One of the things that immediately made Appare-Ranman! stand out is its rather loose take on its late 19th-century setting that starts off in Japan but quickly moves to Los Angeles and eventually the whole U.S. mainland once the big race finally gets started. This is obviously apparent throughout the show but is probably best showcased in Appare-Ranman!’s cast of characters and their over-the-top, approaching Wacky Races-level vehicles. Some of these particularly stand out like TJ, one of the “Thousand Three” outlaws who sports a purple afro, Phil Manzanera-esque goggles, some kind of Mad Max futuristic pirate getup, and a frankly amazing gramophone boom box monstrosity blasting out rap music. This guy is certainly ahead of the curve, to say the least, and his car has a face and eyelashes to boot! Appare himself has a pretty out-there, somewhat clown-like, design along with the whole car-boat thing. In general, the characters are ethnically and visually diverse in interesting ways, albeit exaggerated as they often are, and express this anime’s unique approach to a historical setting perfectly.

Although it was initially a little surprising how long it took to actually get to the Trans-America Wild Race the story is built around, taking the time to properly set up the characters and their relationships with each other is probably going to be worth it in the long term as its already done a lot for the series and kept that feeling of anticipation leading up to the race strong through this first half. With it now only just started, the future of the series already has a lot set up with Hototo’s quest for revenge against the gang who killed his father, Xialian’s determination to prove herself as a female racer, etc. but also a whole country of different paths and outcomes to explore. At this point in the season, watching Appare-Ranman! is like cruising the open road, full of possibilities that we can’t wait to experience!

Talking more specifically, some of our favorite moments from the Summer 2020 portion of the series so far might actually be more comedic than serious, although there’s a good mix of both. Watching Kosame run out of his diner job once he realizes they could just sell the fancy car given to them by Al to get enough money to go back to Japan only to see it completely disassembled by Appare in the warehouse by the time he gets there was pretty hilarious as was their almost non-inclusion in the newspaper when they were highlighting the different racers. Speaking of racing, the pre-Trans-America races between Appare and Al and Xialian and jerkface racer David were exciting, particularly Xialian’s which was set up well, especially that scene of her and Appare visualizing racing next to each other with their eyes closed and her boss’ final reaction after David rams into her. Pretty much everything to do with the big pre-race party were excellent as well from the dress code violation antics (Kosame’s tie with kimono was great!) to the various competitions that break out to decide poll position which included everything from straight-up gunfighting to arm wrestling and even cucumber slicing?!? Honestly surprised TJ didn’t attempt a rap battle, but that craziness was very entertaining! The latest episode had some strong highlights too with Kosame’s clever on-the-spot naming of that prairie dog while looking for Hototo and Appare’s meme-y math calculations as he shoots the car right past the end of the train as it goes by. Good stuff!

Let's address the elephant in the room; yes, this is a game about teens who save the world piloting giant mechas, and they do so without wearing any clothes. Some might say this is just fanservice, a gimmick to make people—especially the male audience—drool for their favorite waifu/husbando, but we only played the prologue, so we can't know for sure if this is something they explain later. If you ask us, that's not reason enough to call 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim an ecchi game as the only reference to that are the avatars you see when in combat. Regardless, combining the mecha genre with sexy characters or situations is not new to fiction, with the anime Darling in the FranXX as a recent example. Considering the circumstances, we're intrigued to know these characters' backstories and everything, so we're really looking forward to the full release of the game!

One of the most fascinating things about this game is how these 13 characters' lives intertwine, not only in their present but also in other timelines. Thankfully, there's a log where you can keep track of all the characters and their stories, something that comes in really handy when you can't remember all these names and details. All 13 characters have something in common, but at the same time, they are all very different and unique in their own way, a reason why it's so interesting to see how they react to everything that's happening. Some of them seem to know a lot about this kaiju invasion, but most of them were dragged into this situation and are clueless as to why they happen to know how to pilot a huge killing machine. Some of them are there because they find it exciting given their love for science fiction movies and books; all of them are there because it's their destiny.

Although most of the time you're interacting with other characters as you would do in every other visual novel, when it comes to fighting the kaiju, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim turns into a fantastic turn-based strategy game. We got to discover only a few characters, but all of them have different weapons and skills, so it's safe to assume there's more than just one way to approach things according to the units you can control on every mission. Some units can only attack in a straight line, while others can only attack at a certain distance. The same goes for the kaiju, as there are several classes, all of them with distinctive attacks and their own advantages and disadvantages. All in all, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim looks like a fun tactical game, so we can only hope it gets even better once we are far into the story and more units become available.

Granted, monsters are indeed quite different than humans as evidenced by our cast of characters in Monster Girl Doctor. Saphentite, Lulala, and Tisalia are three of our favorite monster girls from this ecchi story and we notice that while they are indeed not human—as relevant from their bodies and actions—they sure do act human. Saphentite—our albino lamia heroine—might be part snake but her mannerisms and actions are quite human! Saphentite is quick to get jealous of the numerous monster girls that fight for our doctor—Glenn Litbeit—and his love, which is a pretty human emotion. Stepping away from our very well endowed monster girls for a moment, let’s look at our doctor Glenn for a second and show why he proves humans and monsters can live on the same planet. Despite having to deal with dangerous—albeit fan-service heavy—issues, Glenn is always eager to help someone in need if his services can be provided. There are plenty of humans on this planet that look past race, sexuality, and gender to help others and show that we share the planet with each other! If Glenn can enjoy...survive sexual assaults by buxom centaur girls like Tisalia or the spider girl Aranya, then we can all survive together with smiles on our faces and bleeding noses! Lastly, let’s look at the fact that monster girls have various desires like us humans too. We mentioned before that Saphentite tends to get riled up if another monster girl hits on Glenn but aside from that she too desires to befriend those who need her as friend/assistant. In the real world what drives us otaku—aside from hot anime girls like 90% of the cast from Monster Girl Doctor—is the drive to achieve something. Whether we aim for a romance with a hot girl or try our best to nab a limited edition statue we’ve been bidding for and praying we get, we all have desires and that seems to be the case for the girls of Monster Girl Doctor. That’s why if we all aim for a better world, even we could survive with sexy/scary monster girls/guys in this big world we call Earth.

Playing the other side of this argument let’s look at some truths that can’t be avoided. Monster girls are pretty darn scary as relevant from nearly every girl we’ve seen in Monster Girl Doctor. Glenn has had to deal with helping monster girls after losing limbs from unknown monster assailants and the unknown threat of Saphentite who might have to kill him if their relationship goes astray. Glenn’s monster-filled world might make our noses run red with small waterfalls thanks to oppai and other beautiful sites but it is equally dangerous and that’s to be expected. This is a world of monsters after all. Aside from the jokes, let’s also look at the history of Monster Girl Doctor. Before the series starts properly, we learn there was a 1000 year war between humans and monsters. Thankfully, the war ended after peace was established—in an almost comical manner—but imagine if a war like that occurred now? We live in a tough world where people hold grudges and even if a monster girl with rather large oppai almost kills you and then later wishes to be your lover does happen, we probably wouldn’t sleep too well at night anymore…

Kuutei Dragons, like Deca-Dence, is set in a world where people harvest monsters for both food and fuel, in this case the titular dragons. The story follows a crew of dragon hunters, or drakers, aboard the airship Quin Zaza, specifically newcomer Takita who not only looks a lot like Natsume from Deca-Dence but has your fairly typical genki-girl protagonist personality along with a great capacity for memorable faces. She’s also mentored by an older male crewmember, Mika, who while more over-the-top than his Deca-Dence counterpart, has a similar dynamic. Like the Gadoll, the dragons in Kuutei Dragons have pretty strange and interesting designs and are part of some solid action sequences. There’s no huge twist like in Deca-Dence and much more time is spent on the ‘eating the monster’ part of the world with some strangely appetizing dragon dishes. For your information, Kuutei Dragons is also a fully 3DCG anime, and sometimes arguably feels a little too similar to real-world whaling, and is certainly a series worth checking out for Deca-Dence fans who appreciate its world-building.

Set in the distant future, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet follows a young genetically-engineered mech pilot named Ledo who is part of an interstellar war against hordes of bizarre, squid-like creatures called Hideauze. During one battle, Ledo and his sentient mech, Chamber, get flung into the far reaches of space until eventually crash-landing on Earth which has become almost completely covered by a vast ocean. After he and Chamber are discovered by Gargantia, a fleet of scavenger ships, he must then learn to adjust to this new world and begins to uncover mysterious connections to his own old life in space. Compared to Deca-Dence, Gargantia has a similar feeling with the whole mobile-fortress concept, in this case being the titular fleet of ships, and the struggle against a seemingly overwhelming, monstrous enemy. Without spoiling much, there also is a bit of a twist in the story but overall it’s just a solid sci-fi action series with similar ideas explored in its setting and the addition of rad, and personable, mech in Chamber that make it a good recommendation for Deca-Dence fans.

Swap out an endless ocean with sand and a fleet of ships with a mobile island called the Mud Whale and you have the world of the Children of Whales, but there’s more to. Somewhat similar to Deca-Dence’s Tankers and Gears, the society on the Mud Whale is divided into the Marked and Unmarked who are people able to use a psychic power known as Thymia but have reduced lifespans and more normal-lived people without powers respectively. The story follows Marked archivist Chakuro who is obsessed with recording everything and a mysterious girl he and his friends encounter on a new island that will change their lives forever. Although more fantasy and mystery than sci-fi action, Children of the Whales’ world with its rigid class structure and humanity aboard a giant moving vessel is certainly similar to Deca-Dence’s titular fortress. It also has its own strange creatures in the Nous to boot which is why it fits nicely on this list.

Launching us squarely into “the world is a game” terrority, Accel World takes place in the future year of 2046 where augmented and virtual reality are commonplace thanks to widespread collar-like Neuro Linker computers that can wirelessly connect to users' brains to easily bring them into VR and AR. The story follows Arita Haruyuki, a comically short and fat middle school student who is bullied and lacks self-confidence but is highly skilled at games—VR racketball, at least. He unexpectedly is contacted by the popular and beautiful student council vice-president who introduces him to a secret game called Brain Burst that can let users jump outside their bodies in the real world by accelerating their brain waves so quickly that time almost stops and play an eerily intense and lifelike VR fighting game of the same name that will remove this power if a player runs out of points. Although arguably not super similar in terms of overall feel, Accel World does explore some of the same concepts as Deca-Dence that should appeal to those fans, particularly if they are also interested in some very anime school romance subplots. Also some pretty good faces from Haruyuki to be seen!

Perhaps trying to one-up Accel World’s universe with the series’ super-advanced VR MMO arriving in 2043, the titular Infinite Dendrogram is the first game that can perfectly simulate all of the five senses for its players and has “infinite possibilities” largely thanks to each user being given an in-game AI companion called an Embryo with unique powers and personalities that change as they level up. The story follows newbie Mukudori Reiji and his more experienced older brother Shuu as they adventure through the world of Infinite Dendrogram. Although this series is not a masterpiece by any measure, it might be a good recommendation for Deca-Dence fans who enjoy the sci-fi game aspect and real people interacting with advanced AIs but are looking for something more light-hearted with more cute girls and some wacky characters like Shuu’s cool, machine-gun-wielding bear avatar.

Although it’s the third season of the popular, often contentious, Sword Art Online series, Alicization is surprisingly fairly easy to jump into without having seen the previous installments as it goes over the basics for newcomers, but is it worth watching for Deca-Dence fans? A solid maybe. Sword Art Online game survivor Kirigaya Kazuto, aka Kirito, finds himself in yet another game called Underworld and begins to question his own identity. This new world is created using Soul Translator technology which connects a person’s spirit/consciousness directly instead of through the brain, making it feel even more real. Kirito finds his memories being continually erased save for a vague recollection of the name “Alice”. Without spoiling much, Alicization is best connected to Deca-Dence in its exploration of AI characters which blur the lines between them and organic life with explorations of their own free will and morality. It’s still SAO but goes in some more interesting directions and notably nerfs Kirito’s overpoweredness to give more room for new deuteragonist Eugeo. It also has solid action and production values that Deca-Dence watchers should appreciate which overall makes it worth checking out for fans.

Tokorozawa may not be a name that is familiar to you, but it has a very important tie to the otaku world even before we get into what it’s doing these days to be on the otaku radar. Tokorozawa is the city closest to the real-world inspiration for the setting of My Neighbour Totoro, arguably Studio Ghibli’s most famous film. The forest outside of the city is even known to the locals as “Totoro’s forest.” That is already enough to make Tokorozawa worthy of a visit, but wait until you see what else has opened there.

First let’s talk about Tokorozawa Sakura Town, which just started to open in August of this year. Sakura Town is a massive entertainment complex aimed at otaku of all kinds - fans of games, anime, and manga all have shops to visit within Sakura Town. It’s more than just a shopping centre, though. Sakura Town also boasts the Kadokawa Musashino Museum, a five-floor museum made by the publishing company Kadokawa. It includes eight-meter high bookshelves that can hold over 50,000 books called the Forest of Books, and an entire floor dedicated just to the history and cultural impact of manga and light novels.... a promised 2.5 million of them. Two more stories serve as a manga and light novel library. Sakura Town also has a very modern shrine to visit, and an up-and-coming digital art museum by TeamLAB. Not everything in Sakura Town has opened yet due to Coronavirus but it’s coming along bit by bit with a grand opening planned for November 6th.

Next, let’s look at something truly unique - an anime hotel! That’s right, as part of the Sakura Town complex, EJ Anime Hotel will offer otaku a tempting chance to stay in an anime-themed luxury hotel. For now, there are just four anime represented - A Certain Scientific Railgun T, KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out, and Yuki Yuna is a Hero. All of the rooms have 150-inch projection screens and soundbars to enjoy anime to the fullest during your stay and have interior design based on each respective anime. Of course, each room is designed with the anime inspiring it in mind! They have a variety of different choices, from simpler rooms (strangely called “superior,” so don’t get confused) to deluxe suites. Since the whole place is owned by Kadokawa, we are likely to see even more collaborations with other Kadokawa works in the future! So if you’ve ever wanted to spend the night in an anime, now is your chance. There will also be a restaurant with fully themed meals, and character parties and cosplay wedding plans all available, too. The EJ Anime Hotel will see its first guests from October 1st if all goes according to plan, and is taking reservations very soon!

Tokorozawa has one more unique draw going for it, and this one is totally free to experience. Japan has artistic and creative manholes all over the country, often themed with a local landmark or symbol of the region. Well, in its bid to become an otaku hot spot, Tokorozawa just unveiled 27 anime-themed manhole covers. And to set them apart from their boring counterparts even more, they also feature LED lights! These solar-powered manhole covers feature huge anime like Sword Art Online, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Lucky Star, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, and more. They make a trail from Higashi-Tokorozawa Station leading all the way to Sakura Town. The LED lights sets them apart from other decorative manholes across Japan, and really draw the eye to not just overlooking something you might otherwise never notice under your feet. These anime manhole covers go a long way to helping Tokorozawa have a very “anime town” feel from the moment you leave the train station and begin your pilgrimage!

Tokorozawa has some pros and cons when it comes to becoming the next hot spot, and the difficult thing is that most of these pros and cons go hand-in-hand with one another. The biggest point about why Tokorozawa may be able to succeed as an otaku neighbourhood may also be the same one that makes it fail - and that’s its location. The city is located off the beaten track, and far away from other sites people may be visiting. Ikebukuro, Akihabara, and Nipponbashi are all very central to their respective cities and are all just a short train ride away from other points of interest that draw both local and international visitors. They have a lot of train line connections, too. These are all things that Tokorozawa doesn’t have. But on the flip side, what it does have is space. And affordable real estate. Otaku neighbourhoods in the centre of the cities are well-established and have been there for years. It’s hard to get new property because there simply isn’t room, and prices are already high due to the area’s notoriety. Tokorozawa doesn’t have these same problems. New otaku places have a chance to open and thrive there where they can afford the rent and there’s room to expand. Piggybacking on Sakura Town starting everything gives small businesses a real chance to get a start there. If Tokorozawa can build enough things to draw otaku out of the city centres and up into its reaches, then it has the potential to soar and become a very new and different style of otaku hot spot. But it’ll have to have some really unique and grand things that set it apart from it’s (geographically) nearest competitor, Ikebukuro, to tempt people to take a trip up the train line and check it out! They’re off to an awfully good start with that hotel, that’s for sure. On top of everything else, Tokorozawa isn’t actually that far from central Tokyo. It’s just a little over 20 minutes on one train out of Ikebukuro, which is somewhere that you may already be visiting. Maybe before this article you had never heard of Tokorozawa before, but it’s looking like you may be hearing the name more and more in the coming years when it comes to otaku culture!

Kei’s screentime in season 1 was a bummer, but thankfully, season 2 has given Kei more screen time, and showed us more about her character—behind her calm and composed personality is a girl who is hard-working, kind towards others like her brother Miyuki, and is in the rebellious stage of her life. Kei has piercing blue eyes, long silver hair, a tall slender body, and she is quite taller than the average girl her age. Combined with her personality and looks, and a bit of teen rebellion, she is admired by everyone in the anime, and the audience, boys and girls alike.

After entering Anima City, Michiru constantly gets into trouble because she sticks her nose in other people’s business like when she gets herself almost sold to slave traders or when she almost starts a war between humans and beastmen. But there is one thing we were happy to see: Michiru ends up playing baseball and we can now finally appreciate her toned figure by getting rid of that pesky jacket of hers. Athletic, very fit with just a hint of fat, and sporting short hair, Michiru is a textbook tomboy, but what makes her very appealing is her competitive nature and unwavering gusto—whatever or whoever is in her way, she’s built to take them on. Are we out of our mind for choosing Michiru? Of course not. Michiru has the ideal athletic body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

The Zahard princesses are some of the most beautiful women in the land, so it’s no surprise Androssi Zahard is a hottie. Androssi is flirty towards everybody, she’s proud of her looks, and a very nice erson… probably. Anyway, Tower of God has a huge cast of characters and a huge cast of sexy women, and while one girl has more screen time than the other, Androssi stands out with constant screen time. Generally speaking, the more we see a character, the more we get attached to them and Androssi is one of the few characters in Tower of God who you see constantly. And apart from her warm color scheme—short brown hair, piercing golden eyes, golden gradient eyelashes, her cute horn (horns?), and orange and brown colored clothes with black tights for contrast, Endorsi Jahad has a feisty personality that is too hot to handle for any would-be suitors.

It was difficult to choose who’s hotter—Carl or Pecorine—but eventually, we chose Carl because of her overwhelming screen presence—it’s hard to take your eyes off her. Carl immediately catches your attention with her long black hair, cat ears, the streak of white hair on her bangs, and big green eyes. The more you look at Carl, the more you notice her body language and realize her personality is akin to that of a curious stray cat—cautious, inquisitive, mischievous, longing for company, and love. These combinations of quirks, eye-catching looks, and expressive personality make Carl a very endearing and attractive character to watch in Princess Connect Re:Dive, and if Carl’s looks don’t sell you, her cat personality will. Oh? What do you mean? We didn’t misspell Karyl’s name.

The moment you see Clair in the opening theme, where she strides across the screen with a smug smile on her face like a boss, is an early indication that Clair is one alpha female who doesn’t give a crap hat anyone thinks. To back up her alpha female qualities, Clair is quite a looker with long light-brown hair, brown eyes, freckles, and such a well-sculpted body that even Michaelangelo’s David would envy. Of course, the reason why you see her half-naked all the time is that getting inside Suichi’s dog costume-monster form is very hot and slimy. Now, now, vore fans, it’s not like that and you better stop getting ahead of yourself if you’re thinking Gleipnir is vore. If you squint your eyes hard enough, maybe it is. Anyway, Clair’s attitude, finely-tuned body, and her disregard for decency make her a very attractive specimen; even more so when she takes her clothes off—you’ll see her wearing different underwear with varying colors and pattern designs. Thank you, animators! Suichi probably knew Clair’s blackmail attempt wouldn’t work because she has no solid evidence and he’s just playing along. We mean, who wouldn’t want to get dominated by a hottie like Clair?