There are said to be two ancient bloodlines that exist to this day. There are those of Vampiric blood, such as the sisters Kagura and Saaya, and those of Baneful blood, much like Aya and Saki. These two bloodlines exist in eternal war with one another, but they can occasionally set aside their differences. The aforementioned pairs of sisters, for example, managed to call a cease fire while Kagura and Saaya dealt with their adoptive mother Carmilla. However, since she’s been defeated, Kagura & Saaya and Aya & Saki really have nothing keeping them from fighting each other again, so now it’s time for the score to be settled once and for all. If there are any games like Zombie School Girl Hunter that are guaranteed to please fans out there, it’s the Onechanbara franchise. Zombie School Girl Hunter was largely derived from Onechanbara, as both games were actually made by Tamsoft. You’ll find the same campy overtones of buxom beauties running around in skimpy outfits fighting off hordes of the undead, but the difference comes down to the gameplay. While Zombie School Girl Hunter was somewhat Left 4 Dead inspired in its team-based shooting mechanics, Onechanbara is more of a low-budget Bayonetta-style hack-and-slash.

Dogen is at it again. This time, he’s acquired the incredible power of the Yoma and is using it to bring chaos all across Japan. The girls of the Hanzo National Academy are going to have to set aside their differences and come together to focus on a greater good. Asuka, Ikaruga, and Katsuragi will fight along with the new Homura Crimson Squad to take on Dogen as well as discover the mysteries behind the new girls Kagura and Naraku. Did you enjoy the cheesecake of Zombie School Girl Hunter but the presence of the rotting walking corpses of the undead killed the mood? Tamsoft has got you covered with their Senran Kagura series, but we went for Senran Kagura 2 specifically for the refined beat ‘em up action mechanics. An unbelievable selection of curvy cuties isn’t the only thing Senran Kagura has to offer, after all! Combat couldn’t be simpler, with alternating between basic light/heavy attacks, long dashes for dodges, and so forth. The fun comes from racking insanely high combos at a rapid pace. Senran Kagura 2 is a great pick if you’re looking for games like Zombie School Girl Hunter with a bit more pep to the combat.

Solange Blanchefleur de Lux just can’t catch a break. First, DeLuxia, her home kingdom, is attacked by monsters, and then to make matters worse, her family is held responsible for it. Now Solange has been exiled, and seeks out the root of the monster attacks to reclaim her honor. To protect herself, she uses the magic DeLuxcalibur blade that was specifically forged to fight off demons. Along the way, she’ll meet up with new friends like Lady Zozo the necromancer and the thief Ali Baba to help her along her quest and save the world once and for all! You know, if you ignored Solange’s design, you’d actually have a pretty credible action beat ‘em up game. Code of Princess features the talents of Tetsuhiko Kikuchi and Masaki Ukyo of the cult Sega Saturn class Guardian Heroes. It was actually designed to be a spiritual successor to that title, with similar mechanics and the charming cast from that particular title. Of course… you also can’t deny that Solange caught your eye. If you’ve still got some shame seeking out games like Zombie School Girl Hunter and still need some plausible deniability to cover your tracks, look into Code of Princess.

Man, stories don’t get much sadder than Bryce Boltzmann’s. He was once a great slayer of demons, but a tussle with the great demon king killed his then wife. Rather than killing poor Bryce, he was instead cursed with immortality and is forced to live with his grief for all eternity. Now he continues to work with the OPHF doing what he does best: guard important public figures from demons. After all, what can they even do to him? It’s not like he can even die… though that doesn’t mean he can’t lose an arm or two in the process. Wait, were you ACTUALLY looking for campy games like Zombie School Girl Hunter? Well then, why not track down a copy of NeverDead? Goofy story aside, it’s actually got a really neat concept. Bryce can’t die, so the only way to get a game over is for one of your targets to get killed. However, even if Bryce can’t die, that doesn’t mean you can get lazy, as your arms and legs can get torn off and totally slow you down until you can finally regrow your body. Even if you’re just a disheveled head though, you can still control your other limbs from a distance. NeverDead at least has a sense of humor about itself, awarding achievements for ripping your own head off and tossing it into a basketball hoop. So if you’re in need of some silly zombie games like Zombie School Girl Hunter, NeverDead’s got you covered.

In 2017, the unthinkable happened; aliens called Ravagers nearly destroyed Earth. The only reason they failed was due to the brave efforts of the EDF who miraculously fought them off despite their superiority in every regard. For 8 years, humanity has tried to pick up the pieces and return to some semblance of normalcy. It was all in vain, though, as the Ravagers are back with a vengeance. There’s only one hope: the EDF has reassembled and is ready to kick some space bug ass. We’ve been recommending a lot of action games here, but if you actually want a game like Zombie School Girl Hunter that’s actually a shooter, definitely take a look at Earth Defense Force 4.1. Don’t let its looks fool you: EDF 4.1 is the essence of the joy of shooting distilled into its purest form. You mow down Ravager after Ravager, with your only thoughts focused on how you can do it faster and save some time. It’s ridiculously addictive, especially with a Diablo-style loot system built on top of the gunplay. It might be a bit unpolished technically, but chances are if you’re a fan of Zombie School Girl Hunter, that’s not really going to bother you too much.

It’s been two years since the last Dead or Alive tournament, but it’s finally coming back under new management. Helena Douglas is in control, and wants to put people’s fears at ease with a new tournament to show that things have changed. However, that might be a little naïve of her, as Project Alpha still exists under Donovan. Kasumi will once again have to enter the tournament to have a chance at shutting down Project Alpha. We know that fanservice games like Zombie School Girl Hunter have a reputation as being a little bit lower budget. If you’re looking for some real high quality gal-on-gal action (don’t read into that), check out Dead or Alive 5: Last Round. It’s the most recent entry into the long running fighting series, with several new enhancements to be found. The most relevant of these enhancements comes in the form of the Soft Engine, specifically designed around portraying character’s skin to look as soft and… shall we say… touchable as possible. Last Round in particular even brings in Mai Shiranui, the original crush of fighting game fans everywhere, as a guest character!

This recommendation is almost TOO obvious! Written by the same author who penned 20th Century Boys, Monster is arguably Naoki Urasawa's most famous work. Published over the course of seven years and 18 volumes, the story never loses focus or wastes any time on filler arcs. Working in Germany, Dr. Kenzou Tenma is a highly respected brain surgeon on the fast track to medical superstardom. Hailed as a revolutionary mind who can change the future of medicine, Tenma's life is turned upside down after he is forced to choose between the life of a small boy and the town's mayor. With the two needing an emergency operation, Tenma picks the kid as he was the first to be scheduled. Tenma's adherence to ethics turns everyone against him and he ends up blacklisted. Fast forward a couple of years, Tenma is barely scraping by and the boy developed into somewhat of a sociopath. Murders start to occur and Tenma ends up caught in the middle. Initially, the manga's title seems to refer to Johan Liebert, the boy saved by Tenma. As the story progresses, the line separating good and evil begins to blur, as Tenma desperately tries to take down the person he once saved. Similar to 20th Century Boys, Urasawa prioritizes the development of the characters above anything else, leading to one of the best storylines in history.

Whenever Naoki Urasawa announces a new title, people are going to take notice. Any successor to 20th Century Boys and Monster is destined to suffer from high expectations, but Billy Bat incorporates all the thrills, mystique, and twists associated with the author's previous work. Like the majority of Urasawa's writing, Billy Bat requires patience but is well worth the effort. Set in the late 1940s, Kevin Yamagata is a comic book artist known for Billy Bat, a Noir detective series about an anthropomorphic rodent. After learning about a similar manga that predates his comic, Kevin starts to fear that he subconsciously plagiarized the idea and heads to Japan to ask the author for permission to use the character. What started out as an innocent case of copyright infringement quickly escalates to an ancient conspiracy involving murder, political sabotage, and the supernatural. Apparently, Billy Bat is more than just a comic book protagonist. 20th Century Boys regularly alternates between Kenji's childhood and adult life to provide context for the present-day events. Billy Bat takes this technique to its absolute limit, as there around 20 different timelines spanning from the first to the 21st century. Amazingly, Urasawa's story never feels confusing or overwritten. Stuffed with unpredictable but logical twists and turns, Billy Bat even references a couple of real-world incidents like 9/11 and the Berlin Wall.

Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is rightfully recognized as one of the industry's most influential series. Inaugurated in 1952, Tezuka's science fiction story takes place in a futuristic world where robots and humans live side by side. AI beings are not treated as servants or objects, as robots lead fulfilling lives and even have families. While the concept is not necessarily unique, Tezuka's handling of the subject matter is beyond reproach. Naoki Urasawa tends to drift towards darker storylines, so it was slightly strange when he turned to Astro Boy for inspiration. Pluto is based off a story arc in Tezuka's manga, with Detective Gesicht taking over as the protagonist. When artificial and human bodies start to drop, Tezuka's minor character is called in to investigate the string of murders. While a human serial killer would be bad enough, Gesicht's job gets much harder when the case leads to a robot becoming the main suspect. In the last eight years, not a single murder has been attributed to a machine, so this revelation shakes up the social landscape. Pluto brings together two of the greatest mangaka in the business, even if Tezuka is only indirectly involved. Urasawa successfully manipulated a classic sci-fi story to create a masterful thriller. Whether involving the occult or robots, both series feature a public figure who is idolized by society and the stories are told from the perspective of a disillusioned protagonist.

Every genius has an origin story and that includes Naoki Urasawa. While not the author's first manga, Master Keaton shares a fair deal in common with the mangaka's future work and served as a precursor of what was soon to come! Co-written with Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki, Master Keaton's eponymous character is a former SAS agent who, after the birth of his daughter, turns his back on the spy game to become a world history teacher in Japan. Unfortunately, Taichi Keaton-Hiraga's reputation precedes him, and he is regularly summoned to investigate cases. Unlike 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton follows an episodic structure, with the protagonist investigating a different case per chapter. While this stylistic choice flies against Urasawa's later manga, Master Keaton is a gripping procedural bolstered by a fascinating protagonist. Despite experiencing many strange and eccentric adventures, Keaton is a perfectly ordinary and relatable dude. As the hero's cases take place all over the world, Master Keaton sheds light on the political scenes of countries like England and Germany.

With the first chapter dating back to 1968, Golgo 13 is the longest running active manga. As of today, Shogakukan has published 187 volumes and Takao Saito's franchise has spawned various adaptations across multiple mediums. Suffice it to say, Golgo 13 is rather popular! The sheer amount of content available for consumption might seem overwhelming, but the chapters tend to be self-contained and easy to digest. The premise is shockingly simplistic, almost to the point of parody. Golgo 13 is the world’s greatest assassin and, no matter the situation, he never misses. Whether seeking revenge or trying to topple an oppressive regime, the stoic protagonist always finds a way to get the job done. Frankly, Golgo 13 is manga’s equivalent to James Bond, just with less humor and martinis! While this might sound fine and dandy, what does Golgo 13 have to do with 20th Century Boys? Even though the latter is more ambitious and character driven, both series extend their storylines beyond a single city or country. For a lack of a better word, they are international stories. 20th Century Boys and Golgo 13 regular allude to real-world social and political issues, although Saito’s manga tends to prioritize the criminal element more than Urasawa’s story.

Yes, THAT Old Boy. 2003’s highly popular Korean film was based on a manga written by Marley Caribu and illustrated by Shinmei Minegishi. For those familiar with the adaptation, Park Chan-wook’s neo-noir flick took quite a few creative liberties with the source material, so the manga’s mysteries are not completely spoiled. Seemingly without any rhyme or reason, Shinichi Gotou is kidnapped and locked away in a private prison. As the years drift by, the only thing that keeps Gotou going is his unbridled hatred for those responsible. After spending a decade in isolation, the broken man is released without any explanation to a world he barely recognizes. Desperate for answers and revenge, Gotou instigates a game of cat and mouse to unveil the villain behind the curtain. Loose Senki: Old Boy is a psychological study showing the extremes one man is willing to go for vengeance. Gotou’s predicament is shrouded in mystery and it is hard to not sympathize with his quest for answers. While Old Boy largely sticks to one timeline, Gotou’s past holds the key to why he was kidnapped.

This is more of a punchline than an actual fight, but it shows just how much of a threat Ui can be when she’s cornered. Late in episode 11, after everyone else has exhausted themselves with far more intense battles, Ui and Eruza are the only ones who still have the strength to move. As Brute Rabbit, Ui doesn’t stand a chance against Eruza’s cheetah powers. After all, she’s spent most of her time in the Destroyale digging tunnels and hiding from anyone who could hurt her. But when Eruza starts to chase after her, Ui trips and accidentally somersault kicks the cheetah girl in the face, successfully knocking her out. Although it’s rare in nature, even rabbits can sometimes prevail over their predators with this tactic. And since the two of them were the last fighters standing, Ui ends up as the winner of the Destroyale! Not bad for a bunny.

We don’t get to see much of Brute Porcupine, but she certainly makes an impact. In episode 2, she tricks our hapless protagonist Nomoto into staring at her boobs, and then immediately stabs him in the leg with a porcupine needle. This injury confines Nomoto to crutches for the remainder of the series, but in the moment it alerts Hitomi to the presence of another Brute she can beat the shit out of. This fight shows off Hitomi’s toughness and resilience, as well as her main strategy of tanking the first attacks from her opponents so that she can learn how they work. Her honey badger hide (or ratel hide, if you want to sound less meme-y) protects her from the porcupine needles, so she’s free to slash the spiny flasher to bits as soon as she gets the chance.

Killing Bites is skilled at managing complicated fight choreography, as can be seen in episode 3’s race through the streets with Hitomi, Ui, and the Horned Lizard girl. Hitomi joins the battle at a later point, once Ui has been chased into a narrow alleyway by a terrifying therianthrope who can shoot blood from her eyes. Hitomi brazenly fights back, but keeps being struck with blood from somewhere she can’t see. What’s going on? Just then, Ui uses her superior hearing to detect that there’s a second lizard person hiding in the bushes behind the first one, and Hitomi goes in for the kill. This is the first fight where Hitomi works together with anyone else, and it pays off so well for her that she agrees to join the Destroyale team with Ui and Okajima. As a taste of the fantastic battles yet to come in the tournament, this fight is an enticing first course.

Brute Tiger is a force to be reckoned with, and he won’t let anyone forget it. In a standoff between members of the four different teams of the Desroyale in episodes 5 and 6, he takes out the competition in seconds with just a few well-placed strikes. The jungle locale is familiar turf to him and only serves to enhance his explosive power and devastating claws. Unfortunately, Tiger’s overwhelming victory is cut short when his collar beeps and forces him to retreat. An injured Crocodile latches onto him, stopping him in his tracks and starting the countdown until the collar blows up from lack of compliance and kills them both. That’s a pretty crafty tactic for a show where the sharpest fangs always win! Luckily Hippopotamus butts in and forces them away from each other before the timer reaches zero.

The first real show of power from best boi Brute Pangolin is quite the brutal sight to behold. In episode 7, his first act after joining the fray is to punch Crocodile straight through the head without even breaking a sweat. This is one of the first gory deaths of the series, and Pangolin rubs it in even further by pounding the corpse into mush so it would “make good fertilizer”. Pangolin (aka Kido) is very protective of the environment, especially trees and specific kinds of flowers. In fact, when his own teammate Gorilla gets so blinded by rage that he tears down about a dozen trees, Pangolin unceremoniously rips him in half for his insolence. This. Man. Has. No. Chill.

This anime has some incredibly nasty villains filling out its roster. Not only are they immoral mercenaries who murder for funsies, but some of them are also serial rapists. Yikes! But since Hitomi herself is also a largely immoral mercenary who murders for funsies, they probably had to bring out the big guns to make her look sparkly clean by comparison. Two of the most despicable villains are Brutes Cobra and Gecko, who use their reptilian powers to sexually prey on anyone weaker than they are. In episodes 5 and 6, Hitomi and Eruza put aside their differences to team up against these scaly monsters. It’s an intense battle, utilizing as much of the terrain as possible and showing off some impressive size differences between Hitomi and the fully transformed Cobra. But of course, the most satisfying part has to be when she slices his disgusting dick off right before he can touch her. That’ll teach him!

Hitomi and Taiga are the two most headstrong and determined characters in the entire show, so when they finally meet in mortal combat in episode 8, it’s one of the most intense battles Killing Bites has to offer. Even though Eruza and Civet are still standing, they choose to stay out of this clash because they know that the combination of ratel and tiger rage would be way too much for them to keep up with. Tiger is the more experienced fighter, but Hitomi is able to keep up with him surprisingly well considering how much the players doubt her abilities. But Nomoto takes a stand and shows that he believes in her, and Hitomi uses that trust to finally prove to Tiger that her victory over Leo wasn't just a fluke. She’s the real deal, and he’s going to have to use every bit of his power if he wants to have even a hope of taking her down.

Speaking of Hitomi’s battle with Leo, let’s go back to the very first episode of Killing Bites and take a look at the fight that started it all. In a desolate junkyard, Hitomi faces off against one of the most powerful therianthropes in the country – the Brute Lion, Leo. At first it looks like Hitomi’s honey badger abilities won’t stand a chance against the mighty feline king, but her undying determination and fearsome drive is not to be underestimated. She chomps off three of Leo’s claws (including the paw attached to each one) with her fangs and breaks his arm so badly that he can’t participate in the Destroyale. The harsh lights of the arena accentuate their vicious attacks and help set the stage for what the rest of Killing Bites has to offer. It doesn't matter who’s the strongest – the one with the sharpest fangs wins.

Okay, so this battle is pretty short, but it’s so hardcore that it deserves to be this high on the list. In episode 9, we finally get to see Kido’s animal form. He’s a pangolin, which is a kind of spiny anteater. That doesn’t sound very threatening, but the narration is quick to point out that the pangolin is the only animal that has scales so strong that no natural weapon can penetrate them. Combine that with a man who is 300lbs of solid muscle and you have nothing less than a killing machine. When Tiger lunges at him and slashes out his eye, Pangolin promptly rips his opponent’s arm clean off. He then stabs Hippopotamus through the stomach when he tries to intervene, and then does the same thing to Tiger. All of this happens in the span of about five minutes, demonstrating how much of an unstoppable juggernaut Pangolin really is. Does Hitomi even stand a chance?

The climactic fight of Killing Bites is easily the most vicious and brutal bout that this anime has to offer. Luckily, it’s also the most interesting fight in terms of character development as well. We get some intriguing backstory on both Hitomi and Kido, showing us that both of them were hated and abandoned for most of their lives. Kido’s segment is especially good, since it’s short and just detailed enough to provoke an emotional reaction and explain his motivation. Hitomi kicks Pangolin, in his rolled up ball form, into a bed of flowers that just happen to be the exact same kind that he associates with his absent mother. This trauma builds up so much rage in him that he slices Hitomi’s arm off and punctures her chest with his tail. Through sheer honey badger determination, she stands back up, throws her own chopped off arm at his eye, ducks into his blind spot, and stabs him right through the head with her other arm! If that’s not vicious, we don’t know what is.

Having Rei finally join the rest of our boys in Iwatobi Swimming Club at the end of episode three was great, wasn’t it? A new boy, trying out swimming because he admired Haru’s swimming, all proper-looking and ready to impress with his perfect logic approach to everything. And of course, episode 4 didn’t waste this chance to lay out some very nice fanservice in order to introduce us to how Rei does things, which is simultaneously amusing and yet very pleasing to the eyes! Episode 4 opened by giving the audience a very beautiful, very precise way of stretching by having Rei demonstrate it perfectly. We got Rei sprawled on the floor, limbs all stretching properly as he bent his upper body and touched his toes, muttering the precise angles of how he bent his limbs and body, and the camera shamelessly panning and taking all his curves and following the long lines of his body. Add to that, Rei was clad only in the speedo that Nagisa had lent him, which meant we got to see a lot more skin from Rei than from Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa—all of whom were wearing legskins. These very pleasing visuals in themselves are already great fanservice, but the fact that Rei was hilariously muttering all the precisions that mattered in his beautiful stretching routines only added to the amusing element of the fanservice!

One of the reasons why Makoto is one of the most popular characters in the series is because he’s got a very good body—bigger and more muscular than his peers, which contrasted his kind and gentle personality. And while we’ve gotten to see so much of his fine abs, pecs, and muscles over the course of the series, there is a particular scene that would send fans of Tachibana Makoto straight to the path of getting nosebleeds: Makoto stretching before his race in episode 8. The audience really ought to thank the animators for this scene; Makoto’s back muscles, originally very defined thanks to his backstroke specialty, was beautifully animated as they tensed, pulled, and bunched, following Makoto’s stretching movements. Yes, this is how you do fanservice. It’s an almost ten-second long of enjoyment focused solely on Makoto’s back muscles. Gou-chan never lied to you when she dictated that Makoto’s charm point was his back muscles!

The thing about Free! is that it’s not simply a sports anime—it’s a sports anime presented in slice-of-life style of storytelling. And so it gives its audience not only the heat and determination of youth, but also silly things that belong more to the slice-of-life genre. An example of this being a short legskin fashion show scene! Episode 3 showed us that while Rei was extremely athletic, he couldn’t actually swim, which was a problem because he’d joined Iwatobi swimming club after all of Nagisa’s nagging. In a desperate attempt to figure out why he hadn’t even managed to float properly, Rei maintained that he definitely needed better legskins, and everyone agreed to go shopping. Honestly, this was perhaps one of the most fun and amusing scenes in the series, because it really was just a string of Iwatobi swim club members trying out legskins in different styles and patterns, one after another. Gou, our manager who is also the spirit representation of the audience when it comes to admiring the boys’ muscles, had been so excited to watch over everyone’s impromptu legskins fashion show. From Rei’s perfectly-calculated rainbow legskins, Haru’s completely similar legskins, Nagisa’s adorable speedo, Either you enjoyed all these silly fanservice scenes or followed Gou’s lead: a half-exasperated sigh at the silliness of al the boys!

After years and years of waiting as fans of the Free! Series, we were finally given an onsen scene! Sadly, we didn’t get to see all of our boys hanging out in the onsen together, but maybe that means we might still get a pleasant surprise of onsen scene in the third season? We all can hope! This onsen scene in Take Your Marks is not disappointing at all, either! Thanks to Momo and Nitori accidentally winning a trip to the onsen for two, and Rin’s mother generously giving them two more free tickets to the same onsen, the Samezuka relay team had a trip to an onsen town. After tiring themselves out from walking around the town, they all went back to their ryokan to relax in the onsen. Rin and Sousuke had gone to the onsen, but Rin had gotten out first, leaving Sousuke alone in the onsen when Nitori came in to join his senpai. Seeing two pretty boys in the onsen only in towels, who are we to complain? We definitely appreciate the sight of Sousuke sitting in the bath, skin glistening with water as he relaxes, and Nitori joining him politely. Not only was their conversation while relaxing in the onsen heartwarming and hopeful-sounding, it presented the possibility of Sousuke swimming together again with Rin, the audience got to enjoy ample bare skin, muscles, and the peaceful ambiance of the entire scene itself. Of course, the fact that Sousuke, Rin, Nitori and Momo (and for an additional surprise, Natsuya) were shown in onsen yukata right after was a really nice fanservice bonus!

The very existence of Kirishima Natsuya that comes with the release of High Speed! movie is honestly an attack to everyone who likes swimming boys. Why? Simply because he’s hot. Unfairly so, for a fifteen-year-old boy. And before this article starts sounding creepy, the audience really can’t deny that in High Speed!, where none of the four main characters (Haru, Makoto, Ikuya, and Asahi) can really provide fanservice for the fact that they are still twelve-year-olds with rather undeveloped bodies, Kirishima Natsuya is the fanservice fodder character. Starting from the first time he made his appearance as the cool senpai from the swimming club, and later on in that one scene in the stairs where he saved Haru from falling down with one hand securing Haru’s and another snatching a fallen roll of poster out of mid-air, Natsuya managed to draw out gasps and baited breath every time he appeared on screen. Sure, we all sort of get used to him being handsome and cool in the course of the movie later, but in the meantime, it’s totally acceptable for you to utter a prayer of thanks every time we see him parade around only in his swimming legskins. One of his best fanservice moments, however has got to be the scene where he seamlessly pulled off his black shirt and threw it away as he challenged Haru into a freestyle race. Haru, in his first act of deviance in the swimming club he’d just joined, refused to swim any style other than free, and Natsuya, being the captain, wouldn’t take that. He challenged Haru for a race, pulling off his shirt and revealing fine back muscles before throwing his shirt off and smirked in a true refreshing boy manner. God, thank you for Kirishima Natsuya’s existence. It’s even better that he retains his fanservice fodder status in the newest movie, Take Your Marks, as he’s grown up into a very fine, handsome, still hot, young man!

It’s not a sports anime if we don’t have the summer festival shenanigans! You bet Nagisa and Rei is ready to take up the role for this sort of shenanigans! After winning their relay race and qualified for the regionals, Nagisa and Rei dragged everyone out for a fun night at the festival. Of course, this is time for a long-awaited fanservice: yukata time! Although we didn’t get to see Haru and Makoto in yukata, we did, however, get graced by the indescribably cute Nagisa in a simple light blue-colored yukata with a polkadot pattern, and an elegant Rei in really nice black yukata. The sight of bare arms peeking out from underneath yukata sleeves every time they raise their hands seems even more like a tease compared to their usual bare limbs! We also got to see the girls—Gou and Chigusa—being really pretty in their own yukata with their hair all done up! The entire episode got even more amusing as Nagisa, Rei, and Makoto noticed that Rin had also come to the same festival, and the three of them, not wanting a confrontation between Haru and Rin for now, tried to distract Haru as best as they could and steer him away from where Rin was. Rei was saddled with the responsibility of stalking Rin, which he hilariously did by putting on a sentai mask, taking the stalking to a whole new level as he communicated with Nagisa like a detective would. All of this was done while both of them were still clad in yukata, which made it ten times more hilarious!

If there’s an episode in the entire Free! series that could be called pure fanservice, then episode 13 in the second season would be the one! For once, the audience were brought all the way to Samezuka Gakuen with our Iwatobi boys who were visiting in order to see the school’s Cultural Festival, which had been teased several times in the drama CD as an event where the Samezuka Swimming Club traditionally has a Maid Café! Does this means Rin was once dressed as a maid? Yes. Does this means we get to see him and Sousuke dressed as maids? Sadly, no, because they’re now third-years and the third-years don’t have to go through the maid uniforms anymore. We did, however, got to see a very pretty maid Nitori, a surprisingly adorable maid Momotarou who got his skirt flipped up by Nagisa, and the best surprise of all: butler Rin and servant Sousuke! This entire episode is nothing but fanservice. Not only did we get to see Haru being the prince who helped out maid Nitori, we also had Sousuke feeding Rin for taste-testing the food, and most important of all, we had all the boys facing off in a mixed-group water gun fights! This also meant we got to see everyone drenched with water, their clothes clinging to their skin as they try to “kill” and “avenge” each other. There was even a surprise appearance from Kisumi, who also got wet because everyone kept shooting at him! And an even bigger surprise: Sousuke and Haru, working together closely for the first time and finally starting to call one another by their first name! For all the fanservice and fun shenanigans in this episode, it came to a heartwarming scene of both Iwatobi and Samezuka teams bonding by the fireworks—most of them with their clothes off and being dried off nearby, which in itself is also really nice fanservice. Watching these two teams being good friends and hanging out together is really the best kind of fanservice, wasn’t it?

As Makoto and Haru have been best friends since they were little kids, perhaps sometimes we sort of take their moments together for granted. After all, they’re capable of the silent, telepathic communication where Makoto could tell what Haru wants without Haru having to put it in words. While he seems to be nonchalant about most of things that are not water or mackerels, Haru actually does watch Makoto carefully, as we could see in this episode how he silently worries for Makoto, who has a fear of the ocean ever since the Iwatobi Swim Club decided to train in the ocean. Things took a turn for the worse by the end of episode 5; in the middle of a storm, Makoto had jumped into the ocean trying to save Rei, who had been secretly practicing by himself and got swept up by the waves. His fear getting the better of him, Makoto couldn’t swim, and got swallowed whole by the waves as well. Thankfully by this time, Nagisa and Haru had woken up and jumped in to try and save them—Haru managed to drag the unconscious Makoto ashore, and the audience saw him internally panic for a moment before he leaned down to try giving Makoto CPR. For Makoto/Haru fans, this is a scene that had them hold their breath for about three short seconds: the classic “almost a kiss” scene! Yes, it’s intended to be CPR, but their lips almost touched, although Makoto coughed up water and woke up before anything else could happen and the audience could finally let out a half-disappointed, half-hysterical shriek.

The entirety of episode 12 is dubbed as Haru and Rin’s adventure in Australia, and it comes with a bonus that sends Rin/Haru shippers into cloud nine; yep, the classic “incidentally, there is only one double bed so we have no choice but to share a bed together” scenario! After his fight with Makoto, Haru was dragged all the way over to Australia by Rin, who showed him around and introduced him to his host family. The objective of the trip was for Rin to give Haru a push to find his own dream, after Makoto had called asking Rin for help. Everything went pretty smoothly—Rin brought Haru to the beach, took him to dinner with his host parents, Russell and Lori, and then off they went to the hotel where they were supposed to spend the night… only to find that their room only has one double bed, much to the audience’s delight! After an argument that ended in vain with the receptionist, Rin and Haru resigned themselves to sharing the bed. Really, watching them softly talk before going to sleep is so sweet, even if it’s also amusing at how self-conscious they are for sleeping in the same bed. And the next day, the audience got to see Rin bringing Haru over to the pool facility where the Olympians train, and see how Haru found his own resolve and dream!

For a sports anime about beautiful boys who bonded through swimming, having an abundance of fanservice is of course not surprising. It was hard to choose which scenes to be included in this list, and even harder to choose which one should top it all, but we still have to decide on one. After a lot of hard consideration, we settled on this particular scene: the last scene of the second season, where everyone swam together in Samezuka’s cherry blossom pool. Perhaps it had been a gesture of thanks to the Iwatobi boys, or simply a throwback to a precious childhood memory, or perhaps just the romantic in Matsuoka Rin, but he finally managed to turn the Samezuka indoor pool into a swimmable cherry blossom pool. One can only imagine how many buckets of cherry blossom petals he had to ask his team to carry and dump into their pool. Perks of being a captain! But thanks to that, we were given a really heartwarming scene to close the entire second season: Rin, opening the door to Samezuka pool with a proud flourish, and showing everyone the gorgeous pool covered in cherry blossom petals. Together, our five boys didn’t waste any time before throwing off their jerseys and diving into the pool! You could see Rei laughingly trying to evade Nagisa splashing him, and Rin, with his wide grin, splashing Makoto, who just laughed and accepted it, as well as Haru, floating peacefully on his back. It’s the best kind of heartwarming fanservice for the end of the ride that was the second season, with everyone happy and grinning and enjoying their time swimming together!

Suzume Yosano grew up in the countryside, but after her father receives a work transfer and her mother travels along with him, Suzume has to move to the big city, Tokyo, to live with her uncle. At 15 years old, Suzume is amazed at what the exciting city has to offer. Incidentally, while making her way around town, Suzume bumps into a mysterious man who ends up helping her find her way to her uncle’s after getting lost. This chance encounter won’t be her last, as Suzume will be seeing him a lot more often because he is her homeroom teacher! Hirunaka no Ryuusei and Chocolate Cosmos share a story of a young girl falling for a man who turns out to be a teacher at the school. Suzume and Sayuki become attracted to their young and handsome teacher, crossing the line with the forbidden student/teacher relationship. Additionally, both have comedic and shoujo elements that are silly and entertaining.

Fumino Kaji and her younger brother, Teppei, have lived with relatives for quite some time, bouncing around from one home to another after a tragedy killed both of their parents. Growing tired of the constant moving, Fumino decides to drop out of school, working full time to support herself and her brother. Resting on a park bench one day, Fumino’s English teacher Kazuma Ojiro approaches her, attempting to convince her to return to her studies. In a joking manner, Fumino states that she would if only he’d marry her to keep Teppei and herself afloat financially. Shockingly, Kazuma agrees to this proposal. So with the three of them under one roof, Fumino and Kazuma must deal with keeping their relationship a secret. Moreover, we get to observe their friendship blossom into romance. Kiss yori mo Hayaku and Chocolate Cosmos are similar because they both demonstrate an adorable rom-com love story that emanates a delightful reading experience. Exposing a student/teacher romance, we notice that their title and status don’t matter much when it comes to love. This taboo is tested in Kiss yori mo Hayaku and Chocolate Cosmos, and readers get to relish in how the couples will turn out in the end.

Yukidoke no Koi is a beautiful manga that follows the story of Someya Yoshiyuki and Sumito Takada. Sumito is a smart and intelligent young pupil who strives to be just like his teacher, Someya. Handsome and talented, Someya is keen on giving Sumito a bright and prosperous future. The two share an extremely close bond that only grows stronger over time. As Sumito and Someya become more intimate, will the risk of affection and love be worth taking? Yukidoke no Koi and Chocolate Cosmos explores the prohibited and frowned upon relationship between student and teacher. Although rarely seen in a positive light, we notice in both manga the magnitude of influence the teacher has on the student and vice versa. Guiding and sharing a close bond with one another, they are indivisible, attached intimately and intellectually. Even though the type of relationship is not the same, same-sex and hetero, the couples develop and blossom over the course of time.

Yuni Kururugi is the ultimate smarty-pants. Yuni doesn’t care for social activities and is only concerned with keeping her grades A+ perfect. However, Yuni does have a weak subject, English, but isn’t one to admit this flaw lightly. One day, Yuni’s frustration for English class and the temporary teacher slips out in a rant, and he so happens to overhear. In response, Yuni’s teacher, Haruka Sakurai, asks her to come to his office after school, where she will begin to receive private, individual tutoring. Uh-oh! Love’s Reach and Chocolate Cosmos contain high school female leads that have a stern, unfriendly appearance and are plagued with social difficulty. Yuni and Sayuki are startled when their male counterpart enters their lives, and as they spend more time with one another, their lives become an exciting whirlwind adventure where readers become intrigued with every twist and turn. Sharing a similar plotline, if you enjoyed one, you would enjoy the other. Trust us!

Sensei Kunshu is a story that revolves around a 16-year-old girl named Ayuha Samaru, Ayu for short, and her quest to not getting rejected. Every guy she confesses to often turns her down, and she’s eager for this streak to end. Ayu finally meets someone whom she madly falls in love with, but it turns out that this fellow, Yoshitaka Hiromitsu, is her teacher! Sensei Kunshu is a hilarious rom-com that highlights the challenges of a student/teacher relationship. Both in the romance, school, and shoujo genres, Sensei Kunshu and Chocolate Cosmos embrace the student/teacher relationship, taking on this forbidden relationship using light-hearted, silly, and amusing instances to capture the audience. The personalities and characteristics of each pair are strikingly similar, with the girls being peculiar yet adorable and the guys attractive.

Sensei ni, Ageru follows Azami Tanaka, a gal who is as bland as they come. As an introvert, Azami spends most of her free time alone and studying. One day, her sister spices things up by letting Azami borrow one of her stylish dresses. Feeling fresh to death, Azami goes out and meets a boy, Makoto Mizusawa, who takes her breath away. Wowed by Makoto's bravery when he stops a thief from stealing her purse, a spur of the moment decision thrusts Azami to kiss him as a thank you. Parting ways, Azami didn’t think she’d run into Makoto again, especially as her teacher! “The only wrong thing would be to deny what your heart truly feels.” –Unknown Sensei ni, Ageru and Chocolate Cosmos share many similarities, but the most prominent element is the student and teacher relationship. After the initial shock that their love interests are teachers, both stories propel exponentially. Hold on to your seats! The couples in both manga heavily weigh whether or not romance should be pursued, but overall come to learn that the heart wants what it wants. Relationships aren’t as black and white as they appear but come in many shades of grey.

Initially what began as small experimental gaming demo by a small 8-man team, Ubisoft Reflections’ project “grew” into a 3rd person exploration game like nothing ever seen before. Grow Home tasks the player with exploring the Star Plant homeworld of the quirky robot B.U.D. as he searches for the seeds of this mysterious, gigantic beanstalk. Bud is able to access new areas of the Star Plant and gain new abilities as he manipulates the beanstalk’s growth in order to reach unexplored regions. The game is entirely open world and allows for even the youngest gamers to discover the explorer’s spirit that dwells within.

Kids by nature have curious minds, and what better way to satisfy that curiosity than getting close to nature? But, honestly, who wants to go outside? Zoo Tycoon has been a series that’s given gamers the chance to realize their dreams of living in a zoo, without the costly expenses and weird smells. With this latest release adding new content and better graphics to the 2013 entry, Zoo Tycoon has everything you need for that field trip setting without leaving your living room.

Washed ashore upon a deserted island, players guide a young boy on a path of survival as he explores his mysterious new landscape. As a third person puzzle game, you will be constantly on the move trying to complete challenges and objectives to reach unexplored regions of this beautiful yet hauntingly empty world. When Rime launched, it brought some comparisons to Sony’s famed title Ico from the PS2, which can give Xbox gamers an idea of just how special this game is. It also has a subtly told message in its story, giving gamers a meaningful journey through this lost world.

Star Wars Battlefront II drops players into some of the most iconic battlegrounds in the entire Star Wars franchise. Gamers can do battle on foot or in vehicles in a variety of multiplayer engagements, re-enacting explosive moments from the films. Originally mired in controversy over dishonest pay-to-win pricing, the game abandoned that practice and has opened up all of its content for players, free of charge. Gamers who want to take on a larger role in the Star Wars saga can play as many of their favorite heroes from all the movies and play with friends against opponents online. There’s also a story campaign for the first time ever in the franchise for players who want to go “Solo”.

Two of the most popular things ever with kids, Marvel and Lego, join forces once again for their biggest outing yet. Adding 17 new locations as well as an extended roster of characters from the Marvel universe, there’s plenty to see and do in this action, building platformer. With some exciting appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy cast as well as Black Panther, this Lego game has exactly what Marvel fans have been clamoring for.

Have you ever wished you could get inside of a $500,000 car but don’t have $500,000, or even a driver’s license? Forza has answered those in need for years, and the latest entry has everything you could ever want and more. The most iconic tracks in all racing with the latest models of dozens of car manufacturing giants, all rendered in beautiful HD graphics. It’s an experience any car enthusiast would die for, regardless of their age.

We’ll have to leave this one to historians as to just what exactly Rocket League actually is. You could argue that it’s either a racing, sports or flight sim game. All three are close, but the eSports sensation is still going strong across 6 gaming platforms, many of which have cross-play. Piloting small toy cars (or perhaps they’re normal sized cars in a huge arena), players must guide an oversized soccer ball into their opponents’ net. Easier said than done, when each vehicle possesses rocket boosters capable of taking a car from 0 to 100mph straight into the stratosphere. Rocket League is a fun title that makes even gamers who are uninterested in sports and racing games into believers.

A throwback 3rd person action platformer from the team that originally designed Banjo Kazooie from way back when Rare was still with Nintendo, Yooka-Laylee is a blast from the past. From the sound effects, quirky voices, and especially the 90’s-style mechanics refreshed for the current gen, the game has tons of flair to make fans of both nostalgic oldies and new gamers alike.

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For years, Minecraft has been one of the biggest games in the world, finding its way onto nearly every device and platform available. Focusing on letting players both explore and create the world simultaneously, it’s a digital world that’s blocky exterior belies its true wonder. If you have the time and imagination, you can make it a reality in Minecraft. This above all else is what makes it so special.

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If you haven’t heard of Fortnite by now, then it’s probably about time you did. A game that has been in development for several years and is still technically in Early Access, its popularity has soared in recent months. A complex, loot-driven game allowing players to customize their characters and classes while building massive fortresses in a tower defense style story mode, Fortnite is a one of a kind game. It also has a battle royale mode pitting 100 players against each other in a last man standing competitive multiplayer mode. Chances are already good that everyone and their friends are playing it, so it doesn’t help to be left out of the loop.

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Patema lives in an underground civilization, where she often explores the vast network of tunnels that connect the surrounding areas. One day, she explores the "Forbidden Zone" and, startled by a noise, falls down a bottomless pit. Patema falls out of the bottomless pit on the surface of the Earth, where she continues to fall into the sky, until saved by a young boy, Age. On the surface, people like Patema, known as "Inverts" are considered sinners. Despite this, Age and Patema form a bond that will help to unravel the mystery of their two civilizations. Much like Blame!, Patema Inverted explores the consequences of humans' reliance and experimenting with technology. While Blame! sees the backfiring of its technologies resulting in humans being hunted by machines, Patema Inverted has a much less tragic result. An experiment to harness the power of gravity resulted in the two inverted worlds. Like Blame!, Patema Inverted features children's exploration of their world leading to chance encounter that could result in huge changes in their civilization.

In the dilapidated city of Lux, three different groups battle for control of the city referred to simply as "The City" by its citizens because of its apparent mind of its own. Ichise, a prizefighter in Lux, finds himself caught in the center of the struggle for power when he loses an arm and leg. Thanks to Eriko Kamata, Ichise's life is saved and his limbs replaced with newly designed Texhnolyze, prosthetics that are the driving force in Lux's struggle. After meeting Ran, a young girl with the power to see the future, Ichise realizes that they are the only ones that can save The City from its imminent war and collapse. Texhnolyze, in addition to its "living city," is very similar to Blame! for its dark dystopian imagining of the future. While not fully explored and explained, Killy has what seems to be prosthetics and technological augmentation. The two anime present highly interesting take on a technologically advanced future, and the consequences that may come with them, presented with a great narrative and story-telling and the most fitting of atmospheres.

17 years ago, immortality in humans was first discovered. These immortal people, called "Ajin" were labeled as a threat to mankind. To prevent the destruction they may bring to mankind, whenever a new Ajin is discovered, they are immediately taken into government custody. A hard-working high school student, with dreams of becoming a doctor, Kei Nagai's life takes a turn for the worst when a life-ending accident doesn't end his life. Surviving this accident, Kei becomes aware of the fact that he is an Ajin, and instead of spending the rest of his life in custody opts to go on the run. Ajin doesn't have nearly the same story or theme as Blame!. Their similarities are immediately noticeable, however, as they both employ a unique CG animation art style. In addition to their similar art styles, both Blame! and Ajin feature top-notch action scenes.

For reasons now unknown to many, thanks to the passage of time, mankind now lives in a sprawling labyrinth of metal. Ura spends his days working in the Archive Extraction Department, where he analyzes and restores old files related to the history of mankind. Due to his curiosity, Ura constantly looks to find more answers than his job requires him to answer. His curiosity proves to be too much when he comes across an archived video. This video leads Ura to finally seek answers that will hopefully help him understand mankind's history. Pale Cocoon, while lacking the action found in Blame! features the same science fiction regarding the decline and now forgotten the history of mankind. Pale Cocoon is an ambitious attempt to look at what would happen when mankind brings on its own near extinction and creates a disconnect from its own history. Both anime also does a good job of exhibiting a dystopian and drab future for mankind, through their minimal use of bright colors, instead opting for more subdued colors to reflect the desolate future.

No one knows what lies at the bottom of the Abyss, a giant chasm that goes down deep into the earth. The people who explore the Abyss, hoping to uncover its mysteries, are known as Divers. The most celebrated Divers are known as White Whistles. The daughter of one missing White Whistle, Riko hopes to become a White Whistle one day to explore the depths of the Abyss. Despite being restricted to the upper layer of the Abyss, Riko has an encounter with Reg, a robot made with technology that must have originated from the depths of the Abyss. Eager to uncover the mystery of Reg and the Abyss, the two travel to the depths of the chasm. Made in Abyss, shares with Blame! a tribe of people that explore the mysterious and ever-expanding part of their world. While Blame! is a dark science fiction tale, Made in Abyss features more fantasy than science fiction, as well as a more light-hearted adventure. Still, the two stories tell a great story of a people looking to understand more about the world around them.

Those who know the Matrix will understand exactly how the Animatrix is similar to Blame! The Matrix universe takes place in a time when robots have risen up against humans, and the remaining humans have all fled underground where they continue to be hunted by the machines. If that doesn't already bear striking similarities to Blame!, then perhaps nothing will. The Animatrix explores parts of the Matrix universe not seen in the movies. This includes "Final Flight of the Osiris," which sees the hovercraft, the Osiris as it is pursued and attacked by an army of Sentinels, "Matriculated," which sees humans hunting down the machines, as well as other stories related to the Matrix. The stories that feel most connected to Blame! are "The Second Renaissance Parts I & II." In the world of Blame! mankind found itself hunted by the automated city, while "The Second Renaissance" tells the story of the robots' uprising against the humans.

Yankee-kun to Megane-chan follows high school delinquent named Daichi Shinagawa also known as “Yankee-kun.” Daichi doesn’t like to be bothered with, has no plans and couldn’t care about his high school life until he meets Hana “Megane-chan” Adachi, the class representative. For reasons unexplained, Hana has taken a deep interest in Daichi and has decided with all her might to convince him to go on the upcoming class trip. Hana is relentless and Daichi wonders why she is doing so much. What exactly does Hana gain? Will her efforts prove to be successful? Yankee-kun to Megane-chan and Oresama Teacher are similar in setting and themes. They both take place in a school environment with lots of romance and comedic scenarios. The main female characters in both manga are former delinquents with dominant personalities who come to learn a new way of life. Mafuyu and Hana discover that being bad can only stay interesting for so long. What fun is there when everyone fears your name and presence?

Pika★Ichi is the story of two teenage introverts, Hanako Suzuki and Tarou Suzuki. Hanako and Tarou share a common interest: a love of yakuza films. They are both average students who have stayed low-key for years. However, specific policies and incidents at the prestigious Aidane High school push Hanako and Tarou over the edge. Wanting to do something about these disturbances, Hanako and Tarou shed their skin and start to speak out about all these wrongdoings. With fighting spirit and tenacity, our characters from Pika★Ichi and Oresama Teacher are strong-willed, determined to make their school an environment enjoyable for all students. Tarou, Hanako, and Mafuyu uphold their duty of justice, progressively changing their environment, all the while noticing a change within themselves. Both manga are funny and entertaining.

Uru Takamura often gets mistaken for a young girl, but on the other hand, she is an energetic, resilient, and abnormally strong-for-her-size young woman. After her mother remarries, she decides that it is time for her to leave the nest. Longing for a higher purpose, perhaps finding romance like her mother, she begins working at Café Bonheur, a famous Pâtisserie, in hopes of running into her Mr. Right. In her journey, Uru starts working with two peculiar guys, Ichirou Nishikawa and Satsuki Shindou, who at first glance appear like individuals to avoid in a dark alley. Nevertheless, these guys begin to change her, starting her on the path to happiness and romance. Happy Café and Oresama Teacher are manga that present the female lead character being incredibly bright and optimistic. Displaying a dynamic cast of characters, each person has a unique quality that brings excitement to the story, impacting Sana and Mafuyu’s lives in some shape or form. Even though the stories take place in different environments, the SoL element is greatly emphasized, as their plots can occur among everyday folk. Primarily, life messages emanate from the premise of each story. From start to end, readers are overcome with feelings of anticipation and thrill.

After Teru Kurebayashi loses her beloved older brother, she doesn’t feel entirely alone, as one would imagine, because she finds solace in messaging Daisy, a mystery sender who can only be contacted through her deceased brother’s cell phone. As Teru continues to move on, she must deal with the family’s debt, taking on a job with the rude yet handsome school janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki. Although Tasuku isn’t anything like Teru’s confidant, Daisy, she finds herself contemplating if these two new relationships are in any way connected somehow. Dengeki Daisy and Oresama Teacher are two fantastic rom-com shoujo manga that are intriguing and amusing. Teru and Mafuyu go about their lives in a school setting, dealing with their male counterpart with whom they build an exciting and unlikely relationship. Coming from troubled backgrounds, Teru and Mafuyu are two compelling young women who have achieved a lot and made much progress in their youth.

Ah! Itoshi no Banchou-sama is about Souka Hirayama and her adventures in a new place. Souka and her mom decide to pack up and move to get a fresh start after the divorce. Souka transfers to the local technical high school and discovers that she’s the only female student in the entire school! Souka’s first day of school is nothing like she imagines and is ambushed by the school’s “bancho” or gang leader. One of her classmates, Yuuji, comes to her rescue only to be saved by Souka herself! Taking down the class leader, Souka now holds the title of bancho. Not expecting to fill this role, how will Souka embrace her new status? In Ah! Itoshi no Banchou-sama and Oresama Teacher, Souka and Mafuyu are two baddies that want to lead normal, teenage lives. A bit unruly, Souka and Mafuyu appear to be independent ladies, but wouldn’t have had a lasting learning experience without the help of their male companions. Moreover, readers get to enjoy endless comedic outburst as well as some romance.

Neiro Sonoda is one bad mutha…shut your mouth! As a kid, Neiro has built her reputation as the toughest gal on the block. She’s known for being a good fighter along with attaching fear to her name with the title of “Kansai’s strongest woman.” Although she has all of the above going for her, Neiro is a little lonely. Wanting to find love in her life, she decides to transfer to a new school in Kanto. What Neiro sees is not what she expects, as she becomes the latest member of the class for delinquents. In Obaka-chan, Koigatariki and Oresama Teacher, Neiro and Mafuyu hold a reputation for being aggressive girls but want to shed this quality and start fresh as good, wholesome ladies. As they migrate into their new environment, their pasts resurface, forcing them to revert to their harsh, tomboy-ish ways. As we move along in both stories, the guys that Neiro and Mafuyu encounter bring out a softer and delicate side of their personalities. When the drama continues to unfold, we also see space for potential romantic developments.

Ian and Rin have been very good friends since childhood. Rin is a gentle girl despite living with an abusive mother and has always trusted Ian, despite the fact that he has a reputation for being a liar. This is because Ian can see fairies and creatures from their world, and even has a fairy friend, an invisible trickster named Tokage. When a string of murders happen in their town, almost at the same time that Rin and her mother return, Ian gets entrusted with a “Fairy Cube” and Rin is accused of being involved with the murders. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Tokage takes over Ian’s body and forces him to become a ghost. Now, the only way Ian can save Rin from Tokage is to become a “Winged One” and get revenge on those who harmed him. Fairy Cube is a pretty good “gateway” manga to get to know Yuki Kaori’s work. The art is incredibly detailed, and every character is gorgeous. Villains and heroes alike have tragic backstories, and nothing is as we’re told at first. The story itself draws inspiration from gothic literature and from the original fairy legends where the winged ones are at best neutral tricksters, and at worst evil creatures who see mankind as a plaything.

A young boy is completely convinced he has a secret: He’s Shinogu Saito, twin brother of a famous rockstar named Kaine. After he’s run over by a car, he’s actually forced to become Kaine, as the original died in a mysterious accident; and while the death was kept secret, they need a replacement immediately. Convinced that there’s more to the story than what is being told and that Kaine’s producer was behind his own accident, Shinogu and his guitarist, Die, discover that there’s a string of suicides among the fans of Kaine’s band, the Endorphins. As Shinogu tries to figure out what Oda’s final plan is, he starts questioning his own identity and his right to live. Kaine is a short story published in an anthology of four one shots. It’s one of Kaori’s earlier stories, and while it shows, her art is as gorgeous as always. This makes Kaine, and the other three stories, a good way to gauge if you will like her style, as it doesn’t require the same compromise as a longer series. It’s also full of hot guys and amazingly detailed backgrounds and fashion, so it’s also a great volume to show that not all Manga is “simplistic”.

Adrian Clay is a beloved teacher. He may be just 27, but every child in his elementary school loves him dearly because he cares about them and he makes sure none of them has a bad childhood, protecting them from abuse even if it’s from their own families. This is what makes Lawrence feel attracted to him: he’s 14 years old, and has been forced by his brother Dallas into prostitution. So when he passes by the school, Lawrence sees Adrian and wishes for him to save him from his life. Unfortunately for both, Adrian has a dark secret: at night, he hires male prostitutes and kills them, driven by his tragic past. When Lawrence finds out, he uses that knowledge to blackmail Adrian into starting a relationship that may end up with both of them dead. Shounen Zanzou is one of Yuki Kaori’s darker stories, as it touches many taboo themes –something that you will see is pretty common in her works-, in particular, underage sex trafficking and intergenerational relationships. And yet, it’s a very engaging story because she doesn’t romanticize the situation. While yes, some may cheer for Lawrence and Adrian to be happy together, we are being shown how horrible their situation really is, and how dangerous is for them to be together.

Some people say that ancient porcelain dolls are creepy, with their big eyes, cracked surface, and prominent joints. And in this world, they are right since there is a virus known as the Galatea Syndrome that transforms people into living dolls that act like zombies. While some of them can be destroyed by music, both created by the Royal Grand Orchestra, or a rebel Grand Orchestra that is searching for the origins and the cure for the Galatea Syndrome. The leader of the rebel Orchestra, Lucille, is driven by his desire to save his sister, but there are many dangers in his way. Guignol Kyuutei Gakudan is one of Yuki Kaori’s longer manga, and it has everything we’ve come to expect from her: Beautiful artwork –because she’s the only artist in the world who could make a Zombie apocalypse pretty-, complicated and baroque backgrounds, ambiguous sexuality that makes us wonder about our world’s views on the subject, and characters with tragic backstories in both sides of the moral scale. As the story advances, there’s a moment in which we all wonder if the “good” guys are really that good, and if they’re fighting for a worthy cause or if it would be better to let the world succumb to the Galatea Syndrome.

After a huge earthquake leaves Japan’s capital in ruins, there are many broken families left, and many orphan children without a home. One of them, Sorato, is almost dead due to his injuries, and has no memory of who he really is. So he is thankful when the Baron Kamichika saves him and takes him to his estate. That is where he meets Garan, the baron’s son, and Kiyora, his fiancée. They become fast friends and swear to always support each other. Unfortunately, fate has some other ideas for them. By now, you may have noticed that romantic couples do not have it easy in any Yuki Kaori story. Here, we have that concept turned up to eleven, as friendship is also thrown in the mix. Because of the length, it has more time to develop the characters, and thus, we get more attached to characters that could face imminent death soon. This is a series that will take your heart on a roller coaster ride and then kick it to the gutter, and you will love it for it.

Stella Kuonji has eight adopted siblings. As part of the very influential Kuonji family, they’re infamous for being really close –after all, they are all adopted and have to live with the new rules their parents give them-, beautiful and eccentric. Stella in particular hates the last rumor because it’s true. For example, their family demands that every month they all have a tea party and no one can miss it. But the last one is different, as they are informed by their parents that now they have to fight each other to the death for a year, as the survivor will be the family’s heir and get not only fortune, but also immortality. Kaikei no Alice brings a new, darker turn to the story of Alice in Wonderland as it shares a lot of the subjects in the original story, only seen through a different glass. The themes of incest, adoption, death, life, and slavery are also present, giving every interaction between the characters a dangerous edge for the reader, as we don’t know exactly what their end game is until it’s too late. If what you’re looking for is a story of love and betrayal, look no further than Kaikei no Alice.

Prince Ludwig is quite unique. He is very handsome, and a bit obsessed with keeping dead women in coffins for his “personal collection”. When he turned 19, his father insisted that he needed to look for a bride, and sent him to travel the world in search of said bride. Accompanied only by his silent and loyal servant Wilhelm, Prince Ludwig starts to search for a living bride among many famous princesses from other Grimm fairy tales, whose real stories happen to be a lot darker than what we know. If you love fairy tales, and specifically the original, darker versions that were later sanitized by different writers, Ludwig Kakumei will be your cup of tea. Kaori not only takes those original stories’s darkness, but also adds more twists of her own, making Ludwig Kakumei a delicious buffet of gothic influenced fairy tales that will leave you wanting more.

Cain Hargreaves is a 17 year-old orphan who inherited an enormous fortune. Although most people don’t know this, the Hargraves used to study poisons and kill their enemies, but Cain tries to change his ways by using his abilities to solve crimes and, if necessary, kill those who have grieved others. He’s a detective and an executor whose investigations take him into a world of corruption and secrets that have to do with the Hargreaves family. Still, joined by his faithful butler, Cain does his best to find justice for his clients, and for himself. Earl Cain is one of the most curious manga by Yuki Kaori as, after four arcs, she decided to stop the serialization to concentrate on a different story, Angel Sanctuary. This means that Earl Cain has an open end and doesn’t really solve the bigger mysteries around Cain’s life. Still, it’s a very enjoyable manga, filled with Victorian clothing and buildings and with the same gothic atmosphere as her other stories. By now, you must be aware that her main topic is the way in which secrets destroy families, so if that’s what you are looking for, Earl Cain will give you a perfect taste of it.

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Cain C. Hargreaves’s activities have become quite difficult for his guardian, Neil Hargreaves, as well as his half-sister, Mary Weather, who hates the way he treats women. But Cain has also discovered more about his father’s past and how he belonged to a secret society, the Delilah, that can revive the dead and use the result of the experiment to try to control the world. As he runs into more and more members of Delilah, he has to confront the truth about his parents, as well as his actions against them. As the continuation of Earl Cain, it’s true that one needs to read the other series in order to understand what is going on in this new chapter. The Gothic aesthetic is greater now, as Kaori’s art style evolved during the hiatus, and she took more time for the details in her drawing. At the same time, she pushed every one of the plots she had hinted at, giving a good mixture of horror and romance, like the original Victorian horror stories that inspired her. From Jack the Ripper to the Serpent and the Rainbow, we can see all the different pieces of the puzzle come together in a really original plot with an unexpected bittersweet ending.

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Setsuna Mudo has more trouble than the average 16-year-old in Japan. He’s not only in love with Sara, his sister, but he is also the reincarnation of an angel, Alexiel, that led a revolution in heaven after God disappeared. Because Alexiel led the revolution, and then sealed her younger brother, Rosiel instead of killing him, she was punished as a fallen angel and forced to reincarnate as a human who would always live in misery. So Setsuna realizes that most of his problems come from something he didn’t even do. And while he gets some good news, as Sara does reciprocate his feelings, the fact that Rosiel has been freed from his prison means that many angels and demons are chasing the Mudo siblings in order to awaken Alexiel from within Setsuna’s soul. This is where things get really complicated. Tenshi Kinryouku is a very complex story that not only has the usual trappings of a Yuki Kaori story: forbidden romances, dark family secrets, and betrayal from all corners; it also adds an extra layer as she did a lot of research on Christianity and angels. This shows as, unlike in other series, here the angels’ hierarchy and relationship to God and Lucifer don’t feel as a purely decorative motif for the story and instead add to its tangled resolution. Every character you meet is intriguing, and at some point, you may find yourself rooting for the bad guy because they’re not just bad for the sake of being bad. Everyone has a good motive, and understanding how they got there is what makes Tenshi Kinryouku an engaging read and possibly, the best of all Yuki Kaori’s work.

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Origin: Spirits of the Past starts aptly after a major event has passed. A scientific breakthrough has allowed Earth to fertilize the barren land, but a mistake leads to aggressive plant growth, destroying the moon and the world soon after. Centuries later, the world has become split into a wasteland and rich forest. Humans struggle to survive while maintaining a shaky alliance with the forest Between the forest and the military nation of Ragna, is Neutral City, the place where Agito, a village boy, resides. One day, he stumbles upon a capsule, preserving the life of Tula, the daughter of a scientist who started the project to rejuvenate the barren soil. Amidst a new world, Tula becomes the catalyst for an emerging war between the military powers and the forest. Origin: Spirits of the Past has several similarities to Patema Inverted. The “otherness” is represented by the forest. It is the thing that is inhuman and foreign. The forest is a threat--its newfound consciousness is aggressive and frightening--but without this last bastion of plant life, humans cannot live. This struggle to understand each other is represented by the main male and female character, their relationship parallels the understanding humans must make with the forest. When past unites with the present, only then can we move on to the future.

Castle in the Sky is a world filled with adventure. Mankind has invented skyships, and with them, the power to explore the world. Hidden within this world is a floating island, Laputa, the target of both the government and nefarious sky pirates. To seize Laputa’s technology, the government has kidnapped Sheeta, hoping to use the power of her amulet. However, when the sky pirates attack the ship she’s on, she falls to the surface, and into the arms of Pazu, an orphan boy, much like herself. Together, they try to escape, all the while learning about Laputa and themselves in the process. Castle in the Sky is a Studio Ghibli classic. The film easily encompasses the allure of Ghibli movies: the outstanding orchestrated music, the timeless quality of its tale, and the relatable quality of its characters. If you were interested in stories that revolve around the male/female dichotomy, this is an apt example where similarities between the main protagonists unite them against the forces that push them away. Their growth in identity--from lost orphans to children reunited with their past--makes for a compelling adolescent story, one where they find solace in their skyward journey to reach Laputa. Their physical journey mirrors their understanding of their new identities, as they find their place in a world of endless skies.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices begins with Asuna, a girl whose preoccupies her time by listening to a radio. Upon hearing a mysterious melody, she becomes enraptured by its song, capturing her heart in the process. Soon after, she is confronted by a dashing boy, Shun, who saves her from a creature. Together, they start a journey into a new land where the melody resides. Children Who Chase Lost Voices is an interesting departure from Makoto Shinkai films. We still have Shinkai’s focus on romance and the visuals are still pleasing, but character designs have changed to seem, for lack of a better descriptor, Ghibli-esque. In some facets, this contributes to the story, the youthful protagonist--far younger than traditional Shinkai protagonists--finds adventure through a fantasy world that sparks with a romantic crush. Parallels to Patema Inverted are there. The boy/girl dynamic, like in previous films, remains a catalyst through which the story unfolds. Divisions, although they focus less on human prejudice than others in this list, are abundant. Death/rebirth, fantasy/reality, deities/mortals are but some of the juxtapositions the film unveils. Also familiar, government entities want to hush the existence of Agartha, a mystic land, the eventual goal to take it under control. This film is a mashing of multiple ideas, an experimental new direction for Shinkai. While the pacing is a problem with so many ideas to explore, the comparisons to Patema Inverted and the new boundaries of a fantasy world and Shinkai’s directing make it a fitting recommendation.

In the city of Metropolis, a huge tower reigns over the human citizens and worker robots. Detective Shunsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi are in search of Dr. Laughton, a scientist who they suspect is unlawfully experimenting and violating human rights. Deep into the city, they find a factory has caught on fire, and from its remains rests a girl whose mysterious manner attracts the eyes of the detective and Kenichi. However, they aren’t the only ones to find her, and soon the powers of Metropolis come to take her away in their struggle to control the city. Although Rintaro’s Metropolis shares a similar name with its predecessor, it isn’t a direct adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s manga. This film version has some noticeable differences, primarily in the layers of the city. By expressing the film’s verticality, Rintaro divides the film into layers--the higher class of the surface, the humans beneath, and the working robots at the very bottom of the city. Divisions between social status are apparent--a noticeable similarity to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) where the working class are the “cogs and wheel of society.” Ideologies around the treatment of robots become conflicted, with rebels seeking their demise despite their humanizing portrayal throughout the film. Easily, this movie has a wealth of analytical readings, and if your main interest in Patema Inverted was “otherness,” divisions in society, questions of humanity, film techniques, or expressions of verticality, Rintaro’s Metropolis is an amazing recommendation.

In the future, Japan has grown accustomed to androids in society. With the daily use of robots, Japan’s Ethics Committee warns of becoming too attached to them--to become a dori-kei (android lover) is dangerous, their warnings stem from a historical accident involving machines. One day, Rikuo notices an interesting anomaly. His android has been returning at peculiar times of the day, its behavior log proving his suspicions. Following his android, he encounters a unique cafe where the number one rule is to treat humans and robots equally. Time of Eve is perhaps the most exemplary piece of Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s writing and directing. The major division in this story revolves around ideology: how does one treat androids? The common perception of them treats them by their physical components--they may look the same, but they are metal on the inside. To be a dori-kei is commonly seen as a joke: that anyone would love their android must be out of their mind. Similarly to Patema Inverted, Yoshiura directs this film with a light-hearted guidance. The camera at times imitates the views of a shaky robot view, comedic timing is abrupt and sudden, aptly fitting the faster pace of this movie adaptation, unique film-only scenes help you empathize with characters further, and the whimsical use of music creates an interesting contrast to some serious themes. If you found Patema Inverted’s script or directing fascinating, or you’re interested in further questions of humanity, Time of Eve is a fine introduction.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days takes place in an alternate reality. In 1964, Japan is split into two halves, the north controlled by the Soviet Union and South by America. Marking this split is a tower, a structure so big it looms in the sky’s horizon. This tower captures the eyes of three students, Hiroki Fujisawa, Takuya Shirakawa, and their love interest, Sayuri Sawatari. Together, they share an interest in one day creating a plane that can let them reach the tower’s heights. As plan nears completion, Sayuri vanishes suddenly, her disappearance coinciding with this mysterious tower. One of Makoto Shinkai’s earliest films, The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a movie that characterizes Shinkai’s growth and style as a director. Unlike previous films, the boy/girl dynamic is split into three, paralleling the three divisions: America, the Soviet Union, and the tower. Similarly to Patema Inverted, Shinkai’s focus on skies also takes centerfold in this love tale. The journey towards the tower coincides with the journey to find Sayuri. Just as in Patema, division helps segment this story about dream and consciousness. As these characters reach the center, the truth emerges, and their youthful romanticism gets put to the test.