No Game, No Life
No Game, No Life (#NogeNora)
is a comedic fantasy anime that I've enjoyed much more than I thought I would.
Long story short, Nogenora is about Sora and Shiro, a set of NEET siblings who
are transferred to a world where everything is decided by games but don't be
fooled by that premise. Surprisingly, Nogenora contains no incest and it is not
the same kind of game world as SAO or Log Horizon. These siblings use their
unique intellect to save humanity from being taken over by the various other
species that inhabit this world of games.
The comedy gets a little
repetitive from time to time but the references to other anime are almost always
hilarious. Sora and Shiro are obviously OP but Sora's confidence and Shiro
loyalty/moe-ness makes their obviously insane power level
entertaining.
Brynhildr in The Darkness
A Science Fiction drama
that tends to transition from suspense filled drama to comedy in a blink of eye
has an interesting plot. Bynhildr in the Darkness tells the story of a teen
named Ryouta Murakami who had lost his childhood friend nicknamed Kuroneko in an
accident years ago. One day a transfer student arrives at his school resembling
his childhood friend and even bears the name Kuroha Neko. This girl refers to
herself as a witch and even has super strength to prove it. Her and other
witches are currently on the run, attempting to escape the laboratory that
created them and Murakami has been thrown into the midst.
Brynhildr in
the Darkness (#Gokukoku) was written by Lynn Okamoto, the writer of Elfen Lied.
Similar to Elfen Lied, Bynhildr in the Darkness gets a little darker with each
passing episode but still retains the comedy. This series makes heavy use of
dramatic irony but I will admit, for those who prefer to know as much as the MC,
Brynhildr in the Darkness may not be for you.
Black
Bullet
Black Bullet is a fast paced, action packed, monster, loli themed
anime that I just can't seem to look away from. In the year 2021, mankind was
defeated by Gastrea, a parasitical virus, and was forced to live within a wall
made of Varanuim monoliths, a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, the
"Cursed Children" were discovered: children born infected with the Gastrea virus
who possess superhuman abilities. Due to the Gastrea virus' intervention, the
Cursed Children could only be female. Civil Securities are formed to specialize
fighting against Gastrea, operating with the pair of an Initiator, who are
cursed children, and a Promoter, serving to lead the cursed children. Ten years
after the war, Rentarou Satomi, a high school student and Civil Security member,
and his Initiator Enju Aihara, receive a secret mission to prevent Tokyo's
destruction.
I never thought that an anime could juggle monsters and loli
and still be entertaining without resorting to constant fanservice. Then again
does the very existence of loli count as fanservice? I am enjoying Black Bullet
at the moment but the death of the first antagonist who was definitely my second
favorite character of the series knocked off some points. Only four episodes in,
the antagonist is introduced and defeated, a monster who threatens to destroy
the entire city is gone, major rival killed, a close friend is killed and a dark
secret involving the MC's loli is revealed to the viewer. Black Bullet is very
fast paced but for those who would rather see an anime that gets right down to
business and moves on, I would recommend Black Bullet.
Akuma no
Riddle
Haru Ichinose is a student at a private girls' boarding school,
Myoujou Academy, who is being targeted by 12 assassins disguised as students.
Tokaku Azuma is a transfer student and an assassin who also initially targets
Haru, but develops feeling for her and decides to protect her from the other
assassins.
Akuma no Riddle is quite frankly, for lack of a better term a
series about lesbian assassins. Tokaku spends her days protecting Haru from a
group of other assassins while also attempting to find out why there is even a
target on her head. At the end of the day, Haru is more than she appears and it
is difficult to tell whether she is truly an innocent victim in all of this or
she is a manipulative sociopath. Figuring that out is half the joy of this
series with the other half being the fights between assassins.
