You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 4 years old before posting.

Please consider that this article is over 6 years old before starting a discussion.

You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 7 years old before posting.

Character Sketches

May 8th 2002

Ryoko

Azumi

Hitomi

Kusanagi

Miyuki

Nagumo

Kamiya

back to Real Bout High School
Feature homepage / archives

review

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Volumes 11-16 Manga Review

Apr 8, 12:00 manga

Whether Iruma’s changing the Netherworld or the Netherworld was always more “human” than ours, the root of the story is the same: you don’t need to go it alone. ― Welcome to Iruma-kun's longest arc thus far – the Harvest Festival. Unlike the Battler arc and the upcoming Music Festival arc, this one doesn't really have an analogous real-world school event, although I suppose you could make an argument...

your score

Your Anime Rankings - Best of Winter 2026

Apr 8, 11:10 anime

Journal With Witch is the uncontested winner of the season, but Sentenced to Be a Hero finishes on the strongest possible note to secure itself a last-minute bump in the cumulative. Check out last season's final verdict! ― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season, based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews and on the Your Score page with t...

interest

12 comments

Live-Action One Piece Series Gets Animated LEGO Special

Apr 7, 12:20

12 comments

animation

2-part special streams on Netflix on September 29 ― One Piece is no stranger to LEGO, with multiple official LEGO sets available for fans to recreate Eiichiro Oda's long-running pirate saga. But the series is about to land on new shores with Netflix's latest announcement of a two-part "Lego One Piece" animated special that will stream on the service on September 29. Netflix and the official YouTube c...

review

Drops of God: Mariage Volume 11-13 Manga Review

Apr 7, 12:00 manga

To truly be worthy of the Drops of God, Shizuku and Issei have traveled the world through cuisine. Now they will take on the complex and delicious Chinese table. ― We're heading into the last battle to determine if either Shizuku or Issei is worthy of even searching for “The Drops of God.” Volume 11 into 12 just hits it out of the park, with a perfect play of the best of this series. Also, that is a ...

column

9 comments

This Week in Anime - Award Winning™

Apr 7, 10:00

9 comments

anime

Are awards shows just performative acts of self-reflected glory? Coop and Sylvia discuss. ― Are awards shows just performative acts of self-reflected glory? Coop and Sylvia discuss. The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Crunchyroll streams Apocalypse Hotel. Amazon Prime streams ...

1 comment

Manta Launches Manga!

Apr 7, 09:00

1 comment

manga

Global webcomics platform Manta is bringing manga to its platform, expanding its content offering to include titles like WIND BREAKER, Medalist, and more! ― Manta Launches Manga Webcomics and Serialized Webnovels, Now Manga — Building an ‘All-in-One Story Platform’ Secures Popular IP Such as The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, WIND BREAKER, and Medalist; Global Fandom Expansion in Full SwingOn ...

review

7 comments

Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior Anime Series Review

Apr 6, 12:00

7 comments

anime

The villainess leanings of the anime’s story make for a charming watch, imperfect as it all is. ― A lot of fantasies and fairy tales treat their villains more as obstacles than real characters. They're generally vile beings whose sole purpose is to cast curses, poison apples, and eventually get thwacked by the good guys. The reverse, I think, is part of the appeal of villainess isekai. We want to see...

column

18 comments

Answerman - Is Makio from Journal with Witch Neurodivergent, or Are We Just Projecting?

Apr 6, 10:00

18 comments

anime

Journal with Witch touched a lot of viewers and offered a relateable character in Makio. But are we just projecting Western views on a Japanese creation? Jerome gets into it. ― A Reader asks: Dear Answerman, I'm obsessed with Journal with Witch this season. It feels so much more 'real' than the usual high school dramas, but I've noticed some heated debates online. Some fans are calling the protagoni...

column

5 comments

This Week in Mobile Games - Obey Me On The Holy Night

Apr 6, 09:00

5 comments

games

Could the Idolm@ster games finally be getting an English release? Nothing is certain, but it's an exciting possibility! Also introducing the new Maiden's Corner feature, focusing on otome games! ― Another hearty welcome to you, to this, the latest edition of This Week in Mobile Games! I've been decompressing a bit by locking in with Bungie's Marathon, a definitely-not-mobile game, but a grand time al...

feature

6 comments

A Brief History of Rakugo

Apr 6, 09:00

6 comments

culture

The world of rakugo is waiting for you, with fart jokes and ghosts galore; all you have to do is sit down and listen. ― There's a widely held view that humans are, in terms of communication, storytellers. We enjoy spinning yarns, gossiping about others, relaying mundane tasks as heroic quests, and investing in our future by passing on the tales of those who came before. There are numerous storytelli...

news

11 comments

How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord Anime Gets 3rd Season

Apr 6, 06:26

11 comments

anime

Anime's 1st season premiered in 2018, 2nd season aired in 2021 ― The staff for the television anime of Yukiya Murasaki's How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord light novel series revealed on Monday that the anime will get a third season titled How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord ULT, and revealed an announcement visual drawn by the novels' illustrator Takahiro Tsurusaki.Tsurusaki and the manga adaptation's artist...

review

Devil's in the Lunch Deals Manga Review

Apr 5, 12:00 manga

This tale of an outcast goddess of death who makes delicious food and tries to do good deeds as penance for being, you know, a goddess of death, is prickly and weird, and I think I love it. ― Fairytales play a significant role in human society. They stand in as simplistic moral education, tales of punishment and reward. They are also expressions of psychological and philosophical experimentation. Fai...

feature

126 comments

The Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Apr 5, 09:44

126 comments

anime

RE:Zero is back! Will Subaru be able to get things right on the first try? Also check out our reviewers' thoughts on Gals Can't Be Kind to Otaku?!, Eren the Southpaw, Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 5, Even a Replica Can Fall in Love , and more! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics writes up their impressions instantly, to be posted here...

feature

3 comments

Sailor Guardians Take on a Modern Threat in Stunning New Musical Show

Apr 5, 09:00

3 comments

live-action

In a world that demands perfection insofar as we're creating algorithms to streamline the humanity out of art, the cast sings that "imperfection is fine" and that it's what is necessary to make us human. ― It felt like a full-circle career moment. There I was, in Japan, mostly for the annual AnimeJapan event coverage. This is my third year flying out of the country to intermingle with Japanese compan...