Synopsis

Our main protagonist in this series is Yumeji Fujiwara, your not-so-ordinary high school student and it’ s probably the nth time I started my first impression summary with a similar sentence ^^;;. Unlike others, Yumeji has gained a power to see the aura of other people’s dream and is able to predict what kind of dream they will have the next night due to an incident 10 years ago. Because of the incident, he had started to have weird reams with cats following him for unknown reasons.

One day, on his way back from errands, a mysterious girl falls on top of him and the girl’s name is Merry Nightmare. As her name suggests, she is a dream demon who has been searching for a way to come back in her world. Soon after, Yumeji decides to help her finding a way back to her world of dreams.

Episode Summary

First episode starts with a scene with Merry Nightmare, our heroine in this series, sleeping on a dumpster and she gets waked up by sound of clock tower hitting twelve noon. Meanwhile, our main protagonist, Yumeji, finds himself being chased and attacked by many cats (and no, cats are not always cute ^^;; ). Unfortunately, he gets captured soon after, however, his dream time is up and Yumeji wakes up from his sleep. He has been having the same dream every night.

Next morning, Yumeji goes to school with his childhood friends, Isana Tachibana who is always taking care of Yumeji. It’s pretty obvious that Isana has a huge crush on Yumeji and it could not be helped that she is being teased by her two classmates, Akiyanagi Takeru and Saki Kirishima. At school, Yumeji is well-known as a dream teller and can predict others’ dream as he demonstrates it on his classmate, Saki.

On his way back from school, suddenly, a girl named Merry Nightmare drops on top of him and looking for a way to get back to her world. Yumeji suddenly picks up her hat which was left behind and suddenly he get sucked into the same dream as before, however, this time, he meets with the leader of the cats named , Chaser, John Doe who needs a body/vessel to go outside the dream world. Thus, he is going to use Yumeji’s body as a vessel and go out side by killing him.

As Yumeji being chased down and cornered, Merry appears before him in order to save him or so he thinks. Merry thought that Chaser might know how she can go back to her world, however, her interest is conflicted with Chaser because he wants to get out of the dream world. Soon after, both of them exchanges hand-to-hand blow between each other and it was an easy win by Merry. After Chaser is defeated, Yumeji’s dream is over and he’s asked by Merry to summon Chaser again so she can find a way to back to her world then she passes out due to exhaustion.

Thoughts

The idea behind a dream eater is pretty intuitive and out of the ordinary compare to most anime these days. Yumekui Merry gives more than just your cookie-cutter anime that you usually find. Throughout the first , second and third episode, there’s only one ecchi scene which is on the first episode . At this point, it’s already a good sign that Yumekui Merrry will keep my interest for a while. For those who only watched the first episode may find that the pace of story little bit slow but rest assured that episode two and three, it will pick up.

Animation wise, J.C. Staff lives up to my expectation thus I have nothing to complain about. Beautiful fighting scenes and background especially during the dream mode are done well. Love Merry’s somersault kick on Chaser.

Our main protagonist, Merry Nightmare, has a peculiar personality. She tries to distant herself from others and does not want to get others involved in her problem even though later on, she agrees to have Yumeji helping her since he has his own agenda and Merry does need his ability to help her find a way home. I do hope that Yumeji is not just another useless main protagonist like Ryuji in Dragon Crisis!.

In summary, I think Yumekui Merry is worth watching because three main points below:

1. J.C. Staff – animation quality should be at least decent and consistent.
2. Short series of 12 episodes – good amount of episodes and expect no filler episodes.
3. Last but not least, not so mainstream story line.

Additional tidbits

Rating: 7.5/10

Source: ANN, Wiki

Yumekui Merry PV

Opening

Ending

Browse through more screen shots below

Rio, main protagonist, works as a dealer at Howard Resort casino. Unlike any other dealers that work there, she is known as Goddess of Victory by everyone at Howard Resort. This nickname was bestowed upon here since her existence always brings a great amount of luck and reduce tension to anyone who visits Howard Resort casino or any other casinos. You can say that she has some kind of aura of her own. She is so well-known such that even a Hollywood actress, Rosa Canyon, can’t even match Rio’s popularity.

Owner of Howard resort casino, Howard, got a visit from an old friend of him, Mr. Clark, who has a grand daughter named Mint Clark. She always carries around her teddy bear named Choco. Since her grandfather loves casino so much, she does not have much being dragged into Howard resort casino. Wandering around in the casino, she gets bored to death until she hears about Goddess of Victory. Curiosity gets the best of her and she follows around Rio trying to meet this mysterious Goddess of Victory.

Oppai #1

Later on, Howard officially introduces Mint to Rio and ask Rio to take care of Mint during her stay at Howard resort. On their way to Mint’s room, they get attacked by a group of people whose their target is Mint. Well, it’s not exactly Mint but rather the teddy bear that she carries all the time.

Panty Shot #1

As if it’s a fate, Mint and Rio meet again the attacker from last night. He introduces himself as Orlin Dunhill and challenge Mint to a duel for her teddy bear. Since Mint is in trouble, Rosa suggests that Rio should replace Mint in this duel. If Rio wins, Orlin has to tell them why he is after Mint’s teddy bear and leave this island. On the other hand, if Orlin wins, Rio needs to take her clothes off. Howard, the owner, does not miss this chance and he gets his film crew ready in case Rio looses and it will be used for some sexy commercial.

More oppai. Yoko-pai to be exact

Weaing a wedding gown, Rio duels Orlin in a closed poker where each player will get five cards and will have a chance to trade cards. Orlin, known as a Queen Killer, trades all his four other cards and keeps his queen heart because he believes that he will get the other three queen. Unfortunately, his luck is not that great against Rio and Rio won with a pair of two

Thoughts

Title certainly did not give me much detail and it’s going to be just another mahou shoujo type or so I thought. The idea behind it is unique and extra-ordinary and not to mentioned that it’s been a while since I watched a similar genre anime. Saki first comes to mind.

Unfortunately, it lacks of appeal that makes me wanting the second episode. The main character, Rio, is known as Goddess of Victory in casino where she works but there is something about her that’s missing from being a main protagonist. Usually, the main protagonist stands out in term appearance and his/her behaviour. Her battle of poker with the Queen Killer was not interesting enough for me and was dragging myself to watch the rest of episode.

Ending song are just plain boring. It’s your standard happy, fast beat song -_-;;. The first episode does not have an opening song so I cannot speak for its quality.

Animation is done by Xebec. Their work is mediocre and nothing amazing of some sort. Background art of casino and resort are pretty well-done but I feel like it’s trying to hide how bad the animation is in particular character animation (or maybe just my eyes were deceiving me ^^;)

Lastly, my pet peeves about recent anime is fan service. It seems that Rio’s oppai, breast, mune or whatever you call it and her oshiri, butt, bottom are the center of attention in this anime. It has some panty shot here and there but it’s not overly done in anyways.

I doubt that I will be watching episode 2 and so on and even if I do, it’s due to sheer of boredom on my part ^^.

Additional tidbits

Rating: 4/10

Source: ANN

Trailer

Does anyone have this series in their watch list this winter 2011 season ?

Summary

Kohei Hasekura lives his childhood life by transferring from one school to the other because of his parents but it all comes to an end when his parents send him to a school with a living dorm so he does not have to move with him. Kohei is excited about his new school life and his new friends. However, his new school life at Shuchikan Gakuen is not without its own problems and there seems to be a hidden secret about the true nature of some of its students.

As Kohei arrives at Shuchikan Gakuen, Erika Sendo, student council vice president, greets him with a warm smile and open hand then out of sudden, she starts screaming and backs down as she was about to hand-shake Kohei. Luckily, Tsukasa Hachimandaira passes by and Erika tells him to show Kohei around the school. She runs away blushing and when she finally comes to stop , her body is still shaking/trembling with excitement.

Tsukasa shows Kohei around the school and brings him to living dorm where all students live. Floor one and two belongs to boys and floor three and four belongs to girls. Boys are not allowed to go to girls section but I doubt that it will stop him from doing so ^^;;. In this dorm, Kohei meets two of his childhood friends, Haruna Yuuki and her older sister Kanade Yuuki. Accidentaly, energetic Kanade is the dorm manager. Later that night, Kanade is having a tea party in her room talking about her childhood friend , Kohei, who just arrives at Shuchikan Gakuen.

The next day, during lunch, Kohei is given a map of the school and a task where he needs to take a picture of every building in this school. He bumps into Togi Soichiro, an underclassman, who is busy chasing her rabbit, Yukimaru. It runs away into the flower fields and fortunately, Kohei captures Yukimaru who happens to be running to his direction. Grateful for Kohei’s effort in catching Yukimaru, Togi shows the way to Student Oversight Building where student council resides.

Iori Sendo, student council president, loves to play prank and he intentionally invites Kohei for a tea time despite the fact that her sister, Erika, is there and for some reasons, she feels uneasy being near Kohei. To make matters even worse, Iori switches the sign between man and woman bathroom ^^;;.

Unknowingly, Kohei enters a woman bathroom and of course, Erika just finishes taking a bath. For a good couple seconds, both of them are speechless and Kohei tries to come up with an excuse but he fails terribly. You know saying “No! No! I meant the bath, when I said big!” does not exactly help in anyways ^^;; and as a gift, he gets a fine hand print of Erika.

Unfortunately, his misery does not end there as rumour spreads really quick and when Kanade hears this, she gives Kohei a discipline sticker which you can collect up to ten in order to receive a special punishment. When Kohei finds out that it’s all Iori’s fault, he still feels bad and needs to apologize to Erika, meanwhile, hearing what Kohei says, Erika takes the initiative and asks Kohei to meet at Zelkova tree which said to be able to grant any wish at five the next day.

On his way to Zelkova tree, Kohei gets distracted due to noises from the direction where a church is located. Surprisingly inside the church, he sees Iori sucking up blood from a student.

Thoughts

Even though Fortune Arterial is a well-known eroge and I own a towel with Erika on it, I never know what story is all about. Certainly, I didn’t expect it to be a vampire related story which can easily pique my interest by ten fold ^^;;. Yah I am such a sucker for vampire related anime ^^;;. Not much I can say about the story and which direction it goes. I figure there may be multiple endings since it’s an eroge. Anyone who have played the game before maybe can comment on the story plot ? ^^

One of the best thing about this anime is the OP and ED song. The opening was sung by Lia who I expect no less than awesome for a song by her. Can’t wait for the single to be released ^^. As for the ED, it’s nicely done and just plain beautiful. It gives this soothing feel every time I listen to it. Not to mention the ED animation just looks perfect with the song; all the girls wear a white lingerie laying down on top of water where you can see a reflection of each character. <3 Hina’s expression in the ED song. I wouldn’t call it a sad expression but it feels like she’s mesmerizing someone; could it be Kohei ? ^^

Animation wise, I think ZEXCS and feel. did a great job and I notice a great details on each background but it’s only the first episode so if they can keep it up then I can say that they’ve done an awesome job. Quality in some series tend to go down as the series progresses.

Kohei, male protagonist, is voiced by Daisuke Ono whose voice should already be well-known to who has watched Kuroshitsuji since he voiced as Sebastian.

Overall, I think I will enjoy this series and will continue watching it ^^.

Additional tidbits

Rating: 7.5/10
Source: ANN

Trailer

Opening

Ending

Summary

As many other series, a summary usually starts “story is about <insert school grade> named <insert name> who is <insert character descriptions here>”. MM! is no exception as it tells you a story about a high schooler named Taro Sado who has a masochist personality and a big crush on a girl who comes frequently where he works part time. To cure his masochist personality, he joins 2nd Volunteer club leaded by Mio isurugi and so the story begins…

At a glimpse, Mio may look kind and care a lot about the problem that Taro’s having, however, it’s all just appearance as she does not like having all those kind of formalities when she talks to fellow students. Her hobby includes beat up other people including Taro.

Taro, who is being beaten, forgets his true intention of coming to this club and unknowingly he enjoys what Mio does to him. His face below speaks for itself as if he receives the ultimate pleasure from being beaten up. He is really a true masochist.

Mio, unaware of his masochist personality, continues her torture on Taro. It looks like this series is mainly about Taro is being beaten up by Mio in her attempt to cure Taro’s masochist personality.

Meanwhile, a shocking truth for Taro about his crush that it turns out to be Hayama Tatsukichi dressed as a girl. Hayama also went to 2nd volunteer club looking for advice whether or not that he should tell the truth about his hobby of crossdressing (damn trap >.>).

Thanks to Mio’s advice, Hayama can be true to himself, although, I feel sorry for Taro since his first love happened to be a guy ^^;;. Mio shows her sweet side and she’s blushing too when she’s happy that her advice helped

Taro’s day at 2nd volunteer club barely just started as Mio beats up / tortures him on daily basis.

Thoughts

After  I watched the first episode, I feel like MM! story plot has a potential, although, scenes of Mio beating up  Taro is little bit repetitive for my taste. Even though in each scene, Mio uses different tools to beat up Taro but after a while, it’s not even funny anymore ^^;;. The idea of masochism and trying to find a cure of it does peek my interest but scenes of Mio beating up Taro are just a tad too many (Maybe that’s why I couldn’t finish Toradora?)

OP and ED animation are little bit plain and they does not do what they are supposed to: to get viewers into the series. I skipped forward the OP on this first episode which is very unusual because I tend to watch OP for any new anime series, in particular, first episode.  Both OP and ED songs are your usual music for this kind of series. They have a fast beat,cheerful and happy-like.

Seiyuu wise, both main protagonist is voiced by a well-known seiyuu. Jun Fukuyama voices Taro Sado and a lot of us are probably already familiar with his name since he’s quite well known. Meanwhile, Mio Isurugi is voiced by Ayana Taketatsu. A lot of us probably already heard her voice everyone’s favourite series, K-ON!, as Azusa Nakano. Both seiyuu does a great job as main protagonist especially Jun since he lives up to my expectation.

In term of character’s personality, Mio just reminds me too much Taiga in Toradora and they both are tsundere-like. I realize it’s too early to judge but this anime is just a copy of Toradora with minor changes. What do you think ?

Additional tidbits

Rating: 6.5/10
Source: ANN
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Trailer

Summary

The story is about a twin of brother and sister named Haruka Kasugano and Sora Kasugano. Due to recent accident, they lost both of their parents and decide to move back to the country side where they used to live. They plan to start their new life in the country side. They thought they can start their new life peacefully but between Sora wanting her brother for herself alone and many other girls who have a crush on Haruka, life is not so peaceful after all ^^

Despite recent loss of his parent, Haruka tries to be a dependable brother for his weak and fragile sister. On the other hand, Sora just wants to be with her brother all the time and is happy not doing anything other than being with her brother. Hmm brother complex much ?

Opening song and anime are pretty average and standard. it does not give me the feeling of awesomeness and impress me in anyway. I guess it’s expected as much since the animation studio, feel.,  is pretty much not well-known. However, I do love character design and I think Sphere did a good job. I have never heard of Sphere before since I am not into the eroge world but does anyone know other eroge by the same company ?

First couple minutes into the series, Sora’s character really captivates me and annoys me at the same time. I guess I can say that she is pretty selfish ^^;; and cold but maybe she can be a tsundere over time ^^.

Any anime series that has a setting in a country side always have a nice background like Yosuga No Sora for example. Don’t you love the look of Sora below ?

Being back in your home town, you can never avoid meeting with your childhood friends again and fortunately (or unfortunately),  all Haruka’s childhood friends and girls around him seem to have a crush on him in one way or the other. It should be interesting to see how Sora manages to make his brother as her one and only.

After getting a bike so he can carry his sitter instead of walking, Haruka stops by at his new high school. There is nothing out of the ordinary other than all his childhood friends are in the same school.

The next day, he introduces himself nervously in front of his class and it’s a rather plain introduction by him. His sister, Sora, still cannot go to school yet due to her weak body.

At home, while waiting for her brother to come back from school, Sora’s looking at a photo album when they were a kid and their parents were still alive.

While reminiscing about the past, she remembers of being kissed by his brother while they were playing. Attention readers, this is WTF #1 in this series. I didn’t expect it at all since most anime series, it usually happens between unrelated by blood brother and sister (For example, Kiss X Sis and Da Capo) but not in Yosuga No Sora. Very interesting ….. indeed.

Another girls that have taken interest on Haruka are Akira Amatsume and Kazuha Nigiwa. They both come from a respective family. Akira is a shrine maiden in a sacred shinto shrine while Kazuha is your standard Ojou-sama like character.

The class representative, Kozue Kuranaga, also seems to have a crush with Haruka as her face turns red when she’s talking to him.

Kasuganos’ twins new neighbour, Nao Torihime, also has a crush on Haruka and not only that, she seems to like him for a very long time and on the other hand, Haruka is also taken interest in Nao. Haruka, Sora and Nao used to play together when they were kids

Another WTF moment here and it’s number two. Sora’s having a day dream about kissing her brother. Didn’t know that she has such an ecchi mind ^^;;.

Btw, there is no censorship in this anime. No cloud, smoke, sunlight or anything at all… nada. You can enjoy oppai-ism at its best ^^.

Later that night, Sora wastes no time and launches her attack by taking of her pijamas ^^;; and said that she wants to come. Ahhh, I wonder what it means ^^.

This is probably just one of Sora’s dream, although, it’s better if it’s not just a dream ^^;;. I mean twincest may be happening right ? I am sure a lot of us are looking forward to it. Oh my, this series has a lot of harem scenes in it.

As I was about to recover from earlier WTF moment, I was treated with another one ^^;;. Not that I am complaining but I rarely have these many WTFs from watching one episode. Toward the end , another scene that gives a WTF moment is seeing Motoka Nogisaka, the maid of Kozue Kuronaga, is having ‘fun’ and treating herself quite a ‘treat’ ^^;;

Thoughts

Yosuga no Sora turns out to be much better then I expected. Sora is just adorable and has a potential to be a tsundere character ^^. Story wise, it has a great potential because just from watching the first episode, it’s clearly there’s something going on between Haruka and Sora when they were kids. Haruka may already have forgotten about it but Sora still remembers as clearly as it were yesterday. Multiple WTF moments are a good indication for to the series is promising and twincest situation is the first one that I have seen to go to this extend.

Additional tidbits

Anime Preview

Eroge Trailer

Rating: 9/10

Source: ANN, Eroge Review