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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Naples, 2001. Giorno Giovanna is a small-time crook with one big dream—to become a “Gang-Star.” No ordinary thief, Giorno has a connection to the remarkable Joestar bloodline, and possesses a Stand named Gold Experience. His dream starts to become reality when he meets Bruno Buccellati, a mobster from the gang Passione and a fellow Stand user himself. Realizing that they share similar ideals, and both disagree with the gang’s harmful affairs, Giorno reveals his goal to Bruno: with Bruno’s help, he will reform Passione by overthrowing the boss.MAL

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 39

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Naples, Italy is a beautiful city drawing tourists from far and wide, but it has a darker underbelly filled with drug use and crime. Teenager Giorno Giovanni exists somewhere in between, committing petty crime for profit and paying the police to look the other way, but also occasionally also thwarting the efforts of local gangsters. When he crosses Leaky-eyed Luca, a violent gang member after protection money, Giorno uses a mysterious power, called “Golden Wind,” to turn the tables on Luca. The gangster’s defeat draws the attention of his associates and puts a target on Giorno’s head.

In the mean time, Koichi Hirose arrives in Naples on the orders of Jotaro Joestar; he’s been sent on a mission to gain information (and perhaps a DNA sample) of a young man named Haruno Shiobana, who Jotaro believes may be the human son of DIO. After encountering Giorno multiple times (and being duped by him), Koichi is positive that Giorno and Haruno are on-and-the-same; Jotaro agrees, and believes Giorno’s un-Japanese blond hair is likely a symptom of the awakening of his stand powers. As Koichi mulls over how best to fulfill his mission, Giorno is cornered on the trolley by a gangster named Bruno, an associate of Luca and someone with frightening powers of his own.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Boarding School Juliet

At Dahlia Academy, a prestigious boarding school attended by students of two feuding countries—the eastern Nation of Touwa, and the Principality of West—Romio Inuzuka, leader of the dorms’ Touwa first-years, wishes for a romance that can never be. For his ladylove is none other than his arch-enemy, Juliet Persia, leader of the dorms’ West first-years.ANN

Streaming: Amazon Prime

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: The feud between the Principality of the West and the Eastern Nation of Touwa is played out daily in the microcosm that is Dahlia Academy. Romio Inuzuka leads the Touwa Black Doggy Dorm, while Juliet Persia heads the dorm of the Western White Cats, and they truly do feud like cats and dogs; the confrontations between the two groups occasionally erupt into actual violence, with their passionate leaders at the center of the conflict. Romio has a secret, however – he’s been in love with Juliet since the two were children, but he’s never been brave enough to state it out loud (for obvious reasons).

When Juliet finds herself cornered one afternoon Romio manages to save her from attack, though in doing so embarrasses her so much that he believes there’s no salvaging their potential relationship. Later that night he receives a message from Juliet beckoning him to the school’s fountain, more than likely so that they can hash out their “differences.” When she challenges him to a sword duel, Juliet explains that she’s always considered Romio the rival she wants to beat; she works and trains hard so that she can one day have the power to change the world. Romio lays it all on the line and shares the truth of his feelings as their swords clash. They eventually decide to start dating – but it has to be in secret, for the sake of the school and its tenuous harmony.