The ranking of a king depends on the prosperity of his town and his accomplishments as a warrior-hero. What chance does a tiny little prince the size of a thumb have in such a world? Especially one whom the people mock as he strides happily through the town centre in his underpants. And even more… Read More First Impression: Ranking of Kings
Akihabara is in flames as giant police dog mechas bear down on panicking people. Suddenly, a metal fist pummels a mecha dog just as it’s about to crush a man, and the narrator kicks in. Flash back to a few hours earlier, as Hosomichi is heading to work around the time most citizens are being… Read More First Impression: Rumble Garanndoll
What do you get when vampires sing to a blood red moon, but with lyrics, a beat, and a microphone that comes from their swords? VISUAL PRISON, of course, which was not at all what I expected when I pressed play on Funimation’s stream for this show. Episode 1 introduces Ange Yuki, a normal kid… Read More First Impression: VISUAL PRISON
A girl wakes up in the middle of a parking lot, and a boy, in a bed of asters at the foot of a tori gate. Cut to a sci-fi chamber with techno-magic happening, where a creepy man announces that the King is ready for another living sacrifice. Another creepy man with stylish stubble laughs… Read More First Impression: BUILD-DIVIDE -#000000- CODE BLACK
Yatora Yaguchi is a walking contradiction, embodying what are usually the mutually exclusive extremes of the teenaged delinquent and the honor student. He spends his nights hanging out with his friends, smoking “socially”, watching the game, and binging on ramen for breakfast, then dons his tie and blazer and pulls off straight As in class.… Read More First Impression: Blue Period
A little girl is running from a man with a gun through a sci-fi city. The tension grows. He is near. He looms over the square, then jumps. She won’t be able to escape. But, as they capture each other with sci-fi traps, they start arguing and bickering. As it turns out, Gagumber and Memenpu,… Read More First Impression: Sakugan
On April 19, 1973, the Earth was invaded by aliens that came from the Moon and quickly began to overcome mankind. They wiped out billions, while what remains of civilization holds on by fighting back the BETAs (Beings of extra-terrestrial origin and adversaries of the human race). Gundam-like fighters were developed to battle these monstrous… Read More First Impression: Muv-Luv Alternative
We’re in a bright and bluish Okinawa, at a small, nice, wooden hotel by the beach. A girl is checking in on arriving guests, complimenting them with a smile. A biwa is playing in the background, the sun shines, the people lazily sunbathe and swim, but not the expressive Higa Maise, the aforementioned girl, who… Read More First Impression: “Deji” Meets Girl
2061. The XXI Century has been very hard on Japan. A staggering economical crisis, the disastrous policies of the Government and the aging of population combined with low birthrate did cause its near-total collapse, and it became a failed State. Four powerful foreign nations (new flags, though one of them is called Oceania) stepped in… Read More First Impression: AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline (Kyoukai Senki)
Gather round all ye aspiring astronauts, for it is time for…a history lesson! In 1957, Laika the street dog, here renamed Maly (“small”) and given a loving background, became the first animal in space, proving that life would not spontaneously cease when zero-G was achieved. After this success (though it ended more tragically for Maly/Laika),… Read More First Impression: Irina: the Vampire Cosmonaut