Hikari Hikari

13

R+

Berserk: Ougon Jidai-hen - Memorial Edition

Fleeing a traumatic childhood, lone mercenary Guts drifts from battle to battle, striking down powerful enemies with his unwieldy sword. After one skirmish, Guts clashes with the mystifying Griffith and his small army known as the Band of the Hawk. The victorious Griffith drafts Guts into his ranks, granting the swordsman a kinship unlike anything he has ever known. Alongside the skilled warrior Casca, Guts helps Griffith guide the band to fame and glory. But as he gains military prestige, Griffith becomes the target of assassination attempts and political schemes. He uses Guts to further his ambitious rise to power, taking advantage of the swordsman's lack of aspiration. Even as he grows closer to Casca, Guts' absence of direction robs him of any sense of belonging. Fostering opposing desires, Guts and Casca fight for Griffith's dream—although fractures forming among the trio threaten to disrupt their world.

TV Fall 2022 7.89

13

R+

Gokukoku no Brynhildr

Venturing into the wilderness, the skeptical Ryouta Murakami and the ambitious Kuroneko were on a quest to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life when a tragic accident occurred, reaping Kuroneko of her life and leaving Ryouta in a critically injured state. Ten years have passed since the disaster, and Ryouta is now living a normal life in high school. He vows to prove that aliens are real in honor of his late friend. A transfer student named Neko Kuroha unexpectedly arrives one day, bearing a striking resemblance to the late Kuroneko—even sharing a similar name. Most mysteriously, she seems to possess supernatural powers. As Ryouta takes more interest in Neko, he is drawn into a deadly world where dangerous scientists hunt magic-wielding witches that have escaped from their secret research laboratory. Neko is one of these escapees, but there are many others who are in similar situations, and it's up to Ryouta to protect them from their would-be captors.

TV Spring 2014 6.85

25

PG-13

Chihayafuru

As a child, Chihaya Ayase had only one dream: to see her elder sister Chitose become Japan's most successful model. However, upon defending her ostracised classmate Arata Wataya from his bully—Chihaya's childhood friend Taichi Mashima—she discovers the world of competitive karuta and soon becomes enamoured with the sport. Based on the Ogura Hundred Poets anthology, this card game where poems are studied requires excellent memory, agility, and a tremendous endurance from the players. Full of hope, Chihaya joins the Shiranami Society together with the newly reconciled Arata and Taichi, embarking on an exciting journey for the title awarded to the top-ranked female player—Queen of Karuta. Since middle school, Chihaya grew distant from a dispassionate Taichi and separated from Arata. However, in order to improve her skills, Chihaya decides to create a karuta club in her high school. With the help of Taichi, another veteran player, and a few spirited newcomers, Chihaya's new-founded Mizusawa Karuta Club aims for victory in the Omi Shrine's national championship.

TV Fall 2011 8.18

25

PG-13

Chihayafuru 2

Chihaya Ayase is obsessed with developing her school's competitive karuta club, nursing daunting ambitions like winning the national team championship at the Omi Jingu and becoming the Queen, the best female karuta player in Japan—and in extension, the world. As their second year of high school rolls around, Chihaya and her fellow teammates must recruit new members, train their minds and bodies alike, and battle the formidable opponents that stand in their way to the championship title. Meanwhile, Chihaya's childhood friend, Arata Wataya, the prodigy who introduced her to karuta, rediscovers his lost love for the old card game.

TV Winter 2013 8.38

Rx

26

7.74