Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya OVA & Specials: Miyu’s Electric Boogaloo

hisui_icon_4040 Don’t worry! I know everyone is worried that I would not do an episode review for the Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya OVA and specials. I have been inundated with emails, tweets, instant messages, hand written letters, telegraphs, candy-grams, and sky writing campaigns to cover these vital and game changing pieces of the Type-Moon universe by my legions of adoring fans. As a magnanimous hero of the hoi polloi I will answer your fickle demands with grace and wisdom.

(No one has even remotely commented on this fact. In fact the only reason I remember these existed was I was randomly looking for the Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya opening and saw someone uploaded one of the specials to YouTube. Then the existence of all these extra animated episodes came back to me. I then figured I should talk about them before 2wei! starts airing. Also I am fairly certain I don’t have anything even remotely approaching an adoring fan.)

These episodes were all pack-ins with various Fate/kaleid items. The specials were BD disc extras and the OVA was bundled with the manga. Sadly none of them have been picked up by Crunchyroll yet so I sort of forgot about them. If anything that clearly shows the power of Crunchyroll’s excellent anti-piracy model. In the old days I would have carefully monitored torrent sites for the release of the specials. Now I am so used to the ease that Crunchyroll provides I don’t ever look on torrent sites for anything but a very small niche of anime. Good job Crunchyroll. That is the way to do it.

Now pick up Pretty Cure so I never have to regularly look at a torrent site again.

But on to the far less wholesome magical girl show.
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Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha: Wrath of Konkon


(Watch Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha on Hulu for free.)

hisui_icon_4040 If you asked anyone what their favorite series from this season was you would get a wide selection of answers but Kill la Kill and Space Dandy will probably come up the most. On the other hand if you ask Kate she will say Kuroko’s Basketball because . . . well she is Kate. BUT if you ask what was the best NEW show of the season we would both pick an anime that is sadly overlooked. It is a wonderful mix of comedy and romance. A series based on a seinen manga with a shojo appeal. That show is Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha is easy to dismiss as the “spirits and humans” story of the season to fill for a lack of a new season of Natsume’s Book of Friends or Mushishi but that is selling the show short. Konkon has an infectious joy that sets it apart from the pack. Unlike some other the other anime and manga in the genre that either go for a gentle melancholy or a soft warm glow like Kamichu! and Gingitsune this show goes for the laughs first and foremost. But at the same time there are some strong romantic undercurrents and well as solid friendships to bring it all together.

narutaki_icon_4040 It is funny to use “nice” as a way to describe a show I want others to watch, but Inari Konkon Koi Iroha is nice. Nice like it wraps you up and makes you feel good while watching it. You might find yourself sighing in contentment while viewing the show even.

But that’s not to say niceness is the only quality the series has to offer. Inari Konkon Koi Iroha is a nice, hilarious, fun, and sweet story featuring wacky gods, new loves, and the bonds of friendship.

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Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya #010: King of Magical Girls! Do you have enough swords?

hisui_icon_4040 Well that was slightly shorter than I expected but that might just be a case of the KISS principle in effect (and not that Illya and Miyu dance to Rock and Roll All Nite at the end.) The original Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya was fairly short so it’s probably better that they just let the series run only 10 episodes with a minimal amount of filler rather than trying to stretch 10 episodes into 13.

It reminds me of a time when people complained about filler for filler’s sake and unnecessary stalling for ongoing series.  Anime fans were always asking for shorter seasons and breaks between them. Now that budgets have made it that series tend to be shorter and more often cut into multiple seasons with gaps in between I see more complaining about series being shorter.

I guess it just proves no matter which way you choose, you lose.
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