When the man-devouring creatures known as Aragami emerged, humanity was thrust into a fight for survival. Normal weaponry didn’t seem to have any effect on the monsters, so a special organization called Fenrir was formed. This particular combat group is important because of the weapons they wield. The weapons are dubbed “God Eaters,” and can only be used by those humans infused with Oracle cells. Lenka Utsugi counts himself among the God Eaters, though his “God Arc” takes form as both gun and blade. Lenka desires the end of all Aragami, and he fights as hard as he can to see humanity’s future burn brighter. God Eater is reminiscent of other dark fantasy anime, especially given its apocalyptic setting. As is common in Ufotable series, the animation is great, though the CGI effects can be a bit jarring for some moments. The plot is also entertaining, bringing good action and some deeper conversations to its rather short stint. Unfortunately, this anime was brought down in popularity due to drastic delays during airing. God Eater is a good example of dark fantasy overall, but it is certainly not the most unique option on our list.

Another dark fantasy anime for our list is the newest installment from the Fate series, Fate/Apocrypha. In this war for the Holy Grail, only two parties join the conflict – the magi clan Yggdmillennia and the rest of the Mage’s Association. Each side sends seven servant-master pairs, and the side to lose all their combatants first will forfeit the Grail. What will be the outcome of this unusual Holy Grail War? Though not the most engrossing Holy Grail War we’ve seen, Fate/Apocrypha contains some interesting characters and plenty of crazy battles! The Fate series comes with great lore, delving into the idea of heroes, and the differences between good and evil. This war begins for selfish reasons, but turns into something completely different toward the end. And as with other Fate anime, the characters develop along the way, becoming more interesting and emotional as the series goes on. Overall, Fate/Apocrypha is a pretty good show, though not as excellent as earlier anime in the franchise.

Humans and demons reside in the two realms, Assiah and Gehenna. Satan has been trying to find a host to infiltrate Assiah in order to conquer it, but all his attempts so far have come up short. He decides to send his own son to Assiah, in the hopes that he will one day be a vessel suitable for possession. Rin Okumura seems to be a relatively normal teenage boy, although he does cause quite a bit of trouble. However, when he discovers that he is the son of Satan, Rin’s worldview is shattered. Working with his brother Yukio, Rin decides to go against Satan’s wishes, instead joining an academy to become an exorcist. Blue Exorcist is an anime looking into a few common questions – do we choose our own fate, or is everything simply predestined? And what does it really mean to be human? Rin’s character development is interesting, especially as his friends start to discover the truth of who he is and he is forced to deal with his own emotions regarding his heritage. All the characters get their own emotional baggage to deal with, including the death of loved ones. The overall tone of Blue Exorcist is certainly dark, but it could have more depth to it, which leaves it a bit lower on our list.

Yuuna Yuuki tries to be a hero in her everyday life, especially as a member of her middle school’s Hero Club. Yuuna loves to make others smile and help them as best as she can. But when mysterious creatures known as Vertexes start to threaten the world, the Hero Club discovers they may have to become actual heroes! The other members of the Hero Club include Yuuna’s best friend Mimori Tougou, and Fuu and Itsuki Inubouzaki. To battle the Vertexes, the Hero Club girls use an app on their phone, one which takes them to another dimension and transforms them into magical girls. But as time goes on, the girls discover the cold price they must pay for the use of their new gift… Similar in many ways to other dark magical girl anime, Yuki Yuna is a Hero follows adorable young girls as they become heroes. The surprise dark side to their life doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given the trends of such shows. However, Yuki Yuna is a Hero still has a few surprises to give its audience, and a great emotional connection thanks to the characters. This anime deals with disability in abundance, bringing the girls to terms with themselves in an honest way. The show overall is actually serious in nature, even though it appears to be the complete opposite. Yuki Yuna is a Hero is able to connect with the viewers deeply, despite its unusual nature.

The immortal beings known as Ajin first appeared in Africa 17 years ago. Afraid of what these superior humans could do, Ajin were cordoned off from society, arrested, and taken away by the government whenever they were found. Yet these events are far from Kei Nagai’s mind. The stoic high school student only wants to succeed in life, and ignores everything that doesn’t help him with his goal. But when Kei gets hit by a truck one day, he discovers that he himself is an Ajin! On the run from everyone he knew and the government, Kei must find a new future to work toward… From the beginning, Ajin is a series that embraces the darkest parts of humanity, particularly through the eyes of its villains. Kei starts out as an unlikeable main character, growing to understand where his own morals fall throughout the course of the series. Ajin takes unexpected turns to address themes and tropes in a way not seen in many other anime. Its focus on the common “man or monster” idea is given new light through the unique Ajin beings, especially later on in the series. And even though the CG animation puts some viewers off, by the end of the anime it is a welcome sight!

Houseki no Kuni is set in a time where beings called Gems are fighting for their lives, against enemies known as the “Moon People.” Each Gem has a different purpose assigned to them. Phosphophyllite is given a job documenting an encyclopedia for the Gems. Though she starts out thinking it will be a rather simple job, Phosphophyllite soon discovers that it will be more intense. The Gems are mostly kept in the dark about life outside themselves, including humanity. They have no concept of death, and do not show too much emotion, other than occasionally latching on to fleeting objects. However, as Phos discovers more about the reality of the world, the Gems will change forever… Along with the obviously deep story plot, Houseki no Kuni boasts several surprisingly meaningful moments about looking outside one’s own perspective. Not only are there plenty of compelling characters to learn alongside, the animation is hauntingly beautiful. As a very serious look at the human condition, Houseki no Kuni does an excellent job of making us think.

After a serious of depressing events leave Chise Hatori alone and feeling worthless, the 15-year-old girl decides to sell herself at an auction. She wonders if she will ever find a home to belong in. A mysterious man named Elias Ainsworth buys her for an exorbitant amount, whisking her away to his cottage in the English countryside. With the help of this powerful mage and the unusual friends Chise meets along the way, the promising young girl will find her own way of belonging. Mahoutsukai no Yome is a thoughtful tale of two strangers finding a home in one another. The Ancient Magus’ Bride takes itself seriously, especially as it deals with issues like death and finding meaning in life. Chise becomes an extension of us, exploring this beautiful new world while dealing with her own traumatic past. Meanwhile, Elias deals with the pain of discovering emotion, simultaneously fearing that he may simply be a monster. Mahoutsukai no Yome is a good balance of lighthearted humor and the dark seriousness that makes it an excellent part of our list! We became engrossed in Chise’s story, perhaps more so because of the serious nature of this series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is infamous among anime fans, and especially so in the dark fantasy realm. In a world bound by alchemy, requiring that something of equal value is exchanged in order to obtain another thing, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt to use these laws to raise their mother from the dead. Their transmutation goes awry, with Edward losing a limb and Alphonse his entire body, forcing Ed to exchange his right arm so he can bind Al’s soul to a suit of armor. The brothers begin seeking a way to get their bodies back, though the path will be more dangerous than they could ever imagine… From the beginning of the Elric brothers’ tragic tale, we can see that it’s dark, with death and sacrifice being prominent themes right away. While the motivations of the Elrics might be pure, the characters that they meet along the way deal with the basest of human sins, like pride, greed and vengeance, often blurring the line between moralities. Political balances are shifted just on the basis of these simple human emotions – but Fullmetal Alchemist shows us just how complex these emotions really are. One of the best anime of all time, this show displays a true depiction of how dark a person can become.

Made in Abyss is the tale of a young Diver girl named Riko, who desires to be able to explore the great depths of the Abyss, just like her mother before her. However, since she is just a novice herself, she has only been allowed to explore the topmost layer. When she comes across a robot made to look like a human boy, Riko names him Reg and decides to help him find out who he is. Riko and Reg set out for the deepest parts of the Abyss, hoping to uncover Reg’s past – but neither of them are prepared for what the Abyss has in store… One of the most unassuming anime of its season, Made in Abyss quickly became a fan-favorite with its emotionally riveting story. This is another tale about sacrifice, and the darkness that humanity can fall into when emotions overcome respect for other living beings. The disturbing nature of some revelations do not outweigh the brilliance of Made in Abyss – rather, the fact that this series does not shy away from important questions, even when hard, makes it stand out from the rest.

Berserk is nearly impossible to top on a dark fantasy list, especially given its remake that aired recently. Following the tragic path of Guts, this anime gives plenty of epic battles, even as it tells a story of desperate survival by our stalwart protagonist. Guts joins a group of mercenaries called the Band of Hawk, quickly rising through the ranks as his skill grows. Yet Guts begins to doubt the group’s brand of morality as he sees situations that cannot be explained easily. Guts must decide what path he is to follow, even as darkness closes in on his comrade’s heart. What further tragedies will await Guts as he learns the truth? Berserk is well-loved because of the way that it questions life’s meaning in such a visceral, honest experience. The contrast between Griffith’s journey and that of Guts holds a lesson for us all, as one strives to achieve his future at any cost while the other is able to question what he should live for. Guts has lived through a series of misfortunes, showcasing the worst life a human could have, from the moment of his birth! Yet despite the unfortunate circumstances that thrust him into this fate, Guts is able to find meaningful relationships that help him grow. Berserk is a series that will stand the test of time, thanks to its meaningful story and ability to capture human emotion so honestly.

Immortal beings known as ‘Ajin’ appeared in the world 17 years ago and have been targeted as threats since then. If one is found in society, then they are to be arrested immediately, despite the fact that there hasn’t been any real incident involving an Ajin. Well, even though the news constantly voices concern over the possible terrorism, a good chunk of people could not care less as these threats feel so far away. Kei Nagai is one such person who couldn’t care less, but that turns around to bite him as one day he discovers that he is an Ajin. Now, the CG aspect of this show might turn some viewers away immediately. Let it be known that you are missing out. Ajin’s story is impressive as it builds an entire world of misinformation and deception. Truly, from the beginning with the infrastructure of the media and how powerful rumors are, it’s quite clear that we are entering into a highly volatile world, or a world of smoke and mirrors. This aspect combined with some of the brutal terrorist actions doled out by Satou makes Ajin a definite watch.

When Ryouta was just a small child, he and his best friend went out to look for alien life. Well this adventure ended with his best friend’s death. Ten years later, Ryouta still trying to prove aliens exist, a transfer student who looks exactly like Ryouta’s best friend comes strolling in. Not only does she look like his friend, but her name, Kuroha Neko, is essentially the same. There is one particular difference though; she can predict death. Well as Ryouta pushes himself into Kuroha’s life, he finds himself in a world he could never even imagine. More than just aliens, there’s magic and artificial witches and a lot of terrifying experimentation that he must learn to navigate. Now, it is similar to Elfen Lied in a couple ways, primarily the fact that these girls the protagonist keeps running into have been tortured and experimented on. If that’s not quite dark enough for you, then you should know basically anyone can get killed off in this anime. Except Ryouta, who happens to put his life on the line constantly and then is magically saved.

Okay, so Fate/Zero (included in the original list below) might have been the darkest installation of this series, but that doesn’t prevent other seasons from being brutal and dark compared to other anime in general. Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works still takes us into an epic battle between mortals and heroic spirits who are putting their lives and beliefs on the line. What Fate/stay Nigh Unlimited Blade Works does so well is bring in numerous narratives into one complex and solid series. Not only does it handle the thoughts and motives of the magicians but the spirits that are summoned to battle as well. Included in these various personalities and backstories is just about any major theme you can imagine, and some of them are extremely dark and complex (looking at you Kirei). Add to that intense battles and the fact that several contestants are basically children, and you’re in for one wild ride.

Powers beyond your imagination have developed in a small percentage of the world’s population. War ensues for several generations until the supernatural beings having developed their own community and brokered a shaky peace with the rest of humanity. Inside this apparent utopia, Saki Watanabe and her friends awaken to their powers and soon find themselves navigating a much different world than they could ever expect. From the New World is in many ways reminiscent of When they Cry. Its rather simple, rural environment becomes a nightmarish landscape as these adolescents get thrown into chaos. Who the characters can trust and what they believe in are constantly shuffled in this anime. Impressively, the show is not only able to cover the corruption of a community, but tackle certain outlying aspects that truly threaten the protagonists. Cultivating distrust in just about everything and showing the hidden truth in the way the world functions are just two of this show’s strong points.

At first, you think you’re about to get brought into a magical world that will act as an amazing escape. Then our hero and his savior die while trying to solve a mystery. Then he’s brought back to life, renewing your hope that this will be a fun and amazing fantasy world to run through. Well, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu decided that’s not the direction it wanted to go. Instead, we’re thrown into a world where the ability to revive only leads deeper into a never-ending, deadly maze. It consistently loops around, demanding more and more from its hero who is unraveling before us. Outside of the stated fact that revival leads to consistently worst consequences and harder decisions for our protagonist, this recent anime really does a wonderful job mixing twisted elements into a fantastical world. The animation is light and wonderfully fluid, but it can take a turn for the gory and leave its characters bloodied and battered.

So Yoshino Takigawa is secretly dating Aika, his best friend’s sister. Then one day she disappears and so does his best friend, Mahiro, as he searches for her. Fast forward a month forward and Yoshino gets a visit from a strange girl, who holds him at gunpoint and is ready to pull the trigger. This is how Yoshino gets involved in the search for Aika’s kiler, which has always been a part of his fate. The whole, painful idea behind this story is that our past builds our future. For both Yoshino and Mahiro this partially involves the disappearance and death of Aika. Mahiro finds himself embroiled in a vengeful quest while Yoshino is almost apathetic. However, they must learn to use such an experience to better themselves. Now, that’s a solid premise, but it’s with the little flourishes that brings Zetsuen no Tempest into the realm of dark fantasy. Outside of the simple inclusion of magic, we are introduced into a story of destiny that makes us question if notions such as right or wrong even exist. All sides believe they’re right and each have their honorable points, which is pretty impressive considering that the fate of the world is at stake.

Yes, this show has just begun airing, but already you should be able to tell how amazing of an addition it will be to the dark fantasy genre. It follows Toyohisa being transported into another world after being mortally injured. In this world, he joins the likes of Oda Nobunaga and Yoichi Suketaka Nasu as they try to figure out their new fate. The first episode alone is extremely promising as bodies get hacked apart and Toyohisa impales himself on enemy spears in order to get in close enough to shoot down a Li Naomasa. Let’s not forget that one of his happy memories is his father congratulating him for brining back the head of an enemy official. The blood and overall desire for conquest is simply powerful in this new anime, and it’s not holding anything back. It definitely has the action and ruthless characters to create something fantastic, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

The Hellsing Organization has been keep England safe for years from deadly terrors. Vampires, ghouls, and other creatures of the night have been unable to infiltrate the country under the organization’s watch. How? Well, they happen to employ the original and most powerful vampire of all time: Alucard. However, will he be enough to stop the invasion of an army of Nazi vampires? When your protagonist is arguably the most blood thirsty and chaotic character in the show, then you have found yourself an extremely dark anime. The creators really push the boundaries with Alucard and the entirety of the Hellsing Organization as they are being directly compared to an insane radical group of Nazis. As Alucard clearly states throughout the series, he is a monster and will commit essentially any atrocity if permitted to. However, that’s the key to show, he makes everyone complicit in his actions by needing their permission. Essentially, he is dragging every single person into the pits of hell with him.

The original Berserk set the bar for dark fantasy, and let’s be honest it set the bar extremely high. Now, practically two decades later they continue the story, picking up at the point where Guts has taken up the Dragonslayer and is hellbent on revenge more than ever. Now, some of you might not find this continuation worth its salt, and that’s mainly because of the animation style going CG. Admittedly, it does lose a certain grittiness by taking on this animation. That aside, the killings are basically just as brutal, the story is just as dark, and the characters are just as dynamic and cruel. No one is innocent in this world, and just about any atrocity should be expected. Murder is essentially the status quo. In other words, suck up your feelings on animation and get through the show. Everything in this world is cold and ruthless and will provide you countless reasons to be concerned about the true nature of humanity.

We all wanted the second season of Attack on Titan, right? Well, that’s essentially what we got with Kabaneri. This anime throws into a world where a virus has created Kabane, monsters that have a thirst for human blood and also have a steel cage around their heart. This part of their anatomy makes it particularly hard for people to kill them, and as civilization lost out to the hordes of Kabane, people have barricaded themselves in a few heavily guarded and fortified cities. Taking a lot of cues from Attack on Titan, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri has no reservations about testing the human conscience. From the beginning till the end, the show constantly asks if the end justifies the means? At least three scenes in the first episode hold situations where one must decide between the lesser of two evils, and to be honest, most people (outside of the protagonist) can’t seem to do right by society. However, you’ll still find most of the characters interesting and dynamic. It’s pretty common to find yourself in a love-hate situation with some of the characters (Kurusu). Now, the narrative stays pretty strong throughout the anime, but placing it so high on this list are the glorious battles. They’re vicious and bloody and simply enjoyable to watch, if you can handle some gore.

The ancient world was filled with dark places we couldn’t see into so we used our imagination to fill those voids and create a rationale for the things that go bump in the night. England and Wales have a deep tradition of folklore (mythology) as old and rich as the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome. The tradition holds that a nature-centric pantheon of creatures and spirits wandered and ruled over the groves, forests, and meadows of pastoral England. The dominant people in this mythos are the Fay Folk or Fairies, a group of mythological creatures that are often considered to originate in the spirit, metaphysical, or supernatural worlds. The creator of Ancient Magus Bride, Kore Yamazaki Sensei, leaned heavily on these established English and Welsh myths to create his tale of the supernatural, love, and mystery. We now take a look at some of the characters and their myths of origin.

Chise, as any self-respecting magus, has a familiar. A familiar is a spirit or magical creature bound to a wizard, witch, or magus. Her familiar is Ruth, a Black Dog that looks like an Irish Wolfhound. He once was the pet of a young girl. The young girl died, leaving the loyal dog to haunt the cemetery and eventually becoming a fay. He spent the following centuries as a guardian spirit in the graveyard chasing away grave robbers and evil spirits. He noticed similarities between Chise and his long-dead master and decided to become the young magus’ familiar. He views her as his sister and will defend her to the death. The two share a bond that allows them to sense each other and you will seldom see one without the other. The mythical truth about the Black Dog isn’t always as kind as Ruth. A Black Dog is often a demonic entity seen as an apparition or shapeshifter. The black dogs are often described as dark in color, larger than average, and to have glowing eyes. Dogs in mythology are often associated with death, like the three-headed dog Cerberus that guards the gate to Hades in Greek lore, the God Anubis, god of the dead in Egyptian mythos, to name two non-Celtic examples. The tales of Black Dogs may often seem sinister or malevolent, yet there are stories of them serving as familiar spirits for witches and warlocks, just like Ruth does. You also hear tales of the Gurt Dog of Somerset in the south of England who is said to have been a guardian of children as they played in the meadows. Black Dogs are also reported to have guided travelers along dark roads to safety. So, a Black Dog can be malevolent or altruistic like Chise’s faithful friend and servant Ruth.

Silky was once known as Silver, a banshee. The family she served died out as well as her supernatural clan, leaving her alone. She wandered aimlessly across the countryside often depressed and without purpose. A forest fay who serves the queen of the fay comes across her one day and takes pity on the banshee. He guides her to a remote cottage among the rolling hills. The home is that of Elias the magus. She is taken in and becomes the housekeeper, quietly tending to her duties day in and day out seemingly just happy to have a place she belongs. In modern lore, banshees tend to be evil apparitions that bring death to those who see them. The more traditional treatment of these spirits are that they are merely the heralds of death and do not cause it directly. A banshee is known for mourning the loss of their beloved family members with their high-pitched cries that sound like the wind blowing through the eaves of a home during a tempest. We suspect that her banshee’s voice is the reason that you seldom hear Silky speak. The Scots have a similar spirit known as nigheachain, or the little washerwoman; they would wash the armor and blood-stained clothes of those who died in battle. Silky, like her mythical origin, is very attached to her family and gets very nervous, depressed and concerned when members of the family are sick or gone for extended periods of time.

The character of Cartaphilus is the main villain in the story. The 2000-year-old immortal is constantly causing trouble for Chise and Elias. He looks like a young man with white hair and wields significant supernatural power. Cartaphilus is obsessed with Chise and her abilities as a sleigh beggy. He attempts to kidnap her more than once. We find out that one of his goals is to find a way to rid himself of the curse of immortality. The mythological origin of Cartaphilus is from the Christian legend of the Wandering Jew. He was cursed to live until the end of the world because he taunted Jesus on way to his crucifixion. You can find a biblical reference in the Christian Bible (John 18:20-22) that refers to an officer that struck Jesus at his arraignment before Pontius Pilate. The apparent curse was when Jesus replied “I go, and you will wait until I return.” The differences between Cartaphilus in the legend and in the Ancient Magus Bride are pretty drastic. The pitiful immortal looks for redemption by living a pious life in the lore and we find an uber-powerful supernatural being in the manga and anime version.

We meet Redcurrant in one of the side stories involving the people of the town. Redcurrant is a Leanan Sidhe, referred to as a vampire, living at the home of a man named Joel. She spends her days with Joel as he writes and tends his garden. She is completely in love with him. The sad part is that he has seen her only once, as a young man while tending the garden. She explains to Chise that if she were to admit she loves him she could give him great creative power and he could see her, but the exchange would shorten his life. Joel falls ill and begins to die and Redcurrant begs Chise to save him. She cannot save his life but creates a potion that allows him to see Redcurrant. He had apparently believed the girl he saw was a figment of his imagination, though always felt like someone was watching over him. The two are able to spend his final moments together and admit their feelings for each other. Redcurrant decides she will tend his garden until the world turns to dust. The mythological origins of Redcurrant are in the stories of the Leanan Sidhe of Celtic folklore. A Leanan Sidhe is often reported as a beautiful muse that offers creativity and inspiration to artists, craftsman, and writers. The muse, in return, is offered the eternal devotion by the artist who often goes mad due to the strength of the feelings of love for the muse. You also find that this typically leads to a premature death. We have the poet Yeats to blame for them being confused with vampires. He writes about them being a malignant phantom exchanging creativity for life. We think regardless of her character’s origins the bittersweet love story of this muse and the man she loves is possibly an even sweeter story than Chise and Elias.

The mischievous faerie king resembles a faun or satyr–half-man, half-goat–though in this incarnation he seems to be half-man, half-deer, including antlers. He is often considered a bit of a womanizer and wants to whisk Chise away to the faerie world. He has moments where he shows his eternal age and imparts wisdom on both Chise and Elias. He even refers to Elias, the ancient magus, as young. Titania, queen of the fairies, is the polar opposite of her husband in personality. She is a tall, cool beauty that carries an aura of power, wisdom and grace about her. Titania also seems to have maternal instinct when it comes to all of the fay, even someone that is half fay and half something else like Elias. She seems to tolerate her husband’s wondering eye and habit of causing mischief. The royal couple of myth is a little difficult to clarify. Oberon may refer to Opstatus, the king of the fairies from Merovingian legends. The Merovingians were a dynasty that ruled most of France and southwestern Germany in the 5th century. The queen of the fairies in traditional folklore doesn’t have a name that everyone can agree on. Titania is the name Shakespeare gave to the queen of the fairies in “A Midsomer’s Night’s Dream,” a name he lifted from Ovid, the ancient Roman poet, and his work, “Metamorphoses.” Titania is the perfect example of how much of an influence Shakespeare has on English folklore. The entire persona we have for the queen of the fairies comes from the quill of a 16th century playwright. So, if you really want to get an idea of who these characters are, we suggest getting a little cultured and taking in a play.

Lindel is Elias’ mentor. He is a mage far older than Elias and was the one to take in the small, strange creature that was Elias and teach him the ways of the world. Lindel, like all mages, has a familiar and his name is Merituuli. The small Selkie serves mainly as a messenger between the land of dragons, where they live, and the rest of the world. Merituuli has a rather cheerful and congenial personality, and like most fay, has great affection for Chise. When Merituuli is on land in human form he is short and has fair skin and rosy cheeks. He wears his grey hair up in a ponytail on the top of his head. Selkies come from Scottish folklore and the name simply means seal people. A selkie has the ability to shapeshift to human form. A selkie in human form is said to be beautiful and active to humans. Male selkies are said to have seductive powers and have clandestine relations with the wives of fisherman while they spend days at sea fishing. Merittuuli may not be that seductive but he sure is adorable.

Jade is a fairy in a more traditional sense. She is small and pixy-like yet looks a bit more like a miniature version of a harpy. When we first meet Jade she behaves like her more terrifying Greek cousin, too. Jade becomes obsessed with Chise and gets her fellow ariel-type fairies to lure Chise away from Elias and abduct her to the fairy realm. Chise seems to be like catnip to Jade and the small fay can’t resist her. She is also shown to be very helpful to Chise and has been willing to offer Chise her power when it is needed. Jade’s mythological counterpart is what one typically considers a fairy: a small, winged creature that helps itself and others with its magic. A fairy of that sort is also known to be jealous and possessive. Fairies like her in the Cornwall region in western England are also known to throw parties across the countryside. Ariel’s mythological brethren play pranks on travelers. The name Ariel is probably borrowed from Ariel, not the mermaid, but the fairy in Shakespeare’s “Tempest.” Ariel is freed from being trapped in a tree by Prospero and becomes his spy throughout the play.

Yukikaze is a strong, hard-working warrior who loves her friends and is determined to protect them. As if that weren’t enough, she also has fox ears! She’s nimble in battle and while she may not love fighting, she will never shirk from defending her country. Because there’s such a strong image of foxes and spirits in Japanese mythology, it’s hard to find fox girls that are just girls instead of magical beings. Yukikaze, however, gives us the cuteness of fox-ears without the mythical aura usually attached.

Sometimes animal ears are thrown on a girl seemingly only for decoration, but in Uma Musume, they do not let you forget these are horse girls for a reason. Reborn from racehorses, these girls maintain their horse ears and tails as well as their racing stats from when they were horses. Special Week is a beautiful horsey example with just how much her little ears twitch according to her mood. She loves to run and is incredibly fast, and you can see the spirit of a racehorse within her as she chases her dreams!

Ginko is an example of an animal ear girl that definitely has animal instincts. Her tiny bear form is small and cuddly like a teddy bear (despite her somewhat bloodthirsty nature) and her human form is also very cute! Between transformations, she has bear ears and bear paws which makes for an interesting combination of adorable and deadly. She desires true love but she also won’t hesitate to kill someone threatening her. While she’s fiercely protective, she’s a kemonomimi girl you’d want to snuggle up with.

There are a lot of great kemonomimi girls in Etotama, but it’s Inu-tan that really acts like her animal. She may be an Eto-shin or Zodiac god, but she definitely acts more like a family pet. She’s small in stature and has short, droopy ears and a tail. Inu-tan loves play-fighting, being around others, and bones. She’s energetic and good-natured with a perfect little head to pat. She has all the key features of a good dog both in personality and aesthetic, complete with a dog collar. We’d want to go on a long walk with Inu-tan!

Ui may not always be sporting her bunny ears but her penchant for running away quickly remind you of her rabbit-ness even without the visual cues. When she transforms for battle, her ears and rabbit paws come out and her teeth become more rabbit-like. She mostly uses her rabbit form to quickly run from her enemies or dig a hole away from danger, but she learns her incredible hearing can help her strategize in a fight. She loves carrot juice because, need we remind you she’s a bunny girl? Ui is super cute and her animal appendages serve to heighten her appeal to a whole new level!

The great thing about this shining comedy anime from this season is that there seems to be a false protagonist situation going on with Hinamatsuri. Each week, we see bits of Hina, but honestly the star of this show is Hitomi. We start out with Hitomi basically being unable to say no to anyone and taking on countless jobs at her own peril. This compounds further when her mother will not believe that she is working in a bar and thinks Hitomi is a child prostitute. She moves out, well… Utako forces her to but somehow, Hitomi makes it work! She makes excellent connections and just never sleeps. She is forced into having a house party, so she invites her mother as a way out to get away from all these responsibilities. Instead, her mother sees a future in her work and agrees to let everything continue as is to Hitomi’s dismay. Anzu finally gets an allowance and tries to go shopping with Hitomi later, but it backfires as they get convinced to go to the horse races with an unscrupulous underling of Nitta’s. It backfires after Anzu wins a little and she loses everything. Hitomi tells her that the thought behind the gift is what is important, not the gift itself. I laugh nonstop at the antics of this show, but this week was some top tier comedy from this show. Hitomi just ends up in situation after situation and it just gets worse and worse. Her teacher is an idiot, her friends strong arm her, and she just takes it like a funny fool. I can’t wait to see what happens on Hitomimatsuri next week.

Annoying teacher who blames Anzai for his life being turned upside down even though he had attempted to rape Tsukasa Not to mention the prof managed to antagonize Anazi and this fueled the hate against devils even more I’ve had a lot to catch up on and apparently I was like 6 weeks behind on Devils Line, so I guess Devils Line is my pick of the week! This week, we’re exploring a part that irritates me to death where people who have done wrong blame it on everyone else. Oh we’re not talking about real life or the Brock Turner case, we’re talking about Tsukasa’s professor. Despite being a fictional event, I know that there are people like this and my high sense of justice just has me livid. If you recall, Tsukasa’s professor had attempted to rape her and yes, I do mean rape because she said no and was fighting back. Just because he enjoys a little resistance and thinks the end product will be good means he can keep pushing forward, so thank goodness Tsukasa was saved by Anzai. However, the professor’s reputation went down the toilet and he lost everything thanks to that “little” incident. (I’m being facetious, people). The professor completely blames Anzai for the loss of his great and respectable life, which just has me floored. What has me more livid has to be the fact that there are people like this in real life who destroy their lives all on their own but cannot accept that fact and push it on other people. As a result, this professor assaults Anzai as “revenge” because he cannot accept that it was his own actions that landed him in his predicament. Of course, it has to be Anzai for catching him, right? This sickens me and makes me so angry. Meanwhile, Anzai is having his devil side brought out which causes him great anguish. It’s just selfish and cruel!

Clear Card-hen has come to an end, and we finally have some answers… well, do we? Episode 22 was meant to be the closure to something, but after watching it there’s only so many questions and little to no answers at all! First of all, the story of Sakura is not ending at all, and that after-credits scene is proof enough; anyways, Yuna D. Kaito even says they need even more clear cards in order to use some forbidden spell… but, what spell is that? And why?! Talking about this guy, he stopped the time and made it go back a few minutes so Sakura and Akiho never met, because —we knew it, but again— Akiho was the mysterious one under the hood. The point is, nobody knows this and it will remain a secret for some time. What are Kaito and Momo true intentions, after all? Akiho thinks that everything she does is just a dream, but we know that Sakura could defy time itself and still remember this encounter, or pretend it was a dream. Dreams and hope are a fundamental part of this arc and Sakura’s life too, so I’m sure she won’t forget it so easily. 22 episodes later we still know nothing about the core mystery in Clear Card-hen! I guess it’s time for true fans to go back and binge it again, now looking for some more clues until we have new episodes or a movie.

After finding out that the Mage Academy is the dark force pulling the strings behind the ongoing war between kingdoms and lords, Lady Marrine’s fears are confirmed when a mage announces through their wands that the Mage Academy is purging all the mages who support the lords. And in a very Mission Impossible style, he tells all who are listening to destroy their wands, as they can be spied on and located that way. The Mage Academy and the Lords are officially at war and the academy is taking no prisoners. The birth of the Grancrest is officially a reality and the academy deems the new Emperor and the Lords a threat. The plan is now to unite the Treaty, Union, and Alliance and fight the Mage Academy in Eram. Theo and Siluca’s allies destroy their wands, pledging allegiance to their lords and assuring they are not being spied on, save a few who decide to stay true to the academy and are allowed to just walk away. (Not sure why they didn’t imprison them or something…). Siluca and her father have a sweet moment talking about how they are getting to work together and when Aishela walks into the tent, we find out that she and Siluca are sisters and Aishela is not a big fan of Aubeste. Aubeste, however, thanks Aishela for taking care of Siluca this whole time and calls them both his precious daughters. During this conversation, Aishela mutters that she is not a Meletes anymore… odd… Everyone goes to sleep, including Siluca, who passes out at her desk. Siluca is soon woken up by Aishela, who is asking her to come out. As soon as Siluca steps out… holy crap! An expressionless Aishela takes a literal stab at her chest! WTF!? Oh no! Are we losing our main heroine!? No. Luckily, Irvin stops Aishela right on time and she admits to attempting to murder Siluca and that Theo was her next target. Theo wakes up and they bring Aishela inside, where they strap her down after she admits to being sent by a secret agency from the academy. What a twist! The academy has been watching Siluca all along and it turns out Aishela “tried” to kill her because otherwise, if she didn’t, the academy had placed a spell on her that would kill her. She still loves her sister and did a poor job on purpose. However, the spell or “geas” they placed on Aishela’s chest is activated and is seemingly being murdered through it by the academy’s secret organization. But just as the moment is getting intense and emotional and we think Aishela’s a goner, the sweet Priscilla says “She’s not destined to die here” and pulls out her Holy Grail Crest to free Aishela from the magical shackles of the academy. I knew that girl would come in handy! It was a very exciting episode full of surprises and twists! We didn’t lose any of our favorite girls and things are heating up by the minute! What’s happening next!?