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If you're looking for the perfect games to play on Valentine's Day, Crunchyroll Game Vault 's extensive library of over 40 titles has you covered. From dating action game Eternights to the newly-added Sweet Sins 2 and beyond, here are just a few of the games Mega and Ultimate Fan members can check out to make the day a little sweeter. Eternights Studio Sai A dating action-game set during the apocalypse, where you must make the most of your time. Monday: Go on a date. Tuesday: tackle a dungeon. Friday: Panic! The clock is ticking! Intuitive touch screen controls as well as support for game controllers Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Simplified and Traditional Chinese River City Girls WayForward, Arc System Works There's trouble once again on the mean streets of River City! Hard-hitting heroines Misako and Kyoko are tearing up the town to rescue their boyfriends,...

Horimiya is often considered one of the best romance anime that debuted in recent years. It follows a budding relationship between Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miymura, two characters who have their own secrets to keep. It has a calming atmosphere with charming characters which can instantly draw in any romance lover.

However, the anime is not devoid of issues. From its pacing to its portrayal of Hori, after a point, the anime seems to go off the tracks. The biggest problem is that the series sidelines one of the main characters.

Horimiya ignored one of its leads to favor the other Horimiya mostly focuses on the development of Miyamura | Credits: CloverWorks

At the beginning of the series, both Miyamura and Hori are introduced as the main characters. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that one character is overpowering the other. The narrative often focuses on Miyamura while completely sidelining Hori’s development.

Fruits Basket is one of the most popular slice-of-life romance franchises, ranking as one of the top-selling manga worldwide. The story follows an adorable love triangle between chipper protagonist, Tohru, moody Kyo, and shy Yuki. After the Sohmas take Tohru in when they discover she is homeless after a family tragedy, she meets the Sohmas one by one, becoming acquainted with their unique personalities and personal struggles, while attempting to bring peace to the family by removing their curse that turns them into animals when they hug the opposite gender.

Apart from being an entertaining, emotional story, Fruits Basket has many life lessons fans can learn from. Tohru is an incredibly positive influence, approaching every situation with a desire to spark joy and soothe hurt feelings, which reminds viewers of the importance of an upbeat outlook and genuine care for others. The series takes a few dark turns, covering topics like abuse,...

Not all tropes are received the same way. Toxic tropes pop up often in all genres and anime demographics, and sometimes viewers love them because they're dramatic and toxic. Others find them taxing and overplayed, with certain tropes turning off potential viewers from watching a series. No genre is defined purely by its tropes, but it's undeniable that shojo anime is rife with them.

When used sparingly, tropes can be a great shorthand to clue the audience in to what a story is attempting to convey, either with its characters or its themes. When they are too heavily utilized, however, they can make the story feel uninspired. Whether the trope has come to be received positively or negatively by audiences, its impact on the narrative can sometimes come to define a series that uses it.

Updated on November 17, 2024, by Lauren Younkin: Though shojo anime tends to be comprised of many feel-good series,...

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most influential anime of the 2010s. Dark, subversive, and thematically rich, the single-season, twelve-episode anime has long been praised for its shocking story, complex characters, and gorgeous animation. The success of the series spawned a wave of knock-offs, hoping to capitalize on the newfound popularity of edgy magical girl series, but these anime all failed because they didn't understand what Madoka was actually about.

In 2013, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion, a sequel film to the series, was released, and it suffered from many of the same issues as the series' rip-offs. Madoka Magica's controversial first original film changed the franchise forever, with its miserable twist ending supplanting the original series' bittersweet conclusion as the end of the main storyline for the past decade. Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht Risinga long-awaited sequel to Rebellionwill be released in 2025, but it's set to fail...

Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or simply Madoka Magica, is a 2011 magical girl anime that jarringly subverted the typical tropes of the magical girl genre. Its been hailed as a masterpiece for the past decade by countless anime fans and is often referenced as a series that explores topics such as death, depression, the loss of innocence, and the fatal cost of fulfilling ones deepest desire.

Madoka Magica is an anime series that follows the experiences of young Madoka Kaname as she witnesses the heavy consequences of becoming a magical girl. She learns that the creature, Kyubey, is nothing but an alien being that exploits the suffering of the girls that they supposedly take under their guardianship, and that includes Madoka herself as well as all of her friends.

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Related Will Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie - Walpurgisnacht Rising - Bring Much-Needed Closure to the Series?...

A grieving photographer on assignment in Japan finds unexpected comfort with an old friend and his precious daughter in I'll Be Your Mirror, which washes over the viewer like a gentle breeze of loss, solace, and rediscovery. Writer/director Bradley Rust Gray meanders at times with an overly artistic intent and sluggish pacing, but achieves his goal of addressing life's most sorrowful tragedy. Death leaves a gaping hole in the hearts of loved ones left behind. Choosing to move forward can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. But the helping hand that lifts you out of darkness may lead to a surprising new embrace.

A Bond Grows After a Love Dies

I'll Be Your Mirror 3/5 RomanceDrama

After her husband's demise, a widow finds comfort with an old friend in Japan. As his care turns romantic, she realizes she must allow herself to love again.

Release Date August 30, 2024Director Bradley Rust GrayCast Carla Juri,...

Just in time for Judgment Day, Netflix has a new installment in the “Terminator” franchise for fans of the iconic, long-running sci-fi action franchise. This time, however, you won’t see any familiar faces — the series is animated. However, you might recognize some of the voices, so we’ve put together a handy guide to the “Terminator Zero” cast.

You won’t see Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese or Arnold’s T-800 in this story — it introduces a new timeline and all new characters to go with it. Set in 1997, Japan, “Terminator Zero” focuses on a developer named Malcolm Lee, who is hard at work on another AI system to compete with Skynet and save the human race. Naturally, a Terminator unit is sent back in time to target him and his three children, while a soldier from the future is sent back with a mission of her own.

André Holland...

Telecom Animation Film's Astro Note combines boarding house comedy with a sci-fi twist, promising a refreshing and dynamic show. The anime's colorful backgrounds and variety of character designs indicate a comedic focus within the romantic-comedy genre. Astro Note incorporates extraterrestrials into its eccentric cast, with a talented team of creatives involved in its production.

Telecom Animation Film's Astro Note, which Crunchyroll will stream next year, takes audiences back to the boarding house comedies of the past, albeit with a sci-fi twist. The original anime comes with a bevy of talented creative staff, including the character designer for Carole & Tuesday, and, perhaps appropriately, the director of Gintama. As such, Astro Note seems to be a refreshing comedy set up.

Crunchyroll's new trailer for the original anime hints at what to expect from Astro Note. Colorful backgrounds and a variety of character designs seem to promise a dynamic show that falls more...

Nearly a decade after its debut in competition at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered alongside the likes of Goodbye to Language, Winter Sleep, Clouds of Sils Maria, Maps to the Stars, and Two Days, One Night, Naomi Kawase’s drama Still the Water is getting a North American home courtesy of Film Movement. Ahead of a March 3 digital release, we’re exclusively debuting the new trailer for the film starring Nijirô Murakami, Junko Abe, Miyuki Matsuda, Tetta Sugimoto, and Makiko Watanabe.

On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami, traditions about nature remain eternal. Following a typhoon and during the full-moon night of traditional dances in August, 16-year-old Kaito (Nijirô Murakami) discovers a dead body floating in the sea. His girlfriend, Kyoko (Junko Abe), will attempt to help him understand this mysterious discovery. Together, Kaito and Kyoko will learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life,...

A time for leisure, a time for old sins to become exonerated, a time for bold courageous leaps into the scariest places fragile souls could possibly dream about – a time simply wasted. As those final few hours begin to tick away the realisation of all those plans, all those desires, becoming permanently abandoned warrants drastic and unpredictable chaos to restore balance in our personal universes once again. Summer has come to die; as the first autumnal sun dawns over the horizon the long warm summer months stride out into the ocean until fully submerged by the tides and water filling the lungs. Bearing witness to such an occasion a male head mysteriously protrudes from the sandy beaches, blissfully unaware of the direction his night is about to take. This is just the tip of the deceptively voluminous iceberg that is Yuki Horiuchi’s “All Summer Long”.

“All Summer Long” is...

After four years, Oscar-nominated writer-director Alex Garland is back with another hair-raising project: A24’s horror flick “Men.”

The filmmaker unfolds a twisted, trauma-filled narrative with Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley’s Harper at its dead center. Following the unimaginably painful death of her husband (“I May Destroy You’s” Paapa Essiedu), the young woman seeks refuge in the serene English countryside to grieve and heal. However, her wishes are cut short as she finds herself in increasingly disturbing scenarios, stalked by a man (Rory Kinnear) who keeps popping up everywhere. Basically, it’s every woman’s worst nightmare.

Keep reading to find out where and how to watch “Men.”

Also Read:

‘Men’ Film Review: Jessie Buckley and All the Rory Kinnears Populate Alex Garland’s Eccentric Horror Where can I watch “Men”?

“Men” was released exclusively in theaters on May 20, and is still playing in some. Check your local listings.

“Fruits Basket” is one of the most iconic manga and anime of all time in its genre, which tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that 13 members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a spirit of the zodiac. As the series progresses, Tohru learns of the hardships and pain faced by the afflicted members of the Sohma family, and through her own generous and loving nature, helps heal their emotional wounds. As she learns more about Yuki, Kyo, and the rest of the mysterious Sohma family, Tohru also learns more about herself and how much others care for her. The anime series...