Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?!

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?! (2024)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Though there is only one season in the anime, it covers a lot of the same ground as the manga, so fans of the original books will still recognize the series. The manga has since gone on beyond the point of this season, but they round out the main story well where we focus on Adachi and Kurosawa. We do see the foundation of Tsuge's relationship with Minato as well, though not as in depth in some ways as in the manga. The art is consistent as well, which is a big plus in the anime. There are even small details, like how Adachi's eyes are covered more in the beginning and when he's uncertain of himself, but as he grows comfortable in his relationship with Kurosawa, both of his eyes show consistently and clearly. It's a small detail, but is an interesting potential outward sign of his emotional state at the same time. 

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle (2025)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


I may not know as much about the series as my children given I've only watched the anime and haven't read the books yet, but my daughter loves spoilers and adores this series, so it still felt familiar with just enough mixed in of the unknown to still be enjoyable. The movie picks up directly where the tv series left off, so fans who haven't finished the original media yet may feel out of sorts as they are dropped directly back into the action of the Infinity Castle. As with the rest of the series, there are plenty of fight scenes and more than a fair amount of blood interwoven with man stories. We get more backstory of several characters, including Shinobu, Akaza, Doma, and Zenitsu. Those that are lucky inside the castle are either working in groups as the lower ranks trying to deal with the weaker demons so the Hashira can focus their energy on the upper moons and Muzan, or have paired up with another slayer. Tanjiro fortunately finds Giyu at his back while their old master guards his sister to keep her out of Muzan's grasp. We meet more of the Kagaya's children who had not previously been seen in the series, as well as a revisit from some of the retired Hashira to guard those who are not fighting in the castle directly. The crows are a bit of hilarity mixed in to all of the seriousness as well, between their flight to map out the castle and the rather loud announcements of various slayer's status. It's not entirely clear how the crows managed to get it, though it seems it may have something to do with Yushiro's demon blood art and the plan he and Tamayo laid out with Kagaya. It's understandable given the amount of content that this arc is broken up into 3 movies, though hopefully the following 2 will not be delayed given the resounding success and current fandom that could be capitalized on if they keep up the momentum.

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé & Sold to Another Kingdom

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé & Sold to Another Kingdom (2025)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


So far this seems to be following the books very closely, though there isn't a lot of material with only 2 light novels (and now 2 manga that don't finish the story from the first light novel yet), so some concerns that this will be a one season show only and end up lacking a real conclusion given the books are still ongoing. We'll have to wait and see, though so far the art is beautiful and it's enjoyable to see the story come to life in animation, even if it is a bit of a slower moving series in some respects.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie 1 [Mugen Train]

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie 1 [Mugen Train] (2020)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


This takes place directly after the events of season one in the anime series. Tanjiro and his friends are deployed to find Rengoku and help investigate demon attacks on the Mugen Train. We get some interesting insights into all 3 of the demon slayers in this case, and even get to see Rengoku open up a bit to Tanjiro where he seemed pretty set in his ways during the initial meeting with the other Hashira. While it would have been interesting to see Tanjiro team up with Rengoku for a time, especially to develop this new fire breathing, it seems that is not the fate for this group at this time. We do finally see one of the upper moons, though there's been a lot of confusion over who actually is or isn't part of the Twelve Kizuki and just how strong those demons are compared to the rest that the Demon Slayer Corps usually are out hunting. Tanjiro also may inadvertently prove how he's different from many others again in this story as he tries to piece together what is happening and ensure the safety of the passengers on this runaway train. 

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


This is a series that both of my kids have gotten into recently, so it's been a big deal to have "movie night" as a family and catch an episode or two before bed. As one might expect from the title and the focus on slaying, there are a lot of martial arts and high action scenes. Given the focus on demons as well, there's a lot that might look weird or wrong as demons just don't follow norms at all, other than lots of blood usually. That doesn't mean that the entire series is nothing but blood, though it has plenty of that. There are a lot of characters that each have their own take on the Demon Slayer Corps and their mission, and even those who know nothing about demons at all. For those who are aware though, the world is a lot more dangerous than normal. Tanjiro himself is actually rather peaceful and caring, yet pushes himself to train and gain skills to be able to go up against demons as quickly as possible. He breaks more than a few rules along the way, but all those who meet him and his sister, Nezuko, seem genuinely touched by their care for each other if not also surprised given the dynamics these siblings live with. They break more than a few norms themselves along the way, but maybe that's what the world needs. 

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love With You

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love With You (2025)

My rating: 2.5


This might have been more popular during or shortly after the Covid pandemic as it's very relatable to teens who went through the pandemic. It's a little hard to follow sometimes as the story isn't entirely linear. We start with Mizuho as an adult and then reflecting back on her school days when the pandemic canceled activities and she found herself the center love interest for her close-knit group of friends. This pattern continues where some episodes begin with events in her adult life as she reflects back on moments, and others pick back up where they've left off during their school days, but you never know which version you're going to get. She seems to be just as alone as an adult as she is as a teen, though she's also surrounded by guys who all love her in different ways, and all seem to realize it among themselves. As a result, there's a lot of planning and "I'm okay being friends.... for now" or "I want more" conversations and it's a bit overwhelming even though everyone is very respectful. I'm curious enough to see how it turns out that I will probably follow along at least for a while, but it's not snagging my attention in a must-know and go find the manga asap manner either.

Honey Lemon Soda

Honey Lemon Soda (2025)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This has a lot of potential, but so far is a slow burn. Uka struggles with her own self-esteem and how to move forward in life or if she's just stuck repeating the same mistakes in a different way. While she admits her feelings to herself, she's very self-sacrificing and convinced those around her would just fine without her, or maybe even better if she weren't in the picture. Kai is one of the most popular guys at school, though he's a bit of a loner and standoffish at times, he seems to have a habit of standing up for others, which is admirable. Regardless of if he realizes it himself or not, there does seem to be more going on underneath when he decides to take Uka under his wing, though many around him seem concerned it will only make her dependent on him in the long run. Kai may have even shared this belief on some level, though this slowly seems to be turning around. There was a lot of room for things to get rocky when Serina, Kai's ex from junior high, shows up at school, but so far she seems to be a genuine friend to both of them, if not somewhat adding to the mixed signals unintentionally along the way. I haven't read the manga yet, so I have no idea where this season may end, but it has good potential following this type of romance anime arc.

Say "I Love You"

Say "I Love You" (2012)

My rating: 3.5 of 4 stars


Mei Tachibana is a loner who is convinced she is better off without friends after a childhood of bullying. Yamato Kurosawa is the most popular guy at school that all the other girls fawn over. In a twist of fate, Mei catches Yamato's eye and he's' set on convincing her to give him a chance - both as a friend and as her boyfriend. Mei slowly learns how to open herself up to friendship not just with Yamato, but with her other classmates, experiencing new highs and lows and she navigates this new relationship. The two of them are very drawn to each other, but struggle in different ways trying to get things right. While Yamato is very direct with his feelings a lot of the times, he tends to forget to communicate when it's the most important. For all that he's able to say those three little words, Mei struggles with saying them, though it's clear she's learning their meaning and importance in her own life.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (2022)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


I've heard about this series a lot recently and thought a movie might be a good basic introduction. While it gives a taste of what the series might be like, the main character is not Rimuru, though they do play a large part in the story once they enter the picture. Hiiro and his story seem to be the highlight in this movie, though it's enough to get a taste for the world they're living in and the type of characters these are all. Rimuru seems to enjoy surprising others, but always for the good as he genuinely wants to be friends with others and enjoys helping those around him. An odd character perhaps in a more feudal world, but clearly well-liked for many reasons. Rimuru has an odd array of abilities as a Slime, along with an interesting network of creatures working for and with him, allowing them to accomplish some rather remarkable things.

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen (2023)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Pride slowly wakes up one day remembering her past life and playing an otome game, Our Ray of Light (ORL), that she now appears to be living. While she doesn't remember everything about the game all at once, she remembers enough to realize very quickly that if she is forced to live the same fate as the game, her situation could turn very dire at any time. In an effort to make things better, she still manages to trigger some pretty big plot points in the game, but she also manages to make some surprising changes to the story along the way. The story is nowhere near complete with the end of season one, but it has a solid foundation with several interesting characters that it can continue to build upon.

The Boy & the Heron

The Boy & the Heron (2023)

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars


While the art is beautiful and many pieces of the story may look familiar to fans who have watched other Studio Ghibli works, the story here is slow progressing and is more difficult to follow than many are. The story itself isn't really clear until the end of the film. As a result, if you only watch it once, you may feel that it's lacking a lot of the inherent charm and storytelling that Ghibli films are known for. If you really pay close attention and are willing to watch it again, you'll pick up more nuances that build this new fantastical world so it is clearer than before. It's not hard to rewatch it, given the fantastic art style, but if the story drags too much for the watcher, it may be challenging.

Tearmoon Empire

Tearmoon Empire (2023)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While the beginning is similar to many villainess isekai series that are popular right now with the main character dying and getting a second chance at life in some form or another, Mia is a little different from many of them. Most seem to wake up living in a game or story that is familiar from their previous life or as a younger version of their own life. Mia fits this mold in the waking up younger category, though her diary of the previous events follows her back in time as proof of her experience. What is most different, is how naive and self-centered Mia is. While in some ways any villainess could be identified as self-centered in some fashion, Mia does not set out to be a villainess specifically or to intentionally make herself out to be better this time around. Her focus rather is solely on how to avoid the guillotine at the end of her life. In this endeavor, Mia is a tad clueless, yet somehow manages to fumble her way into the best situation possible time and time again. As a result, she makes many new connections as she slowly rewrites her story. It isn't until the end of this series that she has a bit of a revelation regarding her new life and relationships, but at least she does get there. Meanwhile, everyone around her still seems enamored with her, some in perhaps the strangest and most blinding ways possible, yet while somehow still making it work for their relationships and the tasks they have at hand for their positions. Overall, this makes the series a fun bit of fluff that is never entirely serious and always a little goofy while still reminding of Mia's focus to avoid death a second time. 

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness (2023)

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Based on the title, I wasn't really sure what to think of this, though it kept coming up in my recommendation feed, so I finally decided to check it out. In the end, this is entertaining and just quirky enough to be both amusing and cringe-worthy at the same time. Allen's definition of "naughty" is about as tame as possible, though it seems some of the female wardrobe choices might as well not exist because of how much skin is shown all the time. Charlotte herself is extremely innocent, leading to further disbelief that she could possibly be some awful criminal like her family and previous home attempted to frame her for. There are a lot of ups and downs, but there's plenty of fantasy mixed in with a bit of romance and some general slice-of-life storytelling. 

Kamigami no Asobi

Kamigami no Asobi (2014)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


Also known under the title Ludere Deorum or Play of the Gods, this series was a bit different than anticipated. It seems to be a bit of a twist on the 2 videogames by similar titles, combining the otome routes in both and changing the specific learning about love direction to learning about humans in general. Despite that switch, this is still very much a reverse harem with everyone ultimately falling for Yui in some small way, even if they see it more as a friends (though it sure doesn't seem that way when the the school play comes about). Really, Apollon seems set apart from the beginning in the relationship spectrum, with Balder being a close second. Zeus himself even seems to have a few lessons to learn in the process, especially given his background knowledge and very high handed way he goes about setting this all up. The first episode starts off at the end with some very obvious fanservice clips before basically rewinding to start from the beginning and tell the story of how they end up there, carrying on to the end. It's an interesting twist with a mix of myths from various regions all brought together in one place and mixed with a bit of humanity. The ending is still rather open ended, as most anime tend to be, but it's also a much better note than some have chosen to land on. It would be fun potentially to see the chaos that may happen with this group in the human world, but it seems as if that isn't to be. 

Meiji Tokyo Renka

Meiji Tokyo Renka (2019)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The first episode is a bit rough as we have a very solid combination of an isekai story with with Mei thrown back in time to the past, and a harem story with all of the men that end up drawn to her as she learns to navigate this other world and rediscover herself with her partial memories. The story in the past and even the harem bit is tastefully done, though not without it's own dramas, so there's never really a question of where Mei's loyalty lies and she's not stringing anyone along. The ending is rather sad and irksome where it seems like she's finally happy and found a place she can belong with people she loves and who love her in return. She even reaffirms herself multiple times that she wants to stay, and tells them as well. Yet even with all of this, when her memories return, are a couple of strangers who could potentially be friends in the future worth giving up this new life for? For all that we know of her life at the antique shop and isolation due to her ability to speak to spirits, there is never any mention of her family outside the obvious that she must live with someone as a child and someone threw her the birthday party that her friends drew away from her in the first episode. It begs the question if she does have a family to return to as well or if she's alone in the antique shop and making the best of things on her own, and if that is the case, why is all of that a reason to give up finding love and happiness? Overall, the ending is rather dissatisfying, even if fans may be hopeful with Olgai reassuring Shunsho they'll see her again. Seems unlikely without Charlie, and if she would just make the same choice again if she seems convinced she needs to live in her own time. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Side Story

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Side Story (2020)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first two OVA which are included in this title are short side stories focusing on other characters mostly that take place during the first season, though their release was apparently timed with the stories from the light novel version of this tale. In the first one, we don't see Myne very often as it focuses on those who were sent by the cathedral to gather information on them, though you might recognize them as we saw them briefly in the main series tailing around. It's both amusing and endearing how clearly the town pulls together and are wary of those asking after one of their own.

The second story includes Myne a good deal more as she's involved in the introduction and business negotiations, though the focus is more on her sister and mother in this case and their love for sewing. While they don't really drive a lot of new content overall to how the series progresses, they are some cute behind the scenes moments that flesh out what we know happens as eventually we do see Tuuli especially more often around the town like Myne has taken to with her adventures.

I've also noticed the English version of the series often uses "Main" for the main character's name, while the Japanese version of her name is "Myne", which I honestly thinks looks a lot better and makes more sense with the pronunciation. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm

Ascendance of a Bookworm (2019)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Like many isekai series, the main character dies in their original world and wakes living a different life in another world. Unlike many others, in this series, Myne is not previously known from any game, book, or story of any type that Urano knows about prior to her death, so there is no frame of reference or plot to follow when waking up in this new child's body. The suspicion is that the original Myne also died at the same time due to her illness which is part of what allows Urano to wake up taking her place, though she does seem to have access to at least some of Myne's memories. There are more than a few odd situations and blunders as Urano tries to navigate this new world of hers and pursues her love of books. Also unlike many others, at least some of the people around her suspect there's something unique about Myne, though only her closest friend so far has gotten the real story confirmed, though we never see them share her previous name and he returns to calling her "Myne" shortly after their big revelation. If anything, the ending of season one is a bit surprising given how bleak things have seemed with Myne's illness up to this point and how heavy handed the church was once they realized who her parents were. At least one of them it seems does care at least on some level. The beginning of the series also seems to indicate far more that may happen beyond this first season as it starts out with Myne in a blue robe we can later recognize from the church with another in a matching outfit handing her a magic device to see into her mind, which takes us into the story of her memories. Fortunately, this series also seems to have been around for awhile and has good reviews, so looking forward to watching the other seasons and the OVA to see what happens to little Myne and her unusual situation.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (2018)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This kept coming up on recommendation lists, so decided to give it a try and thoroughly enjoyed the series. As with most anime, it's left a little open ended, so while you can infer a lot of it, there's also room for production to pick it back up again for another season or a feature film down the road depending on the ratings and how the books are doing. While Aoi struggles to find her place and keep herself safe in the hidden realm, she does find some pretty significant answers by the end of this version of the story, though we're left to wonder about her relationship with the master. If her flashbacks are accurate, and they keep expanding throughout the story to show more detail, it would seem it wasn't just one ayakashi she met as a child, but two, though the wording when they leave does beg the question if they already had the contract at that point or not. We're even teased with a very tender scene in the dragon palace ruins that also doesn't turn out like watchers think it will to begin with, but that isn't for a lack of chemistry, even with a healthy dose of denial in the mix. Aoi may be human, but she definitely proves to be more than valuable to her new family, and they all obviously care for her by the end as well.

Psycho-Pass: Providence

Psycho-Pass: Providence (2023)

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars


We see both Akane and Kogami back for this installment of the series, though Akane may be in some trouble at the end, not as a result of her psycho-pass, but because of the public actions she chooses to take in order to call into light the questions and issues regarding how the psycho-pass system currently operates. There is a bit of a fight in this movie across multiple departments and the paramilitary group known as the Peacebreakers trying to obtain information from a murdered researcher. This research has the potential to change the current Sibyl System, though if it is truly for the better remains up for debate. Things get ugly pretty fast, and it's clear their own system is working against them as their weapons won't register a threat to activate and their opponents don't seem to stay down. This series as a whole can be rather confusing with all of the moving pieces and the potential moral dilemmas up for debate. Really gives you some food for thought if you think about it, especially in the current world where AI is actually gaining more and more popularity and use.

Spy x Family Code: White

Spy x Family Code: White (2023)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Operation Strix may be in danger unless Anya can earn another Stella star by winning the cooking class competition coming up. As a result, Loid takes the family on a trip to try the dessert Anya will make, leading to a series of rather hilarious misinterpretations and landing in trouble with a few extra missions on the side. Really, it's a miracle Loid and Yor haven't figured out what the other really is or at least what they are actually capable of at this point. No clue where this fits into the manga, or even if it does at all, or if it's just a fun side story with the goal of earning a stella given it ends up being delayed overall. Some of the animation style changes for Anya's imagination scenes which are pretty out there, and it's rather hilarious with the details in certain scenes how Loid and Yor can be so focused and perfect in the face of anything while Anya looks like she's about ready to lose it all. Overall, this could be watched as part of the series or a stand alone movie, and does well on its own.