Take a bite out of Kyubey's schemes!

Kyubey's head available for consumption!

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか☆マギカ) is a magic girl anime that broke stereotypes and brought the genre into new territory, becoming popular across the world. If you haven't seen it I recommend it, especially after 'that' episode which completely changes the tone. I was sceptical of the series at first but it quickly grew on me.

The series featured a magical creature called Kyubey, he could create contracts to make wishes and give power to girls who desired it. However, beyond his cutesy exterior was a much darker hidden motive. Now, if you go to Lawson you can enact sweet delicious revenge by eating his cute head!

For a limited time you can buy a steamed meat bun adorned with Kyubey's cutesy features...doesn't he look adorable!

But much like in the series, if you bite him in the wrong way, he begins to take a sinister turn...not so cute now huh?

The bun itself is actually really, really tasty. With a sweet and tangy sauce and plenty of meat to go with it. Sometimes with convenience store meat buns you can barely taste or notice the difference between fillings but not in this case!

I had only intended to but it once for novelty value but have bought it twice since and its better than the standard offerings, perfect for warming you up on the chilly days that have crept up on us recently.

Seek out your revenge at a Lawson store near you before he disappears!

Tower Cheese Monstrosity Returns!!

Cheesy Monstrosity was back for one day only!

Despite my intended focus of this blog being games and Japanese media and culture I keep getting sucked into the wonderful world of Ltd. Edition foods and drinks that are constantly being churned out here!

On 20th November, the hamburger chain Lotteria re-released their limited edition tower cheese burger for one day only. The last time they did this they sold out so quickly, but this time I got lucky!
For ¥500 you get just the burger, or for ¥700 you get a small drink and fries too. The drink is essential for all the damn meat you are about to eat...!

The tower cheese burger consists of a bun, 5 big meat patties and ton of cheese wedged inbetween. I saw some pretty horrific monstrosities on twitter the last time this promo took place so was pleasantly surprised to see that mine sort of resembled the promo photo!

It's difficult to eat, being bigger than the average mouth. I chose to attack it from the side, a salaryman infront of my tries to attack it from the bottom but he became a greasy mess within seconds...! The meat is...disappointing. It is edible but one word I would use to describe it is 'mushy'. Didn't feel solid at all, compared to other popular burger chains this is definitely dog food tier meat. There is no way cheese should have that bright yellow colour either, just doesn't look natural!

The main problem was grease, the bun inevitably gets soaked and makes your hands stink! I had to use a bunch of gatsy wipes to get rid of it. As you can see here, the greasy aftermath after you have finished instantly makes you regret your decision.

Is it worth it? For ¥500 you can argue that it is cheap for what you get, 5 patties is filling! But the taste leaves a lot to be desired. It is a good novelty burger to show your friends (...or the internet/instagram!)

If you are interested, I recently saw a sign for another one day only buying chance for the 10th of December, so go find a Lotteria near you and try one!

HATRED is new video game violence clickbait

HATRED is causing outrage due to violence in context

Before I write anything I feel it is best to put everything in context by linking you to the trailer to watch and form your own initial opinion...so here it is!

DISCLAIMER: I do not feel that video games condone violence at all, if you think so I feel that you are a complete idiot. I have been playing games for years and years and consider violent people to be the most simple and lowest form of humanity. Games can be inappropriate for younger children yes, but that does not mean that it will cause them to stab their neighbours. It is a parents responsibility to judge what is appropriate for them, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER FORM OF MEDIA.

Now that is out of the way, lets take a look at HATRED, a gameplay trailer has just been released by the Polish developers 'Destructive Creations' along with a tweet saying "Spread it on the web! Share it! Bring it everywhere and let the haters hate! (And they will, oh they will...)" Now this immediately screams to me as a marketing gimmick. Jumping hot on the heels of Gamergate making gamers look like feminist hating death threat sending idiots, this trailer aims to get the game as much publicity as possible with shock tactics. The fact that the video has over a million views within 3 days says something.
You only need to briefly take a look at the Youtube comments to see how much butthurt this has created not just amongst game fans but in the media overall. Several blogs are over-exaggerating; calling this game a genocide simulator. I wouldn't go that far, it doesn't depict a sole target for extinction, I would rather use the term mass murder simulator.  The reason for many of these accusations is because several observers have taken note that many members of the production group are affiliated with far right wing, homophobic groups. Yes this makes them shitty people, but I see no indication of their targeted hate in the trailer at all, its a simple mass killing simulation.

The trailer depicts an edgy trenchcoat wearing, long haired thug with generic gravelled voice, the only thing missing is a fedora to complete the angsty image. Clearly designed to appeal to angsty teens with a persecution complex. He states that he wants to kill everyone, violently, and wants to die, violently. Loading up weapons into he incredibly deep pockets. The gameplay then cuts to show a minute of violent gameplay showing the player opening his door into an innocent neighbourhood and gunning down innocent civilians as they run and plead for help. Many people were especially shocked at the 'execution' scenes showing civilians and cops getting shot point blank as they flail and plead for their lives. This made me reminisce instantly about the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 mission 'No Russian', which also generated a ton of controversy for gunning down innocents in a busy airport. What most people forget though is that this kind of violence is nothing new - Manhunt, GTA, COD. Yet year after year people blow up in response to violence in video games. HATRED tries to push the envelope further by making the slaughter of innocents in the most dramatic and edgy way as possible as the sole objective of the game. At least it seems that way so far, from one minute of gameplay it is difficult to tell whether there is more of a context to be given. This is what makes violence in some games 'socially acceptable' but in others 'outrageous', context.  

The Last of Us was a commerical success, receiving lots of 'Game of the year' awards and praise from various press releases. The quest for a man and his young female dependant trying to survive in a society plagued by an infectious disease. People praised the story and the development of the characters, what a lot of people forget though is that Joel and Ellie killed A LOT of people on the way, sure, a lot of people wanted to kill them too but why is that suddenly ok? I'm also pretty sure that a lot of the medical staff at the end didn't deserve it?

How about Uncharted? Also incredibly successful, the hero Drake is an explorer who searches for relics Indian Jones style. He kills an huge amount of people, these people die and people just shrugs it off and laugh because 'they are the bad guys'. This is a modern story and the hero takes countless lives for the sake of treasure and shows very little afterthought when he does so. Yet no-one thinks twice about it because people aren't begging for their lives or scared of death so its OK?
Even in games where bad guys DO plead for their lives, often gamers hit the execute them any more because 'they are the enemy'.

I wonder what people would say if you dressed the HATRED guy as an American Spec Ops soldier, set it abroad and had the innocents as part of the 'violent ISIS community and culture' . Would it be acceptable then?
Other games such as Homefront, Spec Ops, and Payday have killable civilians as part of the setting. They are not the main objective but for example, in Payday during a Bank Heist, things often go wrong and police officers and innocents may end up as part of the body count. All for the sake of money, but its part of the gameplay so its OK, we have choices right?

This two faced approach of gaming journalism is really irritating, why choose a few games as a violence scapegoat for crimes yet accept the rest? Journalist sites are glorifying the violence in game because it so openly shows the violence in a dark setting, literally, look at that total lack of colour apart from all that edgy blood! To be honest, if the developers can get away with marketing this game for what it is, killing people, then maybe its better than other games out there who try to pretend it doesn't exist as part of their gameplay or try to justify the violence. Some people are too disturbed by this reality of life despite our media being full of suicide bombings, school shoots, public stabbings and so on. I would be more worried about walking home past a bunch guys on a dark night in the UK than some violent game.

I kind of drifted off my original point but violent games don't cause violent actions in real life. HATRED is a tasteless game, I agree. It also looks incredibly shallow from a gaming perspective, I enjoy rampaging in a game like GTA once in a way but it becomes boring fast. I can't imagine an entire game based around shooting unarmed people until police show up is going to remain 'entertaining' for a long time. This won't matter for the developers though, they have just created a huge amount of free marketing and promotion with just one tweet and a mini trailer. People are going to buy it to see what the fuss is about and out of morbid curiosity, then there will be the kids who also can't wait to shoot up the society because 'everyone is out to get me' and 'life sucks'. Hell I even wrote an article about it because the community butthurt was so fascinating. Well played Destructive Creations.

First Class Season 2 : First Impressions

First Class Season 2 : First Impressions

It is currently the time of year where all of the new drama series begin so I keep finding myself stumbling onto new shows when watching TV, such as Nobunaga Concerto which you can see my impressions on by clicking here. Yesterday during dinner I found myself watching the first episode of First Class Season 2 and despite probably not being in the intended target audience, I really enjoyed it!

Season 2 is set half a year after the first season of "First Class." Where Chinami Yoshinari (Erika Sawajiri) begins work as a fashion designer. In the first season she had battled her way from a starting position to the editor role of famous fashion magazine 'First Class' despite the fierce cut-throat office environment. She eventually saves the magazine from cancellation and triumphs over all of the hurdles thrown her way. In season 2 she has now landed work as a fashion designer, where the stakes are much, much higher. She is now mixing with some very powerful figures in this high end field and a lot of money is on the line. However in the bitchy world of fashion she is now being targeted and trampled upon by her ruthless industry peers. She attempts to get through by using her wisdom and toughness that she gained from experience in season 2.

Due to its popularity First class was renewed for a 2nd season by FujiTV and is apparently one of the fastest ever series to be signed up for a second season! In the first season Chinami had the role of being a good girl in a bitchy bad girl world. Whereas in Season 2 we see her transform from “everyone else but me is bad” to “everyone is bad including me”. This drama is bitchy, REALLY bitchy. It is like a more extreme version of A Devil Wears Prada except that almost everyone is selfish, backstabbing and out for themselves.

The editors do a really good job of showing the characters two faced personalities by showing their outside comments in normal conversation then having lots of up close shots while a highly emotive inner dialogue is heard. I literally lost count of the amount of close up bitchy stares and smirks I saw in the first episode but the thoughts being projected are so bitchy and amusing that I loved every second of it. My main concern though is that this technique might become tiring fast and may be a bit over the top in the long term, but for the first time viewing I thought it was awesome.

In First Class, to add a bit more depth to the simple bitchiness of the girls, the series uses a 'mounting' scale to judge each other and rank their 'position' among others. I'm not sure if this is an invented term, being an outsider to both the fashion world and a bitchy women's brain; but it is an interesting plot mechanic. The mounting scale basically judges a woman based on their love life, job status, money and personal belongings. It is incredibly shallow to be honest, but this IS the fashion world after all! After each episode the 'mounting' ranking is shown, with actresses being ranked in a playing card format, changing order after the events of each episode. This is a good way to clarify exactly who is 'on top' at that current story point, or who took a mighty dive in social rankings.

Now I'm not going to lie, these pictures don't even do the cast justice. The actors and actresses are gorgeous! They totally fit the 'fashion world' image and are always wearing cutting edge outfits, amazing hairstyle and picture perfect make-up. The pretty faces also work well with the whole two faced bitchy angle the series relies on too. Behind every pretty face there could be some really ugly intentions.

Chinami has to battle against gossiping, project sabotage and just general competition in order to succeed and I'm looking forward to seeing her struggle through. The series may be a bit over the top and direct for some viewers and it may wear thin as the series goes on but I'm going to tune in for now!

You can check out the trailer below!

Nobunaga Concerto Drama First Impressions

Nobunaga Concerto : First Episode Impressions

While channel hopping last night, keeping track of where Typhoon 19 was heading, a random new drama popped on screen. Turns out it was the first episode! I soon found myself getting sucked in because 1) I'm an Oguri Shun fan and 2) It is set around the Sengoku Jidai, and I'm a giant Sengoku nerd. Therefore my interest peaked as soon as I saw the intro. Sengoku Jidai is the era where various samurai clans under the rule of powerful generals fought against each other to unite Japan.

Oguri Shun plays the role of Saburo, a high school student who is poor at studying and pretty unsuccessful with the ladies. In the opening, Saburo finds himself being rejected by a girl at a Sengoku Matsuri, a festival celebrating the famous samurai of the past. While sulking he slips down a hill and smashes his head. Unknowingly slipping through time and arriving in the Sengoku period of 1549. Almost immediately he meets Nobunaga Oda who is the spitting image of himself. Nobunaga is one of the most famous warlords in Japanese history and in this period is the son of a warlord and magistrate of the lower Owari Province. Nobunaga is physically sick and asks Saburo to live his life in his place, under the name Nobunaga Oda.I'm not going to lie, the premise for the series is pretty stupid, and the introduction sequence is full of over the top acting that Japanese dramas are known for. At first I took it for a simple carefree comedy drama, but while it does have many comedic moments it also has a serious side too. At first Saburo treats the world as a joke, thinking that he is still at the festival in modern times. He is still dressed in modern clothing yet has no phone signal, and treats the world as one big stage, much to the embarrassment of his very real retainers. 

Look how stupid he looks!

This is amplified throughout as despite changing into more traditional samurai garb he is still sporting his sneakers and occasionally his hoody. This light hearted tone often made me laugh out loud during some of the more slapstick scenes. Especially when he tries to woo his future wife for the first time, showing clear inexperience!

 However, soon battle breaks out involving Nobunaga's clan, Saburo still assumes that it is a re-enactment and cheerfully walks into battle, almost causing his premature death. It isn't until he is directly attacked, slashed and seeing people die before his eyes that he panics and realises that perhaps the world is real after all! His realisation scene was a powerful moment, however due to drama budget constraints, the battle was very small scale and some of the blood effects were too fake. Ruining the effect. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the recent Kenshin movies.

Another complaint about this drama depiction of the era is that everything is too clean, from the armour to the village. It looks like a set, not a real village and while I realise this is a prime time drama, I felt that it would have had more emotional impact if they tried to make us believe in the world more.

Without revealing the plot of the first episode, several key events occur that push Saburo into power as the leader of his region as well as bringing on the troubles that come with that responsibility. The last thirty minutes of the episode are quite tragic due to the horrors of war and the duty of samurai involved. Saburo grows a lot during a single episode but he still has a way to go! I don't want to say any more for fear of ruining the story but I found myself respecting the drama more and more as the story developed. Becoming less of a slapstick comedy and more of a character development piece.

Having watched the episode with no previous knowledge of it whatsoever it turns out that it is based off a popular manga and anime series of the same title. Needless to say I already have the next episode set to record and am excited to see how Saburo's tale unfolds!

Check out the trailer here!

るろうに剣心 伝説の最期編, 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends' Movie Review

Rurouni Kenshin : The Legend Ends Movie Review

Following up on last months release of the 2nd movie, Kyoto Inferno, the final movie in the Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy,るろうに剣心 伝説の最期編 or 'Rurouni Kenshin, The Legend Ends' concludes all of the events in the Shishio Arc. This is one of first honestly decent live action animation adaptations to date and holds its own as a movie trilogy. The movie follows on the final the final events of the 2nd movie, with Kenshin being picked up by his previous master 'Seijuro Hiko' and becoming separated from Kaoru. Meanwhile Shishio threatens the government who then pursues Kenshin.

I am writing this review with the assumption that readers know the events of either the manga or anime series, therefore some minor spoilers may be included!

Masaharu Fukuyama was a surprising reveal for many as the face of Seijuro. He does a great job of playing Kenshin's mentor and a large part of the beginning revolves around his training and duals with Kenshin. Often besting him with a simple wooden weapon. He eventually impresses upon Kenshin the value of his own life and that she should care about his own existence as well as others. Fukuyama gives Seijuro a more dirty and experienced image compared to the young looking master in the original series. I feel this is for the best since you truly feel his confidence and that he has been brought out of his hermit existence to school his pupil one more time.

While the action scenes between them are entertaining, the pacing throughout the entire Seijuro is a little poor, the movie already tops out at over two hours and I feel that numerous cuts could have been made here to increase the pace. Also while he does teach Kenshin new values, Seijuro's impact on the rest of the events of the movie is very little and therefore more priority could have been given to fleshing out other characters motivations.

If you remember in my review of the previous film I had some issues with the retelling of Aoshi's backstory and motivations for Kenshin. While this does get somewhat resolved in the final movie, it all feels a little convenient and that his mindset changes too fast. Aoshi has a very entertaining fight in a wooded area around a tunnel which provides some excellent wall running and environmental swordplay. He also plays a part in the final battle against Shishio although it is never really explained WHY he is taking part other than "The person who will defeat Kenshin is me!" Which seems a bit weak overall and doesn't do the character justice. I do give the actor credit though as despite the plot changes he makes a great Aoshi.

One interesting difference between the 2nd and 3rd movies is that while the 2nd movie was more about large scale battles, one vs. many, the 3rd movie has a lot more smaller, dual based battles. I feel this really changes the dynamic of a movie in a good way as it feels like there is a lot more to lose for all involved. This even takes place during the large scale battle at the end near the Black Ship. The camera, briefly lingering on characters of note as they blitz around the battlefield, whether it is the likes of Saito defeating some key warriors or Sanosuke being a white blur as he punches his way through the ranks.

One key difference between the anime and movie that I liked was the difference in setting. I didn't like the whole 'fighting game arcade tier' aspect of the battles in the anime. It was like fighting your way through each character stage until you reach the main boss, the Shao Khan of Kenshin, Shishio. The movie doesn't set the final battle upon Shishio's mountain base but instead takes part on the beach and the great black fortress ship. The ship felt a little unnecessary in the manga but in the movie it plays a large role throughout in threatening the government and ties in nicely. Due to this setting, the end battles transition a lot more fluidly without that cheesy 'next stage' feeling. In fact the final 50 minutes or so is just one giant battle sequence and it is GLORIOUS. For all of the pacing issues at the start, this more than makes up for any short comings. 

As I said in my previous review, the series does a good job at grounding the battles within a 'realistic' setting. The CG is used sparingly, there are no wire air battle theatrics and the flamework on Shishio's sword is used to accentuate his strikes. It is done in a way that makes you simply think 'wow this guy is strong'. The CG effects are mainly reserved for the large scale environment changes and artillery fire. Kenshin is a good example of not going over the top in anime adaptaions.

The Shishio fight at the end is phenomenal, I was on the edge constantly going 'goddamn' as Shishio battles against not just Kenshin but also Aoshi. Saito and Sanosuke at the same time. The choreography and actors did a fantastic job in making each strike fast but impactful. Shishio especially appears incredibly strong, each strike and slash has a ton of impact and a few scenes where Sanosuke gets his ass kicked really did have me wince and think "he totally isn't getting up from that". 

It could be said that Sanosuke is one of the unsung heroes of Kenshin, I must admit I'm not a fan of him normally. He is brash and stupid and punches before he thinks but throughout this movie he is always behind Kenshin. In the final battles, while the others are slashing their way through the enemies, you can always see Sanosuke in the background doing his part. Even in the final battle, he is aware that he is punching WAY above his power level, getting his ass kicked bad. But he keeps on trying and I couldn't help but feel some respect for the poor guy! Especially at the end when it is Sanosuke supporting Kenshin and not the other way around, yet everyone rushes to Kenshin, Completely ignoring Sanosuke. Poor dude.

As Kenshin's allies fight their way through the ship we see them fight off against the numerous members of Shishio's group, this is where I feel some more time could have been used to develop the enemies. Sojiro Seta in particular has no expansion upon his backstory in the movie, which was one of my favorites in the manga.Ryûnosuke Kamiki does a fantastic job of making Sojiro an extremely fast swordsman who hides a painful past behind a happy smile and demeanor. I especially liked his "Are?" as he gets hit and cannot comprehend the fact that he is losing. He does eventually break down after being defeated and Kamiki does well to express his trauma but the overall impact is lost since we don't know the backstory.

Overall, The Legend Ends is a fantastic end to one of the best live action adaptions I have ever seen. It can easily compete with other original big budget productions despite remaining quite faithful to the source material yet making the necessary tweaks for the big screen. Sadly at the end of the credits there were no hints for a future movie, as I was hoping for a story revolving around Enishi but who knows, this trilogy has been a fantastic success and I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to do that arc too. I fully intend to watch this again once it comes out on DVD, I had to resist heading back to the cinema a second time, because it is that damn good! Go watch it! 

「ええやん！」Kansai Dialect is now on Facebook!

Great news to all of you Kansai fans out there! Kansai-Ben is now available on facebook! めっちゃええやん！

Japan, like any other country has a wide variety of regional dialects. Some more famous than others, in Japan however the most widely known is 関西弁 (Kansai-Ben), otherwise known as Kansai Dialect. Most people relate it to the city of Osaka but it covers an area much wider than that, stretching from Hyogo to Kyoto. There are also many regional varients.

Depending on who you talk to, peoples image of Kansai-Ben ranges from "friendly, and approachable" to "too direct", "mean" and "blunt". There are exceptions of course but in my experience it seems that people native to Tokyo tend to think of Osakans as more funny, brash and too direct types. Whereas Osaka people tend to view native Tokyo as too cold and uptight. Who knows though? I've encountered many exceptions to these stereotypes. I personally love it, both speaking and hearing it, it feels very friendly.

But Kansai-Ben is now available as a language option! But what does that mean?

Lets look at the search bar, for all these images the standard dialect is on top with Kansai-Ben below.
As you can see the words for search 検索 Kensaku now has a new ending 検索せえへん Kensakuseehen! This is a negative version of する suru, to do. So it kind of roughly translates as "Don't you wanna search for friends or places?"

My favourite changes comes in the status bar. Having lived and the Osaka and Kansai area for a while I have noticed that this ending form has become a big part of my spoken Japanese without even thinking about it. I always worry about it in formal situations!

The standard dialect states 今どんな気持ち？Ima donna kimochi? Which can be translated as "What kind of mood are you in now?"

Whereas the Kansai version says 何してるん？Nani shiterun? Which could be said as "What are you doing now?" Kansai dialect tends to add a lot of -n sounds to everyone which is really fun and easy to say!
It's interesting that the question asked feels completely different in nature though!

Next up, birthdays! Super happy times! So of course we use stronger language when doing so!

Standard dialect offers a rather blands 今日はだれだれさんの誕生日です。Kyou ha daredaresan no tanjoubi desu. "Today its Blah Blah's birthday."

Whereas the Kansai version feels like it has a lot more punch to it. 今日はだれだれさんの誕生日やで！Kyou ha daredaresan no tanjoubi yade! This is basically "It's blah blah's birthday today!!!" やで！is somewhat similar to だよ but just feels like it has a lot more emotion behind it. Actually feels like they are happy to announce it rather than just being a blank statement.

On pictures is where we can see the most notable changes.

Tokyo's いいね！iine! (like), コメントする commentsuru (comment) and シェア Shiea (Share) buttons have now been replaced with ええやん！eeyan! つっこむ tsuukomu and わけわけ wakewake.
When you put やん！on the end of a statement it makes it stronger! Kind of like "I really like this!" or "awesome!" The other words have been changed to sound much more like native Japanese instead of the simple katakana words too.

I personally think that this change has been long overdue and have already seen several posts from Osaka friends who seem super happy about the new changes!

What do you think? Are you going to make the switch? If so, then you can select it under 日本語（関西弁） in the language settings!

Akame ga kill! Impressions so far.

Normally I am not the type of guy who watches current season anime; I prefer to have the entire series at my fingertips to binge upon once a series has been concluded/running for a long time. However this summer I have been hooked on the series 'Akame ga kill!', based off the manga of the same title. I was initially drawn into the series after seeing some fancy gifs of the fight sequences and decided I had to see the series in action. I have watched it up until it's current 12th episode and I definitely intend to finish it! I was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't just fancy sword work...!

The story mainly focuses on the protagonist Tatsumi, an accomplished fighter in his poor village. He departs with two of his strong friends to head to the capital and earn enough money and prestige to dig his poor village and friends out of poverty. Along the way they encounter 'Danger Beasts' and dispatch them with relative ease. These monsters play a stronger role later in the series due to the materials they offer, the world reminds me of 'Monster Hunter' and how legendary creatures can help create immensely powerful weapons.

On the way he is warned that the capital is not what it seems and that violence, corruption and terror are rampant. The corrupt prime minister is puppeteering the child emperor to further his own desires and remove any opposition through torture, murder and heavy taxation. Perhaps not the most original plot point but it provides an anchor for which all of the other protagonists and antagonists work around with their own agendas.

Tatsumi soon learns that the capital is not what it seems and encounters the assassin group 'Night Raid' a group of unique and talented individuals whose goal is to help the revolutionary army topple the corrupt capital and restore order to the country. Unlike the army, they use covert tactics and eliminate key threats within the capital. Without spoiling the big shocking reveal in the first episode, Tatsumi finds himself dealing swift justice and joining Night Raid...thus the series continues.

Each member of 'Night Raid' as well as various antagonists wield weapons known as 'Imperial Arms' or 帝具, commissioned by the First Emperor using alchemy and the parts of the various 'Danger Beasts' over 900 years ago. 48 were created but half are lost to history. Each item is unique in its abilities, strengths and weaknesses and take many forms ranging from weaponry to armour and even cosmetic items. Some are even organic 'living' entities that are fearsome in their own right. Not anyone can use an imperial arm and they are attuned to their user. One interesting legend is that "if two imperial arm users fight, even if it is a draw, one is fated to die." This leads to some tense battles between users as you know that someone has to lose.

This brings me to the battles. The battles in this anime are fantastic, the animation is of high quality, the sequences are fluid and weapons are well drawn. Some of the later battles in particular keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. It also doesn't hold back any punches relating to gore, it does so however without going too over the top, walking the fine balance between gritty and overkill. There were moments where I actually said "holy crap" during some of the more stunning scenes. Like Attack on Titan it doesn't make any exceptions for who lives and who dies. The series does a good job of building up an interest in a character then unexpectedly depicting their demise. It doesn't overdo this but there have been some casualties that I hadn't anticipated!

The music is also very well done. The opening song 'Skyreach' by Sora Amamiya and the ending 'Konna Sekaai, Shiritakunakatta' work really well with the series and I have already added them to my regular track list! The recurring soundtrack they use for moments of despair and sorrow is particularly powerful.

I am also a big fan of the character designs; each has their own unique design and colour palette. Initially I didn't like the idea of characters having their 'own colour' as I felt that it was too stark of a contrast but after a while it becomes part of the character's appeal. It also helps to provide a contrast with some of the darker and more 'edgy' scenes. The costumes and weaponry in particular are impressive; each Imperial Arm has its own appeal. The series also boasts some ridiculously cool hairstyles, take Bulat and his General for example, badass!

Speaking of badasses, we are later introduced to the fearsome General Esdeath, a sadistic lady with a fierce Imperial Arm that can create and manipulate ice. She is shown effortlessly conquering the North before being summoned by the Prime Minister to the capital to get rid of the Night Raid assassins. I REALLY like this character, from her design down to her personality. She somewhat reminds me of Selvaria from Valkyrie Chronicles. Both due to her colour design, ruthless nature and devotion to her belief and passion. Esdeath however, is more ruthless in this regard; she believes people die because they are weak, that is all. We do however get to see her softer side and her compassion for comrades and a special someone, which allows for her character to be developed beyond the simple 'ruthless general' stereotype. Plus her outfit is amazing.

The series mimics the flow of the manga in its ability to deliver shocking, gritty action while contrasting it with light humour and cutesy scenes. There is some fan service here and there, especially with some of the more 'endowed' characters. There are some of the typical shonen tropes but on the whole the balance is good.

The show has so far been able to introduce enemies steadily without giving it an 'enemy of the week' vibe and the overarching plot is moving at a nice steady pace. I can only hope that this series continues like this as I am hooked and can't wait to see what happens next. Although if anymore of my favourite characters die I'm going to be mad!

I really recommend you check it out for yourself!