I Can't Understand What My Husband is Saying!

We meet young couple Hajime and Kaoru who were recently married. Kaoru has to come to terms with that Hajime is a otaku: a big fan of anime and girl characters. He has no job at first, and so she is the sole support, working in a office. Nevertheless they do love each other emotionally and sexually. Hajime eventually leaves his PC blogging and does find work as a web designer, but he's still an otaku and eventually ends up working on his PC at home. Meanwhile relationships develop with Kaoru's brother (who likes to dress as a girl), her dad--an expert chef, and friends who are also married. Also the couple deal with the ups and downs and quirks of the married duo such as drinking, smoking, anime critique, cooking and of course whether or not to have children. In the end deep down they know they are blessed to have each other.

I really liked this series since I could actual relate to some of the things going on since I am also married, even though it's a different culture. Fortunately me and my wife are both anime watchers, cosplayers, and fans of other fandoms as well but we still have to deal with our personal junk. But this show is pretty funny in presenting the couple to us, and I'm pleased to see the author of the manga also did "koomori-san can't decline," another series I really liked. There are some fantastic moments such as when it's discovered that Kaoru gets violently horny when she drinks, and jumps Hajime's bones when she gets home (to the sound effect of a jack hammer!). Also when we find out Kaoru's little sister is actually her little brother and is a fan of yaoi, so much he wishes to share a bed with Hajime and "do things," and upon saying that is abruptly kicked out of the apartment! The animation is based off the manga so it's a kind of rough style but consistent. There's one episode where it's even more exaggerated, probably to emphasize that it's a flashback. The episodes are only about 5 minutes each, so I was able to get through the whole show quickly. I won't dare spoil the conclusion, but there will be a 2nd season. Enthusiastic thumbs up!

Majikoi Oh! Samurai Girls

Samurai ancestry is prominent in Kawakami city. The schools take pride in this ancestry, emphasizing strong fighting spirit among the students. Two classes share a rivalry and take part in non lethal battles to settle disputes: 2F and 2S. 7 students of 2F, are a tight bunch featuring Yamato, the tactician of the group who doesn't have a strong fighting power but takes up arms when the situation gets critical. The strongest ones are the Big Four, 4 girls who each have a unique and awesome fighting skill. 2F wins the battle due to 3 of the Big 4 and Yamato's tactics, since he knew that the 4th of the 4, Momoyo the most powerful, would help 2S at the last minute. As the dust settles, we see the 7 friends interact in their usual lives, go on special but trivial missions, and Yamato getting into hairy situations such as lustful love interests, serious love interest and of course seeing girls naked...

With this anime, you may need to research it a little and find that it's based on a series of popular video games in Japan. I wish I'd known that too at first, since going into the first episode I had no idea who was who or why they were fighting. Once we get to the 2nd episode, the battling takes a backseat to characterization mixed with touching moments and hilarity. We get to know most of the character fighting in the previous episode, and then center around the main 7, particularly interaction between Yamato and all of the other girls. One girl is absolutely in love with him and is even willing to give herself to him (or even sneak into his bed), and make a sim game featuring the 2 as well. Another girl questions whether or not he'd make a good husband, brought on by her toy horse that talks to her (via ventriloquism). Then there's the relationship between him and Momoyo, whom he loves and has professed to her, but she thinks of him otherwise. So it's obvious he's going to get a smack by some of these girls, though he does try to figure ways out of it. When he accidentally sees a lady friend naked, he makes this long winded conversation to the girl--who is not Japanese--that in modern Japan it's okay if people see each other naked. Does it work? You'll have to see for yourself. Animation of the series is very good and the character designs are pleasant. One word about nudity in the series. There is some, of the ladies, but the creators decided rather than shoot a girl undress and put her private parts out of frame or something like that, they just show it all but censor it with little pictures of that one girl's horse mascot. I guess they decided to make a big joke out of it, to see how many horsies they can fit on the screen. All in all this is a decent series once you figure out who's who and what's going on. Thumbs up.