Anime Hajime Review: Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou

Series Synopsis

Three years ago, the Japanese government revealed the existence of monsters and past the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Act, allowing members of other species to visit the human world as though they were foreign exchange students. Kimihito Kurusu (voiced by Junji Majima) didn’t volunteer for the program, but was forced into it by one its coordinators, the lazy and unreliable Ms. Smith (voiced by Yu Kobayashi).

Unsure of how to be a good host, Kimihito is charged with watching his first resident, Miia (voiced by Sora Amamiya) the lamia. Miia quickly develops a crush on Kimihito, but due to her natural strength and snake like tendencies, her affections are often a little more destructive then intended. Despite the challenge, Kimihito accepts Miia into his life.

This kindness develops a reputation as Ms. Smith beings to bring in more girls for Kimihito to look after; always without his permission or warning. Quickly the house is filled with a wide array of tenants.  Alongside Miia is Papi (voiced Ari Ozawa) the energetic harpy, Centorea “Cerea” Shinaus (voiced by Natsuki Aikawa) the proud centaur, Suu (voiced by Mayuka Nomura) innocent slim creature, Meroune “Mero” Lorelei (voiced by Haruka Yamazaki) the elegant mermaid, and Rachnera “Rachnee” Arachnera (voiced by Sakura Nakamura) the intimidating arachne.

Anime Hajime Review: Dagashi Kashi

Series Synopsis

Off and away in the countryside is the tiny Shikada candy shop, which has been family run for the past eight generations. This legacy goes into doubt when Kokonotsu Shikada (voiced by Atsushi Abe) shows little interest in running the store despite his immense knowledge of all things sweet. The future of the business would have been left up in the air if not for the arrival of the store’s most unique customer ever.

Hotaru Shidare (voiced by Ayana Taketasu) is the heir to the most famous snack company in Japan and her love of junk food is unparalleled. She has come to offer Kokonotsu father, Yo (voiced by Keiji Fujiwara), a job. The opportunity is more than generous, but Yo will not leave until Kokonotsu agrees to take control. Hotaru accepts this ultimatum as a challenges and will not quit until Kokonotsu has embraced his destiny as a candy store owner.

Life is suddenly a lot more active and Hotaru easily joins in with Kokonotsu and his two friends, Saya Endo (voiced by Manami Numakura) and her twin brother To (voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki). The four spend the summer together as Hotaru tries to convince Kokonotsu. Whether she will succeed is any ones guess, but it should be quite interesting.

Anime Hajime Review: Kyoukai no Kanata

Series Synopsis

Akihito Kanbara (voiced by Kenn) is an immortal half-demon. One day he sees a girl wearing a pair of glasses standing at the edge of the roof as if she meant to commit suicide. Without thinking, Akihito runs up to hopefully prevent a jump, but things don’t go quite as planned. Sure the girl doesn’t leap to her death, but she does stab Akihito with a sword which manifested from her blood.

The girl with the glasses is Mirai Kuriyama (voiced by Risa Taneda) who is from an ancient line of demon hunters. She is the last of her clan which has been ostracized by the rest of the demon hunting community due to their ability to control their own blood. Although she may have attacked Akihito without hesitation, Mirai is actually quite shy and reserved.

Their introductions may have been a little unorthodox, nevertheless Akihito and Mirai start spending a lot of time together. Both of their pasts have made them outcasts to the majority of demon hunters. Even among close friends, there’s always a bit of worry, especially with Akihito’s demon half, that something might happen.

Regardless, Akihito and Mirai start to grow incredibly close and the relationship between half-demon and hunter will be put to the test.

Anime Hajime Review: Date A Live

Series Synopsis

30 years ago, a phenomenon known as a spatial quake devastated central Eurasia, resulting in no less than 150 million casualties. Since the cataclysm, smaller quakes have struck at random all over the world. Today, Shido Itsuka (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) and his foster sister Kotori Itsuka (voiced by Ayana Taketatsu) live under the constant possibility of another event.

At the start of the new semester, Shido is taken aback when the school's smartest and most beautiful girl, Origami Tobiichi (voiced by Misuzu Togashi), takes an interest in him. He is given no time to reflect as sudden spatial quake alarm is triggered.

Before reaching the safety of a shelter, Shido gets the sickening feeling Kotori is in danger. While out searching for his sister the quake hits, but what comes next is the last thing Shido was expecting. From the epicenter of the blast emerges an armor-clad girl wielding immense supernatural power.

The girl (voiced by Marina Inoue) comes under attack from a barrage of missile fire from a highly advanced combat unit armed with a mix of state of the art technology and magic. Among these soldiers is no other than Origami. Although the mysterious girl effortlessly defeats her attackers, Shido can’t help but notice the sadness on her face.

Anime Hajime Review: Ayakashi

Series Synopsis

As a child, Yuu Kusaka (voiced by Daisuke Kishio) witnessed a strange sight. In the dead heat of summer came a mysterious snow fall. Little did the boy know, this unnatural phenomenon would lead to a horrific fight to save the world.

Now in high school, Yuu has become a bit of loner after the death of one of his most beloved friends. Ever since the day of the summer snow, Yuu has been able to tap into a strange power which has caught the attention of some dangerous people.

Yuu is not the only person with supernatural abilities, but he is the only who doesn’t know how to control them. There are people who now want him dead and he would be if it weren’t for the intervention of Eimu Yoake (voiced by Nana Mizuki).

For unknown reasons, Eimu proclaims she will protect Yuu from those who seek to harm him. She also explains the power within both of them is due to parasitic-like beings known as Ayakashi and using their abilities will eventual result in either physical or mental ruin.

While not sure how to take in what's happening, Yuu realizes he can't sit and do nothing. Despite Eimu's urging, Yuu decides to use his power to protect the people he holds dearest.

Anime Hajime Review: Space Patrol Luluco

Series Synopsis

Luluco (voiced by Mao Ichimichi) is your average, run of the mill, completely ordinary, normal middle school student and that’s the way she likes it. This is made difficult since she lives in one of the least normal places in the entire universe, Ogikubo; a city where humans and aliens live side by side.

One day, Luluco’s father (voiced by Mitsuo Iwata) accidently freezes himself. Hoping to revive him, Luluco brings her dad to his work at the Space Patrol Ogikubo Branch. Things don't go as planned and Luluco is strong armed into joining the Space Patrol.

Damn near immediately, the normal life Luluco has spent years building up is shattered. A hallmark of Space Patrol is the organization's headstrong, some might say destructive, brand of justice. Though a little heavy handed, the job will get done.

Maintaining order isn’t the kind of task which can be done alone. Therefore Luluco is assigned two partners, Alpha Omega Nova (voiced by Junya Enoki) and Midori (voiced by Mayumi Shintani). Together these three must fight against any and all threats seeking to destroy their city.

As members of Space Patrol, these young agents must travel the universe and across dimensions to see justice served. What could possible go wrong?

Anime Hajime Review: Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Daro ka

Series Synopsis

In the country of Orario, there exists a mysterious and exceedingly dangerous realm known as the Dungeon. The deeper one travels, the more perilous it becomes. Venturing into the depths can bring an adventure great wealth and prestige not only for themselves, but for their Familia.

A Familia is a group of people who follow the guidance of a god or goddess and whose roles can range from treasure hunting, weapon crafting, or other services. One such Familia is led by the goddess Hestia (voiced by Inori Minase), who is accompanied by her only, but loyal follower Bell Cranel (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka).

Although Bell has great aspirations of becoming a top tier adventure, his current skills are lackluster at best. He is almost killed by a Minotaur while in the Dungeon and is saved by the powerful swordswoman, Aiz Wallenstein (voiced by Saori Onishi), a.k.a. the Sword Princess. Bell is captivated by Aiz’s beauty and strength; pledging to becoming a worthy ally for her one day.

While annoyed with fact Bell’s passion is fueled by the thoughts of another woman, Hestia is pleased with her follower’s drive to be stronger, especially when that’s exactly what begins happening. Bell's abilities begin to skyrocket and soon he is taking on enemies who almost had his head a few weeks prior.

Anime Hajime Review: Paranoia Agent

Series Synopsis

Tsukiko Sagi (voiced by Mamiko Noto) is a rookie character designer who's just created the immensely popular cartoon dog, Maromi. Having been highly introverted her whole life, when tasked to think up the next big sensation, the pressure is nearly unbearable.

One dark night, Tsukiko hits her limit. With nowhere to run, there is little she can do. Suddenly, a boy wearing a baseball cap, inline skates, and wielding a golden bat lurks out of the shadows and attacks Tsukiko.

The two officers assigned to the case, Detective Keiichi Ikari (voiced by Shozo Iizuka) and Mitsuhiro Maniwa (voiced by Toshihiko Seki), have a hard time putting the piece together. With no witnesses or evidence, they start to think Tsukiko made up the entire story. That is until another victim appears. And then another, followed by another. Soon Tokyo is filled with rumors and fear of the mystery assailant who has been dubbed Shonen Bat.

As incidents grow in frequency and brutality, the truth behind Shonen Bat becomes foggier. Something is plaguing the streets and it seems to be getting stronger with each passing day.

Anime Hajime Review: Noragami

Series Synopsis

Japan is a land of gods who grant wishes to those who ask. The most powerful and well know deities enjoy a steady stream of patrons and followers seeking assistance. For a war god named Yato (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) this is not the case.

Without a shrine of his own, Yato is a bit of a deadbeat and has developed quite a reputation of little importance. Still, when the occasional job does come up, he puts all…okay some of his efforts into seeing it through.

On one such mission (finding a lost cat) Yato runs into Hiyori Iki (voiced by Maaya Uchida), who saves him from being hit by a car. An act which was meaningless since Yato could have easily dodged it himself. Unfortunately, Hiyori is struck in his place. She survives the accident physically unscathed, however what happened to her spirit is a lot more annoying.

At complete random, Hiyori’s soul will leave her body. Though this form allows her to achieve some pretty amazing feats, it’s still mostly inconvenient. She makes a contract with Yato to help her get back to normal. He accepts and gets right on it…eventually. Other issues keep coming up which need to be addressed.