Anime Hajime Review: Deadman Wonderland

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Deadman Wonderland. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

That day started like any other. Ganta Igarashi (voiced by Romi Park) spent the morning talking with his friends about their upcoming field trip to the half theme park half prison facility known as Deadman Wonderland. During class, Ganta sees an ominous figure floating outside the window. Muscular and covered in a crimson cloak, the stranger peers into the room and cracks a terrifying smile.

Without warning, the man in red violently attacks the unsuspecting students. Ganta wakes up to find himself alone in the now destroyed classroom. After coming to his senses, he notices his friends have been brutally slaughtered and standing before him is the Red Man. The fiend implants a strange red crystal into Ganta’s chest and the boy collapses.

When he wakes up in the hospital, Ganta is surrounded by a swarm of unfamiliar faces. He is informed that he is the sole survivor of the attack and is being charged for the crime. Having become the most hated person in Japan in a very short period of time, Ganta is declared guilty and sentenced to death.

Anime Hajime Review: Shiki

Series Synopsis

Something is happening in the village of Sotoba.

During a particularly hot summer, a strange new family moves into town. Almost instantly, villagers start to succumb to very mysterious deaths. Like a plague, it spreads through the community. With each passing day, the tiny village begins teetering on the brink of annihilation.

Sotoba’s resident physician, Toshio Ozaki (voiced by Toru Okawa), suspects these deaths to be the result of a new kind of epidemic. The young doctor becomes desperate as more people die due to his inability to find a cure.

Incapable of discovering the source, Dr. Ozaki starts to fear that the village will be lost. With little else to go on, he begins to suspect the calamity may not be the result of a disease. After investigating the matter, he comes to the conclusion that the villagers are not dying from an infectious virus, but instead they are being killed by dark creatures known as the Shiki.

Anime Hajime Review: Itazura na Kiss

Series Synopsis

Since the first day of high school, Kotoko Aihara (voiced by Nana Mizuki) has been in love with Naoki Irie (voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa). In her senior year, she finally finds the courage to confess. Sadly, things don't go as planned. Kotoko is devastated when she is immediately rejected. Naoki’s reasoning, he doesn’t like dumb girls.

Hoping to forget her humiliation, the unthinkable happens. After a small earthquake, Kotoko’s house collapses. Luckily a close friend of her father’s offers up his home.

In yet another twist of fate, this friend also happens to be the father of Naoki. Suddenly Kotoko finds herself living with the very person she has had a crush on for so long, as well as the jerk that thoroughly crushed her heart.

The first time Kotoko saw Naoki was during their Freshman Opening Ceremony. Since then she has wanted to be as close to him as possible. However, Naoki is the smartest student in their high school, and rumor has it he is also one of the smartest people in all of Japan.

Anime Hajime Review: Onegai Teacher

Series Synopsis

One night, high schooler Kei Kusanagi (voiced by Soichiro Hoshi) is lying peacefully by the side of a lake. Suddenly there is a bright flash of light and something crashes into the water. Taken aback, Kei is shocked by the mysterious appearance a young red headed woman. The events of the night are too much for the kid and he falls unconscious.

The next morning, Kei wakes up in his own bed and believes the night was only a dream. At school, news spreads of a beautiful new teacher. Lost in thought, Kei is not paying attention when a young redheaded woman named Mizuho Kazami (voiced by Kikuko Inoue) walks into the class. Kei instantly recognizes her as the person he saw at the lake.

Once school lets out, Mizuho confronts Kei and tells him that she is an alien sent to observe the Earth. Instead of being afraid, Kei takes pity on Mizuho who is now alone in her new surroundings.

Kei promises to keep Mizuho’s identify a secret and offers one of his own. While he might look like a fifteen-year-old, due to a disease he has dubbed standstills, Kei is actually eighteen. The two quickly become close, even to the point where it is mistaken that they are in a relationship. 

To save her job as a teacher, which could potentially reveal her secret, Kei agrees to disclose his true age and marry Mizuho.

Anime Hajime Review: Hataraku Maou-sama

Series Synopsis

Once on the verge of conquering the world of Ente Isla, Demon King Satan (voiced by Ryota Osaka) is defeated by the Hero Emilia Justina (voiced by Yoko Hikasa). After escaping through a dimensional gate, the Demon King and his best general, Alciel (voiced by Yuuki Ono), end up in modern day Tokyo.

Without the presence of magic, the Demon King and Alciel take on human forms and must find a living in their new surroundings. To make ends meet, the king, taking on the name Sadao Mao, gets a job at a local fast food chain. Alciel, now Shiro Ashiya, stays at the two’s apartment and serves as housekeeper.

One day Sadao runs into a pretty redheaded woman who turns out to be none other than the Hero Emilia who followed the king in order to defeat him for good. However, like Sadao and Alciel, she has lost most of her mystical powers. Going by the name Emi Yusa, she works for a call center agency.

These bitter enemies must now work together in order to find a way back to their world, while at the same time having to occasionally save their new home. Along the way they are aided by Chiho Sasaki (voiced by Nao Toyama), Hanzo Urushihara (voiced by Hiro Shimono), and Suzuno Kamazuki (voiced by Nao Toyama).

Anime Hajime Review: Kamisama Kazoku

Series Synopsis

Living a quiet life with his family, Samatarou Kamiyama (voiced Daisuke Kishio) must learn as much as he can about the human world. This knowledge will be beneficial when the time comes for him to succeed his father. While he may look like one, Samatarou is not your average teenager. He is in fact the son of God.

Aiding Samatarou is his best friend Tenko (voiced by Ami Koshimizu). On the day Samatarou was born, Tenko was called down from heaven to serve as his guardian angel. It is her responsibility to watch over him until the day he is able to care for himself. Though faithful in her duties, Tenko has developed strong feelings towards her friend.

Along with their divinity, Samatarou’s family is a lively bunch. Albeit caring and loving parents, Samatarou’s father, Osamu (voiced by Masashi Ebara), and mother, Venus (voiced by Nanaho Katsuragi), are very playful and childlike; often to the embarrassment of their son. Contributing to his parent’s antics are Misa (voiced by Yumi Touma) and Meme (voiced by Akemi Kanda), Samatarou's older and younger sisters respectively.

One day at school, a new transfer student enrolls in Samatarou and Tenko’s class. Instantly falling for her beauty, she becomes Samatarou’s first crush. Seeing this, Tenko suddenly must come to terms with her feelings towards Samatarou, while at the same time perform her duties as his guardian angel.

Anime Hajime Review: Cowboy Bebop

Series Synopsis

In the distant future, mankind has colonized the solar system. However, lawlessness has taken hold and the authorities don't have the resources to rein it in. To even the playing field, a bounty system has been put into effect. Bounty hunters, better known as cowboys, now travel from planet to planet in search of fortune.

Seeking their piece of the action is the crew of the spaceship Bebop. Made up of five unlikely partners, they make a surprisingly effective team. With each member dealing with their own mysterious past, the group tries to live daily life; going from bounty to bounty.

Spike Spiegel (voiced bv Koichi Yamadera) is a former mob enforcer turned bounty hunter. Born on Mars, he found his way on to the Bebop after breaking from the powerful Red Dragon Syndicate. An incredibly proficient marksmen, outstanding pilot, and martial arts expert, Spike is able to quickly outmatch most opponents. Displaying a carefree and lax attitude, rarely does he ever show signs of distress or worry. While cold, he will come to the rescue of his team mates and has been known to show sympathy towards strangers, including wanted bounties.

Anime Hajime Review: Gungrave

Series Synopsis

Mika Asagi (voiced by Kumi Sakuma) is on the run from the powerful crime syndicate known as Millennium. Before her death, Mika’s mother Maria (voiced by Kikuko Inoue) spoke of an old friend that could protect her. Having been cornered by Ogremen, Millennium’s personal super soldiers, Mika is saved by said person. The man’s name is Brandon Heat (voiced by Tomokazu Seki).

Back at Millennium, the top members learn of the failure to eliminate Mika. They cannot understand how it is possible there is someone capable of defeating their Ogremen. The leader of the crime family, Harry MacDowell (voiced by Tsutomu Isobe), puts all the groups resources into finding this person. Once Brandon is identified, Harry is shocked to learn that his former friend has seemingly returned from the dead.

We are then taken back thirteen years to when a young Brandon and Harry (voiced by Kenji Hamada) are living as local street thugs. The two work their way up from the slums and join the ranks of Millennium, headed by its founder Big Daddy (voiced by Iemasa Kayumi). While Harry makes a name for himself as one of the organization's best executives, Brandon rises up to become the top ranked enforcer and favorite of Big Daddy. While Brandon is extremely loyal to his boss, Harry wishes to climb the ladder and become the head of Millennium.