Eureka follows Renton Thurston, a young boy living a very boring life in a small town. He likes to lift. No, not the weights. He “lifts’ on a hoverboard-like board that rides currents on the air called trapar. He drams of joining to join the famous lifting group Gekkostate. One day his life is turned upside down as the Nivrash typeZERO crash lands in his home with a young girl named Eureka inside. He eventually awakens a special power within the Nirvash and begins to control it dually with Eureka. He is invited to join Gekkostate and sets off on a journey across the world to shape the future for humanity in the far distant future from now.

What is really enjoyable about Eureka Seven is that it is set in the very far distant future, like 10000 years from now far. The irony though is that while the human race has expanded beyond earth, we still can’t seem to coexist with aliens. Save for the hoverboards riding the trapar, life doesn’t seem to be so advanced. Another great part is the proving ground that Renton faces. He’s gotta work to get what he wants which is actually a really good life lesson.

Eureka Seven has a great cast of well-rounded characters and I really enjoy all of the opening and ending songs especially with Tip Taps Tip by HALCALI. It’s so weird and yet it fits the series so well. Another great thing about Eureka Seven is that we can watch characters grow together and then grow apart as if it’s nothing!
Eureka Seven is loved by many fans around the world. I first got into it when it aired on Adult swim and I don’t regret a single moment of it!

Now with Higurashi, we take a sharp left turn into another genre. Originally arising from a sound novel game, it was given multiple anime adaptations and countless OVA’s. Higurashi is a completely different level of crazy and actually watching the first season will just leave you scratching your head and needing more information.

Higurashi is very dark and actually falls into the psychological, horror, and thriller genres. This show is great because you have to pay close attention to make sure that you don’t miss a single piece of information. The perspective of who is telling the story constantly is changing as well which means each time the information changes slightly.

Higurashi is about a boy named Maibara Keiichi who lives in a fictitious town of Hinamizawa. He joins a new school and is quickly introduced to his classmates like Ryuuguu Rena, Furude Rika, the Sonozaki twins Shion and Mion, and a few others. Unfortunately one day Keiichi comes across a murder scene within his town. Horrified he turns to his friends… who are no longer his friends? Terrifyingly fast paced and full of confusing twists and turns, Higurashi is not something that you can watch at night and expect to sleep peacefully.

Personally this show is great because there is a lot of detective work that has to be done. As started above, the person telling the story changes. With that comes new perspectives and new information. Higurashi is like a giant puzzle; a terrifying, giant puzzle. I should note, this show is actually based of a real place in Japan that you can go to called Shirakawa village.

Now that I live in Japan, I have been there twice. It was so cool to see scenes from the anime that were exact copies from this village. The difference being is that this village is beautiful and not terrifyingly full of evil. The winter night view is breathtakingly amazing too. I recommend this place and show to anyone who likes Japan or anime!

Ergo Proxy keeps is right in the line of dark anime but for a different reason. Like Higurashi, Ergo Proxy is also psychological, but it’s heavy on the futuristic elements, like personal robotic servants, self-aware AI, and bio domes. Ergo Proxy is set forth an unknown number of years into the future. It follows Re-l Mayer, an investigator, who lives in one of the aforementioned bio domes because the earth is now inhabitable. Life is a utopia as it seems until one day, a robotic companion is infected with a virus and becomes self-aware. This leads to a myriad of problems and Re-l sets out with Vincent Law to discover his past and what is beyond the dome they live in.

What’s great about Ergo Proxy is the philosophy that is so heavily integrated into the show. Many times the characters as questions aloud that seem quite answerable, but you can see they are mentally struggling. Searching for oneself is something that anyone on this planet can relate to. Of course the full body protective robotic suits, flying ships, robot servants destroyed cities, and bio domes are enjoyable in the futuristic aspect. The line between human and robot has become blurred which forces the characters to struggle with what is actually human and what isn’t.

I heavily recommend this show to you if you like anything philosophical, dark, or mysterious. It took me two watches to fully understand what is going on at all times. How about you?

This show is actually a spin-off of a fantastic show called To Aru Majutsu no Index [A Certain Magical Index] that I loved! At first there was skepticism about a spin-off show based on a semi-side character to the original, but thankfully it turned out to be an excellent show.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun is set in the futuristic city of Academy City. It has about 2.3 million residents, and true to its name, approximately 80% of the residents are students. However, they aren’t just everyday students. Here they are espers and everyone has a generally unique ability ranging from a Level 0 (no power) to a Level 5 (insane power). This show follows Misaka Mikoto, one of the most powerful espers in the city, along with her friends Kuroko, Ruiko, and Uiharu. Together they solve crimes and explore this very unique town.

At first this show could be easily dismissed as a shoujo show or just another slice of life anime. One would be foolish to do so. The jokes are well timed and great! Misaka is hilariously obsessed with anything that has “Gekota” or a frog mascot on it, and anything that’s really cute such as bathing suits or underwear, even though she is so powerful. Quite the juxtaposition if you ask me. Kuroko is the real punch line of this show, and there isn’t a moment where anything she says isn’t gold. Personally, I’ve seen this show more than five times and I laugh like an idiot every time. Enjoy!