The Anime You Don't Remember/Didn't Watch Part 2

For some reason I really love watching anime no one else seems to care about. Part 2

Blue Reflection Ray

This is a magical girl anime that's sort of based off of a video game but not really (original characters and plot but usings aesthetics/magical girl premise). A lot of people say its bad. Its not great and can sometimes drop character arcs. But I liked this one. It felt like an evolution of Sailor Moon that and acknowledged a post-PMMM world. I actually liked a lot of the smaller bonding moments between the girls. The fights were terrible though, as was the foreshadowing.

Restaurant to Another World Seasons 1 and 2

I love this world so much that I have the manga and the light novels. Its a hybrid of slice of life and ongoing development (more so of the characters and the world then an overarching plot). Its also reverse isekai, where fantasy characters end up in our world and there are some 'fish out of water' elements although RtAW is actually not that cringey. For the most part, the show centers around a character and a small story as they enter a modern day Japanese restaurant and eat modern day Japanese food. And of course they all love it as Japanese food is amazing.

What is super interesting to me is the fantasy world that evolves from this. Its not mind-blowingly original but its something we see through back story and character interactions/reactions rather than a linear power fantasy. While there are conflicts, the overall story is not a conflict. Its refreshing in the modern glut of self insert power fantasy.

What I do find lacking about the anime as that it focuses on some of the more human (and cute lady) of the customers and leaves out some fun non-human ones that appear in the light novel. But this doesn't really make me mad, just disappointed.

Mushrambo/Shinzo (2000)

Maybe more of an honorable mention as I don't 100% remember this one and I don't think I ever finished it. A young woman ends up in a strange, fantasy world. She has three guardians that shapeshift and have powers and protect her from the bad guys. I can't remember why the female protagonist mattered other than the romantic vibes between her and the red guy. /shrug

I watched this show bored as a kid and randomly as this was cable TV days. No streaming.

Library Wars

A show with a very anime premise. We follow a young woman who joins a library militia and literally fights (with guns) censorship militias so that people can freely access books. You get a mix of shoujo vibes regarding the romantic themes and the bro themes or whenever the military stuff happens.

What is super interesting is the bonus about a blind girl enjoying representation of a blind girl in a story and arguing against censorship goons about it. Very social justicey.

I actually like this one, but I don't love it. If that makes sense?

Noir

Maybe I should rewatch this one? I can't tell if I was too much of a kid to get this or if it was only pretending to be deep?

The show is about two women. One killed the family of the other. But instead of immediate revenge, the two put that on hold to solve a mystery and take on assassin jobs. Also implied the two are romantically/sexually into each other as the series goes on. Its a girls with guns show, a thing that doesn't really exist anymore. Its strange to think about. I liked a lot of Bee Train's stuff, even if I didn't get it or it wasn't good (the dot hack stuff or El Cazador de la Bruja). And now the studio is gone.

I feel old thinking about all of the anime studios I've watched come and go.

Angelic Layer

Probably my favorite CLAMP anime. Its a shoujo aesthetic/vibe on top of a shonen toy battle show. With all of the tropes you expect but lovely CLAMP art and girly feelings. Also its a massived toy battle tournament show. Hope you like tournament arcs if you're going to check this out.

I remember playing the game. Not translated into English. I think I played it in the worst way possible as there was a timed button press system and I just did the most basic move enough times to beat everyone. Funny to think about now.

I really adored this show as a kid and am still fond of it now.

Prétear: The New Legend of Snow White

An anime inspired by Snow White and the 7 dwarves, except the 7 dwarves are a reverse harem that turn into pretty dresses and cool powers. I actually really loved this gimmick and was saddened that this anime is so short (12 eps).

Its hard for me to know if this is a good anime to recommend or not. I think some aspects are rushed and underdeveloped which undermines the impact of certain revelations/events that occur near the end. But it was still an entertaining romp and you don't see anything like it today.

Back to Anime Directory