This month, FUNimation is offering up some truly fantastic anime titles in the sports drama category. That's a genre you normally find in live-action series and movies, but the anime medium does just as good a job at delivering compelling stories and characters as their flesh-and-blood counterparts. Leading off this category this month is two seasons of the Free! franchise, a story that centers on a boys' swim team and their deep and meaningful (and super-dramatic) relationships. This is one series that not only treats its characters like actual people with hopes, flaws, and fears, it brings viewers along with them as they grow up over time. And if a swimming series isn't your speed, there's the equally entertaining free-running drama series Prince of Stride, which has a similar conceit, just one that's focused on a Parkour-like sport called "Stride." (These are the first anime I've watched that actually make me want to get up off the couch and exercise alongside them!)
But there's much more from FUNimation this month as well. 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 as 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.
For more of my reviews of FUNimation’s home video selections, be sure to check out the following links. You might just find a favorite you overlooked or a new addition to your catalog you might have missed!
- Funimation’s Summer Selections Offer Anime for All Ages and Audiences
- Funimation’s Fall Selections Feature High School Romance and ‘Black Clover’s Magic
- Funimation’s Winter Titles Include ‘Iron-Blooded Orphans’, One of the Best ‘Gundam’ Series Ever
- FUNimation Features Over-the-Top Fan Service in ‘Testament of Sister New Devil’
- FUNimation’s February Dubs Include the Sadistic ‘King’s Game’ & Optimistic ‘ReLIFE’
- FUNimation’s March Anime Titles Include Three Live-Action ‘Death Note’ Movies
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club
After a run-in with former teammate Rin ends with bitter feelings and hurtful words, Haruka and his friends become determined to re-form the Iwatobi Swim Club. There's just one problem-they're missing a much-needed fourth member! With their eyes set on the athletic Rei, they've got to do what it takes to convince him to join so they can be in fighting form to face Rin's new school, Samezuka Academy...
It would be very easy to pass on the Free! franchise if you judged a Blu-ray by its cover: The very pretty boys, all hanging out together poolside, look like they might get into all kinds of drama together, especially since each of them is designed to represent a particular personality type. Okay, maybe you can judge this Blu-ray by its cover because that's exactly what you'll get! And while some anime fans may be looking for just this sort of story, Free! offers up compelling character stories, dramatic beats that are earned, and tense rivalries with heartfelt conclusions. That's something everyone can enjoy!
The first installment in the Free! franchise centers on a team of high school swimmers who revitalize their school's swim club with the aim of competing in a prestigious tournament. But the series isn't just about the lap times, trophies, and qualifying races (though these add a realistic and grounded aspect to the sports drama), it's about the complicated rivalries and friendships among the boys. You can really get invested in just about anyone's story in this series because they're all well-written, have a deeper character development than you might except, and all get to have a nice payoff by the season's end. The final episode will have you on the edge of your seat and cheering with joy, something I never thought I'd say about an anime about a boys' swim team!
9/10
Free! Eternal Summer
The boys of summer are back! Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, and Rin are reunited for a second season in Free! Eternal Summer. After the last swimming meet, the bonds of friendship have only gotten stronger, and with each passing day these boys continue to grow. This season brings new rivals and new challenges. So get ready, the competition is about to get fierce!
With a solid start in "Iwatobi Swim Club", I worried that "Eternal Summer" would drop in quality and shift to more of a fan-servicey story. Not so! This season finds the boys contemplating their futures as young adults as they prepare to say goodbye to high school and hello to the wide world before them. The issue is that some of them are unsure whether or not they want to continue their swimming career, while others are forced to give it up altogether, whether they want to or not.
"Eternal Summer" felt like a natural progression of the story told in "Iwatobi Swim Club." It introduces some new characters who add a bit of tension (romantic, dramatic, and competitive) to the mix while also giving ample screentime to the characters we know and love. The drama among the boys gets even more soap operatic in this season but it's always enjoyable, even if you get a few more laughs out of it this time around. Now's a great time to get in on the Free! fandom; with the 2020 Summer Olympics set to take place in Tokyo next year, a new tie-in film is on the way, which will take the franchise to new heights.
8/10
Prince of Stride: Alternative
From MADHOUSE, the studio behind Death Note and One-Punch Man, comes a fast-paced sports anime about Stride—competitive city-wide relay races. Nana and her classmate, Takeru, are desperate to resurrect their school’s Stride Club, but will they be able to get the prickly Riku, who insists he hates Stride, to join the team?
Our second sports series this month has a lot in common with Free!, though it falls behind that superior swimming show a bit, too. This story centers on the sport of Stride, essentially a fast-paced kind of Parkour. It's a much lighter sports drama than Free! and doesn't go as deep into character relationships as that series did, but the core cast of characters develops well as the season runs along. The real fun here is in the race sequences and the thrilling "Relation" moments when one runner hands off to the next.
And yet, I was left thinking that the animators could have had more fun with the races themselves. There's a very surface-level exploration on the design of different obstacle courses and the routes that each team takes to navigate them; doing a bit more with this idea would have added a whole new level to the story. It's fine as it is though. If you're looking for a story of a team made up of disparate players that comes together against all odds despite adversity, Prince of Stride: Alternative is a fun, unique option. Put on your running shoes and check it out!
7/10
Re: ZERO Starting Life in Another World, Season 1, Part 2
Re: ZERO Starting Life in Another World - Season 1, Part 2
After being suddenly transported to another world, Natsuki Subaru discovers a terrible truth—he can’t die. Or rather, he can’t remain dead. With this terrifying new ability, he experiences reset after reset and it begins to take its toll on his mental state. But, determined to protect his new friends and the woman he’s fallen in love with, Subaru suffers to save.
Starting an anime series in the middle of things is always rough, especially in a mythology as complex as this one. It centers on Subaru Natsuki, a reclusive teenager who finds himself transported into a fantasy world. Once there, he falls in love with a half-elf, gains the power to learn from his own deaths (and use this knowledge to prevent them), and has some basic combat proficiency. That's not even scratching the surface of this story since Subaru's relationships, powers, and abilities get a lot of complicating changes throughout the series.
Unfortunately, coming into this story halfway through makes it really difficult to know just what's going on, who's on screen, and why they're doing what they're doing, even if the things they're doing look very cool (like battling giant sky whales). This is one series that would heavily benefit from a recap but even more so by actually watching the show from the beginning. And it's worth your time to do so. Re: Zero has achieved critical acclaim for its fresh take on the other-worldly type of stories and complex world and characters, along with numerous awards nominations and wins.
7/10
Steins;Gate
Rintaro Okabe is a self-proclaimed "mad scientist" plagued by paranoid delusions of a nefarious organization known as SERN. Fueled by their imaginations, Okabe and his friends form a secret laboratory and seek to unlock the mysteries of time travel! Blind to the ramifications of their actions, Okabe and co. aren’t prepared to deal with the side effects that go along with changing the past.
It's rare to see an anime series that actually has a pro-science focus, but that's what you get in Steins;Gate ... at least until they start putting bananas in a microwave. Scientist protagonist Okabe is focused on time-travel and obsessed with his own experiments and theories, but he soon finds himself face to face with a dead body. This troubling encounter is just the first of many throughout the series, each more disturbing than the last thanks to the mad scientist and his assistants' dabbling in the chaotic nature of time-travel. Okabe & Co. learn how to manipulate time loops, which works to their benefit for a while but eventually results in paranoia, paradoxes, and the realization that there are just some fates that can't be rewritten.
Steins;Gate is, refreshingly, pretty reserved on the fan service. It does get bogged down in the middle a bit, but once it hits the half-way point, the twists and turns really start to come fast and frequently. There's a tonal shift that comes after a few episodes, so hang in there if you are looking for a harder sci-fi drama than the very silly pseudo-sciencey type of story that is put forward early on.
7/10
Samurai Champloo
Mugen is a ferocious, animalistic warrior with a fighting style inspired by break-dancing. Jin is a ronin samurai who wanders the countryside alone. They may not be friends, but their paths continually cross. And when ditzy waitress Fuu gets them out of hot water with the local magistrate, they agree to join her search for the samurai who smells like sunflowers.
When it comes to stylish samurai anime, Samurai Champloo is one of the best around. The fight scenes are kinetic and engaging, the characters are flawed but compelling, and the road-trip style adventure is never not entertaining. And the music! It feels like a spiritual successor to Cowboy Bebop, and that's because it is: This was director Shinichirō Watanabe's follow-up series and it absolutely shows. The "chanbara" style of storytelling gets a hip-hop remix, a hefty dose of humor, and a great mix of character archetypes in Mugen, Jin, and Fuu. You'll enjoy getting to spend all 26 episodes with the trio. And though the series closes out in a fantastic three-part episode, it's a shame that we have to say goodbye to these characters just as we're really getting to know them.
8/10
FLCL
Naota’s a bit quirky, but he can still pass for normal. Haruko’s totally quirky and she’ll never pass for normal. When she runs over Naota with her motorscooter and brains him with a bass guitar, his world doesn’t get turned upside down – It gets incredibly weird. There’s nothing else in the world like FLCL. This one’s going to change your life.
FLCL is one of those anime series that you need to watch over and over again to figure out just WTF is going on. Originally airing in 2000, the plot of FLCL is difficult to explain without sounding like a crazy person, and honestly it's not the plot that really matters here. Getting a chance to watch it again nearly 20 years later has given me an interesting perspective on just what the nonsensical series is trying to say. It's, at its core, a coming-of-age story told through the experiences of Naota and his bizarro relationship with the otherworldly Haruko.
The "plot" part of the story is bonkers: Haruko is a sort of galactic police officer/bounty hunter who's tracking down a specific space pirate, using anyone and anything in order to do so. (Additionally there's a corporate organization that uses giant irons to "smooth out" other worlds, but that's neither here nor there.) Naota and his innate abilities help Haruko in this quest, though the subtext here is a first romance between the naive boy and the more experienced young woman. FLCL is absolutely packed full of sexual tension and innuendo, and it's worth a watch again even if you've seen it before.
8/10
Deadman Wonderland
When a mysterious man in red slaughters his classmates, Ganta is left the only survivor—and charged with the horrific crime. Locked away in the twisted prison, Deadman Wonderland, he’s forced into brutal deathmatches against other convicts; all for the amusement of the masses. All seems lost until he discovers a deadly new skill. Can he possibly survive the prison that holds a million ways to die?
Deadman Wonderland is about as close to an anime version of The Running Man that we're going to get. The framework of the story is that prisoners exist in a theme park of sorts, forced to participate in deadly games for the entertainment of park visitors. An extension of this idea sees especially talented prisoners, known as Deadmen, battling to the death for the enjoyment of mysterious donors with deep pockets. And while the idea that said Deadmen can manipulate their own blood in various ways that let them compete in these death battles is cool, the whole thing never really comes together into a coherent narrative. There's the reveal of "mad scientist" research just for the sake of progress, which (obviously) has disastrous results. This meddling by well-meaning but morally bankrupt adults has negative impacts on the children in their lives, and ultimately those sins come home to roost. But for me, the interesting seeds of this mythology never really get a chance to bloom into something memorable.
6/10
Samurai 7
A war-ravaged country struggles against the terrifying Nobuseri, a vicious breed of warrior more machine than man. Seeking its own salvation, a weary village sends a young priestess on a quest to hire Samurai for protection. One by one, these men of skill and honor gather to stand between the helpless and the hated.
It's a bold move to try to remake Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, especially as a futuristic anime series, but Samurai 7 takes that challenge and nails the execution. If you know the story of Seven Samurai, you know the basics of Samurai 7, but the devil is in the details: This story centers on a poor village beleaguered by the Nobuseri, former samurai who became cyborg warriors in order to maintain a stronghold over weaker villagers. A trio of said villagers venture out in search of samurai they can hire to fight off the Nobuseri and defend their homes.
The story of heroism, nobility, and duty is a classic one and it's well told here, but the strength of the seven samurai tale has always been in the characters themselves. There's Kambei the wise old war-weary samurai and his apprentice Katsushiro, Gorobei the veteran and entertainer, the spear-wielder with a prosthetic hand Shichiroji, the clownish cyborg Kikuchiyo, the pacifist Heihachi, and the skilled silent warrior, Kyuzo. That's a lot of protagonists to keep track of, and there are equally as many antagonists (and then some), plus quite a few villagers to get to know, so luckily, this series has 26 episodes to give them all their time to shine. Not all of them will survive the coming ordeal, however, which makes the time spent getting to know them all the more bittersweet.
Samurai 7 is a great addition to the Seven Samurai adaptations and a fantastic bit of animation from Gonzo. If you're looking for a different take on the story, and are down for a steampunk aesthetic, then this is the very specific title for you!
8/10
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
Key of dreams—release! As Sakura settles into a normal routine, she prepares to face her newest challenge—junior high! While her classes are challenging, things start looking up when Syaoran reappears and says he’ll be staying for good. But when she has a strange dream about a mysterious figure and wakes to find her Sakura Cards completely clear, she must return to her duty as Cardcaptor.
This follow up to the Cardcaptor series, which debuted more than 20 years ago, finds its title character Sakura Kinomoto having graduated from elementary school to junior high school. So, it should go without saying that fans of the original series may have outgrown Cardcaptor in the 20 years since, which explains why Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card was particularly difficult for me to get into.
Clear Card tries to start with a clean slate, so maybe it's intended more for a younger audiences who's watching for the first time rather than those who are coming back for more adventures. It seems that all of the Clow Cards that Sakura transformed into Sakura Cards have all mysteriously gone blank, clear, and powerless. This sets up the new mystery that Sakura and her allies--Syaoran, Cerberus, and Yue among them--have to solve. For me, it felt like the same story being told all over again, and it just didn't really hold my attention. Your mileage may vary.
6/10
Ace Attorney
As a brand-new defense lawyer, Phoenix Wright is learning what it means to be a true defender of justice. But when his mentor is murdered, things go downhill fast! With all evidence pointing to the victim’s sister Maya, it’s up to Phoenix to use all his wit and powerful shouting to prove her innocence. Which is easier said than done when up against Miles Edgeworth, the genius prosecutor.
This anime is pure fun. It takes the typical courtroom drama that's played out in live-action series for decades upon decades now and plays up just about every trope you can think of. Originally starting as a Capcom series of video games starting with writer/director Shu Takumi and continuing with Takeshi Yamazaki, Ace Attorney has enjoyed a number of adaptations, including this anime, overseen by Takumi and based on the first few games in the series.
Ace Attorney takes place in a heightened version of our own world where criminal cases are more like game shows than court proceedings. The defense and prosecuting attorneys have three days to plead their cases before a verdict is delivered. And those demonstrations are full of dramatic moments, last-minute discoveries of evidence, and "Eureka!" realizations that make or break a case. Oh and there's the occasional spirit medium and advice from beyond, as you do. The adaptation pales a bit in comparison to the firsthand player's experience from the games, but it's an entertaining watch with a bunch of colorful characters and laugh-out-loud courtroom capers.
6/10
Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions
After waking up in a strange new world surrounded by people who can't remember who they are or where they came from, Haruhiro finds himself drafted into the service of the Volunteer Soldiers. Together with a ragtag party he must set out to make a name for himself in a world where magic and monsters are a part of everyday life.
Here's another one that surprised me. There's any number of "Hey, let's take a bunch of gamers and bring them into their virtual world" anime titles out there, but Grimgar is unique in this sub-genre. The story plays up the fantasy angle as life-or-death, even in the early stages; that's something that few fantasy RPGs do and fewer series adaptations ever tackle. You can appreciate Grimgar just for making low-level experience-grinding creatures like goblins a force to reckon with for the armed and armored heroes. But there's much more to the story.
Like some of the best live-action and anime dramas in recent years (Game of Thrones and Attack on Titan come to mind), Grimgar isn't afraid to kill its darlings. So while the newbie team of low-level fighters do their best to earn experience and enough coin to survive by battling goblins, they soon suffer a mighty blow when one of their team members perishes. That really throws the team for a loop, both logistically and psychologically, but it's great drama for the audience. And the writers play this moment and its aftermath honestly, just as they ground the rest of the fantasy series' action beats in reality, or as realistic as such a thing can get.
Rarely gory but always visceral and gut-checking, Grimgar is a rare fantasy anime series that treats its characters like flesh-and blood people. This relatively complex drama (with a little cheeky fan service thrown in to keep things light throughout) is better than most RPGs and one title I'd love to see more stories from.
9/10
Haruchika: Haruta & Chika
Things look bleak for the school’s dwindling wind instrument club until childhood friends Haruta and Chika step in to save the day. When they aren’t trying to win the heart of the handsome club supervisor, they’re working hard to recruit more members. But every new musician presents them with a new mystery, so they’ll have to add junior detectives to their already impressive resumes.
As much as I like sports drama anime series, it turns out I like musically themed high school mystery anime series about the same. They're both unique takes on specific genres and they offer up stories that you rarely get to see in live-action shows, though sports dramas are way more common. But with Haruchika, you get something entirely its own.
The title is a mash-up of school students Haruta and Chika, but this isn't a classroom romance like some of the other titles in this list. Right out of the gate we learn that childhood friends Haruta and Chika, who are reunited on the first day of high school, aren't destined for each other but that they do have something in common: a mutual infatuation with their world-famous music club conductor and instructor, Shinjirō Kusakabe. But Haruchika isn't a love triangle story either!
Instead, this dramedy sees the title teens, who are polar opposites but actually work rather well together, welcoming new members into the music club with the aim of winning a prestigious orchestra competition. The issue is that each new member comes with their own baggage and a mystery that must be solved before they can freely join the band. That sounds light and fun and airy, and sometimes it is, but other times the mystery's involve kids dealing with grandparents with wartime PTSD, caretakers who have dementia, or misunderstandings related to their parents' relationships. And sometimes it's about a haunted house that's actually a giant prank/piggybank. This one's original, musically mysterious, and just a lot of fun.
9/10
Teasing Master Takagi-san
Tired of being mercilessly teased by his classmate Takagi, Nishikata vows to get back at the girl that’s made him blush countless times. After all, if you blush, you lose! But getting vengeance isn’t so easy when every attempt blows up in his face. Will Nishikata ever make Takagi blush, or will he gain something more fulfilling from his bumbling attempts?
What easily could have just been a straight-up fan servicey harem anime actually turned out to be a very focused, funny, and heartfelt exploration of a grade-school romance. The cat-and-mouse game of teasing and practical jokes between the devious and devilish Takagi and the simple but earnest Nishikata build and builds and builds in every episode, right up until the very last moment of the entire season. That's tough to do in any medium or genre, but Teasing Master Takagi-san manages to do this expertly well while balancing comedy, romance, and drama.
The pranks start simple, like little paper snakes hidden inside pencil boxes or bit of ink covertly placed on Nishikata's cheek, but things quickly take a turn towards the psychological. In the very first episode, we get to see how sharp, quick-thinking, and manipulative Takagi is, turning Nishikata's own attempts to prank her back on himself to hilarious results. She's always at least two to three steps ahead of him, and if and when he happens to even the odds, she guilts him into falling right back into place again.
The question you keep asking yourself throughout the series is, is Takagi treating Nishikata so badly because she's actually cruel and he's an easy target? Or does she have a crush on him and this is the only way she can express that? Nishikata asks himself this same question for 12 episode, though he grapples with his own part to play in the game: Why does he let Takagi mess with him so often? Could he have feelings for her, too? You'll have to watch all the way until the final moment to find out for sure!
8/10
Dagashi Kashi: Season 1
What's salty, bursting with flavor, and just a touch...crunchy The most perfect snack-Umai-bou, of course! Oh, but then there's also Fue Ramune, Baby Star Ramen, and the iconic Sakuma Drops. And you can't forget about Wata-Pachi. So many tasty things-get in my mouth already!
It took me a while to warm up to this one, but once I did, I found it to be really enjoyable. The premise is very silly and the episodic stories stick with that tone to deliver some hilarious and uniquely wacky tales. Simply put, the heiress of a successful snack company tries to partner with the son of a local snack shop owner in order to create the world's most powerful snack brand that maintains a connection to the people who buy and consume said goodies. It's a series that has a hyper focus on snacks and their history and lore, only occasionally getting distracted by fan service.
I was honestly put off by this fan service early on, but it fades into the background a bit as the series goes on. Instead, it's replaced with genuinely interesting and funny anecdotes about beloved Japanese snacks. The central trio of Shikada "Coconuts" Kokonotsu, Hotaru Shidare and Saya Endô get into relatively mundane mini-adventures that center around various foodstuffs. They deliver a passionate history lesson on Baby Star Ramen, run a marathon on Glico Caramels, hold a competition to see who can avoid the sour grape candy in Wata-pachi, and debate the pros and cons of various types of Ramune and Umaibou. It's a weeb's dream series, especially if all you want to do is learn about different Japanese snacks (and occasionally see Hotaru in various states of undress), but there's a nice, summery, young romance between Coconuts and Saya here as well. It may not be perfectly balanced, but it is pleasing to the palate.
8/10
Touken Ranbu Hanamaru: Season 2
Departing on a year-long journey to become stronger, Yamatonokami Yasusada leaves the citadel, parting ways with his partner blade, Kashuu Kiyomitsu. But there’s no shortage of happy days for the sword warriors whose numbers are only increasing! Every new friend who arrives adds another charming story to the mix, and with Kashuu as their guide, they blossom into full-fledged members in no time.
Be sure to check your expectations when you start in on this series. The premise--anthropomorphic characters that represent famous swords from Japanese history travel through time and space to prevent evil forces from changing the timeline--sounds awesome, but that hook doesn't tell the whole story. Each episode introduces a newcomer to the citadel, another sword to add to the ranks, while also exploring a new hobby or pastime for the gathered swords to busy themselves with. If you're expecting a semi-serious action-packed anime, you'll be disappointed, but if you just enjoy the story for the sweet, slice-of-life tale it is, then you can have fun with it.
While the sword warriors occasionally go on missions to preserve history, most of the storytelling centers on their leisurely activities back at the citadel. The put on New Years parties, stage athletic competitions, hold cooking competitions, and go out of their way to make newcomers feel welcome. It's fun, it's frivolous, and everyone on screen (mostly male warriors) is very, very pretty. It's just not much more than that, so plan accordingly.
7/10
Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA
Akari Mamiya wants to become a powerful BUTEI like her idol, Aria Kanzaki, but her skills are…lacking. In fact, she’s just a lowly E rank student and her chances of getting to the top are slim. Determined to be more than she is, she makes the move to become Aria’s Amica and receive training to be just like her! But is the double pistol-wielding ace ready to take on the challenge of teaching?
Though this title works just fine as a standalone series, it makes a lot more sense when you know that it's a follow-up to the 2011 anime Aria the Scarlet Ammo. Starting as a light novel series written by Chūgaku Akamatsu and illustrated by Kobuichi, the original story centered on the title character, a specialized crime-fighter known as a "Butei." So while the first series follows Aria's exploits with male protagonist Kinji, Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA is a side-story that folds in bumbling low-ranked Butei and amica-(or, junior partner)-in-training, Akari Mamiya.
You don't need to know much about the original series to enjoy the companion story, but it would help to have some shorthand before diving into the relationships between these side characters. Essentially, it's a cutesy "action girl" team-up that doesn't really seem to have much of a story beyond episodic excuses to have the girls fight each other or try to get some of them out of their clothes. (There's one entire episode devoted to tricking Akari into wearing a shrinking swimsuit, a plan that goes awry in funny ways but is ultimately just for fan service.) This side story is a lighter telling that's more for laughs (and I, for one, laugh every time they say butei because it sounds like "bootay" and I'm a child). It does develop into a more serious story with a bit more character focus in the last few episodes, and it has an enticing opening scene that pays off in the finale, but it feels very much like an afterthought. Check it out for the action but don't expect the same standard as the original.
6/10
Luck & Logic
When the gods were driven from Tetra-Heaven, they took refuge in the human world and caused unimaginable chaos. To fight terrifying beasts known as Foreigners, a special police force known as Logicalists formed. With the power to Trance with goddesses, they’re the only hope in the war against these incursions.
At first blush, this looks like a magical girl harem anime since the main players are a team of attractive girls of all shapes and sizes paired up with their equally attractive and super-powerful goddesses, and there's only one special dude who gets to be a part of their club. Okay, so maybe it is a magical girl harem anime, but it's got some interesting mythology and a lot of action to go with it, too. And surprisingly, there are some interesting LGBTQ themes that get a surface exploration along the way.
The "Logicalists" are a fighting force comprised of humans who make "covenants" with otherworldly goddesses and enter into a trance to gain their powers, allowing them to battle other invading "foreigners" from an alternate world. The main pairing is Yoshichika Tsurugi, who was a former Logicalist who lost his abilities once becoming an adult but was lucky to survive with his memories intact after over-trancing, and his new goddess, Athena, who has recovered the Logic he previously lost. The cast of characters is a bit too big to really focus on all of the relationships between the humans and their goddesses in just 12 episodes, but some of the pairings make for interesting LGBTQ match-ups.
Tsurugi and Athena are obviously a hetero pair, but their over-tranced version is an interesting metaphor for a being that has combined male and female traits with each entity having intimate knowledge of the other and possessing the same body. Then there are the rest of the Logicalists, which are all female-female pairings; there's a bit of fan service here during their covenant scenes, but it's not too overdone since these relationships are earned over the course of the season. And then there's a surprise male-male pairing that has important plot points, so I won't spoil it here, but it brings a nice balance to what might otherwise be a more traditional harem story.
7/10
Hina Logic: From Luck & Logic
Princess Liones Yelistratova is trading in her crown for a school uniform at ALCA’s Logicalist training school! Moving from a small country to Hokkaido one spring day, she prepares herself for a brand-new life amongst the students in Class 1-S. Here, she’ll learn what it takes to be a Logicalist alongside unique classmates, including the talented Nina Alexandrovna!
If there's one sort of anime series I really have zero interest in, it's cutesy takes on existing properties or spinoffs that skew towards younger audiences. That's not to say it's bad, it's just not my thing. So when a young princess sneaks her way into a Logicalist training school, only slightly tying into the Luck & Logic series, I'm gonna go ahead and pass.
This series, which fills a niche in the overall franchise, does away with any of the more serious drama from the parent show in favor of cutesy characters, relatively light-hearted adventures, and ultimately empty stories.
5/10
Garo Vanishing Line, Part 2
Sword, Gina, and Sophie brave the long journey to El Dorado, where they find there’s more to this utopia than meets the eye. Humans are disappearing en masse, and no one seems to notice the Horrors living among them. The Makai Knight and his gang square off against The King, putting their lives on the line to uncover El Dorado’s ugly truth. But this truth won’t come without a price.
If you're a fan of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, then Garo: Vanishing Line should be on your watch-list. The third in the Garo anime series, this arc sees the musclebound motorcycle-riding Sword as the possessor of the Zaruba ring and the Garo golden armor. I had a blast with the first part of the VanishingLine story and I'm happy to say that the conclusion of its arc is a satisfying one. It's bonkers, full of high-intensity and high-octane action sequences, bigger-than-life characters, and enough heart to make you care about the trials they go through.
This series takes the action out of the medieval past and into a contemporary urban center, known as Russell City, but Garo keeps its signature visuals styles, complete with computer-generated armor sets and battle scenes. There's an additional tech wrinkle in this season, however, which doesn't get overused but actually adds an interesting dimension (literally) to the fight against the Horrors, the Makai knights, and their evil plans. There's a curious tonal shift in the finale that feels like it could have been handled a little better through editing and pacing of the final episodes, but the whole thing ends on a pitch-perfect note.
9/10