The 1998 street racing anime Initial D (along with its many sequels) is a veritable fountain of memes. We’ve got hilarious CG cars, distinctly unattractive character designs, “multi-track drifting”... but above them all towers the infamous Eurobeat-infused soundtrack. “Déjà Vu”, “Running in the ‘90s”, and “Gas Gas Gas” have all become household names among anime fans, and YouTubers continue to create Eurobeat remixes of popular anime songs to this very day! If you’ve never heard the Eurobeat version of “Daddy Daddy Do”, you’re seriously missing out.

Yamcha’s crumpled death pose is a particular favorite of Japanese otakus, stemming from an early episode of Dragon Ball Z where a single weak enemy self-destructs and manages to kill the poor sap in one hit. It’s often used as the Japanese equivalent of “epic fail”, and the pose has become so ubiquitous over the years that it’s shown up in two Dragon Ball Z video games. Plus, there’s even an official Bandai figure of Yamcha in this exact same pose, and its description states that “With it, you can bring a hopeless battle feel to any everyday scene.” Yamcha should be proud of his legacy, especially since he never did anything important after that.

Isekai anime are so common these days that they’ve all started to blend together – many of them use the same tired tropes over and over, such as the protagonist getting run over by a truck while trying to push an oblivious child out of the way. This is all to facilitate the main character’s reincarnation while immediately establishing them as a good person, of course, but it’s so morbid and specific that it’s become a meme. Our favorite send-up of “Truck-kun” actually comes from Zombieland Saga, where the speeding vehicle unceremoniously kills main character Sakura within the first five minutes of the show to the tune of screaming death metal. Definitely some of Truck-kun’s finest work.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the weirdest anime franchises known to man and boasts a fiercely devoted fanbase, so naturally, it owns a sizeable chunk of the meme market. It’s hard to pare such a wealth of fabulous poses, hammy lines, and inexplicable torture dances down to just one meme to rule them all, but we’d say that the most pervasive Jojoke among the wider anime community is the “To Be Continued” arrow used at the end of most episodes. Countless YouTube compilations edit the arrow (as well as the first season’s ED, “Roundabout”) on top of famous cliffhangers or videos taken seconds before disaster. Some adventurous congoers have even cosplayed the “To Be Continued” arrow!

If you were an otaku in the mid to late 2000s, you knew that Haruhi Suzumiya was the undisputed goddess of anime. Kyoto Animation’s first breakout hit The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya practically took over the whole community, and the dance featured in its ED “Hare Hare Yukai” became a staple at anime conventions the world over. There were live performances with Haruhi’s seiyuu Aya Hirano, instructional videos, flash mobs, and even prison inmates in the Philippines who danced along to the J-pop tune. To this day, cosplayers gather together to recapture the joy that “Hare Hare Yukai” brought to them almost 15 years ago.

Turns out, Beatrice isn’t a witch after all but does have a unique ability thanks to the Tome she has. While still a bit vague on what the tome actually does, at least Subaru knows now that the strange girl in the mansion isn’t to be feared as an enemy; at least not yet. However, with one fear removed, we now have another issue and that is Garfiel learning of Subaru’s escape. Despite our heroes trying to escape quietly in the night, Garfiel approaches them and isn’t too shy about showing his anger. Ram tries to stop our half-human while Otto and Subaru escape, but the escape isn’t long-lived. Otto is obliterated trying to save his friend and Subaru is knocked out by Garfiel awakening once more in the dungeon he was kept prisoner in! Waking up, Subaru notices that the sanctuary is devoid of life and now covered in a thick layer of snow! While exploring the cold and lonely landscape, Subaru notices a cute rabbit and wonders how this little beast is the only thing alive. Unfortunately, Subaru isn’t given much time to dwell on the rabbit as he soon realizes—to our horror and his—this rabbit has just chewed his hand off and several other little rabbits have gnawed his leg off as well! Subaru is then overwhelmed by the seemingly cute threats and once more returns to death to the trial. Just as Subaru is about to kill himself by slamming his head into the floor over and over again, a familiar voice fills his mind.

The Witch of Greed—aka Echidna—has once more invited Subaru to her domain and Subaru now learns that her “bodily fluid tea” is the reason he’s been able to keep from going utterly insane despite his several recent adventures. This is where episode 33 of Re:Zero goes into truly emotional territory, when Subaru admits something he has been unable to for the entire series! Despite being able to see Subaru’s various trials and tribulations in the real-world, Echidna wants to hear Subaru admit how he’s able to survive and die non-stop. We all know that Subaru has been cursed to be unable to admit his “Return to Death” power but when he tells Echidna about it the curse is rendered null. Subaru finally yells a secret he’s been keeping these last 33 episodes and Echidna consoles him knowing this weight has been unbelievable on his poor heart. This week’s episode of Re:Zero has become one of the most emotionally powerful episodes and it’s amazing seeing as how it really only happened near the end. Just having Subaru pour his soul out to someone and finally admit his power—and the pure emotion given by his voice actor, Kobayashi Yuusuke—was truly heartbreaking and gripping. Subaru has undergone so many deaths and failures that would cause most men to simply curl up into a ball and allow death to overtake them. Now with Echidna being an ally—or hopefully so—and able to hear his pain without repercussion allows Subaru to unload a weight that has been on his shoulders since episode 1! Subaru will no doubt need to endure plenty of more battles/loses but if Echidna can at least hear his pains and be there for him emotionally, he might avoid losing his mind!

On another note, let’s not forget about Garfiel for a moment. We all knew that he and his sister—Frederica—are powerful half-beast/half-humans but we didn’t know just how powerful. Garfield has shown his true form and clearly he is a powerhouse maybe on par with the White Whale! Subaru will now need to avoid angering this already short-fused guardian unless he wishes to relive death in even more gruesome ways!

Naturally, we have to start this list with the true OG of heist anime, Lupin III. Not only are they alike in terms of plot, but in just about every way you can imagine. Like Laurent, Lupin is a French national with a goofy personality and he uses that to his advantage. Laurent, on the other hand, shows more control with his aloofness as he comes across as calmer and more collected. Lupin’s panicky qualities are expressed through Edamura, who is relatively new to the big leagues in the world of conning. Many of the character designs presented in Great Pretender share numerous qualities with Lupin III, for example, the lanky proportions for the men and the voluptuous proportions of the women. While the hairstyles of both anime are more in-tune with their times, the way they are edged and rounded share similar techniques. Lastly, both anime use a lot of jazz and blues to bring a balance to the dangerous and comedic qualities.

The unforgettable classic that helped put Adult Swim on the map; Cowboy Bebop not only pays homage to heist titles like Lupin III, but takes it to Mars and beyond! As opposed to Edamura, who is the closest thing to a normal guy in Laurent’s ragtag group of scammers, Spike is more like Laurent himself. He’s cool, has a mysterious past, and he’s dangerous whether he’s armed or not. Just like how Laurent’s gang consists of people of various backgrounds, the crew of the Bebop all come from different backgrounds to the point you wonder how they ended up together (at least with Spike and Jet) to finally become a family who break the law, but for the right reasons. However, the heists in Cowboy Bebop don’t exactly involve art or money themselves, but collecting bounties long before Dog Chapman made it cool. In order for the crew of the Bebop to catch their prey, they have to plan careful schemes, work undercover to get close to their target and catch them when they’re most vulnerable. In both anime, you see the characters are capable of having a change of heart, but in the end, no matter how many tries you take yourself out of the game, the game will never take itself out of you. By the way, did we mention that Cowboy Bebop has one of the catchiest soundtracks you’ll ever hear? If you loved the jazz and blues in Great Pretender, then you’re going to love what Cowboy Bebop has to offer!

Like Edamura, Rokurou Okajima thought he was living the life of an average Joe (or maybe Tarou in this case?), but life had other plans for him until he found himself kidnapped and then recruited into the world of modern piracy in Southeast Asia. After being abandoned by his company, Rokurou joins the Black Lagoon Company and takes the name Rock. Compared to their colleagues, Rock and Edamura both question the nature of what they do but find themselves good at it. They both believe in non-violence and try to de-escalate situations with their words, except that Rock is much better at it. Revy, the female lead, shares a lot of common qualities with Abigail, one of Laurent’s most trusted minions. They’re both femme fatales with dark backgrounds, and it has made them cautious and yet deadly when it comes to confronting their enemies. Another fun novelty that is shared between both anime, when you watch them in their original Japanese, the Japanese voice actors do attempt to speak in English and in other languages when interacting with characters from another country. While the English dub of Black Lagoon has a lot of f-bombs, just watching Revy using English swears in the Japanese version adds more punch to the comedy.

Ren and Edamura are a lot alike in that they enter their worlds as victims of their circumstances. Like Edamura, Ren is convicted for a crime he never committed, but thankfully only gets probation (in large part due to still being a minor, while Edamura was never fully aware of his company’s schemes). Naturally, their criminal record results in them becoming outcasts. This aspect also briefly addresses a bigger problem in a worldwide sense as it relates to re-integrating those with criminal records into society. While it’s understandable and human nature that people are distrustful towards those with a record, the fact that they can’t get a job is what leads them back to a life of crime, and we see this in both anime. While both Persona 5 and Great Pretender are part of the heist genre, this feature is also expressed differently in their own distinguishing ways that serve to tell their own stories, but serve the same purpose-to fight corruption for the little guy. In terms of art, both anime use vibrant psychedelic colors in their backgrounds but in the case of Persona 5, this applies when the cast enters the Metaverse, while it’s commonly used throughout Great Pretender. Lastly, both anime have addicting blues and jazz music that are largely sung in English for you to get your groove on.

For those who want something a lot darker, then we got Banana Fish for you. Considering the time between the end of the manga’s serialization in 1994 and the anime’s premiere in 2018, some appropriate changes are made to modernize the story (for example, Griffin fought in Vietnam in the original manga while he fought in Iraq in the anime). Other than that, the anime follows the manga accurately well. While Great Pretender is more of a comedy anime with its illegal activity, Banana Fish’s story is a lot darker, but by no means are they different. Like Edamura, Eiji, a photographer from Japan, is kind of forced into a life of crime, and is exposed to numerous horrors of a pre-Giuliani NYC, but set in modern times. What Banana Fish also does great is how it portrays the highs and lows of the Big Apple just like how the first arc of Great Pretender gives its audience the highs and lows of LA.

Like Great Pretender and some of the other anime we have listed, Durarara!! has an ensemble cast but takes it to new heights as each episode gives us a different story based on who the main character is for that episode. What they all have in common is that they all operate in the underworld, some by choice, some by circumstance. Like Edamura, Mikado was just a regular guy but moving to Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district sucked him into a world of crime and other forms of insanity. While Durarara has comedic elements, in comparison to the slapstick nature of Great Pretender, the comedy in Durarara!! is darker. Like Edamura, it’s not just Mikado who is forced into his world by circumstance, it applies to a good percentage of the cast as well, and they all have their own reasons for choosing to stay, and there are those that want to leave but can’t. Lastly, while Durarara!! doesn’t exactly apply the pop art techniques of Great Pretender, what they share artistically is how they portray their environments. Just like how Great Pretender does a great job of capturing Los Angeles and Nakamise in Asakusa, Durarara!! masterfully portrays Ikebukuro as if you’re actually there!!

Released last summer, Children of the Sea is an animated adaptation of the award winning manga by the same name and it will make its way onto a Blu-ray + DVD combo by Shout Factory on September 1st, 2020! We got ahold of the bundle early and went through all the bonus content to bring you the scoop regarding the feature itself as well as everything else that comes with the bundle! Let’s dive in!

When Ruka was a kid, she saw a “ghost” in the water at the aquarium where her dad worked. Years later, after getting in trouble at school for fighting back a bully, Ruka is suddenly drawn toward the aquarium—which she hasn’t visited in quite some time—and she meets two mysterious boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised by dugongs and are being studied by her father and the scientists at the aquarium because of their particular physical constitution and their connection to a mythical oceanic “festival” that seems imminent and is of utmost scientific importance. Umi and Sora are not normal and both feel sick if away from the water too long. They seem to be ill and fading away and, according to the scientists’ research they have a limited time left, but when they’re in the water playing with Ruka and showing her their world, they seem like they have all the energy in the world! Umi and Sora hear songs coming from the sea, just like Ruka hears strange calls from the ocean and it all seems to be connected to a strange occurrence around the world; all the fish are disappearing from the oceans! A couple of shooting stars mark the beginning of a legend coming to life and as the three kids get caught up in the mystery behind the sudden worldwide disappearance of the ocean's fish, they uncover cosmic connections that will change them forever. Children of the Sea takes you in a philosophical and metaphysical dive into the deep ocean of human existence, all wrapped up in a beautifully drawn and animated package.

The immediate visual appeal of Children of the Sea is undeniable thanks to Daisuke Igarashi’s unique designs. The almost palpable strokes of the character outlines, Sora’s beautiful, deep eyes and Umi’s brown expressive ones, and the realistic yet abstract whale depictions are unlike anything we’ve seen. The constant theme of sky and water (Sora and Umi respectively) is furthered by the bright blues and gorgeous, fluid animation whether we’re watching Ruka swimming or majestic giant whales performing a ritualistic dance. The soundtrack furthers the audience’s immersion with the whale songs, sound effects, and symphonic musical arrangements, including the ending theme "Umi no Yuurei” by Kenshi Yonezu. Children of the Sea puts together a philosophical work of art that may take a few watches to fully understand. It starts off easy to understand and then things start moving quickly toward the abstract and metaphysical. From galactic beginnings and genetic memory to metaphors and supernatural occurrences, there is a lot going on in Children of the Sea. Think about it as a metaphysical slice of life. Those looking for an easy, feel-good slice of life movie may be turned off by all the pondering and philosophical waxing but if you just watch it for the adventure, it is just as enjoyable! Those looking for a gorgeous movie that makes them think and feel the feels will likely find it intriguing.

Besides the marvelous movie, the BR+DVD bundle also includes other digital goodies like interviews with the cast like Sumiko Fuji who voices the wise old Dehdeh and the young Hiiro Ishibashi who voices Umi, among others. It’s also interesting to hear from Win Morisaki (voice of Anglade, a third ocean-loving boy) who has also worked dubbing Hollywood movies! Besides the cast, there are also interviews with director Ayumu Watanabe and Joe Hisahishi, the composer and the one responsible for the extra layer of depth the movie has—who also mentions understanding the film when watching it more than once. A 30-minute or so collection of selected storyboards from throughout the film show us the literal outline of the film, while short videos give us a unique behind-the-scenes look into the world of Children of the Sea. A short video titled “Studio 4C Makes a Meal” has the staff gathering ingredients and preparing a lobster dinner from the movie—it’s great to see them be regular people having nerdy fun!—and “Making of the Poster” gives us an entrancing and oddly satisfying timelapse of artist Shinji Kimura creating the movie poster from beginning to end. Yet another short video walks the audience through the steps of animation that were taken for some of the movie’s animatic scenes from outlines to the fully animated, computer-generated sequences. Other digital bonuses are the intro to the film at Animation is Film by Director Watanabe and CG Director Akimoto and an exclusive feature-length documentary about the making of the film titled “Turep - Looking for Children of the Sea” which sheds light on many of the unanswered questions one might have after watching the movie—some things may have been omitted from the original manga—and what the creators were going for as well as their own experiences through it. The documentary is an adventure all its own and definitely worth the watch.

Kenichi is part of an archeology club at his school. One day, they receive a rare artifact to examine, an unusual-looking mirror. Suddenly, the school building is transported into a strange dimension, and the members of the archeology club are unable to leave. To make matters worse, everyone appears to have switched bodies with each other! Kenichi stands alone in the girls' bathroom. He looks into the mirror expecting to see his own reflection as usual but instead sees his friend Yoshimi staring back at him. Before he can even begin to wrap his mind around what just happened, he feels the sudden urge to pee. Feeling guilty, he enters a stall and pulls down his friend's underwear. Surprised at how good urinating as a girl felt, Kenichi explores other pleasurable sensations a girl can feel.

After Naoto's father remarries, he gains a younger sister, Yui. Keeping mostly to herself, Naoto has always wondered how she feels about having him for an older brother. One day, he finds an app that claims to help understand what any girl is thinking. Deciding it can't hurt to try, Naoto tests it on his aloof sibling. Suddenly, Naoto finds himself in Yui's bedroom, even though he was in the hall a second ago. He walks over to her full-length mirror and is shocked to discover that he is now inside Yui's body. Curiosity getting the better of him, he starts to examine his sister's voluptuous breasts. It doesn't take long for him to become aroused, and he removes her underwear to get a better look at what is happening.

We know, this isn't 100% hentai... but we have to include it. After a strange alien princess named Lala teleported herself into his bathtub one day, Rito has had to endure all kinds of odd things happening. One such thing happened when Lala overheard the boys talking about girls' breasts. She decides to learn as much as possible about boobs, hoping to change hers into the kind Rito would most like. She invents a rocket that will blast the required hormones she needs to grow perfect breasts. Unfortunately, poor Rito gets hit by the blast instead and completely transforms into a girl! As he adjusts to his new body while Lala finds a way to change him back, he notices just how much girls get stared at and groped by strangers. He repeatedly finds himself in situations where girls are totally comfortable being naked around him and expect him to do the same. Lala's remedy can't come quick enough after an older man decides to grab and kiss him on sight!

When Takeru joined a new school, he wasn't expecting the students there to have crazy magical abilities. During the summer, a bunch of his classmates and a couple of teachers head to a private island so that they may focus on their training. Especially since Takeru has yet to discover his own abilities. After spending an evening with increasingly drunken faculty members, Takeru's friend Celia wanders in and sees his face buried in his teacher's cleavage. She gets angry at Takeru's perverted behavior and blasts him with an energy attack. When he wakes up disoriented, he heads to a nearby bathroom. In the bathroom mirror, he sees a cute girl, not realizing that he is the cute girl! So naturally, the first thing he does is test out what his female body can do.

Yes, another ecchi show! High school student Natsuru's normal life is suddenly disrupted when he wakes up with a blue bracelet attached to his wrist. Even more alarming, he has suddenly changed into a girl! A talking stuffed tiger tells him that he has transformed into a Kämpfer, a warrior who must battle other fighters like himself.... and since these warriors are all women, he magically transforms into the female version of himself to fight them. Despite the unusual morning, he heads to school, meeting up with his close friend Sakura at the bus stop. All of a sudden, a girl shows up wielding a gun and starts firing at him! Natsuru's transformation kicks in, and he becomes the female Kämpfer once more. While dodging bullets, he notices that his assailant is also wearing a blue bracelet just like his.

Best friends Stunk, a human, and Zel, an elf, get into a heated discussion about which type of girl is sexier, elves or humans. From this argument, they make it their mission to have sex with every type of girl and write about their experiences. Patrons at the bar they frequent eagerly await new reviews to be posted, while the various brothels they visit get a boost in customers. One day, they overhear a conversation about taking into consideration how a woman feels during sex, so they decide to visit a gender-swap inn, owned by a mage who provides guests with a potion that will change them into the male or female versions of themselves they would have been, had fate gone differently. Stunk tests out his new female body with an elf girl who has experience with female clients, while Zel gets intimate with a girl made entirely of slime.

Schoolgirl Takahashi died before she could confess her feelings to the boy she liked, and now she roams the school as a ghost, unable to move on. She eventually meets a demonic spirit, Sakurako, who tells her there is a way she can be reunited with her love. So she murders the entire class! Most of the class moves onto the afterlife, but of the students that remained, Ooshiro is trapped there because there's a girl still living that he likes. Instead of resorting to murder this time though, Sakurako offers to resurrect Ooshiro on a good-hearted whim. Unfortunately, she decides to bring him back to life as a girl instead, and attaches his former penis to herself! She demands that he uses his new female body to pleasure his own cock. After all, she did bring him back to life!

A girl named Eva becomes enslaved by a mysterious book known as the Grimoire of Greed. She is instructed by her new dark master, Mamon, to collect mana from living beings by having sex with them. She enlists the help of her brother, Adam by tempting him with her body. Utterly devoted to his sister, Adam agrees and tricks a man into having sex with him. He uses his ability to fully transform his body into that of a woman. When the unsuspecting man thinks their transaction is over, Adam reveals his true form and humiliates the guy further by climbing on top of him. He forcibly rides his victim's cock entirely as a man this time.

Terminally ill Takumi is offered an experimental new treatment to save his life. Possible side effects are disorientation, nausea… and changing into a woman?! Free from the hospital and cured of his illness, he goes back to school. Unfortunately, due to his new appearance, he is treated much differently by his friends. Suddenly, they all want a piece of him: groping his breasts, sliding their hands up his skirt, and flat-out asking if they can use him for practice. Despite feeling uncomfortable thanks to all of this unwanted attention, his sensitive body can't help but react with pleasure at each touch. Sadly, things only go from bad to worse for poor Takumi, when a seemingly sympathetic friend rapes and chokes him!

In an old, seemingly abandoned mansion, there are a lot of treasures to be found. However, it is a cursed place, and when men enter looking for riches, they get transformed into women as punishment. An innocent-looking girl lives there, with the power to read people's minds and then manifest their secret desires into reality. When two men arrive ransacking the place for loot, she has fun with them by changing one of them into a woman and manipulating the other into having sex with his friend. Then another treasure hunter shows up by the name of Bullet. She reads his mind and changes him into the girl he has feelings for. If he wants the treasure so badly, he's going to have to earn it. She watches with interest as the intruder uncontrollably masturbates in front of her. But she has not finished toying with him just yet.

Keisuke, his teacher, and a bunch of his female classmates have been mysteriously transported to a strange facility where they must participate in a twisted game to escape... or else be executed. In order to unlock a door, Keisuke is forced to choose one of the girls as a "keyhole" and must perform various sexual acts with her. He chooses Nemu, the popular girl of seemingly western descent. Nemu appears to have some sort of a wild side from the way she was groping him earlier, and she is completely unfazed by witnessing the death of a classmate right in front of her mere moments ago. This girl even gets excited when she sees the bondage gear she has to wear for their task. Once she is restrained, the order is to have rough vaginal sex with her, resulting in two ejaculations that will open the door. Keisuke wonders whether he has it in him to even treat her a little roughly.

Skilled adventurer, Rance, has been hired to look for a noblewoman who has gone missing, so he sets off with his personal slave girl to try and find her. While looking for information on Hikari's whereabouts, he finds out that the local innkeeper's daughter, Pulptenks, was also taken. Managing to track down the bandit's hideout, he makes his way to where Pulptenks is being held. He barges in to rescue her and sees that she has been tied up and blindfolded, with the leader of the bandits using sex toys to torture her. He masterfully takes down the bandit leader with his sword and goes over to release the helpless victim. Having her body teased for hours, however, has left the girl craving to be touched, so our hero decides to leave on the blindfold a little longer and pose himself as the head bandit to have his way with her before returning her home.

A member of a ninja clan, Shizume, has failed in her mission to retrieve a mystical scroll, so her father and brother decide the most severe punishment is in order. First, they strip her naked and bind her hands, suspending them above her. Then she is lowered onto a triangular torture device known as the "wooden horse". Her father begins to vigorously whip her naked body all over, admonishing his daughter as he does so. The pain of being whipped only heightens the pain of having to straddle the device, as the lashing causes her body to contort. Just when she thinks the punishment is over, her brother and father both insist that she use her body to pleasure them. Such an extreme price to pay for failing her very first mission!

A lonely, unemployed young man decides to lose his virginity once and for all by summoning a succubus. A young succubus named Miyu knocks on his front door instead of materializing out of the summoning circle he drew. She gets straight to work, magically restraining him on the floor. Once he's unable to move, she gets to work "milking" the life out of him. Using her hands and mouth, she makes him cum over and over. Miyu eventually uses her succubus powers to keep him perpetually hard, turning his own body against him. By this point, he's begging her to let him thrust his penis inside her. She hesitates and admits that she is a virgin too. Due to not being a full-fledged succubus yet, that's why she had to knock on his front door. He apologizes for embarrassing her, and she slowly lowers herself onto his cock. Miyu discovers that dominating her prey by riding him cowgirl style makes it much easier to achieve her goal of killing him with orgasms. Yet, somehow he still wakes up the next morning alive and well.

The Crimson Girls are an organization of women who have made it their mission to protect women and girls from molesters that lurk on crowded public trains. One day while doing her job, Mitsu caught the attention of a man who possesses unique abilities. He has the power to control people's minds and can make women orgasm with just one touch. Deciding to make Mitsu his new target, he boards the train along with a gang of guys who then quickly surround her. They restrain and gag her while he gets to work sending shock waves of pleasure coursing through her body against her will. She tries to fight back, but his abilities soon overpower her. They take her back to a hotel where they torture her further.

After Harry learns that his girlfriend has been captured, he and his friends set out to rescue her. Ai was taken by Onizaki and his men onto a luxury cruise ship where she is being set up as the sexy main attraction. While locked inside of a private VIP room, Ai's captors chain her up while they smear her body in a lotion that contains a powerful aphrodisiac. As the drug gets absorbed into her skin, she can feel herself becoming increasingly aroused every time they touch her. Harry bursts through the door to try and save her, but he is too late. He is trapped on the wrong side of a wall of bulletproof glass, and all he can do is watch helplessly as his enemies rape the love of his life in front of him.

A doting mother, Kyoko, realizes she has sexual feelings towards her son. She starts out just bathing with the boy, but very quickly she starts craving his cock. He feels the same way towards his mother but is too intimidated to actually have sex with her. Eventually, her inner pervert becomes unlocked after her son's friend, Shin, rapes her. She decides to punish her disappointing child by dressing him in a maid's outfit and chaining him up, humiliating him. Lifting his skirt, she inserts a double-headed dildo inside herself and then her son. Overcome with madness and desire, she thrusts vigorously into her child, making him regret not taking the initiative with his mother back when he had the chance.

Mitsuru hasn't had sex with her husband for quite some time. Bored, horny, and craving a hard dick inside of her, she becomes a prostitute. One thing Mitsuru discovers about her new wild side is that she loves being tied up and dominated! She finally gets what she's been craving when a client that is skilled in tying knots, blindfolds her and expertly binds her in an erotic position. He teases her senseless with his cock, until she is desperately begging him to enter her. Waves of pleasure course through her body as her hungry pussy devours him. After round one, he's eager to go again, so he carefully unties her, then forcefully takes Mitsuru while she's on all fours. Grabbing onto her plump ass, he spanks her cheeks hard several times. He doesn't stop hitting her until they are rosy pink, Mitsuru enjoying every second.

Diligent student Ayaka discovers a secret about her boyfriend: he is really into BDSM. Now he is her master, each day is filled with exciting challenges and punishments. After failing to run an entire track course with a remote vibrator inside her vagina during gym class, she is forced to walk around with an even larger sex toy inside of her as punishment. When she can no longer endure the sensation, her master takes her to a public toilet and ties her up, bending her over in one of the stalls. He demands to know where his apology is as he slaps her ass cheeks. When she doesn't respond correctly, he pulls up on her underwear. Which forces the vibrator deeper inside, all while continuously spanking her. After her buttocks develop a nice blush, she eventually gives him the answer he was looking for. He rewards her with his cock, allowing her to orgasm at long last.

Two rowdy ladies are having a fun night out. When their merriment is interrupted by last orders, they find the bill they racked up to be not to their liking. Soon, the owner of the venue, along with his girlfriend and underling show up. He demands that they pay up or else face forced prostitution. The two women are unfazed by the thug's threat and instead turn the tables by being the ones to rape him! The more aggressive of the two, Rina, rides his dick. Determined not to let the girlfriend off without punishment, Shiori encourages her to take off her panties and bend over. If she wants her boyfriend to be safe, she has to have sex with his friend. Annoyed that she's not getting any fun for herself, Shiori positions herself over the boyfriend's face and demands that he licks her pussy thoroughly.

Japan’s birth rate has been on a downward trend for decades, and more and more young people are choosing not to bother with relationships at all. Japanese work culture is notoriously intense and time-consuming and houses are often too small to comfortably raise children, so getting married and starting a family can seem like more trouble than it’s worth. But humans still innately desire companionship, so what are they supposed to do? By “marrying” anime characters, Furuya and Kondo fulfilled their societal obligations to get married without having to deal with the frustrating reality of raising a family in modern Japan. They both also suffer from low self-esteem and mental disorders, and since mental health is a taboo subject in their culture, the joy they feel from being with these characters has helped them tremendously in lieu of the medicine and therapy that they’d be unlikely to find in Japan. The general public’s opinion tends to be mixed when it comes to fictsexuals, but the prevailing sentiment seems to be that if they aren’t hurting anyone, they should do whatever makes them happy.

But what if they are hurting someone? Obviously, they aren’t stalking the voice actors or creators, but it’s possible that the popular consciousness could lump fictsexuals in with the LGBT community as people with “alternative lifestyles” who don’t deserve to be taken seriously or given specific rights. Japanese culture already views lesbian relationships as childish for the most part and it’s rare to see a queer character outside of the segregated yaoi and yuri genres who isn’t a gross stereotype, so lonely otakus who marry anime characters for their own happiness could make those assumptions even worse. Several Japanese Twitter posts seem to point in that direction, at least.

3rd Generation pyromancer, Kusakabe Shinra, is in many ways a standard shounen protagonist, complete with a dark past and inner demons that threaten the sanctity of the righteous life as a hero that he is trying to build. From the very beginning, Shinra is prone to jumping into the fray to save someone else’s life. What makes him a bit of a curveball as far as main characters go is his very close identification with the devil – it stands in stark contrast with the hero role that he tries to assume, but also torments him throughout his life. Everything about Shinra presupposes malice or evil, but he wishes to stand on the other side.

Kirito is an overpowered protagonist. Be it Hell, high water or even god, Kirito is the type of main character who will always win in stunning fashion. One thing that drives this point home is the fact that he played a gun-based RPG game armed with a lightsaber. Some people would even call the black outfit a kind of plot armour! He tries his hardest to be one of the good guys and will hardly ever put a foot wrong in that endeavour, but he finds himself unsettled in the deepest parts of his psyche given the traumatic experience of being trapped in Aincrad for two years.

Kirito is the quintessential “good guys win in the end” type of main character, moreover, Kirito is insanely powerful, often serving as the Deus ex Machina when things were looking lost. Kirito also wishes to protect all of his friends from harm, but he also has the grit and bravery to challenge people whom he believes are wrong. Shinra is less of a trump card than Kirito; however, he too aims to protect and serve, often verbalizing that he wants to be a hero.

Both characters are proactive main characters who take on the mantle of being a hero in some way. Kirito becomes the player who frees everyone from Aincrad after beating Heathcliff in a climactic battle. Shinra aims to be a quintessential hero, a so-called friend of justice. Kirito’s desire evolves into a desire to protect those close to him; however, with the deaths of some of his friends from the past, more recently, the death of Eugeo in the first half of Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld, Kirito faces an unbelievable level of internal turmoil. Kirito also feels extreme guilt for all the people he has killed in his adventures in these virtual realities. Guilt and shame dance around in his mind in a similar fashion to the swirling torrent of guilt faced by Shinra; initially due to the belief that his mother’s death and little brother’s disappearance was his fault. In the current season of Fire Force, Shinra is being forced to face his inner demons brought to the fore by the experience he had in the realm of Adolla, better known as Hell.

While Kirito tends to be the saving grace when things are looking glum, the second cour of Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld had the character stuck in a strange vegetative state. By the 7th episode; however, Kirito is successfully revived and stands valiantly in front of an enemy who even overwhelmed Asuna and the gang. Kirito is always the last man standing (even if he wasn’t even standing up at all for 7 episodes). The entirety of Sword Art Online has cast Kirito as a kind of eternal saving grace in the series, while Shinra is not the same kind of ace in the hole. Fire Force has a heavy emphasis on team triumphs given the fact that they are a company in the fire brigade, so while Shinra is immeasurably important to the cause, his presence isn’t the kind of sigh of relief in his respective universe that Kirito’s presence is to his own.