Review Akuma no Riddle

It's a shame we have to waste the swimsuit episode with bomb defusal

Tokaku Azuma was trained to be an assassin since birth and is a formidable fighter. One day she is assigned to a special high school class called class black. In this class there are other assassins as well as one normal student called Haru. The objective for the students in this class is to be the one that kills Haru. Tokaku develops feelings for Haru and decides to protect her from the other assassins.

See my smile is only somewhat creepy

Akuma no Riddle is an action show with a Yuri (lesbian) undertone. This is also one of the show's main assets as just about all Yuri stories I have seen are slice of life shows and it is nice to see another genre. This also means that the protagonist is a rare strong female character in the vein of Utena who is really nice to see.
Also there is plenty of action and each of the assassination plots are varied giving each episode it's own unique spin.

Unfortunately the rest of the show doesn't measure up to the protagonist. A lot of the problems with the show stem from the assassin of the week nature of most of the show which means that characters aren't really developed until the episode that they leave the show. This leaves most of the show dealing with characters that aren't properly fleshed out and scenes of character back story that ends up feeling pointless because it is about a character that will soon leave the show.

Overall I found Akuma no Riddle to be a decent action show with yuri undertones although at some points I was left wishing the show was better.

The bronze cocktail dress of doom (madlaz) for efforts in being a good action show with a strong female lead. 

Review Sakura Trick

Every episode to be precise

Haruka and Yuu are two girls who are going to a high school that is going to close in three years. To commemorate their first day at school they decide to do something very special, they kiss each other.  

 

Don't you just love anime clone genetics

If you have seen slice of life shows for any time you might have noticed that there is a reoccurring theme of lesbian subtext in said shows. Sakura Trick takes this subtext and ramps it up to the point of being not only obvious but being the selling point of the show. However this show is still a slice of life show as even though the two main characters are in a relationship that relationship doesn’t go anywhere in terms of plot.

That post fondling haze

Sakura Trick is a show that tries to win over the viewers with a combination of warm fuzzy feelings and some fan service. I say some fan service because while there is obvious sexual content it isn’t at the levels that shows that have fan service as their main selling point tend to reach. The humor in Sakura Trick is generally sporadic and not a main draw like in many slice of life shows. Perhaps the greatest problem with the show is that various episodes tend to feel like each other and the novelty of the concept may wear off.

So now we know why this character is so laid back

Overall Sakura Trick is a decent and unique slice of life show even if it is a bit of a one trick pony. 

Rating the bronze lily.