Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Iroha Sakayori is the perfect honor student. She excels at everything she puts her mind to. However, in order to pay for her house and save money for college, she works extremely hard, leaving her with hardly any time to focus on her hobbies. Her few sources of enjoyment are playing virtual reality games and listening to the virtual idol Yachiyo sing.

One day, after finishing work, Iroha sees a shooting star. She makes a wish for more money and then heads home. When she arrives on the street where her house is located, she sees a streetlamp glowing. As she approaches it, two bamboo handles appear, and when it opens, Iroha sees a baby. Afraid of leaving it on the street, she takes it home with her.

Over the course of a weekend, the baby, Kaguya, grows into a teenager. Iroha introduces Kaguya to the world of VR, and they play her favorite game, Tsukiyome. After seeing the virtual idol Yachiyo, Kaguya decides to become a streamer herself. She becomes popular by singing the songs that Iroha writes. However, her newfound popularity may be just a fleeting dream. Not only does she draw the eyes of many fans, but also those who seek to take away the freedom that Kaguya longs to have. Will Iroha have the power to save her new friend?

Cosmic Princess Kaguya was a complete surprise to me. I had read a brief summary of the story of the bamboo cutter a day or two ago, so I understood the story that inspired the movie. I also knew that it took place in the virtual world and included music from posts and summaries I had read online prior to watching it. However, the movie gives the old story a modern take in a way that I wouldn't have predicted. It feels kind of like Seven Senses of the Reunion and Shangri-La Frontier. However, that's only in terms of the fighting style and digital-world aspect. The story is completely different from those two anime in every way.

After an hour and twenty minutes of watching, I was convinced the movie was over based on the events that had played out. But I paused it, only to find out that there was still over an hour left of the movie. It was really good, but it was a bit longer than I was expecting.The entire thing was wholesome. There were no lewd scenes or swearing. I would definitely suggest giving it a try if you enjoy music anime and virtual reality anime.

Romantic Killer

 

After buying a game called Romantic Thriller, a wizard named Riri appears in front of Anzu Hoshino. The wizard Riri makes a contract with Anzu in the form of pre-game details. Since Anzu didn't read it and went straight into playing the game she is forced into a real world dating sim experience. To make sure that she prioritizes romance instead of her hobbies, Riri confiscates all her video games, chocolate and her cat momohiki. Riri also makes it impossible to purchase any of these things. Along with that, Riri sends Anzu's parents off to the United States so that she will be living alone. While Riri is coordinating all these situations to make Anzu fall in love, Anzu becomes determined to never get into a relationship, no matter who comes along. However, will she be able to continue to refuse once she actually gets to know the love interests?

Romantic Killer was interesting because it felt different from most High School Romantic Comedy's. It kind of had a similar feel to Love Tyrant. While it wasn't something I could binge all in one go, I did enjoy watching it. The boys fit into usual tropes, but unlike the love interests, Anzu feels like someone you would actually meet in real life. There aren't any lewd scenes or any swearing. I would definitely suggest giving it a try if you want to see a unique Romcom.  

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You Season 3

Sawako and Shota are finally dating. The relationship progresses smoothly. One day, while Sawako and Shota are walking home together, they hold hands. Just as that happens Sawako's mother sees them and invites Shota to have dinner with their family. While Sawako's mom is excited that she finally has a boyfriend, Sawako's Dad isn't pleased. Though he tries to be welcoming in his own way. After that Shota invites Sawako to meet his family. While it seems like everything has finally been resolved, will things continue to go as smoothly as they are now?

I enjoyed this season of Kimi Ni Todoke a lot more than season 1 & 2. Not only do you get to see Sawako and Shota finally go on dates, but you learn more about Ayane, Chizu, Kento, and Ryu as well. Kurumi didn't even show up, which makes sense since there's no point to her character anymore, since Sawako and Shota are dating. I haven't been emotionally invested in this series for the last two seasons, however, I cried a lot during this season. There are a few bath scenes, but the anime remains mostly wholesome. The language is clean as well. I would definitely suggest giving it a watch if you enjoyed Seasons 1 & 2.

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You Season 2

After Their date on New Years, things seem to be going super well for Shota Kazehaya and Sawako Kuronuma. Not Long after Valentines Day Arrives. It seems like the perfect opportunity to confess your love to the person you love. While Sawako does make chocolates for Shota, she's too shy to give it to him right away. However, she is able to give chocolates to everyone else quite naturally. Shota becomes Jealous seeing all his friends with Sawako's chocolate, when he hasn't received any. While Sawako prepares to give it to him, she runs into Kurumi who tells her that Shota doesn't accept confession chocolates. While she had originally meant it as a thank you, Sawako realizes that she did hope that making Shota chocolate would allow them to get closer. In the end, she didn't give him the chocolate, and Shota takes it to mean that Sawako doesn't care about him.

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You Season 2 was cute, but a bit disappointing. When I say disappointing, I mean they could have confessed  during the first episode and everything would have worked out, but they made it unnecessarily complicated. Though I feel like what happened feels more real than what other Romance anime show. I can understand from my past experience that it is hard to confess, and to do things when you really like someone. However, I was really hoping that they could just be honest and communicate clearly. There is no fan service and the language is clean.  I would still suggest giving it a watch, especially if you liked Season 1. It ended on a satisfying note, and it made everything worth it. 

The Way of the Househusband Season 2

Tatsu the Immortal Dragon is Back. This Time he is helping out gather fees for the association. While he only asks for 500 Yen, his appearance makes him look like he's there to rob them. He also meets with a gathering of Housewives known as the eight dragons. They let him know that there are other areas of being a househusband that he is unaware of. So he begins taking classes from one of them to improve his skills.

The Way of the Househusband Season 2 was pretty funny. There is a scene where you see characters in a sauna, but besides that there isn't anything that would be considered fan service. There is a lot of swearing though. I would suggest giving it a try if you enjoyed the first season.

Ranma1/2 (2024) Season 2

Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo are back. This time Shampoo is more determined than ever to make Ranma her own. She even brings her grandma who is a skilled master of martial arts to help her get into a relationship with Ranma. Together Shampoo and her grandma start a cat cafe where Ranma works, in hopes of curing the affects of his curse.

Ranma 1/2 Season 2 was just as good as season 1. It had a unique feel you don't get from modern romance animes. Not only is the art style unique, but the character names, and overall premise feel new. While I'm not a huge fan of Tsundere's, Ranma 1/2 Season 2 has enough unique elements to counteract that for me. While there is recognizable tropes like Harems and gender bending, you can't help but love it. There is quite a bit of fan service throughout it, just like season 1. There are bath scenes, hot spring scenes, and just random moments of Ranma transforming into a girl. I would definitely suggest it if you are looking for an anime that has a good balance of action and romance.

The Way of the Househusband

Tatsu was once known as The Immortal Dragon. He was a feared member of the Yakuza who would take down entire clans all by himself. However, after meeting his wife, he retired and became a househusband. While his wife is away at work, he cleans the house, makes meals, goes shopping, and helps out the locals in the area.

I gave The Way of the Househusband a try because it was short, but I really enjoyed it. The animation is a little strange at parts, but for the majority of the season it's clean. There is some swearing. The way of the househusband has no fan service, which is good. It kind of felt like a mix between Sakamoto Days and The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting. I would definitely suggest giving it a try.

SAKAMOTO DAYS Part 2

Four Serial Killers have been let out of prison by Slur. Their targets are Taro Sakamoto and the other members of the Order. These four Death Row Convicts have killed hundreds already. Do They have what it takes to kill Japan's most skilled Hit Men?

SAKAMOTO DAYS PART 2 was really good. It kind of reminded me of Assassination Classroom. Specifically the latter half of the season. I liked how they talked about Taro Sakamoto's past quite a bit. If you enjoyed the first part of SAKAMOTO DAYS I would definitely suggest watching the second cour of season 1 as well. Part 2 remains clean visually, however, there is some swearing hear and there.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

Chidori High School is a High School that is typically your last choice when choosing a school. It has a large gathering of students who fall behind more often than your average student. Next to Chidori is Kikyo High School. Kikyo is a school for prim and proper girls who always look down on chidori students as if they are trash. Rintaro Tsumugi is no different. After getting contacted by his mom one day he comes home to help at his family's bakery rather than hanging out with his friends. It is there he meets Kaoruko Waguri. Kaoruko offers to buy him a cake to talk with him. The next day Rintaro finds out that Kaoruko is a student at Kikyo High School. How will this affect their relationship going forward?

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity was pretty fun to watch. While I did enjoy it, I think that other people over exaggerated how good it was. I was told that it was about the best romance anime ever. While that may be true for some, it didn't have as big of an impact on me as some other romances like Aharen-san wa Hakarenai and Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms. The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity is clean both visually and with the language it uses. I would definitely suggest giving it a try.

Puniru is a Kawaii Slime Season 2

Puniru travels around the world in order to have her cuteness acknowledged. Once she achieves her goal she comes back in a box to Kotaro's house. However, she has transformed so much that she doesn't remember what she used to look like. Whats worse is now she is tiny because slime dripped out of the box causing her to duplicate herself with each piece assuming a new identity. Thanks to Kotaro's friends she is able to find all the slime from her original body and become whole again.

Puniru is a Kawaii Slime Season 2 was interesting. It has the same feeling that you get in season 1, However, the addition of a character named Gelee gives the anime a new twist. Gelee is a delusional Ai robot that gained sentience using a piece of Puniru's slime body. She's a bit delusional and believes that Kotaro is the perfect man. The anime is clean both visually and with the language that's used. If you enjoyed Puniru is a Kawaii Slime Season 1, I think you should give Season 2 a try as well.

SAKAMOTO DAYS

Taro Sakamoto was both loved and feared as the greatest hit man of all time. However, one day he fell in love, and decided to get married. After meeting his wife he retired from being a hit man and now runs a small store where he spends his time helping the community. One day an old associate of Taro Sakamoto named Shin shows up with plans of assassinating him after a bounty gets put on his head. Rather than leave Shin to die after he fails to kill Mr. Sakamoto, Mr. Sakamoto hires Shin to work at his store.

Sakamoto Days was fun to watch. It was one of those anime's where every episode feels like it finishes super fast even though its the length of every other anime. I'm really grateful I waited to watch it until after it finished airing, because I could binge it without having to wait for new episodes airing. There is a bath scene, but besides that the anime stays clean. If you like anime's with lots of fighting in it, you might enjoy Sakamoto Days as well. 

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You

Sawako Kuronuma is often called Sadako because of her frightening appearance. However, rather than wanting to scare people, she really just wants to make friends. She gets her chance when she sees Chizuru Yoshida and Ayane Yano. Rather than running away like everyone else they decide to talk and listen to Sawako. Them along with Shota Kazehaya become Sawako's biggest supporters. Though their support doesn't really show until their class is asked to change seats. Nobody wants to sit next to Sawako because they all believe that they'll be cursed if they do. So Shota takes the initiative by taking the desk next to Sawako while Chizuru and Ayane follow suit by sitting in front and diagonal from her. Though Sawako has started to make friends will this be enough to stop the wild rumors that somehow keep spreading about her?

Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me to You was absolutely amazing. I felt all the emotions. I laughed, I cried, I smiled. Its been a long time since an anime has made me cry more than a single tear. In this case it was when Chizuru gets rejected by the guy she's had a crush on for years. That hit pretty close to home for me. I can honestly say that Kimi Ni Todoke is an amazing romance anime. it doesn't have an inappropriate content such as swearing and fan service. I would suggest giving it a try if you enjoy romance and slice of life anime.

Ranma1/2 (2024)

The Tendo family who owns the Tendo Dojo consists of the Dad Soun Tendo and his three daughters Kasumi Tendo, Nabiki Tendo, and Akane Tendo. Word arrives from an old friend of Soun's that he and his son have been traveling the world to become the best fighters they can. without telling any of the kids Soun and his friend decided to have their children get engaged. Soun had never met Ranma though. So he is thoroughly surprised that rather than a boy and his dad approach the house, they are greeted by a girl being followed by a giant panda. They still allow them to stay at the house despite the confusion. Akane asks Ranma to fight her. When she is beaten she claims that she is happy that she was beaten by a girl, and that she never wants to lose to a guy. It isn't long after that she finds out Ranma's secret. How will things work out now?

I am always down for a gender bender anime, and Ranma1/2 did not disappoint me. It kind of reminded me of Ayakashi Triangle. I think the characters are fun to watch, and the concept of how people transform is pretty cool as well. There is quite a bit of fan service throughout it though. There are bath scenes, pool scenes, a hot spring scene, as well as many other scenes where you see Ranma shirtless both in his male form and his female form. If you don't mind some fan service and are a fan of action anime, Ranma1/2 might be for you. 

A Whisker Away

Miyo Sasaki is known at school as Muge. It's short for Miss Ultra Gaga Enigmatic. She tries to get the attention of her crush Kento Hinode. However, he isn't at all interested in her. So the obvious solution is to take the form of a cat using a cat mask given to her by a talking cat. But, theres a catch to using it. Once you decide you would rather be a cat than a human you have to give up your human form which is then given to a cat that wants to be human. Life isn't always easy. Will Miyo get Kento to recognize his feelings, or will she be forced to give up her humanity?

A Whisker Away was simultaneously cute and cringey. I think the concept is interesting, and the only other time I have seen this in the romance genre is in My Life as Inukai-San's Dog. However, if you are looking for something cute and wholesome I would definitely go with A Whisker Away. The only cringey part is Muge's attempts at flirting. The movie is clean both in language and visually. Overall, I think it is worth watching. The ending is really good. It left me satisfied, so I wasn't left asking any questions, or wanting a sequel.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop

Cherry is a boy who helps the elderly for his job. These people often go to the mall for various classes such as dance and poetry. One day while he is helping a man named Fujiyama look for his lost record he runs into a girl named smile. This caused them to both drop their phones and switch them by accident. After getting home Smile finally learns what had happened and they reconnect to get their belongings. After that they talk and get to know one another with questions like why Cherry is always wearing headphones or why smile is always wearing a mask. As they grow closer Smile joins Cherry at his job helping the elderly. They are eventually taken to a store by Fujiyama that is completely full of various musical records. Believing that Fujiyama's lost record might be somewhere in the store Smile and Cherry decided to look for it. However, Fujiyama collapses during their search. Will Smile and Cherry be able to find it before its too late?

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is not your typical romance anime. While Cherry and Smile do spend time together, it feels like they are almost never alone. Since it also takes place over summer break there aren't any school scenes. The animation is a little weird at the beginning, but you get used to it. The whole anime is completely clean both visually and verbally. So not having to worry about swearing or fan service is a plus. If you want a romance that is quick and feels different I would suggest giving Word's Bubble Up Like Soda Pop a try.

Delicious in Dungeon

Laios, Chilchuck, Falin, Marcille, Shuro, and Namari have been traversing the dungeon, when they meet a dragon. They are overpowered and have to retreat at the cost of not only losing all of their belongings but Falin as well. Despite wanting to save her, all of them are broke and have no food either. Namari and Shuro leave the party in hopes that they can find a way to get the resources they need for the dungeon. Unwilling to give up so easily Laios suggests to Chilchuck and Marcille that they stay in the dungeon and eat monsters. That is when they meet a dwarf named Senshi who claims he has been studying how to cook monsters for the last ten years. Will they be able to not only survive, but retrieve Falin before she is digested by the dragon as well?

Delicious in Dungeon is a fantastic anime. It is exactly what I was hoping for when I watched Restaurant to Another World. This is great because it a perfect balance of fantasy and cooking in my opinion. While Restaurant to Another World showed some fantasy scenes it mainly took place on earth making it feel like there wasn't enough fantasy for me. However, having read the manga for both Delicious in Dungeon and Restaurant to Another World, I can confidently say that they were both trying to achieve different things as a story, and both anime's did a good job in recreating it. Delicious in Dungeon is pretty clean, but there is a bath scene. Besides that the anime remains clean visually.  Overall, I would suggest it if you are interested in dungeon crawler anime's.   

Komi Can't Communicate Season 2

Its wintertime at Itan Private High School and exams are coming up. Najimi uses this chance to get together At Omoharu Nakanaka's house accompanied by Tadano, Komi, and Yamai. While they originally went there to study Tadano learns quickly that Nakanaka and Yamai do not get along. Both of them try to find a way to see who is a better friend to Komi. After playing games instead of studying they decide to use the upcoming exam to determine who is better, only to end up with the same score.

Komi Can't Communicate Season 2 was really good. They introduced new characters that I believe made it better than season 1. The characters I liked was Makoto Katai and Shisuto Naruse. Naruse is a Narcissist, and Katai is a shy boy who has the appearance of a delinquent making him misunderstood by everyone except Tadano. While the season stays clean visually except for a bath scene when the class visits Kyoto, there are a lot of inappropriate comments made by Yamai like wanting to see Komi's underwear, and wanting to touch her boobs. However, despite this it still has a nice feeling like Season 1. If you haven't seen Komi Can't Communicate and you are a fan of the romance anime genre I would suggest giving it a try.

JUJUTSU KAISEN

Yuji Itadori was just a normal high school student until he runs into Megumi Fushiguro. Megumi approaches Yuji and tells him he is looking for a certain object that is supposed to be at the school he is currently attending. Yuji tells him that he had found it not too long ago and gave it to his friends in the occult club to figure out what it was. Yuji learns that it is a finger from an individual that lived about one thousand years ago that came to be known as the curse king. All of the fingers from Sukuna became cursed objects which draw other curses towards them. Normal people can't see curses, but those with cursed energy can. These people go to Jujutsu High School and are known as Jujutsu Sorcerers. With this knowledge Yuji realizes that his friends could die due to how dangerous Sukuna's fingers are. So Megumi and Yuji rush to save them. They arrive before its too late and are able to save Yuji's friends. However, Megumi and Yuji now find themselves in danger due to the curses which take the form of monsters. While they are backed into a corner Megumi tells Yuji that Sukuna's fingers are sometimes eaten to give whoever eats it cursed energy. Without thinking Yuji eats the finger and not only does he receive cursed energy, but Sukuna awakens within him. Now Yuji is told that the people in charge of the Jujutsu Sorcerers want him dead, because if he dies then Sukuna dies with him. But a powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer named Gojo tells him he has two options, to either die now, or find all of Sukuna's fingers, eat them, and then die. Naturally Yuji chooses the latter, and begins his journey as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

Jujutsu Kaisen has a similar feel to Demon Slayer, like I thought it would. However, it takes place in modern day japan, rather than in the Taisho Period. The demons and curses bear some resemblance, and Sakuna is like the equivalent to Muzan Kibutsuji, but unfortunately doesn't look like Michael Jackson. Not that Muzan did 100% of the time either. I also didn't find myself wishing that Yuji would get stronger in the same way I did for Tanjiro. However, the thing I think is better about Jujutsu Kaisen than Demon Slayer, is that it doesn't feel repetitive like Demon Slayer did after the first season. Each episode makes you curious about what happens next, and the fights aren't super drawn out. It is also gives you an idea about how powerful each curse is without them having to destroy a city to prove it like they did with Demon Slayer. Another pro of Jujutsu Kaisen is that everybody stays completely modest and there is no unnecessary fan service. There is some swearing though. Overall I would definitely suggest watching Jujutsu Kaisen if you haven't given it a try already. 

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

After the confrontation with his father Lelouch lives his life like he did before the black knights. He believes that the black knights lost and that he has been spending time with his brother and the student council. He soon realizes that memories have been erased and his mind has been implanted with new ones. He also wasn't the only one affected, everybody on the student council seems to have their minds erased and had new memories implanted as well. While Lelouch may have gotten his memories back he is aware that he is being constantly watched, and so he acts in a way that makes others believe he still is unaware of the truth. Will Lelouch be able to regather the black knights and continue zero's legacy all while keeping the kingdom unaware of his plans?

 I really liked the second season of Code Geass. It gets more intense than the first season. You see how when you don't need to a Geass in order to switch sides. If you find that your ideals are in line with your enemy's following them is a simple task. There is some swearing, but it is not too bad. There are a number of inappropriate parts. In the first episode you see Kallen along with three other girls in revealing bunny suits. There is a shower scene with the girls from the student council as well. While it is censored they didn't do a very good job so you can see their bodies. C.C. is also seen without clothes as you see her backstory where she is betrayed by someone she knew. I would suggest it since the story is entertaining. However, if you don't like the ecchi genre or the mecha genre I would skip this one.

Uncle from Another World

After spending seventeen years in another world Yousuke Shibazaki awakens in a hospital bed greeted by his nephew. However, after speaking the language of the other world for so long, he is surprised to hear japanese, but recovers quickly. Yousuke's nephew Takafumi doesn't believe him until Yousuke shows him magic. After seeing it Yousuke decides to become a Youtuber and show his magic to the world. However, the majority of people believe it's just really good editing. As Yousuke and Takafumi get to know each other better Yousuke shares memories from his life in the otherworld using magic. What will become of this pair?

There are a lot of things I want to say about this anime. The way I would describe it is an isekai for people who hate isekai. I would have preferred that the story was told while he was in the other world instead of after it. However, the biggest problem is Yousuke, he complains that his time in the other world was terrible, but the majority of his misfortune was his fault. It bears some resemblance to Tsukimichi in that people believe he is a monster and the gift he was given is a language related. However, instead of finding a way to make relationships with people he pushes them away. He is like the main character in let me check the walkthrough first in that he would rather skip over important information rather than listen to it. This ends up causing a lot more trouble for him than it would had he listened and put his trust in people. I believe had he been kinder to the people around him it would make the quality of the anime a lot better. There is swearing in just about each episode but it wasn't super noticeable. There is a scene where you see Takafumi's childhood friend in the shower uncensored. There is also a hot springs scene where the hero Alicia gets in the hot springs with Yousuke wearing her clothes. There is also an absurd amount of times where Yousuke gets on top of somebody but doesn't realize its a bad thing.