Title: Grimms’ Notes The Animation on Blu-ray

Director: Seiki Sugawara

Writer: Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Studio: Brain’s Base

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: March 3rd, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Game Derivative

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

The mystical Story Teller created a world where everyone is born with a book that dictates their life story in advance. Everyone, that is, except for a handful of individuals with books full of blank pages that allow them to cross from one prewritten storyline to another and act of their own free will. That ability turns out to be a fortunate thing, as rogue plotters called Chaos Tellers are introducing new and unexpected elements into the most popular storylines, fracturing the course of fairy tales and bedtime yarns into the stuff of nightmares. Can Ex, Reina, Shane and Tao undo the repercussions of aberrations like Little Red Riding Hood suddenly gaining the ability to manipulate fire? Things are looking mighty grim indeed when our heroes must fight to un-revise the revisions!

Commentary:

I am always a little cautious when it comes to anime made from games and in the case of Grimms’ Notes I am re-enforced in my learyness. Grimms’ Notes is a good looking anime and has its moments, but the overall retelling of some of the sories that have been a part of the western culture for such a long time leaves me with the strange feeling that these creators missed to point. To be honest I don’t always understand Japanese folk tales and historical mythology and different cultures see stories differently so, I guess that it is okay if they butcher a few European myths, ledgends and folk tales.

Overall Grade: B-

The real weakness with the series is the way they managed to wrap everything so easily. I thought the characters were solid enough and that the overall production values were right in line with the quality of work done by Brain’s Base. The writing on the other hand left me wanting for a lot more.

I believe that this series could have been a real winner and with a little stronger understanding of these stories that they infused the series with there would be a much more robust fan base for it. I now understand why Sentai did not spend the money on dubing this series.

Bottom line is that if you are a fan of the game then you will want to see this series. If you are not a fan of Grimms’ Notes the game then you might want to stick to someting less note worthy.

Title: Food Wars: The ThirdPlate on Blu-ray

Director:  Yoshitomo Yonetani

Studio: J. C. Staff

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: February 25th, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / 24 Episodes / 600 Minutes

Genre: Comedy,  Food Battle,  Slice of Life, Harem

Age Rating: TV-MA

Overall Personal Rating: A

Synopsis:

Young Soma Yukihira – who has honed his cooking skills while working as an assistant at “Yukihira,” the family eatery – has successfully entered Tohtsuki Fine Dining Academy, a cooking school for the ultra elite. At the academy, he meets various chefs and develops his skills while striving to create his own unique brand of cooking. It is during the Lunar Feast, a time-honored Tohtsuki tradition, that Soma chooses to take on one of the members of The Ten, which comprises the academy’s most accomplished chefs.

Meanwhile, Azami Nakiri – the father of one of Soma’s fellow students – has worked behind the scenes to found Central, a pivotal organization dedicated to haute cuisine, yet has remained barred from cooking aside from select recipes taught in his lectures. Finding themselves at opposition with how Central operates, Soma and some of the other Tohtsuki students decide to stand and confront this threat head-on. As this is going on, Soma and the others will be faced with the Promotional Exam, referred to as one of the greatest hurdles at Tohtsuki. An even more heated battle is about to begin!

Commentary:

In my prior reviews of Food Wars I was very clear about how I felt regarding this series and the Third Plate has only reinforced this feeling. I was so afraid that it would fall into a overly formalaic series like Yu Yu Hakusho or Inu Yasha or even Bleach, but each season has managed to provide something new that keeps the viewer wanting more and at the same time loving every minute.

As the series develops there seems to be more and more character development and the very sincere effort to bond these characters in ways that will only make them stronger.

Overall Grade: A

Okay, I know that some of you might think that I have a bias for this series and I am not afraid to agree. I find so many positive elements in this series that makes it hard for me to find fault with some of the weaker aspects and some of the overused plot devices. I am sure that there are plenty of anime fans that do not see Food Wars the same way I do, but I also saw how Naruto and Bleach took so many deficiencies and overroad them with positive attributes that made the series long lasting favorites.

Food Wars: The Third Plate takes to a honest cliff-hanger to set up the fourth season to be some fun and action along with learning about how food and flavors work together.

If you want fun and loved Iron Chef then you really need to get you some Food Wars on.

Title: Space Brothers #0: The Movie

Director: Ayumu Watanabe

Studio: A-1 Pictures

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: feb. 18th, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / Feature Film / 100 Minutes

Genre: Slice of Life, Sci Fi

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: A

Synopsis:

Once, there were two very different brothers who conceived a dream: that someday they would go into space themselves. However, brothers being brothers, once younger sibling Hibito announced that he would go to the moon, older brother Mutta declared that HE would go to Mars. Unfortunately, Mutta’s adult life isn’t going the way that he had hoped. Despite his hard work, his situation at his job is deteriorating and he ultimately finds himself transferred back to Japan. To make things even more frustrating, luck has been kinder to Hibito, who has already begun training with JAXA to become an astronaut. But Mutta isn’t ready to quit just yet. Four years before the events of the epic TV series, a new space race begins as brother chases brother on the path to the stars.

Commentary:

Over the years I had the great fortune of getting to review the original Space Brothers Series and loved it. I was very easy to understand why it had a strong enough following to bring a full 99 episodes and now a movie. The movie was wonderful. It was not a simple telling of the brothers history before the series, it gives us a solid understanding of each of the brothers with a bit more of a look a Mutta before the infamous head-butt.

I still think that the writing and overall story telling is superior to most slice of life stories and adds just enough science / fiction to it to keep the Sci Fi fans glued to the set.

Overall Grade: A

There is no mistake, I think that Space Brothers is one of the best anime series I have ever seen and the Movie Space Brothers #0 is true to the series. It makes you feel sad, glad and even happy for the brothers as you watch their progression along their path.

The one important thing about this movie is that it will want you to check out the series and once you get started you will be hooked.

Title: Real Girl: Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Director: Takashi Naoya

Studio: Hoods Entertainment

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Feb. 18th, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / 24 Episodes / 600 Minutes

Genre: Slice of Life, Romantic Comedy

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Hikari Tsutsui has never been popular, his one real friend is an even worse otaku than he is, and the only girls he’s known are the two-dimensional women from his manga and video games. Until, that is, he’s sent to help clean the pool as punishment and is partnered with the school’s resident “bad girl”, the very real, very three-dimensional Iroha Igarashi.

Brash, beautiful, and known for her promiscuous behavior, Iroha is loathed by other girls but loved by the guys. And yet, inexplicably, she not only seems to be interested in Hikari, but proposes that they enter into a relationship! Unable to resist, Hikari agrees, but there’s one big catch – Iroha’s moving away in six months, so no matter what happens between them, in half a year Hikari’s guaranteed to lose his real girl!

Commentary:

The synopsis makes this sound like a very straight forward series, but of course they are just trying to get you interested. If, it peeks your interest in Real Girl then you should follow through. If for some reason it doesn’t sound interesting I suggest that you check it out anyway.

Right off the bat I did not like Hikari and felt rather sympathetic toward Iroha. He comes across rather pretentious and stuck up for an Otaku and Iroha comes across warm and rather comforting of a person even though her reputation painters her as something very different. I would say more but it would give just too much away.

Overall Grade: A-

The production values are better than many series I have seen in a while and the fact that Real Girl looks good makes it refreshing and wonderfully inviting. The story is nothing new, but what I found great about it was the way the characters were developed. The writing was solid and seemed honest enough to give you a reason to keep moving through the 24 episodes and please don’t give up if you get discouraged it is a solid series that ends up very satisfying in the end.

I for one would love to see more of these slice of life stories make it over to North America. I think they will open the doors to more viewer who think anime is rather 2 dimensional. Real Girl is a winner, check it out.

Title: The Magnificent KOTOBUKI: Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Director: Tsutomu Mizushima

Studio: GEMBA Digital Frontier (production co-operation), Wao World (2D animation)

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Feb. 2nd, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Action, Adventure, War Fair

Age Rating: T. V. 14

Overall Personal Rating: C+

Synopsis:

In a desolate world where the safest form of transporting cargo is by zeppelin; air pirates roam the sky, preying on aerial commerce and holding remote towns for ransom. Against these airborne marauders, the only defense is to hire high-flying protection of your own, and that’s where mercenary pilots like the girls of the Kotobuki Squadron come in.

Behind the joysticks of their lightweight Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters, these lady falcons play a deadly game of escort, where a single mistake can end up in a fiery crash or mid-air collision. But for birds of prey like Kylie, Reona, Chika, Emma, Kate, and Zara, the danger is worth it for the chance to spread their wings and soar into the heavens. The wild blue yonder gets even wilder as every dogfight becomes a catfight!

Commentary:

Within the first 5 minutes I was asking myself how I was going to make it through The Magnificent KOTOBUKI because I was so put off by the unfortunate selection of Computer Generated (CG) production. It was almost impossible to look at the women with their hard edge CG that I just pushed through the first episode. By the time I got to the third episode I had become used to the poor production quality and was able to focus on the series.

I was able to connect with several of the characters and found the squadron to be likeable, but at times a little too flippant. Just like many of the sports anime these young women have their internal struggles and their own reasons to fly and fight. Some of the best moments is when they are all together drinking and eating. This is when you get to understand them the most. The arial battles entertaining enough, but the harsh CG really detracts from the overall enjoyment of the series.

Overall Grade: C+

The Magnificent KOTOBUKI has some fine writing and character development that helps to keep this series above water. If you are looking for some great ariel battle scenes then you might be a little disappointed. If you are in the market for a series that tell a decent story and gives you characters that have a story to tell then you will enjoy The Magnificent KOTOBUKI, just give the poor production value some time to not be an issue.

Title: The Girl In Twilight: Complete Collection on Blu-ray

Directors: Jin Tamamura, Yūichi Abe

Writers: Shogo Yasukawa (screenplay), Kotaro Uchikoshi (concept)

Studio: Dandelion Animation, Studio Jūmonj

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Jan. 7th, 2020

Format: Blu-ray / 12 Episodes / 300 Minutes

Genre: Sci Fi, Fantasy, Action

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Every day, Asuka and her friends Nana, Mia, Yu and Chloe go to a certain temple to find out if an urban legend they heard is true: that if you set your radio to a random channel at 4:44 PM, and pray really hard, you can open a door into another dimension.

It’s a game, really, and the girls don’t take it too seriously. Until the day it works and they find themselves in another world where there are people who look suspiciously like them. But messing around with alternate realities is dangerous, and as the girls travel from one world to the next, they find themselves thrust into increasingly perilous situations. Will they all survive? Will they still be the people they were when they started? The revelations unfold along with the dimensions in The Girl in Twilight!

Commentary:

Wow, The Girl In Twilight really took me by surprise. Based on the synopsis I was prepared for a simple story of colliding multiverses, but it quickly became much more. The richness that was provided as we discovered each character and their own personalities along with the others selves in alternate universes was the real strength behind the series.

The plot was not as strong but the execution and delivery of the plot did make a positive impact on the series. although it is rather short with only 12 episodes it was able to tell a solid story and bring about a convincing ending. There are still plenty of question but none that require a second season to answer.

Overall Grade: A-

The animation production values are average with some skillful artistry at key moments. The overall look and feel of the series is very much imbedded in the classic anime look. The writing is solid and gives us plenty to take in regarding the plot and this group of young ladies. When everything is added together we get a solid anime that is really worth seeing. My only concern is that it is only one season and will not be able to catch much buzz or following the help it rise to the top. It will join the multitude of good anime that are left to be forgotten and left on the self to be rediscovered by the next generation of anime fans.