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Aug 9, 2026
As I end my journey into the world of Steel Angel Kurumi, I’m quite amazed how many tonal shifts the series can have depending on which entry of the Steel Angel Kurumi series that you are watching. Steel Angel Kurumi is mostly known as being a blend of action/comedy with a high amount of fan-service but when it comes to Steel Angel Kurumi Zero it abandons many of these things to focus on a very drama filled romantic story that strictly focuses on Kurumi falling in love with someone and learning to navigate her feelings while having deep conversations with her fellow steel angels (Saki
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and Karinka) and a new character by the name of Excelia who is the landlady of the apartment everybody is living in.
Even though Steel Angel Kurumi Zero is only three 15-minute episodes, the entire series takes place in the future without any kind of mention of any of the other adventures that the steel angels have had. Everything takes place inside the apartment with all the female characters and it’s really a deep analysis of Kurumi navigating her feelings as she falls in love with someone and constant obstacles keep occurring when it comes to her love interest and Kurumi constant questions her feelings and her own semblance of happiness as she navigates her own feelings. There is even a deeper analysis of how her angel heart reacts to these stimuli in her life.
The three episodes are strictly drama focused with no humour or action to be heard of. There isn’t really much time focused on the other steel angels. They are present to act as a sounding board for the feelings that Kurumi is going through.
I will admit though, this short three-episode OVA has probably the best animation out of every other entry in the steel angel Kurumi universe. I think Kurumi especially is drawn incredibly detailed and even though there isn’t a lot of fluid animation since every scene in the series takes place in an apartment, I do appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to the character designs.
There is no opening song for the series, but the ending song is actually very nice and incredibly mellow which matches the mood of the three-episode OVA. Throughout the series, there is a lot of nice piano melodies to match the somber atmosphere of the series.
I can’t say that I enjoyed the series more than the first season of Steel Angel Kurumi and Steel Angel Kurumi encore, but it’s certainly better than the second season of Steel Angel Kurumi. I think the biggest thing I appreciated about the series is it abandoned Kurumi loud obnoxious personality for something much more grounded and real and for me that was a refreshing change. The series can be a little boring and a little unfulfilling but it’s nice to see a more mature grounded approach in the Steel Angel Kurumi world.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 8, 2026
I think as an anime fan, the biggest thing that disappoints me the most is when you start a series and the first season ends up being an enjoyable watch but by the time you reach the second season of the series it ends up being a distant shadow of what made the first season so enjoyable.
This is true when it comes to the second season of Steel Angel Kurumi. I think the biggest crime the second season does is that it completely changes genres from an action-packed harem anime in season 1 to a slice of life yuri ecchi anime with some brief
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moments of action in season 2. I think there is another big strike against this anime as well is that since the anime takes place 75 years in the future from the events of the first season of anime, there is barely any mention of any characters or even the overall plot that was so prevalent from the first season of the anime. I personally would have loved to see what happened between Nakahito and Kurumi after the events of Sweet Angel Kurumi encore, but the only mention that we have of Nakahito throughout Season 2 is that the main character of the second season of Steel Angel Kurumi is the great granddaughter of Nakahito who goes by the name of Nako Kagura who inadvertently activates Kurumi by a kiss yet again when she traverses through a cave with her best friend Uraka.
Therefore, once again through the act of a kiss, Nako is Kurumi’s new master who she pledges absolute loyalty and love to Nako, much to the dismay of Uraka who has serious feelings for Nako and is none too pleased that she has competition for Nako’s affection. However, instead of a military or a bunch of villains to fight off, the plot centers around Nako’s dedication to becoming an aspiring musician on her favourite musical instrument which is the cello.
With Nako being a high school student, Kurumi and the other steel angels join Nako in high school as she tries to prepare for a competition to become the best cello player in the area. However, due to Uraka’s jealousy of Kurumi she employs the assistance of her father to gain access to his resources for powerful weaponry to take care of Kurumi once and for all. This plot line is something I’m familiar with because Uraka is pretty much like B-ko and her dad from project A-ko even to the point that Uraka has her own skimpy battle suit to take on Kurumi herself in the very last episode.
To make matters even more convenient or even complicated all depending on your perspective, Uraka’s dad gets access to Steel Angel Saki, and Saki ends up getting activated by a kiss from Uraka, so while Uraka is fighting so hard for the affections of Nako, she has Saki by her side who is unbelievably loyal and loving to her.
This brings me to talk about how shallow all the interpersonal relationship between the steel angels and the human characters are. Even with the second season being only 12 episodes with each of the episodes being 15 minutes long, there is not enough time to develop the love and affection of these characters properly even if it is never really meant to be taken seriously. All the female characters are lesbians and that’s that without any further deeper analysis into it. I will say that the second season of steel angel Kurumi has a lot more nudity and fan-service than the first season and it’s not really needed. The characters are always taking baths with each other in just about every other episode, and there is even one episode where Kurumi spends a third of the episode topless. It’s literally fan-service for the sake of fan-service and it’s not even done with proper comedic effect either for the most part.
Even my favourite character Karinka doesn’t show up until the very end of episode 7 and she’s not even used that much throughout the series. At least the personalities of the steel angels (Kurumi, Saki, and Karinka) have not changed throughout the second season from their first season counterparts.
- Kurumi is still a naive, hyper, loud-mouthed ditz
- Saki is still incredibly shy and soft-spoken
- Karinka is still as hot headed and brash as ever
Even Kurumi has a little dog companion by the name of Kyanwan who transforms into different accessories for Kurumi to use in the battle such as a set of wings to fly or even a mermaid tail when she is battling in the ocean.
The anime isn’t a complete waste of time because in some of the episodes there are some good comedic moments that have made me laugh and even when the action scenes do happen albeit sparingly, they do tend to be more on the enjoyable side. It’s just too bad that the comedy and the action didn’t happen a lot more often throughout the series. There are some but not many heartfelt moments where Kurumi tries her hardest to help Nako become the best cello player, she can be.
The animation is pretty much on par from the first season and it does use all the same English voice talent from the first season of Steel Angel Kurumi and Steel Angel Kurumi Encore. The opening song is lazy though, because it pretty much uses the same lyrics as the opening song from the very first season of Steel Angel Kurumi albeit with a much more upbeat remix. I admit that I do prefer the dance remix theme of Steel Angel Kurumi Season 2 over the original theme in Steel Angel Kurumi Season 1.
Season 2 of Steel Angel Kurumi was such a huge let down because I think it took something that was compelling in season 1 and transformed it into a very shallow pointless fan-service fest that didn’t really add anything beneficial to the world of the steel angels. It’s almost like they used up all their good ideas in Season 1, and they simply slapped and packed a pointless and shallow storyline to come up for a reason to create a second season of the series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 8, 2026
We’re jumping into the world of Steel Angel Kurumi again with 4 OVA episodes that serve as a direct sequel but let’s be honest and say it’s truly an epilogue of the original steel angel Kurumi series because that is what it truly feels.
However in most epilogues from my experience in the anime world, they tend to be a little more on the comedic unhinged side of things, but for steel angel Kurumi I’m actually very surprised and in fact pleased that three of the four OVA episodes focuses on giving each of the main three steel angels some heartfelt character development that feels
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like it gives proper closure to the distinct personality types of the three main steel angels.
The first episode focuses on Saki becoming an actress and finding out that she truly excels in the world of acting, and she must make a tough choice if pursuing a career that she loves is worth giving up the companionship and comfort of her friends.
The second episode focuses on Karinka and the fact that she has a secret admirer. She ends up going on a date with Kamihito accidentally thinking that he is her secret admirer. However, throughout the date she gets to learn how to handle awkward romantic situations, and what truly makes her happy.
The third episode fixates on Kurumi wanting to do everything in her power to become a traditional Japanese housewife to impress Nakahito even overworking herself in the process.
The fourth episode is where you get the unhinged humour that you would totally expect during an epilogue of an anime series. Word gets out to the antagonist steel angels that Nakahito could unlock the power of the steel angel by a kiss from his lips, so every steel angel in existence shows up on Nakahito’s doorstep wanting a kiss from the reluctant Nakahito on the pretense that it would unlock some hidden ability within them. Obviously, Kurumi is not too pleased about this, and a contest is held with all the steel angels to see who gets a kiss from Nakahito but a new challenger appears to get a kiss from Nakahito herself and she isn’t even a steel angel. This episode has some of the best humour in the short OVA series.
Despite encore only have 4 episodes with each episode being only 15 minutes. There really isn’t a lot to unpack, but I do enjoy the fact that there are some good heartfelt moments for the first three episodes. These episodes do have some brief moments of humour, but they understand the focus of giving each main steel angel her opportunity to shine with regards to their wants and needs. Character development doesn’t feel cheap and I think it’s a great way to showcase the personality traits of each steel angel without having to resort to humour to do it.
The animation is the same as the original Steel Angel Kurumi series and the music is still just as serviceable as it was in the original series as well. The English voice cast is the same, and this epilogue series is just as enjoyable as the main Steel Angel Kurumi series. The episodes have the same opening song as the original Steel Angel Kurumi series, but the ending song is different, and I do personally prefer the ending of encore over the original series. During the ending credits of encore, it shows different scenes of animation from that specific OVA episode.
Overall, Steel Angel Kurumi Encore is a great companion piece to the original Steel Angel Kurumi series and it’s a suitable epilogue that shows the lives of the steel angels after the main story is concluded. It gives a detailed analysis into the character traits of the main steel angels that flows into the aura of the original series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 30, 2026
Who knew that one simple kiss could bring so much action, affection and chaos in a little man’s life.
This simple premise is a great way of summing up an anime by the name of Steel Angel Kurumi.
Steel angel Kurumi focuses on the story of Nakahito, a young mystic with dormant powers who ends up breaking into a home on a dare from some of his friends and during his adventuring in this abandoned home he comes across an idle Kurumi who accidentally falls over him during a small quake and their lips accidentally meet which activates Kurumi’s maiden heart and Nakahito’s life changes
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forever when he finds out Kurumi will only obey the person who awakened her with a kiss much to the dismay of Kurumi’s creator, Dr. AyanoKoji
The Japanese imperial army wants to use the steel angels for their own personal use with regards to strengthening their military might, but Dr. Ayanokoji only created the steel angels to help assist humankind and does not want people to misuse his creation.
However, the Japanese imperial will stop at nothing to try to obtain Kurumi for themselves even if it means using other steel angels to apprehend her because she is much more unique than other steel angel due to her maiden heart Mk II. As we get further in the series and as more steel angels are introduced into the plotline, we see that there is another organization in the background that wants to stop Kurumi at all costs because she could cause the downfall of human existence but unfortunately it’s a plot point that doesn’t truly get addressed until close to the very end of the series.
The anime mixes a lot of different genres into its 24-episode run. It’s a nice casual mix of action, comedy, slice of life, harem, romance with a little tiny bit of fanservice. Ultimately, I think one of the biggest strengths of the anime is the length of each episode. Unlike a lot of other anime where the episodes run from 22 to 24 minutes, the episode length for this anime is only around 15 minutes. One of the strengths that comes with this is that the anime moves at a brisk pace and it keeps the flow of the story consistent without feeling bloated. Every episode keeps the story moving along without things feeling forced. It constantly jumps around the genres that it tries to exemplify. Some episodes are more action packed than others, some episodes are more comedic than others, and you even have some episodes that really fixate on some heartfelt character development on some of the characters so it’s not an anime that fixates on adapting to the same formulaic approach for each and every episode.
It’s not fair to say that the anime is revolutionary because it really isn’t. We’ve seen the trope of the main female character being sugary sweet, naïve and very obedient to her master in countless anime. I can draw comparisons to this anime from other anime works such as saber marionette J and ah my goddess, but this anime really has a nice addictive charm to it. Sure, Kurumi can be a bit annoying at times especially with calling Nakahito master all the time and being a bit of a crybaby when she doesn’t get her own way. However, when the action does happen Kurumi can be a powerful force to be reckoned with and even though the action isn’t going to blow you away I think it’s competently done and you get to see Kurumi unleash her true power at the end of the series which is a wonderful and dangerous sight to behold.
Another strength of this anime is the other main steel angel characters. As well as Kurumi, Nakahito must contend with other steel angels in his present company as he tries to uncover the secret of the steel angels and they try to rescue Dr. Ayanokoji. Saki and Karinka accompany Nakahito and Dr. Amagi and strangely enough these are two steel angels that Kurumi must battle herself before they become a part of Nakahito’s companions as they try to discover the secret of the steel angels.
Saki and Karinka bring their own flavour to this series with their unique personality traits. Saki is very soft-spoken and incredibly shy and is absolutely in love with Kurumi because Kurumi awakens her maiden heart with a kiss and then we have Karinka (my personal favourite) who is brash, hot-headed, easily angered, and very outspoken but has her share of adorable and cute moments since she starts to develop feelings for Nakahito.
Even if those aren’t enough steel angels for your liking, there are a wide array of steel angels from the antagonists that are willing to do anything and everything to stop Nakahito and this three steel angel companions from going through with their journey but unfortunately they don’t have as large of a presence as the three main steel angels from this series.
Another detriment to this anime though is the human characters aren’t really that engaging or even useful throughout the series. The main character especially, I’m really fighting to think of anything useful the main character Nakahito has done throughout the series except for the very end. Even in the beginning he doesn’t even truly grasp that Kurumi will only do things if Nakahito tells her to do it. It’s obviously a part of Kurumi’s program that she loves him and cares about hm unconditionally, but unfortunately Nakahito acts like a wet blanket throughout much of the series. Even the villains aren’t truly villains when you finally understand where the story is going and the motivation of the antagonists even though it comes from an unexpected place that may catch the viewer off guard.
The are some legitimate funny moments in the anime that truly made me laugh, the best comical moments came from Karinka. As to be expected when it comes to the steel angels, yes – you are going to see each of them naked at least once. However, the fan-service throughout the anime is brief and it’s not overly distracting but it almost felt like the animator had to add it in for the sake of adding it in even though there is really no reason for it.
Character designs are well done, and I like all the character designs for each of the steel angels. Their outfits are drastically different along with their hair styles and they complement their distinct personalities throughout the anime. By the end you’ll see why Kurumi lives up to the name of a steel angel.
The artwork is typical for 90’s anime and yet as shallow as the series can be it has an undeniable amount of charm that makes it an incredibly easy watch. The opening song is fine, it’s a little catchy showing the cuteness of each of the steel angels but the song itself wouldn’t be on my permanent song list of likable anime songs. Even the ADV English dub is surprisingly solid with a lot of voices matching the characters accurately. A lot of anime industry veterans lend their voice talents to this anime such as Monica Rial, Kira Vincent-Davis, and Hillary Haag.
Steel Angel Kurumi is one of many harem anime that can easily get lost in the shuffle of much more engaging and popular anime in the harem genre. It’s certainly a solid watch if you like a mix of different genres with regards to your anime taste. If you want something with a little action, Kurumi has got you covered. If you want something with a little humour, Karinka has got you covered. If you want some tender moments, Saki has got you covered. The short episodes will keep the viewer invested without making you feel like you’re trapped in a time sink. Give it a try, and I guarantee you’ll have a favourite steel angel by the time the madness ends.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 22, 2026
We’re jumping into the world of Di Gi Charat again with a short 8-episode adventure called Leave it to Piyoko.
Leave it to Piyoko focuses on Piyoko’s mission to kidnap princess Dejiko and hold her for random with the help of the black gema gema gang after the destruction of the main city Piyoko's home planet of Analogue but when it comes to the world of Di Gi Charat you kind of have expect to be bombarded into an innate amount of random noncoherent silliness.
Even though all 8 episodes are 15 minutes long nothing really happens for the most part. We must wait until
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episode 3 where Piyoko finally gets to interact with princess Dejiko but there are only 2 out of the 8 episodes where the focus is strictly focused on trying to kidnap the princess.
It’s very easy for Piyoko to get sidetracked throughout this little adventure but despite all the randomness you can forgive the anime for always abandoning the basic plot because it certainly makes up for it with some good humor.
The problem is that the humor is not nearly as sharp or smartly written as the original di gi charat series. There are some random laugh out loud moments, but they are few and far between and they’re not even focused on Piyoko herself but how her minions interact with her especially the health trio which consists of three characters (Rik, Ky, Coo) that are health professionals (veterinarian, dentist, and physician) that their sole duty is to be at Piyoko’s beck and call despite how frustrating that may be.
We do have the main characters (Dejiko, Puchiko, and Rabi-en-Rose) of the Di Gi Charat series who show up after episode 3 and they certainly save this series from being completely mundane and nonsensical even though they don’t show up as often as what I would have personally preferred.
There are some episodes that fare better than others. Episode 2 and Episode 7 are my personal favorites with regards to humour because they do have some of the best humor in this short little 8-episode series. Episode 2 focuses on Piyoko and her gang travelling to earth in a Panda style spaceship and episode 7 focuses on all the characters being transported to a different world based on a specific color where mindless shenanigans are rampant as all the characters try to find a way out
Episode 6 is strangely enough, a very heartfelt episode where we get to learn why Coo becomes a doctor and why he has a plushie around his neck which was a great break from the random silliness of Leave it to Piyoko.
We even have an episode focusing on how to draw the faces of the characters in Leave it Piyoko and each drawing tutorial comes with a silly song.
The art is fine for an early 2000’s OVA but it’s not going to blow you away. I’m not the biggest fan of the anime opening song but the ending song for this OVA series is nice to listen to.
It’s called Knighthood – Best Dream In The World.
The rest of the music is bland and generic, and you never really notice it throughout the short 8 episode adventure.
I do also want to add that the English dub of this anime adds some really good high tier English anime voice talent with Wendee Lee and Michelle Ruff lending their timeless talents to this short little adventure. When you have that high caliber English voice talent then you know the dub is going to be good even though the adventure may not be the most enjoyable.
Piyoko is not a strong enough presence by herself and she pales into comparison when it comes to main characters of Di Gi Charat, but while she lacks the strength of being a compelling character on her own individual merit, her true strength lies in her interactions with the always completely incompetent black gema gema gang and the original Di Gi Charat characters. I don’t personally think the anime is a complete waste of time especially if you want to enjoy more of the Di Gi Charat world, but it’s certainly a small step down from the timeless aspect of the original Di Gi Charat characters and the original Di Gi Charat television series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 21, 2026
I've always enjoyed anime that takes pride in taking the concept of a parody and really knowing how to milk every last bit of humor in this parody for all of it's worth. I often find that parodies can often work when they're completely unhinged and absolutely unbalanced which can really help the humor that it tries to exemplify.
This is strikingly the case when it comes to an anime known as Nurse Witch Komugi.
The basic premise of Nurse Witch Komugi is pretty much explained within the first minute of the very first episode. You have a bad guy (virus) from another world escapes
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and invades Earth, you have a goddess from that same world task a mascot to find an unsuspecting victim to imbued them with magical powers in order to fight against the bad guy. The unsuspecting victim is a cosplay girl by the name of Komugi that works for a talent agency and is in constant conflict with many of her fellow workers at that talent agency because they're always arguing over who does the most work and who gives the talent agency the most success much to the annoyance of Komugi's manager and the talent agency's president.
The funny thing with this anime is the anime doesn't really care about making the story as engaging as possible. It does a fine enough job of explaining to you who the main character is, who the side characters are and who the main villainess is but if you expect the story to be told in a competent fashion then your simply mistaken because for such a short 6 episode OVA - the anime strictly focuses on making each episode even more unhinged and zany as the last episode. However, the anime knows it's strength and for an anime that has this much humor it's never afraid to showcase it especially through very random and unexpected moments. The first two episodes start off with a very basic magical girl approach where the magical girl fights off the bad guy and saves the day. However, by the time you hit episode 2.5 then it takes the basic magical girl formula and throws it completely out the window because we see zany misadventure after zany misadventure. This anime parodies so much different anime throughout these 6 episodes that it never truly feels tiresome or monotonous. It seems like the parody target of choice is a multitude of many tatsunoko produced anime such as Tekkaman, Gatchaman, and Casshan. The callbacks and blatant references to these anime and the fact that Komugi and the main villainess Koyuri will even go out of their way to even dress like these characters throughout their battles eventually leads to very hilarious results.
The settings in which a lot of chaos happens throughout this anime is a welcome treat. You get to see hilarity at a Japanese shopping district, a nerd convention, and even an animation house in which Komugi is tasked with running the creation of an anime based on one of her cosplay characters which leads to some pretty unhinged moments. My personal favorite, you even have an episode where Komugi gets killed and becomes a ghost where nobody can see her and she gets to see and hear how everybody remembers her while constantly getting resurrected and killed again over and over again in very absurd ways.
There is always action to enjoy in this anime and it is surprisingly very engaging and very entertaining. Obviously being a magical nurse, you have a lot of over the top nurse based attacks to take advantage of.
You need to get around - Why not ride around on a giant syringe
Cause too much destruction in your battle - Use your nurse healing ability to return everything to normal as if nothing happened
You need weapons to fight the bad guys - Why not bring out a giant a scalpel or even better yet a giant pair of surgical scissors
Some days your fighting a giant mecha comprised out of a building with multiple subway cars being used as arms
Other days your fighting a magical maid and even worse a magical teacher.
However, you can't expect the villains to have the most detailed backstories especially within a short OVA. The main antagonist throughout the series is the magical maid Koyuri, but even stranger yet - Komuri is actually Komugi's best friend and when she transforms into Komugi's nemesis she has no memory of the transformation even happening or even fighting her best friend.
I really do enjoy the banter between Komugi and her fellow workers at the talent agency. She is constantly in a ruckus with her main competition at the talent agency Megumi. They're always insulting each other over their breast size with Komugi being flat chested while Megumi is incredibly busty. You even have the token mascot and sidekick Mugi-maru take any opportunity to check out Komugi if she is naked or taking a bath, despite the fact that this is the same sidekick that imbued Komugi with magical powers.
The anime does have fan-serivce but the moments of fan-service are mostly played for comedic effect and never overstay their welcome.
Despite the anime being made in the early 2000's, it has the luxury of adhering to the unhinged comedy of a 90's style OVA while using a beautiful color palette that was quite common in a lot of anime in the early to mid 2000's. It literally takes the best out of both decades to make the anime as visually appealing as it can.
The music on the other hand is kind of a let down. I'm personally not the biggest fan of the opening and ending tracks of the anime. They seem really sub-par and I really thought for how humorous the anime is, the opening and ending songs would of been a lot more high energy and a lot more sugary. Even the music used throughout each of the episodes is average at best with no stand out tracks. The only redeeming aspect of the music is in episode 2.5 where several of the characters have their own music videos, the songs are actually quite nice which means the music and sound design in this anime is not a total lost.
Being a fan of the English dubbing process and the fact that English dub of this anime came from ADV which are known for some pretty good dubs for a lot of anime in the late 1990's to the early 2000's - they certainly did an excellent job with the casting for the majority of the female characters especially the female protagonist because Komugi is a brash, over-excited, easily irritated magical girl and you certainly need an actress that can take advantage of highlighting many of these high energy personality traits.
Nurse Witch Komugi is definitely one of the better parody anime's that I've personally watched but unfortunately it's biggest fault is that it can be easily forgettable because she is not very well known in the realm of magical girl anime. It's absolutely a solid attempt at mixing magical girl with parody but even if it excels at being humorous (and it certainly does) it lacks the staying power to be fondly remembered in the anime world. However, it certainly left enough of an impact to get a remake in 2016 which I hope to check out soon.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 22, 2026
Despite being a huge fan of anime for 30 years, I do have other hobbies that truly help define the person I am. There are even hobbies that I still engage with that have been a part of my life even longer than the world of anime. I’ve been an avid gamer my entire life and my favorite genre of gaming for as long as I can remember has been the Japanese role-playing game.
I’ve always enjoyed anime that replicates the role-playing game genre regardless of if it’s an original property or an anime made from an actual jrpg property. When you understand the generic tropes
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that come from role playing games and you really play up to those tropes for comedic effect, it’s almost a guaranteed recipe for success if you understand the inner workings of the type of humor that you’re trying to portray.
I guess that is the best way to summarize why I found Dragon Goes House Hunting enjoyable. It’s truly an anime that even with its obscure presence, knows how to take the many tropes of the role-playing game genre and put some effective and laugh out loud comedy but a lot of the comedy may go over the head if you’re a casual person. However, if you’re well versed in the world of role-playing, you’ll understand many of the intricacies of a lot of the well-placed jokes and visual comedy gags throughout this entire adventure of a dragon trying to find a new dwelling to live in.
The plot of Dragon Goes House Hunting focuses on the character of Letty who is a very timid and cowardly red dragon that gets banned from his original dwelling due to allowing hunters to steal one of dragon’s eggs that he was supposed to be guarding. After unsuccessfully trying to navigate the outside world with everybody from hunters and heroes after his head, he eventually meets up with up with elf architect by the name Diaria who is a licensed real estate agent and much to his disdain he is also known as the current demon lord decides to make it his goal to help Letty find a new home. However, this isn’t the first time Diaria has had to assist a dragon as you’ll find out later throughout the short anime series. The first dragon Diaria had to help is responsible for some of the best comedic moments throughout the animated series. You must wait a bit before you get to see it, but it’s absolutely worth it.
The anime strictly focuses on the misadventures of Letty and Diaria with each episode for the most part focusing on a different type of dwelling that Diaria tries to recommend to the young timid dragon. However, no matter what Diaria tries to recommend, things simply don’t work out, and a lot of well-placed comedy happens throughout the ordeal of finding a new place to live in many of the episodes.
The biggest thing I really do enjoy about the comedic nature of this anime is how Diaria and Letty’s innocent quest to find Letty a suitable home often gets lost in translation in the sense that Letty often gets referred to as the Red Dragon Lord because so much unwanted destruction happens every time he tries to find a new home. Letty, however, is far from being a force to be reckoned with. He hates fighting and he hates conflict and constantly runs away from any danger. Despite his cowardly nature, he is a likable character throughout the series, and he truly has a good heart especially when halfway through the series he assumes the responsibility of being a surrogate parent to a birdlike creature by the name of pip. Trouble just seems to find him and much to his frustration – destruction just seems to follow him even though it’s never really his fault (in a roundabout way), sometimes it’s Diaria’s fault because he must use his destructive power to rescue Letty from the people that are constantly after him. So you have a dragon that everyone thinks is evil and deadly and you have an elf that couldn’t be bothered with having the label as a demon lord (he much enjoys being a real estate agent instead) which makes the general public think they are responsible for all this destruction around the countryside when it’s really just the people that are after them (heroes and hunters) that inexplicably cause some of the chaos.
It’s not until later in the series that you get some much-needed character development, especially with the character Diaria and why he is very devoted to helping this dragon find a home. The anime does have a ton of characters which are based on common creatures in role playing folklore such as dwarves, witches, goblins, succubus, skeletons, and so on and so forth but many of them only appear in one episode and you don’t hear from them again until many of them pop up again for a few seconds during the final few minutes of the anime.
One of the things that really works in the humor of this anime is that they take the generic role-playing game tropes and turn them completely upside down. For example, the generic heroes in this anime are the bad guys and many hilarious and destructive outcomes often befall them. It even goes so far to explain with hilarious outcomes why dwellings that dragons often occupy in the world of role-playing games such as castles, caves, fortresses, or secluded areas aren’t practical and can often be more trouble than what they’re worth.
With regards to the art, the artwork isn’t really going to blow you away but it’s more than adequate for a 2021 anime. I really do love the opening theme for this anime, it’s incredibly adorable and very light-hearted. It accompanies the animation for the opening adequately to show the viewer that you’re in for a very amusing and lighthearted adventure.
As a lover of English dubbing, I think the English dub is surprisingly good so it’s an anime that can be enjoyed either dubbed or subtitled.
Overall, Dragon Goes House Hunting is anime that is completely self-aware of what it’s doing. It takes such an obscure concept and focuses on making it funny while constantly making fun of the fantasy and roleplaying game genre. If you’re not into medieval fantasy or even role-playing games, then your milage out of this anime will vary. It never overstays its welcome, and each episode has its share of great hilarious moments. It’s one of the better comedic fantasy anime’s I’ve personally seen. It’s not going to win any awards, and it certainly doesn’t have that timeless memorable factor to it, but for such an obscure premise I think it’s more than serviceable for what is being provided.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 5, 2025
Do you love cats. I certainly do. I have been a loyal and loving cat owner since I was 24 years old thanks to my wife and from the day that I moved in with her there has never been an occasion where our home has not had a cat in it. I’m also a huge horror film fan so it seems natural that an anime that integrates two major loves of my life would be a winning combination with regards to my love of anime. Well kind of/sort of.
Nyaight of the Living Cat is a parody anime that borrows heavily from multiple
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live action zombie films that are critically acclaimed by horror fans and adds a hilarious twist to the zombie genre. In Nyaight of the Living Cat, a virus is released in the world that turns people into cats, and if a human is unlucky enough to be licked or cuddled by a cat then they turn into a cat themselves and thus the Nyandemic is brought upon this world and it’s up to a bunch of human survivors to try their best to survive the nyandemic despite the fact that the survivors are all cat lovers and it’s very hard for them to resist the urge to show affection to a cat and they even have to deal with the harsh realization that they can’t even bring harm to a cat even as the nyandemic continues to infect more and more people. The best they can do is bring slight discomfort to a cat and even that can be horrible to endure for some of the human characters. The story fixates on a small group of human survivors as they navigate the world through the nyandemic while they try to resist the irresistible charm of what makes cats so loveable.
The key point to take with an anime such as this is that to have any sense of appreciation and enjoyment with regards to this anime is you absolutely need to love cats. If you don’t love cats, then you’re not going to enjoy this anime. It’s going to come across as overly obnoxious when you’re bombarded with cats every step of the way. As a person that has watched many zombie movies, I do appreciate the many references to live action zombie movies and during the ending credits you get cat parody versions of zombie movie posters which add to the charm of this anime.
For someone that loves cats and loves horror, you would figure that this anime would be a home run hit for me personally in some ways it is, but in other ways it isn’t. The biggest weakness of this anime is the human character element, but you really must take the human character element of this anime with a grain of salt because it’s such an obscure premise to begin with. The main characters throughout this anime, Kunagi and Kaoru aren’t the most interesting or engaging characters out there. Both characters are workers at a cat café when the outbreak begins. Kunagi’s over the top reactions when he must fight against the kitty horde aren’t cool or engaging but they’re borderline annoying. To be honest, the side characters are much more entertaining because you get a ton of different characters with all kinds of different abilities to distract or stall the kitty horde such as water, kitty toys, and catnip. Don’t pick your favourite character too quickly because you never really know if they’re going to stick around very long or if they end up turning into a cat.
For those that wonder if there is any animal cruelty in this anime. There is absolutely none, so if you’re a cat lover and you don’t want to see kitties get hurt then you’ll be happy to know that no fictitious kitties are harmed in the making of this anime. It seems so counterintuitive that you’re making a zombie parody except the zombies are cats and you have no way of taking care of the cats permanently which means that throughout the entire anime, the kitty horde continues to increase while the human survivors start to decrease.
The action is serviceable at best, but the biggest problem I have with this anime is pretty much the problem that I have with most zombie films. I want to see as much kitty chaos as possible, especially during the beginning stages of the outbreak. I’ve always been a big fan of the first ten minutes of the dawn of the dead remake from 2004 just because it shows the neighborhood chaos during the very start of the zombie outbreak and I kind of wish we had that in this anime. We see as the outbreak starts to happen in the cat café and then we have a few episodes where the survivors are held up in a grocery store with small tidbits of kitty chaos in the city, but then after that then we have a humorous survival story where the survivors are on a hunt for supplies and they eventually find a fortress to protect them during the nyandemic. That plot is typical in most zombie stories and to be honest it’s kind of been done to death. I want my initial kitty chaos.
The animation is fine for a current anime but it’s not going to blow you out of the water. However, both opening and ending themes are incredibly catchy and if you’re a cat lover you can’t help but meow with the cats during the theme songs.
You really want to watch this anime for all the cute kitty shenanigans. You get to see cats of all different types, shapes and sizes and even though they’re the enemy that the human characters must avoid at all costs – you can’t help but make the aww sound when you see the kitties chasing after human characters and many kitties make repeat appearances throughout this 12-episode adventure.
Ultimately, this anime is an anime for cat lovers. If you don’t love cats, then your mileage out of this anime can vary widely from the audience this anime is aimed for. It’s a nice little parody for those who love cats but for those who love horror because it is a lot of fun to see the many references to horror films that are used in this anime to humorous effect. The anime even takes great care at the very end of the end credits to offer some tips and tricks on how to be a responsible cat owner. Just don’t expect much in the way of closure because by the end of this season – you get more questions than answers – but it just keeps you invested on what to expect out of the next season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 20, 2025
The wonderful world of high school. It can be such a minefield to navigate, especially if you’re a very shy and introverted student, but if you can surround yourself with good people and stick to your principles then you might be proud of yourself for everything you’ve accomplished, and you might even find love in the process.
This is pretty much the plotline of Kimi Ni Todoke where we look at the life of Kuronoma Sawako who often gets called Sadako because her appearance resembles the appearance of the girl character from the Ring movies. It’s because of this creepy name that many students have
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this opinion of her that she dabbles in mysticism and they don’t want anything to do with her because of her creepy appearance. However, you’ll find out that she is nothing like that and that she is incredibly sweet and kind despite being very timid and shy. From the very first episode, Sawako meets a boy by the name of Kazehaya Shouta who talks to her normally and encourages her to be a lot more open and try to make some friends. His kindness and admiration to her helps her navigate through the many pitfalls of high school while they slowly develop feelings for each other as hard as it is for them to admit that to each other throughout this anime.
The biggest strength for me personally in this anime is the main character, Sawako. She is absolutely somebody I can relate to on a personal level. For me, in my life I was a very shy and introverted kid that struggled to make friends all throughout high school so it put me in a position where I would do anything I could to get people to like me. I would often volunteer to do tasks so nobody else would have to do it. The relatability towards the main character is really what kept me interested in this anime, and it’s nice to see that for every obstacle that she overcame when it came to finding herself it helped her evolve as a person to the point that she maintained some good friendships with some of the other main characters in this story. This anime really does benefit from having a small cast and it doesn’t suffer from too many characters syndrome. We not only get to see some of the struggles of Sawako, but we get to see some good heartfelt stories from some of Sawako’s friends. The anime is smart enough to not overbear Sawako on the audience too much while giving ample opportunity for other characters to evolve throughout the story.
I think the anime does a really good job of showing how harsh high school can be. Even though the anime has a bit of a light-hearted carefree approach it’s nice to see interpersonal conflicts and how they can negatively affect a person. Some of the things that we see are malicious unfounded rumors, physical abuse, popularity contests, body positivity among other things which are often common in high school life. We even have a romantic rival that personally wants Kazuhaya to herself and is willing to do whatever it takes to get his attention even if it means using horrible mind games towards Sawako. If you want people to relate to your story, then you can’t be afraid to show how hurtful and malicious high school life can be.
Even though I did enjoy the main character of this anime, I can wholeheartedly admit that this anime isn’t really designed for a person like me. I think this anime is more suited for a high school audience or an audience in their early 20’s where it’s far easier to relate to the characters and the story that this anime tries to encompass. The biggest issue for me personally is the pacing. The anime is 25 episodes long and despite the length of this anime not much really gets resolved by the end of it. The anime does get stuck on certain plot points that take far too long to resolve when it could have easily been resolved in one episode. One day in this anime can last as long as 3 to 4 episodes and there is really no need for it. It can be really aggravating when you’re waiting for specific plot points to be resolved so it can push the story forward. This series can be relatively boring and there is not much with regards to humor or excitement to keep the viewer engaged. It really does take a long time for anything to truly develop, and I hate to say it because for all the nice build-up this anime has, nothing really gets resolved by the end of it even though it gives the viewer the perception that something is going to happen. It’s nice to see that both Sawako have come to terms with their feelings but it kind of feels fruitless if we can’t see the result of all this build-up. It not only applies to both Sawako and Kazuhaya but to the other characters as well. Maybe things will get better resolved in the other seasons but only time will tell.
Art wise, the art is fine. The art in the anime itself is basic for its time and doesn’t really stand out because there aren’t many different environments that are utilized. Many of the scenes either take place at the high school, in somebody’s room or house, or the recreation field outside the high school. I will give the art of the anime a lot of credit especially during the final few episodes where we have scenes take place during Christmas and the upcoming new year. The scenes where Kazuhaya and Sawako interact when they go to a shrine for a New Year’s Eve celebration is animated very beautifully especially when it comes to the snowfall. It’s also during this final storyline where Sawako looks at her most beautiful. The way her friends help with her hair and make-up brings out a beauty in her that we never get to see and it absolutely increases her cuteness level. It’s a nice way to show the viewer how much Sawako has evolved as a character over the 25-episode length because even though she is still shy and introverted, she has established lifelong friendships, and she is much more comfortable with her feelings. The scenes used in the opening and ending of the anime is where the art is much different because it uses a gentle water colour pallet to design the characters in a very alternative way.
The music unfortunately is not very memorable regardless of if it’s the opening song or the ending song or the music used throughout the story. It is fitting for the aura of the anime but most times I couldn’t really be bothered with it.
Kimi Ni Todoke is one of the better slice of life stories that I’ve personally watched even though slice of life anime is not really my favourite anime genre. Its ultimate strength is having a wonderful main character that you really want to cheer for as you see her go through a wide range of emotions as she is navigating high school. However, it is incredibly boring and very poorly paced, so unless you’re a fan of slice of life anime this may be a bit of a challenge to get through, so you need to be patient when the good moments actually happen. In time I’ll get around to watching the additional seasons, but I certainly hope the other seasons have a much better sense of closure than what the first season did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 21, 2025
In the world of anime, you can often find a lot of compelling stories across a wide variety of sports. Sometimes the true strength of a lot of these anime is not in the sports they represent but how much work they put into the characters to humanize them and show the many struggles they must endure to excel at the sport that is being showcased in that specific anime. For this review we are looking at the wonderful world of Tennis.
Aim for the Ace 2 is a story that takes place three years after the original series where Hiromi Oka has already succeeded
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as Japan’s junior champion, and she moves onto her next challenge in her life. However, the biggest challenge she must endure throughout this OVA has nothing to do with the tennis court. Her biggest challenge is dealing with her own feelings and her own purpose when an unexpected death to someone important to her happens that absolutely crushes her emotionally. She starts to question everything in her life to the point that she has completely lost interest in her love of Tennis and doesn’t see the point in continuing. It’s really a painful path of discovery and redemption for her as her friends help her navigate through this tragedy while many of her friends deal with their own feelings as they’re personally trying to deal with this unexpected tragedy as well.
You’d be very surprised with this OVA is that there isn’t a lot of Tennis matches in it. We have some Tennis matches as Hiromi plays in an American tournament against a lot of other younger tennis proteges from different countries in the first few episodes of this anime and then we have a few tennis matches at the very end of this OVA as Hiromi enters an all Japan tennis tournament as a test of endurance and personal growth to see how much she has improved after suffering so much from such a tragedy in her life which resulted in her being in a very frail and very emotionally unstable state.
At the very beginning of this anime, Hiromi is a Tennis powerhouse. Through the diligent and stern training of her coach Jin Munukata. The anime does take great care in making sure Hiromi is not unbelievably invincible when it comes to tennis. Even during this tournament in America, the creators make sure that she doesn’t win the entire thing but get far enough where she can be proud of herself for what she has accomplished when it comes to her skill in the world of Tennis. With every tennis match she is in she doesn’t win every match that she plays but I really appreciate that because it humanizes the main character throughout this main story and no matter if she wins or loses, she tries to take something positive out of the experience. When the tennis action does happen, it is animated incredibly beautifully. There is so much detail put into each of the tennis matches regardless if it’s the very intense back and forth play between Hiromi and her opponents, seeing Ranko’s cannonball serve and how Hiromi has a difficult time trying to return it, to even seeing these beautiful racquet shots catch the corner in order to score and secure a very important point. I will stress though that the tennis action is very sparse but when the tennis action does happen, it absolutely delivers.
This story is about watching Hiromi evolve as a person through an unspeakable tragedy that absolutely crushes her emotionally to the point where she doesn’t even want to play tennis anymore. While she wallows in extreme sadness, all the tennis skills she has developed have completely disappeared and she literally must learn how to play professionally again since mourning the death of a specific character has kept her off the tennis court for a very long time. We as the viewer get to feel her pain through each episode, and we want her to endure and overcome the unrelenting sadness that is in her heart. Throughout this anime, we see firsthand that the emotional journey that she must overcome is not an easy one. Furthermore, there are other characters in this anime that are deeply affected by this tragedy as well and we get to see their personal journey’s on how they all each overcame this character’s death even though it’s not done as much detail as it is with regards to Hiromi’s personal journey. I do appreciate the maturity of the story because it is a very compelling drama with a lot of heart to it.
The animation for this late 1980’s OVA is incredibly well done and there is so much detail put into character designs especially when it comes to very specific movements on the tennis court. There are even multiple occasions when a very impactful emotional scene happens, or an impactful action scene is just about to happen, and it switches to a very colorful and very well drawn animation still. It’s ultimately a true testament to the level of art that this OVA exemplifies. The music is very melancholy and surreal to match the emotional weight of this story. There isn’t much in the way of very high energy tracks when it comes to the music. I personally think the anime does an excellent job matching the music to many of the tender emotional moments of the story. The opening theme has a very positive vibe to it that gets us to cheer for Hiromi through every episode.
The voice acting is top notch with each Japanese voice actor putting in their absolute best effort to show the wide range of emotions that many of the characters will endure during their own personal journey.
This sports anime is much more focused on being a very compelling drama instead of fixating on the sport of tennis without being overly obnoxious about it. We do have enough tennis throughout the anime to keep the sports enthusiasts satisfied but at its core the second season of Aim for the Ace is really a character study on how tragedy can cause a wide range of emotions with each person all depending on the personal relationship that each person has had with the character that has unfortunately passed away. There are no antagonists or protagonists throughout this Ova’s story, but what we get to see is how such a large ensemble cast can evolve through such a traumatic event, and they all become better individuals because of that. We may not have any winners or losers by the time this story ends, but what we have is a bunch of characters that have learned to live past the tragedy and keep forging the best path forward for themselves and what they strive for not only in the world of tennis, but also their own personal ambitions while honoring and respecting the character that has unfortunately passed away.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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