The fine folks over at Funimation were kind enough to send me a selection of their Fall 2018 anime offerings, a crazy collection of some of the best series the medium has to offer right now. Whether you’re interested in anime but haven’t watched any or you’ve been a fan for decades, Funimation definitely has something for you to enjoy; you’ll probably find a few favorites in this very line-up.
For the uninitiated, Funimation is a U.S. company known for their dubs and domestic distribution of Japanese anime. So all of the reviews you’re about to check out are for the dub version of each anime, though some Blu-rays/DVDs have a Japanese audio option, and there are some exceptions to the rule. Below, you’ll find the official synopsis for each movie and series, along with a link to pick up your own copy at Funimation’s online store, should my review convince you. Sometimes, it’ll be an easy thing to suggest you buy it, other times, it’ll be just as easy to go in the other direction.
Check out my rundown of Funimation’s home video selections from this fall, along with links to pick up all those that fit your tastes; be sure to take a look at their summer selections as well. The following titles will be presented by audience age, youngest first:
Gamers!
Keita Amano is a fan of one thing: gaming! Whether he’s on his phone or console, he just loves playing video games. And when the beautiful president of the game club, Karen Tendou, invites him to join, it seems like an EZ choice. Except, he declines! KO’d by the shock, Karen suddenly makes getting close to Amano her main quest. But she’s not the only one interested in him!
This 12 episode series is decent enough for folks looking for some light romance and drama. It follows narrator and protagonist Keita Amano, a high school student and talented gamer who finds himself at the center of multiple love triangles with his school's most attractive students. It's your basic high school romance/drama series with a little bit of gaming flavor thrown in, but there's not much more to it than that. It's a short time commitment, and with the exception of the finale's decision to engage in a bit of over-sexualized fan service, it's pretty tame.
6/10
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
For thirty years, companion robot Hoshino Yumemi has patiently waited to show someone the stars. Left in an abandoned planetarium, she sits hoping for customers that will never show. That is, until a Junker—a plunderer of goods and artifacts from the ruins of civilization—stumbles upon the crumbling establishment. Will he help her repair the planetarium, or will she be alone once more?
This collection of OVAs and a sequel movie was an unexpected gem. The story is centered on the curious relationship between an archaic artificial lifeform named Hoshino Yumemi and a Junker who discovers her in planetarium that has somehow survived the horrors of a dystopian world. The cast of characters is extremely limited and the plot is focused mostly on the friendship that grows between the two, even as the harsh reality of the external world threatens their protected bubble. The end of the OVAs is bittersweet, a thread that is picked up by the sequel film that takes place decades later. Part of this movie rehashes the OVAs, so expect a bit of repeat scenes here and there, but the telling of the tale for a new generation is still a worthy watch.
8/10
Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution 1
Ride the trapars and take to the skies once more! The revolutionary mecha anime returns with the story that was left untold—the earth-shattering incident where Renton’s father disappeared. With Eureka by his side, only Adroc Thurston could undo his own mistake. Now, ten years later, Renton finds himself in the care of his father’s old friends and facing a decision that will change everything.
Often, when a movie version of an anime series arrives on home video, it's to condense all those episodes into one extended viewing as a sort of short-cut to the story. Eureka Seven gets much more complicated than that. The original 50-episode anime series from Bones in the mid-2000s follows Renton, the Gekkostate outlaws, and the mysterious pilot, Eureka. This movie, the first in a new trilogy of films that's meant to reboot the series' story with a somewhat original tale, revisits the fate of both the elder Thurston and his son, Renton, while kickstarting an all-new tale in this world. It's hard to say how this new trilogy will impact the franchise when we only have the first third of it to view right now, but for fans of the anime, this is a worthy new adventure.
7/10
Tsuredure Children
When inexperienced kids start dating, there’s bound to be some different interpretations of the romantic learning curve. Thrown into an array of awkward situations, they’ll each discover what it means to let their emotions get the better of them. Whether it’s pubescent cluelessness, social paranoia, or just a silly misunderstanding, finding ways to contradict their feelings just comes naturally.
This is another teen dating series, similar to Gamers!, that actually has less going for it than the video game-slanted series. It pairs up students in a variety of "sub-genres", with some being sweet and innocent, others taking on an edgier tone that verges on the creepy. Once you've seen a number of "high school romance dramas", the shine wears off quickly. I couldn't quite make it through this navel-gazer of a series but your mileage may vary.
6/10
Sakura Quest: Part Two
After being rejected from job after job, Yoshino Koharu’s career prospects are looking dire. That is, until she gets an offer to become queen! But what she thought was a one day gig turns into a year-long commitment to the small rural town of Manoyama. Stuck out in the country with an entire town’s expectations on her shoulders, it’s up to Yoshino to show the world what a hidden gem Manoyama is!
While it's a little tough getting a handle on a series when you arrive in the middle of it, this example of the "working series" anime sub-genre was still an intriguing one. Essentially, this series follows the unintentionally elected "Queen" Yoshino and her ministers who are attempting to raise the profile of a small town in order appease the disgruntled countryfolk. At times, it sort of feels like an anime version of Sex and the City, except that it has a good deal more small-town politics and a good progression of interpersonal relationships. It's surprisingly restrained and is about as close to a "real life" anime as you can get in this bunch. It's also pretty cool to see a group of professional women just getting stuff done. It’s well done for what it is, just not my kind of story and is more of a slow-burn drama with little tension.
7/10
Assassination Classrom: The Movies
Assassination Classroom: The Movies
The killer manga comes to life in this two-part movie series. Join the students of Class 3-E as they learn to become proper assassins and try to kill their teacher. But he’s no ordinary instructor—he’s a tentacled creature with a thirst for destruction! And while they train to take him out they quickly learn there’s more to Koro Sensei than a will to kill which could put a damper on their mission.
While this technically isn't an anime but a live-action adaptation of the animated, fan-favorite series and manga of the same name, it's one of the better feature versions of an anime out there. If you've seen the anime from start to finish, or even caught the condensed anime movie version Assassination Classroom: 365 Days, you already know the story of the yellow, tentacled, Koro-sensei and his intention of having his own class assassinate him.
All the action, drama, and character development you know and love from the other storytelling formats plays out over these two films. The live-action translation of Koro-sensei into the real world is actually pretty well done and is just as believable a premise as it is in animated form. While this may be one of the weirder additions to your collection, especially when you're asked to explain all the tentacles, it's definitely a fun two-for-one.
7/10
Black Clover: Season 1, Part 1
Black Clover: Season 1, Part 1
Asta and Yuno are two orphans who want the same thing: to become the Wizard King. Locked in a friendly rivalry, they work hard towards their goal. While Yuno excels at magic, Asta has a problem uncommon in this world: he has no powers! But, on the day they receive their grimoires, they surprise everyone. To reach their goal, they’ll each find their own path to greatness—with or without magic.
This is an interesting title for a few reasons. I tried watching this one in its original audio and found it to be too repetitive of the Naruto approach to characterization and storytelling (a common complaint with Black Clover). I found Asta’s personality and his voice grating, but I decided to give it another shot with the dub. Oddly enough, I prefer the dub, but my issues are still with the character of Asta and the tone of the series overall. However, the arrival of the 5-Leaf Clover Grimoire is pretty badass, and I appreciate Asta’s resolve: “My magic is never giving up!”
Things pick up a bit when Asta gets picked up by the worst of the worst of the squads of Magic Knights clubs, the Black Bulls. Unfortunately, Part 1 of Season 1 ends with Asta and the team’s first major victory working together, but it does leave me wanting more. (Thankfully, this home video release also features some of the best bonus material of this bunch.)
7/10
Extras:
Inside Studio J (~15 minutes)– A behind-the-scenes featurette w/ the cast and crew of the English dub, including Dallas Reid (Asta), Jill Harris (Noelle Silva) and Ian Sinclair (Magna Swing), with ADR director and narrator Cris George; complete with cool anecdotes about their audition process, their experience performing for the recording, and more.
“Page 4” Commentary – Cris George, Dallas Reid, and Micah Solusod (Yuno)
“Page 7” Commentary – Ian Sinclair, Brandon McInnis (Finral Roulacase), and Jill Harris talk about their careers along with episode commentary
Clover Clips Special Edition (5 minutes) – In the style of “Clover Clips”, Asta and Noelle hunt ghosts in the Black Bulls’ hideout, only to find their fellow Knights being super weird.
Inside the Episode - Social media reactions from the episodes along with clips and commentary from the cast and crew, complementing side-by-side shots of the cast in action recording their parts.
- Episodes 1-3
- Episodes 4-6
- Episodes 7-9
18if
Haruto awakens in a dream world of a witch’s design. As he wanders the dreamscape, he meets professor, Katsumi Kanzaki, who studies witches in the real world. He says they’re the consciousnesses of young women afflicted with “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome” and are trapped in their own minds. Haruto and Katsumi must work together to uncover why various witches’ actions are physically affecting reality.
This one's much more mature than you would expect from the outset, but it has an interesting hook. Essentially, viewers follow along with a sleeping protagonist who's able to travel through other sleepers' dreams in order to help them resolve personal issues that are plaguing them. Some just need to wake up, others have deeply traumatic memories that have dramatically altered their lives. It's the more mature thematic material that waits for audiences after the first relatively light and breezy first episode that really takes things up a notch.
But there's a lot of uniqueness going for 18if as well. It's got one of the more original intros and opening theme songs in the bunch, which is always a plus. The animation style varies with each episode's theme, as does the end credits music, though the majority of the characters are traditionally animated against a more modern CG and highly stylized CG background. And while the "Alice in Wonderland" theme is strong throughout, it's a blast to see just which genre of storytelling a given episode is going to embrace, and just what sort of tough thematic material (chronic disease, eating disorders, depression, self harm, bullying, suicide, etc.) is going to be handled. The mythology that's core to the story doesn't really get explained until the series' end, and the finale is more philosophical than action-oriented, but it's worth a watch for the wealth of unique and visually impressive storytelling.
8/10
Classroom of the Elite
Welcome to the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a facility dedicated to fostering the best and brightest for the future of Japan. Here, students are given nearly complete freedom—but at a cost. To survive, they’ve got to get the grades, stay out of trouble, and be the very best, lest they be left with nothing.
If you want a high school romance series that's kind of like an animated Cruel Intentions, this series might work with you. It's far too pretentious for me, and it might be for you, too. If you can get past the first few minutes of exposition-laden monologue that waxes philosophical about class distinctions and one's lot in life and their place within an established meritocracy, you might enjoy it. But for me, everyone is so "elite", ie stuck-up and closed-off, that it quickly became grating.
Even if that is something you're looking for, Classroom of the Elite soon gets pretty dark and twisted, delivering plenty of fan service throughout before going for a full-on sexual assault. And roughly halfway through its story, the writers seem to have run out of plot, so they opt for an episode centering on the boys spying on the girls in their locker room and long, gazing shots of basically naked, oiled-up girls getting a massage. Your mileage may vary, indeed.
5/10
Convenience Store Boy Friends
Haruki has had a crush on his classmate Miharu for a while. But wracked with nerves, he’s never had the courage to act on his feelings. His best friend Towa has the opposite problem—he’s too forward and risks scaring away his crush. Now, they’ll both get a chance to show they care. All they needed was a chance meeting on some common ground. All they needed was a convenience store.
This series may have a silly title that you might laugh off on first pass, but there's actually a really solid romance story to be found here. Sure, the dub may be a little off in places (possibly due to the original dialogue) and some of the courtships may be a little too assertive for some tastes, but compared to similar titles in this list, Convenience Store Boy Friends is at the head of the class.
The story centers on two best friends and their love interests (as well as a healthy bromance between the two of them, of course), and their interactions at school, on various athletic fields, and in the titular convenience story. The anime takes place over the course of about a year, and each episode takes place within a given month, allowing for seasonal changes that are visually represented. It’s super-cute and is more realistic than some of the other dating/relationship series in this list, and it all wraps up in a super-sweet ending that makes watching the entire series very rewarding.
8/10