A gate opens in Ginza, Tokyo connecting the modern world with another world -- this one filled with dragons, orcs, and armored soldiers who thought an invasion of the peaceful city would be easy. The plan of the empire on the far side of the gate backfires and the JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force) quickly repels the invasion and establishes a beachhead in the foreign realm. The army is sent to neutralize any potential threats that may use the gate to invade Japan. The JSDF hero (and open otaku) of the repelled invasion, Youji Itami, is dispatched to the medieval fantasy landscape where the JSDF’s military might quickly shift the balance of power with modern armory easily outclassing the medieval rulers of the world. Itami and his squad, though part of a much larger expeditionary force, recruit native allies including a wizard, elf, and the Imperial Princess Pina Co Lada to work toward peace between Japan and the people of the designated Special Region.

The anime Gate has a couple things in common with Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi. Take its look at warfare for example. In the beginning of both stories we find true medieval warfare, the kind of war where there is no such thing as a civilian. We see people cut down just because they are in the path of an army. The two worlds are also filled with magic, though in both instances it’s considered a rare thing. Jehanne’s ability to fight like a little berserker feels a lot like watching Rory Mercury, the petite priestess of the god of death with lolita fashion sense in Gate. We also see a lot of political alliances shift in both stories as the lords of 11th century France and England vie for control of the French throne and the lords of the Empire shift for the best advantage in the war with Japan. If you are a fan of war and politics with a bit of mysticism and have enjoyed Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi you will most likely love Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri.

The Atlatan continent is beseeched by chaos. This mystical energy twists the laws of nature causing demons, monsters, and spirits to appear. Atlatan nobility was given the power of crests to fight the chaos. A crest has the ability to make you very powerful, so naturally the lords stopped protecting the masses and began fighting amongst themselves to gather the most crests by stealing them from other lords. You can also gain a crest by fighting a demon, killing it, and seizing its core. In that case, you become a self-made noble and gain the ability to climb up the ranks of the nobility. Theo, a young self-made lord, meets a beautiful young mage named Siluca Meletes. The fateful encounter becomes the catalyst for change on the entire continent as the two begin a quest to unite all the crests and rid the world of the chaos as the legends foretold. The story is also a love story between our main heroes as well as tales of daring deeds, great victories, losses, and defeats.

Grancrest Senki as well as Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi both take place in worlds filled with magic, swords, and squabbling countries. The design of the militaries is both modeled after those found during the Middle Ages in Europe, giving both a Game of Thrones feel. We see a lot of violence, too. The enemy dies, the good guys die, and plans fall to pieces just like in reality. The war is also similar in that they are wars of unity. The English and French want to consolidate France under their respective rules in Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi just as Theo and his allies are trying to bring the entire continent of Atlanta under one crest in order to bring peace. We also have the potential for romance in Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi given that it seems to be shaping up to be a bit of a harem. We think, however, the biggest commonalities are the feuding houses vying for control of the same territorial authority. So if you like your wars medieval, your girls beautiful and Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi, Grancrest Senki is the story for you.

The idyllic sheltered world of St. Mihailov Academy has been trodden upon as it becomes the stalking grounds of a serial killer. The pretty young ladies of the academy seem to be his favorite target. One day the sisters Mafuyu and Tomo come across a young man in need of help and take him in to recover. Shortly thereafter, Mafuyu becomes the prey of the killer. She’s saved by Sasha, the boy they rescued. He possesses a special power called Qwaser that gives him the ability to control elements such as iron. He uses his power to craft a scythe and kills the criminal. The power to maintain his ability comes from an element in oppai, or breasts. Sasha then transfers to the academy and becomes the center of attention of not only the young lady he rescued but the dark forces that are closing in on the academy.

We aren’t drawing a lot of comparisons between the epic 100-year-war backdrop of Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi and Seikon no Qwaser, but we do have a couple. The two both find themselves in ecchi territory. Qwaser seems to embrace this fact episode after episode with shocking gag after gag. We also have two characters that derived their power from doing something lewd to another character. Sasha pulls energy from women’s breasts and Jehanne French kisses Montmorency as she drinks the elixir out of his mouth. We aren’t sure if the story will stay serious or become a bit more comical, so if you are in need of a load of fan service or a laugh, try Seikon no Qwaser.

Issei Hyoudou is just an average horny high school boy with no real accomplishments in his life. He isn’t an athlete or a member of a club. Issei and his best friends are simply known for being average and horny. Issei jumps at the chance when a beautiful girl asks him out and does everything he can to make give her the perfect date. When the date is over, she leans in not for the kiss but for the kill. The girl is actually a fallen angel with bloodlust. She makes quick work of killing him. He gets another chance when a second beautiful girl, Rias Gremory, brings him back from the dead. Rias is the younger sister of none other than the great devil Lucifer. The cost of this second chance at life for Issei is none other than to be Rias’ servant for eternity. He is quickly immersed in a violent world of warring angels, demons and fallen angels, and rogue priests. Issei is surprisingly excited about being a newly born agent of hell, especially after he is told by the beautiful, curvy Rias that as a devil, even his dream of being the king of a harem may come true.

The biggest similarities between these shows are their ecchi elements. The philosopher’s stone which was used to save Jehanne’s life and gives her extortionary power called Ulysses, needs an elixir to activate. We find due to an accident in its creation that Jehanne has an unlimited supply available to her, the only catch is that its produced in the mouth of the teen alchemist Montmorency. The small petite Jehanne must French kiss her savior every time she needs to access the power of Ulysses. The depictions of the kisses are sloppy and deep and can be a bit unnerving considering she is supposed to be so young. Yet we’re fine with her chopping the heads off the English so we shouldn’t set a double standard, should we? We also meet other girls in the series aside from our lolita saint, almost every person in Montmorency’s orbit is a girl and wants him. High School DxD is filled with ecchi. We find out as the series goes on that a big part of Issei’s power comes from his libido, namely his love of boobs. He is also the center of a harem, often finding himself waking up in bed with one or more of the girls in the show. Issei and Montmorency both are good guys at heart and only want to help the people they love; the safety of France or Heaven, Hell, or Earth are only secondary.

We have sometimes heard the idea in physics that for every action we take a parallel world is created. Re:Creators takes that theory and applies it to the stories we create. A new world is literally created every time a story is born, and sometimes if that story is popular and accepted enough the characters of those stories can manifest in our world. Souta Mizushino is a high school student who dreams of becoming an author and illustrator. He sits down to watch an anime one evening when he is temporarily transported to the world of the anime where he witnesses a battle of two large mecha. Souta returns to the real world and quickly realizes he was followed to reality by the heroine of the series, Selesia. A larger plot quickly begins to develop as more and more characters from the worlds of anime and manga begin to appear. The heroes from other worlds begin to take factional sides, some on the side of the government of Japan and others on the side of the mysterious military princess known as Altair who seems determined on tearing down the walls between the worlds.

Re:Creators and Ulysses: Jehanne Darc to Renkin no Kishi may seem to be very different anime – and in many ways they are – but that doesn't mean they don’t have a couple of things in common. The two stories are both in many ways battle anime. You have glorious battles between amazingly powerful characters in each episode. Re:Creators, like Ulysses, has a plot that seems like a game of chess. The Japan faction and the Altair faction in many cases are moving their assets in very careful ways to gain the advantage as well as win the hearts and minds of the populace. The two stories also deal with belief; the characters in Re:Creators are only as strong as the belief bestowed by their fandoms. Jehanne, as a young girl and symbol for France, also is truly only as strong as the popular support she receives since she can’t win any battle on her own.

A Holy Grail War in the Fate universe is usually about seven mages and seven servants fighting over a wish-granting chalice called the Holy Grail. The war in Fate/Apocrypha is about a war between the House of Yggdmillennia and the Mages Association for control of the Grail. This time the war involves 14 master-and-servant pairs divided into the two camps described as Red and Black. The story is filled with battling servants pulled from history and myth, each with their own motivation to grasp the divine object. The complexities of the unusual war lead the Grail (the chalice itself) to summon a Ruler, a powerful servant, to oversee the battle and keep both sides in check. The ruler in this series is none other than saintly and powerful Maid of Orleans Joan d’Arc.

The two stories both have epic battles between armies with heroes in the lead. We even have similar weapons, with some exceptions, as most of the battles are done with swords, lances, and bow and arrow. The two series also involve two great powers, Yggdmillennia and the Mages Association and France and England, seeking to control the fate of the world. We even have two castles (though one is floating in the sky) at the center of the conflict. The biggest similarity, however, is the heroine, Joan d’Arc or Jehanne Darc. Saint Joan is, in both cases, a young woman small in stature, though in Fate/Apocrypha she is in her late teens and not a loli. The saint is also imbued with special powers that give her the ability to fight and heal rapidly in both series. We also find the Joan has a true sense of justice and determination in both shows. Joan in Fate/Apocrypha also is at peace with herself and accepts what she has done in the name of France and, like her counterpart, seems to keep her air of innocence despite fighting and killing.