Anime Hajime Review: Sabagebu

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

Series Synopsis

Momoka Sonokawa’s (voiced by Ayaka Ohashi) family is always on the move. She has the transfer student routine down pat. She knows what she needs to say to make friends and make friends fast. Even though, she couldn’t care less. She’s been to too many schools too many times and has become rather jaded.

Things like clubs and activities hold little interest for Momoka. A stern no is usually enough to get people to back off. That is until she meets Miou Ootori (voiced by Yumi Uchiyama). The President of the Survival Game Club.

The President doesn’t take no for an answer. Especially after she sees Momoka possesses a natural talent for the sport. One way or another, the President will have her newest member.

Despite her heavy reluctance, Momoka fits in immediately. Her nice girl façade gets shattered. Her true, selfish nature comes out. 

Property damage and police warning are a daily occurrence. But this will not stop the Survival Game Club. At any moment, they are ready to fight.

Anime Hajime Review: Aoi Hana

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Aoi Hana. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

When they were kids, Fumi Manjome (voiced by Ai Takabe) and Akira Okudaira (voiced by Yuko Gibu) were inseparable. When Fumi’s family moved away, the two lost touch. Years later in high school, they are reunited. And some things haven’t changed.

Fumi is still shy and prone to tears. And Akira will jump to support her beloved friend. While that’s all well and good, not all things have stayed the same.

Over the past few months, Fumi has been going through a difficult period. Unsure of what to do, she is at a loss. It is at this time she meets Yasuko Sugimoto (voiced by Chiemi Ishimatsu). The two grow close and soon begin dating.

With Sugimoto at her side and Akira as her support, Fumi starts to enjoy her high school life. Unfortunately, things are shaping up to be even more uncertain.

Sugimoto must face her own demons. Putting her relationship with Fumi at risk. At the same time, Fumi fears what all this could mean. Fortunately for Fumi, she still has Akira who has always been there for her.

Anime Hajime Review: Gabriel DropOut

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Gabriel DropOut. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Heaven sends its young graduates to Earth. There, they must study the ways of humans as well as guide them to righteousness. By doing so, Heaven’s youth can become true angels. And there is much hope for Heaven’s top graduate, Gabriel White Tenma (voiced by Miyu Tomita).

A paragon of angelic perfection, Gabriel tries her best to better humanity. Everything is shaping up as expected. Then Gabriel comes across one of the most life altering and dangerous things known to man. The dreaded MMORPG. Upon doing so, Heaven’s most promising’s true colors come out.

Gabriel has since become a massive slop. She's given up her mission and has little motivation to do anything of effort. She is now a genuine fallen angel.

The human world has a strange effect on outsiders. Gabriel isn’t the only one to succumb to its influence. Both Heaven and Hell have trouble keeping their future angels and demons on the right path. These include Gabriel’s close friends. 

Anime Hajime Review: Nyanko Days

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Nyanko Days. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Yuuko Konagai (voiced by Akari Uehara) is a shy girl. It’s not that she doesn’t want to make friends. She just doesn’t know how. It’s made school life a little dull. As well as a little lonely. But at the end of the day, it’s all alright. For at least Yuuko gets to go home to her precious babies.

Her three little kittens. Maa (voiced by Ibuki Kido) the mischievous Munchkin. Shii (voiced by Erii Yamazaki) the lovable Singapura. And Ro (voiced by Mikako Komatsu) the studious Russian Blue.

Even after the most tiring of days, these three know how to put a smile on Yuuko’s face.

More than that, though. Maa, Shii, and Ro may be Yuuko’s chance to finding a lasting friendship. Because as the Internet has proven to us, humans can’t help themselves when it comes to kitties.

These three never let things get boring. No matter how likely the possibility, a curious cat will find its way into trouble. But even when they're at their most frustrating, it’s hard to stay mad at the little felines that make your heart so warm.

Anime Hajime Review: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

For Kobayashi (voiced by Mutsumi Tamura) things were as normal they could be. Opening the door one day, though, caused her average life to chang forever.

There stood a massive dragon. Stricken with understandable fear, Kobayashi can only watch in awe. She grew more dumbfounded when the beast transformed into a human girl. With a smile, the dragon introduced herself as Tohru (voiced by Yuki Kuwahara).

As it turns out, while drunk, Kobayashi invited Tohru to come live with her. At first apprehensive, Kobayashi stayed true to her word. From then on, Tohru became Kobayashi’s personal maid.

And where there’s one dragon, there’s sure to be more. Tohru gets discovered by her close friend. A young dragon named Kanna (voiced by Maria Naganawa). For Kobayashi, peace of mind seems like a long time ago.

While it may not be the most conventional, these three soon grow into a close family. That isn’t to say things are easy. Far from it. Kobayashi must teach these all-powerful dragons the ways of the human world. Or at the very least, prevent them from blowing it up.

Anime Hajime Review: Yamishibai Season 4

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Yamishibai season four. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

It’s time to begin our fourth journey into the dark and the macabre. The strange and the creepy. Listen to the stories of the things that go bump in the night.

That’s right, it’s once again time for Yamishibai.

Tongue – A man finds a dead cat in the middle of the road. His mistake was taking pity on the poor thing.

Fish Tank – Three friends break into an old abandoned house. Inside they find a disgusting looking fish tank.

Sewing Shears – A woman moves into her new apartment. Under one of the floor boards, she finds an old pair of sewing shears.

Red High Heel -  A tired office worker manages to hail a cab late at night. On the floor of the backseat, the man finds a single red high heel.

Night Bus – A man and his friends ride on a night bus. The man asks to go to the bathroom. When he returns, the passengers are a little off.

Guess Who? – A girl finds the courage to ask the boy she likes out. Their date ends as they wait for the next train to arrive.

Anime Hajime Review: Shounen Ashibe Go! Go! Goma-chan

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Shounen Ashibe: Go! Go! Goma-chan. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Ashibe Ashiya (voiced by Rie Kawamura) loves everything. There's almost never a time when he isn’t smiling. Nothing ever gets to him. Nothing ever gets him down.

Recently, Ashibe’s family moved into a new house. Excited to get to know as many people as possible, his first new friend falls from the back of a truck. Of all the ways to start living in his new home, Ashibe brings back a small baby seal (voiced by Nao Touyama).

Though unexpected, Ashibe’s family accepts their newest member without hesitation. Ashibe names the seal Goma-chan and from that day the two become inseparable.

The duo does everything together. Because of this, Goma-chan is soon a familiar face around the neighborhood. Whether at school or the market, the cute white seal and the loud happy-go-lucky boy are a sight to see. 

The adventures Ashibe and Goma-chan will go on, nobody can say for sure. One thing is certain, though, the two are going to have the time of their lives.

Anime Ichiban: Top Ten Tear Inducing Moments

***Warning, the following Ten Top contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for the following series in alphabetical order. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Assassination Classroom, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai, Clannad, Ghost Stories, K-On, Kill la Kill, Monogatari Series Second Season, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, and Your Lie in April. Reader discretion is advised.***

Criteria

Well, I can see this being a good time.

A memorable story is one that can produce emotion. We’ve covered that before. I imagine we’re going to continue doing so because it bears repeating. This can be the reason why one anime succeeds and another one fails. But it does come with a catch.

Emotions are subjective. They may not have a good reason. When I do my reviews, I try to articulate exact points why I liked or disliked something. Doing that poses a problem on occasion.

Granted, negativity is easier, and often more fun, to discuss. But to explain why I liked something in detail can be difficult. Especially if I can sum it up in a single sentence. "It made me laugh."

Comedy loses its punch if you explain the joke. What we’re talking about today doesn’t have that issue.

There are three major reactions that are invaluable when enjoying a story. If one of these gets triggered, it means the story was effective. One is uncontrollable laughter. Kind of self-explanatory. We’ve all experienced it. The best comedies succeed here. Another is dread. You don't want to move on. It’s not that you don’t care. It's, to be as blunt as possible, true fear. Great horror can do this.