A new Dollfie Dream addition?! Cannot deny that ever since attending a DD meeting with the Shadonia crew last May, was totally smitten with Yui, their Dollfie Dream based on a Volks Sakura Shinguji head.

While it never totally left my thoughts, was occupied with other Dollfie Dream plans. However, was alerted to a reasonably priced Sakura Shinguji head on auction and an impulse purchase quickly followed.

So it’s time to officially present Akiko, my custom Sakura Shinguji head. Chose the name 明子 (or Akiko) with the kanji 明, meaning bright child.

While Akiko does have default face-up of Sakura Shinguji from Volks, installed Type BP color Sumire eyes by Hisyo-Hisyo and a Leekeworld W068 wig in color chocobrown.
Also added eyelashes and painted the lips with Tamiya X-22 clear for a nice gloss finish.

にゃあ にゃああ~

Did style the Leekeworld W068 wig by trimming the bangs as they were far too long and completely covered the face. The wig is looking much better on Akiko like this, though looks like might still need to trim away a bit more next to the eyes.

For these photos, clad Akiko in the School Blazer Uniform Set (gray) from Volks, but omitted the tie and replaced the set default blazer by a lovely gray cardigan from Nine9Style.

But the Dollfie Dream madness did not end with Akiko, will share more about that soon.

You can see more photos of Akiko and my other Dollfie Dream on Flickr.

Based on the eroge “Walkure Romanze: Shoujo Kishi Monogatari” made by Ricotta, the visual novel company that also created “Princess Lover!”, “Walkure Romanze” gets the anime treatment this autumn season.

Taking into account this is an eroge adapted into a mainstream harem anime, and that the original visual novel is by the same company that made “Princess Lover!”, veteran viewers should know what to expect from a series like “Walkure Romanze”.

With harem series a dime a dozen each season, “Walkure Romanze” makes no attempt to break the mould, but alas is as generic and mediocre as they come, the show barely achieves to provide sufficient entertainment.

So expect absurd situations and plot elements all for the sake of having several girls fall for the same guy, these gimmicks include a horse with a penchant for tearing off cute girls their already short skirts. Unfortunately, since “Walkure Romanze” does try to market itself as a romance series with medieval inspired jousting action, such comedy scenes often fail to appeal.

Although the various heroines who fawn over the oblivious male lead are cute, they fall short of making any lasting impression because they all conform too rigidly to known standards, both in terms of character type as well as visual design.

Ultimately, this series is likely to appeal most to fans of the original eroge or Komori Kei’s art. Compared to studio GoHands’ work on “Princess Lover!”, the character animation created by studio 8bit for “Walkure Romanze” does stay much closer to Komori Kei’s original illustrations for the visual novel, which is one of its few positive points.

Overall animation quality by studio 8bit is as average as the series itself and falls short from the level they achieve for “IS: Infinite Stratos 2”. Although, when looking at both series, it is obvious that some scenes such as character close-ups receive more attention and care than many other scenes where the studio seems to cut corners.

Noticed several times in the first few episodes of “Walkure Romanze” that the horses were more convincing when cgi animation was used compared to when they were rendered with more traditional animation.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about this series is that it has somehow managed to keep me watching it every week, even though it is beyond a doubt a mediocre show.
If however you are looking for a run of the mill harem anime to watch and are not expecting anything exceptional or particularly good, then “Walkure Romanze” might be worth your time.

An anime original series, was really looking forward to “Galileo Donna” after seeing its promotional video which looked very promising.

Some of the imagery and themes in the trailer suggested this show might be a bit like “R.O.D. The TV”or “Real Drive”, since it would depict a future world where advanced technology goes hand in hand with older gear, all mixed in a more unique style.

Have been enjoying “Galileo Donna” so far, but must admit it has not quite lived up to my expectations, more particularly in what type of series it would actually be. Also do think that this show, even though it is a solid production, will not achieve its full potential as its good individual parts just don’t seem to come together as a masterpiece.

To be fair, the series not (yet) living up to my personal expectations may be due to the fact had thought this series would be as enchanting as “Last Exile” or “Real Drive”, which sets the bar rather high. While “Galileo Donna” does create a peculiar and unique world, some inconsistencies and the overall styling make it fall short of those other shows.

Their use of a futuristic earth that is besieged by a new ice age and plagued by greedy corporations doing whatever they please is an interesting concept but the overall execution leaves to be desired and alas also highlights inconsistencies.

In an attempt to insert retro technology by giving the characters old pistols and machine guns, they create a jarring juxtaposition by also applying this to the police forces, this simply doesn’t fit at all with it being an era where piracy and terrorism are daily occurrences.

In the past few episodes, several key scenes were spent depicting the background of ruthless murderer and corporate lackey Roberto, which gave his character much needed depth and makes him far more interesting as well as a challenging character to try and define.

Wish they would actually flesh out the characters of the three Ferrari sisters like that too, would be interesting if the studio took some risks by having them evolve in a more interesting direction.

Of the three sisters, only Hazuki’s character has really been challenged and she changed the most, with Hozuki and Kazuki just barely breaking the basic limited character mould. A shame since both girls show lots of potential for interesting character development.

Animation by studio A1 pictures is quite good, there’s enough attention put into creating fluid action scenes but most care seems to go into rendering the three Ferrari sisters as they always look very well animated and as such irresistibly cute, especially Hozuki. In contrast, scenes featuring supporting or background characters can look less well cared for.

The youngest Ferrari sister Hozuki is voiced by Hidaka Rona, she previously voiced Nana in “Love Lab!”, Last Order in “To aru Majutsu no Index”, Yukino in “Accel World” and Anko in “Tamako Market”.

Ookubo Rumi voices Kazuki, she also voiced Chinatsu in “Yuru Yuri”, Touko in “Servant x Service” and Yuzuko in “Yuyushiki”.
Oldest sister Hazuki is voiced by Shindou Kei, she previously tackled roles like Kagami Kuro in “Kodomo no Jikan”, Gentoku in “Ikki Tousen” and Wang Lui Mei in “Gundam 00”.

Marina Inou voices Anna, she’s voiced many characters like Kana in “Minami-ke”, Laura in “IS Infinite Stratos”, Yozora in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, Matsurika in “Maria†Holic”and even male characters like Natsuru in “Kämpfer”, Wataru in “Hayate no Gotoku” or Armin in “Shingeki no Kyojin”.

Even though am still unsure how good this series will be overall and even less sure how it will end, regardless of the classic outcomes its current plot may have, do still recommend “Galileo Donna” as it does provide solid entertainment.

Absolutely adore “Amanchu!”, the ongoing manga by Amano Kozue (天野 こずえ), the artist who also created the sublime “Aria” manga.

Unfortunately, did not purchase the previous volumes of this ongoing manga at the time of their release since was unable to find it at online stores like Archonia or Jlist but needed to order it from Amazon Japan instead, this made the shipping fee for a single manga volume quite steep. Hence, opted to wait until I could order several tankoubons at once.

When volume seven of “Amanchu!” was released earlier this month, swiftly ordered those volumes that I still missed and bought them from CDJapan since they offered an affordable SAL shipping option. Was overjoyed to see the parcel arrive at my doorstep today.

Very excited to finally catch up with the enchanting daily lives and diving adventures of Futaba & Hikari!

You can purchase these volumes of the “Amanchu!” manga at CDJapan or Amazon Japan.

After having purchased several sets of eyes from Twin-Snow earlier this year, looked at their catalog again for my latest Dollfie Dream since I am quite satisfied with their products, have their eyes installed in Kyouko and Atsuko.

Since I ended opting to use eyes made by Hisyo-Hisyo for those recently acquired dolls, the new Twin-Snow eyes that arrived around the same time seemed headed to storage.

Considering my order included a pair of limited eyes from their Glass collection, felt it would be a shame not to try these lovely blue eyes on Shizuko, who was still equipped with her very first pair of eyes.

Swapped out the Volks Type F Ruri eyes and installed these limited Twin-Snow glass collection blue eyes. Although these new eyes have a more round design compared to the oval shape of the Volks eyes, their dark blue hue gives them a similar look, yet one that is also different.

Next step for Shizuko may be to install some eyelashes or even another bust piece, but first to snap some new photos of her as soon as time permits.

You can see more Dollfie Dream photography on Flickr.

For the release of Windows 8 last year, Microsoft Japan introduced Madobe Yuu & Madobe Ai, mascots of the new operating system, they included theme packs of the new Madobe girls with select versions of Windows 8.

A question that fans of the older mascots like Windows 7′s Madobe Nanami, cloud service Azure’s Madobe Claudia and the five Bing girls Nanae, Nana, Nanako, Nanami and Nanao may have is: do their themes still work in Windows 8.1?

Rest assured that even though there are differences between the desktop environment of Windows 7 and that of Windows 8.1, those themes work just fine in Windows 8.1 too.

So if you’re keen on using another moe theme than that of Yuu or Ai, you can still easily enjoy Nanami’s original theme or one of the themes featuring the Bing girls.

How to activate such a theme? Simply double-click on the theme file itself or right-click on your desktop, click on “Personalize” and then select the desired theme in the “Personalisation” window.

Watched “Ghost in the Shell Arise – Border: 2 Ghost Whisper” last weekend, the second episode of the new “Ghost in the Shell” series, which proved to be quite entertaining. In fact, enjoyed it more than the first episode.

The overall plot and several key elements of the “Border: 2 Ghost Whisper” episode were reminiscent of the “Ghost in the Shell” movie, especially the artificial intelligence entity that was both a partner to and counterpart of Motoko, it felt similar to the puppet master character plot from the first film.

The subplot with the Logikoma, who stole the show and provided a delightful comedic note, did not feel as if it mimicked the Tachikoma plot from “Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex” but more like a precursor of the events that transpire later on in the franchise’s timeline. Which is as it should be, considering “Ghost in the Shell Arise” tells the story of how Section 9 is formed.

Am unsure how to feel about the battle between Motoko and Batou, where each had one or more of their limbs shot off. No doubt included because of its visual impact as well as the fact that they can afford action scenes where the characters’ cyberbodies take such damage, it clashes somewhat with “Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex” where such injuries seemed to have more severe consequences.

While I did tremendously enjoy this episode, still do lament the animation style that studio Production IG uses for “Ghost in the Shell Arise” as well as the quality level achieved, which in my personal opinion does not do this stellar franchise justice.

Even though have recently introduced Dollfie Dream Akiko, today am presenting another new addition to my collection, Dollfie Dream Ayuko.

Based on a Volks Neris head with a custom face-up, chose the name 歩子 (or Ayuko), inspired by Uehara Ayuko, a character from the lovely slice-of-life comedy “Aiura”.

Although had originally planned on creating a custom Dollfie Dream that would mimic Uehara Ayuko in overall appearance, ultimately decided against it.

Considering I am quite satisfied with this alternate look, also opted to imbue her with a different personality than Uehara Ayuko too, and imagine her having a more serious, student council president type personality.

Installed Type BP model eyes by Hisyo-Hisyo in color Smoke Grey and a Leekeworld LR099 model wig in color royal gray.

The first wig in Leekeworld’s royal gray color that I purchased, was surprised that its hue can look different depending on the light. The LR099 model seems easy to work with, it required only moderate styling and a quick trim of the bangs.

In these photos, Ayuko is clad in the Sailor Tulle Skirt Set from Volks, a very cute and girly outfit.

While it does suit her wig color quite well, will likely change that outfit as this fashion style does not entirely fit the student council president character archetype had envisioned for her.

You can see more Dollfie Dream photos on my Flickr photostream.

The fall anime season is about to end and the upcoming winter season promises to have plenty of excellent anime series to watch. After going over the season line-up and watching some promotional videos, plan to watch the following shows.

Am most looking forward to “Seitokai Yakuindomo *”, the second season of this hilarious school comedy filled with verbal banter, innuendo and tsukkomi humor. After nearly as many single OVA releases as its first season had episodes, am thrilled that this excellent show finally returns for a full season run.

Another sequel am anxious to watch is “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren”, really enjoyed the first season which provided an excellent mix between comedy, romance and a coming of age story. With Kyoto Animation once more at the creative helm, we’re surely in for some stunning visuals and heartwarming moments again.

Having read the original manga, am very curious about the “Nisekoi” anime. While it may be a plain harem comedy overall, “Nisekoi” has been an enjoyable story with cute girls, silly comedy and funny harem shenanigans. What makes me most keen to watch this show though, is knowing that studio Shaft is making it, which promises it could be a real hit.

Glad to see a yuri slice-of-life series advertised in the new season line-up, will definitely watch “Sakura Trick” and hope it will provide a weekly dose of sugar coated yuri goodness. Although am not familiar with the original manga it is based on, do have quite high expectations of this show to deliver a real yuri story.

The trailer for “Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha” suggests it might be full of cuteness and warm moments with the added supernatural element of fox deity, much like “Gingitsune” or “Kamichu!” although this series looks like it will have more emphasis on romance.

Going over the other shows that piqued my interest, seems there are quite a few comedy series slated to air.
Definitely plan to try “D-Frag!” which based on its promotional videos looks like a more oddball, energetic version of “GJ-Bu”, being all about a school club filled with outrageous characters that engage in ever sillier behaviour.

From its synopsis alone, “Tonari no Seki-kun” sounds like it might be a rather alternative comedy that is way out there, perhaps not unlike “Nichijou”, though the rough similarity in design style might cause me to have that initial impression.

Two other school comedies will likely watch are “Oneechan ga Kita” and “Mikakunin de Shinkoukei”.
Even though “Oneechan ga Kita” at first may sounds like it would be an inappropriate story of a girl with an brocon fetish for her younger brother, it might turn out to be a decent show if the comedy is right and if it does not loose its way by becoming another mindless harem series.

Although the promotional video did not showcase any real scenes from the series, am curious about “Mikakunin de Shinkoukei” since the three main girls look adorable and the main premise suggests it could have plenty of comedy and heatwarming moments too.

Have not read the manga it is adapted from, but am interested in watching “Witch Craft Works”, the main premise of the average unknown student being protected by the school’s most popular beauty for some mysterious reason isn’t exactly novel, it might just be an excellent comedy after all.

Not too sure if I will watch “SoniAni: Super Sonico The Animation”, the anime about Nitroplus’ virtual mascot Sonico, since she’s little more than a hyped pin-up babe. What does make me curious though is that the promotional video hinted Sonico might not only be a busty airhead, but somewhat of an eccentric cat lady with a clumsy streak. Guess that the best approach would be not to expect too much from this series.

Think my wildcard for the season will go to “Space Dandy”, somehow have the feeling this sci-fi comedy by studio Bones could be a perfect mix of retro sci-fi full of flair reminiscent of shows like “Space Adventurer Cobra” & “Cowboy Bebop” as well as lots of over-the top comedy, perhaps even parody.

Did enjoy last winter’s idol anime “Love Live! School Idol Project” so plan on giving the two upcoming idol series “Wake Up, Girls!” and “Go! Go! 575” a try.
For a weekly dose of mecha action, looks like the best bet will be “Buddy Complex”. However, since it is made by Sunrise, hard to say if it will actually bring anything novel or even truly entertaining.

What do you plan on watching this winter season?

メリークリスマス! Merry Christmas and happy holiday wishes to you all!

What better way to spend Christmas than a date with Honoka? Going out into the city and its enchanting atmosphere, her dazzling smile greets you as you meet up in front of the brightly illuminated Christmas tree. Ah, in dreams.

A really terrific illustration of lively and adorable Honoka from “Love Live!” by 伍長 (Website, Pixiv).

For more excellent art images of characters from “Love Live!”, “The iDOLM@STER” and even “Tamayura ~more aggressive~”, you can check out 伍長’s website or Pixiv profile.

月のように白い肌で、黒い服を着て少女は私の可愛い黒着姫です。
Skin white as the moon, clothes dark as the night, Tsukiko has quite the aura as a lady clad in black.

With the setting sun shining its last bright rays through the window blinds one afternoon in late November, knew had to take advantage of the terrific natural light to snap some photos of Tsukiko.

Since acquiring DD Saber Alter 2nd version, have been quite fond of the high contrast look of Volks white skin body type offset in black garments, the original Saber Alter eyes and blond wig enhancing that effect.

As such, am most often choosing dark outfits for Tsukiko, even though one must take care to protect the vinyl from staining or pick fabrics that do not transfer color. Luckily, this sleeveless top from Cool Cat and jeans from Nine9Style do not seem to stain at all.

Previously showcased photos of Tsukiko wearing this same outfit while posing in the Shibata Chair No.5 from Volks.
That she has remained on display in this specific outfit for so many months, while the other Dollfie Dream in my collection more frequently undergo an outfit change, is a testimony of how much I do like this look for her, it suits her so well.

After successfully applying Tamiya X-22 clear paint on two of my default Dollfie Dream to give their lips that nice gloss effect, considered doing the same on Tsukiko but decided against it for now.
Fear that the uncolored white lips of Saber Alter would not look that good in gloss without any hint of gentle pink hues.

Though am still tempted to further look into enhancing Tsukiko’s facial features with glossy pink lips, eyelashes and perhaps even another style of yellow eyes. Sometime in the far future perhaps.

You can see more of my Dollfie Dream photography on Flickr.

明けましておめでとうございます。Happy New Year! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! Bonne Année.

Wishing everyone a terrific 2014, may it be a fun year filled with joy.

Considering “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren” is scheduled to air soon, now is the perfect time to fawn over Rikka and Sanae looking irresistibly cute in kimono. Seems like they drew the best possible fortune too!

初詣で or hatsumoude, the first shrine visit, is one of the Japanese traditions for New Year’s. Shortly after midnight or during the day on January 1st, many will visit a shrine, sometimes clad in traditional kimono.

Hard to believe yet another year has past and a new one has begun, time sure flies. Will keep on enjoying anime, photography and Dollfie Dream in my hobby life. After two years of playing Battlefield 3, am still pondering about making the jump to Battlefield 4.

What do you have planned for 2014? Did you make any resolutions or will you follow the flow that the river of life takes you on?

Based on the “生徒会役員共” manga by Tozen Ujiie, a four panel comedy about the silly shenanigans of the Ousai Academy student council, “Seitokai Yakuindomo” already spawned an anime adaptation in 2010, followed by multiple OVA episodes.

This hilarious comedy finally returns for an entire season with “Seitokai Yakuindomo*”, each episode will no doubt be filled to the brim with sexual innuendos, verbal banter, dirty jokes and other silliness by its perverted characters.

Part of what makes “Seitokai Yakuindomo” a successful comedy that generates plenty of laughs, is its abundance of boke/tsukkomi moments which are balanced well thanks to a diverse cast comprised of perverted or air-headed characters as well as several level-headed characters.

Even though Tsuda takes the lead as main tsukkomi character with his inner monologue and frequent retorts to Shino and Aria’s many outrageous remarks, he is often joined in that role by Suzu and recently even Toki. The same applies to the boke or perverted characters, while clearly led by Shino and Aria, many other characters likewise fire off plenty of silly or perverted remarks, like Kotomi, Nene or Yokoshima.

Part of what makes “Seitokai Yakuindomo” successful and genre defining as a comedy built on dirty jokes and sexual innuendo, is how it consistently walks the fine line of being all about dirty jokes and sexual innuendo without ever degenerating into offensive humor or cheap ecchi tricks.

Luckily the same creative team behind the first series returns for this sequel, with studio GoHands again at the helm for the animation, Hiromitsu Kanazawa as director and Furuta Makoto as character designer.

This not only guarantees consistency in character design and animation style between both seasons, but the opening episode of this sequel also showcased studio GoHands’ resolve to deliver splendid animation for “Seitokai Yakuindomo”.

Quite happy that all of the voice talents seem to reprise their roles for this sequel as excellent voice work is one of this series’ strong suits. Next to the main cast, some of the supporting characters also shine thanks to terrific voice acting, characters like Hata, Kotomi and Uomi.

Student council president Shino is once again voiced by Hikasa Youko, she also voiced Mio in”K-ON!”, Houki in “IS: Infinite Stratos”, Rias in “High School DxD” and Sera in “Kore wa Zombie desu ka?”.
Yahagi Sayuri voices twin-tailed Suzu, she previously tackled roles like Haruna in “To Love RU”, Izumi in “Hayate no Gotoku!”, Anri in “One Off” and Miyoshi in “Bakuman”.

Shapely Aria is voiced by Satou Satomi, who also voiced Ritsu in “K-ON!”, Chitanda in “Hyouka”, Sakura in “Kiniro Mosaic”, Wendy in “Fairy Tail” and Manami in “Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai”.
Tsuda’s sister Kotomi is voiced by Shimoda Asami, she voiced Lin in “IS: Infinite Stratos”, Ginbei in “Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne” as well as Ami & Mami in “The iDOLM@STER”.

Kobayashi Yu voiced the school’s perverted teacher Yokoshima, she’s tackled roles like Ruka in “Steins;Gate”, Mariya in “Maria†Holic”, Shizuku in “Candy Boy” and Sasha in “Shingeki no Kyojin”.

Satomi Aria voices deadpan paparazzi aficionado Hata, she voiced Kuruko in “To aru Kagaku no Railgun” and Kozue in “Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~”.
Kaede is voiced by Katou Emiri, she’s tackled roles like Kagami in “Lucky Star”, Mayoi in “Bakemonogatari”, Sakuya in “Candy Boy” and Hideyoshi in “Baka to test to Shoukanjuu”.

Uomi, the student council president from Eiryou, is voiced by Saitou Chiwa who is known for roles like Hitagi in “Bakemonogatari”, Aika in “Aria”, Tatenashi in “IS: Infinite Stratos”, Humora in “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”, Honoka in “Stella Jougakuin C3-Bu” and Francesca in “Strike Witches”.

If you’re looking for a terrific comedy that is one of the few which defines the dirty joke genre in anime, that is a rapid fire of jokes and filled with excellent verbal banter, then you cannot miss “Seitokai Yakuindomo*”.

Be aware though that having watched the first season and OVA episodes of “Seitokai Yakuindomo” is required to fully enjoy this second season. If you haven’t watched them yet, then don’t hesitate as you’re missing out on an epic comedy with a high re-watch value.

Also known as “ImoCho”, this new winter season anime show is adapted from the “最近、妹のようすがちょっとおかしいんだが。” manga by Matsuzawa Mari.

Labelled as a harem comedy, “Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okaishiin da ga” is all about Mitsuki, a young girl living alone with her stepbrother Yuuya. She becomes the target of Hiyori, a ghost whose sole way into heaven is to possess Mitsuki and have the girl experience enough ‘pleasure’.

Aside from it being of the overused, worn out brocon/siscon genre and its absolutely ridiculous plot element of the ghost possession, this show achieves new lows in anime by featuring what is little less than a near explicit masturbation/lesbian intercourse scene in its first episode.

Totally uncalled for and poorly executed, seems this unoriginal and absurd series’ sole ploy to catch viewers is to resort to such explicit scenes, which actually tells you all you need to know about the level of this show.

Animation by studio Project No9 is mediocre to good, but it really does not help this series that the visual style is similar to shows like “Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne” and “Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai”.

Cannot recommend this series to anyone and while it may sound harsh, my personal opinion is that this series should not have been made in its current form, but rather as a full blown hentai show instead. If you want to watch a good anime with sexual innuendo properly executed in a rapid fire of excellent comedy, then watch “Seitokai Yakuindomo *” instead.

Adapting the original “となりの関くん” manga by Takuma Morishige in anime form, “Tonari no Seki-kun” looks like it will to be one of the better comedies this winter season.

The story is all about school girl Rumi who spends most of her time in class both awed and shocked at the elaborate games her classmate Seki plays on his desk. Much to Rumi’s exasperation, the boy never seems to get caught by the teachers, but to make matters worse for her, she is the one who gets scolded for not paying attention instead.

The first episode of “Tonari no Seki-kun” was hilarious and reminded me of “Nichijou”. Both shows seem to share a similar, simple art style along with more alternative comedy brought by oddball characters.

Next to excellent comedy, and the stark contrast between Seki’s steadfast behaviour conducting incredible games in class compared to Rumi’s normal reactions of being baffled as well as worried, the series really takes it to the next level thanks to Hanazawa Kana’s excellent voice work as Rumi.

Her performance helps carry the series by adding depth to Rumi’s character, making her reactions feel as if she were an avatar of the viewer expressing their awe or disapproval to Seki’s incredulous actions as well as disbelief when Rumi is the one scolded for misbehaving instead of the real culprit.

Am quite fond of Hanazawa Kana’s voice work, she also voiced Charlotte in “IS: Infinite Stratos”, Kanade in “Angel Beats!”, Kobato in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, Matou in “Black★Rock Shooter”, Mikan in “To Love RU”, Mayuri in “Steins;Gate”, Ruri in “Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai” and Nadeko in “Bakemonogatari”.

Hanazawa Kana will also be starring in several other series this season, for instance as Manaka in “Nagi no Asukara”, Kosaki in “Nisekoi”, Ruka in “D-Frag!” and Mayuka in “Buddy Complex”.

Although at first glance the simple plot and its limited setting may suggest the series could get boring, doubt this will be the case as the episodes are just slightly over five minutes long.

With such a brief running time, have no doubt that “Tonari no Seki-kun” is a comedy anyone can pick up and enjoy, so I do recommend it to all those looking for a good laugh.

Not only the cherry blossoms, but the lilies too are in full bloom! One of the series was looking forward the most this winter season is “Sakura Trick”, the anime adapting of the yuri yonkoma manga “桜 Trick” by Tachi.

Being a fan of the yuri genre, was anxious to finally see a series air again that revolved around a true yuri relationship at its core, like “Aoi Hana”, “Sasameki Koto” or “Candy☆Boy”. A welcome change after many shows that at most suggested yuri pairings or showed superficial yuri tinted shenanigans merely to reel in viewers, like “Yuru Yuri” or “Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya”.

“Sakura Trick” is about Haruka and Yuu, two close friends who upon entering high school, decide to do something bold to make their relationship special. What will sharing a sweet kiss mean for their friendship and the world around them, will it all change?

Absolutely adored the first episode, can best describe the show as a light hearted school comedy with yuri romance, all in very sugar coated and sweet atmosphere of cute girls doing cute things.

Right now, there’s no telling how far Haruka and Yuu’s relationship will go or if will really blossom into romantic love. While am confident that the show will be enjoyable all throughout its run even if the romance between Haruka and Yuu does not evolve beyond its current stage, do hope that the couple’s relationship will grow.

Can imagine some viewers may question how Haruka and Yuu’s relationship should grow beyond the two girls being officially recognized or labelled as begin a couple, since this first episode already shows them kiss. Although their behavior towards one another suggests they already have a much deeper and caring relationship than they themselves may realize, there’s still plenty left to explore.

Plus, let’s not forget about their friends Kaede, Yuzu, Kotone and Shizuku. Where Haruka and Yuu are the explicit yuri couple, Kotone and Shizuku seem like they will be the playful romantic pairing, while Kaede and Yuzu look like they a close friends-of-a-lifetime pair.

Animation by Studio Deen is excellent, everything is rendered with a lovely soft color palette with most of the detail going towards animating the girls, who all look irresistibly cute.

Did notice the studio uses a lot of plain color backgrounds or cutscenes featuring the girls’ specific hair ornaments, not unlike what studio Feel did in “Minami-ke”. Could that be due to the challenge the studio has in translating the specific pace of a yonkoma manga into flowing scenes?

Might sound odd coming from someone who labels himself as a yuri aficionado, but do regret they included so much fanservice that obviously showcased the girls’ thighs and bosoms. For a yuri series like this one, it is unnecessary, especially considering the copious amounts included. Personally wouldn’t mind if they toned that down a bit.

Yuu is voiced by Iguchi Yuka, she also voiced Maria in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, Norie in “Tamayura”, Index in “To aru Majutsu no Index”, Mako in “Girls und Panzer” and Tsukihi in “Bakemonogatari”.

Tomatsu Haruka voices Haruka, she previously voiced Saki in “Kakumeiki Valvrave”, Asuna in “Sword Art Online”, Ichika in “Ano Natsu de Matteru”, Shizuku in “Tonari no Kaibutsu and Lala in “To Love RU”.

Twin-tailed Shizuku is voiced by Igarashi Hiromi who also voiced Hina in “Papa no Iu Koto who Kikinasai”, Yayoi in “Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyou” and Seira in “Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Come wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru”. Her cousin Kotone is voiced by Aisaka Yuka who doesn’t seem to have any other roles credited to her name yet.

Kaede is voiced by Fuchigami Mai, she has voiced Iona in “Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova”, Miho in “Girls und Panzer” and Petrarca in “Outbreak Company”. Toda Megumi who voices Yuzu does not appear to have voiced many other characters.

Despite small flaws like the unnecessary fanservice that does not entirely fit a yuri genre series, really adored the first episode of “Sakura Trick”. Am confident it will be one of my favorite shows this season and it might very well become even one of my favorite yuri genre series.

What did come to mind though as I watched this first episode of “Sakura Trick”, is that “Girl Friends”, one of the best yuri stories I have ever read, definitely needs to get an anime adaptation.

If you’re looking for a sweet romantic comedy about yuri couples, then you should definitely watch “Sakura trick”.

Next to “Seitokai Yakuindomo*”, the other sequel I was looking forward this winter season is “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren”, the second season of the anime based on the light novel series “中二病でも恋がしたい” written by Torako.

The first season was terrific, it provided a great mix of comedy, romance and character driven drama. The story centers around Rikka and Yuuta’s lives as they enter high school and must leave behind their middle school years where each indulged in silly delusions and fantasies, a phenomenon the Japanese label as ‘chuunibyou’.

While for some it was just a phase, to Rikka it means so much more that she cannot bear to let go of that fantasy world just yet. Where the first season dealt with uncovering the reason for Rikka’s tenacity in holding onto her fantasies and her slowly coming to terms with reality, the question is now what happens next?

Surely we’re in for another season full of comedy, characters behaving silly and having to overcome some emotional challenges. But it would not be a romantic comedy if they were to omit Yuuta and Rikka’s romance. New character Satone has yet to appear, though she and her own wacky delusions are no doubt going to be quite a challenge for Rikka and Yuuta.

Perhaps the biggest strength of “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!” was how well it told Rikka’s story, the story of a girl burdened by crippling emotional loss when her father passes away, but who manages to escape depression by fleeing into an world of imagination and fantasy. Once that is revealed, her catchphrase ‘vanishment this world’ makes a lot of sense.

Like a drowning man who plucks at a straw, Rikka is reluctant to outgrow her fantasies, even though society expects her to do so. Played out well in a way this is neither black or white, but rather a grey middle ground, the series shows us those delusions are what bring a smile to Rikka’s face, which is what she needs to keep going.

More than simply a phase or some rite of passage, those silly shenanigans are not only Rikka’s way to cope with the cruelty of the real world, but also her own way to have fun in every day life.

While others like Shinka or Yuuta may keep up appearances and reject publicly embracing such behavior, they too seem to have more fun when indulging in such silliness. Even so, they both are as grounded and level-headed as anyone, showing that people like Rikka needn’t be labelled as deviant, but that normal people can indulge in silly fantasies for their own sake.

Sanae too is an interesting character in that aspect since she is both a youngster who freely plays along with Rikka’s fantasies as if she truly believes them, as well as an intelligent, good student with impeccable academic behaviour.

Considering this, doesn’t that part of “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!” come across as if it wants to point out that normal people should not be condemned for indulging in hobbies that society will seek to label as unfit for adults? Like we see today with anime, gaming,…

Like the first season, this sequel is produced by studio Kyoto Animation and the key staff features the same director and character designer, as such everything is splendidly animated, with the same consistent animation style and character appearance.
Next to plenty of detail in rendering all the girls, great to see that the other characters, backgrounds and action scenes too are very well animated, making this series a visual treat.

Something I always appreciate in sequels is when all of the voice talents reprise their roles.
Rikka is again voiced by Uchida Maaya who previously voiced Rei in “Vividred Operation”, Mao in “GJ-bu”, Minori in “Outbreak Company”, Hajime in “Gatchaman Crowds”, Rea in “Sankarea” and she will also voice Toyone in this season’s “Saki Zenkoku-hen”.

Akasaki Chinatsu voices Shinka, she also voiced Maki in “Love Lab”, Yumi in “Senki Zesshou Symphogear”, Yasuna in “Kill Me Baby” and Yumi in “Gingitsune”.
Twin-tailed Sanae is voiced by Uesaka Sumire, she’s tackled roles like Tamaki in “GJ-bu”, Sora in “Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai”, Elbia in “Outbreak Company” and Rika in “Genshiken Nidaime”.

Asakura Azumi voices Kumin, she also voiced Asia in “High School DxD”, Yukiho in “The iDOLM@STER” and Machiko in “Rinne no Lagrange”.
Nagatsuma Juri will voice new character Satone, she previously voiced Kanna in “Tamako Market” and this season also voices Ichika in “Oneechan ga Kita” and Shiromi in “Saki Zenkoku-hen”.

Will definitely watch the rest of “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren” and hope this second season is at least on par with the first as despite its few flaws, this series is still a good anime well worth watching.

Already purchased some Dollfie Dream clothing creations from Murasaki.me in the past, including a black over shoulder Charuca logo shirt that had previously showcased Tsukiko in.

This past holiday season, spotted a post in my Feedly that they were selling new Dollfie Dream t-shirt designs, this time adorned with Moekana designs from Danny Choo that feature cute illustrations of his mascot characters created by artist Ikkyuu.

Considering am quite pleased with the quality of the other Murasaki.me DD clothing I already own, and since these t-shirts look lovely with their adorable chibi character print, swiftly ordered the kimono and tora designs.
Can’t wait to try them on my Dollfie Dream girls and snap some photos!

If you fancy these cute Murasaki.me x Moekana shirts for your own Dollfie Dream, you can still order them at Murasaki.me with your choice of short or long sleeves.

Even though stories based on characters with a brother or sister complex usually end up being rather disappointing to downright horrible, including the genre’s renowned title “Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai”, was nonetheless curious about new series “Oneechan ga Kita”.

The promotional trailer for the anime adaptation of yonkoma manga “お姉ちゃんが来た” by Rikou Anzai looked quite promising, suggesting the show might be different from the usual fare of similar franchises about a brother or sister complex.

The story is about high school girl Ichika who is all over her younger stepbrother Tomoya, to a frightening degree. Undoubtedly due to its four panel manga origin, “Oneechan ga Kita” is a hilarious comedy that makes all the right jokes about Ichika’s brother complex.

Where other series dwelling on similar themes, like “Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okaishiin da ga”, are downright disturbing or horrible, “Oneechan ga Kita” puts the right spin on things as a comedy showing the silly shenanigans Ichika is up to.

The short episode running time of barely three minutes is a definite plus, it keeps the pace fast and doesn’t leave any time for dull moments or lets the viewer’s thoughts dwell on the usual pitfalls of this genre.

Animation by studio C2C is good, the studio not only translates the manga’s art style quite well into animation form but they also use a nice coloring style which gives everything a faded, crayon colored look.

Ichika is voiced by Nagatsuma Juri, she previously voiced Kanna in “Tamako Market” and this anime season she also voices Satone in “Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren” and Shiromi in “Saki Zenkoku-hen”.

The victim of Ichika’s affections, Tomoya, is voiced by Terakawa Aimi, she also voiced Emi in “Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko” and Moa in this season’s “Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okaishiin da ga”.

Kido Ibuki voices Mina, she’s tackled roles like Natsuki in “Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku”, Akiko in “Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne”, Chinami in “Golden Time” and Kasumi in “GJ-bu”.

Wonder how much we’ll see of blonde Marina since she’s voiced by Inoue Marina who voiced many characters, like Kana in “Minami-ke”, Laura in “IS: Infinite Stratos”, Matsurika in “Maria†Holic”, Yoko in “Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann” and Yozora in “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”.

So far, “Oneechan ga Kita” has been hilarious, definitely recommend this comedy series.
Why not give it a try? Watching an episode won’t even take five minutes of your time.

Had a hunch that “Space Dandy” could be the best contender for the best surprise hit out of all the series that am watching this winter, looks like that will indeed be the case. Was hesitant to include this show on my to-watch list, but as soon as I saw the first episode, knew I was in for an epic ride.

There has been plenty of talk online about “Space Dandy” and admittedly, this show isn’t for everybody, especially for those who might watch it with wrong expectations of what this series is trying to be.

If any comparisons are to be made, to me “Space Dandy” feels like a crazy mash up of “Space Adventure Cobra” and “Excel Saga”, but it definitely is not trying to be the next “Cowboy Bebop” or “Trigun”.

In my personal opinion “Space Dandy” achieves exactly what it is aiming for, a no holds barred space adventure comedy that is a roller coaster ride of crazy, over-the-top adventures with silly caricatures of characters.

That the series manages to invoke a sense of nostalgia is a terrific bonus, it has an atmosphere reminiscent of series like “Space Adventure Cobra”, anime from a bygone era when epic adventures set in outer space were all about simple fun with impossible but inspiring science fiction, all set in a colorful universe full of wondrous aliens where anything could happen.

Feels as if “Space Dandy” is trying to mimic something not unlike the uniqueness that the original “Star Trek” series has compared to the various incarnations of the venerable franchise that came so many years later, in the sense that it is a wondrous, colorful adventure in an infinite universe full of unexpected encounters.

While it does offer does take a few clever stabs at our current society and has a few messages right underneath its bright and colorful surface , “Space Dandy” definitely is an all out comedy, filled with silliness and parody which lacks any of the serious or more dramatic themes that shows like “Cowboy Bebop” or “Trigun” have.

Maybe the best analogy for “Space Dandy” is that this show is what a young boy would dream a wild adventure in space to be, a fun, colorful ride full of epic encounters and crazy aliens where he gets to be the cool hero.

Although in this case, the show’s hero Dandy definitely is not the epitome of cool that Spike Spiegel was, nor is he a lovable fool that hides suffering and drama behind his smile like Vash the Stampede.

No, Dandy is the one who desperately tries to act cool and wants to be the hero but never really makes it. Perhaps he is not unlike most of the viewers in that aspect, which may make him easier to relate to. After all, don’t most of us still have those childhood dreams of being the cool hero in a wild space adventure?

Although I really enjoyed space pirate comedy “Mouretsu Pirates”, that show fell short of really achieving what “Space Dandy” has managed to pull off with only three episodes so far, to be a fun, over-the-top space adventure with crazy characters up to impossible shenanigans in space in its purest sense.

If you are looking for a fun sci-fi anime that is full of adventure and downright sci-fi silliness, then definitely give “Space Dandy” a try.