Angel's Anime Rating Guide

On Saturday April 9th, I went to Fan Expo formerly known as  Wizard World in Philadelphia . Early on Saturday, one of the local news stations, apparently either unaware of or unconcerned by the name change, showed file footage from a previous Wizard World event.

Recently, I watched Gate ... On August 20XX, a gate suddenly appears in Tokyo's Ginza district, unleashing a portal where monsters, medieval knights and other fantasy beings come from another world and wreak havoc on Tokyo. The Japanese Defense Force take action against these monsters and push them back into the Gate. Third Reconnaissance Team is dispatched to the Special Region lead by officer (and otaku) Youji Itami. On their travels, they are joined by a beautiful elf girl who is a survivor from the dragon's rampage and guide the group across the dangerous new world. The story of Gate revolves around a mysterious portal from another world that suddenly opens onto our world. Our hero, Itami finds his trip to the annual comic convention interrupted by a flight of dragons and hordes of hostile beings rampaging through Tokyo. The invaders have the advantage of surprise until the Japanese Self Defense Force shows up on the field of battle with modern weapons and promptly cut t...

There was something about the animal mascot-like thing in Gleipnir , that said watch me, so I did... Shuichi is an ordinary student with the unusual power to transform into a monstrous dog with a revolver and a zipper down his back. Unsure of where his power came from or whom to trust, he'll risk it all to save a beautiful classmate named Clair. There was something about the cover art featuring an animal mascot-like thing that just attracted my attention. The series starts out on a strange note when the animal mascot-like thing attempts to save a girl in a burning building and takes matters a step too far, when after the save, the mascot-like thing decides to take a free peek at the girl. Things go from bad to worse, when the average guy, behind the animal mascot-like thing, loses his phone and the girl he saved, tracks him down the next day. Oops. It seemed at first, that the series was headed in a weird direction, but, after a while, it's school-yard battleground genre ro...

I took the opportunity to watch Sleepy Princess In The Demon Castle aka Maoujou de Oyasumi ... The Demon Lord Tasogare's castle is a dark and frightening place, filled to the brim with various monsters. Any soul unfortunate enough to be imprisoned here is sure to be terrified by the horrors within. However, the human princess Aurora Suya Rhys (Syalis) Kaymin is a different case. Rather indifferent to her situation, Syalis worries about one thing and one thing only -- sleep. Ever since the demon lord kidnapped her from her kingdom, she has not had a single good night's rest. To alleviate her dozen dozing issues, the princess makes do with what she can find in the castle. Whether it be the fur of fluffy demonic teddy bears or the silky, blanket-like bodies of ghost shrouds, everything is but a means to ensure a peaceful slumber. With so many potential materials to craft items that can help her sleep at her disposal, nothing will stop the sleepy princess -- not even death. In...

Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit looked like something I might enjoy... The world is filled with elves, dwarves, vampires, homunculi, and humans. It’s a time of peace until Nine stirs up chaos. To stop them, the police have created Special 7, and Seiji is a new recruit with ties to Nine's previous airport attack. Recently, I watched Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit . The series concerns an elite group of investigators who deal exclusively with crimes involving an organization known as Nine. The series follows the seven members of the Special Crime Investigation Unit as they go about their work. In this world, there are all sorts of beings that go bump in the night, but, magic use has waned in recent times as modern conveniences have taken hold of society. Humans and non-humans live in relative peace in this new modern age. The series has a rather dry, mundane appearance -- it could almost be mistaken for a typical cop drama. In fact, were it not for the oc...

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to watch Angel's Egg aka Tenshi no Tamago ... A mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg. The young girl is the sole protector of a very precious, large egg. Her lair is near a large, abandoned, decaying gothic city inhabited by restless shadows. A mysterious young man arrives one day, and eventually wins her trust. I had heard about this rather enigmatic title a while ago, but, not long ago, I decided to venture out into the depths of YouTube to track it down. According to the  Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy (page 14). ISBN# 1-880656-64-7... Plotless and highly symbolic with hardly any dialogue, reputedly a stream-of-consciousness exercise by [Mamoru] Oshii, the film features his trademark Christian imagery and an inexplicable passage through the town of soldiers with motorized artillery. Surreal elements recall Oshii's work on URUSEI YATSURA, including spaces...

I watched Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls aka Monster Musume no Oishasan ... No one expected the government to suddenly acknowledge the existence of demi-human species like harpies and centaurs, but when a careless Integration Agent shows up on Kimihito Kurusu's doorstep with an attractive Lamia in tow, he suddenly finds himself designated as a Host Family. This might not be so bad, except that while Miia's top half is all girl and quickly develops a crush on her new human host, her snakelike bottom half makes that crush literal with a tendency to squeeze the life out of him! Plus, there's also the little problem that it's illegal for humans and non-humans to have THOSE kinds of relationships. With woman-in-black Agent Smith always sniffing about for improprieties, things only get more hectic in the Kurusu household when bird-brained Papi the harpy and master-seeking centaur Centorea need places to roost and stable. As the house gets crowded with ev...