It goes without saying that Senran Kagura knows what its audience wants. Filled to the brim with fan-service and crazy combat the series has a knack for delivering certain aspects that appeal to its male demographic (and lesbian one, too,

One of the first things that drew me to Beyond Eyes was its art style.  Watercolor is all the rage now so I am thrilled to see it come through in many things, especially in electronic media like video games. In

WHEW! It's hot outside, isn't it? You know what keeps me cool? Anime! OK, and I guess an air conditioner helps. As the fall creeps up on us, and everyone goes back to school, enjoy the best that the Summer season had to offer.

Returning Favorites

Ninja Slayer

Doumo, Ninja Slayer! We meet again. Ninja Slayer made a lot of anime fans mad. It's an ugly show, for sure, but it's also a great action-comedy. It's a mash-up of the cheapest animation techniques of the 70s-90s. Nearly everyone on the show is some sort of ninja, and they have to greet one another before horribly murdering each other. They call some ninjitsu techniques "karate." It's totally ridiculous, and totally worth watching.

Durarara!!

For a show that's not prone to crazy twists and plot developments, Durarara!! still excites and entertains me. With an ever-growing cast (Izaya has family? What the hell??) Durarara!! doesn't seem to be crushed under the weight of its own story. It's funny that Izaya has, from my eye, the greatest character development this season. I have learned to see where he's coming from, but also hate his guts twice as much as I used to!

The Heroic Legend of Arslan

I am not one to watch shows about warfare in the times of horses and warfare. I could not resist the pull of Arslan. The Heroic Legend of Arslan is about a young prince who is driven from his home by a force who wishes to take the throne. With his parents both at the mercy of these invaders, Arslan has to gather an army to take back his home. The Heroic Legend of Arslan is riveting. There is all this plotting and scheming and hard decisions put on the shoulders of a child. It's not only about talking. Nearly every episode has some action in it, and it can be very brutal. I can see why the story has been adapted again and again.

I can't Understand what My Husband is Saying

Previously on I Can't Understand what My Husband is Saying, our married couple have reached a very big milestone in their lives. Their big life change isn't really focused on until the end of the season, but that's fine. I'm just here for the characters' otaku Vs. normal person relationship and the people who are part of their wedded life.

My Love Story!!

I can't stop laughing. I don't think there's been a ho-hum episode of My Love Story!! The anime is about a high school boy who thinks he's going to always be unlucky in love. He's a giant mass of a high school student who isn't all that bright who finds out that a very tiny girl loves him. Tagging along is his life-long, unfazed, handsome friend. If you haven't watched My Love Story!! yet, please, please catch up! This one of the best romantic comedy anime of ALL TIME. I am so serious.

Runners-up

Himouto Umaru-chan

Narrative-driven games have seen a huge boom in the last few years. From the many titles being worked on by Telltale Games to the recent horror title Until Dawn, if you’re looking for a good yarn, then gaming is a

There's a good chance I'll be burnt at the stake for what I'm about to reveal: I never got to play Castle Crashers on last-gen consoles. The second game from The Behemoth (Battleblock Theater), the 2D side-scrolling arcade-influenced hack-and-slasher was

Three levels into Magnetic: Cage Closed, and I was ready to write it off as a knock-off of a certain Valve video game. Little did I know that the challenges awaiting in the wings would soon have me eating those

Despite being a J-POP radio/podcast host for many years, I was a bit late joining the Hatsune Miku bandwagon. This hesitation came from the fact that I couldn't understand how people could be paying top dollar to see a hologram

To be able to manipulate gravity is an awesome ability, as anyone who's played Half-Life 2 will tell you. So why, I wounder, was Traverser not an incredible experience for me? Introductions first: Traverser is a sci-fi action puzzle game published by Adult Swim Games and developed by Gatling Goat Studios. Traverser is a post-apocalyptic game. Humans, once again, have made the earth a hard place to live, leaving them with the need to constantly purchase oxygen to breathe. There is one corporation that controls the air supply, and it's the Raven Corporation. Taking the role of a young girl named Valerie Bennet, the player takes control of her and becomes the eponymous hero.

Valerie's father, Linus, is a very important person in Traverser's world, so when ill befalls him, this sends Valerie on an adventure to discover the truth. After some tutorial events to get you familiar with using objects and manipulating gravity with your Traverser glove, you basically get to roam around the world, learning objectives to push you towards the next piece of the story.

For awhile the phrase "walking simulator" has popped up in the game industry, where the premise involves the player to walk around an area and find clues to why you are there. Titles likes Elegy for a Dead World, The

Many car trips and late nights with my reading lamp were spent reading the popular Choose Your Own Adventure book series as a kid. I loved both the agency it gave me to help effect the outcome of the story and the ability to go back and make new choices on a second run just to see what happens. With horror being my favorite genre therein, I enjoyed one about space vampires quite a bit, the first time I saw Until Dawn I knew it was tailor-made for me to enjoy. Though the branching paths are less drastic than I initially suspected, Until Dawn is the first interactive cinematic experience to really nail it on every front.