Makoto moves to a small town to live with his aunt while his parents are away, and meets his cousin Erio, who claims to be an alien and walks around wrapped in a futon. He forms a harem with two other girls, Maekawa and Ryuuko, and embarks on a quest to gain as many puberty points as possible.

Denpa Onna is cuteness overload, and this is the show’s main draw. Erio is sparkly and acts like a little kid, Ryuuko more or less is a little kid, and Maekawa’s main task is dressing up in random cute costumes. Makoto’s aunt is also disturbingly cute (see the image below). If you are obsessed with all things moe, you’ll love Denpa Onna.

If you aren’t… well, it still has its good points. It’s a SHAFT show, and Shinbo has managed to tone down his style to levels where it complements the story rather than dominates it.

As for the characters, most of them are excuses for more cuteness. Maekawa, Makoto’s aunt and Ryuuko are definitely entertaining to watch, although they aren’t particularly deep or anything. Erio really annoyed me though. She really starts out as nothing more than a moeblob who gets carried around wrapped in her futon in her cousin’s bicycle basket. She develops some over the course of the story… but not much.

The male lead, Makoto, is an improvement over your usual spineless harem protagonist. For one thing, he can hold his own in a conversation (he plays the tsukkomi). In addition, he’s a bit cynical and recognizes how boring he is in his accounting of the puberty points he earns each episode.

The dialog is fast paced and witty, as expected from SHAFT. As for the plot, we get to see a bit of Erio leaving her shell, but otherwise there isn’t much. The focus really is the cuteness.

• Plot / Script – 8 / 10 – Fast and witty script from SHAFT, not much of a plot.
• Characters – 7  / 10 – Moeblobs, but still entertaining (aside from Erio).
• Production – 9  / 10 – The usual SHAFT stylistic effects, but managed not to go overboard.
• Overall – C

Recommendations – Bakemonogatari, Haruhi, Arakawa Under the Bridge

Astarotte no Omocha is about a succubi princess, Lotte, who lives in a magical world. She employs a human, Naoya, in her harem so that she can gain magical energies by drinking his juices when she becomes an adult. Naoya also happens to be the father of Lotte’s step-sister who moves in with them at the castle.

I wasn’t initially impressed by Astarotte no Omocha, but I decided to continue watching it. The people who’d read the manga seemed to be saying that the story became something touching involving family as it wore on. Even if it didn’t seem great from the get go, everything was done passably well. The characters and premise were… unique, to say the least, and the story could have had some potential.

Unfortunately, the rumored touching story never materialized, and it turned into a rather unremarkable harem show. I suppose the story did involve family… as in, it tried to develop a romance between a little girl and her stepfather. There are different cultural norms and all, but I feel like I should draw a line somewhere. The touching part of the story, I guess, is about Lotte growing up and becoming a woman… or not, as it is revealed in a bizarre anti-climax in the final episode where it turns out that everything was a misunderstanding resulting from a mosquito bite.

In addition to the problematic story, at least half of the show’s “jokes” surround a little girl not wearing underwear. To make matters worse, the lead character is a little girl voiced by Rie Kugimiya. Lotte is a vast improvement over both Rose from Dragon Crisis and Aria from Hidan no Aria, but still, she’s annoying. The other characters seem like they could be interesting, but never really get a chance to shine. Most of Lotte’s castle staff end up becoming glorified errand boys.

With all that said, if you can look past the premise and the plot (or lack thereof) Astarotte no Omocha isn’t terrible. For one thing, I wasn’t bored while watching it. The show managed to mostly keep my attention, and it used its time effectively. The stories are somewhat episodic in nature, and each of the shorter stories were interesting, even if everything didn’t come together as a whole.

But Astarotte no Omocha also isn’t particularly good. And herein lies the crux of the problem: the show lacks ambition. The creators seemed to set out to make a passable story, not an excellent one, and they succeeded. There were no real risks taken: everything is done by the book. I’d much rather watch a show like [C], which at least had some interesting ideas, even if it did end  in a spectacular explosion of nonsense. Astarotte no Omocha takes the safe path, and ends up the lesser for it.

• Plot / Script – 5 / 10 – Unambitious, although the script kept my interest.
• Characters – 5 / 10 – Only the three main characters really get their turn in the spotlight… and all that comes from that is learning that one doesn’t like wearing underwear, one isn’t sure about whether or not he should date his stepdaughter, and the third is a loli voiced by Rie Kugimiya.
• Production – 6 / 10 – Average, like everything else.
• Overall – D-

Recommendations – Hayate no Gotoku, other Rie Kugimiya series if you like that stuff (Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima, etc.)

While Ganta is sitting in class, drearily staring out the window, a man in red clothes appears before him, floating in midair. He breaks through the window, and kills all of Ganta’s classmate. Ganta is accused of the crime, and sentenced to prison in Deadman Wonderland, a prison which doubles as an amusement park where spectators watch death row inmates compete for a lease on life. Ganta soon learns that he has become a Deadman, who can activate powers using his blood, and must fight against other deadmen in underground fights to survive.

The world of Deadman Wonderland is cruel. All the characters have to deal with unbelievable shit. In just the first episode, the main character’s entire class gets murdered, he is sentence to death, and his defense lawyer turns out to have been the prison warden. Body pieces get chopped off like nobody’s business. Ganta is forced to fight in death matches, where if the loser survived they play a penalty game of losing a body part by roulette wheel. It’s a dog eat dog world.

With the shounenesque superpower and tournament setup, I was initially worried that Deadman Wonderland would devolve into some sort of power leveling competition where the power of friendship won. Fortunately these fears were completely unfounded. The games to stay alive are forgotten after the first few episodes. There are the underground battles, but the focus isn’t really the fighting but the characters: there’s some drama surrounding both of Ganta’s matches, and he ends up befriending both of the people he fights. The real foci of the show lie in revealing the secrets of the prison and showcasing the inhuman cruelty of both the prisoners and management.

Deadman Wonderland has some strong characterizations: Ganta’s fellow prisoners are twisted beyond belief due to their environment, but still maintain some level of human decency. Shiro and Hummingbird, two of the female characters, initially seem cute and innocent, but their darker sides are later revealed. Some of the strongest characters, from my perspective, are the show’s villains. These guys redefine what it means to be evil. Especially the promoter who acts as Ganta’s defense lawyer, he is messed up beyond belief.

Unfortunately, Deadman Wonderland’s biggest weakness is its protagonist Ganta. In a show filled with ridiculous levels of cruelty and badassery, this guy is just pathetically weak. And to make matters worse, he spends half the show whining about how weak he is.

Aside from Ganta, though, Deaman Wonderland made quite a strong showing. It had some great characters and explored the depths of human darkness. It really needs a second season though— let’s hope it gets one.

• Plot / Script – 9 / 10 – Excellent dark setting.
• Characters – 8 / 10 – Ganta is pathetic, otherwise interesting.
• Production – 8 / 10 – Serves its purpose, not stellar.
• Overall – B-

Recommendations – Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Higurashi, Mirai Nikki (manga, but getting animated in the fall, can’t wait!)