A few days ago the final trailer for The Rise Of Skywalker was released with a showing date of December 20. It’s… alright I suppose. I’m not exactly hyped for it but I will watch it regardless, simply because it’s the last movie of this disappointing trilogy.

I want to be excited for this movie but The Last Jedi ruined the whole sequel trilogy for me. I don’t really have high expectations for this movie personally but here are some things that would definitely improve my opinion of it:

• Really good lightsaber battles. This movie will have a climactic duel between Rey and Kylo and I really hope it’s good. There hasn’t a notable duel in the whole sequel trilogy as of now and The Rise Of Skywalker definitely needs to have one.
• Good space battles, though judging from the trailer that shouldn’t be a problem
• A satisfying conclusion. I’m not sure how they’ll pull this off considering they tarnished the legacy of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo but who knows.
• No pointless side stories that only serve to pad out the length of the movie like that whole segment in that casino planet in The Last Jedi

I’m not expecting a lot out of this movie but hopefully it’ll at least end on a high note. If this movie fails, it could end the legacy of Star Wars for good.

Summer’s over and we have a batch of new anime to watch this season. Here are some of the anime I’m watching and maybe you should too.

1. Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo
   

At first glance, Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo looks like your generic harem romance anime. And it would be, if the main character wasn’t Joro. He looks and acts like a typical harem protagonist; he’s a nice guy with an overly clingy childhood friend with a popular and athletic best friend and he’s also close with the student council member.

I don’t want to spoil too much but this is easily one of the funniest shows I’ve seen this season as it takes the harem slice of life genre and breaks it apart mercilessly. After two episodes I’m already eagerly awaiting the next one, which judging by the cliffhanger is going to be a doozy.

2. Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld

Continuing where the previous season left off, War of Underworld continues Kirito’s adventure in the Underworld while in the real world Ocean Turtle is assaulted by terrorists. As a result of the attack however Kirito’s brain damage has gotten worse and now he is rendered invalid.

The fact that the mighty Kirito is basically confined to a wheelchair for most of the show is already reason enough for me to watch it, as the stakes have never been higher. Will Kirito recover? Will he see his waifus again? There’s plenty of drama here (at least for those who don’t read the light novels) and we’ll see if the anime can truly become something great.

Seriously though, to all the light novel readers don’t spoil it for everyone, even though we can probably predict what’ll happen I at least want to see Kirito suffer in misery.

3. Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!

Known as ‘Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life!?’ in English the anime revolves around a young girl named Mile as she tries to pursue an average, normal life in a fantasy world of swords and spells.

The first episode is an anime original that quickly summarises Mile’s situation and her goals as well as meeting her 3 stalwart companions who will be joining her in the Guild Academy. As someone who has read and written a review of the light novel’s first volume I was a bit put off by at first how they adapted this one as they basically skimped over the first half of the light novel and left out details like why she changed her name or how she got into the town. But overtime it kinda grew on me with its humor and visuals.

It looks pretty good so far but I hope to see some of the finest moments in the light novel in animated form.

4. Val x Love

This season’s ecchi action harem show Val x Love stars the scary looking Takuma, whom most people call ‘Akuma’ due to his monstrous face. But despite his scary-looking appearance he’s actually quite timid, with a phobia of people which gives him anxiety issues. Despite this, he has been chosen to be the lover of nine girls, the Valkyries who gain power from love to combat monsters known as akuma. Kinda ironic that a man nicknamed ‘Akuma’ is vital to fighting actual akuma but there you go.

The fanservice in this anime is basically the point of the show as intimacy is a big factor here. Like any good ecchi harem show I like how each of the girls have distinct character designs and personalities such as Natsuki’s tsundere-ness and Itsuyo’s father-complex. The main character also has a reasonable excuse to not do the dirty with girls with his phobia and social awkwardness.

I watched this for the PLOT and after 2 episodes in, I’m staying for the plot.

5. Shinchou Yuusha

At first glance this looks like a typical isekai story. The goddess of healing is assigned to a S-class world and in response she summons a powerful hero. The catch? He’s incredibly cautious, to the point that he spends a good period of time doing various exercises to level himself up before departing to the world proper and when dealing with a slime he makes sure to completely and utterly destroy it without leaving a trace.

It’s hilarious seeing the goddess’s exasperated expressions seeing her chosen hero react completely opposite to how a typical hero should act. And its even more hilarious when we see the hero’s actions justified, much to the poor goddess’s disbelief.

2 episodes in and I’m eager to see more of the hero Seiya and his poor goddess companion Ristarte as they venture forth to kill the Demon Lord.

There’s a ton more shows to talk about, such as My Hero Academia Season 4 which is bound to be great, then there’s the animated adaptation of Blade of the Immortal which is an incredibly awesome manga and then you have the remake of Cooking Master Boy, the grandfather of cooking anime like Yakitate Japan and Shougeki no Soma (Food Wars for you Westerners).

But what are you all watching? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook if there’s a show you think I should watch or if you have differing opinions about the shows on this list.

I Saved Too Many Girls And Caused The Apocalypse is a light novel harem series that tells the story of Rekka Namidare and his adventures (or misadventures) involving various girls.

When they reached the age of 16, a member of the Namidare bloodline will end up getting involved with various stories as they are the only ones capable of giving those stories a good ending. In Rekka’s case, he gets wrapped up in various adventures where he tries to save the main heroine of the story. He doesn’t really want to get involved in these adventures but the girl starts to shed tears like any other bland harem protagonist Rekka rises up to the occasion and earn the girl’s affections, though like any boring generic harem lead he fails to notice any of the girl’s affections.

Ironically Rekka’s denseness and indecisiveness will cause an all out war called the War of All, which a girl from the future simply named R has come to stop. She mostly exists to tell Rekka of the apocalypse in the distant future and berate Rekka for his denseness and thick-headedness. Only Rekka can see her and she can’t interact with anyone or anything else, nor can she tell Rekka about any of the stories he gets caught up in. The War of All does sound interesting, if only to see which of the upcoming heroines are responsible for it and if Rekka can prevent it from happening.

None of the heroines introduced in this volume are interesting. We are introduced to the classic childhood friend Satsuki, alien princess Iris and summoner from a fantasy world Harissa. They are completely one-dimensional with no real depth or personality outside of having a crush on Rekka after he resolves their issues. Iris is a spoiled princess from outer space who gets a crush on the Rekka because he tried to save her from an unhappy marriage. Satsuki is the childhood friend and thus is automatically in love with him, especially after saving her from an evil mage. Harissa is infatuated with Rekka after he saves her and defeats the Demon Lord.

None of the heroine stories presented in this volume are particularly interesting and the girls themselves don’t even look that appealing. This book was incredibly difficult to read mostly because of how boring and trite it was. It’s a really generic harem light novel without anything appealing about it; there’s no comedy, no fun saucy situations and filled with quite a few typos and editing mishaps.

If you’re looking for a good harem light novel this is definitely not it. The series currently has 15 volumes with the 16th and final volume coming out later this month.

The biggest FPS game to come out on PCs and consoles has finally come to iOS and Android. Developed by Tencent Games and published Activision Call of Duty Mobile brings the Call of Duty experience from the consoles and PCs to mobile, warts and all.

The first thing you’ll notice of course much like PUBG Mobile is the ads promoting various microtransactions , such as a Premium Pass that give you better rewards as you level up or special skins. It’s a bit annoying but not unexpected, after all COD Mobile is a free-to-play game. They have to make money somehow, and at least they don’t shove lootboxes in your face (for now).

The next thing you’ll notice is the graphics. I think I’ll let the screenshots speak for themselves.

Even at low quality, the graphics are quite sharp and they’re almost as good as their console and PC counterparts, though of course upon closer inspection a few things had to scaled down such as the textures and particle effects. Nevertheless it runs smoothly on mobile safe for the occasional pop-up here and there.

Like most console games brought over to mobile, you use the touch screen to play. There are two control settings: Simple and Advanced. The former is beginner friendly; just point the crosshairs at the target and the game will do the shooting for you. However, the crosshairs have to be precisely at the target otherwise it won’t shoot. There’s a clear delay between aiming the crosshairs and the actual shooting which will get you killed. Advanced is the more preferred method, as you have a bit more control over your shooting. You have a virtual button that you use to aim down and shoot, perfect for spray shooting though it can be difficult to aim with the touch controls. The biggest problem though is that there is no controller support for the game, so you’ll have to make due with the touch controls and they’re no substitute for a good controller and the trusty keyboard and mouse.

Another problem that’s been creeping up is cheating, much like in the consoles and PCs. There are quite a few threads at the COD Mobile subreddit that talk about cheats some players are using such as wall hacks or flying above the map and it’s a bit disappointing to hear. Hopefully this and the controller issue will be something they patch in future updates

Despite its problems there’s no doubt that Call of Duty Mobile is the closest you’ll get to the classic COD experience on consoles and PCs on mobile, complete with killstreaks (called scorestreaks here) and the fast paced easy to get into addictive gunplay. If you ever wanted to play COD on the go, then give Call of Duty Mobile a shot.

Written by Ichiro Sakaki Outbreak Company is a unique isekai story about our protagonist, a young home security guard ( a fancy term meant to describe a stay at home person who basically just leeches off his family without working) hired by the Japanese government to spread otaku culture in the fantasy region of the Eldant Empire.

It may seem like a silly story that over-glorifies otaku culture, but it’s really not a bad concept. Our main character Kanou Shinichi is a hardcore otaku and is the one chosen by the Japanese government to spread otaku culture is the new fantasy world. In order to do this, he decides to open a school to teach the young populace about Japanese culture using anime, manga and light novels as teaching tools. Aiding him is a member of JSDF Koganuma Minori and his own personal maid, a half-elf by the name Myusel Fourant along with the empress Petralka an Eldant III.

However, there are many obstacles standing in the way. One of them being the low literacy rate of populace, with only nobles having the privilege of attending private academies and getting an education. In addition, there’s a divide between humans and demi-humans, with the latter being treated as slaves or third-rate citizens. Most demi-human children usually enroll as soldiers to get citizenship. This, along with other things are a huge culture shock for Shinichi, who is used to having everyone having equal opportunities to education. He does however sympathize with Myusel and the other demi-humans as he too knows how it feels to be discriminated, though in his case he was just shunned because of his otaku hobbies.

Aside from themes of racism and discrimination there’s also a hint of colonisation. The Japanese is interested in the raw materials available in this new fantasy world. They tried various things to export to the Eldant Empire but to no avail, that is until they saw anime and manga. Hence, why they kidn- I mean hire Shinichi for the task of spreading otaku culture. But though Shinichi initially sees it as harmless proliferation, it is in fact a method of invasion, as it would get them addicted to it that they become dependent on Japan for their otaku needs or even start a coup as people start questioning the status quo.

But like any good light novel there’s plenty of comic relief to go around, though most of it is due to Shinichi reacting to things in a way only a hardcore otaku would. For example when first meeting the young empress Petralka he exclaims ‘IS THAT AN ARCHETYPICAL LITTLE GIRL CHARACTER!?’ which of course gets him a punch from said little girl, or when Shinichi, brave man that he is, begins ranting about the beauty of breasts big or small. Then of course you have how Shinichi was roped into getting a job in the first place when his mother literally uses a chainsaw to break open his door.

In conclusion, if you’re interested in reading about a more unique isekai story that can show anime, manga and light novels could be used as learning tools then this might be for you. Currently there are 10 volumes available with the 11th volume coming out October 22nd. But if reading isn’t your thing don’t fret, Outbreak Company got an anime adaptation a few years back (no word on a season 2 though).

Arifureta is a highly popular light novel series from author Ryo Shirakome. There is anime of it that’s running as part of this year’s fall season line up and currently it has a score of 6.07 at MyAnimeList.

But we’re not talking about the subpar anime. We’re talking about the original light novel series, and from the same website the score of the light novel is 8.01

The story begins when Hajime and his classmates are suddenly transported from their classroom to another world. There they are told that they were summoned by the god Erhit and forced to fight against demons in order to return home. Each of them were granted special gifts from the god, except for Hajime, whose stats were no better than an average citizen of the world with a job unsuited for combat, Synergist.

One day the students go into a labyrinth to get some hands-on combat experience. All goes well until one of the students triggers a trap and they are teleported to another floor where they are faced with multiple enemies from one side and a Behemoth from another. Thanks to Hajime’s efforts the group were able to escape but Hajime was betrayed by one of the other students who shot a fireball at him. Though Hajime survives he left behind in the deeper part of the labyrinth alone. The trauma and near death experience he had causes him to lose his sanity and from that point onward a new Hajime was born. A Hajime that will kill all of his obstacles.

The light novel is clearly for older audiences, with vivid descriptions of violence and some sexual fanservice, though nothing too explicit yet. In this volume alone, we see Hajime subjected to having his left arm ripped off and eaten in front of him. His body is forcibly regenerated after eating monster meat and drinking a special healing potion and the monsters he fight against also suffer from having their heads blown off. It’s not Game of Thrones levels of violence but combined with the fanservice with several illustrations of the main girl Yue in the buff and implied sexual content I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone below 18.

Speaking of Yue one of the strong points of this novel is the characters. You have Hajime who starts out as a kind-hearted nerd who has the attention and affection of the school’s popular girl Kaori, which causes him to be bullied by another student Hiyama and his posse. After falling into despair in the deepest part of the labyrinth after being betrayed, he slowly goes insane from the pain of his missing arm, the miracle liquid Ambrosia healing his injuries but not relieving his hunger pangs. When he eats monster meat for the first time and his body is forcibly changed, it is symbolic of the old Hajime dying and the new Hajime taking his place.

Kaori is a kind-hearted girl who has feelings for Hajime and gets dangerously jealous if Hajime shows interest in other girls, such as the maid girls from the palace or when she felt Hajime losing his chastity. When Hajime is left behind in the labyrinth, while the other students believe him to be dead Kaori resolves to find him in the labyrinth, determined to find out the truth for herself.

Kouki is a deconstruction of the typical harem protagonist. He’s dense and has a narrow sense of right and wrong, creating all kinds of misunderstandings to the dismay of his friends. His childish and idealistic sense of justice also makes him come off as incredibly naive and he is ignorant of other people’s motives. Shizuku is probably one of the better characters as well. She’s the only other person who treats Hajime kindly and she’s also more mature than the other students as well. She feels like a mom taking care of a bunch of rambunctious children.

But one of the most important characters in this story is the golden haired vampire princess Yue. Trapped deep beneath the labyrinth for many years, her meeting with Hajime causes him to regain a bit of his morality and humanity. Before that Hajime was resolved to do whatever it takes to live and kill whatever stood in his path. But after saving Yue he starts to soften up a bit and a part of the old Hajime starts to show up from time to time, especially during their bonding times and they develop feelings for each other as they work together to escape the labyrinth and find a way to return to Japan.

This volume does a great job introducing readers to the world and at the same time there’s a layer of mystery that’s bound to be explored much further as we see what the Kingdom and the Empire have in mind for the students and we find out the truth about the Old Gods and the creation of the labyrinths. At the same time there is a student with their own agenda, blackmailing another to further their own goals in this new world.

If you’re interested in isekai light novels or you enjoyed Rising of The Shield Hero this is a good read. However, I should mention once again that this novel is for older audiences, if not for the violence then for the sexual imagery. The illustrations of Yue in the buff may rub people the wrong way and if you’re easily offended by such things then this is not for you.

Der Werwolf is yet another isekai light novel with a reincarnated main character but there are a few things here that makes this particular entry quite intriguing.

Veight is our reincarnated main character, though he doesn’t quite remember his previous life as a young man in Japan, but from we can infer from his monologue he is a gamer as he uses video game terminology and often muses how certain things in this world remind him of certain mechanics and situations in video games, like when he was planning for the invasion of the city of Thuvan he commented that the inability for demon armies to adapt as well as human soldiers reminded him about a video game where demons had certain restrictions and low growth rates.

In this new world Veight is a werewolf, a race of demons with great strength and the ability to turn into human form, allowing them to blend in. Unlike most werewolves, Veight, perhaps because of his experience as a former human, is not as battle hungry as the others. He is the vice-commander of the third regiment of the Demon Lord’s army.

What I liked about this novel is the character of Veight. He’s a capable commander though he can be quite reckless. Unlike most demons he’s skilled in tactics and has more compassion for others. For example after taking the trading city of Ryunheit he takes great care making sure that the humans of the city do not revolt and doing everything he can so that the humans and demons living there can do so in harmony. And at the end of the novel his efforts are rewarded when the viceroy Airia declares independence from the Mereldian Commonwealth and ally with the Demon Lord’s army.

Another thing I liked was the portrayal of the Demon Lord’s army, with different races working in it. You have werewolves, orges who make up the majority of the second regiment, vampires, centaurs and dragonkin who make up the first regiment, with the Demon Lord being a dragonkin as well, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. The Demon Lord’s army is also surprisingly modern for its setting, having experimental gunpowder which they call Dragon’s Breath to create Dragon’s Jewels which are basically fireworks , a device similar to a telescope and even having proper supply lines to ensure that all regiments can get their supplies efficiently.

It’s an entertaining read though there are a few problems like some dialogue not reading right and how the first volume alone introduces so many characters that Veight interacts with that you’ll lose track of, but otherwise it’s not bad. I’m eager to continue reading this one. If you’re looking for a slightly different isekai series that does not have an overpowered protagonist whose only notable trait is that women fall in love in him and he’s super nice and you’re interested in seeing a more serious isekai story with good worldbuilding that I highly recommend this one. Currently there are 5 volumes available. I give it a 9 out of 10 personally.

In the year 2043 the VRMMO Infinite Dendrogram was released globally. After the failure of various VRMMO before it Infinite Dendrogram finally delivered the dream game. A game that fully immerses the player in a living, breathing virtual world.

Originally conceived as a web novel in the Japanese web novel website Shosetsuka ni Naro Infinite Dendogram tells the story of Reiji Mukudori and his adventures in the virtual world as the adventurer Ray Starling. In the VRMMO world of Infinite Dendogram players are given a special tool called an Embryo. Each Embryo evolves in different ways. Ray’s Embryo for example takes the form of a small girl called Nemesis, who can change into a greatsword and later a halberd. Ray’s brother Shu has an Embryo that takes the form of a gatling gun and a tank. The Embryos allow for infinite possibilities (hence the name of the game) but I can’t help but wonder how it translates to PvP, something that will be explored in the next volume (probably) when the main characters go to Gideon where the Colosseum is.

I really like the worldbuilding in this novel. Unlike similar stories like Sword Art Online and Log Horizon the characters are not stuck inside the game and fortunately unlike the former players don’t actually die when they are killed, though they are given a 24 hour login ban. While it may seem that there is no tension, the NPCs of the virtual world are not immortal and when they die they stay dead. So for example if the players are in the middle of an escort mission if the NPC they are protecting dies they cannot redo it as that NPC is gone forever.

I also like the interactions between Ray and his Embryo Nemesis. They really work well off each other with Nemesis serving as a mentor and advisor of sorts to Ray during combat. Nemesis can come off as being haughty and overconfident but when she fails to protect Ray and he suffers his first death at the hands of a mysterious player killer she takes the failure hard and only a pep talk with Ray and a promise to get even with him cheers her up.

Another character I liked was Rook, a fellow beginning Master Ray meets during his adventure. Rook has a succubus called Babylon as his Embryo but because he’s underage, Babylon does not have any knowledge of sexual acts, the only erotic thing she knows is how to do good massages. Hilariously Rook has the job class of Pimp, which he thinks is good for taming monsters. He and Babylon have skillsets suitable for taking out crowds of enemies unlike Ray as Rook can use his Pimp abilities to charm female enemies while Babylon charms male ones, then when they are all charmed Babylon can drain them.

There’s also an interesting story going on behind the scenes as various players from the Dryfe faction, which is opposing the Kingdom of Altar that Ray chose, plot to overthrow the Kingdom as part of an event. In fact they are the ones responsible for most of the problems the main characters face including the giant centipedes near the beginning and the influx of player killers in the newbie hunting grounds.

Overall I really enjoyed this first volume. It’s an interesting take on the VRMMO genre that’s a bit more light-hearted with a well thought out world and mechanics. If a game like this came out I’d probably be hooked on it, though unlike Ray I’d opt out of using realistic graphics settings. Don’t need to see how horrifying undead creatures would actually look like in reality. If you’re into Sword Art Online or Log Horizon I’d recommend checking this one out. Currently there are 9 volumes with the 10th one coming out later in October.

The latest anime movie directed by Makoto Shinkai, the director of Kimi No Nawa (Your Name) Weathering With You stars a young boy Hodoka Morishima who runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo. Struggling to make a living he ends up living with a man named Suga Keisuke and working for him as a writer and errand boy for his occult magazine.

One day he meets a young girl by the name of Hina Amano when he believes her to be accosted by shady men. One thing leads to another and Hina reveals that she has the power to dispel the rain and bring sunny weather for a limited time. The two then decide to use her power to make ends meet unaware of the tragic fate that awaits Hina.

Just like the previous movie the animation in this movie is absolutely breathtaking. The CG blends well with the hand-drawn animation and there is some creative camera work in certain scenes. Each character has a unique look to them that helps audiences differentiate between them and convey their emotions.

The sound track in the movie is by Radwimps is also incredibly good with each track fitting well with the onscreen visuals. Combine this with top-notch voice acting and you have a strong emotional movie that will have your eyes glued to the screen for the whole show.

If I have one negative, it would be the ending. I won’t spoil it here but it’s a bit of downer even though it has a happy resolution for the main characters. If you enjoyed Kimi No Nawa or looking for a good animated movie with relatable characters and themes then I recommend watching this. I give it an 9/10.

Kurihara Misato was an 18 year old girl with a bright future. She was an exceptional and gifted student excelling in academics and sports, but at the cost of having no friends. After graduation she sees a young girl about to be run over by a truck and before she knew she sacrificed her life to save the little girl.

In the afterlife she meets a God who offers her the opportunity to restart her life in a fantasy world. Kurihara accepts the offer but under the condition that she be an average person. And thus she is reborn as Adele, a young girl belonging to a noble family who is quickly cast aside in favour of another child born from her father and a noble lady. Thus Adele’s adventures begin as she tries to live her life making friends and not standing out like she did in her previous life, a perfectly normal life.

Living an average normal life is easier said than done, as the God has made her average in regards to everything: family standing, race, height, strength, magical power, appearance and so on. She is technically average, when compared with other beings such as dragons, orcs, elves and so on. She also kept the memories of her previous life. Thus she is granted with power greater than most humans her age and she has her modern-age thinking and Japanese mannerisms. This is demonstrated for example in one scene where she puts too much force on a door knob destroying it.

There are plenty of comedic moments littered in the book, and there are plenty of laughs to be had here. For example the origin of magic in this world is….

And then you have Adele’s (and later Mile’s) efforts to try to be a normal girl, be it by matching her abilities to a boy her age from a upstanding family, or by training one of her friends with techniques she saw from watching anime and movies, or when girls from her school befriend her out of pity, when they originally came to bully her for being the center of the boys’ affections. Later they become real friends when Adele teaches them how to properly use magic by making a concrete image before casting it, though she tells them to keep it a secret to keep attention off her.

Of course there’s also quite a bit of action here and there, and here a lot of sound effects are used. It works well in visual novels and the like as you can actually hear it but here it just makes the fight incredibly boring to read through, particularly sword fights as they’re just described with sounds like clang, or swoosh. That’s not to say there aren’t any good fights but there aren’t any outstanding fights either. Most of them involve Adele or one of the characters she helps overpowering their opponent to the surprise of many.

I’m not sure I’ll continue reading this, it’s funny but I don’t think the characters are memorable enough to keep me interested, unlike another isekai comedy Konosuba, where you have a cast of quirky characters that play off each other incredibly well. Here the only character that really stands out is Adele, though that’s understandable as most of the volume is about her, and the second half fleshes out her party members who will be key characters going forward.

Currently there are about 7 volumes translated, with the 8th volume coming out in November.

‘Nanomachines son‘Picture from https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/012/978/images_(2).jpg Original image from Metal Gear Rising Revengance from Platinum Games and Konami