Summer 2014 Top 3 Anime!

So, it is yet again the change of a season for anime and with that comes new shows to premiere and more fans to obsess. 

***These three were chosen based off of the amount of buzz surrounding them and the amount of positive comments made on episodes that have aired.

1. Tokyo ESP

Summary: Rinka Urushiba as a fairly normal high school girl, though she is a bit poor and her only family is her father. One day, she sees a penguin and some glowing fish swimming through the sky. Rinka might have thought it was a hallucination if there had not been another witness with her, a boy from her school with a strangely scratched-up face. Contact with a fish causes her to pass out, and when she awakens, she has developed the power to move through inanimate objects such as the floor of her apartment. She meets a fellow high school student named Kyotaro Azuma, who has the ability to teleport. The two of them use their ESP powers to take on individuals who have decided to use them for evil. However, there is an organization that plans for a bigger scheme to secure utopia with their ranks consisting of strong ESP fighters and users.

Watch: www.funimation.com/shows/tokyo-esp

2. Akame Ga Kill

Summary: Under the rule of a tyrannical empire, Tatsumi, a young swordsman, leaves his home to save his poverty stricken village. He meets a girl named Akame, an assassin who was bought, brainwashed and trained to kill by the Empire. Akame is a member of the secret assassin group called “Night Raid” who use special weapons called Teigu. Together, Tatsumi and the members of Night Raid confront the corrupt empire. 

Watch: www.crunchyroll.com

3. Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online

Summary: It has been a full year since the end of the Sword Art Online incident and ten months since the end of the ALfheim Online incident. Although things had returned to normal for some time, mysterious incidents occur in another VRMMO game, called Gun Gale Online (GGO), when in two instances, a player in the game is shot by a mysterious person in a mantle who calls himself «Death Gun» and the shot player mysteriously disconnects after a few seconds, only for their real body to be found dead days later. After the second such incident, Kirigaya Kazuto is asked by a member of the VR Crimes Division, Kikuoka Seijirou, to investigate the rumours that the incidents in-game are related to the deaths of the players in the real world. After hearing that Death Gun has a requirement for his targets: the people he supposedly kills are all top players, Kazuto agrees to convert his ALfheim Online avatar into Gun Gale Online using The Seed's character conversion feature and enter the enter the most well known tournament in the game, the Bullet of Bullets, to draw the attention of the mysterious Death Gun.

Watch: www.crunchyroll.com/

There are many more titles for the 2014 summer line up but these three are very popular among the mainstream anime watchers, but there are others that are just as awesome and then there are those that aren't.

Onigiri Online Game! Is It Worth Your Time?

Hey Anime Insider family today is the official return from hiatus of the AI blog and I have brought to you the brand new and addictive game of Onigiri!

What is Onigiri?

- Onigiri is an online MMORPG set in feudal japan during the rule of the shogunate, and players create an avatar who is the Oni who will save japan from the evil Kamikui. Players will battle against demons on the japan island of onigashima called Youkai and meet many partners who will help on their journey to defeat the kamikui who have returned after years of peace.

The game is still relatively new so glitches and other misc. problems are sure to arise while playing. Other than the small glitches the game can be experienced by many as a medium paced game that has a decent level of difficulty and a friendly player community.

Character Creation

- The game offers a decent selection of character customizations such as hair, face, body type, and clothing. Now something that is needed is more of a variety because some players end uo with the same exact character, but thats okay because if you change your mind you can always change it later in game (for a price).

Weapons

- Now what would make a Japanese game other than Big Swords and odd looking weapons? It wouldn't be a Japanese game. Now, many will find it fristrating that you will have to level up pretty high to use some of the more powerful weapons, but that aside even weak weapons can be powered up through enhancements and smelting weapons together.

Community
- The games community is all how an individual plays the game and interacts with other players. For example in the beginning many high level players might be viewed as mean as they try to farm low level monsters even taking the kill from new players. This is pretty common but is very easy to get over once you have met other players and joined in parties. There are many people who are willing to help out low level players even if they themselves have beaten the quest or area. My suggestion would be to join partys that are farming certain dungeons multiple times because it helps to build IG friendships and those people will be glad to help you later on when its your turn for help.

Important Notes
- There are some important parts to the game that are not very straightforward as you play and that could get you stuck on certain areas or quests of the game. First, it is important to not only complete the main story quests but also pick up as many of the side quests as possible the reason being that it increases players levels much faster as well as giving you some good items. Second, while many will think to contuniously re equip qith "stronger" weapons as they level it is also just as good to enhance a weaker weapon also because they can become just as powerfull as higher level weapons with the right enhancements and through weapon smithing. Third, is that between each main quest a player should level up at least once or twice so that they dont fall behind the recommended level for dungeons. The problem with that is the fact that it will make a quest much harder than it has to be and will force players to grind for experience points or join a party with stronger players. There are other small things but they are more obvious as the game continues.

In the end this is definitely one MMORPG to give a try for those looking for a bit of a challenge and a overall good play experience. Also, recommended to those who like to learn more of the cultural background of japan and some of its ancient myths. Go To http://onigiri.cyberstep.com/home to get started on your journey!

Media Credit: Onigiri Cyberstep Website

Log Horizon Review!

Any Sword Art Online fans out there? Well this is probably the anime for you, and as always I am here to tell you all about this epic MMORPG anime tale! For this review I will go over a summary of the series, my personal opinion, news, comparison to SAO, and a link to where to watch the series. Now, let us jump on in to the review!

I have heard that this was a good anime, but I never actually watched it whats it about?

If you havent seen it yet you must it is a series that will sneak up behind you grab hold and never let go! Anyway, Log Horizon  is a Japanese novel series written by Mamare Touno. The series follows the strategist, Shiroe, and the other players of the long-lived MMORPG Elder Tale after they find themselves whisked away into the game world following a game update. The novel has received four manga adaptations, with one based on the main story and the other three revolving around characters in the series. An anime adaptation aired on NHK Educational TV between October 5, 2013 and March 22, 2014.

How could this possibly compare to SAO?!

Deviant Art Miizu-Kun

Well there have been many comparisons made for this series that include the obvious one that both involve people trapped inside of a virtual game after the game received an update. One other comparison fans of SAO make is that the main character for LH is not as awesome as Kirito the main protagonist of SAO, and on that I would tell those people that this series main character is in my perspective better than Kirito because he actually takes the initiative to communicate with many of the games strongest players and make rules for everyone while they are still trapped in the world of elder tale while all kirito was focused on was trying to get his self out. Now, what is drastically different when comparing the series is that in SAO if you died in the game the same went for your body in reality, and in LH it stays true to a real game in that you just revive at a designated point. I could go on with comparisons, but some get me flustered with what fans comment on and that would lead to a whole post of me rambling, but If you have anything to say/ask just post in the comments Ill answer them all :)

Izuru-san what news is there about this anime?

Well there is the good and the bad news and I will start with the bad. The season ended March 22nd with its 25th episode after 6 months of airing. Now, the good news is that it was only the end of the first season and it was announced that a second season would be ready for fans to watch come October of this year! So what that means is you should go watch it if you havent already and then wait patiently for October to roll around so you can follow the series adventurers once again!

What is it you liked Izuru-san?

By the first episode I already knew I liked the overall character design and animation. The series is very well animated and some of the attacks have an awesome visual appeal to me. The story line for LH in my opinion is much better than what was executed with SAO in that the latter had those annoying time skips always making me feel I missed something in the last episode or that I wasn't paying enough attention. Another thing I liked about the story was that it stayed true to what its would be like to play a modern day MMORPG in today's reality, and how every episode has a short explanation of real game terms such as guilds, classes, and sub classes. Overall, it was a series that moved a comfortable pace to me and did a nice job of integrating real life MMORPG elements to the anime and story line. 

A small attack in the anime

Watch the entire 1st season of Log Horizon HERE!

Countdown Catch Up!

16DAYS

First, let me start by apologizing for not posting the last two days for the countdown something came up that needed my attention, but good news is I'm back with more character pics and info!

Voiced by: Saori Hayami

The main heroine and Tatsuya's younger sister. She enrolls at First High School in April 2095 and is placed in the Course 1 curriculum. She is selected as the first years' representative after topping the entrance exam. Miyuki is the main protagonist of the spin-off manga series Mahōka Kōkō no Yūtōsei.

Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama

A Course 2 student and Tatsuya's classmate. She is one of the first people to befriend Tatsuya. She is the youngest daughter of the Chiba Family, one of the Hundred Families.

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

A Course 2 student and Tatsuya's classmate, his name is usually shortened to Leo. He is one of the first people to befriend Tatsuya. His grandfather was a German Fortress Series magician, who were genetically enhanced. He tries to emulate his grandfather, who was the only Fortress Series magician of his generation to not turn insane.

Magical Warfare! Whats A War Without A Magical Miracle?

What is Magical Warfare? that is the question that some of you may be asking right about now. Well everyone I am here to answer for you that question! Magical Warfare is one of the many anime following the recent genre trend of magical fantasies; starting out as a light novel written by Hisashi Suzuki and illustrated by Lunaliam, and then adapted into a manga by You Ibuki it then started serialization in the manga magazine Monthly Comic Gene on April 15, 2013. Then. at the beginning of 2014 on January 9th the anime adaptation began airing under production from the animation studio MADHOUSE who has brought us many great titles such as Hunter x Hunter, Btoom!, and Death Note.

Well then what is the story like? The story for Magical Warfare follows three high school aged students as they are suddenly brought into the hidden world of magic. This starts when a young girl named Mui flees to their highschool in order to escape her pursuers, and it just so happens that Mui is an S class wizard of a magical school in a mirror world known as the ruined world. When Mui collapses from running one of the main protagonists ,Takeshi Nanase brings her to the schools nurses office, but when Mui awakens to this unfamiliar face she accidentally turns Takeshi into a wizard! Not only has Takeshi become a wizard, but so have his friends Kurumi and Kazumi after they were attacked with magic. They all end up being taken to the ruined world where they will decide to stay at the academy Mui attends so that they can learn to control their new found abilities, but little do they know that the war they were told about is about to consume them and put not only their lives but their loved ones back home lives at risk as well.

What is it about this anime that separates it from the others that also have magic? well what is different is that this series takes small elements from many other popular anime of the past and brings them all together to make a great story. Magical Warfare has elements of other notable anime such as SAO and Soul Eater. In a way the anime has short time skips where it will have a short transition into the next few days or weeks this is like how in SAO it would show in words on screen how much time had passed since the last scene. The Soul Eater aspect is that they all attend an academy that is meant to help them control their power and all of the magicians have an "aspect" which is similar to that of soul eaters weapons in that they channel their power through them. 

Also, the setting is like Magnostadt in Magi: The Kingdom of Magic where students are grouped based on technique and control, and also how the academy is connected to the military force in both anime. Then there is the small connection to bleach in that the magicians all have a name for their weapon and some can even communicate with their weapon which can take physical form through the users power. These elements although small do bring a refreshing feel to the anime, and make it have less of a fan serviced feeling the way some of the recent anime                                                                        have been. 

Overall, this is definitely a series to be watching and keeping up with because of the many possibilities it could have for future season and the current season which is only on its 12th episode. I would recommend this to those looking for an original story that takes note from many of the successful anime of both past and present, and can visually give you something to enjoy with its smooth battle sequences and backgrounds reminiscent of Accel Worlds (SAO sister series)  brain burst world.

Visit: www.crunchyroll.com/magical-warfare to watch the series legally!

A Magical Recommendation!

I have noticed that lately what seems to be the trend for a lot of the recent anime released this winter 2014 is the trend of magic! There seems to be quite the interest in the Aniverse with magic as well as intense action scenes; some such titles released at the start of this year include; Magical Warfare, Strike the Blood, Witch Craft Works, and the one that seems to be most popular Wizard Barristers! While all of them are synonymis with the genre of fantasy/magic they can all be distinguished by their unique story lines, and this especially goes for Wizard Barristers because it has brought together what is in my opinion an odd pairing that works flawlessly! 

In 2018, humans and wizards live together in Tokyo. Police continue to protect order in society, but wizards (known as Wud) are tried according to magical law via Magic Prohibition Law, in special courts defended by wizard barristers via the Court of Magic. At age seventeen, half Japanese half Canadian Cecile Sudou, has just become the youngest wizard barrister after passing the bar exam at age fifteen, and begins work at the Butterfly Law Offices. While she hasn't realized it yet, she has tremendous magical potential.

Combining the strict, boring, and gray aspect of Law and Government with the fun, imaginative, and colorful themes of Magic has created this wonderful piece that is Wizard Barristers! What makes it so appealing to me is that it has a little bit of everything for someone to enjoy because it is so well balanced in each of its plot elements. The seriousness is brought out through each of the cases taken on by the Butterfly Offices, and how the writer, Michiko Itou, has brought a sense of realism to the fantasy genre by making the cases as close to those that happen in the world around us on a regular basis. I can recommend this anime to any fan of great magic battles, perverted humor, and the underlying mysteries that lye in wait for the characters if this anime.

Start watching and get caught up HERE at crunchyroll to not only enjoy, but also help promote legal media streaming for the anime industry and helping to keep your favorites running fro a long time.