By Miki

Taito Kurogane (鉄 大兎) had always believed that he was an ordinary, regular guy. However, due to a forgotten promise exchanged with a beautiful Vampire Saitohimea (サイトヒメア) nine years ago, he was in fact no longer ordinary.  As we see him die to protect a younger student we learn he won’t die easy.

Nine years ago, he was injected with Saitohimea’s poison, which prevented him from dying as long as he didn’t die seven times within fifteen minutes. Shortly after his change, a boy named Kurenai Hinata (紅 日向) attacked them with a demon and killed Taito six times. In order to prevent Taito from dying, Saitohimea agreed to leave with Hinata and have Taito’s memory wiped. As a result, Saitohimea was experimented on and imprisoned within a world with no sound or light.   Taito continued with his life as a normal human, until memories start to resurface during his freshman year of high school.

After being killed by a truck he finally remembers Saitohimea and she therefore regains her powers.  After breaking free she goes to the playground where they met and waits for him.    When he gets there the reunion is cut short by Kurenai Gekkou (紅 月光) and Andou Mirai (安藤 美雷).  They attack them but end up aliagned after Gekkous twin brother (Hinata) shows up to take back Saitohimea.   Saito gives Taito Martyr’s flame, which only he could use as the flame would kill the caster upon use.  Gekkou, Mirai, Taito and Saito all become allies to take down Hinata.   The school is run by the government and Gekkou is the liaison.  They search for ways to stop the church from taking Saitohimea, and in the process find out Bahlskra (バールスクラ) can be attained through Saito.  There is also a world destruction plan that gets activated and only Taito can stop it.

Overall it starts out slow and confusing but then picks up once our team is created.  I say 4 out of 10 stars.  I wasn’t expecting what happened so that may have colored my feeling on this piece.

By Miki

            This 12 episode story goes through a high school summer where 4 friends wish something would happen so they start filming a movie. Kaito Kirishima (霧島 海人), Kanna Tanigawa (谷川 柑菜), Tetsurō Ishigaki (石垣 哲朗), and Mio Kitahara (北原 美桜 ) are the four friends who meet Remon Yamano (山乃 檸檬)and Ichika Takatsuki (貴月 イチカ ).  Kaito is filming when he meets Ichika and finds his muse for the movie.  She is friends with Remon and both are upperclassmen.  They join in the project to make a movie and things keep happening. Ichika becomes the heroine of the movie.

There is something strange about Remon and she always films the good stuff and encourages drama between the other characters.  They make wonderful memories while filming and searching for a place Ichika dreams of seeing.  There are some rough patches when other girls come into play in Okinawa while filming on the beach.  This creates tension and jealousy is seen.  We also start seeing who likes who by this point and it’s a crazy circle. Mio likes Tetsuro but he likes Kanna who like Kaito and Kaito likes Ichika.  This leaves room for Remon to play matchmaker and create drama for the film.  She has an evil chuckle and enjoys watching things unfold from behind the camera.  She is kind of creepy at times.

The movie continues until rescue pods come to retrieve Ichika who is from space.  She then starts to worry about bringing trouble to all her new friends and thinks about running away but Kanna reprimands her.  This causes her to admit her feelings to Kaito, and the happiness can’t last.  Then Ichika’s sister comes to get her, and they race the clock to find her place.   You have to watch the anime to find out the ending. Does she leave?  Can they stay together?  Who is Remon really?  Watch and see to find out the answers to these questions.

Overall 4 out 5 stars I’m not an alien fan so I was pretty impressed with the simplicity of the story while having action and drama.  It was also nice to see a love circle instead of triangle because in real life it tends to be more unrequited love in friend groups.  There is always someone left out it seems.

By Miki

Not what I expected season 2 (Dai-ni-sho) is better than the first.  The story is about a powerless girl Tamaki Kasuga (春日珠紀) being the Tamayorihime (princess).  She travels to Kyo Village where she meets Takuma Onizaki (鬼崎拓磨) who saves her from angry gods in the forest.  She finds out he is one of 5 guardians.  Suguru Oomi (大蛇卓) the eldest guardian and also the brains, Mahiro Atori (鴉取真弘) the angriest also called crow, Yuuichi Komura (狐邑祐一) calm and collected also a fox demon, Shinji Inukai (犬戒慎司) the youngest and also powerless these are the guardians but in season two we add Ryou Kutani (狗谷遼) a lone wolf who wants to also protect Tamaki.

Their job is to protect the Tamayori princess and help her seal the sword Onikirimaru.  Unfortunately the seal is weakening and she can’t awaken her power so this proves futile in the first season, and it’s not till half way through 2^nd season we get some good Demon/God action.  I really don’t like anime with weak female characters especially when they are supposed to have power.   It’s like wonder woman always tied up it’s just ridiculous.  The guardians fight Logos an opposing organization who wants to use the artifacts and awaken the sword.  They are led by Aria Rozenburg (アリア・ローゼンブルグ) she is a maiden priestess who is equal to Sybil aka (Tamaki).  Without Aria, Logos cannot obtain the artifact; a female of faith must be used.

This series is slow and kind of dry to me I preferred season 2 (Hiiro no Kakera Dai ni Sho) when the truth of all the guardians’ ancestors comes out.  When Tamaki gets her powers realized and Takuma defies the demon blood to love Tamaki.  I give 2 out 5 stars.

By Miki

This starts out a little silly but picks up pace with outrageous fights against gods and demons alike.  Black Rabbit has sent for three children with extraordinary gifts and brings them to the Little Garden.  These children Sakamaki Izayoi (逆廻 十六夜), Kudō Asuka (久遠 飛鳥), and Kasukabe Yōu (春日部 耀), have lived dull lives because they possess unmatched psychic powers.  They search for excitement and to be entertained, so the games in Little Garden are a great match for them.   They help Jin Russel (ジン・ラッセル)and the no name community to try and regain flag and honor by winning gift games against demon lords.  As they learn more about Little Garden, they decide to overthrow the tyrannical Demon Lords in control.   This becomes exciting with explosive wall crashing, kick ass martial fighting, and death defying mechas.

Izayoi is a headstrong trouble maker and considers himself dangerous.  He runs off right at the start to challenge a Water God.  His gift is unknown and he tends to be a little over powered next to the others.  Asuka is a rich girl who wants to be free. Her gift is command but she later gets another gift.  You is sweet and just wants to make friends.   Her gift is a wooden totem that her father gave her to heal her as a child.   She also has calico cat as a constant companion and makes friends with a Griffin.  She understands animals and can use their abilities.

They use Jin’s name to strike terror into their enemys and also as a means to draw out Demon Lords.  They first fight Galdo Gasper (ガルド＝ガスパ)who pretends to be a demon lord but kidnaps children and kills them.  They also meet Shiroyasha (白夜叉) a demon lord of the white night and spirit of the sun.  She becomes a friend and ally.  Then comes Pest a demon lord of plague and pestilence.    She is the leader of Grim Grimoire.

This series is fun and full of laughter and excitement.  I really enjoyed the 10 episodes and would love more.  I was hoping Izayoi would become a demon lord he’s so strong.   Maybe in the future who knows?  I rate 9 out of 10 stars.

Just got back home from Seattle. Wanted to let you all know our coverage will be up shortly. If you met any one from AnimeSalvation this weekend you can contact us at admin @ animesalvation.com, it will get to all our staff members.

Wish I could have got to every one I intended to. Found out how much different Sakuracon is versus Kumoricon.

By Miki

This series is strange and keeps you wondering what’s going on till the very end.  We have Heroine who has lost her memories due to a major accident.  She teams up with Orion who is a spirit.  They travel through multiple worlds all starting on Aug 1 and changing when it hits Aug 26 usually due to another accident.  She is surrounded by guys Toma (トーマ^?) and Shin (シン^?) her childhood friends, Ikki (イッキ^?), Kent (ケント Kento^?), and Ukyō (ウキョウ^?).   She goes through worlds where she is a lover to all except Orion.  This gets confusing but makes sense in the end.  It also gives face time with each male so no matter which is your favorite he’s at some point with the heroine.

There are lots of underlying themes like card suits, and the checkered clothes and railroad tracks.  The heart is Shin, the clover is Kent, the diamond is Toma, the club is Ikki, and that leaves the joker as Ukyo. This plays on the name Jack or Jon aspect of relations with multiple men.   The costumes are vivid bright and exotic which will be great fun for cosplay.

We also have the restaurant where she and ikki work Miedo no Hitsuji.  She also works with her best friend Sawa (サワ^?), Mine (ミネ^?), and the manager Waka (ワカ^?).  These characters come and go through the different worlds.  Ukyo Toma and Sawa go to the university with her, while Shin is studying to get in to the university.  I like the feel of this anime even though it took a while for me to understand it.  I loved the artwork.  I give this 4 out of 5.  The style is drawing to the eye and the mystery keeps me asking why or what is going on?

By Miki

This is so good and cosplay options can be easy. There are so many characters to choose from.  The demons are running rampant and Satans on a murdering rampage. A set of twins stand in the way, but will they save Assiah or Gehenna?  They are the offspring of Satan hidden away and raised by a human priest.   Rin Okumura (奥村 燐) and Yukio Okumura (奥村 雪男)are twins born from Satan and a human exorcist Yuri Egin.  Yuri had satin’s children to create a world where humans and demons could live together.

The twins are raised by Shiro Fujimoto (藤本 獅郎) a priest and exorcist.  He raises them with love and as humans.  Yukio can see demons and Rin is angry and called a demon.  He later will burst into flames if his sword is drawn releasing his demonic power.  They struggle with the challenges given to them and the loss of a loved one.  Rin decides to become an exorcist to destroy Satan.  He then finds out his brother’s already one and they are both jealous of the other.  They make some great friends through the series after Mephisto Pheles (メフィスト・フェレス) comes to take both boys to True Cross Academy (Japan branch).

We then meet Shiemi Moriyama (杜山 しえみ) who is in a garden and scared of Rin mistaking him for a demon.  She also starts at the academy after being possessed.  She becomes the best friend to both boys and a possible love interest.  Rin’s rival is Bon aka Ryuji Suguro (勝呂 竜士) who also wants to defeat Satan.  They are very much alike and neither really thinks first.  Bon has two friends also from the same temple that was destroyed 15 yrs ago by Satan in the Blue Night massacre.  Konekomaru Miwa (三輪 子猫丸) and Renzo Shima (志摩 廉造) are always there to support Bon and they work well as a team.  Miwa doesn’t handle finding out Rin’s secret well.    The last member of the Exwires team is Izumo Kamiki (神木 出雲). She is caustic but fair and sort of builds a soft spot for Rin.  She also protects a girl Paku who is the only one to like her for who she is until Shiemi comes along.  Shiemi and Izumo both train to be tamers and use summoned demons.  Finally the other teacher is Shura Kirigakure (霧隠 シュラ) who is carefree and annoys Yukio.  She is asked to train Rin to use his sword.

The biggest problem for everyone is that Rin is the son of Satan, and even though Yukio is too he didn’t inherit the power so has no visible signs.  This was an amazing series full of double dealing demons, blue fiery feats, kickass kids, and pragmatic priests.  I loved it and hopefully you will tooooo.  5 out of 5 stars I say its grrrreat!!!