Brandon Varnell's Blog, page 8

Updates, I really don't do enough of these.

Aside from editing book 4 and writing book 11, I have decided to go back and redo book 1. Why? Well, book 1 was written a year before books 2 and 3. If you've read all three books, or even just books 1 and 2, then you should know that book 1 is nowhere near as good as book 2. In fact, it's almost like they were written by completely different people.

For those of you are are concerned, don't be. I don't have any intention of making you re-buy the book. That would be stupid and rude. If you already have the book, you'll be able to re-upload the revised version once it comes out. If you bought a paperback version, don't worry, anyone who buys paperback can get the Kindle version for free. I'm not such a jerk that I'd make you buy a kindle after spending money on the paperback.

Also, and this is just a thought, but I'm thinking of doing two things. I want you guys to give me your thoughts:


I'm considering adding illustrations to book 1, just like I have for all the other books.I'm thinking of creating a hardback copy and gifting several signed copies to people in a giveaway.What do you guys think? Does this sound like a good idea?

Generic Harem Anime War

Rather than my usual anime review, this weekend, we're going to be taking a look at the two most generic anime to have come out this Fall. Yes, I am talking about The Asterisk War and Chivalry of a Failed Knight.

Invertia… an unprecedented disaster that struck the world during the 20th century. Because of this disaster, numerous cities around the world were destroyed. However, within the meteor, an unknown element called mana was discovered, which allowed human technology to make rapid strides. This also gave rise to a new species of human born with unique skills – the Star Pulse Generation. The setting for the world’s greatest comprehensive battle spectacle, the Festas, is an academy city above the water surrounded by six academies called Rikka also commonly known as Asterisk.

For Ikki Kurogane, graduating as a Magical Knight is nigh impossible. Among Blazers, he’s considered the worst; he can materialize his soul into a weapon, but his magical power is extremely low. To add insult to injury, an unfortunate encounter with the talented and beautiful Princess Stella Vermillion slashes his already slim odds and alters the course of his life forever.

Now, let us take a look at these two anime and see why, at first glance, they appear almost like carbon copies of each other.

 What makes these two anime the same:

1. Magic high school
2. Magic high school fighting tournament
3. Harem protagonist.
4. pink/magenta-haired tsundere main love interest.
5. Loli childhood friend/loli little sister trope.
6. Anime adapted from light novel series
7. Within 5-minutes of the first episode, the MC meets his main love interest while she's wearing just a bra and panties.
8. Main love interest challenges MC to duel because he saw her changing

Watching these two anime back to back, you'll see that within the first episode, they don't really do much to differentiate themselves from each other. In fact, I almost thought that, aside from the artwork, there were no differences. At least, none that could be discerned right away - both main love interests even have the exact same power over fire. Truth be told, there actually are a few differences, but you don't learn about most of them until episode 2.

What makes these two anime different?

1. Main character's reason for being in school
2. Artwork
3. Main Character
4. Character development on episode 2

There honestly aren't that many differences right now, however, there are some that I felt were noteworthy.

First is the Main Character's reason for being at school. In The Asterisk Wars, Ayato's reason for going to school is to, and I quote, "Find out what he's supposed to do." Really? Freaking seriously? That is the dumbest reason for a plot that I have ever seen! What the heck does that even mean? Unlike The Asterisk Wars, Ikki's reason for going to school is much better: He's a failure with little magical power who wants to become a Magical Knight (later on, we learn that he's trying to emulate his grandfather, who he looks up to), which is a much better reason. Ikki also has the underdog appeal.

The Asterisk Wars: 0. Chivalry of a Failed Knight: 1

The second most obvious difference is the art and animation. I'll be honest, The Asterisk Wars has Chivalry of a Failed Knight beat here. While I don't dislike the artwork in CFK, I feel like the art in Asterisk Wars is better and the animations are smoother.

The Asterisk Wars: 1. Chivalry of a Failed Knight: 1

Next is the main character. Ikki versus Ayato, and Julius versus Stella. Now, quite frankly, I like Ikki better than Ayato, and the reason is simple. In episode one when Ikki walked in on Stella while she was in her underwear, he decided to strip, too, so she wouldn't be embarrassed. I thought that was awesome. Seriously. Most main protagonists respond the way Ayato did. Not Ikki, though. He's like, "I know how this looks, and I won't make an excuse for seeing you naked, so how about I strip, too!" As far as character personalities go, Ayato has Ikki Beat.

What about Julius and Stella? Well, lets take a look at how these episodes end. By the end of episode one in Asterisk Wars, Julius is still a bitchy tsundere with standoffish personality. On the other hand, Stella and Ikki actually become friends. In other words, Julius is more tsun, while Stella is more dere. I feel like, as a main love interest and character, Stella has beaten Julius out. Not only are her reactions cute, but she's also a lot nicer, and we don't have to watch her as she abuses the main protagonist constantly over perceived "faults." Granted, she still has her moments, but those have more to do with embarrassment than, "I'll kill you, pervert!"

The Asterisk Wars: 1. Chivalry of a Failed Knight: 2

And finally, the last one, the character development in episode two. In the second episode of The Asterisk Wars, neither Ayato nor Stella receive much character development. We learn very little about their past. Just about the only thing we do learn is that Ayato apparently has tremendous power but isn't supposed to use it because, and once again I quote, "He hasn't discovered what he's supposed to do." On the other hand, we learn that Ikki was ignored by his family because he didn't have the magic power or potential of everyone else, and that he tried to run away from home. We also learned that he almost died in a snowstorm, but he was rescued by his grandfather, who encouraged him to work hard. We also discover that Ikki is actually ranked F because his family didn't want him becoming a Knight, so they made the way to determine who got a good education based on their magical power, literally trying to force him out of the academy. Furthermore, in episode one we learn that Stella's reason for coming to the academy is because her country needs a strong Magical Knight, but because people placed her in the stereotype of a genius back home, she wasn't able to get stronger. Ikki and Stella feel much more compatible than Ayato and Julius who, like most tsundere/main lead couples, feels more like the animators are forcing the two together than a natural progression with their relationship.

The Asterisk Wars: 1. Chivalry of a Failed Knight: 3


In short, I feel like Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a much better anime, and although I'll watch both because harem/action anime are what I like the best, I have higher hopes for Chivalry than I do for Asterisk.

Strike the Blood

All powerful vampires who go to high school? Cute sword shaman middle school girls? Yes, Strike the Blood does have that. The story of Akatsuki Koujou, a regular teenager in high school, who just so happens to be the Fourth Primogenitor, the most powerful vampire to have ever existed, and Yukina Himeragi, a magical sword shaman wielding a powerful spear, assigned to watch over him.

I found Strike the Blood volume 1 to be a cute series that is entertaining, but doesn't offer much in the way of originality. It is very stereotypical of its genre, from the overpowered main character who, because he wants to live a normal life, doesn't have full control of his powers, to the cute girl who's assigned to kill him if he proves dangerous. Let's be honest here, if you're going to have someone watch over a super-powered vampire, you're not going to send a 14-year-old middle school girl to do it. You're just not. That's like practically asking the vampire to suck her dry - and my suck her dry, I mean suck her blood, ya pervs.

While I complain about the cute middle schooler being assigned to the high school vampire, I did enjoy the relationship they built. Having watched the anime before reading this, I can say that I feel like the light novel does a better job of conveying how they become friends. In the story, it's quite clear that they develop feelings of camaraderie for each other during volume 1. Their interactions, while lacking the wit and panache of Holo and Lawrence of Spice and Wolf, does have a refreshing feel about it. It's something that I feel like I can see happening in a regular high school - minus the vampire/magical girl aspect. The story itself reads very much like a slice-of-life with some major action going on. Like most light novels, this story has both a standalone plot that becomes solved by the end of the book, and an overarching plot that makes it obvious there will be more volumes on the way.

One of my favorite aspects about this are the monsters. I've seen vampires and werewolves and demons done before. They've been done to death, after all. However, this series takes a slightly different approach. First, everybody knows about the various monsters in this world. Everybody. It's common knowledge. Second, the place where Koujou lives is the Demon District of Itogami City - a man-made island off the coast of Japan. Here, humans and demons live in harmony... well, mostly harmony. There are some people who cause problems, like, hitting on a middle school girl, but most are nice folks. I also quite liked the magic they used. While the magic isn't explained perfectly, I feel like this grants them more leeway because it leaves a sense of mysticism, and besides, the Beast Vassal idea - a creature born of a vampire's pure magic - is pretty cool.

While this wasn't an amazing book, and the writing was a little repetitive, I did enjoy it. This will be one of the series that Yen Press has been translating that I will be following.

Monster Musume

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a fan of harem anime. It's my guilty pleasure. I've watched everything from Tenchi Muyo to To LOVE Ru and Girls Bravo. In all that time, watching all those anime, only a few have ever stood out and made a name for themselves by being more than just a cliched series about "harem protagonist #2" having multiple girls fall for him because "He's nice." Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou is one of those anime, and it's probably the cutest harem anime I've ever seen.

The story itself isn't anything new, though I feel it's done way better than most harem anime. In it, you have Kimihito, a young man living on his own. He has a very stereotypical harem protagonist feel to him, but at the same time, right down to how nice he is and how he only takes action when the plot requires it. I don't really mind that in this, because he's not the focus of the story. The girls are - and they are an eclectic bunch.

The first and most important thing to note about this anime is definitely the character design. None of these girls are human. Not only that, but they actually don't look fully human. Miia is a lamia and so she has the lower half of a snake. Centorea is a centaur and has a horse half. Papi is a harpy. Her arms are more like wings and her legs are clawed bird legs. You've also got a mermaid, a woman with more spider features than human features, and a girl who appears to be made from slime. I'm not sure who decided on making characters not look human, but I have to give them props. Not only was it a gutsy move, but it's paid off in dividend. If nothing else, it makes this anime patently different from every other anime, even the ones that deal with monster females like Rosario+Vampire.

Speaking of the girls, all of these ones are quite the characters. While you won't find any personality that is truly original, the ones these girls have do carry a certain uniqueness about them. I won't deny that I found myself greatly enjoying their antics. Even if you can tell each one was made based on a specific archetype, it's done in such a way that I don't really mind. I think it's because this show knows it's a harem comedy and doesn't try to pretend it's anything else. Too many times an anime will be a harem, but it will act like it isn't. "Oh, no. We're not just any old harem. We've got some really deep and complex plot going on in this anime. By the way, check out how this girl's obnoxiously large boobs bounce in every scene she's in." Unlike anime that try to be one thing but are really just an excuse for the main protagonist to get with every girl on screen, this one is refreshingly straightforward and simple. It is a harem anime, and it's not going to fool you into thinking it's anything but.

As is the case with most harems, the people who watch it will always have a favorite. My favorite is Miia. Miia is a lamia. In ancient Greek mythology, lamia was a Queen of Libya who became a child murdering monster feared for her malevolence. Originally a daughter of Poseidon, she eventually became the mistress of Zeus and was cursed by a jealous Hera. Similar to other female monsters in Greco-Roman myth (such as the empousai and the mormolykei), she is distinguished from them by her description as half-woman and half-serpent. Miia is pretty much the exact opposite of this woman. She's bright, cheerful, open and honest, though she does show some traits from the mythology, such as her voracious sexual appetite - several times Miia will have imagine an ecchi moment where Kimihito does the horizontal mambo with her. It is her honest personality that drew me to her. Plus, snakes are cool.

Much like Miia, all of the monster girls are based on Greek mythology. Centaurs, harpies, mermaids, cyclops, ogres, drakes... I think the only monster girls who aren't steeped in Greek myth are Suu, the resident slime girl and illegal immigrant, and Zombia-chan, whose name makes it quite obvious what she is. I actually thought this rather clever. While Japan has a habit of using other mythologies in their anime, I've not seen it done like this - taking a bunch of monsters from Greece and turning them into beautiful women with the lower half of animals.

One other thing that I feel should be noted about this anime is it's surprising gender compatibility. Harem anime are usually something that guys will watch because, well, it's about a guy getting a harem of beautiful women. Most females find this disrespectful, and while a few have broken this mold before, I don't think it's ever been done quite like this. I've been talking with a friend online, and she told me that she and her friends, some of whom work at a women's center, have been watching Monster Musume and think it's adorable. The mere fact that a group of female would watch this and think, "so cute!" instead of being repulsed, is an impressive feat. While I'm sure some women will still hate this anime because, "harems are degrading to women," I think just as many could actually enjoy this anime if they keep an open mind.

Artwork: 9/10
Animation: 7.5/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Characters: 9/10
Story: 7/10
Personal Enjoyment: 9/10
Total: 8.1/10

GATE: The JDSF Fought There

GATE: The JDSF Fought There is probably the most interesting anime I've seen in a while. The basic concept is this: A large gate appears in Japan, from which numerous warriors and fantasy creatures pour forth, invading our world and wreaking havoc on Tokyo. Through it all, one middle-aged Otaku nut, who just so happens to be in the military, is caught up in this battle and, through a lot of unfortunate mishaps, ends up becoming a hero. He and several other members of the JDSF are then sent through the gate to investigate the other side, where they come upon a fantasy world straight out of Lord of the Rings.

There were two things I enjoyed about this anime. The first is the concept. While the "other world" idea has been used plenty of times before, I've usually only seen in done on a smaller scale. In GATE, EVERYONE knows about the other world. It's broadcast on live TV, so pretty much the entire world knows that there is a gate in Japan, and that this gate leads to another world. This is like taking a concept and cranking the audacity levels to well past 9,000. 9,001? Anyway, I thought the idea for the anime was very well executed, and I like how this didn't fall back on the "Let's hide the existence of fantasy creatures from the world for so and so plot reasons."

The other aspect I appreciate the most was GATE's myriad of characters. Itami, the main character, was particularly refreshing. He's an Otaku, meaning he's someone who's so obsessed with anime and manga that he would generally be disregarded as a loser, however, he also happens to be a member of the JDSF, and is honestly kind of a badass. I really liked how it portrayed a healthy side of Otaku culture, showing that not everybody who loves collecting anime, manga, and other paraphernalia is a social shut in that refuses to leave their home. Itami is relatively sociable, and even though he has his moments, he functions just like every other member in society.

Outside of Itami, three other characters stood out the most. Tuka Luna Marceau,  Lelei La Lalena, and Rory Mercury. These three are girls that Itami and company encounters beyond the GATE, in the other world, and each one has a unique personality and their own issues. Rory is an immortal stuck in a 13-year-old body. She seems to be a favorite, which I guess is because she has such a strong presence and is the most active member of the trio. She's also very violent, which makes sense, as she is a demigoddess and the apostle for Emroy, a god of war. Tuka is my personal favorite. No, it's not because she's a hot elf girl.... don't look at me like that! Anyway, she is the one we see the least of, though I hope that will eventually change. Her personality is that of a normally optimistic and cheerfull 17-year-old girl... even though she's actually 165. Hey, it's better than Rory's 961 years of age. The last of this Trio is Lelei, a sage and sorceress. She is the only human among the three, yet she is very talented and extremely intelligent, capable of grasping the Japanese language within a very short time.

Like most anime, this has its moments of fanservice. Rory seems to have be this anime's fanservice girl. I sorta wish they'd had more Tuka, but whatever. The fanservice can, at times, be a little awkward, but it can also be quite funny. I do think they could have, if not toned down the fanservice, then at least given us a bit more development with the characters. The only one we really see a lot of is Rory. I would've enjoyed learning more about Tuka and Lelei, though Lelei's past history seems to be the least interesting, perhaps because she's only 15-years-old. Regardless, I did enjoy most of the moments in here, fanservicy scenes included.

Animation wise, I do believe this is one of the better animated series. Then again, I feel like a lot of animations are becoming smoother due to the use of CGI. Regardless, the animation in this anime is very fluid and generally seamless. I especially enjoyed the action scenes, which were always a blast to watch - and no, it wasn't because of the loli kicking ass with a giant scythe. Overall, I feel like the animation was only secondary to the story and characters, which are what really drove this anime home for me. I can watch an anime with only okay animation, but I can't watch an anime where the character's are a bunch of dull caricatures of stereotypical archetypes.

Artwork: 8/10
Animation: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Story: 8.5/10
Personal Enjoyment: 9/10
Total: 8.3/10

A Fox's Maid, available on Amazon!

The tail of a boy, a kitsune… and a maid?
Kevin Swift doesn’t know what to think anymore. His love for Lindsay has dwindled, he’s constantly plagued by thoughts of Lilian, and now he has to deal with his sexy housemate’s maid: A kimono-clad, katana-wielding femme fatale who doesn't like him very much—and who has this weird tendency of adding Japanese suffixes to everyone’s name for some reason. Go figure.
Now Kevin must make an irreversible choice: To become Lilian’s mate or not. It’s a life changing decision that no teenager should have to make. Unfortunately for him, Lilian’s maid has basically threatened to clean out his entrails with her katana if he doesn't.
He used to think being a teenager sucked. Now he’s realized that being a teenager is nothing compared to being the potential mate to a kitsune whose maid holds no moral compunctions about flaying him alive.
Now Available on Amazon.com!

Shokugeki no Soma

Shokugeki no Soma is the food fanservice show that everybody is talking about. It's the anime where eating a good meal prepared by a teenager induces massive amounts of orgasm, and it's freaking hilarious. I have watched many a fan service anime in my life, and out of all of them, this particular anime definitely ranks somewhere within my top 5 ecchi/fan service shows ever. It is just that fun to watch.


Story: This anime follows a boy named Yukihira Soma, who dreams of surpassing his father as a cook and inheriting the family restaurant, which is a low-brow diner for the masses. His father decides to send Soma to a cooking school. Already being something of an expert chef with plenty of experience, Soma is at first angry with his father, however, after learning that he's been sent to Tootsuki Culinary Academy, an elite school with a 90% fail rate, his tune quickly changes. It was this original premise that first drew me into the story. For a show about cooking, this anime is surprisingly original. Although, perhaps it is because this show is about cooking that I got so into it. Seriously, have you seen the food made in this show? It looks delicious!

This show takes what I consider standard Shonen Tropes and combines them with a cooking competition feel similar to Chef Ramsay's Kitchen - only ten times more intense. When I first watched this show, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, it was a show about cooking, so it couldn't be that exciting, right? Wrong! Somehow, despite being an anime about cooking, it is surprisingly intense. The director and animators really know how to up the ante, making activities as simple as cooking food feel like the most epic thing you'll ever see. It does an extraordinary of keeping my attention throughout, and I was always excited whenever a new episode of this would come out on Crunchyroll.

Being a shonen anime, it is not surprising that there is a lot of fanservice in it. I'll admit, I really liked the fanservice here. While some feel pervasive and annoying, this was just funny. Who ever heard of people orgasming from food? And it's not just the woman who get fanserviced in this either. Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail has some competition now, because there are plenty of instances where one of the male characters in this anime is shown in nothing but an apron. I'm guessing Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki wanted the fanservice to be more gender equal. While I'm sure there are still plenty of people who dislike how ecchi this anime is, at the very least, no one can complain that the fanservice only features women.

Characters: One thing I loved about this anime was the caste. There are a lot of characters in here - perhaps even a few too many characters. Despite this, I did like most of them. Yukihira Soma is my favorite, being the main character and everything. I really love his determination and pride as a chef. Unlike many protagonists who come off as wimpy, Soma is determined and unfalteringly confident in his cooking, and he doesn't take any crap from others who insult his abilities as a chef, or his father's diner. There is also Megumi Todaroko, an unconfident young woman who is on the edge of failing at Tootsuki Academy; Erina Nakiri, the prominent and somewhat spoiled young woman who's been given the title of God's Tongue for her enviable talent at determining the quality of food. There are plenty more characters, and each one stands out vibrantly amongst the others. No two characters act the same, and I think that says a lot about this anime's ability to handle such a wide caste.

Art: The art style here is also pretty dang good. While I've certainly seen better, I like how original the artwork is for this anime. The character designs are quite different from what I've seen in other anime. Of course, all of the woman tend to be very beautiful and the men handsome, which makes sense as this is a fan service anime. The backgrounds designs are all well-detailed and interesting, and I really like the animation, especially when the chefs are all cooking. Naturally, I am also a big fan of the fanservice moments. The attention to detail during these scenes really is impressive - and perverted, but mostly impressive.

Artwork: 8.5/10
Animation: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Total: 8.75/10

K-Project

I have a confession to make: I have fallen in love. Yes, love. I've fallen in love with an anime called K-Project. This anime did almost everything right. It's one of the few that I've found myself enjoying so completely that I watched the entire 12 episode season in a few days - and one of the few anime that I became disappointed to see end.

Story: The story is about a young man named Isana Yashiro, who supposedly murdered a member of a gang called Homra, and now several different people are after him. This 12 episode series follows his journey as he tries to prove his innocence, discover the real killer, and learn more about himself in the process. Despite how that makes it sound like some kind of mystery series, I can assure that it's not - not fully, at least. If I had to call this series anything, I'd say it's a mixture of action, comedy, and drama with a little bit of mystery mixed in. It's also a very intelligent series, with a complex storyline and a good deal of well-developed characters.


Artwork: The artwork in K-Project is absolutely gorgeous. Truly top tier. In all honesty, I think the artwork in this anime is better than almost any other anime out there. All of the characters are well-designed, and the backgrounds are just stunning. I don't think I've ever seen backgrounds that were so beautiful before. All of the characters also stand out quite well. The color pallet used for the characters creates a differentiation between background, main characters, and side characters. Furthermore, the use of 2D and 3D artwork is done rather seamlessly. I can tell they used 3D art in here, but it's done in such a way that you don't notice unless you really know what to look for.


Animation: This is probably one of the few anime whose animation is almost completely without flaw. Throughout the entire season, I didn't find any of the mistakes that most animations tend to have. It was fluid and the transitions were smooth. What's more, all of the fight scenes were beyond amazing. I've watched a lot of anime with action in them, and very few can keep the same level of fluidity in their action scenes that they do in a normal scene where there isn't much going on. This one does that, and it does that well.

Characters: One thing I truly loved about this anime definitely has to be its characters. All of the characters are well-done, fully-fleshed out, and have unique personalities, which is really quite amazing, considering how many characters this anime has. The three main characters, Isana Yashiro, Neko, and Kuro are all well-crafted. Yashiro acts like a lazy high school student who just wants to enjoy life, and yet you can tell that there is a lot more to him, even at first glance. There's a lot of mystery surrounding him. And, of course, there is Neko, the mysteriously beautiful girl who can turn into a cat. We don't know much about her backstory, but she has such a vibrant personality that we don't really need to. I loved watching her and seeing all the things she did. Kuro plays the straight man in this group. If Yashiro is lazy and Neko a glutton with little common sense, then Kuro is the one who keeps both of them from doing something stupid. Watching the three of them was a pleasure because every scene they had was interesting. Of course, there are many other characters, and each of them is unique and feels real.

Also, can I just say that I ship this pairing so freaking hard? I do. NekoxShiro has officially become one of my favorite pairings of all time. In fact, if there is one thing that I was disappointed in with this anime, it's that these two never got together. I feel like these two were made for each other. Yashiro acts like a lazy young man whose kind of reckless and just likes to go with the flow, while Neko is a fun-loving girl who is completely devoted to him. I'm going to be honest, if these two don't get together in season 2, which comes out this October, I am gonna be so pissed off - so, so, so pissed off. I want to see them kiss so badly, and I really hope the animators make that happen. If not, I'm going to write a very strongly worded letter about how they've ruined my life by giving me such a cute couple and not going anywhere with it.


Sound: I normally don't have a whole lot to say about sound quality, but I have to admit that it was really something here. First off, the opening theme song is beautiful, just beautiful. I absolutely loved it. The music has a rockish feel mixed with opera vocals. It was very provocative, and the ending theme song was also gorgeous. The sound effects were all nice to, and I loved the voice acting, both from the dubs and the subs. In fact, I think the English dubbing was even better than the subtitled version this time. The voice actors who played these characters in English really knew how to put emotion into their voice. It was quite good.

Artwork: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Total: 10/10

Spice&Wolf Volume 4

To be perfectly honest, I didn't enjoy Spice&Wolf volume 4 as much as I did volume 3. While the writing hasn't suffered, and the story is still pleasant, I feel like the last volume had a lot more going for than this one did. Perhaps I was simply expecting more out of the story, or maybe I was hoping for a bigger plot with higher stakes, since every volume before this had high stakes and risks involved. While I wasn't disappointed to read the next saga in Lawrence and Holo's adventures, and I still enjoyed it, I found myself enjoying it a little less than I expected.

This particular volume is about Lawrence and Holo journeying to Tereo in the hopes of uncovering information about Yoitsu, Holo's homeland, and its ultimate fate. There isn't really much more to say, honestly. Without giving any spoilers away, I can say that while this story was still entertaining, it lacked the sense of urgency that the other three novels have had. While this doesn't necessarily make it a bad story, and I can appreciate a good break from the constant danger they've been facing, I still wish that something more interesting had happened. This entire book was basically Lawrence and Holo getting involved in the affairs of a town they hold no allegiance to.

I think my biggest problem was that there really weren't any major issues here. In the last novel, Lawrence and Holo had this huge fight, which caused them to separate for the last half of the book. In it, you could feel Lawrence's loneliness and desperation to get Holo back. Even if, at the end, Holo had been on his side all along, the way it was written had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. I couldn't put it down. Not so much with this one, though. While I still read this quickly enough, I didn't feel this insane desire to keep flipping pages. I think my problem stems from how I read volume 3 before this. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't read volume 3 before this one, I would have liked it a lot more. It was kind of calm, and the story was clean and interesting, and Holo and Lawrence have grown really close, which I like. However, compared to the previous volume, this one felt just a little lackluster.

To LOVE Ru Darkness Season 1

Come one, come all, to the ecchiest freaking anime on the planet. Fill your eyes with big bouncing bazangas and jumbo jiggly joggers. Yes, this is the most boobalicious anime you're ever going to watch. And unless you despise ecchi and the harem genre, I guarantee that you'll love this.

To LOVE Ru Darkness is the anime that knows exactly what it is and doesn't try to hide it, nor are they ashamed to show it. This anime is like a train wreck of perversion. A part of you wants to look away, yet the rest of you forces your eyes to remain glued to the screen. In fact, despite my own shamelessness, some small part of me is actually ashamed to admit that this is one of my favorite anime of all time. The humor in this anime is hilarious and raunchy beyond compare. Every episode is filled to the brim with salacious gags filled with so much eroticism that erotica writers everywhere would cum if they watched this. Actually, I'm pretty sure the dudes who produced this were jacking off during the making of this anime.

Artwork: If there is one thing that To LOVE Ru does right, it is definitely their artwork. The artwork here is beautiful and, while it should come as no surprise, the females in this are absolutely gorgeous. These guys really know how to draw female characters to make them as physically pleasing to the eye as possible. Not only is each member of the female caste ridiculously beautiful, but the animators know exactly how to draw them to make them look as erotic as possible. A part of me really does have to applaud the audacity these people had when they made this, and also the genius of their perverted minds. Truly, Jiraiya of the Sannin would have cried tears were he not a fictional character.

Animation: Much like the artwork, the animation in this series is surprisingly spot on. You'd think that an anime whose entire plot is based around giving the main character a harem would mean the animation would be half-assed, right? Wrong. The animations here are beautiful, and perverted. Seriously. I'm not joking around here. Pretty much every scene in this anime is an excuse for something perverse to happen to one or more members of the female caste. In any event, while pretty much every scene is filled to bursting with something lecherous going on, they are beautifully animated. The animations are fluid, the characters are in model, and the scenes are like something out of a teenage boy's wet dream.

Story: Unlike the first season of To LOVE Ru, Darkness actually does have a plot. Sure, most of the plot is masked by the massive amounts of Plot, but it is there, though part of me suspects the plot is really just there to deliver us more Plot, if you know what I mean. Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. What is the plot? Well, basically, the story is about Rito Yuuki and his harem, and it's about how he gets that harem. It's also about Momo Viela Deviluke, one of the princess to the planet Deviluke, and how she is helping Rito get the harem he never wanted with her so-called Harem Plan. Yes, one of the main female characters is trying to give Rito his very own harem. What can I say? She's a perv.

Characters: To LOVE Ru Darkness features a wide caste of characters. You've got Rito Yuuki, of course, who is the Emperor of Boob Falls. You've also got Lala Deviluke, the cheerful genius and first princess to the planet Deviluke. Momo and Nana Deviluke, her sisters, are also present and so many more. Most of the characters are firmly set into specific archetypes. A good example is Kotegawa Yui, a classmate of Rito's, who has been firmly placed within the category of tsundere. While I normally dislike characters who are all trope and no development, Kotegawa actually makes it work. I think it has something to do with the over-the-top perverted things that happen to her. Seriously, if I was her, and I had some dude crash into me and either grope my tits or land with their face in my crotch, I'd go tsundere, too.

Two new characters are introduced to this story. Mae Kurosaki. No, she is not related to Ichigo Kurosaki. This isn't a crossover. Mae is actually Konjiki no Yami's little sister, another sentient weapon with the transphase ability, which allows her to turn any part of her body into a weapon, though she seems to prefer turning her hair into swords. Unlike Yami, who claims to hate ecchi, Mae seems to love it. In fact, I sometimes feel like her entire life goal is to get Rito to lick her all over her body. She really seems to enjoy perverted situations, which is funny because her best friend happens to be Nana Deviluke, the tsun-loli of this anime.

Tearju Lunatique is another character that's introduced during Darkness. She's a scientist and the creator of Yami, who is based on her DNA. You can actually tell the two are related in some way because they look almost identical. Taerju seems to be the definition of a klutzy genius. She can't seem to do anything outside of science-y stuff. I would even go so far as to say she's a failure at life, but that sort of adds a charm to her. I actually feel for the woman. She came to Earth so she could be with Yami, but Yami doesn't want anything to do with her. Her klutziness is also adorable. Also, and perhaps this is not so surprising, but Taerju's boobs are massive. They're huge. Ginormous even.

If there was one thing about this anime that I did not like, then I would have to say it's the lack of Lala. In the original To LOVE Ru and Motto To LOVE Ru, Lala was one of the main characters. In Darkness, Lala has taken a back seat for characters like Momo and Yami. While I know that a lot of men like Momo because of her Harem Plan idea, I've always preferred Lala. Her cheerful personality and the many inventions she's made, none of which ever worked the way she wants them to, was what really sold me on the original series. While Darkness does have some scenes with her in it, and you even learn more about Lala's past and how kind she can be, I really wish we got to see more of her.

Story: 6.5/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Art: 10/10
Sound: 7/10
Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 8.4/10