The Anime You Don't Remember/Didn't Watch Part 1

For some reason I really love watching anime no one else seems to care about.

A strange shonen title where people fight with puppets, there is a lot of circus theming (which I love) and it goes to some pretty strange places (final battle in space).

I can't call it the best anime ever as the run was too short compared to the decades long manga. Meaning 20-30 chapters can be skipped to fit in the main plot bits. Thus a lot of characterization can seem pretty jerky or rushed. The main exception are the 3 main protagonists as they are present throughout the entirety of the show. Shoot, there even is an episode where they blatantly admitted they skipped the introduction of a recurring character.

That said as flawed as it was, it was still compelling and entertaining. I still tear up thinking of this anime. The conclusion was so bittersweet and interesting compared to most anime that just hand their characters a purely happy ending. Also some of the music was pretty good.

This is a sequel(?) to a 60s anime called Tiger Mask, inspired by a manga which in turn inspired a real life pro-wrestler. I guess two technically if we include Black Tiger. Real life people from New Japan Pro Wrestling show up in this anime. Shoot there was a Dragon Lee (my favorite wrestler) reference but I'm pretty sure they used another name.

The first episode starts with a character (I forgot which one) wrestling a bear and the ridiculousness goes from there. Tiger Mask W is not a deep anime, in fact there are some bizarre turns at the end. But it embraces what it is and is incredibly tropey, silly and overdramatic. But so is real life wrestling so it actually works really well and manages to bring a wrestling story that would be hard to pull off in real life (like the bear).

Astraea Testament/Good Witch of the West - This IP has different names depending on if you are talking about the light novel, the manga or the anime. I actually have all of the physical releases of this manga (from Tokyo Pop, thus not finished. I heard digitally this was completed but the company went defunct and I don't feel like spelunking bittorrent to find it). Sometimes I think about getting the light novels because

While the ending was rushed and blew chunks, this was a femme shoujo on the femme version of steroids. Characters were a lot more overtly sexual (for a shoujo audience, not full Nana but about as close as you get). In fact the whole country this story mostly takes place in was built upon honeypot. There's a 3/4 episode period centered around sapphic nun drama that ends in a cult of personality around a boy's love fiction writer.

This anime is entertaining for girls/femmes in a way that most modern anime is lacking. I sometimes go back to watch the first 8 or so episodes.

Cop Craft

Bright the anime. Actually pretty fun if underdeveloped in certain areas (its dropped that a character has a deceased younger sister, this is never gone into...). A young elf swordswoman and a not-LA cop fight supernatural team up in conventional buddy cop style in a supernatural copaganda plot.

Although there is one episode where characters are on drugs for a long time. Not much plot in that one.

I actually really liked a lot of the side characters. This was just such a fun anime. Its clear the creators were passionate about this subject, if not thinking too deeply about it.

If you want to check out this problematic fav and are of the western world, I recommend the English dub. The main guy does such a good job and the Japanese version sounds odd in comparison.

The Vampire Dies in No Time

The first episode is a bit slow, but the rest of the show is an amazing comedy. Its so bizarre, silly, doesn't give a shit, but also amazing call backs. Its the buddy cop dynamic transformed into vampire hunter and vampire, but there isn't a strong central plot. And there are often segments of the cast just goofing around. Such as a dance off to see who gets to use the not-PS5.

The biggest thing is the speed, its a fast paced show. And a season 2 is coming up soonish and I can't wait!

Back to Anime Directory