Winter Anime Season (Part 10)

Title: Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil
Release Date: January 12, 2014
Studio: ARMS
Genre: Supernatural, Law Procedural, Action/Adventure
Synopsis: In 2018 Tokyo, humans and wizards live side-by-side; criminals who use magic are defended in special courts by public servants known as wizard barristers. At 17 years old, Cecil Sudo is the youngest wizard barrister to ever practice magical law, and her arrival at Butterfly Law Offices is sure to ruffle some feathers.

Verdict: Anime is especially good at genre-bending, usually by applying extraordinary circumstances to familiar settings (The Devil is a Part-Timer - the Lord of Evil flipping hamburgers) or vice versa (Planetes - a workplace dramedy in space). Wizard Barristers is, at its core, a criminal defense drama...but with magic. It makes for a far more action-packed legal drama than, say, Law and Order or The Good Wife when the typical case includes a defendant who killed a bank robber that arrived on a metal dragon. Studio ARMS, which usually produces fanservice-heavy series like Ikki Tousen, has outdone itself here, seamlessly blending 2D and CGI animation during magic battles. Director Yasuomi Umetsu, who also directed last year's Galilei Donna, seems to have hit Strong Female Lead pay dirt again with Cecil Sudo. An early scene with two magic-phobic police officers serves as a perfect introduction to her character; sweet and a little bit ditzy on the outside, but a formidable debater when the situation calls for it.

Don't let her size fool you.

The rest of the cast is not lacking in character development either, whether it's Cecil's quirky new cohorts at Butterfly Law or sultry, chain-smoking Inspector Quinn. Everything is adding up to one unique law procedural series. With only one episode in the books, Wizard Barristers is already gunning for the top spot this season.

The Fall Anime Season is Here (Part 7)!

Title: Galilei Donna
Release Date: Oct. 10, 2013
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi, Comedy
Premise: Three estranged sisters, who happen to be descended from Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, are thrown into an adventure when a secret organization attempts to abduct them one day.

Verdict: I'll admit this one slipped under my radar, but after watching the first episode I'm glad I gave it a chance. Add in the futuristic sci-fi setting, the involvement of studio A-1 Pictures and director Yasuomi Umetsu, of Kite and Mezzo Forte fame, and I'm surprised I made it this far without hearing about it.

When the episode begins, the shock of the abductions hits you as suddenly as it hits the three protagonists. Hazuki Ferrari, 20, Kazuki Ferrari, 17, and Hozuki Ferrari, 13, are all going about their lives with little regard for one another. Hazuki, a jaded law student who is failing out of her program, skips classes to go drinking with her friends. High schooler Kazuki is also skipping class (the lesson included a group exercise and she's a serious misanthrope) to lounge in the nurse's office and fawn over a picture of her crush. Hozuki avoids school altogether, tinkering in her garage and wandering the streets on her collapsible motorized scooter. The peace of their idyllic lives is shattered as men in sunglasses attack Hazuki and Kazuki, while a UAV drone swoops down and begins pursuing Hozuki through the streets.

All three sisters manage to beat back their would-be abductors - Hazuki with her words, Kazuki with her fists, and Hozuki with her invented gadgets - and show off their different personalities and talents in the process. Each has her shortcomings, but all three sisters are brilliant in some way. We are also introduced to a colorful cast of secondary characters, including the girls' dysfunctional divorced parents,  overbearing Sylvia and easy-going academic Geshio, and a flashy sky pirate captain named Cicinho. It's never made clear what the mysterious kidnappers are after, but it's still early enough in the game to leave those answers for later.

There's already plenty to look forward to with this one. I'm eager to see how the girls' different skills, Hozuki's brains, Kazuki's brawn, and Hazuki's smart mouth, will work together. Not to mention sparks are already flying between Cicinho and the hot-headed Hazuki, whom he has affectionately nicknamed "Bambina." There are a lot interesting pieces at play already, and with A-1 Pictures' track record, this might be another home run original series.