Nothing like a long weekend to provide a convenient excuse for taking a week off from a regular column. In any case, This Week in Anime is back for more news and reviews, so sit back and enjoy. We’ve got plenty to catch up on, and a delightful little underdog of a show to review. Onward to anime!
Simulcast of the Week: Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?
It’s always nice when a series turns out to defy expectations. I watched the first few episodes of Invaders of the Rokujyoma!? at the beginning of the season, and wasn’t impressed enough to keep going. A review assignment for another site dragged me back into it, and I’m glad it did. As it turns out, this series has evolved into a surprisingly entertaining comedy.
Take an average guy with a tiny but affordable apartment. Add a ghost, an alien, a magical girl, and a priestess, all of whom are trying to take over the apartment for one reason or another. Stir it all together, and you’ve got Invaders of the Rokujyoma!? in a nutshell. It pokes fun at a wide variety of classic character archetypes, but delivers some unexpectedly strong drama along the way. While it’s not the best at any one thing, it’s a solid piece of entertainment on all fronts. It’s also remarkably tasteful for a series with harem comedy elements, and even viewers with a serious aversion to fanservice will find it an easy show to watch.
Physical Release of the Week: Gatchaman Crowds Complete Collection
It technically came out during this column’s off week, but who cares? Anime just wouldn’t be anime without a regular dose of completely bonkers science fiction. Gatchaman Crowds does just that, combining eye-popping visuals with some genuinely interesting musings on the nature of heroism. It’s a very energetic series that can be a little tough to get into, but it’s absolutely worth the effort. You can order it from RightStuf.com here.
In the News: Under the Dog Makes the Cut
Crowd-funded anime project Under the Dog wrapped up its Kickstarter campaign with plenty of donations to spare. A late run of publicity helped the sci-fi OVA reach its goal, and it’s moving into production. A couple of US streaming companies have expressed interest in distributing the finished product, so we should be able to see how it turns out soon enough.
We covered it here in the most recent Kawaii Overthink, but it’s worth mentioning again: Yen Press has announced several new licenses for its Yen On line of light novels. From fan favorites (Log Horizon, No Game No Life) to personal favorites (The Devil is a Part-timer!), there’s plenty to get excited about. Bring on the books!
For boring scheduling reasons, this column will be moving from Sunday to Monday from here on out. See y’all next week for more two-dimensional antics.
This Week in Anime is hastily cobbled together by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime and manga on Twitter. Check back every Monday for new articles.