Gundam SEED Festival with T.M.Revolution and the voice cast
The Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FESTIVAL ~CONNECT Beyond That Time~ that celebrated the series was held at the Bunkyo Civic Center in Korakuen, Tokyo on the 19th. Notable attendees included Soichiro Hoshi, Rie Tanaka, Akira Ishida, Kenichi Suzumura, Hiro Shimono, T.M.Revolution, and Nami Tamaki.
The highly anticipated film, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, is a completely new addition to the series…
Information regarding the MOIW 2023 live has been revealed! The live will occur in the TOKYO DOME on the 11th and 12th of February 2023. This live will feature all five brands of IDOLM@STER on the stage together after 8 years.
The voice providers participating in this stop are as follows:
❥ Albums I like as moodboards: Pink vol.1
Youko Oginome - VERGE OF LOVE
Koda Kumi - MY NAME IS...
TM NETWORK - RAINBOW RAINBOW
Nami Tamaki - Don't Stay
ENJIN - O
Mari Iijima - Rosé
Falco - Falco 3
Key-a-Kiss - Euro de Key-a!
Rie Miyazawa - MU
Genshin Impact has lived up to its name in that it has indeed made an impact upon the gaming world. Launched on September 26, the free-to-play open-world game has amassed $245 million in only its first month, and that's from Android and iOS alone. I'm not ashamed to say that I have sunk an unholy number of hours into this game. Why do I like this game so much? Perhaps the biggest reason Genshin Impact is so appealing to me is that I am an anime fan.
Voices from all over the world of anime can be heard in Genshin Impact, from Naruto to My Hero Academia to currently airing seasonal anime. Being able to "hear" your favorite anime character in-game is part of what makes this game so great. Let's take a look at some of the talented people from the anime industry whose voices bring the characters of Genshin Impact to life.
Paimon (Aoi Koga)
Paimon is the face of Genshin Impact. No, literally, her face is on the launcher icon. Imagine my shock when I found out she is voiced by Aoi Koga, the voice of Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The intimidatingly smart rich girl Kaguya and the squeaky and energetic (and kinda stupid) Paimon couldn't be more different. Props to Koga for making both work. Koga has also voiced Elulu from Cautious Hero, Yuri Miyata from TWOCAR, and Sora Kaneshiro from Angel's 3Piece.
Male Traveler (Shun Horie)
One of the first actions you take in the game (in most games, for that matter) is to choose your character. In Genshin Impact, you choose between two world-traveling twins, who the other characters simply refer to as "Traveler." The male Traveler (whose official name is Aether) is voiced by Shun Horie. I personally recognize him as Enta from Sarazanmai, but most would know him as Kazuya ("Kazuya-kuuuuun!") from Rent-a-Girlfriend. Some of his other roles include Ichiro Suzuki aka Satou Pendragon from Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Rat from Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, and Hacker from this season's Akudama Drive.
Female Traveler (Aoi Yuuki)
What about the female Traveler (whose official name is Lumine)? Turns out she's voiced by Aoi Yuuki, who voices ... Mami from the same show. The irony of this coincidence is not lost on me. Yuuki is probably best known for voicing Madoka Kaname, the protagonist of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. To me, however, her most memorable role was as the titular Boogiepop in 2019's Boogiepop and Others; an unforgettable performance. She's voiced a number of other notable roles, including Tamaki from Fire Force, Tsuyu Asui (Froppy) from My Hero Academia, Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil, Tornado from One-Punch Man, Kayo from ERASED, Yuuki Konno from Sword Art Online II, and Hachiman's sister Komachi from My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.
Amber (Manaka Iwami)
Image via Madman Entertainment
Amber is one of the game's most popular characters, owing to her cheerful and optimistic personality. She is voiced by Manaka Iwami, the voice of Teresa Wagner in Tada Never Falls in Love, Lykos in Children of the Whales, Mizuho in Wave, Listen to Me!, and Maquia in Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.
Kaeya (Kohsuke Toriumi)
The cool and charismatic Kaeya is, surprisingly enough, voiced by Kohsuke Toriumi, known as the voice of the hotheaded Kiba from Naruto. He has also voiced Shunsuke Imaizumi from Yowamushi Pedal, Mista from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and Cecil from the Uta no Prince-sama franchise.
Lisa (Rie Tanaka)
A lazy and flirtatious scholar with electrical powers, Lisa is voiced by the experienced Rie Tanaka, who one might easily recognize as Lacus Clyne from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. The gentle, "sisterly" voice of Lacus suits Lisa's personality to a T. Tanaka has also voiced Yomi from Azumanga Daioh, Chii from Chobits, Sammy from Time of Eve, Maria from Hayate the Combat Butler, Chizuru from Squid Girl, and Suiginto from Rozen Maiden.
Barbara (Akari Kito)
The first Akari Kito role that catches the eye is her performance as Kotoko Iwanaga in In/Spectre; both she and Barbara have a near-identical dressing sense, with their frilly white frock and cap. Kito has also voiced Nezuko in Demon Slayer, Nene Yashiro in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Kaho Hinata in BLEND-S, and Suzune Horikita in Classroom of the Elite. You can also look forward to hearing her as Tsukasa in TONIKAWA and Adachi in Adachi and Shimamura this season.
Beidou (Ami Koshimizu)
Beidou is voiced by Ami Koshimizu, voice of Ryuko from Kill la Kill and Kallen from Code Geass — two popular characters from two of the biggest shows of our times. Some of her other roles include Holo from Spice and Wolf, Tenma from School Rumble, Nodoka from Saki, and Shizuri from A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Bennett (Ryota Osaka)
Bennett's design coupled with his "passionate" and "righteous" personality screams "protagonist" to me. And that's exactly what his voice actor Ryota Osaka delivers, being the voice of Eijun Sawamura from Ace of the Diamond, Nariyuki Yuiga from We Never Learn: BOKUBEN, and Ryu Yamada from Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. His other roles include Zen Wistalia in Snow White with the Red Hair, Keiji Akaashi in Haikyu!!, Yuki Sanada in Tsuritama, Nagate in Knights of Sidonia, Ikki Kurogane in Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and Sadao Mao in The Devil is a Part-Timer!.
Chongyun (Soma Saito)
Chongyun is voiced by Soma Saito, perhaps best known as Yamaguchi from Haikyu!!. However, his breakout performance was as young Twelve in Terror in Resonance. Other notable roles include Tatsumi from Akame ga Kill, Adlet Mayer from Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Doppio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and William James Moriarty from the currently-airing Moriarty the Patriot.
Diluc (Kensho Ono)
Diluc is widely considered to be the best character in the game from a gameplay perspective. He is voiced by Kensho Ono, whose most famous voice performance is undoubtedly Giorno Giovanna, the protagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. Ono is also known for his performance as the titular Kuroko from Kuroko's Basketball. Other roles include Canute from Vinland Saga, Arata from ReLIFE, Mikazuki from My Roommate is a Cat, Slaine Troyard from Aldnoah.Zero, Tanaka from Tanaka-kun is Always Listless, and Akutagawa from Bungo Stray Dogs.
Fischl (Maaya Uchida)
In what has to be the most on-point casting in this game, Maaya Uchida — best known as the voice of delusional eyepatch-wearing chunibyo (middle-schooler) Rikka from Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions — voices a delusional eyepatch-wearing chunibyo in Fischl. Well done, miHoYo, well done. She also voices Hiyori from Noragami, Norman from The Promised Neverland, Catarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villainess, Yoshioka from Blue Spring Ride, and Rui from Domestic Girlfriend.
Jean (Chiwa Saito)
Chiwa Saito (the voice of Jean) went on to become one of my favorite voice actors after I heard her as Hitagi in Bakemonogatari, Yona in Yona of the Dawn, and Homura in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Some of her other performances include Aika in Aria the Animation, Chloe von Einzbern in Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2wei, and Schierke in 2016's Berserk.
Keqing (Eri Kitamura)
The energetic and hardworking Keqing is played by Eri Kitamura, known for voicing such energetic characters as Mina Ashido in My Hero Academia, Yui in Angel Beats, and Sayaka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She also voices Ami in Toradora!, "Chief" Yachiyo in Wagnaria!!, and Bea in Pokemon: Twilight Wings.
Klee (Misaki Kuno)
Klee has quickly become a fan favorite, partly due to her short stature and childlike demeanor. She is quite appropriately voiced by Misaki Kuno, known for voicing "childlike" characters such as Hawk from The Seven Deadly Sins, Momo Kawamoto from March Comes in Like a Lion, Shio from Happy Sugar Life, Serara from Log Horizon, Niko from Kiznaiver, and Akane from Durarara!! x2.
Mona (Konomi Kohara)
Is it a coincidence that this game has both Aoi Koga AND Konomi Kohara (who voice Kaguya and Chika in Kaguya-sama: Love is War)? I think not. Kohara's other notable roles include Akane from Tsukigakirei, Kasumi from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -, Mina Hibino from Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san, Shamiko from The Demon Girl Next Door, and Tsukasa's sister Chitose from TONIKAWA.
Ningguang (Sayaka Ohara)
Sayaka Ohara is known for her deep, "mature" voice — an apt fit for Ningguang. While Ohara's best-known voice role is probably as Erza Scarlet in the Fairy Tail series, she has also delivered iconic performances as Beatrice from the Umineko When They Cry visual novels and Yuuko in xxxHolic. Other well-known roles include Irisviel from Fate/Zero, Alice from Aria the Animation, Milly Ashford from Code Geass, and Mrs. Yuigahama (Gaha-mama) in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.
Noelle (Kanon Takao)
Kanon Takao has not done a whole lot of voice roles but there are still some recognizable titles on their resume, such as Hina Tsurugi from the recently-aired Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, Latina from If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord, Aku from Demon Lord, Retry!, and Linnea from The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar.
Qiqi (Yukari Tamura)
Qiqi is voiced by Yukari Tamura, who shot to fame as the voice of protagonist Nanoha Takamachi from the influential magical girl franchise Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Her other significant voice roles are as Togame in Katanagatari, Tenten in Naruto, Rika Furude in When They Cry, Io Euclase in GRANBLUE FANTASY: The Animation, Mai Kawasumi in Kanon, Yamada in B Gata H Kei, and Jibril in No Game No Life.
Razor (Kouki Uchiyama)
Kouki Uchiyama is known for his soft-spoken roles, especially villainous ones like Meruem from Hunter x Hunter, Shigaraki from My Hero Academia, and Rui from Demon Slayer. Even his non-villainous roles have that serious, soft-spoken nature to them — Tsukishima from Haikyu!!, Smile from Ping Pong the Animation, Natsuno from Shiki, Yu Otosaka from Charlotte, and Toi from Sarazanmai. He is a perfect fit for Razor, a menacing wolf-boy of few words.
Sucrose (Akane Fujita)
Akane Fujita (the voice actor for curious bio-alchemist Sucrose) had her breakout year in 2017 when she played Sagiri Izumi in Eromanga Sensei and Sistine Fibel in Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor.
Venti (Ayumu Murase)
Venti's naive and mischievous personality makes him the perfect fit for Ayumu Murase, best known as the voice of the cheerful and simpleminded Shoyo Hinata of Haikyu!! fame. What interests me most, however, is the fact that Murase also voiced protagonist Kazuki from Sarazanmai — between Venti, Razor, and the male Traveler, it looks like we have the entire Sarazanmai main trio assembled! Murase has also voiced Shun in From the New World, Iruma in Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, and Ryo Asuka in Devilman Crybaby.
Xiangling (Ari Ozawa)
I was very excited to hear that Xiangling would be voiced by Ari Ozawa, whose performance as Chiyo Sakura in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (her first major role) is one of the finest I have ever seen. Ozawa has also voiced Hina Hikawa in BanG Dream! S2, Kirin Todo in The Asterisk War, Mao in Hinamatsuri, Papi in Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls, Benitoite in Land of the Lustrous, Lynn May in Plunderer, and Conny in The Promised Neverland.
Xingqiu (Junko Minagawa)
It is quite common in the voice acting industry for male characters, especially younger ones, to be voiced by female VAs. Such is the case with refined bookworm Xingqiu. This is not the first time Junko Minagawa has voiced a male character — her first role came as Ryoma Echizen from the long-running The Prince of Tennis. Her other roles include Oz Vessalius in PandoraHearts, Cornelia in Code Geass, Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon Crystal, and Jeanne d'Arc in Drifters.
As more characters are added to the game, we can expect more talented voice work from the people behind the scenes. Further updates have teased us with the possibility of such giants as Saori Hayami and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka joining the cast. Can't wait!
Who is your favorite Genshin Impact character? Let us know in the comments below!
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it
How did I get into this anime? Let’s just say due to a few websites I frequent around decided to be little whore-ish, I became curious by this particular title. Let’s just say they were mentioning this one at least every other day prior to the premier. So out of natural curiosity and knowing nothing of what I’m getting into, I decided to add another Friday anime to my watch list. I guess Fridays are my busy day for watching anime!
Kazuya Kinoshita is a 20 year old college student. Life seems to be going well for him until his girlfriend decides to dump him.
Not even 30 seconds into this anime and this sad-sack gets dumped!
SERIOUSLY! 18 SECONDS! NEW FRIGGIN’ RECORD!!!
So after Kazuya gets dumped, he ends up on a website and before you know it, he’s made arrangements to go on a date with a rented girlfriend! Yes, these are very much a thing. You can go to a website and pay a woman to go on a date with you. Apparently, Japan has a lot of these services and it does get a little ewwie with it so I’m gonna move on with the synopsis.
The girl he ends up going out with is named Chizuru Ichinose. The first date seemed to be going well, but Kazuya felt off by this girl. He just thought Chizuru was just playing with her clients hearts, plus he’s still a little heart-broken from his previous girlfriend, so he gives her a bad review. So when they go on their second date, Chizuru’s cutesy, sweet act is replaced with someone who is tempermental and sassy.
Just then, Kazuya gets word his grandmother collapsed!
I know it’s weird in the synopsis, but just go with it!
With word of his grandmother in the hospital, Kazuya ends up taking Chizuru to the hospital with him. Turns out Kazuya’s family jumped to the obvious conclusion that this girl is his girlfriend and they went nuts. Mostly at the fact that their son actually got a cute girlfriend! Add another layer of WTF to this cake, Chizuru’s grandmother is in this exact, same hospital as Kazuya’s grandmother. And both ladies are over the moon that these two are dating (even though that’s far from the truth). Chizuru hasn’t even told her family that she’s working at Rent-a-Waifu! Well, let’s just break things off and let the family down easy.
Oh, look! They both go to the same university. Oh look! They’re also next door neighbors. I smell shenanigans!
BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: At this moment, the only one streaming this series is Crunchyroll. A few weeks into the premier, Crunchyroll started airing a dub. As for the sub, this is my first time really listening to the main lead’s seiyuu, Shun Horie. But the rest of the cast has a nice mixture of memorable voices like Aoi Yuuki, Rie Takahashi, Sora Amamiya, Gakuto Kajiwara…oh fuck!
DAMMIT ASTA, STOP HAUNTING MY EAR-DRUMS!
As for the dub, Crunchyroll is currently publishing an episode once a week. The dub is just okay in my opinion, really nothing to write home about. The only thing I can say is that Aleks Le did a fairly-decent job voicing Kazuya. After voicing Zenitsu last year, he’s got a knack for voicing wimpy twats. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.
JAPANESE CAST:
*Kazuya is played by Shun Horie
*Chizuru is played by Sora Amamiya (known for Toka on Tokyo Ghoul, Aqua on Konosuba, Miia on Monster Musume, Akame on Akame ga Kill, Elizabeth on Seven Deadly Sins, and Yachiyo on Magia Record)
*Mami is played by Aoi Yuuki (known for Iris on Pokemon BW, Madoka on Madoka Magica, Kayo on ERASED, Yuuki on SAO II, Tatsumaki on One Punch Man, Tamaki on Fire Force, and Kinako on Inazuma Eleven GO)
*Ruka is played by Nao Touyama (known for Chitoge on Nisekoi, Koga on Bunny Girl Senpai, Nii on Blue Exorcist, Akira on Kono Oto Tomare, Momo onAi Tenchi Muyo
ENGLISH CAST:
*Kazuya is played by Aleks Le (known for Zenitsu on Demon Slayer and Ake on Shield Hero)
*Chizuru is played by Lizzie Freeman (known for Cardinal on SAO: Alicization, Iwanaga on In/Spectre, Trish on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pt. 5, and Felicia on Magia Record)
*Mami is played by Laura Stahl (known for Ray on The Promised Neverland)
*Ruka is played by Sarah Williams (known for Sayaka on Madoka Magica, Felix on Re:Zero, Nonon on Kill la Kill, Mirai on Boruto, Lisbeth on SAO, and Puck on Berserk 2016)
DISLIKED CHARACTER: And now, a poem…
Roses are red
Mami’s a cunt…
That’s the poem.
SHIPPING: I can honestly say I didn’t expect the Rent-a-Girlfriend and the Ex-Bitch to meet each other in the second episode. Even after going on a few dates with Chizuru, Kazuya still finds himself “beating his meat” to the thought of his ex, Mami. Only for the girls to beat your meat to change places just a few episodes later!
Oh yes, it’s that kind of series! Kazuya jacks off quite a bit.
Kazuya x Chizuru: At times it feels like Kazuya is really falling for Chizuru for who she really is and not the façade she puts up as a rental girlfriend. But I guess the number of awkward setups and situations these two have been thrown in throughout the series can do that to Kazuya. I mean, how else do you expect Kazuya jacking it off to Chizuru when he’s trying to think of his ex?! Yeah, he’s lied to his family, Chizuru’s grandmother, and all of his friends about this relationship and this relationship is as fake as a three-dollar bill. But there are a few genuine moments that show these two care for each other. Kazuya was ballsy enough to jump off a moving boat to save Chizuru when she fell overboard. And Kazuya felt concerned when Chizuru was thinking about leaving the rental girlfriend profession. Though that could be Kazuya being a pathetic sack of shit and wanting to continue this farce relationship and paying a girl for some attention! It’s so hard to say something kind about Kazuya wanting this relationship to work. But for what it’s worth, I like the farce ship better than the next thing I’m going to speak about.
Kazuya x Mami: I don’t like this bitch and I hate this ship. From the get-go you go in hating this succubus. And when we see her again in episode 2, bitches be bitches! Getting drunk in a public setting and making fun of Kazuya not being man enough for her (in the sexual sense). Then, we get Mami trying to go home with Kazuya when Chizuru is gone. But we don’t stop there, she’s trying at every opportunity to make Kazuya drop everything and fall in love with her again. She’s the one that dumped him, but can’t stand seeing Kazuya with anyone else (no matter the awkward circumstances). It’s clear that Mami has severe jealousy issues. I mean, Chizuru is prettier and nicer than Mami. Meanwhile, Mami is a manipulative scum-wad with the charm of a poisonous snake.
Kazuya x Ruka: Ruka was a rental girlfriend from a different agency and was on a double date with Kazuya, Chizuru, and Kazuya’s idiot friend that sounds like Asta. But due to several misunderstandings between Kazuya and Ruka, turns out Kazuya is the only man to get her heart rate up. So Ruka cuts ties with the idiot friend who hired her and has set sights on Kazuya. And she will fight for her man no matter what. She’s even ballsy enough to interrupt Kazuya’s family celebration of New Years by coming in like an asteroid to fuck things up. At this point in the series, Kazuya’s grandmother is dead-set on him marrying Chizuru. Any other girl is shit compared to her! But Ruka will continue to do her thing. Even applying to the same job that Kazuya works at!
Kazuya x Sumi! You expect me to say something about this? They had one bleeping date! And she’s barely seen outside of the opening and ending themes. If there’s more interactions in season two, holla back at me because this ain’t happening. Although, I’ll support the fuck out of this ship over Kazuya x Mami!
BIG SIMPIN’: So being an older millennial (or X-ennial as I’m currently classified under), I am not hip to the lingo of these youngins. Because of Kazuya, the internet uproared by calling him a phrase known as a “simp”. Well, I don’t want to seem like some out-of-touch boomer. So I’m just going to look up this “simp” term and see if this is legitimate. Let’s see what the Slang-tionary says.
“Simp is a slang insult for men who are seen as too attentive and submissive to women, especially out of a failed hope of winning some entitled sexual attention or activity from them.”
Okay. I think it’s time for the rap interlude of this review.
I don't know what you heard about him
But a bitch will get every dollar out of him
No cherry-poppin’ as you can see
That he’s a motherfucking S-I-M-P
ENDING: Being a rental girlfriend isn’t something Chizuru wants to do, but this gives her practice in what she really wants to do, which is become an actor. And as of recently, Chizuru has been thinking about quitting the rental girlfriend agency. So what would happen if Chizuru quit being a rental girlfriend? That’s a question for another day and another season!
So only a few people have learned about Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationship being the most complicated farce in anime history. Halfway into the series with Ruka’s introduction, she caught on about Chizuru being a rental girlfriend. And because of that incident, Kazuya decided to come clean to his idiot friend, Shun. When Shun hired Ruka to be his rental girlfriend, dude was on top of the world. But when Ruka exposed what he did in front of Kazuya, Shun got severely depressed. Kazuya decides to pay for Chizuru to take Shun out on a date. That’s when Shun finds out that Kazuya hired Chizuru after Mami dumped him.
You know what? I have to spring this up! How long did you think Kazuya was going to hide the rental girlfriend thing to his friends? He’s friends with a bunch of stinkin’ virgins. Lonely, stinkin’ virgins! Plus, if Chizuru is rated #1 on a Google search for top rental girlfriends (as it was established in episode 10), I’m surprised no one else caught on, including the grandmothers. Kazuya’s grandmother is constantly playing on her smart phone. Shun is on the internet all the time. I’m surprised there isn’t an annoying pop-up ad in Japanese Google that would flash at them at any point saying, “Meet legal Japanese chicks in your area” redirecting them to the rental girlfriend website. Followed by giving you a gnarly computer virus!
Well, we’re 10 episodes in a 12 episode series. Why not finally introduce the fourth girl that we’ve been seeing in the opening and ending themes all season?! Chizuru asked Kazuya for a favor to go out with the new rental girlfriend at the agency to help boost her confidence. Enter, Sumi! The best way to describe this silent, moe-blob is a less busty version of Mikuru Asahina. Kazuya and Sumi’s date went over somewhat okay. Kazuya saved Sumi from a bunch of thugs. And while Sumi was silent throughout the entire date, she managed to squeak out a thank you at the end. So not a bad date, right?
Unfortunately, during the date, Mami saw them and trailed them. And it went down just as you would imagine! Mami confronts Kazuya, Kazuya comes up with some bullshit lie to Mami, Sumi is still silent, and Mami is up to no good after she leaves.
Because Mami learned Sumi’s full name, she went to the internet to find a profile or something on a social network. That’s when Mami learned that not only Sumi was a rental girlfriend, but Chizuru as well. It’s not so bad that Shun knows about Chizuru, but if Mami finds out, game over. Game over, Kazuya! So what happens next?
Mami catfished Chizuru by calling her out for a date using the rental girlfriend website! Then they go to the karaoke bar Kazuya works at for their “date”.
GAME OVER KAZUYA! GAME OVER! You lost all 5 lives. Please return to world 1 and may God have mercy on your simpin’ ass!
Kazuya watched their date from a distance (and this time he didn’t get caught eavesdropping like the last time he followed Chizuru). And after a cute mention of the singers to the opening and ending theme to the series, Mami and Chizuru end their date with an exchanging of words. All this proved is that Mami is still a jealous bitch with a dead look in her eyes and Chizuru likes Kazuya. We think! Either Chizuru meant what she said to Mami or she’s a really good actress. When Chizuru came back to the apartment complex, Kazuya met her outside and thanked her for what she said to Mami followed by a confession.
Ah yes, a confession of love! As the credits roll, we see flashbacks of the past 12 episodes and end the series on a cute note and a possible opening to an OVA and we can end from…
Oh wait, there’s more!
Kazuya says he wants Chizuru to continue being his rental girlfriend. Because he knows she’s planning on quitting the rental girlfriend business! So he smooths that over! Both played this off with a wary poker face, but behind closed doors, they are sweating bullets.
OH, and season two has been green-lit. Fabulous!
This anime was addicting to watch. I don’t know if it was as addicting as Uzaki-chan. Then again, I picked to watch Rent-a-Girlfriend over Uzaki-chan. But this was an addicting train-wreck! Watching this dumbass try to fool his family and friends that he really was able to get a cute girlfriend for a full year! How the hell could anyone fall for that mess? People still watched this dumpster fire of a relationship right, so why bitch about the stupidity of Simpy McSimperson over here? I am glad we’re getting a second season because we really didn’t get a chance to see much of Sumi. I know she’s no contender when you put her next to the great Chizuru, but good golly, give this girl some screentime aside from the one episode she got. They made her seem like she was going to be a big player in this anime, but only getting a bit role. I also want to see if Mami is going to redeem herself from the cunt we saw since 18 seconds into the series. I seriously doubt it, but it just gives me more reason to cuss at the computer, calling her every horrible name in the book. And as for Ruka…there’s nothing to say. She’s just gonna be second best no matter what the fuck happens.
As addicting as this anime was, I can’t ignore how many times I had to facepalm at every, stupid action done by Kazuya. I mean, several times per episode, butt-for-brains does something stupid that makes us say, “Dude, WTF” or “Bruh”. Lying to your family, lying to your friends, giving a bad review to your rental girlfriend for giving you great service, jacking it to your ex when you’re clearly hot for Chizuru, following a guy around because he spends the day with Chizuru, and it just goes on and on! You want to root for this twerp in hopes he gets the girl of his dreams in the end, but at the same time, you’re like, “This guy is a total dink.”
Oh, let’s see what season two has to offer…whenever that comes.
In the meantime, if you’d like to check out Rent-A-Girlfriend, Crunchyroll has all 12 episodes available in both sub and dub.
‘Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story’ Now Streaming on Funimation
The first episode of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, which aired on January 4 in Japan, is now available for streaming on Funimation with English subtitles. The episode’s description reads:
Few people know the truth: the world is safe thanks to the Magical Girls who are forced to slay Witches. Even though these girls are putting their lives on the line for a wish, rumors say they can be saved in Kamihama City. That’s where Iroha Tamaki is headed in search of answers. She can’t remember the wish she made to Kyubey, but a shadowy figure haunts her dreams.
The episode will also be available to watch on Crunchyroll and HIDIVE on January 11.
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Magia Record, which is a spin-off of 2011′s hit magical girl anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, is based on the 2017 mobile game of the same name, which was released in 2019 in North America by Aniplex. The anime follows the game’s story with some changes, such as the addition of a new magical girl, Kuroe (Kana Hanazawa).
The project is produced at Studio Shaft, and its staff includes:
Gekidan Inu Curry: Director and script supervisor
Yukihiro Miyamoto: Assistant director
Junichiro Taniguchi: Chief animation director and character designer
Akiyuki Simbo: Animation supervisor
Takumi Ozawa: Music
Hiroki Yamamura: Chief animation director
Nobuhiro Sugiyama: Chief animation director
Yoshiaki Ito: Main animator
Akihisa Takano: Main animator
Kana Miyai: Main animator
Takashi Hashimoto: Action director
Ken Naito: Art director
Jin Hibino: Color key artists
Hisato Shima: CG director
Rie Matsubara: Editor
Yato Tsuroka: Sound director
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The ending theme “Alicia” is performed by ClariS and the opening, “Gomakashi” by TrySail.
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, svelati locandina e primo trailer della serie animata
Il debutto dell’anime è stato rimandato a gennaio 2020.
In occasione del secondo anniversario del lancio del videogioco per dispositivi mobili sono stati svelati una nuova immagine promozionale e un primo trailer per la serie animata di “Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story” (Magia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Gaiden).
Il video anticipa la sigla di testa "Gomakashi" cantata dalle TrySail (Interviews With Monster Girls, Zoku Owarimonogatari). Il brano di chiusura sarà invece ancora una volta ad opera delle ClariS (Puella Magi madoka Magica, Tsukimonogatari) .
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Annunciato inoltre l’aggiunta di Kana Hanazawa nel cast, la quale interpreterà il personaggio inedito di Kuroe.
Gli altri membri del cast sono:
Iroha Tamaki: Momo Asakura
Yachiyo Nanami: Sora Amamiya
Tsuruno Yui: Shiina Natsukawa
Felicia Mitsuki: Ayane Sakura
Sana Futaba: Yui Ogura
Momoko Togame: Mikako Komatsu
Kaede Akino: Ayaka Ohashi
Rena Minami: Kaori Ishihara
Precedentemente previsto per questo anno, il debutto dell’anime è stato rimandato a gennaio 2020.
Guidate da un potere misterioso, le giovani maghe di tutto il mondo si radunano nella città di Kamihama. In questo luogo, possono continuare a esistere e ad acquisire nuovi poteri per combattere le Streghe. La protagonista della storia è Iroha Tamaki, che giunge in città alla ricerca di sua sorella Ui. A lei si affiancherà poi Homura Akemi, desiderosa di salvare l’amica Madoka Kaname.
Il progetto in lavorazione presso lo studio Shaft (Bakemonogatari, Un marzo da leoani) sta venendo diretto Gekidan Inu Curry con l’assistenza di Yukihiro Miyamoto. La sceneggiatura sta venendo supervisionata sempre da Gekidan Inu Curry, in collaborazione con Elsewhere, lo studio di sviluppo del gioco. Junichiro Taniguchi si sta invece occupando sia del character design che di supervisionare il comparto animazioni assieme ad Akiyuki Shimbo.
Animatori principali: Yoshiaki Ito, Akihisa Takano, Kana Miyai.
Direttore artistico: Ken Naito
Colorista: Jin Hibino
Montaggio: Rie Matsubara
Direttore computer grafica: Hisato Shima
Direttore della fotografia: Kouji Tsuchiya
Musiche: Takumi Ozawa
Direttore del suono: Yota Tsuruoka
Il videogioco, lanciato nel 2017, è uno dei vari spinoff del popolare franchise creato con l’originale serie tv di “Puella Madoka Magica”, prodotta sempre dallo studio Shaft nel 2011 e distribuita in Italia da Dynit, assieme ai tre film che ne hanno poi espanso la storia.
Further information regarding the MILLION LIVE! 10thLIVE TOUR live has been revealed! The SAITAMA Stop occurring in SAITAMA SUPER ARENA on the 2nd and 22nd and 23rd of April 2023 will be labelled Act-1 H@PPY 4 YOU!
The voice actresses participating in this stop are as follows:
The line between mindful comfort-zone storytelling and mindless indulgence in anime can be pretty fine at times. There’s no denying that a lot of anime operates from a very self-serving, pandering mindset, existing for no other purpose that to spoonfeed its audience the kind of brainless sludge that pushes all the right lizard-brain pressure points to make up for a lack of creativity and talent in the actual storytelling. Hell, even some good anime fall victim to this mindset at times; that’s how ingrained in the media’s consciousness it is. On the other hand, it’s also possible to utilize these more mindless elements in a more clever, or at least purposeful way, using them to enhance your story as opposed to detract from it. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, and it’s easy to tip over into the abyss if you’re not careful, but if done well, these kind of indulgent stories can get away with their indulgences without alienating everybody else who doesn’t share those specific fetishes. And while Zero no Tsukaima is by no means a perfect example of that principle, it stands as proof that a genuine thoughtfulness about the story you’re telling can be the key to make your audience settle for “good enough” without feeling like they’ve been robbed.
Make no mistake, there are many things to criticize about Zero when you get down into the details. The animation and art is generally lacking. The show’s use of fanservice often tilts over into cheap, exploitative territory. And it definitely takes a while for its handling of its more dramatic content to really click. Still, though, those issues never become large or persistent enough to truly overwhelm the fact that this show really fucking knows what it’s doing. By setting itself in such a simple, cartoony, goofy magical world, it gives itself free reign to build its own universe from the ground up, marching along to its own offbeat drum. And it doesn’t half-ass any part of it: the way this world functions, from its magic systems to its internal politics to the subtle ways its inhabitants interact with it, all feel incredibly well-realized, grounding the inherent absurdity of a Medieval-style wizarding school in a refreshing degree of believability. It’s clear this wasn’t a rush job by some hack writer: the people putting this thing together paid attention to the details, refusing to accept “goofy” as an acceptable excuse for “half-assed”.
That same care extends over to the story and character side as well. The supporting cast is all incredibly likable, full of memorable personalities that all get chances to take the spotlight outside of the central plot. I enjoy all the time I’ve spent with Mortmoncery’s endearing snark, Tabitha’s understated cool, Guiche’s Tamaki-esque foppiness, and, yes, even Kirche’s enjoyably confident promiscuity. Saito and Louise, meanwhile, ground the main plot with their endlessly entertaining neuroses and their constant striving to better themselves against all odds. And the way the plot weaves all these disparate threats together, planting seeds in early episodes that eventually sprout into threads that all coalesce in time for the climax without you even realizing, is nothing short of impressive. This is no masterpiece of fantasy storytelling, but it’s smart with the choices it makes and confident in its audience’s intelligence not to talk down to them (at least, mostly).
In the end, the best word I can use to describe Zero no Tsukaima is “charming”. It’s the rare indulgence where it feels like the show is enjoying itself as much as you are, flush with moxie and a can-do attitude that can’t help but be at least a little inspiring. And for all that, I award its first season a score of:
6/10
Well, this was certainly a pleasant surprise! Though, considering I gave Shakugan no Shana a 2 and Toradora got a 10, it’s only fitting that the final entry of the Rie Kugumiya Tsundere trilogy ended up right in the middle for me. Next time? We see if the future seasons can keep the streak alive. See you then!