Azure Flame

The year is 1742, and the body of Lia de Beaumont has just been found in a coffin floating down the Seine- and for her brother d’Eon, it signals the start of a journey. Possessed by Lia’s restless soul, he finds himself driven to find the cause of her death, and in so doing, he and his comrades find themselves travelling across Europe and uncovering conspiracies and agendas that permeate even the highest of authorities. Can d’Eon survive long enough to uncover the truth, or will he fall victim to mysterious powers possessed by the many forces seeking to advance their own agendas?

Continue reading Final Thoughts: Le Chevalier d’Eon…

Kazuto Iizuka is even more average than the usual average anime teen, but even his life is afforded a little bit of excitement when he discovers that his schoolmate Narue Nanase wasn’t lying when she claimed she was from outer space! When Kazuto proves happy to accept Narue for who she is, a relationship quickly develops between them- but when you’ve got an alien for a girlfriend, it would be wise to expect a few unexpected incidents along the way. Continue reading World of Narue: Why do I keep watching this crap?…

In the country of Saiunkoku, the Eight Families of Colour are the most highly ranked in the land, but that doesn’t necessarily make them particularly well off. In particular, the household of Kou Shouka and his daughter Shuurei has fallen on some hard times, and so it is that Shuurei eagerly accepts a highly paid if somewhat unusual job to enter the palace and try to drum some knowledge and motivation into the current emperor, Shi Ryuuki. It will be no easy task, but little does Shuurei realise it will be only the first step on a long and arduous journey to fulfil her dream of becoming the country’s first female official… Continue reading Final Thoughts: Saiunkoku Monogatari season one…

Mutou Kazuki was just a normal high school student- until the fateful day when he stumbled upon a battle between a teenage girl and a hideous monster and managed to get himself killed in the process. Fortunately, however, the very girl he was trying to save-Tokiko- also happens to be a warrior with alchemic powers, and she is able to give him a new lease of life by replacing his heart with a metallic device known as a Kakugane. The Kakugane also imbues Kazuki with alchemic powers of his own, and slowly but surely, he too finds himself drawn into the ongoing conflict between the alchemic warriors and their nemesis, the human-feeding homunculi…

Continue reading Final Thoughts: Busou Renkin…

It’s not unusual to have a stone ornament in the front garden, but in the case of the Yoshinaga family, theirs is a little different- it can actually come alive! Known as Gargoyle, this intelligent gatekeeper was created by alchemy, and his duty is to keep the Yoshinaga family safe from all the other weird and wonderful characters that infest the local neighbourhood.

Continue reading Final Thoughts: The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas…

Fifteen year old Ichimura Tetsunosuke longs to avenge the murder of his parents, and so when his older brother joins the Shinsengumi, he chooses to sign up as well. Despite his wishes, however, he ends up being assigned as a page to Vice-Commander Hijikata- a role that has more to do with mundane chores than earning glory on the battlefield. Nonetheless, Tetsu applies himself to his new life, but will he ever get the chance to fulfil his desire for revenge? Should such an optimistic and pure-hearted boy ever be forced to face the hideous reality of taking another’s life?

Continue reading Peacemaker Kurogane…

It is the middle of the twentieth century, and among the yakuza, high stakes Mahjong is a popular pastime. Skilled players abound, but even they are no match for what is to come- a young man named Akagi Shigeru. With an unsurpassed talent for reading his opponents, Akagi masters the game on his first night of play, and soon earns the title of “the genius who descended into the darkness”. And over the years, Akagi’s appearances in a series of high profile games against some of the most infamous names in the underworld will ensure that his name goes down in legend…

Continue reading Akagi: Extreme Mahjong Action…

Claire, Rose, Rachel and Kate may attend the same school on New York’s Roosevelt Island, but apart from sharing a friendship with a recently deceased girl named Lise, they are all very different people. Nonetheless, this unlikely quartet is thrown together when a mysterious woman named Lula enters their life with some shocking news- all four of them are already dead. Now, they are living on borrowed time, and it is time that will run out unless they follow Lula’s orders and dedicate their nights to fighting a succession of zombie-like men. Confused and afraid, but nonetheless desperate to uncover the truth behind their demise and resurrection, the four girls must now work together if they wish to balance their everyday lives with this strange new world that they have been thrust into…

Continue reading Final Thoughts: Red Garden…

Seven years after his last visit, Yuuichi Aizawa returns to the wintry city where his aunt and cousin live in order to attend high school there whilst his parents are away. With his past memories of the city hazy at best, Yuuichi sets about reacquainting himself with the city, and little by little, he finds himself befriending some of the girls that live there. Yet not of all these girls are what they seem, and as Yuuichi gets to know them and uncover their secrets, he also begins to recall those buried events of seven years ago…

Continue reading Final Thoughts: Kanon…

I think we can see where the designs for the Otome uniforms originally came from.

When Jinto was just a boy, his father handed his world to the Abh Empire, a mighty stellar force of genetically modified human who believe their empire is the best buffer against instellar war. Flash forward a few years, and Jinto is now an honorary Abh being given the same off-world education as any noble in the Empire. On his way to military college, however, he not only undergoes a fateful meeting with the beautiful and proud Abh Lafiel, but becomes embroiled in the forefront of events when the so-called United Mankind decides to declare war on the Abh…

Continue reading Crest of the Stars…