We here at oprainfall don’t just love video games: we’re big fans of anime, too. So in celebration of the medium, we’re here to give you our thoughts on what we’ve been watching each week as we watch it. Old, new – anything goes.
Currently Airing:
Love After World Domination
This is a series I learned about a few months ago before hearing about the anime adaption. I read some of the manga and was excited to hear about it premiering soon. I can say that I was happy with how it has started off. It follows the members of Freezing Sentai Gelato 5 as they fight the villainous society of Gekko. The main focus is on Gelato 5 member Fudo, and Desumi of Gekko. While enemies, Fudo confesses to Desumi (after getting support from an only partially-informed Professor Gelato) and the two start a relationship that they must hide from others. For fans of tokusatsu, there is definitely some appeal here with the few fight scenes we get looking decent. The majority of it is on the romantic comedy bits though. It works well, such as how they quickly turn almost being caught together by others into an exchange of blows. Being a couple volumes ahead in the manga, I’m excited to see how it turns out. – Walter
– You can watch Love After World Domination on Crunchyroll.
Ya Boy Kongming! (Paripi Kōmei)
While on HiDive this week to watch something I’ve been waiting for (I Stan Shadow Mistress Yuko), a certain thumbnail caught my eye for a series I hadn’t heard of. HiDive has had a few series which I’ve never heard anything about but, gave a chance to which I enjoyed. So I decided with a name like this series to give it a try.
It follows Kongming (Zhuge Liang if you prefer) from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms period of China at the end of this life as he wishes for a more peaceful next life as he passes on. He then appears as he did as a young man in present day Shibuya during the hectic Halloween celebration. He thinks he is in the afterlife, and seeing the costumes of the people he thinks he’s in Hell. (Having been there briefly during Halloween, I can understand why just a bit.) However, unlike me, he actually made it to a night club after catching the eye of party goers (and taking in some tequila). Hesitant of the music, he quickly focuses on an amateur singer who takes the stage named Eiko whose voice captivates him. He compliments her and is taken home by her after passing out in the street. At her apartment, we learn how she desires to be a singer and Kongming attempts to understand the modern world. While very comedic, there is some serious points in the first episode, such as a rough point in Eiko’s life and Kongming realizing how history has gone and that everyone he knew had long passed. Eiko attempts to help Kongming, still thinking he’s a cosplayer or just an odd person. She gets him a job at the club she works at after Kongming forms a bond with the owner, who is a Romance of the Three Kingdoms lover. From there – as her biggest fan – Kongming becomes Eiko’s tactician/manager to help her singing career.
The series premise is odd and does bring in some good comedic moments. The music – at least to me – is pretty good from what they put in the episode and the ending theme. Kongming ends up being quite talented in a number of areas such as bartending, and in the second episode shows that he still has impressive strategies. This is a show that I literally went in with no expectations at all, but am now all in for. I haven’t heard of this series before and I hope that those it does grab the interest of give it a chance. Also, I can’t say no to an opening like this. – Walter
You can watch Ya Boy Kongming! on HiDive.
SPY x FAMILY
I’ve been looking forward to this show for a couple of reasons. It’s being produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks, I’m very interested in things involving spies and espionage, and throwing the family element into the mix intrigued me. This episode introduces us to the two of the main characters: the man of a hundred disguises, Twilight, and test subject 007, Anya. That’s right, they managed to sneak the 007 moniker into this series. After a successful mission, Twilight is given another one, a mission that is actually ridiculous. He has to get a wife and child, and enroll the child into a school so he can get close to his latest target. Oh, and he has to accomplish this in about a week’s time. Sounds easy, right? Twilight ends up adopting Anya to complete the mission. But Anya ain’t an ordinary girl – she can read people’s minds. Put these two unique individuals together and you get some pretty hilarious, and also heartwarming, interactions. I really enjoyed this first episode. You get to see Twilight slowly change through his relationship with Anya, and you get to see Anya be a happy little girl. The show is cute, but also mixes in action and seriousness quite well. The animation is done well, and I like the character designs of Twilight and Anya. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Anya and Twilight overcome this next hurdle that appeared at the end of the episode. – Patrick
I heard about this manga through word of mouth, but never had a chance to read it myself. When they announced an anime adaptation I got really excited, because like Patrick said above, spy stuff is super fun, and the characters and situation here are so absurd and over-the-top you can’t help but want to see what happens. As it turns out, what happens in this first episode is quite a bit of charming inner thoughts from Twilight about what it means to be a spy and letting his guard down around the absolutely adorable Anya, who is that perfect mix of precocious and lovable child. While most of the episode feels more slice-of-life and situational comedy, when the action starts Wit Studio and CloverWorks pull out all the stops for some really fluid and impactful animation that really nicely contrasted with the slower pace of the rest of the episode. I’m looking forward to the next one, which will pit our illustrious spy on his newest mission: securing a wife. – Leah
You can watch SPY x FAMILY on Crunchyroll.
The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2
I loved the first season of this anime, so I was ecstatic when I found out it was getting a second season. The episode starts off with Yuko and Momo and one of their “duels.” Though this changes into more of a date due to Momo misunderstanding the contents of Yuko’s challenge letter. The events that occur are cute and are sure to make you smile. Later on, Momo and Mikan end up becoming next door neighbors to Yuko. We get to learn a little more about Mikan (and her abnormal obsession with citrus fruits) and see how awkward Momo is when performing certain activities. Also, seeing Yuko’s family overreact to things such as meat is hilarious. This episode was full of cute and funny situations, which is exactly what I want when watching this series. I can’t wait for the next episode. The ending animation with the adorable chibis also returns, so look forward to that when you watch the anime. – Patrick
You can watch The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2 on HIDIVE.
Old Shows:
Ranma 1/2
So I never really watched the Ranma 1/2 anime growing up. I’d seen an episode or two here and there, but I mostly just read some of the manga. When it came to Rumiko Takahashi properties, my personal faves at the time were Maison Ikoku and the Mermaid Saga and I never gave Ranma much thought. But my husband loves the show, and so we recently went on a watch/rewatch binge. Can you be nostalgic for a show you never really watched? Because that’s what Ranma is – it’s animated nostalgia and I’m loving it. Takahashi has always been able to write character characters, loading her casts with colorful, memorable personalities that can propel you through the absurdity of her comedy, and Ranma is probably the best example of that. Inuyasha may have ended up overshadowing this show thanks to the anime zeitgeist here in the West, but there’s something to be said for the episodic, slice-of-martial-arts-life shenanigans that go on throughout Ranma‘s runtime. (It also has best girl Shampoo, and if you disagree you’re wrong.) It’s got catchy music, fantastic voice acting, fun animation, and the cel-shaded hand-drawn nature of the era is comfortable and homey in a way most modern anime can’t quite capture. If you haven’t seen this show before, or feel like walking down memory lane, it still holds up surprisingly well and is worth your time, if only to hear the unparalleled work of Megumi Hayashibara as Girl Ranma. – Leah
– You can watch Ranma 1/2 on Hulu.
What anime are you watching? Let us know in the comments!
You can read previous Week in Anime entries here!
