Anime Roundup

It's time for another Anime Roundup!

Assassination Classroom

An octopus-like alien destroys most of the moon, then threatens to destroy Earth. But first, he wants to...be a junior high teacher? And his students are tasked with killing him? And it turns out that he's actually a really good teacher? I'm telling you, I don't know where some of these manga and anime creators get their premises from, but they are usually genius (despite how bonkers-sounding some of them may be). I have to admit, I wasn't too sure about this one at first, but it quickly grew on me.

Shangri-La Frontier

A high school student and expert video gamer starts playing an immersive VRMMORPG (virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game, say that ten times fast) and, well, continues to play it. A large portion of most episodes are basically battles that make the viewer feel as if they're actually watching someone play an action RPG, which is more entertaining than it sounds (people really do this, A LOT, in case you weren't aware. Second Player Score's bass player used to play games on our Twitch Channel). The stakes are generally low and there are some vague storylines happening on the fringes that involve the makers of the game and another gamer who has a crush on the main character, but that's not really why we're here, now, is it?

Chainsmoker Cat

In a world (yes, you have to say it in that voice) where "beast-folk" (basically, cat-people) live amongst "regular" humans, one cat-woman struggles to pay rent and stay employed while dealing with her serious cigarette-smoking addiction. The show, which usually consists of several vignettes per episode, is crude and gross but also funny, especially when it introduces a stressed-out human manga artist who I desperately hope is based on the actual artist who created the manga that the show is based on. Bonus points for amazingly catchy theme songs, and also for how the show makes you feel like your life is nowhere near as bad in comparison.

Sparks of Tomorrow

A story about an alternate history where steam power remained the dominant form of energy and electricity never really took off, this one contains all the classic elements: a MacGuffin (object that everyone is after), betrayal, romance, a cackling bad guy, twists, action, humor, and a big climactic finish. Also, robots (albeit crude ones). My favorite episode, though, is the one in the middle of the season where three of the female characters form a band and write and perform some seriously METAL songs.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1

Normally, I don't include subsequent seasons or movies of shows that I've already covered (with a few exceptions), but I had to mention this one, which is the first of three films that will wrap up the final arc of the Demon Slayer story. I originally did not know how many parts there would be, but halfway through this one I said out loud to my TV, "There is no way this is going to wrap up any time soon." And, I mean, if you're at all familiar with this anime or the manga it's based on, that should come as no surprise, since Upper Rank Demons (the show's bad guys) are REALLY INCREDIBLY HARD to kill. Like, really. Can't wait for Part 2!