Okay, this review of three 아니메 shows doesn’t really have anything to do with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but I thought I’d include an inspiring quote from this great American hero:
    “Darkness cannot drive our darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only 사랑 can do that.”
    Good words. Now, on with the shows! As always, there may be spoilers:

Inu x Boku Secret Service—A short little series about a group of people partially descended from monsters of Japanese folklore. They all live together at this high rise building. No, it’s not like a special needs “home”, 더 많이 like an apartment complex. Half of the population are just residents; the other half are their personal bodyguards.
    Ririchiyo, a rude girl who regrets her rudeness, moves in, and is assigned Miketsukami as her bodyguard. He fawns over her; he seems to adore her. And what she at first thought was a 심장 problem she realizes is actually the growth of love. Ririchiyo steels herself to confess her feelings to Miketsukami. Then she finds out he has A Past. Will 사랑 wither and die?
    The first half of the series, which seemed to concentrate on introducing eccentric characters, I didn’t fully “get”. Something seemed off. But when the ending rolled around, I was swept off my feet. Let’s just say things aren’t left hanging and 당신 never find out if Ririchiyo and Miketsukami become an official couple 또는 not. So many 아니메 shows do that—leave 당신 hanging…

School Days—If you’re looking for a nostalgic portrait of Japanese high school life, go watch To Heart. School Days is the most sick and twisted 아니메 I’ve seen so far, and I’ve seen Paranoia Agent, Zetman, and Death Note. School Days even has moments of pure comedy—like during the school festival, where the staffs of the maid café, the “little sister” café, and the zombie café declare war on each other. But all that’s just a deception to hide the true darkness underlying this series.
    It starts out innocently enough. Makoto, a high school boy, likes this girl named Katsura, so his female friend, Sekai, hooks them up. Sekai secretly loves Makoto, so why is she doing this? Is she a saint? She’s not. Pretty soon, she’s offering Makoto the chance to “practice” on her what he wants to do with Katsura. And pretty soon, he likes Sekai 더 많이 than Katsura. Only he can’t bring himself to tell Katsura that he wants to break up with her. So Katsura keeps on insisting to her catty classmates that Makoto is her boyfriend. Then, at the school festival, a third girl enters the picture. Then more. Makoto is sharing his new sexual prowess with any girl who wants a ride.
    But there’s a lesson to all this, a redeeming value. For Makoto will learn the hard way he shouldn’t have placed his lust over common decency. And that “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
    The show is sick, but not as graphic as 당신 might think. Sex isn’t explicit, and there’s only a little profanity. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this show. After seeing the last episode, I felt like I either needed a long 샤워 또는 that I needed to throw up.

Steins;Gate—This is a thriller about the consequences of time travel, though at first it seems to be about nuking bananas in the microwave. Don’t worry, the show takes off. Rintaro Okabe, also known as Okarin, also known as Hououin Kyouma, likes to think of himself as a mad scientist and heads the tiny Future Gadget Lab. With him are Daru, a hacker with the physique of The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy, and Mayuri, a cheerful childhood friend of Okarin who is like a little sister to him. Joining the original trio is bonafide scientist Kurisu Makise, who Okarin likes to call Christina just to irk her.
    The lab members and some of their 프렌즈 play around with sending text messages to the past. Time changes around them, and only Okarin notices the differences and remembers the worlds that were before. Okarin also finds out about the future—that it is a bleak place. The mysterious John Titor texts him and asks him to be the world’s savior, something that freaks Okarin out so much that he…well, he shrugs it off. For now.
    And then a traitor 총 down Mayuri. In a desperate attempt to save her, Okarin travels back in time. But no matter how many times he travels, Mayuri keeps dying, in a variety of ways, sometimes at the hand of the traitor, and sometimes 의해 pure accident. It’s enough to drive a would be mad scientist truly insane.
    Finally, Okarin finds a plan to save Mayuri. But even now, there are consequences—saving Mayuri means another dear friend must die…
    I loved this show—the banter between the characters, the twists, the wonder of time travel, and the angst, but what really made the show for me was Okarin himself. He is one of the most fascinating characters in all of anime. Anytime he was on the screen, my eyes were riveted to it. He’s apparently a virgin. He’s funny—he has a maniacal laugh appropriate to a mad scientist, he talks to himself on an unconnected phone, and he has a warped sense of humor. But, as one character points out to him, “Underneath that talk about ‘world dom’, you’re really just a softie.” Okarin, in reality, cares deeply about his friends, and would do anything to save them.
    Plus, did I mention he’s cute? I’m seriously crushing on this guy!