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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Voice of Fox

Hu Li is a poor but talented high school boy. He is a “ghost” singer/songwriter for the popular and narcissistic boy idol Kong Que, who is very handsome but can barely sing. Hu always wears a fox mask to hide his large facial scar caused by a traffic accident. He also uses a screen name “Mr. Fox” to publish his music online. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Comic

Episode Summary: Hu Li is a typical, unassuming young man. He holds down several odd-jobs to scrape by and watches those with fame and fortune from afar. But Hu Li has some interesting secrets. He’s a talented singer and songwriter who posts his creations online under a fox-masked pseudonym. He’s also the voice of a popular idol, the attractive Kong Que – a man with a pretty face but without the talent to go along with it.

Kong Que and Hu Li have an arrangement – Hu Li provides the live vocals for Kon Que, and together they create the perfect idol. A clause in Hu Li’s contracts is that no one can find out the nature of this secret, but after receiving a mysterious email one night, Hu Li realizes that someone is watching his every move.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – My Sister, My Writer

Suzuka Nagami is a beautiful third-year middle school student who has excellent grades and is the student council president. She wrote a novel about a little sister who dotes on her older brother, and the the novel wins a light novel award. After they discuss the matter, her older brother Yū is the one who debuts as a proxy light novel author instead of Suzuka, under the pen name Chikai Towano. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 10

Source: Light Novel

Episode Summary: Yu has aspired to be a light novel author most of his teenage life, but his contest submissions never seem to make it to the finalist stage. After another rejection email, he looks up the winning entry – a story about a sister who harbors feelings for her older brother. Yu files the information away for later use (it might be a decent read, after all).

In the meantime, his sister Suzuka (with whom he has a strained relationship) begins to act as though she has some news to share with him. Finally he gets her to cough it up – she was, in fact, the winner of that writing contest, having submitted a manuscript that she just happened to write on a whim. With that blow to his confidence out of the way, Yu ends up undertaking a difficult challenge; Suzuka can’t make public appearances as an author for various reasons, so she ropes Yu into becoming the public face of her writing.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Conception

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

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

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

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

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Merc StoriA

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

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Game

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

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

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – As Miss Beelzebub Likes it.

Mullin lands his dream job with the demon king he’s always held in awe, but when his tenure begins, it turns out the demon king isn’t quite what he expected. Beelzebub is a hardworking female demon but her dedication to her job is only rivaled by her love for everything fluffy. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Though human beings have many myths about Hell, in truth it’s a very pleasant place, populated by demons who don’t appear as sinister as expected. In fact, they’re actually fallen angels who still (in some ways) serve God, and they’re led by the intelligent, powerful, and cuteness-obsessed demon Beelzebub. Beelzebub’s assistant, Mullin, has always looked up to his leader (and might even have feelings for her), but can’t reconcile the image he had of her with the reality of her personality. In truth, Beelzebub is very capable, but her comfort around Mullin manifests as laziness and continued expression of her love of soft and fluffy things.

Their relationship is a bit of a tug-of-war, which blows up when Beelzebub wanders off in Hell Ginza and gets lost. Mullin worries that, in spite of her battle prowess, she’ll end up getting mugged – or worse. When he finds her, he lets his emotions show, and Beelzebub doesn’t know how to react. The real problem is that she’s started to feel feelings she doesn’t have the experience or the vocabulary to define, and it seems to be Mullin’s fault.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Tsurune

Minato Narumiya is beginning his freshman year at the local Kazemai High School. Mr. Tommy, adviser to the Japanese archery Club, is keen to recruit Minato, as well as his childhood friends Seiya Takehaya and Ryohei Yamanouchi. Ryohei convinces the reluctant Minato to attend the Club’s orientation, where he also meets Kaito Onogi and Nanao Kisaragi. Singling Minato out, Mr. Tommy introduces him as a rare Japanese archery talent and asks him to demonstrate in front of everyone. However, Minato’s arrow fails to hit the mark because he is afflicted by a serious condition. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and HIDIVE

Episodes: TBA

Source: Novel

Episode Summary: With a new school year comes a fresh start, and Minato needs one; after the death of his mother, most of the household responsibilities have fallen on his shoulders. At a new school where he expects to know very few people, he thinks he might be able to fade into the background enough to go home rather than joining a club (which he doesn’t have time for anyway). This plan falls apart quickly as several factors come into focus. First, his neighbor Seiya is one of the few people from his previous school attending the same high school, so they end up having to interact as a matter of course. Secondly, the two boys reunite with Ryohei, a friend from their elementary-school days who transferred away in middle school. Thirdly, the high school is hoping to resurrect its Kyudo – traditional archery – program, and Minato may end up right in the middle of it.

Minato has some history with the martial art, though he’s adamant that his domestic responsibilities necessarily keep him from getting involved in the newly-re-established club. His friends, suspecting that his internal desire might win-out against his perceived familial obligations, manage to get him to come to the first club meeting. But it turns out that Minato is carrying some additional baggage and the resulting anxiety results in missed shots and a some subsequent bad feelings. As he mulls the situation, he finds himself drawn to a hilltop Kyudo practice field within a shrine as the moon glows above. There he meets a mysterious archer, one with beautiful form and perfect aim.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc and the Alchemist Knight

During France’s Hundred Years’ War with England, Montmorency, the son of a noble, immerses himself in the study of magic and alchemy at a school for knights. However, after France’s defeat at Agincourt, the school is disbanded and Montmorency is forced to flee. While on the run he meets a miraculous village girl named Jeanne. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Novels

Episode Summary: Montmorency, along with his friends Richemont, Charlotte, and Philip, attend a school for the children of nobles. The backdrop of their carefree school days is the Hundred Year War between France and England. Though they all realize that their friendship will likely come to an end as their families take their places within each faction of the conflict, right now they choose to cling to them as a last bastion of innocent joy. Montmorency has taken it upon himself to try to learn alchemy in order to protect the lives of his friends, but his “master,” a mysterious old alchemist named Nicholas Flamel, is unwilling to train him in this dark art.

Eventually Richemont is called away to join her family in fighting the English, while Philip returns to her father, who has allied with England. Montmorency, realizing that he cannot change things through his own physical power, chooses to enter into a pact with the devil. He summons a fairy named Astaroth, who instructs him in concocting the “Elixir.” Imbibing the elixir will allow him to join with the Philosopher’s Stone (a relic from his family) and gain immense power. He realizes, after what he believes is an unsuccessful attempt at distilling this concoction, that 7 years have now passed.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Anima Yell!

Kohane Hatoya is a girl who loves to be helpful to others. After she moves from middle school to high school, she becomes fascinated with cheerleading, and she starts a cheerleading club at her high school. Joining Kohane in her cheerleading activities is the experienced Hizume and Kohane’s childhood friend Uki.  – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Kohane has a formative experience one day when she happens to see a group of cheerleaders performing a routine outdoors. She decides to join her high school’s cheer squad in the upcoming school year, but the joke’s on her – there isn’t one. Not one to wither in defeat, Kohane decides to create her own club, but faces an uphill battle in both recruitment (not even her friend Uki seems interested in joining) and skill level (she’s a beginner who can’t even pronounce “cheer” correctly).

Kohane recognizes her classmate Hizume as one of the squad members who inspired her that fateful day, but Hizume’s a tough sell; she’s dealing with some emotional baggage that’s caused her to give up on the sport all together. Still, Kohane spends the next several days practicing her skills, including trying to overcome her fear of heights. When she jumps out of a tree to support Hizume in her emotional time of need, Hizume finally seems convinced. But they’ll still have to find three other people willing to give their new cheer club a chance.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions: Radiant

Seth is a boy who seeks to become a great magician, and a group of witches who seek to travel to the Radiant. Radiant is a mythical land that spawns monsters called “Néméses” which fall to the world from the sky. While traveling, they are also hunted by The Inquisition – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 21

Source: French Comic

Episode Summary: The demonic “Nemesis” have mysterious origins; they might be Heaven’s punishment or they could be monsters ejected from Hell. Those who encounter these beasts, should they survive, are forever changed by the experience. Most become “cursed” by magical power, which they in turn use to defend the rest of Humanity against the Nemesis. Seth is one of these cursed sorcerers, or at least he aims to be one; currently he’s just an apprentice to Alma, an experienced magician and Nemesis-hunter. His enthusiasm for magic is not matched by his actual skill, and this tends to cause friction between Seth and the rest of the local town.

One day, Seth and his friend Tommy witness something horrific streaking across the sky – Seth recognizes it as a Nemesis egg and he sends Tommy to evacuate the townspeople. Seth decides to take on the challenge of defeating the Nemesis on his own since Alma is off fighting elsewhere. The task soon proves overwhelming as the monster rebukes every one of Seth’s tricks and weapons. Just as he’s about to be crushed, the monster is blasted away by a group of 4 wandering sorcerers who’ve arrived just in the nick of time.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – SSSS.Gridman

Yuta Hibiki awakens with amnesia and the ability see things that others cannot. He first encounters a Gridman in the reflection of his friend Rikka Takarada’s computer and it tells him to “Remember his calling,” but Yuta doesn’t understand what this means. Later, in the distance, he sees an extremely large monster but it doesn’t move. It’s only when Yuta gets to school that the two sightings make sense: a monster attacks and the hero Yuta saw in the computer screen pulls him within the computer and transforms Yuta into a giant hero named Gridman. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll and Funimation

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Yuta Hibiki wakes up in his classmate Rikka’s living room remembering nothing about who he is or why he’s there; he learns that Rikka discovered him collapsed on the street outside her home, and is a bit irritated by his continued presence. What’s more worrisome is that Yuta has started to hallucinate; he sees an image of a costumed hero called “Gridman” on a monitor of one of Rikka’s mother’s old computers. No one else can see the mysterious Gridman, so Yuta decides to play it off as well as he can. After Rikka does some detective work to find out where he lives, she walks Yuta home.

Yuta learns that his parents are out of the country, so tries to take care of himself as best he can. His friend Utsumi picks him up the next morning and makes sure he gets to school. All seems relatively well considering the circumstances. But Yuta senses the shadow of a beast lurking around the town’s horizon; yet another image that no one else sees or acknowledges. As the day turns to evening, though, the beast awakens and begins to tear into the city. Yuta hears a voice in his head and he makes his way back to the old computer in Rikka’s home where he sees Gridman. Yuta is pulled into the computer and joins with Gridman to fight the kaiju, ultimately tearing the robotic creature apart. This unorthodox way of defending the city appears to be Yuta’s destiny, but the workings of this partnership, as well as the roles Rikka and Utsumi might play, are still a mystery to all.

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