Crunchyroll announced their pickup of Yuru Camp from Afro’s manga series earlier this week and have now taken to calling it Laid-Back Camp. In taking a poke through the Twitter page there’s a key visual we missed of one of the characters from the end of last month that’s worth checking out and they’re also starting to do character profiles. The first up for that is Yumiri Hanamori as Nadeshiko Kagamihara, which you can see below.

Yoshiaki Kyougoku will be directing it based on the series composition by Jin Tanaka. C-Station will be handling the animation.

The Japanese cast includes Nao Touyama as Rin Shima, Yumiri Hanamori as Nadeshiko Kagamihara, Sayuri Hara as Chiaki Oogaki, Aki Toyosaki as Aoi Inuyama, and Rie Takahashi as Ena Saitou.

The manga began in May 2015 and has three volumes out so far in Japan while Yen Press has picked up the series for North American release beginning in 2018.

Plot Concept: The story revolves around the camping adventures of Rin and Nadeshiko who met each other to see Mt. Fuji.

現在オフショットイラストも続々公開しておりますが、ここで改めてキャラクター紹介をしていきたいと思います。1日1人ずつつぶいていきます！ まずはなでしこから!!https://t.co/9PTFFsMYwp#ゆるキャン

— TVアニメ「ゆるキャン△」公式 (@yurucamp_anime) October 11, 2017

【オフショットイラスト　リン編公開】
リンの誕生日（10月1日）に合わせてオフショットイラストを公開しました。駐車場で休憩中の一コマです。
次はどのキャラクターのイラストが公開されるのか楽しみにお待ちください。https://t.co/9PTFFsMYwp#ゆるキャン pic.twitter.com/jndNpT3DhM

— TVアニメ「ゆるキャン△」公式 (@yurucamp_anime) September 30, 2017

【キャラクター紹介①／各務原なでしこ（CV.花守ゆみり）】
リンとの湖畔での出会いからキャンプに惹かれ、高校で野クルに入部する。
いつも明るくて前向きで、楽しいことが大好き。美人のお姉さんがいる。#ゆるキャン pic.twitter.com/vkRjdlaq7v

— TVアニメ「ゆるキャン△」公式 (@yurucamp_anime) October 11, 2017

While there’s still some uncertainty as to what will happen to D.Gray-Man Hallow as the Japanese home video releases were canceled earlier this year, we did learn this past July that that original series is getting finished up with a dub and a release, which is a good sign for Hallow. The first part of the “third season” came out this week as part of a standard edition DVD priced at $39.98 and Funimation has a new dub clip that works some time with Allen that helps to reinforce what type of character he is.

Extras for the set includes an audio commentary, a video commentary, and the clean opening and closing sequences.

The series is based on the manga from Katsura Hoshino that began in 2004. It originally kicked off in Shounen Jump and then moved to Jump SQ back in 2009. It’s currently up to 25 volumes total, which Viz Media has released in North America in full.

Plot Concept: Toward the end of the 19th century, Allen Walker officially joins the organization of Exorcists that destroys the beings known as Akuma—mechanic weapons made by the Millennium Earl with the suffering souls of the dead. Allen has both a cursed eye and an anti-Akuma weapon as an arm, bearing the power of “Innocence,” a gift given to him as an apostle of God. Allen, along with his fellow Exorcists, must put a stop to the Millennium Earl’s ultimate plot that could lead to the destruction of the world and all who live on it.

(c) Naoko Kurono / Mag Garden · PEACE MAKER Iron Production Committee (c) Kurano Nanae / Mag Garden

The reveal earlier this month that the previously announced Peacemaker Kurogane anime film was being delayed until 2018 wasn’t a surprise considering how little marketing was done about it but now another change has arrived. The film has now been split into two parts – though no running time has been revealed yet – with the first installment set for June 2nd, 2018 and the second in the fall of 2018. They’ll be titled Way of Feelings and Fate of Comrades respectively when they arrive.

The film will be directed by Hiroshi Takeuchi based on the screenplay by Eiji Umehara. Sayaka Koiso is working on the character designs while White Fox will be producing the animation for it. Check out the key visual to the right.

As previously revealed, Yuki Kaji will be played Tetsunosuke Ichimura while Takahiro Sakurai will play Susumu Yamazaki. The cast also includes Yumiko Kobayashi as Young Tetsunosuke Ichimura, Jouji Nakata as Toshizo Hijikata, Mitsuki Saiga as Souji Okita, Kappei Yamaguchi as Shinpachi Nagakura, Kenji Nomura as Sanosuke Harada, Kousuke Toriumi as Heisuke Todo, Takashi Matsuyama as Hajime Saitou, Masami Iwasaki as Kai Shimada, Takaya Hashi as Isami Kondou, Mikako Takahashi as Saya, and Shinnosuke Tachibana as Suzu Yamatoya.

The previous TV series that was produced was for the prequel series so it certainly makes sense with the sequel manga still ongoing to delve more into that since Nanae Chrono has kept on chugging at this since 2002. The original manga series was serialized in Monthly shonen Gangan between 1999 and 2001, producing five volumes, while the current series kicked off in Monthly Comic Blade in 2001 and has produced eight volumes so far with the eighth out today revealing this new adaptation.

ADV Films originally dubbed and released the first TV series and Funimation picked up the distribution rights to it after ADV Films shuttered their doors. Check out the trailer below for that series.

Plot concept: Three months have passed since the Ikedaya Incident that crushed the anti-shogunate rebellion–and propelled the Shinsengumi, Kyoto’s now-official police, into history as Kyoto’s premium peacekeeping force. But there is no rest for the peaceful: An unexpected threat to the Shinsengumi arises, and it’s going to take more than mere swords to defeat this new terror on the horizon.

Funimation’s had some fun with the English language dub for the Tsuredure Children anime series and they’re bringing out some new dub clips for it slowly but surely. it’s been a bit since the first one but now we have another that focuses on our two leads to showcase their relationship a bit more and some cute and fun emotions as well.

The English language dub was directed by Tabitha Ray with scripts by Deborah Crane. The cast includes Anthony Bowling as Takuro Sugawara, Sarah Wiedenheft as Chiaki Takano, Alison Viktorin as Kana Iijima, Austin Tindle as Masafumi Akagi, Dallas Reid as Jun Furuya, Felecia Angelle as Ryoko Kaji, Garret Storms as Yuki Kaga, J. Michael Tatum as Hideki Yukawa, Jad Saxton as Hotaru Furuya, Jeannie Tirado as Satsuki Sasahara, Kristi Kang as Ayaka Kamine, Kyle Igneczi as Chiaki Uchimura, Kyle Phillips as Shinichi Katori, Michelle Rojas as Kazuko Hosokawa, Ricco Fajardo as Takeru Goda, Sara Ragsdale as Yuki Minagawa, Skyler McIntosh as Saki Kanda, and Stephen Sanders as Haruhiko Takase.

The anime adaptation was directed by Hiraku Kaneko based on the scripts by Tatsuhiko Urahata. Etsuko Sumimoto worked on the character designs with animation produced by Studio Gokumi.

The Japanese cast includes Kaito Ishikawa as Takurō Sugawara, Inori Minase as Chizuru Takano, Tomoaki Maeno as Takeshi Gōda, Yui Ogura as Ayaka Kamine, Kensho Ono as Masafumi Akagi, and Ayane Sakura as Ryōko Kaji.

Inori Minase will perform the opening theme song while Yui Ogura will be performing the ending theme song.

The series is an interesting one as it started as a webmanga back in 2012 and then began a magazine run in 2014 with some redrawn scenes. The original work has seven volumes out as of this month.

Plot Concept: These short stories range from a boy, crippled by his absolute lack of confidence in himself, cannot even accept the fact that the girl of his dreams actually asked him out on a date, to the near-psychotic girl that pours her own blood into her homemade chocolate in order to win his heart.

September was certainly an interesting month for the bookstore market as ranked by BookScan as the chart is pretty heavy on the manga side. Viz Media takes ten manga slots and part of that is made up of Death Note as readers discovered it after seeing the film on Netflix in late August. One-Punch Man takes the top spot and Viz Media gobbles up more with My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, and Yugioh among others. Seven Seas Entertainment also grabs a spot with the Monster Girls Encyclopedia.

DC Comics has the Batman: The Dark Knight – Master Race hardcover strking high while the latest Batman volume does well and renewed interest in Watchmen surfaces again with the new event coming up next month. Marvel Comics is once again absent from the list and we get some interesting lesser known titles and publishers staking out space.

The anime adaptation of the award-winning light novel Violet Evergarden is set for a winter 2018 debut in Japan and with it getting Netflix distribution overseas. We’ve got a bit to go yet for it but the official social media side for the property has dropped an intriguing short video on Twitter where it showcases the progress of a brief segment of the series where it goes from storyboards to final production through its various phases, showing what’s involved in very brief.

Taichi Ishidate is directing with Akiko Takase serving as the character designer and chief animation director. Reiko Yoshida is handling the series composition. The Japanese cast include Takehito Koyasu as Claudia Hoggins, Daisuke Namikawa as Gilbert Bougainvillea, Aya Endou as Cattleya Baudelaire, and Kouki Uchiyama as Benedict Blue.

TRUE will be performing the opening theme “Sincerely” for it.

The light novel came from writer Kana Akatsuki and had illustrations by Akiko Takase.

Plot Concept: “Auto Memories Doll.” It’s already been a long time since that name was first popularized. It’s a machine that Dr. Orlando created that talks in a natural voice. At first, he only made it to help out his loving wife, but before long they spread out into the world. and companies were made to lend them out. “I’m Violet Evergarden, the Auto Memories Doll who will rush to provide service anywhere you wish.“ That translucent voice comes from a robotic beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes like she came out of a storybook.

「第3回京アニ＆Doファン感謝イベント」メイキングステージ（10/29）で解説する特選カットが到着！カット完全版は10/21「ヴァイオレット」先行上映会でご覧下さい！https://t.co/iCgJlANc6N https://t.co/ego50N2ln9 #VioletEvergarden pic.twitter.com/LcK8PRFd7H

— 「ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」公式 (@Violet_Letter) October 6, 2017

The anime adaptation of Yomi Hirasaka’s light novel series Imōto Sae Ireba Ii, was previously announced as being part of Funimation’s simuldub schedule as A Sister’s All You Need. While we’re still waiting for details, their access calendar has updated to reveal that the first episode is now set to go live on Wednesday, November 8th, at 5:00 ET for their viewers. That’ll give us something to look forward to!

Shin Oonuma is the directing with Hitoshi Tamamura as the series director while Yomi Hirasaka is handling the series composition. Sumie Kinoshita is serving as character designer and chief animation director with Silver Link handling the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Yuusuke Kobayashi as Itsuki Hashima, Nozomi Yamamoto as Chihiro Hashima, Hisako Kanemoto as Nayuta Kani, Ai Kakuma as Miyako Shirakawa, Satoshi Hino as Haruto Fuwa, Kaori Mizuhashi as Haruto Sister, Manami Numakura as Ashley Oono, and Akane Fujita as Kaoko Mikuniyama.

Seven volumes of the light novel series have been published so far this year. Hirasaka may not be a well-known name but his work on the Haganai property has proven popular overseas and it’s easy to imagine this one being on some publisher’s radar.

Plot Concept: The story follows the everyday life of Itsuki, a novelist and “modern day Pygmalion” who works day in and day out to create the ultimate younger sister. He’s surrounded by various other characters: a beautiful genius writer who loves him, his big-sisterly classmate from college, a fellow male writer, a sadistic tax accountant, and his editor. They’re all looked after by Itsuki’s perfect younger step-brother, Chihiro, who has a serious secret.

Anime Limited has been making some progress on their roll out for A Silent Voice which is getting its home video release on October 30th, 2017 in the UK and Ireland. We’ve gotten a couple of clips and a trailer for it already and now a third clip has come out that shows off more of the cast and how they interact in the show, in brief. The film was produced by NYAV Post.

Directed by Stephanie Sheh, the English cast includes Amber Lee Connors as Miki Kawai, Kira Buckland as Naoka Ueno, Lexi Cowden as Shoko Nishimiya, Robbie Daymond as Shoya Ishida, Graham Halstead as Nagatsuka, Kristen Sullivan as Yuzuru Nishimiya, Lipica Shah as Yaeko Nishimiya, Max Mittelman as Satoshi Mashiba, Melissa Hope as Miyoko Sahara, and Sara Cravens as Miyoko Ishida.

The film is based on the manga by Yoshitoki Oima that’s being released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Produced by Kyoto Animation, the film is directed by Naoka Yamada based on the script from Reiko Yoshida with Futoshi Nishiya handling the character designs.

The Japanese cast includes Miyu Irino as Shouya Ishida, Saori Hayami as Shouko Nishimiya, Aoi Yūki as Yuzuru Nishiya, Kensho Ono as Tomohiro Nagatsu, Yuki Kaneko as Naoka Ueno, Yui Ishikawa as Miyoko Sahara, Megumi Han as Miki Kawai and Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Toshi Mashibasa.

Plot concept: Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes his favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

Kitty Media acquired the Itadaki! Seieki hentai release back in March 2017 and things are progressing nicely with it. The distributor has updated a bit on it this week with the finalized cover artwork for the release that works with the familiar imagery that was used in the original promotional materials. We’re still waiting on a date for it but the separate DVD and Blu-ray releases are getting closer to release with this now being locked down.

The single episode OVA series came from Pashmina and was released in March 2014. It’s based off the doujin work from doumou, which itself was a pretty successful 11 chapter work that was serialized between 2011 and 2012 in Comic Unreal.

Plot concept: The property revolves around a succubus that falls in love with a boy from her school.

Kaze Deutschland scheduled their release of the Tokyo Ghoul OVAs previously for an October 13th, 2017 release but hasn’t done much promotion for it. With it now set to arrive in a couple of days they’ve dropped the first trailer for it that gives us a new taste of what the show sounds like in German.

Madman Entertainment has their release planned as a subtitle-only release since Funimation does not have the rights to it and have not dubbed it themselves.

Plot concept: An incident involving a human-devouring Ghoul occurs in Tokyo’s 13th Ward. To seek the truth behind what happened to his friend, the rebellious high school boy Taishi Fura pursues the Ghoul named Lantern with the young ace investigator Kishō Arima. The story follows how the ace investigator Arima and the talented 7th Ward investigator Taishi Fura first met

The sixth series in the franchise with Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS debuted back on May 10th, 2017 and it got picked up for streaming with Crunchyroll bringing out new episodes every Wednesday for it. Ahead of the debut of the twenty-third episode of the series that’s set for an October 18th, 2017 debut, TV Tokyo has now brought out the first promotional spot for it.

Please note that these previews are removed by TV Tokyo when the episode itself airs.

Masahiro Hosoda is directing it based on the series composition by Shin Yoshida while Kenichi Hara is on board to work on the character designs. Studio Gallop will be handling the animation for it.

Plot Concept: In “Den City” where the latest network has developed, people were dueling day and night in the VR world called “LINK VRAINS” managed by SOL Technology Inc. The main character, Yusaku Fujiki is a quiet high school student with a great insight. He has been dueling, transforming himself into his avatar “Playmaker”, to battle the “The Knights of Hanoi” that plots to destroy “LINK VRAINS”.

The fall 2017 anime series Imoto sae Ireba Ii is having its home video release plans handled by Bandai Visual and they’ve set a box set plan for it. The twelve episode series is getting a two-volume release where they’ll both be priced at 18,000 yen. Details of what to expect will be coming soon.

Shin Oonuma directed with Hitoshi Tamamura as the series director while Yomi Hirasaka is handling the series composition. Sumie Kinoshita served as character designer and chief animation director with Silver Link handling the animation production.

The Japanese cast includes Yuusuke Kobayashi as Itsuki Hashima, Nozomi Yamamoto as Chihiro Hashima, Hisako Kanemoto as Nayuta Kani, Ai Kakuma as Miyako Shirakawa, Satoshi Hino as Haruto Fuwa, Kaori Mizuhashi as Haruto Sister, Manami Numakura as Ashley Oono, and Akane Fujita as Kaoko Mikuniyama.

Seven volumes of the light novel series have been published so far this year. Hirasaka may not be a well-known name but his work on the Haganai property has proven popular overseas and it’s easy to imagine this one being on some publisher’s radar.

Plot Concept: The story follows the everyday life of Itsuki, a novelist and “modern day Pygmalion” who works day in and day out to create the ultimate younger sister. He’s surrounded by various other characters: a beautiful genius writer who loves him, his big-sisterly classmate from college, a fellow male writer, a sadistic tax accountant, and his editor. They’re all looked after by Itsuki’s perfect younger step-brother, Chihiro, who has a serious secret.

[Source: Imoto]

“The Trick Is To… / The Never-Ending Reading Pile / Love Your Mushrooms”

What They Say:
Our IDOL friends are back again today! Get a rare look at how IDOLS spend their days off, as well as their comical interactions with each other in this hyper-fun-filled short anime.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The second cour getting underway wasn’t one of my favorite episodes but this one goes back to the quick hit short stories. The opening one with several of the girls doing a bit of fun on the track and field side of things shows how bad Kirika is but that just makes her bloody adorable. While there’s cuteness in everyone being in sporty outfits it’s Kirika that wins things over. Another fun story focuses on Fumika with a problem I’m far too familiar with in how there’s just so much to read, organize, and re-read. And keep. It’s hard to purge books or other favorite things like this and seeing her undergo that struggle here is really nice as we get her “endless cycle” of trying to figure out how to do it.

In Summary:
The final story does some cute little cooking material but this one didn’t connect as well with what it was doing as it just felt a little less grounded. Overall, however, the show goes back to what I liked about it before with this episode with the shorter tales and quicker humor. They get a lot done in just a few minutes and the chances of characters being much like the viewers is endless, such as how Fumika just totally clicked for me here.

Grade: B-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Back when I first started to really explore comics thanks to my local newsstand back in the early 80′s, one of the books that I stumbled onto was The New Mutants. A lot of the draw for me was Kitty Pryde as she was a character I enjoyed a lot in X-Men at the time because of similar ages and I liked the idea of an up and coming generation of mutants being trained. I got into it a few issues before the Demon Bear arc that is a big inspiration for this film from Fox that essentially gives us young mutants dealing with something terrifying. And what we get here is essentially what we need more of from the superhero side – showing the various genres it can and does exist in. This is basically going to be a horror film and that means Fox finally has me interested in an X-Men film again, though the mainline films frustrate me to no end.

Check out the new trailer – one I can’t wait to see on the big screen in the dark. The film is set to land on April 13th, 2018.

Originally we learned that director Josh Boone was co-writing with Kante Gwaltnet while Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner will produce. The later drafts brought into play new writers as Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber boarded the project. Both of them worked with Boone on bringing The Fault in Our Stars script to life, so it’s not terribly surprising.

The cast includes Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Charlie Heaton as Cannonball, Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Blu Hunt as Mirage and Alice Braga Dawson as Dr. Cecilia Reyes.

Original concept: Cannonball. Sunspot. Moonstar. Karma. Rahne. Teenagers, thrown together by the one thing they had in common — the X-Factor in their genes that made them different, made them mutants. Relive the adventures of the team that will come to be known as X-Force… if they survive.

“Sightseeing Mystery in Nara”

What They Say:
A comedy manga, “Shonen Ashibe,” that follows the friendship between baby spotted seal Goma-chan and first-grade student Ashiya Ashibe. First serialized in 1988 and adapted to anime in 1991, the adorable Goma-chan created a massive following and a spotted seal boom. This spring, Goma-chan returns to “Tentere Anime.” A cute, pleasant story of Ashibe and Goma-chan and their unusual school and their neighbors. Sometimes endearing, sometimes bizarre, it’s a fun anime for the whole family!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a large cast of characters it can be hard at times to remember who is who, such as the last episode with the brothers who largely go unnamed. The advantage of kids entertainment, however, is that you can still enjoy it a whole lot. I liked what we had going on the last time around but wished that it went just a little bit further and more creative. And, yes, I wished there was more Sugao material rather than the endlessly boring hell he’s been consigned to for much of this series after a strong first few episodes.

This episode has some fun from the start with Yuma’s mother as we see a bit of acting going on and the way it gets everyone so into it, which is made complicated with the arrival of Tamao, a member of an idol group that’s not exactly the best actress and that frustrates the established actress. With so many films and TV shows drawing on idol group talent, something we see around the world, the bulk of them are pretty terrible and a hard price to pay for some of the good talent we do get out of it. The acting aspects of this episode are pretty fun as we see different things playing out but we also spend time with Ashibe doing his best to try and cheer up Tamao. Which doesn’t do a thing for me as I’m so beyond tired of idol characters at this point that it really is becoming a detriment due to how regularly they’re used now.

Sugao Watch: Zip. And, sadly, that’s probably for the better.

In Summary:
Shonen Ashibe has a cute episode overall with some fun things related to the acting and just watching Yuma’s mother, but the time with Tamao just left me cool and frustrated with what they do with her. Ashibe’s help naturally makes everything better but that’s what you’d expect. Of course, I don’t think what Tamao did actually did make it better but I’m not much of a fan of Japanese live-action material and style of storytelling so I’m not surprise a good chunk of this episode just didn’t click for me.

Grade: C

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

We learned back in August that the far too adorable Hakumei to Mikochi property was getting a TV anime adaptation. The Studio Lerche series has seen its official social media side update to reveal that the show will be a part of the winter 2018 season in January with more details to come soon on the production. The original manga comes from Takuto Kashiki that began in 2011 with five volumes released so far as it’s an ongoing property.

Plot Concept: Nine centimeters tall, the tiny girls Hakumei and Mikochi live in the forest. Living in a tiny house in a tree, riding insects and birds, and making umbrellas out of leaves, these tiny girls live a tiny life. Follow their tiny but lovely lives as they live their day to day in a fantastic world of tiny people and gods.

Tweets by hakumikotv

“Cute Is Best, Meow”

What They Say:
The school cultural festival is coming up, and the girls can’t figure out what to wear or dance. Onyankopon to the rescue!

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While I typically avoid the more straightforward CG shows like this sometimes you have to check it out, especially when it comes to kids shows as there’s some hidden gems in there. The show puts us right into the mix with a group of varied creatures gathering around the West Afraican sky-god Onyankoin that are getting ready for the school culture festival that’s coming up in the human world and we see them watching it through their viewer as the girls are getting excited about figuring out the costumes to wear for it. It’s all fairly familiar stuff but it goes over the top with the cute phrasing that we hear throughout it, which leads to the creatures getting involved and doing a magic dance with the girls. It’s not exactly nonsensical but it’s simplistic and silly while leaning heavily into the usual dance/music tropes that we’ve seen for too many years now.

In Summary:
The show brings in some cute live-action pieces for the ending sequence that you know will connect well for kids and it’s simple and silly as a whole. I’m admittedly somewhat curious about the show to see what it’ll do so I’ll probably check out a few episodes at least and with it clocking in at just about three minutes each it’s not a heavy commitment either.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

© Asami Takamori, Chibutoritsu / Kodansha / Megalo Box Project

The Ashita no Joe property has seen a solid life overall over the years and the re-releases have generally been well-received. At the same time it feels ripe to be worked over again for a new generation, which looks to be in the works for the spring 2018 season with Megalobox, a new and original story based on the original Ashita no Joe property. With the original manga celebrating its 50th anniversary it makes sense to try and breathe some new life into it.

The new project is directed by You Moriyama with scripts coming from Katsuhiko Manabe and Kensaku Kojima. It’s being animated at TMS Entertainment.

Plot Concept: a man called JD (Junk Dog) participates in fixed boxing matches in an underground ring in order to live. Today, he enters the ring again, but he encounters a certain person. JD wants to take on a challenge that risks everything.

[Source: ANN]

“Second Glass: Orange Breeze”

What They Say:
Quiet but capable, Mizusawa Chisato is a beautiful leader who has a secret that only her husband, Sora, knows about: she loves to drink, and when she’s drunk, she becomes extremely adorable! What bliss will Sora’s cocktail bring tonight? “Yoidere,” the drunken comedy cocktail about Japan’s most lovey-dovey couple.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The opening episode of this series won me over as few shows have on the short form front for a couple of seasons as it delivered some good adult humor and situations. Following a character like Chisato is fun simply because she knows what she likes, the trouble she has with it, and tries to find a balance. But that doesn’t always happen so we see her here at the start trying to spend snuggle time with her husband and just experiencing quality time together, which you can understand why she’s hard to resist on this front. The problem is that he has to do the shopping and it’s going to rain soon and he just wants to get it done. That makes it problematic for her as she wants good food but doesn’t want him to leave. It takes a comical turn with the concoction he comes up with but it leads to her being a bit more free flowing with feelings and talking about when they first met, which is certainly charming.

In Summary:
The story of Chisato and Sora is one that I’m quickly becoming quite engaged with. Anime generally focuses on the teenage set for a whole host of reasons so shows that give us some time with the adults are usually more enjoyable since they’re so rare. This show spends some good time with the two to see how they are and a touch of their past and it just left me smiling and full of positive feelings. And it left me wanting to see more of the couple and excited for what’s to come this season.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.

(c) Naoko Kurono / Mag Garden · PEACE MAKER Iron Production Committee (c) Kurano Nanae / Mag Garden

The upcoming Peacemaker Kurogane film has gone through a few changes recently, notably with the film now beeingsplit into two parts – though no running time has been revealed yet – with the first installment set for June 2nd, 2018 and the second in the fall of 2018. They’ll be titled Way of Feelings and Fate of Comrades respectively when they arrive. As that has come into focus we also now have the first teaser trailer for it that gives us a few glimpse of the animation style and how the quality is going to look.

The films are being directed by Hiroshi Takeuchi based on the screenplay by Eiji Umehara. Sayaka Koiso is working on the character designs while White Fox will be producing the animation for it. Check out the key visual to the right.

As previously revealed, Yuki Kaji will be played Tetsunosuke Ichimura while Takahiro Sakurai will play Susumu Yamazaki. The cast also includes Yumiko Kobayashi as Young Tetsunosuke Ichimura, Jouji Nakata as Toshizo Hijikata, Mitsuki Saiga as Souji Okita, Kappei Yamaguchi as Shinpachi Nagakura, Kenji Nomura as Sanosuke Harada, Kousuke Toriumi as Heisuke Todo, Takashi Matsuyama as Hajime Saitou, Masami Iwasaki as Kai Shimada, Takaya Hashi as Isami Kondou, Mikako Takahashi as Saya, and Shinnosuke Tachibana as Suzu Yamatoya.

The previous TV series that was produced was for the prequel series so it certainly makes sense with the sequel manga still ongoing to delve more into that since Nanae Chrono has kept on chugging at this since 2002. The original manga series was serialized in Monthly shonen Gangan between 1999 and 2001, producing five volumes, while the current series kicked off in Monthly Comic Blade in 2001 and has produced eight volumes so far with the eighth out today revealing this new adaptation.

ADV Films originally dubbed and released the first TV series and Funimation picked up the distribution rights to it after ADV Films shuttered their doors. Check out the trailer below for that series.

Plot concept: Three months have passed since the Ikedaya Incident that crushed the anti-shogunate rebellion–and propelled the Shinsengumi, Kyoto’s now-official police, into history as Kyoto’s premium peacekeeping force. But there is no rest for the peaceful: An unexpected threat to the Shinsengumi arises, and it’s going to take more than mere swords to defeat this new terror on the horizon.