is an child who lives a lonely life since her Aunt is trying to kill her. She’s kidnapped by the Phantom Thief Niju-Menso (“Twenty-Faces”) and adventures into the real world.
In a world where violence, crime and genetic manipulation have become commonplace, four people meet as they search for answers regarding their pasts.
A shuttle crash, a depressed student, and a weird pulsating egg. Oh, and did I mention a fight with a giant, man-eating dragon? Because there is one.
Saki Morimi is on a graduation trip to the US. When she takes a detour to Washington D.C. in order to toss a coin into the fountain on the lawn of the White House, she meets a strange nude Japanese man holding only a gun and a cell phone charged with 8.2 billion yen in digital cash.
A sequel to the Ef: a Tale of Memories visual novel-based anime, featuring some peripheral characters from the game’s fourth chapter.
The beginning is narrated by a boy named Renji, as he walks around different environments, his favorite places. He talks about an abandoned train station, which is the perfect place for someone who wants to read in peace. But when he arrives today, there’s someone there already - a pink-haired girl wearing a bandage over her eye. She appears to be waiting for a train, but he tells her that none will come. It’s their first encounter, lasting a mere 45 seconds.
Certain elements have begun to disappear from the world into another dimension and a team, called the “Element Hunters,” has been assembled to get them back.
The members of the Japanese hip-hop group Exile are animated in this show which takes place during the Japanese Warring States period.
Lucy is a teenager on a quest to become a full-fledged mage. One day she meets Natsu, a member of one of the world’s most infamous mage guilds: Fairy Tail.
Charger girls from a parallel dimension come to Earth to charge up people with good energy in order to improve their moods. Plug is one such charger girl, who meets a young man who is able to see her.
The popular magical girl series returns with an entirely new cast, as Cure Peach, Cure Berry, and Cure Pineapple burst onto the scene to battle nightmares.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Studio Bones remakes the iconic anime series to more closely follow author Hiromu Arakawa’s popular manga.
GA — Geijutsuka Art Design Class
Here we have yet another slice-of-life series revolving around a high school art class, this time starring five freshman girls.
A prequel to the Ga-Rei supernatural manga which, naturally, explains the events that happen prior to the manga’s storyline.
Noitamina goes retro in this adaptation of the thousand year old Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji.
A continuation of the Genshiken anime, this season involves Genshiken participating in ComiFes, Sasahara dealing with becoming club president, and the new character Ogiue, who was introduced in the three-episode OVA, learning to fit in.
This show is the highly-anticipated joint-creation from Shirow Masamune and Production I.G.. It is, in fact, Production I.G.’s 20th anniversary show. So needless to say, many people have been talking about this and there are high expectations. The story is about three boys who all had traumatic experiences in the past and who can now transfer their souls into the "unseen world" -- a world of ghostly creatures which is undergoing a change causing these ghosts to appear in the real world.
Mimi Kitagami, the super popular class president, is on a mission to make everything right and take on any challenge at school. She is faced with having to take on a group of boys who don’t want to follow the rules.
Golgo 13 is an assassin and mystery man, a darker and more sexual Japanese equivalent to James Bond. The manga has been ongoing since 1969 and remains one of the longest ongoing adult manga series to date.
Shungo, the main character, lives in a large house, and one day his sister sends two siblings to live with him. Mayu has a fear of men, so the solution seems to be to make her do everything with Shungo - this includes bathing together and sharing the same bed. In addition, the chairperson of their student council ends up becoming their maid.
A mysterious amnesiac clad in a leopard mask becomes the savior of twin heirs to a kingdom in this anime based off of the long-running fantasy novel and manga series.
This most recent incarnation of the Gundam series is set in the year 2307, when all of Earth’s fossil fuels are exhausted. There are various world factions fighting each other for control of energy sources, and so an organization is formed, called Celestial Being, which is dedicated to ridding the world of war using 4 Gundams.
The sequel to the well-known anime title Gunslinger Girl, this season seems to focus on the character Triela infiltrating an enemy organization, but ending up facing more than she bargained for. I didn’t see much of the first season, so this may end up being an exercise in confusion for me.
Based on an adult visual novel in which the male protagonist, Takuma Hirose, is blind. His mother passed away, which scarred him deeply and caused him to be very introverted. He and his uncle move to a rural area and meet the female characters who become the love interests in the game.
Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger
The long-running shounen boxing epic returns, as Ippo Makunouchi aims to fight his idol, Ichiro Miyata, once again.
Kitaro is a ghost boy who uses his own special powers to help solve supernatural mysteries. He gets help from his ghostly friends, such as Neko Musume, a girl who turns into a cat creature when angered, and Medama Oyaji, his father who is nothing more than an eyeball with arms and legs.
Hakushaku to Yousei (Earl and Fairy)
Lydia Carlton is known as the “Fairy Doctor” due to her interest in fairies. Her life takes a turn for the unusual when a Count on a quest for a magic sword invites her to become his adviser.
Kajika has been talked into a marriage game by her father, the boss of a large company. She must choose between three men of his choosing in order to discover her true destiny.
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 – Kurenai no Tsuki
A one-hour special entry in the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series of romantic adventure games, manga and anime. I’m not especially familiar with the series itself, but the premise is simple enough – a high school girl finds herself in an alternate universe based on Heian-era Japan, in the middle of a war between two factions.
Hatenkou Yuugi, or Dazzle as the Tokyopop-licensed manga is known in the US, is about a girl named Rahzel whose father boots her out of the house one day, telling her that she needs to see the world. She’s alone until she meets a guy named Alzeido, who’s out to avenge his father’s murder. In spite of differences, the two find themselves drawn to each-other. They use their respective powers to help people and they learn more about themselves along the way.
The love lives of eight middle- and high-school girls intertwine in this romantic comedy.
The comedy/romance/parody/harem series returns for a second season, in this story of an unfortunate teenage boy turned butler for a high-maintenance teenage girl otaku.
Based on a 4-panel comic about a girl named Yuno who enters high school in pursuit of an art degree and lives at the Hidamari apartments with other students.
A boy buys a chick from a local festival. The chick, who has a beard, turns out to be weirder than he could have expected.
Technology is used to investigate crimes using memories residing in the brains of victims, and this anime is about the investigators that have to discover these secrets.
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh
Another anime set in the ultra-violent post-apocalyptic world of Hokuto no Ken, starring the eldest of the Hokuto brothers, Raoh.
Four girls meet when they get lost on their first day of high school and they find themselves instantly connected to each other.
A sports anime based on a Nintendo DS soccer game with 1000 characters from which to choose. How could you go wrong?
The final volumes of the long-running shounen manga are finally animated, giving anime fans the conclusion they’ve been waiting five years to see.
Based on a famously-unfinished (due to the author’s untimely death) manga which began in 1991, this story follows the unlikely romance of two high school students who are forced by unusual circumstances to live together under the same roof.
The magical Jewel Pets, once the possession of magicians, come to the human world and study magic themselves.
Season three of the Hell Girl anime, which actually contains some continuity from previous seasons.
Misaki needs some tutoring help for school. What he doesn’t expect is to become the focus of his older brother’s friend’s romantic feelings.
Season 2 of the yaoi that asks just how close a tutor and his student can get to each other.
Yui joins the light music club hoping that it will be an easy way to play the castanets, the only instrument that she’s familiar with. Instead, she ends up playing the guitar, an instrument she might have unexpected skill playing.
In the future, the death of the body doesn’t mean death of the self, since memories can be transferred to other bodies after death. A man named Kaiba awakens one day with no memories, but holding a pendant with a picture of a woman inside.
Based on a picture book, this horror anthology series presents three scary stories or “dishes” each episode.
The second anime adaptation of manga-ka Noboyuki Fukumoto’s (best known for 2005’s Akagi) manga, Kaiji brings back much of the same production staff as Akagi. In fact, the same voice actor who played Akagi plays Kaiji, the main character. Whereas Akagi took place in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Kaiji is a modern-day story. How could I not love this?
Fujiwara Naeka is about to receive a massive inheritance on her 18th birthday, which puts her in danger from people who want that money. A special agent, a man dressed in a maid’s uniform, is dispatched to protect her.
Senou Natsuru is a normal high school boy until he gains the powers of a Kampfer, a psychic warrior who can only use their powers while in female form.
Kana Nakamichi, a middle-schooler who has lost both parents and the grandmother with whom she was living, ends up living and working at a newspaper delivery office.
Art student Jin’s wood carving goes awry when the carving comes to life in the form of a goddess named Nagi. They work together to destroy the impurities throughout town.
Kanokon is based on a series of light-novels which has also spawned a manga adaptation. Kouta Oyamada is a transfer student who somehow finds himself surrounded by a couple of strange female acquaintances – one of whom is a fox deity, the other a wolf deity. The two vie for Kouta’s affections and constantly cause him embarrassment.
A robot doll appears to a typical high school boy, claims him as her husband, and then produces a beautiful girl from her mouth who claims to have a history with the boy.
Erin is the daughter of Soyon, who tends to the toudas, a type of mounted fighting lizard. Erin aspires to be a veterinarian like her mother.
50 years after gaining peace, the galaxy once again is in turmoil and two secret agents, Q-feuille and Ascoer, must defend it.
Three girls put on Kigurumi (mascot) costumes to become the super heroes Kigurumikku-Swan, Kigurumikku-Falcon and Kigurumikku-Swallow.
This is a sequel, of course, to the 14-episode anime Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. From what I can tell, this 3 episode OVA follows one of the other characters from the story, Haruka, who had been in a coma for three years. Upon awakening, she and her lover, Takayuki Narumi, attempt to catch up on lost time, though they aren’t able to bring themselves to approach the site of Haruka’s accident – a phone booth in front of a station.
Sawako is a strange girl who is often mistakenly called “Sadako” due to her appearance and unconventional demeanor. She admires her popular classmate, Kazehaya-kun, due to his outgoing personality and unconditional friendliness towards her.
Based on a PS2 dating sim in which a high school boy spends his school year attempting to receive a kiss from one of six female classmates. The anime intends to focus more on the girls and their daily lives and is selling itself more as a romance show.
This OVA suffers from a dearth of readily-available information, but what I can say is that it’s a BL (Boy-Love) OVA about a father named Chisato who is always chasing away his son Riju’s suitors. One of them refuses to stay away, however, but the surprise is that this suitor professes his love to Chisato instead, creating an odd situation between father, son and friend.
Incest is the name of the game as a student named Keita becomes the target of his step-sisters’ lustful overtures.
Kobato comes to Earth in order to fulfill her wish of going to a certain place. Before she can attain that goal, she must fill her bottle with scarred hearts.
A third-grade girl named Kokonoe Rin has a huge crush on her teacher at school and isn’t afraid to demonstrate that love - in the most explicit manner possible. She has two friends as well - Kuro who has a crush on her, and Mimi who has large breasts (in third grade no less) and has a crush on Rin’s older brother. There’s no mistake that I’m going into this already hating it on principle, but I did say I would review it like anything else, and since it’s new this season, it’ll get its turn.
Japan will make an ero-game out of anything, it seems – this story and it’s anime adaptation are taken from the famous Chinese Novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables
Prequel to the Akage no Anne series and based on the Anne of Green Gables novels, Anne Shirley loses both her parents and is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.
Based on a series of light novels, this show stars 16-year-old Shinkurou Kurenai, an authority at settling disputes. He’s approached by the daughter of a wealthy family who asks him to become her bodyguard.
Individuals called Terra Guardians help maintain an equilibrium of the world’s life force, called Terra. A human boy meets a Terra guardian named Kuro in this adaptation of a Japanese manga written by two Korean authors.
The Phantomhive noble family is guarded by a demonic butler named Sebastian Michaelis in this new argument for Japan’s recent obsession with Western-style butlers.
A twelfth-century warrior named Kuro takes refuge in the home of a woman named Kuromitsu, who harbors a dark secret in this story that spans multiple time periods.
Irabu Ichiro is an eccentric psychologist who startles his patients with his weird behavior while getting to the bottom of their psychological issues.
A boy named Yuri gets flushed down the toilet and ends up in another world, becoming the demon king. The thing is, his sense of justice and nonviolence isn’t something his subjects are used to.
School life becomes hilarious for a group of fifth-grade kids in this slice-of-life comedy.
Thousands of years ago, the god of destruction pledged that its child would one day destroy the world. Now all of its potential children are gathered in an attempt to teach them the value of a loving family so that the promised destruction doesn't occur.
Gauche is a government employee in the world of AmberGround, tasked with delivering any letter to its destination. One of his letters happens to be a young boy named Lag, who follows in Gauche’s footsteps and becomes a Letter Bee, only to find that Gauche has since gone missing.
Kurogane no Linebarrels (Linebarrels of Iron)
A boy with the desire to be a hero gets into an accident in the woods one day. When he wakes up he has special powers and a giant robot to boot.
The Lucky Star characters star in a series of humorous vignettes about their daily lives.
During a summoning spell, magician student Takuto Hasegawa accidentally summons an uber-powerful girl named Tanarotte who, fortunately, pledges her undying loyalty to him.
This is the next offering in the ongoing Macross series of anime. While the show is scheduled to begin airing in April 2008, a preview episode was released early to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Macross saga.
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora
The tale of a young mage and her internship in the big city, where she meets a boy also practicing magic.
The next entry in the Mai-Hime/Otome series is a three episode OVA which takes place preceding the Mai-Otome series.
A mother deals with juggling her job as a cartoonist and taking care of her family in this sit-com about her daily life.
Nogami Neuro is a demon who feeds on mysteries. He comes to Earth after becoming bored of the mysteries in his own world. He forces a high school girl named Yako to become a detective and he acts as her assistant to get his hands on some delicious mysteries while still hiding his identity as a demon from most humans.
This anime is based on the Korean PC game of the same name. It’s about a racial war which erupted after four other races thought that the World Tree was destroyed by the humans, when really it self-destructed to protect itself from some baddies called the Zakuns. Ten years later a boy named Al wants to revive this tree, so he gets a party together to get the job done.
Kanako is so afraid of men that she enrolls in an all-girl school in order to escape them and find her ideal yuri partner. What she doesn’t know is that the girl she falls in love with has a secret that she might not want to hear.
Marika is a gothic lolita with a disinterest in science. One day she takes the train and ends up in a strange place named Galihabara, and meets the scientist Galileo, along with history’s other famous scientists.
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season
The long-running Catholic school yuri series returns for a fourth season as the upcoming school festival causes some drama between the characters.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2
Taking most fans by surprise, the super-popular Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya returns with new episodes to compliment a rebroadcast of the original series.
The self-proclaimed ”Sexy Diva“ Michiko and the abused foster child Hana attempt to make an improbable escape towards freedom.
Just a fun fact about this series: it’s being animated twice. In 2008 a retelling will be animated by another studio. This seems pretty unusual to me, but it might be interesting to compare the two. In any case, the anime is about three sisters who live on their own. It’s a slice of life comedy, meaning it looks at the humor found in every-day situations.
A continuation of the Minami-ke slice-of-life comedy series done by a completely different studio, but still starring the Minami sisters – Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki.
A legend exists about an underground train ridden only by six attractive men who make any woman who discovers it extremely happy.
A sequel to last year’s series Code-E, about a girl whose emotions interfere electromagnetically with the technology that surrounds her. This season takes place five years after the last.
Rin Asogi is a private investigator who will take on just about any job, from finding a stray cat to infiltrating a corporate lab. She also has the ability to heal her injuries supernaturally. With her partner Mimi, she delves into the deepest parts of society, though she holds her own secrets which may be even darker.
This show is based on a language-learning system starring a high school girl who gains magical girl powers and must fight all-comers with the power of English. The show takes things a bit further, with the same episode being broadcast 5 days a week in 5 different languages: English, Korean, Spanish, Chinese and French, with a marathon running each Sunday of all five episodes. Each episode is only 15 minutes long, and contains both live-action and animated segments.
This is about two sisters who have supernatural abilities. Shizuru, a high school student, can see ghosts, and her younger sister, Mizuki, is haunted by them. So their parents do what any responsible guardians would do in this situation, and dump them off to live with their grandparents in the countryside. It’s here that the girls learn to live in harmony with these ghostly beings.
A high school student, Akira Nikaido, meets a mysterious man who tells him that he must become a “shin” and help maintain the balance between the shadow world and the normal world.
Mouryou no Hako (Box of Goblins)
A series of murders occur where girls are dismembered and stuffed into boxes, and a private investigator is hired to solve the case and joins forces with an antique book seller and others.
This show is subtitled a "story of agriculture" in which the main character, Tadayasu Sawaki, can see and communicate with microorganisms and bacteria. It’s such a crazy concept, I just might like it.
KyoAni releases something unrelated to Haruhi or Full Metal Panic! (much to the dismay of fans), in this story of a girl who can see islands in the heavens, and the magical king who calls upon her to help restore the world’s energy balance.
A yound man moves back to his old home town and meets up with some of his old female friends. All grown up, their interactions soon turn towards romance. Yet another high school romance show full of generic anime girls, with a generic anime protagonist. Not too much to discuss.
Rokujo Miharu possesses a hidden ninja technique, a “hijutsu”, which would allow him to become ruler of the Ninja world. He must defend this from others who would take it from him and become leader of Nabari.
A young boy meets an older high school girl by chance at a coffee shop. Little does he know that she’s got special powers, and the two take off on an unusual journey together.
The story of a boy and his mysterious time-traveling friends continues in this second season/sequel.
A boy named Natsume has always been surrounded by spirits. He inherits a book which belonged to his grandmother which contains the names of these spirits, forming a binding contract. With the help of a spirit cat, he tries to return the names to these spirits, freeing them.
After World War 3, diseased humans with special powers called “Needless,” appear. The Needless settle in polluted Black Spots, which are unlawful quarantined areas of Japan.
Based on a Series of KOEI games aimed at girls, where the female protagonist has the opportunity to become queen of the cosmos – or choose the love of one of her guardians.
The basis of this anime is a series of Japanese tabletop RPGs, which have since also spawned video game and manga adaptations. In the world of the game, any human power above normal, including weapon and athletic ability, is considered "magic". Anyone who uses magic is called a "wizard".
Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter
Nodame and Chiaki travel to Paris to further their studies in this continuation of the Nodame Cantabile anime series.
Haruka is rich, powerful, and one of the prettiest girls in school, but classmate Yuto has discovered her deep, dark secret – she’s a diehard otaku. He promises to keep this secret and becomes her advisor of sorts.
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza
The story of the budding relationship between a rich, beautiful (but closeted) otaku and her ordinary male suitor continue in season 2.
Junpei Kousaka is allergic to cats; unfortunately, his love-interest is completely smitten by them. A strange accident makes Kousaka able to hear the thoughts of cats, and if he doesn’t fulfill 100 cats’ wishes, he’ll turn into a cat himself.
Toua Tokuchi is a baseball player with an odd contract — for every out he pitches, he earns 5,000,000 yen, but for every point he gives up, he loses 50,000,000 yen.
At his coming of age ceremony, Oz Bezarius suddenly finds himself cast into a prison known as the Abyss, rescued only by a chain named Alice.
Penguin Musume Heart – Original Net Animation
An ecchi comedy with 13 minute episodes – can I manage to stomach it for that long?
Based on the Persona video game series, this anime takes place ten years after the events of Persona 3.
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
A man witnesses a murder by an assassin named Ein. Rather than being killed, he becomes the organization’s newest assassin, brainwashed to become “Zwei.”
Teppei lost both parents in a traffic accident, but his grandfather happens to head a financial empire, making Teppei next in line for the family fortune. He enrolls in an academy for the elite to prepare for his debut in high society.
Every four years, young women from all over battle to become the next Queen through any means necessary. Murder is allowed, and there’s no dress code.
Queen’s Blade: Gyokuza wo Tsugumono
As the competitors gather for the Queen’s Blade tournament, mysteries arise surrounding the current Queen and her dishonorable actions.
Another collaboration between the dream-team of Masamune Shirow and Production I.G. In the year 2061 a network called the Metal has taken over human society. Individuals begin to chafe against this rigid system, and aberrations develop. People called “cyber divers” are called in to investigate these situations.
Based on a series of light novels, this adaptation is about a boy named Itsuki who takes over the family business - a magician dispatch service. In his employment are various magicians and other supernatural beings who help people in the need of some magical assistance. He has to juggle dealing with both his employees and dealing with people who would threaten the existence of his business.
A promising ballet dancer suffers an accident and is forced to quit. When she discovers a college club dedicated to Ridebacks, motorcycle-like robots, she discovers that her ballet training affords her the balance necessary to excel at piloting them.
Nicoletta moves to Rome to reconnect with the mother who left her years ago. At her mother’s restaurant, she struggles to understand her feelings towards Claudio, an older man and employee of the restaurant.
This anime is about a mediocre student named Tsukune Aono who keeps getting rejected from every private school he applies to. When he finally gets an acceptance letter it’s from a school which serves supernatural students like witches and vampires who are disguising themselves as humans. He’s attracted to a girl named Moko who’s a vampire and loves the sweet taste of his human blood. Looks like cute girls in short skirts all the way.
Adding to the endless parade of unnecessary anime sequels, we have more adventures of Tsukune, the hapless teen attending a school full of demons, and his well-endowed female classmates who have a penchant for displaying their assets.
A great general and his first officer are cast out of the heavens and reincarnated as pre-teen lolis... ahem I mean girls. It seems like it might be some kind of misguided magical-girl anime, but I couldn’t find any other information on it. So on to the viewing.
Ryoko Yakushiji is a graduate of Tokyo University and a police investigator who looks into supernatural cases that can’t be explained by normal science.
Cecily Campbell needs a Blacksmith who can mend the sword given to her by her father. By chance she meets Luke, a magic-user with an oddly-shaped sword who can use his magic to fix her weapon.
In this OVA, three orphans make a pact to reunite, but when they do it is under circumstances that they never would have imagined.
Mahjong meets moe as a student who hates Mahjong is convinced by her school’s Mahjong club to join up and help them reach the national tournament.
Sumika is in love with her classmate Ushio, but Ushio openly likes cute girls, and Sumika is more of a tomboy. Sumika is also reluctant to jeopardize her friendship with Ushio by confessing her feelings.
At a certain private high school, the student council is chosen by popularity vote. Ken Sugisaki is the only male representative, and he records the minutes of the student council meetings — meetings which usually devolve into unrelated conversations.
Yet another video game gets the anime treatment as this over the top version of the Warring States period comes to life.
The first series was about a boy named Yuji Sakai who inadvertently got involved in a battle between the forces of balance and imbalance. Shana is a girl fighting for the forces of balance, a monster hunter, whom Yuji ends up befriending by accident as a result of his insusceptibility to the dark powers of a monster. As it turns out, the real Yuji died a while ago, and this Yuji is just a "torch" - a temporary replacement for an erased human being. He also contains a treasure inside him, which makes him special indeed. Their relationship grows, and Yuji has the ability to increase Shana’s powers when he cares about her. Things continue in this vein.
In the future, Tokyo has become the world’s largest urban jungle, where trees have been planted to help combat carbon dioxide emissions. Kuniko Hojo, a high school girl, finds herself at the center of the conflict surrounding this locale.
The story centers around a mail carrier named Fumika who delivers letters from the recently-deceased to people still alive. The letters contain things which the deceased weren’t able to say while they were alive, like who may have killed them (if they were murdered). Fumika is accompanied by a floating staff named Kanaka, and they work in a specific area assigned to them.
Makina Hoshimura is an undead girl who must hunt down and destroy 108 corpses before she's freed of her plight.
The plot of Shikabane Hime: Aka continues in this sequel, Makina continuing her quest to destroy the 108 “Shikabane”, living corpses, with the help of her new protector, Ouri.
Once again, Japan takes the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” saga and reinterprets it in this sequel to the moe action love comedy from 2008.
A miracle ore called Japanium is discovered underneath Mt. Fuji, and the evil forces of Dr. Hell attack the lab responsible for the discovery. Kabuto Kouji, in order to defend against Dr. Hell, combines with the great robot Mazinger Z.
Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Crimson S
In the continent of Polyphonica, spirits survive on the music that humans play. Sometimes more powerful spirits choose to live amongst them in human or animal form. Humans who play special music often form contracts with these spirits.
Shion no Ou is about a girl named Shion who witnessed the murder of her parents when she was very young. Her father left behind a Shogi (Japanese Chess) piece, which she considers her only clue to who may have murdered them. She begins to play Shogi herself to try and gain insight into the murders.
The story of a popular girl who is actually shy and afraid of living as her true self. She’s given help by three little creatures inside eggs, who are there to help her become the person she truly wants to be. It has all the flavors of a magical girl show.
This show is a slice of life show about a group of students, mostly female, who belong to an art club. It’s based on a 4-panel comic. The main character is a shy girl named Sora who is both very observant and a friend to the stray cats in town.
Kyoko is in love with Sho and even moves to Tokyo to be with him and help him follow his dreams of becoming a pop idol — until she finds out that he’s using her. She vows to get her revenge by becoming an idol in her own right.
Swordsman Baron is on a quest to find a way to heal his demonic arm. On the way he is joined by a group of people who call themselves the “party.”
This next installment in the Slayers saga follows Lina and Gourry as they attempt to find a weapon to take the place of the Sword of Light.
Saku Ooyagi returns to his hometown and reconnects with his old friend, Mihoshi Akeno, with whom he parted on bad terms. Mihoshi, determined to improve their relationship, invites Saku to join the astronomy club she founded.
Tomoki often has dreams of a mysterious girl asking for help, but once he wakes up he can’t seem to recall her face. Then one day, an angel falls out of the sky...
In the future, Akiha Shishido encounters a malevolent artificial intelligence named Leopard which has been installed in a space colony.
To create a weapon called a Death Scythe, a Shinigami weapon meister must collect souls of 99 evil people and one witch’s soul. Three teams of both a Shinigami and a human weapon attempt to complete this trial.
Here we have yet another anime adaptation of the famous Chinese epic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, only this time the story focuses on the character of Sou Sou (Cao Cao in Chinese), traditionally more of an antagonist in the story.
Hikari and Kei have been rivals since elementary school. Now attending a super-elite high school, can Hikari finally defeat her rival and reach the top of the class?
Spice and Wolf is based off of a series of light novels. It tells the story of a traveling salesman named Craft Lawrence, who hopes to open his own shop one day. When he visits the town of Pasroe, the local pagan wolf deity (in the form of a beautiful young girl with wolf ears and tail), Horo, takes up residence in his cart. She’s spent many years in the town helping to bring about bountiful harvests, but the people are forsaking her for more modern methods of farming, so she wants to return to her home in the north. She travels with Lawrence, giving him advice to increase his profits, but her true nature begins to draw unwanted attention from the new religious establishment.
The trials and tribulations of a traveling merchant and his wolf goddess companion continue in this sequel to the popular fantasy series.
Japan comes out with its own version of the Walt Disney classic, Lilo and Stitch, replacing Lilo with a Japanese girl named Yuuna and setting the story in a fictional island near Okinawa.
The Strange Story of a Dream-Sphere Dealer
This short is the winner of the 2006 Animax Taisho, a competition put on by the satellite television station Animax where the best original scripts are honored by being produced into an anime short film. This entry is about a young girl stuck babysitting her infant brother, who encounters a dream sphere dealer – a mysterious being who offers her a choice between three dreams that might change her life forever.
In 1939, the Neuroi appeared and began to attack the planet. The only thing that can save the human race are young girls with augmented magic powers called Witches.
The Sugar Bunnies are sent from Bunnies Field to the human world, befriend a girl named Sophia, and help in the creation of delicious pastries.
The story of two new recruits to the Narcotic Control department in Japan, one of whom has a split personality and can “switch” into a brutal killer.
In 1925, after being told by a baseball player that women should be housewives rather than go to school, two 14-year-old high school girls decide to form their own baseball team to prove him wrong.
Tatakau Shisho — The Book of Bantorra
In a world where the souls of the dead can become books that anyone can read, the Bantorra library and its armed librarians guard them from religious zealots.
A boy finds a relic that is said to house the Tayutai race. He performs a ritual to release the relic’s spirits, and accidentally releases a Tayutai goddess.
A girl named Rhiannon is a sacrifice meant to help her land defend against invasion by the Divine Empire. The ritual fails and Rhiannon lives, but the demon king Arawn is unleashed and helps her fight for her cause.
When Ran enters middle school she finds that she has psychic abilities. The problem is, they appear to instigate ill fortune in others, a fact that she must learn to accept and deal with.
Based on an adult visual novel, this show is about two siblings, Ren and his sister Mihato, who leave home and move to the city. They don’t have money, so they find work at the mansion of the Kuonji family. Here they are servants to the three Kuonji sisters: Shinra, Miyu and Yume.
Mikoto and Kuroko maintain peace and order in the University District of Academy city, where the population is 80 percent students involved in the Brain Development Program.
Kamijo Touma, who is able to nullify psychic powers with his right hand, is visited by a nun dressed in white who claims she’s being chased by sorcerers. Thus he gets drawn into an occult world.
Rito Yuki can’t confess his love to the woman of his dreams. While sulking in his bathtub, a beautiful nude woman named Lala – really a princess from the planet Deviluke – appears before him. She wants to marry Rito so that she can remain on Earth and not have to marry one of the suitors from her home planet.
This is an OVA based on the visual novel of the same name, which is based around school life and pretty girls.
There is said to be a 70 percent likelihood that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 will hit Tokyo in the next thirty years. Mirai is a middle school freshman who lives through such an event, and must find her way back home with her brother.
The two protagonists of this OVA each have their own problems in relationships; Yuudai has trouble expressing his feelings, while Chizuru has problems maintaining relationships. Just as they’re about to make an important decision, something unexpected happens. This OVA comes in two parts – one from the viewpoint of the male protagonist, and the other from the viewpoint of the female protagonist. They can be viewed in either order.
Ryuuji Takasu has an unfortunate face that makes him look like some sort of delinquent, decidedly lowering his chances to finally get a girlfriend. In his second year at high school, he meets a tiny but dangerous girl named Taiga Aisaka, who also happens to be in his class.
In the future, the government has established a ministry of information management which handles the distribution of information, suppressing anything that it finds undesirable. The libraries are fighting back with their own agents called the “Book Soldiers”.
The Tower of Druaga – the Aegis of Uruk
This anime is based on an arcade game from 1984, where the goal is to rescue a maiden by traversing the floors of a 60-story tower. There’s a great treasure at the top that they hero is aiming to find.
Tower of Druaga — Sword of Uruk
Gonzo’s sword-and-sorcery tale continues as Jil and Fatina are once again compelled to climb the Tower of Druaga in search of an artifact of great value.
A real girl is sucked into her TV and becomes the animated Hinako, here to teach lonely otaku everywhere the importance of good exercise.
True Tears shares its title with a visual novel released by La’cryma, but otherwise has no similarities to it. It sports all new characters, a different story, and a completely different visual style. It’s about a high school student named Shinichiro Nakagami, whose family is housing a girl named Hiromi whose father passed away. Hiromi is outgoing at school, but cold and distant at home, leading Shinichiro to believe that she has hidden sadness or “tears” inside of her.
A rebel force, led by a former enemy soldier, rises up against the galactic tyrant Tytania in this space opera from the author of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Marin and Urin live under the sea, but one day a ring falls into the water, and the two go above the surface to return it to its rightful owner.
A failure of an action movie gets retooled for the anime medium. 044 is the strongest female soldier due to some sort of gene manipulation.
The head of a wealthy family is near death, and his family members gather at the island Rokkenjima to decide how to split his assets. A typhoon traps them there and soon murders begin to occur.
Based on the strategy RPG from Sega, this series follows military members Welkin Gunther and Alicia Melchiott as they respond to the Imperial invasion of their homeland.
Ten years ago, Yuki was attacked by one vampire and rescued by another named Kaname. Now she’s the protector of Cross Academy, guarding the Day Class (human) students from attack by the Night Class (vampires), and protecting the identity of the Night Class from the humans.
Yuuki and her bevy of vampire suitors return, as Yuuki attempts to remember her forgotten past.
In the future, over 35 percent of the Earth’s land is submerged, and raised highways have become the life lines that connect cities to each other.
Kugen, the fox protector of the Mizuchi clan, was locked away in a shrine for being too mischievous. When a descendant of the family needs protection, Kugen is released. It can assume both the form of a beautiful woman or the form of a man.
Takeshi and Michi are drawn into the Card Battle world, and must win card battles in order to return home.
A college student is dating an up-and-coming idol singer, and needless to say, this provides some challenges to their relationship.
The beloved Korean drama gains an animated adaptation, with Korean actors reprising their roles as the characters.
A hero with destructive powers for which he doesn’t know the origin? A woman with a tragic past? Sounds like an anime based on a Japanese RPG to me!
Originally a secret project by Studio BONES, this series made its debut on the US Playstation Network. Akiyuki is a boy who suddenly has a strange power take over his body.
The second season based on CLAMP’s manga of the same name. Watanuki is a boy with a curse – he can see spirits. A woman named Yuuko claims to be able to lift this curse, but only if Watanuki works for her enough to pay off the cost of her services.
A remake of a 1970’s comedy show about a genius named Gan who takes up his late father’s project to produce a rescue robot shaped like a giant dog. He does so, and forms a fighting team with his girlfriend Ai called “Yatterman”. They foil the plans of an evil group called the Doronbo gang. In this remake, Gan makes the robot as a present for his girlfriend, since they’re not old enough to get a driver’s license. The robot, Yatter-wan, tends to obey Ai more so than his master, but otherwise behaves the same as his earlier counterpart.
Koyomi Morishita is a small, clumsy high-schooler who manages to become the disciple of Misa Anehara, a grad student and one of the most powerful modern magicians.
You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle
This is the latest in a continuing series (containing anime series, manga, and a live action drama) about two female police officers, Natsumi and Miyuki, who work in a fictional Tokyo precinct. The series was created by the author who also created Oh! My Goddess.
Four teenagers, including three girls with supernatural powers and one normal everyday guy protect the city of Sakurashin from supernatural threats.
The suicidal high-school teacher and his class full of bizarre students return for a third helping of quirky comedy and social commentary.
Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo
The runes that bind Louise and Saito as Master and Familiar dissolve, throwing their relationship into turmoil.
In the future, those with ESP are becoming more numerous. Three powerful ESPers, who also happen to be ten-year-old girls with questionable personalities, work for a police organization called B.A.B.E.L.
Like his grandmother, Natsume Takashi can see spirits. They often mistake him for his grandmother, who used her power to ensnare them using a “Book of Friends,” and he must release them from this contract. The fun continues in season 2.
A continuation of Summer 2007’s Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. This second season continues in the same vein as the first, with Itoshiki-sensei despairing about the antics of his very quirky high-school class. The kanji for “zoku” in the title is a pun – while the word zoku can mean “continuation”, the kanji used is also used in dictionaries to indicate “slang or vulgarity”.
