Saekano

Tomoya Aki is an otaku, loving anime, dating games and other related fandoms. One day walking down a street, he finds a white hat flying in the wind. He manages to get the hat and give back to its owner--a pretty girl his age. He is stunned by her beauty, and just then he has an epiphany to create a dating sim game to his likeing featuring that girl. But he has to find some local talent who'd be willing to help him. His search leads to Eriri, a half Japanese American who is the best art student in school and also a dojinshi creator. Tomoya has the inspiration for the game but can't remember what the girl looked like, which doesn't impress Eriri nor does it seem to be something to be taken seriously. He also finds the smartest girl in the school Utaha who is also already a popular novelist. listening to Tomoya's idea, she doesn't find it all too original and also balks at the idea of helping him. Tomoya is desperate but finally runs into the girl who's hat he returned, Megumi. She doesn't seem to enthusiastic about the idea as she doesn't know anything about anime, games or otakudom, plus she doesn't have sifinificant traits that would make her stand out. Eriri and Utaha begin a conflicting rivalry and both agree to help Tomoya design the game to try to outdo each other. They are unimpressed with Tomoya's drafts and are losing interest in the idea. They give him a deadline, though he may not make it in time. Eriri and Utaha both try to talk him out of it, but then later Megumi says the 2 girls helped her in trying to become the girl Tomoyo envisions in the game. All agree to help create the game, with Tomoya shooting for a debut at Winter Comiket...

This is another anime about an otaku, in this case a dating sims game fan who wants to make his own game. It's interesting how the creators of this series depict Tomoyo the otaku as not very likeable, obssessive (like a otaku can be), obnoxious and even a little creepy. He knows what he wants for the game and when others tell him otherwise he strongly and loudly disagrees and tells them how it should be and why. As the series goes along though, we can see how devoted and hopeful he is to get to his goal, even taking several jobs to raise the funds for the game project. So it's completely understandable that the 2 talented girls don't want anything to do with him at first, while the inspiration for the game, Megumi, is completely clueless about his world of otakudom. Fortunately for the 2 girls, they don't want to be outdone by each other and are touched by Megumi who says they helped her. Eriri is a loudmouth and irritable, while Utaha is calm cool and will point out your faults and flaws to you. It may not sound like the ideal team to make a game, but in the anime world it's perfect. Like I said it took a little while to warm up to Tomoyo, but once they decide to go with the project, I'm eager to see how it will unfold and if they can make their goal. It could have been all laughs but the character interaction, the conflicting personalities and devotion make for some interesting interaction I think. Besides the character designs are pretty cute and animation is smooth. I look forward to the conclusion, not just to see if they can make the game, but also to see if they will learn something from each other and even like, get along...?! Thumbs up.

Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Yuna, Mimori, Fu and Itsuki all attend Sanshu middle school and are members of the "Hero Club." The club's specialty is to help out anyone who needs it and in any way, be it fellow students, clubs, local events and anything else. One day there is a strange occurrence: all 4 are caught in a bright explosion of light, then find themseleves in a bizarre forest where strange and deadly monsters attack them. Fu and Itsuki then explain that they know what's going on--the creatures called Vertex and they aim to destroy something called Shinju which protects humanity. Fu tells the other 2 to explain, while they use a special app on their phones to transform into warriors with special powers and weapons to fight the Vertex. Yuna is about to leave when she sees the 2 in peril, and soon the Vertex are attacking them too. She summons up the courage and bravery to also transform into a warrior. The 3 band together to destroy the core of the Vertex, and everyone returns to the real world. Fu explains they've been tasked by an organization called Taisha to defeat the Vertex which number up to 12. Mimori feels bad that she can't help because she is wheelchair bound and is upset that Fu has kept everything a secret. When the Vertex attack again and go after Yuna, Mimori summons up her courage and transforms into a warrior, with the ribbons of her outfit acting as stilt-like leg replacements, and all succeeding to defeat the Vertex. Later on they receiver help from another warrior named Karin, who can defeat the monsters singlehandedly and deems the other 4 unsuitable for the job at hand, but doesn't get along with the others, at first. Soon though Fu receives messages from Taisha that things could get worse for the Hero Club...

Oh I definitely got a very heavy Magica Modoka vibe from this series, with magical girl warriors with awesome weapons, a strange netherworld with bizarre creatures out to destroy you. Also the serious tone of the battles and dangers also stem from that series, including the story heading towards more serious peril for the characters or even worse. So why not just watch that series again? I think what sets apart this series from something else is probably it's characters, but I think the one important character to make note of is Mimori, whom I believe is the first heroine I've seen in a japanese anime that is wheelchair bound. This is a great idea to include a character confined to wheelchair who overcomes that hindrance to become a hero just like her friends who have the luxury to still use their legs. This could inspire hope for real kids in wheelchairs who watch this series: never give up on your dreams, you can still do what you want to do in life even with a handicap, nothing is impossible. I thought at first her warrior powers would heal her legs, but no that doesn't happen which is more realistic. Her warrior outfit becomes a substitute for her legs, which I thought was really clever. Of course the focus is on Yuna who is cute and brave and has a pretty cool costume and weapon to use. And I like the 2 sisters who protect each other, with one still learning the ropes. As for Karin, she is unlikable at first but then learns that's okay to be friends with her "inexperienced" warrior friends. She's actually a typical character in anime nowadays, the one who "changes," but she still works and provides a bit of balance to the characters. I also like the fact they use a phone app to transform, as opposed to a magic pen or wand like other magical girls. Yes you've seen this all before, but there is some originality to it. Marginal thumbs up.