Various thoughts on a variety of topics.
Determined to get away from her perverted father as quickly as possible Ao Horie has been focusing all her attention on studying to get into a top university. A plan derailed one day when Takumi Kijima suddenly confesses his love to her, triggering a cascade of lewd thoughts that make it all but impossible to concentrate on schoolwork.
A romantic comedy focused on ecchi-centric situations and misunderstandings.
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Seanan McGuire‘s Middlegame is a standalone story with no relation to any of her various series. It’s pretty remarkable for framing thematically dark fairy tale prose with time resets more commonly at home in science fiction. I had been avoiding her Wayward Children books, but may have to check them out after all just to see if they happen to resemble this in any way.
Kristin McTiernan’s Black Magic’s Prey is a very… raw story. It starts out well enough, only to very quickly escalate into magical mind rape, lots of crying, sudden lesbianism, casual racism, razorblade gargling, situational rape, satan worship, and small town vindictiveness. And that’s all just in the first half (a pretty impressive accomplishment considering the book’s only about half the standard length), which is where I had to stop; I’m not keen on continually victimized protagonists and the summary for the followup just raises all sorts of questions I think I’d be better off not knowing the answers to.
The Honors series is a sci-fi work co-authored by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre which (at least initially) brings to mind Aguirre’s earlier Sirantha Jax series. So, it’s more than a little odd that the ‘about the authors’ section make it seem like everything was Caine’s idea while going well out of the way to pretend that series doesn’t exist. Oddity aside, while the first book is quite engaging the second has a completely different atmosphere to it with: A forced focus on social justice issues, a bit of character assassination where the protagonist is concerned, an overall devolvement into battle shounen tropes, and a cliffhanger ending.
As if Retsuko’s everyday life weren’t troublesome enough with having to train a new employee, she now also has to deal with the well-meaning meddling of her mother… who’s become determined to push her into an arranged marriage.
A continuation of the previous season with a larger focus on romance.
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Having searched the past 300 years for someone to inherit his late master‘s spirit and sword techniques, Odago Koinosuke believes he has finally found a worthy successor in Jiyuu Nanohana. Jiyuu herself is less enthused by the idea and only reluctantly takes up the mantle following the sudden appearance of rival clan members intent on getting revenge for a past defeat.
A mixture of samurai action-drama and school life romantic comedy with a small amount of ecchi.
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Often mistaken for a gal due to her tanned skin and light hair, Momo Adachi frequently has to fend off assumptions about her character. Making matters worse is that the scheming and more classically beautiful Sae Kashiwagi seems dead-set on outshining her in every way. Particularly where boys are concerned. So it comes as a shock when Sae’s attempt to steal the attention of Kairi Okayasu, whom Momo feigns interest in, backfires spectacularly: Kairi has in fact been long interested in Momo. But will Momo ever return his feelings when she’s in fact interested in someone else entirely?
A school life romantic comedy with a large amount of relationship drama.
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Ever since they were children Katsuhiko Jinnai has found himself effortlessly surpassed by Makoto Mizuhara, to the point that now in high school he’s developed quite the complex about it. So when the student council turns against him he inevitably seeks to get revenge by sabotaging Makoto’s new invention, inadvertently transporting both them, his sister Nanami, and the mountain-climbing enthusiast Masamichi Fujisawa across time and space to the strange world of El-Hazard.
An isekai comedy with intermittent action scenes, occasional romance elements, and a shift toward drama in the last few episodes. Both it and the El-Hazard OVA series tell the same story in different ways.
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The Taishou period is drawing to a close and Japanese society is in the midst of change as Western influences continue to take hold. Girls are still sheltered in many ways, and so when Akiko Ogasawara asks her friend Koume Suzukawa to help create a baseball team for their all-girls school they quickly run up against resistance to the idea on multiple fronts.
A mix of schoolgirl club comedy and baseball-themed sports shounen with a small amount of romance and a few pockets of drama.
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Having transferred between schools seven times due to his sister’s habit of using what should be a secret power of telekinesis in public, Kyousuke Kasuga has become used to meeting new people. Yet never before had he met someone with such a blend of elegance and delinquency as Madoka Ayukawa. Lovestruck from their first meeting he wonders how to get closer to her… while her friend Hikaru Hiyama just so happens to set her sights on him.
A romantic comedy with some minor action elements and a secondary focus on love triangle related drama.
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Desperately wishing to become a part of the Tactical Sound Unit Walküre, whose songs are integral to fighting outbreaks of a mysterious disease known as Vár Syndrome, the Windermiran Freyja Wion smuggles herself across the galaxy only to get caught up in a Vár outbreak while in transit. Rescued by the human pilot Hayate Immelmann, she manages to join Walküre just as war breaks out between Windermirans and the rest of the galaxy.
An alternative version of the Macross Delta TV series with a similar genre composition.
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When Natsuo Fujii’s father suddenly announces that he’s getting remarried to a single mother of two, Natsuo is shocked to discover that one daughter is the teacher he’s long had a crush on while the other is the girl he recently slept with on a blind date. Caught inbetween the two will he be able to choose one over the other, or will indecision overcomplicate an already complicated situation?
A mixed genre series evenly split between comedy, romance, and drama featuring a moderate amount of ecchi.
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