Anime Spotlight Spring 2014 – Anime News Network

Portable capturing devices known as “DISKs” were developed to capture evil villains. However, thanks to Loki’s machinations, both villains and heroes are sealed up in these DISKs and scattered around the world. Amid the chaos, five youths obtained the power to restore these DISKs-sealed heroes through a program called “Biocode.” These youths received five DISKs that Spider-Man, who narrowly escaped being sealed himself, retrieved. Thus, these five can restore Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Wasp — the Avengers!

Alka is an assassin for the Clan of the Sword. She’s on a journey to find the woman Jin Valel, who killed her master Hon. Jin is demon-like woman who controls the Energy of Chaos and kills without feeling – not unlike how Alka has learned to kill in her work as an assassin. On her journey, Alka encounters three strange women, each great warriors in their own right, and grapples with her slain master’s wish that she leave the life of an assassin behind.

The year is 1987 and 17-year-old Jotaro Kujo finds himself suddenly plagued by a ghost-like entity. Jotaro’s grandfather Joseph Joestar, a veteran of a fight to save humanity 50 years prior, arrives with his own supernatural aura. He explains that this power, known as a “Stand,” physically manifests its user’s spirit and can be controlled by its user at will. The sudden emergence of these Stands is revealed to be caused by the revival of the megalomaniacal vampire Dio (the Joestar’s longtime enemy) whose awakening from his century-long slumber has triggered Stands to awaken down the Joestar family line, including in Jotaro’s mother whose uncontrollable Stand will ultimately kill her in a few weeks’ time. Jotaro, Joseph, and their allies have 50 days to locate Dio (using their Stands to thwart Dio’s network of devoted Stand-user minions along the way) and eliminate Dio himself in order to save Jotaro’s mother and prevent Dio’s ambitions of world domination.

Young girl Lala is a Prism Show student, and is aiming to become an idol. She learns the way to shine from previous Prism Stars, including Aira Harune, Mia Ageha, and Naru Ayase. She looks back to the past with her mentors at their many experiences and Prism Shows.

Shōyō Hinata began playing volleyball after seeing a player dubbed the “Small Giant” who played the sport when he was in elementary school. Hinata’s middle-school club had no members, but somehow persevered and finally made it into what would be its very first and final match in middle school. The team was steamrolled by Tobio Kageyama, a superstar player known as “King of the Court.” Vowing revenge, Hinata applied to the Karasuno High School volleyball club… only to come face-to-face with his hated rival, Kageyama.

Childhood friends Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto (ironically, he seldom smiles) and Yukata “Peco” Hoshino are capable and aspiring table tennis players of Katase High School. Coach Jō “Butterfly” Koizumi has high expectation for both of them, but when Peco gets decisively defeated by a Chinese student he is devastated and stops practicing. Meanwhile, Koizumi discovers Smile’s potential and tries to motivate him to overcome his psychological obstacle.

Eiichirō Maruo (nicknamed “Ei-chan” for his grades being straight “A”) is an honor student, bookworm, and is not interested in anything other than studying. In order to solve his problem of lacking physical strength, he enrolled a tennis school and soon found the fascinating side of tennis. Being a tennis newbie lacking physical strength, he supplement his shortcomings with his excellent observing and analyzing skills.

High schooler Yūki Hase notices that his classmate Kaori Fujimiya is always alone, and seemingly has no friends. After approaching her, Kaori reveals that she loses every memory of her friends each Monday. Despite learning this, Yūki decides to become her new friend every week.

When he was a child, Murakami was infatuated with a girl he called Kuroneko. She insisted on knowing about aliens and having met them, but no one believed her. Even young Murakami was skeptical. One day, she decides to show him the aliens, but an accident occurs and Kuroneko dies while Murakami is left seriously wounded in the hospital. Years go by and Murakami obsesses on finding proof of the existence of aliens because of a promise he had made with Kuroneko. Then, one day, a new transfer student comes to his class, who not only looks a lot like Kuroneko, but is named Neko Kuroha. Even though she insists on never having met Murakami before, the girl has superhuman strength and seems to be able to predict the future.

Disowned by his father, Jūgo Yama runs away from home to the island of Nanae. He begins to live by himself, only to discover his room is haunted by the ghost of Nanana Ryūgajō. She was murdered 10 years ago, and her killer must be found before she can rest in peace. Before her death, Nanana collected things from all over the world and hid them throughout the island. Using the mysterious powers of these hidden items, they should be able to find the culprit. As Jūgo begins his hunt for her collection, however, he discovers he’s not the only person searching.

In the year 2021, mankind was defeated in a war by Gastrea, a parasitical virus, and is forced to live behind a wall made of Baranuim metal monoliths for protection. Soon, the “Cursed Children,” children born infected with the Gastrea virus with superhuman abilities, are discovered. Due to the Gastrea virus’ intervention, the Cursed Children could only be female. Civil Securities are formed who specialize in fighting against Gastrea. The pair operate with an Initiator, who is a Cursed Child, and a Promoter, who is the leader. Ten years after the war, Rentarō Satomi, a high school student who is also a Promoter at his childhood friend Kisara Tendō’s Tendō Civil Security agency, along with his Initator Enju Aihara, receives a secret mission to prevent the Tokyo area’s destruction.

Shintaro Kisaragi is a HikiNEET who shut himself inside his room for 2 years and had otherwise been living his life normally. One day he meets a cyber girl named Ene, who appeared in his computer screen after someone sent him a mysterious e-mail one year ago. One day, Ene messes with Shintaro’s PC which causes him to go outside for the first time in two years.

One night right before summer vacation, second-year high school student Daichi Manatsu sees a weird round rainbow floating in the sky above Tanegashima island and ventures there alone. He has seen this rainbow before. With the memories of his father’s mysterious death and an encounter with a mysterious boy and girl, Daichi arrives on the island while the alarm of a building labeled “Earth Engine” is going off. Someone asks him if he’s a captain, just as robotic intruders from Uranus called “Kiltgang” arrive. The battle around the shining stars is about to begin.

Sōta Hatate is a high school boy, who has an ability to visualize “flags” for future events such as “death flag,” “friendship flag,” and “romance flag.” Despite the flag-viewing ability, he avoids making friends with others due to a trauma he experienced in a shipwreck. Four beautiful girls get interested in his strange way of living, and they begin to live with him at the school dorm by force.

In order to fight against the mysterious “Penguin Empire” from interfering with world peace, the secret organization “Prince Beauty Parlor” has developed a giant robot that’s powered by a special energy source called “Hi-ERo particles.” Organization member Kyōko Sonan has located ordinary high school student Kōichi Madanbashi who has a high amount of Hi-ERo particles within his body, making him a suitable candidate for the pilot of the giant robot, but there is only one way to release it: allow Madanbashi harass her with lewd behavior.

The anime follows Tsukasa, whose dream is to become the best at GIGANT Shooter (battles in a game similar to pogs) in the world. The menko card his father left for him called “King Menger” is his partner. Tsukasa’s fellow gamers are the cute but tsundere Miruko Koide, the spectacled bully Manabu Numata, and the realist and sharp-tongued Ataru Dōmoto.

Natsu, Lucy, and their fellow Fairy Tail mages return to protect the humanity from powerful enemies, including but not limited to Dark Guilds, dragons, and Zeref, the most powerful dark mage.

Eons ago, a cube–like peaceful planet named Quarton, populated by shape–shifting living bricks called Tenkai, was ravaged by a war between two opposite factions: the Corekai led by their commander Beag and the Corrupted led by former Tenkai Knight turned ruthless warlord Vilius who desired to obtain the source of Tenkai Energy for his own purposes. However, the only ones who were strong enough to defeat him were the Tenkai Knights: Bravenwolf, Tributon, Valorn, Lydendor, and Dromus. Facing defeat, Vilius unleashed the mighty Tenkai Dragon, who was later defeated by the five Knights and its fragments were scattered across the planet. These heroes were never seen again, but the Corrupted have returned more powerful than ever.
Now on planet Earth in the year 2034 within Benham City, four teenage humans named Guren, Ceylan, Toxsa, and Chooki find an interdimensional portal to Quarton where they are chosen by the Guardians as the new generation of Tenkai Knights and preventing Vilius from taking control of both worlds.

Momona is a regular middle school girl who adores her brother. One day when attending his wedding, she stumbled onto a white rabbit named Ruby and was transported to a strange new world called Jewel Land. Ruby revealed to her that she is a Jewelpet and she chose Momona to be her partner in becoming a Ladyjewel Candidate. Having no choice, she and Ruby must compete together in the Jewel Palace in order for her to become Jewel Land’s next Queen.

Through an unexpected turn of events, ordinary elementary school student Hiro Enryu finds himself in the world of the “Dragon Collection” game. This is a world called Dragon Earth, where gods, humans, and monsters exist side by side. Dracolle Battlers roam this world using a magic book called a Grimoire and cards to summon monsters and search for treasures that bear the powers of dragons. Despite his bewilderment, Hiro becomes a Dracolle Battler and, together with the friends he meets there, begins his adventure to become a legendary Dragon Master.

Ordinary high school students Shōgo Ryūjin, Tyrone, Antonio, and Luke are the White Bone warriors. With their special Bone Cards they defend Earth from the evil Dark Bone, who has come from the darkness to destroy our world. However is he the real enemy or could the real enemy be humanity?

While being called a “genius violinist,” high school sophomore Kanade Kohinata feels herself entering a plateau period and has difficulty improving her musical abilities. After a concert performed by Kanade’s childhood friend and Seiso Academy’s orchestra club president Ritsu Kisaragi, he announces the club’s intention to perform at a nationwide musical contest and win a scholarship. Much to Kanade’s surprise, he also forces her and his younger brother Kyōya to transfer to Seiso Academy and compete.

Nike, princess of the Principality of Rain possesses the power to control rain. After losing a game of rock, paper, scissors to her older sisters, Nike is forced to marry the King of the Sun Kingdom, Livius I. Livius or Livi for short, has conquered the world in three short years and is known as the “Dreadful King.” When Nike and Livi first meet she finds out he’s just a young boy with a terrible attitude. Can these two find a bond emotionally? Or will their marriage be in name only?

The story follows Matsutarō Sakaguchi, a giant roughneck man with strength far beyond ordinary people. He never uttered words like “work hard,” “strive,” and “dream” like the typical shōnen manga protagonist. However, he is stronger than anyone and peerless in sumo wrestling. His greatest weakness, however, is his own carefree personality.

The story revolves around Suzu Nekoyama, a timid, shy tsundere girl who loves dogs, and Yachiyo Inugami, a super masochistic, air-headed, friendly girl who loves cats. One day, after a fateful meeting, the two find themselves attracted to each other. In response to Inugami’s instinctive approaches, Nekoyama is always bashful. Their friend Aki has to work hard to make jabs at some of the situations of the two, and also to stop Inugami from going berserk.

The main character Cocoa (a pun of “hot Cocoa”) arrives at the cafe Rabbit House one day, excited for rabbits only to find that the shop has only one rabbit. Cocoa then manages to get a job at the café. She meets lots of different girls there, including a tiny and cool girl named Chino (from “cappucino”), a tough and soldier-esque girl named Rize (“Thé des Alizés” tea), a spacey and quintessentially Japanese girl named Chiya (“Uji matcha” tea), and the ordinary but dignified Syaro (“Kilimanjaro” coffee).

In order to survive the eventual arrival of the “Dusk End,” people of the western reaches of the “Land of Dusk” devoted their efforts to rediscover and recreate lost alchemic technologies. Those technologies were then gathered in the alchemy city known as “Central,” where research was conducted on how to halt the advance of the twilight. Having learned the newest alchemic techniques in Central, young alchemist Logy requested a transfer to an understaffed town of Colseit on the frontier to make use of his abilities. There he meets Escha, an apprentice girl assigned to the Development Department. Together, the two make a promise to use their alchemic techniques to bring success to the Development Department.

There is distorted, deep blackness everywhere.

That place, in which blackness swallowed everything and took away everything, has become known as the avidya zone.

Strange beings assume the very form of the despair and chaos of humanity.

They are known by this name: Imashime.

An expedition surveys the avidya zone which consumes human spirits.

So, in the intricate intersection between the present in impending crisis and the destiny of the past … can eight boys and girls, assembled to confront the Imashime, find the bright future that lies before the avidya zone?